this american life

I'd just like to say that I am madly in love with the radio program This American Life. It is always thought provoking, entertaining and downright awesome. I love that it portrays real people telling real stories and conveys truth about every aspect of humanity. I love listening to it as I work and I advise anyone who hasn't listened to go to thisamericanlife.org and listen to one of the shows online. Or you can download their podcasts from iTunes too.
Do it. You won't be sorry.

last week of class

It's the last week of my summer class. Honestly, I'm quite sad to see it end. If I could, I'd keep it going for another month until Fall semester started. It's so nice to enjoy a class so much. I have felt so productive this summer which is a huge change from last summer. I couldn't find a job and with only one class I had way too much free time on my hands. Most of my friends did have jobs and other priorities so I was left to myself and although I made plans in my mind to do many things, it didn't happen. The thing I love about classes is that I have a serious motivation to get things done and do my best. I constantly think of projects to do in my free time and things I want to improve upon but without the motivator that someone will see it and grade it, I often let those slip to the bottom of my to do list. I'd like to change that about myself and I'm hoping to truly challenge myself in the month of August with no classes and many exciting projects I could do on my own free time. The fact that it will help me improve as a designer and artist should be motivation enough. Wish me luck!

july updates

It's almost two weeks into July and I've been hard at work making books and enjoying life. This weekend I've been working on my second themed book assignment which is a how to book. It could be about anything we wanted and in any one of the book forms I have made in the class so far. I chose to create a book about how to do sun salutations, a warm up exercise in yoga. I also decided to illustrate the yoga poses by painting them digitally in photoshop which I had never done before. I feel pretty good with it considering it's my first time painting that way and I certainly plan to practice more.
I'm getting it printed tomorrow and then I will bind it together to be ready to turn in come classtime. I hope it turns out alright, and that the boards I created will be the right size for the width of the paper. I wish I had done a trial before hand, which I did for printing, but the paper I plan to have it printed on is much thicker than the paper in the printer and so it wouldn't be an acurate portrayal of the book. I have definitely gotten practice making mock ups at my internship.
Speaking of my internship, I got to go to a photoshoot last week for John Deere Boots and their upcoming catalog. It was on a farm on the outskirts of Nashville and despite the bug bites and and heat, I had a really great time! My creative director and art director were there and talked to me about the process and all the things they had to learn, consider and plan to bring the photoshoot to fruition. When I worked for my father's marketing firm I was able to go on photoshoots before, but they were all in studios so this was a new learning experience. So the month is going well and I expect it to keep going well. Class has only 2 weeks left and then I'm heading to the beach for a little vacation which will be very nice. I'm so grateful for this summer.

where did it go?

June is almost over. Where on earth did the month go?
Thankfully, I feel like I have gotten much accomplished with my bookmaking class and my internship. I finished my first theme book for my class, which had to be about home. My parents are divorced and I have lived in about 20 places between the two of them so I decided to focus on the idea that if home is where the heart is, that mine will always be divided. I'm pretty happy with the result. I created a slotted accordion book and drew simple line drawings of each of the houses I lived in. One side illustrates my mother's homes and the other shows my father's. My father's houses are painted in blue and my mother's in red. The homes I have lived in on my own are purple. I painted them with water color, and purposely made the look a bit messy to illustrate the idea that it is the memory of my homes as well as my home life being messy while I grew up. I call it "It seems mine is divided," and each of the covers shows half of a heart and half of a house which you can bring together to make the whole. My camera cord has gone missing but when I find it I'll post photos of the book.
This was a fun project and I liked creating the visual narrative. Our next book is themed around how to do something and it can be anything we want, serious or funny. I am still brainstorming, and thinking about what I want to do. We will see!
I'm also thinking about other side projects I can create with my newfound knowledge of bookmaking. I was thinking I could make little notebooks and journals, and give them out as gifts...or maybe even sell them at next year's yartsale. I also want to get back into making jewelry again. So many plans, and so little time.

