One Year (whoops)

I haven't been on here in quite a while. I tried moving my art blog to Tumblr (I like the freedom you get with designing your layout) but it eventually disolved into more of a personal blog. It's hard to avoid silliness on that site. I'm also growing frustrated with my Flickr because I'm not satisfied with most of the work I have there but I can't bring myself to delete them all.

From now on I'm keeping my Flickr to show progress, my Cargo to display my best work and this blog to both display work and describe my process.

A lot has happened in the year (yikes!) since I last posted here. I failed to find work last summer but was able to relax and spend time with friends and family before leaving for college. The summer was almost too long as RISD doesn't start until 3 weeks after most other schools. However I met a group of other freshman online in early August and we bonded through video chat, so I didn't feel entirely alone when I arrived at RISD. Most of the group has stuck together and they have become great friends of mine.

My first semester was very difficult. Having gone to the pre-college program I was expecting to be thoroughly challenged, but I still struggled. My biggest problem here is that I work more slowly than most and one week is usually not enough to get a finished product that I'm proud of. The fall -> winter months were definitely a transition period for me.

(strangely enough, my 3D studios have been my favorite classes while drawing has been my least favorite)

After winter break, RISD starts a 6 week program called Wintersession where your schedule is reduced to 1 - 2 classes a week. I took one class in Illustration - collage. I was the only freshman in the class, which was very intimidating at times. Strangely enough the upperclassmen were much gentler in their critiques than other freshman. I guess over time students are more rational and constructive with their input. I enjoyed Wintersession because it allowed me time to put more care into my work and walk away with some good pieces.

The winter flew by quickly and I was terrified of starting my spring semester after becoming so adjusted to one class a week. BUT to my relief my new schedule was dramatically easier than the last one. The lack of anxiety has allowed me to clear my head, improve my work and also do other projects in my free time.

My body of photography has exploded in the past year. It astounds me how quickly that little hobby of mine turned into a full-blown passion. I can't stop for over a week or two without getting restless. Hopefully someday soon I can feel comfortable enough with my work to really call myself a photographer - but until then I'll keep on working.

Now there's just over a month left of my freshman year. Crazy how quickly a year flies by. And to top it all off, I'm illustrating a children's book over the summer! I didn't think I'd get an opportunity like this for years to come and I'm beyond excited. The book will be written by Lauren Strob and is aimed to be released by the 2012 holiday season.