A Wooden Vessel

As soon as we turned in our photo project we started onto the next one, a wooden box. We were suppose to choose a small object that has special meaning to us to make a box for it to be held in. The box has to be 4 to 8 inches long or wide, so the object can't be very big in size and we have to bring it to studio every day. We've been sketching and designing with foam core to brainstorm options.

foam core brainstorming
We were told to stack the foam core and cut it as we would with the band saw when we were working with the actual wood. I had already narrowed down my item to a Jayhawk pin my grandma gave me out of my three options: Jayhawk pin, Chi Omega necklace, and my ring. Below you can see three of my foam core box ideas.

During class when I brought my three foam core ideas, a fellow classmate thought of placing my hill idea on top of my third box idea to create all one box. 

With the snow days we have had canceling two of our studio days, we have been a little behind schedule. I have glued my wood together but I have yet to start cutting the wood and am still working on cutting out my foam core.

A New Opportunity

I am thrilled to be the new t-shirt designer for my sorority, Chi Omega. My first duty in this role was to design t-shirts for our upcoming crush date party and mardi gras themed party with a fraternity here on campus. I had designed them a week or so ago and the orders finally went out today, so I am very excited to share them with you. I think this position will be a great experience and I can't wait to see my designs on shirts! Below I have included the screen shot from the order form so you can see what it looks like on the shirt, but I'll also include an image of the PDF file so you can get a better look at the design. Please disregard the "note" section of the PDF files, they were just so the company knew what fonts to use.

// for our "Chi O Crush" date party: long sleeved salmon tee

// we also made the design available in a half-zip gray sweatshirt

// the second t-shirt, for our mardi gras themed party

A Photo Story

This morning in class I turned in my final photo collage mounted on foam core board and I am more than pleased with how my final critique went. I knew how much I loved the collage and the story behind it, but my teacher and fellow classmates could have easily disagreed.

// Behind the Collage
The idea for this work came from the reality of the busy college student. While I myself feel as I am continually balancing many different assignments, tests, e-mails, meals, etc. the same vibe definitely bounces through buildings on campus such as the library, Chi O, and probably any academic building on campus. College students lead busy lives, and this is exactly the idea I wanted to portray through the collage. The setting was in a study room at Chi Omega which luckily included a beautiful chandelier, window pan view, nice chairs, and my good friend Sarah was willing to pose for me whenever I needed to take photos. While it looks like Sarah is sitting at a large conference table, that is actually just an illusion through the collage. It's just a mid size circle study table, but the large one in the collage is one of my favorite parts of the work that I did not originally intend on. While I could go on for hours about different aspects of the collage, I'll leave the rest up to you and your imagination.

// Process Notebook
One of my favorite parts of every project is making the Process Notebook. Hence, why I'm a graphic design major. While it's very time consuming (perhaps a love/hate relationship... mostly love) I always enjoy the process. I've been experimenting with size in my process notebooks and with this one I wanted to mimic the size of Teen Vogue, as I have always been a fan of that convenient size (6.75" x 9"). Below I'll share a photo of the front cover and click it to download a PDF version of my approx. 30 page book. You won't regret it.

//Note: Once you click the photo, it should bring you to a screen that says "No Preview Available"
because the file is too big but just click "Download anyways". Then it will say the file is too big to
scan for virus', but click "Download" and you should be good to go. Also, you have to be logged into
a google account to view the PDF.

Wednesday.

I can't believe I'm already done with my first project this semester, time is flying by. While I'm complete with the final photo collage & process notebook, first I want to take this post to show you more of the along the way process of creating the final collage.

I decided to use my "busy college student" as my idea for the final photo collage. After two more rough draft collages from my previous post, I then took more photos and did some more idea hunting to make it even better.

I started out by just laying out the pictures section by section. I printed them 4x6" matte finish at Walmart and the back is a foam core board mounted it on. To start, I just placed them on the board.

After laying out all of the pictures how I liked them, I then used clear scotch tape on the top to hold them in place for class the next day. This was not how I would mount them for my final, but it would do for now.

A little editing and rearranging went into the collage the next day during studio.

There are some slight differences from when I had it collaged the night before such as the table and Sarah's arms which some were moved to accent the table.

Double sided sticky tape was used to mount the photos.

