Cordelia's Illustrations

one two six oh four: Things I Don't Regret (2013)

Fri, 03 Jan 2014 06:26:39 +0000

Things I Don't Regret (2013):

2013 was a pretty big year for me with a lot of changes for the better. Reflecting on the year this past week, I found myself instinctively grabbing my sketchbook (for the first time in months!) and…

Hey folks, it’s been quite a while! If you’re curious what I’ve been up to lately in my life outside the college bubble, take a look at my illustrated 2013 retrospective, “Things I Don’t Regret.”

one two six oh four: Has anyone been by the old TA bridge lately? I did a spontaneous...

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 15:37:00 +0000

Has anyone been by the old TA bridge lately? I did a spontaneous super meta and super hipster little installation there when I visited on Thursday and am curious if it’s still intact. What’s the word?

one two six oh four: goodb[eye] to b[eye]ographies

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 05:00:00 +0000

goodb[eye] to b[eye]ographies:

Today I posted the last images to b[eye]ographies, the Vassar photo project I started a few months ago. Check out the photos here and then read my “thanks” page for some of my reflections on the project.

one two six oh four: Commencement Countdown: -9.5 hours! I’m officially an...

Mon, 23 May 2011 02:01:00 +0000

Commencement Countdown: -9.5 hours! I’m officially an alumna of Vassar College.

I will be posting a few illustrated farewells later in the week. Until then, know that it has been a pleasure sharing my Vassar adventures with my fantastic followers, fans, and friends, and I will truly miss the community that has supported me in my creative endeavors these past few years. Thank you all.

(Yes, that is an actual photograph of me. A 126O4 first!)

one two six oh four: Photo

Fri, 20 May 2011 22:48:15 +0000

one two six oh four: True Story #1: My pen is running out of ink! My apologies for...

Fri, 20 May 2011 22:44:00 +0000

True Story #1: My pen is running out of ink! My apologies for the faded appearance of the text in the middle.

True Story #2: In high school, I thought it was a great idea to repair my jeans with duct tape. It was not actually that great of an idea.

one two six oh four: This has a context.

Wed, 18 May 2011 18:54:00 +0000

This has a context.

one two six oh four: Hi, your blog is really neat, im glad i found it. I wanted to ask why your shirt occasionally has the initials VC on it? It makes me feel funny because its also my initials ^_^' Also what do you study?

Tue, 17 May 2011 15:06:00 +0000

Thanks! I’ve been looking around your blog, as well, and love what I see! I am majoring in computer science at Vassar College, hence the initials “VC.”

one two six oh four: Once upon a time, I had 368 days until graduation.

Tue, 17 May 2011 06:52:00 +0000

Once upon a time, I had 368 days until graduation.

one two six oh four: A very quick drawing, but something I’ve been meaning to...

Tue, 17 May 2011 06:40:00 +0000

A very quick drawing, but something I’ve been meaning to say on this blog for a long time.

one two six oh four: Likes & Dislikes

Sat, 14 May 2011 02:04:00 +0000

This is a response to a recent question from a prospective student, who asked:

I found your blog because I’m seriously considering going to Vassar for college. I haven’t visited or anything, but something just clicked when I first went on the website and stuff. It was magical. I don’t know why.
Can you tell me what you like and don’t like about Vassar? Especially from your point of view as a soon-to-be graduate. It’s just difficult getting objective truths from people who will be getting thousands of dollars from you.

Thanks for your comments on the blog! I know what you mean - the Vassar of the brochures and website is actually quite different, in my experience, from the Vassar of daily life. I cannot offer you any objective truths, nor even a consistent subjective view, as my opinion of Vassar changes every semester, every week, every hour. However, I’ll try to give you some of the larger impressions Vassar has left on me that I wouldn’t have gotten from any of the promotional admissions materials. (Update: Check out the comments on this post for another alumna’s opinion.)

LIKES:

Faculty/Student Relations

Vassar’s admissions materials boast about how awesome our small class sizes are, and it’s true! After spending a semester at a larger university, I became incredibly thankful for professors who actually know my name. Last week, I went to my major department’s annual spring picnic where two professors, whose classes I’ve taken in previous semesters, said something like, “I haven’t seen you around the department in a while! Why haven’t you been visiting us?” I was surprised that they actually noticed my relative absence this semester (I practically lived there in the fall). What’s great about Vassar (and a lot of schools of a similar size) is that professors not only know your name, but also know your mind and know you well enough to miss you. I think that’s pretty rad. It also makes you work harder - when professors are invested in your progress, you want to work hard and show them you’re not an idiot.

