As of Late

I have not posted in quite some time. I have been at a loss for what to even blab about on here. I sometimes wonder if this blog is nothing more then an outlet for my frustrations, my successes, even if they are just tiny glimpses of something that may or may not turn into something bigger. First item of business, I graduated from college. Wait let me say it again. I am a college graduate. I still don't think it has set in quite yet. It's a strange feeling to comprehend. I have been going to school straight since I started kindergarten and now it seems so final to be graduated from college. I don't know if I'm feeling this way because I now have to make some big decisions, or that these decisions are bigger then any I have ever made. Not to mention that these decisions are now pressing on my conscience telling it that they need to be made, and made well if I ever want to achieve the things I want. Is the way I am feeling natural, or normal? I feel like I am stuck in a box that I put myself in and now I have somehow forgotten how to get out of this claustrophobic state I am in. None of this will make sense to any of you, I am almost sure of it. Well for now I will try to remain positive about my not so certain, not so far off future. In any case I would like to show you some things from the past few weeks. Small steps. That is what I have to do if I want to accomplish anything.

First. Graduation

First of all. I would not have made it to where I am if it were not for my family. My parents have helped me through school and been so generous to help me with the things I couldn't do myself. I am so grateful that they inspired me to get an education and to further it even past my undergraduate degree. Steve has been such a great example to me. He is so smart and incredibly positive with his schooling. He has always believed in me and I can't imagine how I would have made it through my last year of school without his support. Secondly, I have made some amazing friends here at Utah State. I feel extra lucky because I did a dual emphasis and in turn had the opportunity to get to know all the fine artists and the designers. It has been so great to build friendships. I really will miss all of my friends that are moving on. Luckily I can be selfish and keep a few for the next year I am here in Logan.

Pictured above: 1. Steve and Me 2. All of my family who came 3. Printer friends 4. Me and Steve enjoying my first magnum ice cream bar here in the states. It was a perfect way to end the day. 5. My parents and me 6. My favorite professor Kathy

(Just a side note... my camera somehow got a fingerprint on it during our walk across campus, so most of my pictures have a huge blurry smudge on them... Depressing. That is why none of my design friends aren't pictured. I still love you all.)

Second. Letterpress Class

I am so lucky to be able to be taking a letterpress class over the summer at the University of Utah. My Dad is taking the class with me as well as my friend Mandy from Design. I have been to two classes so far. It is pretty overwhelming. Lots of rules and information. Kind of an overload. I can't wait until we get some freedom to create! The great thing is, after you take the class you can have access to their facilities! I am so excited to be able to continue using them. Hopefully I will be able to do so. We will see how it goes!

Third. Some Random Design

I have been trying to find things to do with design to further my knowledge and skill. I love doing projects and It is kind of nice to be able to do whatever I want. I made this poster for my cousin and his fiance who are getting married in a week. I wanted to give them something they could hang that wasn't too cheesy. I really loved how it turned out.  I think I shall make more?

Fourth. Tucker

My Sis-in-Law Jenn had to take a class this summer. It was only for two weeks, so she ended up coming and staying with us for some of that time. It has been so much fun watching him. He is such a firecracker. We did so many fun things and laughed so hard. This kid has got some character. It was so much fun having Jenn up here too. It isn't often that we get to hang out. I miss having her and my brother up here in Logan.

Portfolio Box

Well, I finished. Well almost. My Senior BFA show.... actually one of two BFA shows was on Friday night. Call me nerdy, or an overachiever, whichever you prefer, but I am incredibly happy that I decided to do a dual emphasis in Printmaking and Graphic Design. I love them both so much! I have made so many friends in both areas and had an incredible education in both areas. I know people think that the arts is a "fun" or "easy" major, but that is absurd. Ask anybody who actually knows the work that we put into art and design, they will tell you it is anything but easy. Moving on...

The BFA show was a huge success. There were hundreds of people who came. Literally. It was such a great night! I had a box made for my portfolio. It is beautiful. Mike Atha over at Restoration Books made it for me. He is incredibly talented and has really beautiful work. I am so pleased with how it turned out. Here is the outside with my logo.

I decided I wanted to use both design and printmaking to make my box.  I really wanted to incorporate my prints.... so I had Mike use my prints to line the box. I think it turned out really nice.

I also did the same for my cards. I used a woodcut print on one side and printed the other and mounted them on illustration board. I love how they turned out. I really like having things you can touch. It was a lot of work but I LOVE how they turned out. I made about 70 of these and only had 2 left. I think people really liked them, I guess I'll have to make some more?

DIY Anthropologie Necklace for a fraction of the cost

I have some really great friends. Printmaking friends. I really could not survive without them. We have a lot of fun and work our butts off in the studio. My fellow printers and I came up with this craft and decided we should make this to wear over our robes at graduation. We are pretty random, I know. Alisa, Lisie, Sarah Jane and our professor Kathy and I made these at our print jam (Long A nights at the studio where we have delicious food and print our little hearts out) the other night. I love that we all collaborated this idea. Lisie came up with the initial idea to make these and it turned into something amazing!

Yes. We will be wearing these over our robes. And maybe hanging a strand from our ugly brown tassel? Who thought that was a good idea?

