Craft Talk

Today, in my senior crit class, I was talking to my professor about how I'm struggling with walking the fine line between arts and crafts and fine craft- something that people within the craft world face on a regular basis. My teacher encouraged me to embrace craftiness (as in arts and crafts) and push it really far- which will maybe will set it outside the realm of arts and crafts, giving my work a sophistication. Hmm? Oh art. After seeing that she hadn't completely convinced me and freed me of my worries, she drug me to her office where she made me watch this ridiculously hilarious video that she said would cure my issues. This video is pretty silly but as a crafts and material studies major, I really appreciated it and it lightened my worries. Enjoy!

RVA Rap Video

I just discovered this hysterical music video on Young House Love, a blog about DIY home decorating based in Richmond. The bloggers were trying to give their readers a glimpse of the city they call home. The video is too great to miss out on, especially if you live here in the beautiful, RVA. Please, enjoy!

1st Day!

Today was my first day as an intern at Anthropologie and I absolutely loved it! It was so much fun to be in a creative environment with peers who have the same design aesthetic as I do. Emily and I spent hours cutting magazines and maps up and making paper airplanes (I swear I'll be doing it in my sleep). The thought of spending hours folding paper airplanes seemed really daunting but there's something nice about doing something so methodically mindless. We were folding the airplanes for the window display which is already looking great. I promise to post pictures when they are finished (hopefully they will be tomorrow). It feels really great to have this internship I have dreamed of for months now and I have a feeling a lot of inspiration will come from the experiences. Stay tuned!

Too Cute!

This adorable video just makes me smile. Enjoy!

Internship

I cannot be more excited to tell you that I officially have an internship with Anthropologie! guh! I am completely ecstatic! I will be working on visuals and displays for the Richmond store at Stony Point Fashion Park with their visual team and two other interns, my roommate Emily and friend Mari. I know it will be a lot of work but I look forward to spending many long hours working with such incredible people exercising our creativity. I can't see what we come up with! I head into the store early tomorrow morning (technically this morning) to learn the ropes, get my schedule, etc. I will keep you posted on how things go and hopefully have pictures of some of the work I do this semester! Yay!

House of Harriet

How fun are these mugs?! Harriet Darnave is an artists who lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She has an Etsy page that displays her incredible work and tells her story.

For years I worked as an illustrator for books and magazines, only the last couple of years I use tableware and tiles as my canvas. I paint with glazes and fire the pieces myself in my kiln. Most of my products are designed for everyday use and are dishwasher proof, food safe and can even be used in the microwave.

You can even contact Darnave to have her customize a piece for you! Just sent her a pic and voila!

World of Wearable Art

My friends Grace Johnston and Melanie Hearn flew to New Zeland last Friday and will be there for a week to compete in the international fashion show, World of Wearable Art (WOW)! Its an amazing and huge opportunity for these talented ladies and I couldn't be happier for them. Grace has been really good about updating her blog so that all of us in the US are updated. Check it out!

Eat. Drink. Be Married.

What a fun weekend! Timothy and Katharine had a beautiful wedding. It was so much fun to be together with my family to celebrate Timothy, Katharine, Taylor, and future baby's life together! Friday night, my Dad and Jayne had a party where we had a great talent show. Timothy and Taylor performed a song, Emma read a poem, Katharine's mom Valerie recited a Scottish poem, Evan and I sang a song and many other toasts were given. It was so much fun to be around such great people and celebrate everyone's talents!



Saturday, we woke up bright and early for a kayaking trip with most of the family. It was so much fun but rather exhausting! We went home for some lunch, helped set up for the wedding and then took a little rest before the wedding. Around 6:00, we headed down to the beach for an intimate, beautiful ceremony and a great reception afterward. Congrats Timothy and Katharine!

A Wedding Weekend!

I'm heading to Sandbridge, Virginia today for my step brother Timothy and his fiance Katharine's wedding. It's hard to believe that this date is finally here and that they will be married! I'm super excited for this weekend, it should be lots of fun and I am so happy for them to start their new life together. Congratulations Timothy and Katharine!

Some Great Advice from a Fellow Blogger

One of my favorite blogs to read is 500 Pieces of Prudent Advice for My Baby Daughter. This blog isn't updated that frequently, but when it is, there's always great advice that most people probably overlook. Some of my favorites...

#203 Return your shopping cart.

Abandoning your shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot implies a sense of entitlement. Someone has to put it away, that someone should be you.

#202 Accept the invitation.

Just go! Go visit your Peace Corps friend volunteering in Guatemala; go wear a fancy dress to the Daytime Emmys; go chat with the boys at the Ghanaian Soccer Academy benefit. When you get an invitation to do something out of the ordinary see it as a little microcosm of life’s possibilities and say “yes” even if you’re tired, nervous, or uncertain. At least when you’re older you'll be able to reflect on your adventures instead of regretting the shiny bubbles of opportunity that floated away while you were moored to the couch.

#201 There’s no need to give disclaimers.

When you present your work (a research paper, a painting, a song) don’t be tempted to qualify it beforehand with a verbal laundry list of possible flaws. Learn to fight off that natural insecurity and present your work for what it is. Let it be judged on its own merits at face value, then critique it afterward with feedback from the group.

#200 Only take what you need.

When things are free, it’s easy to overindulge. If you take ten bananas because the bananas are free, you’ll likely end up with eight rotten bananas covered in flies while another person is left tragically bananaless. Take what you’re going to use and leave the rest for someone else.

#199 Wear bikinis while you can!

There will come a day you realize that you’ve traded in your youthful body for a whole other one; you’ll look down at yourself and think “When did this happen?” That’s the day a bikini stops being appropriate. Don’t worry about that day – I promise by the time you get there you really won’t mind – and in the meantime have a blast in adorable two-pieces.

So please, read, enjoy, and learn from this great blog!

This Semester's Work

For the past week, I have been working on a proposal for my senior critique class. The proposal was due today and was meant to be what we wanted to spend the rest of the semester working on. Each proposal was to consist of drawings, sample, inspiration, a list of adjectives that describe our work, and obviously, a written proposal of what we want to do this semester. I have been brainstorming like crazy! I have decided to take old furniture (which I love and appreciate) and rework it- repair it, refinish it, add and subtract certain areas, reupholster, etc., etc. But- I hope to do a lot of this using non-conventional materials, giving the furniture a sense of newness. My professor approved my proposal and is excited to see what I come up with. So now, I will work work work work! I'm excited to finally be able to do what I want to, and my work not be dictated by assignments.

Ironically, Modish blogged about Spruce today, based in Austin, two people refinish and repair old furniture and give it a more modern look while still maintaining the vintage feel. Spruce also designs one of a kind pieces. I'll definitely be looking to them as a reference, but hope to push my pieces a little further.

Dan Phillips

I came across Dan Phillips a few days ago and am in complete amazement! Phillips, a 64 year-old man with quite a background, lives in East Texas town and builds low income housing using found objects or in other words, trash. Phillips began building these houses because "he was disturbed by the irony of landfills choked with building materials and yet a lack of affordable housing". Not only is Phillips recycling materials but he is creating art. He pays close attention to every detail in each of his houses and the pattern and texture created by hundreds of the same thing is captivating. Please enjoy these photos and read The New York Times' article on Dan Phillips, he truly is incredible!