a pretty saturday

It's a lovely day today, nice warm weather and I have been fortunate enough to get outside and enjoy it. I got to sleep in a little this morning, made breakfast and then went to Centennial park with my boyfriend for a nice walk to enjoy the day. Today is one of those days where life seems effortless and there are no reasons to be unhappy. I've been working on a freelance project this afternoon, a logo for a a comic book store that operates online. Last week I went to a book store than was nearby to look at comics since I am personally not familiar with them other than knowing the popular superheroes, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and so on. But I was looking at all the books and sketching in the little coffee shop inside the book store when I guy approaches me and points to one of the books I am looking at, and said, "My work is in that book," and from there I learned he was a comic artist working for DC Comics and who graduated from SCAD. He told me a lot about comics and the opportunities he had been given. He showed me other artist's work and even pictures of his wife and son. It was one of those chance meetings where you meet someone new and have a really nice, genuine conversation, and this one was particularly helpful for me in developing ideas for my logo project. I love meeting other creatives who are open, and easy to talk to. It's just so nice.
Anyways, I'm going to head outdoors again, this day is just too pretty.

experimenting

Lately I've been trying to experiment... stretch myself, try new things, etc. Sometimes it is good and sometimes its not so good. Today it has been a little of both. One of the other students in the design program had the idea to put together a design potluck which I arranged. We met together for the first time with students and professors from Watkins in the design department. We ate, caught up...talked about design. The other purpose of the potluck is to work on design projects together, to get one another's input and feedback. We didn't do much work today, but I kind of expected it to be more social. It was fun though, I always enjoy spending time with friends. Nest time we meet it will be more work oriented.
Tonight, I've been trying to experiment. And like I said it has been good and bad. Good because I finally beat my thoughts and just did it already, grabbed some old canvases I purchased months ago and just started putting random stuff on them. I collect things constantly thinking I can use them and then I don't want to cut them up. But then it was bad because I began to feel pressure for a project that has no rhyme or reason other than to help me not to feel pressure. I suppose this is only natural when you're trying new things and trying to break mental habits of pressuring yourself. It doesn't matter what I make, all that matters is that I made it and benefited in even the smallest way, most likely that I tried something new and found out if I like it or not.

Bulletproof methods to get over creativity block

I am obsessed with SmashingMagazine.com. I discovered it this past semester and it is a blog I check every day because it is filled with incredible design goodness or every imaginable kind. I came across an article today where they interviewed 50 designers and asked them all the same questions. I liked these suggestions that they offered for getting past those blocks where creative thoughts won't seem to come to be.

1. Change the perspective: go away.
   Go someplace “different” from your usual haunts, away from places where you take every object, interaction or decoration for granted. Step away from the computer. Go for a walk, head to the gym, or just sleep on the problem. You’ll come back refreshed and with a new outlook on the task at hand.
2. Get inspired.
   Be a continuous feedback loop. That means continuous input: reading books and blogs, attending talks and conferences, using the medium you design for. It also means continuous output: writing books and blogs, speaking at conferences, designing.
3. Listen to music.
   Listen to music. Music is an equal blend of emotion and analysis. If you let yourself be inspired by it, you’ll often be astonished at the results.
4. Observe the world.
   Take a deep breath, stand up from your computer, and go somewhere you’ve never been before — a cafe, an exhibition … Prague. Go lie down in the park and just stare at the world. Let your mind truly relax and forget about things like the bills, and the rest of it all — suddenly your creativity will kick into overdrive.
5. Do something entirely different.Do something else entirely. Look at things that have nothing necessarily to do with web design. Get inspiration off-screen.
6. Seek for a new approach.
   Sketch as you go, start over, beat favourite sites in simplicity, consider what would other designers do, refresh your canvas, observe other people using a similar service you’re designing.
7. Put creative work on hold.
   Put the task or project down and either take a break from work altogether or perform some tasks that require no creativity (like bookkeeping or organization tasks) and distract your conscious mind from the challenges.
8. Communicate.
   Go off the grid. Talk to human beings. In person. Do something out of the ordinary, out of character. Give your brain a chance to regroup and hit it with some fresh stimuli.
9. Train your creativity.Force yourself to *do* something creative every day. It can be anything: writing, drawing, shooting photos, etc. The idea is to get into the habit of being creative every day.