My studies

When it comes to practice hours I think it depends on the person to tell when it becomes excessive. I don’t think you can really have a time limit but more of a self limit. It becomes excessive when the person starts to not like the work that they are doing or no longer desire to practice because they have spent so much time on practicing their craft. To produce sophisticate work I think the person practicing and producing the work has to at least  put in two-three hours a day. At the same time it is different for everyone. to some artist or producers of work it comes naturally and they may be able to make some sophisticated work in less than that but for some it may take a little more effort. Everyone is different while we all need practice the time is different for majority. For me I think I fall on the end of needing more practice time.  It used to be something that came naturally to me but now it’s a little more difficult. Especially when that is not the only thing I am focusing on.

I think the “next level” looks like taking your work and pushing the boundaries. Weather that means making your canvas bigger and  creating more detail or refining your work and edit even the smallest of details. For me and the maps that I produced I think taking it to the next level would mean to refining the work already there. These maps were something that I could have done way better work but I let the stress of finals and over all the stress of this semester get to me. I think the icons that I made could haven been cleaned up more and  purpose of color could have been thought out more. Don’t get me wrong there is pieces form each map that I am proud of but there are other parts that I should have focused more on. I think also being able to see your mistake as a designer is also a part of taking your work to the next level. In order for your work to take that step you have to be able to see your flaws.

For my third map I feel like I got a lot of really constructive feedback. The first thing was the unraveling of the decision map and if there was really a decision to be made. Even though we concluded that there was decisions to be made it got me thinking on the different choices that could be made due to the map. Another comment that I got about the same map was how confusing/ overwhelming it was looking. With that information I deiced to reduce the amount of different symbols and instead just use fewer symbols and and multiply the times it was shown for intensity. Over all this class and the people in the class were really constructive when it came to feedback. They all were able to give some great comments that in result help me if not at the moment later on in the semester.

I think I was challenged by these maps and in general this semester because I spread myself too thin between my major and my minor. When it comes to the maps I think the second map really was rough for me because I took on more than I could handle. When I originally proposed doing a calorie count I just though about one portion and not all the portions that are bought. It took a lot of outside research to be done and that took me away from working on that map. I think that map was the biggest challenge that I faced. The easiest part I think was the third map. It was a map that I really enjoyed doing and creating symbols for and it is one that I can see myself  using on the daily when I work out. For me the most enjoyable part of the process was the critiques. Not only did I like getting feedback from others but I also liked seeing what others produced and seeing everyone different styles. I not yet have discovered my style and I think by seeing others I was able to create my own by taking a mental inventory of different styles I liked.

I am continuing to work on our family cookbook that I am designing and writing. I work on it about once a day and hope to have it done by February. It’s a pretty big book and I am excited to get it all done.  I also have been working on my Photography a lot more trying to get jobs and internships. I recently have been a mentee for a photographer for the Houston Dynamos Soccer team. I haven been shooting sporting events and emailing him back and forth my results and he in return is giving me tips and tricks.  Over winter break I plan to be able to work with him hand in hand to better my portfolio.

I don’t think my outside life has really impacted my school life. I try to keep them separate in order to keep myself well balanced. My family is really encouraging and my friends are always willing to help me out with anything that I need. So when it comes to school I have a really great support system that encourages me to well and always strive for the best. Even thought this semester was really stressful for me outside of school was always a way to calm me down or center me again.

The ideal classroom environment looks like a class where everyone participates and wants to be there. In order to be apart of a class you can’t just show up you have to active and be constructive in the class. Just because someone is active that doesn’t always mean a good thing it could be disruptive activity. I like to think that I was an active member of this class. I provided well thought out feedback and provided work for feedback to be given. I was absent a few times and I do think that did effect the class room climate because it was one less view for feedback. I think I worked the best when I was alone either in the lab or even just working in the digital media center in the library.  I also learned that I work really well when I have calming music that is new and I am not to familiar with.

I think that I am self concussions about my ideas as artist. I always wonder is this gonna apes to others? Or what if I fail over all I do think you have to give it the nothing to lose attitude. I think it makes you able to try everything and  gets you thinking of all the opportunities, but you have to  be careful you don’t get lost and time management becomes an issue.

A way I can better my self as an artist is to learn about other artist and how they do things. Anything from videos to podcast writings to lectures can help me progress as a aspiring artist.

As a photographer, now it is important for me to study other photographers and learn from them. A lot of the times I go and get their picture books and look at their techniques and pick from it.

I make choices by thinking this out and deciding between A and B. Is does depend on the circumstance because things may not all ways be best for the situation.

You know when something is good or working when it does the job it was designed to do. If it is not then you know the object is not right.

To rework something you take steps back and go back to point where you may have gone wrong. In all honesty it is all trial and error.

Circle Project-xs07mo

In my opinion there is no difference between artist and designer. To be able to design a new idea or a craft you have to be able to be creative and artistic to express your ideas. So when someone ask me if I am a artist or a designer I simply can not give a simple answer. It is something complex in which I see myself as both an artist and a designer  because without one the other would not exist.

When doing this book I was helping other students with printing who was having trouble. I found that by doing this it helped me when doing my printing because by time I printed mine out printing wise I had no trouble. I witnessed other peoples book be completed cropped or the orientation be wrong and I helped them figure out what was wrong. We all go to learn together what was wrong. When it came to stapling I was a little off  but when it came to cutting i had a hard time a lab monitor helped me but she didn’t really do a good job explaining how things worked so I messed up some. As you can see in the picture some whit is still visible and the cutting was semi crooked.

The two Girls that last came in to talk to us was really cool. I especially found interest in the one who got a job at Kendra Scott.

It was cool to see that her perserverance really did pay off. She contacted so many people in the end it all worked out for her. Even though she says she still doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life I think where she is at is pretty amazing for being so young.

After the seminar I took a moment to go talk to her about interning at Kendra Scott. She told me it was tough to get in but I am wanting to work hard so that this summer i can get the position. It is really cool for me to see all these guest speakers and see where they have been and basically sitting in the same spot I am in and how far they have come. It gives me hope that that WILL be me in 5 years from now.

At first I didn’t really find this seminary really useful. I felt like it was just to teach us how to study and deal with college, but this is a visual seminar which I thought it was supposed to give us a new look on how we see art. I wish it would have been more like that. In the end though I liked most of the presenters we had and found a lot of them to be inspiring in a way. I felt kinda bad for the game studies kids because they didn’t have many presenters. As being a photo major and graphics minor it really benefited me to see both sides of photography and graphics and the different directions I could go. If I could recommend one thing that could be different for further years I would say the first part of the semester not so so much teaching about how to send your time or how to study. I think it would be more beneficial to teach more about the structures of art.