I used my x-acto knife to trim around the edges.

And there it is! The final collage.

I'm also really excited about my process notebook so I'll share that in a later post. A big thanks to Sarah Morris for modeling for this project. She was so chill about it and always was ready to model for me whenever I needed her! I am really happy with how this project turned out.

And finally, a quote for inspiration.

"That's what great artists do. That's what great people do. They ask it. They say it. They express it. They out in words what so many others are thinking and feeling and wondering. They affirm that you aren't the only one having this experience." [Rob Bell]

Back to School

We've been back at school for a couple weeks now and I figured it was about time I post an update on our current BDS 102 (basic design studies) studio project.

First project of the semester: a photo collage documenting time & space.
Restrictions: 4" x 6" photo prints (matte finish) must be used to create a photo collage mounted on a board as the final product. a minimum of 35 photos must be used.
Objective: to build and understanding and show photography's unique relationship with time & space by showing and perhaps altering both.

Our first step was thinking out idea possibilities and I also used the brainstorming period as a time for some rough sketches. After discussing possible subject and scene ideas in class, we were asked to bring in three different rough draft collages today to class. Below you can see my rough draft collages from class today paired with my very ROUGH and quick sketches from initial brainstorming.

The idea behind it: this simple task of making your morning cup of coffee is given life through photography with multiple scenes and movement of the girl.

The idea behind it: the life of a busy college student becomes portrayed through the collage by showing all the activities a student might partake in during one sitting.

The idea behind it: this idea was altered from the sketch to the collage. The idea behind the photo collage became a traveler whom is always moving during all seasons, and two other seasons would be portrayed through clothing choice in the final collage.

After discussing my collages with my teacher and classmates I have decided to expand upon my second idea of the busy college student for more practice collages.

Along with this assignment we have had many in-class videos and well as readings. Rather than share the load of them with you, I decided to pick the notes from my favorite video we've seen so far to share.  The video is actually one we watched in class today and can be seen by clicking this link. Errol Morris, a photographer, discusses what we've lost in photography and here were some of my key notes:
1. We've lost the idea that a photograph is a part of the world.
2. Sometimes a photo can be posed because of the absence of something. (ex. when you choose what you're including in a photograph what you've cropped outside the frame is gone therefore the scene is edited).
3. Morris discussed the lack of asking questions when seeing photographs such as what they are, what they are about, and what is going on in the scene. He explained this by saying, "aren't you curious of what you're looking at?"

Coffee & Design. The two best things.

Over winter break I had the privilege of designing a logo for KU Navigators, a student ministry on campus. I was told to be creative but also was given examples of past Navigators logos. It was a really fun project to keep me busy over break and I love the end results. Not to mention, I got a free coffee mug out of the deal! You can see the final product below.

I used the mug today for the first time while working on some homework!
It was exciting to see my design on a real product.

Classes have started and I feel just as busy as I was during the end of the semester last fall! So expect some exciting design and studio updates in the future because our first project for BDS 102 is well underway.

// Hope your thursday is wonderful!

Party like the Brits

My friends and I were a few of the many who stayed up till four in the morning or however late it was to watch the royal wedding a few years ago. So of course when my good friend Abbie mentioned having a baby shower for Will & Kate over break, I jumped on the idea. I mean who wouldn't want an excuse to talk in a british accent and wear a fun hat? So Abbie and I co-hosted a baby shower for Will and Kate. And for two college girls who don't have kids or have ever planned a baby shower I think we did a great job. It was a smashing affair.

I designed the invitations for the party

Abbie and I (the hosts) thought a photobooth would be a hit at the party. We designed a british backdrop (the flag decor, pillow, and framed pictures of Will & Kate) as well as designed british baby shower props to make the photobooth a little more fun.

Instead of asking guests to bring a gift, we asked everyone to bring a snack to share.

The photobooth was a hit! And the props made it extra fun.

Game #1: Guess that celebrity baby. (The photo on screen is Kate Middleton!)

Game #2: we provided cut out features of Will & Kate so our guests could piece together what the royal baby will look like. The winners of the "cutest baby" won photos of Will & Kate.

The party was so much fun! I didn't hate getting to talk in a British accent for at least two hours. And now I have some great british decor for my room... so it was a win-win situation.