There are two sides to the idea of Wintersession: a six week mini-semester during the coldest months in Providence, where you are encouraged to take classes in other disciplines. The official rationale is that it gives students the opportunity to take a break, explore other fields, and meet new people. The popular (and probably inaccurate) student lore is that it was instituted to cut down on the number of students trying to kill themselves in the second semester.

There are your usual offerings of photography and screen printing, bookbinding and metal type, but there are also exotic niche classes like chinese brush painting, glass blowing, machine knitting, and metalsmithing. There are also art history courses, language courses, and study abroad offerings. On the surface it sounds like it'd be relaxing and fun. A chance to get away from the normal grind and explore something creative! But even in a mini-class, the perfectionism and drive that this place has a (not always positive) reputation for kicks in. Very few people are willing to accept that they are beginners at something again, and end up pouring all the time and energy they have into pulling advanced work out of a "relaxing" introductory course. You see all this other great work in crit, and you get caught in this upward spiral of pushing yourself to do better for the next one.

My experience this time was no exception: I took black and white photography, and was in a class with mostly foundation studies (freshmen) students who were deciding which department to join next year, with a few grad students thrown in. Relaxation city, right? Ha. I spent hours, days, whole weekends, standing at my favorite enlarger in the darkroom making prints. I became an expert at getting film from its cartridge onto a developing spool in pitch black without ruining it. I became irrationally protective of the vats of chemistry I was using, not to mention the stupid tongs. I ran the battery down on my iPod at least once each day, and went through several months worth of NPR podcasts. I also think I looked permanently stoned for the last three weeks because my eyes were so irritated by the chemicals.

The result, however, is that I have a really nice collection of prints, and an enhanced appreciation of the artistry that goes into darkroom work. I did most of my final project at the Cliff Walk and Ocean Drive in Newport, which is really gorgeous even, and maybe especially, on freezing cold winter days. I also found a little beach called Easton's Beach, which made me smile and think of my new baby (first?) cousin.

I intend to scan everything and upload to flickr, but only once my instructor gives me back my portfolio!