Campus

I wish I could give you less standard “Likes,” but honestly, in my last two weeks at Vassar, I am already feeling nostalgic for the campus. The unbelievably green grass and the spring bulbs sprouting up around me as I walk are almost enough for me to forget how gross campus gets during the winter (oh, it gets gross — invest in some good waterproof snow boots if you end up coming here). I am not really a person who is prone to frolicking or wearing crowns made of flowers, but those are the only things I want to do when I step outside my door these days. It is kind of ridiculous. I used to think Vassar’s campus was small and stifling, but this semester I’ve realized it was small only because I made it small. I tend to restrict my experience of it to just the few buildings I find it necessary to visit during my weekly routines. There are a lot of buildings I’ve never properly explored, and an embarrassingly high number of buildings I’ve never even entered! It makes me wonder what I’ve been missing.

Folks

We have a whistling a cappella group. A club that organizes semiannual hugathons. A guy who plays his accordion on the quad. People who jump through flaming hoops. There are individuals and organizations here that make life awesome for everyone else. Having encountered many others at Vassar and in the world beyond who do most things only for themselves, I am delighted whenever one of these infinitely uplifting groups makes a random, positive appearance in an otherwise dull or depressing day. Vassar has a lot of creative people, and it is always exciting to see how they go about sharing that creativity with the rest of the community.

Chili Day at the Retreat

The chili’s pretty good, even if the president sometimes decides it’s not what she wants. Also, spicy buffalo chicken wraps are delicious, assuming you’re not vegetarian/vegan.

Groundhogs

There are so many groundhogs around campus, and every time one stays still instead of running away as I walk past, I smile. I know that’s completely random, but you don’t find groundhogs at a lot of other schools, and they really contribute to the general atmosphere in ways you wouldn’t expect. (I am somewhat inclined to pay attention to campus wildlife because my elementary/middle school had peacocks!)

DISLIKES:

That “I don’t care” vibe

If you’ve read a fair amount of my blog, you’ve probably seen me complain a lot about hipsters. There is nothing inherently wrong with hipster (I often pass for a hipster and am okay with that). However, I’ve noticed that Vassar has a lot of the “negative hipster” personality - people who are snobby, self-righteous/self-centered, and/or seemingly incapable of genuine or positive communication with others. I’m not sure why Vassar attracts so many people of this type, but there seem to be a lot of people here who don’t seem to care about anyone else. That being said, there are a LOT of people who do care about others (see “Folks” above), but oftentimes it seems that the most vocal people are also the most obnoxious. I’m sure this is a problem at a lot of small liberal arts colleges, though it seems more pronounced here than I would expect it to be at, say, Swarthmore or Middlebury, I think because Vassar does have that hipster community, and certain subsets of that community like to be kind of standoffish. As an incoming freshman, I was surprised by how prominent this attitude was amongst Vassar students. I’ve gotten used to it, but I still find it strange.

Cliques

Growing up, I was always told that high school would be cliquey and college wouldn’t be - however, Vassar is far more cliquey than my high school and even middle school ever were! There are groups who will judge you, and there are groups with whom you will want to be friends, though you’ll never be able to find the right “in.” I have a fair amount of friends who I only ever see individually because I don’t seem to fit into their primary friend groups - this isn’t something I dislike about Vassar, it’s just an odd thing I’ve noticed over my time here.

Party culture

This is INCREDIBLY subjective, but oh well: I am not a party person. I personally don’t drink, don’t particularly care for the company of massive crowds of drunk people, and don’t really enjoy dancing. I respect that a lot of other students do not share my lifestyle, but I am oftentimes bothered by the emphasis the Vassar community places on these forms of entertainment & socializing. The most publicized events are sweaty campus-wide dance parties. As a student who does not choose to go to such events, I always end up feeling “lame” for choosing to spend an evening watching a movie instead - and I’ve actually gotten looks of outright disapproval from acquaintances when I’ve told them I skipped such-and-such event. The problem is not that Vassar has no alternative programming/events, just that those events are completely upstaged by the giant parties. I wish that the general student body was not SO obsessed with this dance party culture, as I think it alienates students who don’t fit into the Vassar mainstream social scene.

Poughkeepsie?

