I hope you had a great Christmas , and are having a great Hanukkah this year. I have been thoroughly enjoying the first year celebrating with my fiance and my puppy at home. We have been having a blast developing new hobbies and hanging out. Matt has been playing his bass a lot, and is thinking of starting up a band with a couple of friends. I got this shot while they were practicing. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a movie.
This whole year has been one of the best of my life. I just got hired as the manager of an art studio up in Madeira, teaching art classes and learning about marketing and product photography. It's been a lot of fun, broadening my photographic interests into still-life photography and formal portraits. Up until now, I've been doing more on-site projects, but I recently bought a backdrop system and I'm enjoying the kinds of shots I can get from it, such as this self-portrait I came up with.
Right now, I'm developing curriculum for a brand new class at Creativities: photography! We're considering merging our Sewing & Fashion Design program with Photography for this class. It will be called "Make it and Take it!" The concept is this: sew a self-designed piece of clothing or accessory, then design a backdrop and props for a collaborative photo shoot! The students will learn about studio lighting, camera controls, sewing, and the fashion design process! Throughout this whole process, Creativity will be coming out their ears!
I'm also getting into product photography, like I said, and I've been photographing products for Creativities since they opened 2 years ago. It's hard to believe we've been open for 2 years. It's been a whirlwind since I joined the team and I've loved every minute of it! I've also developed and maintained the email and web marketing campaign, which has taken me more into the world of graphic design and web design. I started making graphics from my photos, such as this one:
The things I photograph at the studio are so ridiculously creative. I always feel challenged to display them in an equally creative way. For example, we have been running a lot of classes and workshops for little girls who have American Girl Dolls. They can make accessories, clothes, and furniture for their dolls at a quarter of the catalog price, and learn creative skills while doing it! We are running a workshop this week that features doll-sized "Ugg" boots, and scarves. Here is my promotional photo:
I'm planning on getting into display design at Creativities soon. We just ordered a ton of new fabrics, and I'm planning on using some folded paper forms to arrange with the fabrics to create an interesting display for our vintage-themed textiles. I created the forms for my last class at DAAP: installation art.
Did I mention that was my last class at UC? I am now DONE with school! Graduated! It's been 5 long years, many jobs simultaneously held down, Deans List status almost every quarter, and this last quarter, joining a class 3 weeks into it, and STILL emerging with an A! I feel so proud of myself, and I'm in a great place in life.
Another one of my classes was screen printing, which I am also hoping to expand at Creativities. We have gotten into t-shirt screen printing in the past, and I would like to incorporate it into the next class session of the Draw/Sketch/Paint class. I dove headfirst into this process, and produced a print that is 4.5x6 FEET, and is made up of thousands of tiny monkey heads. The print is titled "Dunbar's Number" and is a depiction of how big our social groups can get, depending on our brain size. If you want to read more about this fascinating study, here's more information on it. This is what the whole image looks like:
Here are some detail shots of each part of the print. Each monkey is roughly 1" wide.
I also made a print combining ink with white charcoal. I wanted to explore the physiological side of humanity, so I made a diptych print showing the anatomical [in]side of two people:
As if all this weren't enough, I'm also planning my own wedding for April 2012! of course, since I work at a ridiculously creative art studio, I am planning on doing a LOT of it myself, or with the help of my close friends and family. I'm so lucky to have such great people around me at this point in my life. It makes everything easier and so much fun!
So, everyone, that's a not-so-short update on my life, and what I'm getting into!
Have a great New Year!
