ghosts.

In the class where we took trips to NYC and California, we also did a collaborative painting project.

The rule was this: We could paint anything we wanted, but my teacher, Joe Ostraff (who is so wonderful) could paint over it, scrape or sand it off, and ultimately have full creative control.

All of them are to be shown in galleries and Joe will split the profits between all of us after taking out the cost of the materials.

I started out trepidaciously and played it safe. Nothing bold; every stroke could be painted over very easily.

A couple of weeks ago, Joe told us each to choose a painting and finish it. He was still going to have ultimate control, but he wanted us to get one as close as possible to what we thought "finished" was.

Story crux, mine made the cut, and here it is. It looks better now that it's sealed with beeswax; maybe I'll put a new image up sometime.

My graphic design teacher said I should include it in my design portfolio.

Explanation: I was thinking about how soldiers spend an enormous portion of their lives training how to not get killed. There must be a huge sense of invincibility associated with that.