While I love Vassar’s campus, I don’t love how disconnected Vassar is from Poughkeepsie. When people venture off campus, they usually go to one of the restaurants within a four block radius, to the mall, or to the train station to visit New York City. Even though I am a New Yorker and used to walking several miles a day, at Vassar I feel particularly adventurous if I walk one mile to the Rite Aid on Main Street. It just seems so far beyond the average Vassar student’s walk off campus. It frustrates me that Vassar wraps itself up in a bubble. That being said, I know the college is actively trying to engage itself more with the area beyond its gates, so who knows what town-gown relations will be like in the upcoming years! The Vassar shuttle is great - it makes several daily stops around Poughkeepsie. However, having never ventured very far into the city, I don’t know what I would do if I got off the shuttle at any of those stops, save for the one at the train station. (The shuttle seems mostly geared towards students who do fieldwork at various places around the city.)

IN CONCLUSION:

If you have read this far, I congratulate you. This is by no means an exhaustive list of my Vassar likes and dislikes, but I am rather exhausted from typing it all out after a week of finals, and I imagine you’re exhausted from reading it, so I’ll just stop here. Again, this is all my personal opinion, which is constantly in flux. And a lot of what I like and dislike about Vassar can’t be articulated, just felt. But I hope I’ve helped a little bit, and if you have any more questions, I’d be happy to answer them!

one two six oh four: First of all, I LOVE your blog. You have some serious talent.
I found your blog because I'm seriously considering going to Vassar for college. I haven't visited or anything, but something just clicked when I first went on the website and stuff. It was magical. I don't know why.
Can you tell me what you like and don't like about Vassar? Especially from your point of view as a soon-to-be graduate. It's just difficult getting objective truths from people who will be getting thousands of dollars from you.

Sat, 14 May 2011 02:01:00 +0000

Hi! My response to your question ended up being several paragraphs long, so I’ve put it in my next post. Thank you for your comments and your question! Good luck with the college admissions process.

one two six oh four: Commencement Countdown: 9 days

Fri, 13 May 2011 23:24:00 +0000

Commencement Countdown: 9 days

one two six oh four: Impressing your friends during finals week

Mon, 02 May 2011 22:10:00 +0000

Impressing your friends during finals week:

Since tomorrow is my last day of classes ever, it seems like a good time to repost my guide to impressing your friends during finals week. Enjoy!

(01 down, 11 to go!)

one two six oh four: Photo

Mon, 02 May 2011 22:04:25 +0000

one two six oh four: Approaching the end...

Mon, 02 May 2011 01:22:00 +0000

I am amazed at how much things have come full circle. When I filled out my Vassar application a little over four years ago, I decided to use the optional “Your Space” section to show off some of the cartoons I created during my two years as cartoonist for my high school’s newspaper. In a two-page illustrated introduction entitled “How I became my newspaper’s cartoonist,” I wrote:

In middle school, I started drawing cartoons of myself bitterly reflecting on life’s awkward moments. I liked drawing cartoon versions of real-life events, but no one else could relate to them because they were my accounts of what happened in my life. I wanted to find a way to connect with others through my new expressive medium, the cartoon. … [As my high school newspaper’s cartoonist], I learned how to create cartoons that express my own thoughts but at the same time pertain to the school’s community.

one two six oh four: Check out Vassar's homepage today (4/29)!

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:21:00 +0000

Check out Vassar's homepage today (4/29)!:

Many thanks to my fairy godparents in the Office of Communications for making my dream from early April a reality.

- - -

Update: For those of you who missed it, here’s a screenshot of Vassar’s homepage on April 29th.

one two six oh four: Photo

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 03:37:00 +0000

one two six oh four: Photo

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 03:20:00 +0000

one two six oh four: Photo

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 03:14:00 +0000

illustrations by cordelia: Skype

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:29:28 +0000

illustrations by cordelia: March 25th, 2011

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:56:13 +0000

illustrations by cordelia: I’ve never liked February.

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:13:47 +0000

illustrations by cordelia: So what if you hate birthdays and I love them?

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:41:37 +0000

So what if you hate birthdays and I love them? There are worse things to disagree over.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with drawing googley-eyes on my characters instead of my typical single circle per eye. I’m impressed by the range of facial expressions this subtle shift in my drawing style has opened up. The following cartoon is as much a study of facial expressions as it is anything else. I am just so smitten by the first panel!

illustrations by cordelia: Remember when?

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 04:03:06 +0000

illustrations by cordelia: Watches

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 04:45:48 +0000

Oh, glorious anachronisms!

(Actually, I just Googled it, and there are several apps for that!)

(Actually, he informs me, “They don’t work as well.”)

illustrations by cordelia: Hands

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 22:24:14 +0000

illustrations by cordelia: Our hands behind our backs

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 22:17:12 +0000

illustrations by cordelia: Chocolate truffles

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 22:16:19 +0000

illustrations by cordelia: Sketch of the Redhead as she works

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 22:08:56 +0000