Miscellaneous Crafts

This was a shirt I ended up making because I wanted a shirt that said "Pants"

Earrings for my mother

Just randoms earrings I made as practice

Some bracelets I made as practice

A necklace I made to play with patterns 

A pumpkin I carved this Halloween because I loved the design for a project I had in class but was unable to use so it went on my pumpkin

I work at a day care... These things are real popular with the kids, all my coworkers kept demanding I make them some because they liked my sense of colors and patterns

I was really bored at work, and I had all these pieces separately on sale

I was friends with the shop teacher at my high school and he let my play with the CNC router XD

Research Papers and Inspirations

             So I was reading about Alex Pardee, the designer I chose for my final paper, and I stumbled across a really interesting and personal post about him.  Where most people list something simple under any "About Me" section on their own webpage, Alex chose to do something remarkable and dissect everything that inspires him, and ranting on about how he hates the question "What inspires you?" because it seems so vague and he never knows what kind of detail to put into his answers and how he coincidentally ends up sounding very uninspired.  And that got me thinking, what inspires me? I realize this is sort of what the visual journal is supposed to be, but it's always been easier for me to use words instead of my hands to express myself so here it goes.  
           I am inspired by people, while I will never for the life of me understand them, I love to hear other peoples' stories.  There's just something to hearing about another life, another time, another place, it's never mattered if they were good story tellers or not, if they told me a story it would play out in my head.  I'm inspired by my own curiosity.  I admit it, I ask questions I shouldn't because I WANT to know the answers. I don't just want to see the pretty side of people, there's something about the darker, hidden side of humanity that intrigues me.  The darkness in people inspires me.  The balance and choices they make, make me want to explore the balance in other things.  
           I am inspired by being bored, when I have nothing to do, I hop online to learn something new.  People who can create and craft inspire me.  I see someone sitting there wrapping wires for jewelry and think 'that looks easy, I bet I can manage that too.'  I am inspired by my own cheapness, during the holidays I always look for new creative gifts to make to save money.  Not because I don't love my friends and family, but because I'm a college student working part time, I'm not made of money! 
          I am inspired by the books I read and the movies I see.  Yeah, I'll admit it, I've written fanfiction, because the works have left such an impression on me, I need to do something to get it out of my head, and paper seems like the second best home for it.  
          I am inspired by fashion trends and clothing.  It blows my mind to think that people will pay such exorbitant prices for things they don't need, but it's also fun to just watch the trends.  Who knew Uggs would take off so fast?  Or that vintage would ever be in style? (I'm so waiting for leg warmers to make a come back! I love them).  
          I am inspired by what I cannot understand.  I don't know why the color red is red, but it's pretty nonetheless.  I don't understand what destiny is, but I love to write about it anyway.  I will never know half the people I write about, but they'll show up in my stories somewhere, somehow.  I am inspired by super heroes and villains.  And the simplicity of good versus evil.  By the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney's fairy tales.  By fire and how it dances.  By different dances and expression.
         I am inspired by history.  How so many people have made a difference, sometimes without even meaning to, and how there's an infinite possibility I could too.  I am inspired by possibilities, you CAN do whatever you want as long as you're happy, you have success. 
         It may seem cliche but I think we all inspire ourselves, we know what we like and yet we are always adding to that list, taking new risks in trying new things because we're never satisfied with the safe life.  We want to push boundaries and test limits, simply because they are there and we were not born with a map to see exactly where they exist.  We will test what is true, what does exist and what doesn't-- because we can create anything.  
         I am inspired by imagination-- now tell me, what inspires you?

Say Cheese!

Some old pictures too, I had some fun with the camera..

Okay this was me just testing my camera and I though the pattern on the blanket looked cool

This was a mini photoshoot I did around my house

This was a mini photoshoot I did around my house

This was a mini photoshoot I did around my house

This was a mini photoshoot I did around my house

This was a mini photoshoot I did around my house

This was one Halloween my sophomore year, I took a picture of the tree on the way to a Halloween party because I was fascinated by how it looked completely empty against the clouds.

I was really bored so I made a photoshoot in my basement on a white sheet.

I was really bored so I made a photoshoot in my basement on a white sheet.

I was really bored so I made a photoshoot in my basement on a white sheet.

This was at a friend's Sweet Sixteen, my camera had a manual option and we decided to try light painting. 

This was at a friend's Sweet Sixteen, my camera had a manual option and we decided to try light painting.

This was at a friend's Sweet Sixteen, my camera had a manual option and we decided to try light painting.

Here a few of us got bored at a local park and just started taking pictures, this was one of my favorites of the day just because of how the colors came out.

This was another photoshoot in my basement, much love to my girl Becca, who modeled this look.  I put together her outfit and makeup with the help of a friend Angelique and took many of the pictures.

This was another photoshoot in my basement, much love to my girl Becca, who modeled this look.  I put together her outfit and makeup with the help of a friend Angelique and took many of the pictures.

This was another photoshoot in my basement, much love to my girl Becca, who modeled this look.  I put together her outfit and makeup with the help of a friend Angelique and took many of the pictures.

And of course in that same shoot, I wanted to play dress up, so I let Becca and Angelique doll me up and then Becca took hold of the camera, I did the photo edits though. 

Same basement photoshoot with one of my closest friends, Bekki, modeling this time.  I can't remember exactly who did the majority of her make up or took the majority of her pictures, (Becca and I worked together) but I did do all the color edits.

Same basement photoshoot with one of my closest friends, Bekki, modeling this time.  I can't remember exactly who did the majority of her make up or took the majority of her pictures, (Becca and I worked together) but I did do all the color edits.

Bekki and myself.  We couldn't resist goofing around a bit.  Becca had the camera and is responsible for photographing us here.

Becca is back in front of the camera here!  She really loved that dress and it matched her hair!

Bekki back here! I loved this image in black and white because of the contrast it had...

So this isn't the best picture ever taken, but I love what happened to the stripes on Bekki's dress as the camera shook so I put it in.  A good photo isn't always defined by clarity. 

I had fun with the colors on this one.  It was cool to play with the tones and 'cool down' the picture.  

So we had to play around with this dress (it's one of my favorites) and we got this picture, which I actually like better then my senior picture! 

Some Traditions are too Timeless to Let Go

Some more of my previous work, this stuff most all more traditional mediums..

This is a water color inspired by Ed Hardy's designs

I was at work and had nothing better to do, after looking at tattoo style artwork I came out with this

I really love working with organic shapes and balancing them with the negative space to create more active pieces

Colored pencil watercolor of dolphins.  I have been told some people see God's face in this when they look at it.

My friend and I had a chalk fight in my drive way, and this is what my hand ended up looking like, I though the blue spiral was really cool

These we some chalk drawings I did on the drive way before we had our chalk fight.  

This was a pencil drawing of two hands making a heart

This was a birthday card I made for one of the little girls who goes to the gym I work at.  I felt bad because she invited me to her party and I had to work that day.

More work with organic shapes, I usually end up doodling this type of thing when I'm bored in class

I was doodling this at orientation, before the fire alarm.

I had free time in an art class to do what ever, so I was free painting and came out with this.  I was so proud of the hand that was making the peace sign, until I realized I gave it six fingers on accident.

This was a font I made in one of my notebooks to identify it as mine

A water color of Princess Ariel

A pencil drawing of a porcelain doll I did in one of my history classes.

Another water color, this time I was just experimenting with blending

Pencil drawing of a hand holding open a book.  I know it only has four fingers, I couldn't fit in a fifth without it looking weirder.