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I’ve said this many times before, and now I’ll say it again: Spring Arbor University has the best community for Christian fellowship. Ever!

One example of that community: the recently engaged couple – Heather Carlson and Spencer Langley.

The lovely couple! :)

I was able to take their engagement photos just the other day and my fiance’ was able to tag along, so that just makes things twice as fun. We were all able to laugh together and just enjoy hanging out for the afternoon. It was refreshing to see a part of the body of Christ come together for the benefit of each other. That is my favorite piece of what SAU has to offer. The body of Christ is always there for you. The community here is so strong! I know that Julie, my fiance’, has greatly benefited by her friendship with Heather, and it was just awesome to be able to see Christ’s love through His followers.

So, if you come visit campus soon, be sure to congratulate Heather and Spencer! They are awesome and I wish them all of the happiness in the world!

May God bless their relationship in the upcoming months, and may God bless you in all that you encounter!

- Mark

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One of the few stresses that can sneak up on art students is the End of Semester show. I have talked about this several times in my previous posts, and yet still, some students let the stress of this show overcome them. I have seen this happen in the past so I always made it a personal goal to never let this event get the better of me.

A sneak peek of what I'll be entering into the show!

For those of you who haven’t been avid readers of my blog, the End of Semester show is an event for all art students to enter up to four pieces of work to be judged and, if chosen, hung in the gallery until the next semester. The reason it is stressful is because the student must frame and mat their piece before the judge sees their piece. Now framing and matting may sound easy, but there are specific guidelines to follow for the process and it can be very easy to mess up!

So I’ve learned to get this process done as early as possible, and that’s been fantastic for me the past few years. Right now, my pieces are sitting under my desk, fully framed and ready for the show almost two weeks in advance.

Here’s your lesson for the day: Procrastination -  it’s not always a good thing!

God bless!

- Mark

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One thing I love about practicing photography, as I have said in many previous posts, is that I get to hang out with some of the coolest people while doing what I love. This weekend has been proof of that! The Music Department at Spring Arbor University has been wanting to update the photos hanging in the hallway. They are photos from when my brother was a freshman at SAU, which was about five years ago. So they are in need of being updated!

One of the awesome musicians who was hanging out the other day!

So they reached out to me and asked if I would take some photos for ‘em. Of course, I said yes! So on Saturday, the photo studio was full of musicians and friends and it was an absolute blast! It was awesome to see a merging of the arts (fine art and music) and to see it all coming together. The Music Department wanted a specific style to the photos, so that’s why everyone is silhouetted.

Hopefully, when you come to visit, the photos in the Music building will have been updated to these very awesome musicians. But, of course, there is much more to SAU’s campus than a few photos! Come stop by and I would love to show you!

God bless

- Mark

P.S. – if you wanna see the photos from this weekend, just click here

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One of the things I love about Spring Arbor University, and I tell this to people ALL the time, is that they never disappoint when it comes to concerts on campus. In the past, SAU has booked bands like Thousand Foot Krutch, Family Force 5, Everyday Sunday, Needtobreathe, and many others. Well, this spring, SAU outdid themselves because they were able to book Switchfoot! (I was super excited because they are my all-time, favorite band!)

Switchfoot!! SWITCHFOOT!!

I was able to be a part of the whole process this past Friday as I was asked to help set up the stage. So I showed up to the Fieldhouse at 7:00am along with a handful of other students. It was a blast. After setup, I went back to my apartment to grab my press pass and my camera and just wait and wait for the band!

This is the second time I’ve seen Switchfoot live, and man, they never disappoint! Jon Foreman, the lead singer, has an amazing stage presence and I always enjoy seeing him and the band perform.

If you would like to see some of the photos snapped from that night, feel free to check them out here

If you missed the concert, let that be a lesson to you: Never skip an SAU concert. They are always top-notch!

God bless

- Mark

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The end of the semester is closing in… Crazy! I can’t believe this school year is almost over!

Just a part of my printed portfolio

With the end of the semester inching closer every day, each person in every major tends to have some big final projects/exams coming in. For art majors, the end of the semester brings printing, especially for graphic design and photography concentrations, which just happen to be both of my concentrations. We print out our portfolios for our professors to evaluate and critique, so the printing process is kind of important. I have always tried to get printing done early because it can get kind of hectic towards the end of the year when all of your art friends are trying to print their portfolios, at the same time that you are printing.

So, this past week I did my best to print out everything I needed to and I have gotten all but two projects completed. Now all that’s left to prepare for is the end of the semester art show and for that, I’ll need to be on the outlook for my frames!

The end of the semester can get a little crazy, for everyone. Just remember to lean on Him for a peace that passes understanding!

God bless!

- Mark

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This semester has certainly been challenging. Each class I am enrolled in presents its own unique challenge that pushes me in some way. One class that has recently been pushing me is my speech class.

Our most recent project in speech has been to find a cause to support, donate five dollars to the class project, and when all of the speeches have been given, we will vote on a cause to donate all of the money to.  When our professor announced this project, I immediately knew what my cause would be.

The chance to minister to these kids is just amazing!

This past summer, I had the privilege of working at SpringHill Day Camps. It was truly a life changing experience that I will never forget. I support SpringHill because, rather than throwing all of our attention overseas to third-world countries, (Which also, certainly, need our help!) they take their ministry to the back yard of America and serve kids that are in need. Day Camps is a unique camp experience because it is a traveling camp. We set up camp at a different church every week and are able to bring the ministry right to the kids, rather than having them travel for hours to another camp.

SpringHill Day Camps is expanding, aggressively. Last summer, there were four teams: three in Michigan, and one in Indiana. This summer, there are four teams in Michigan, one in Indiana, one in Ohio, and one in Illinois. And next year, there will be even more teams, ministering to kids in your back-yard.

To help SpringHill, you can visit here: https://www.springhillcommunity.com/donate

God bless!

- Mark

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