You want to learn? It's so easy

All you will need:

PAPERCLIPS

GLUE 
(I used Tacky glue and watered it down a tad and used a paint brush to apply it to the paper.

PAPER You can use drawer liner too. It doubles as the paper and the glue, since one side is sticky.
Cut the paper into 1" x 1.5" pieces. We decided to tear up some of our prints and use them for it. We thought it was fitting, being printmakers and all. Do a few tests, because the thickness of the paper will determine how long you will want to make the paper. I found the thinner the paper the easier it is to bend around and keep it glued. Just make sure it is sturdy enough when you put glue on it.

Here is a visual a whipped up for those of you who learn that way, with some detailed instructions below.

1. Gather all needed materials

2. The first layer should be the shortest one. Hook together 13 paper clips. (Measure the length you want the smallest layer to be and adjust accordingly) You want them all to be attached before you start wrapping the paper around the clips.

3. Apply glue to the back of the paper and wrap around each paperclip on that row.

4. Make more! Continue to add one additional paperclip for every new row, so it will increase in length.

5. Make as many or as little rows as you like. You can also do funky patterns, like this one found at Anthropologie by Lauren Manoogian. (did you see that price tag??? Unbelievable. I love Anthropologie but hello, can anybody really justify buying a necklace for 80 dollars. I couldn't bear the guilt.)
Once you have all of the rows made, attach them all to a single paperclip, do this for both ends. I added a third clip in the middle to give the neck a little more length and then covered those three with paper.

You could get really creative with this. Ours is freakishly colorful, but I love it. You could do some nice soft colors as well to fit this season's color fads.

ENJOY

Chronicle Dreams

I will be graduating in under 3 weeks. This still baffles me. I know I mention this far too often. I sort of feel like a really annoying broken record. This is my life though so I guess I'll just go on and share. Feel free to just look at the pretty pictures if you'd rather.  I seriously never understood why people freak out and complain when they are graduating. I always thought I would be so calm and composed when the time came for me to move on. Apparently several sodas a Cafe Rio salad (forced down with a swirling stomach of stress and anxiety) and a good sob later... I realize I am kinda loosing my cool here. I don't have a plan, which at moments in my life feels really exciting, but then again its frightening. Especially since I am kind of stuck in Logan for the next year. First of all, job hunting is miserable. I walked into a bunch of places yesterday that I don't even care to work at, only to be greeted by frowning, sometimes terribly rude employees telling me they aren't hiring but I can turn in an application anyway. There really is no second of all just stress about the first of all. To give credit the man at Hobby Lobby was very gracious, but again, not hiring. Anyway, since all of my hopes and dreams aren't suddenly appearing as a walk on graduation day, I'll just tell you about my dream.

I have had this dream that seems untouchable and unreachable for a while now. I guess you could call it a secret dream, I really do get warm tingles at the thought of myself working for this company. I am in LOVE with Chronicle Books. I love everything I see on their site. Books like these...

I get all giddy when I see the wonderful designs of the covers and dream about what treasures I'd find inside. I have mentioned before I have a slight addiction to books. You add in creative design and well, you don't get any better then that. I would absolutely love to work for them and live in San Francisco. It would really be a dream. Maybe I will find myself in reach of this dream someday, but until then I will just drool over all the books I want to buy. Drool with me here.  If only I had the money.... or the decisiveness to choose just one.

Wednesday Thinkers

Lately I have been having these really great original, world changing thoughts go through my head when I am trying to fall asleep, or while taking shower, and I never write them down. I am currently sitting here kicking myself trying to think of the one that came to me this morning. I even thought to myself while thinking it, "I think I'll blog about this." I've been stirring my brain trying to revive the thought for the last 20 minutes. It is driving me nuts. I really should write them down. They are always so clever and quirky. Little tidbits that just make me grin dimple to dimple. I guess they were never meant for anyone's mind but my own. Maybe that is best. Maybe I would send them out into the inter-webs and realize they weren't as amazing as i had imagined them in my mind. I guess we may never know the answers to those little questions.

Today is Wednesday. A dreaded day in my week. Not because of stress or circumstance, but because of the exceptionally long and lethargic boredom which I face every afternoon. Six straight hours at the library. I know this sounds like a cake walk, but it is not. I guess that phrase doesn't really make sense to me, this in no way would compare to walking around eating a delicious piece of cake. So I must correct that thought before it leaves the fibers of your brain by saying, I would give anything for a piece of cake right now. Even a boring, bland piece of cake with no delicious frosting or sprinkles. I have however enjoyed my job here at the library despite my negativity on the subject and the increasing amount of helpless adolescents. It is time. Time to move on.

I have reached that inevitable point that comes with any low paying, part time job in customer service. I have worked here for 5 years now. Yes you heard me right FIVE... YEARS. I need to find another job. I don't want some meaningless part time job, but as time moves more steadily forward, I find myself without connections to something better, so it is looking like my only option at the moment. I need a miracle people. I need someone to call me up and offer me an amazing job I can't resist. Does that ever happen? I really wish it did. Job hunting is something I highly detest, as do most people with a sane state of mind. You could have guessed as much when I told you I have worked at the same job for five whole years now.  So on I go to find the perfect job. Send some luck my way pretty please.  *little side note. I added this sentence so there wouldn't be an orphan on this line. I am so design savvy.