The beginning part of my summer, I worked as a senior apprentice for the Quad City Metro Arts summer program. Along with a lead designer and twelve very enthusiastic high school apprentices, we developed a series of banners to be put up on the side of The Stern Center, an old building in Rock Island, Illinois that was in dire need of a fresher look.
I also was asked by the KU design, architecture, and art departments to submit an original piece to the annual Burn Journal. The theme was truth. Through a vast array of mediums (watercolor, pen and ink, Photoshop, collage, and fire (to cover the "burn" aspect)) I created a piece that dealt with one of the most truthful part of a person, the eyes. This was a great opportunity for me because it had be reach outside my normal artistic boundaries and develop a style that I had never delved into before. My piece is a part of a collaboration with 25 plus artists, designers, and architects. The final piece should be coming up shorty, I can't wait to see how it all turns out!
I also had the awesome opportunity to be an intern at Rivertown Creative, a small graphic design firm in downtown Davenport. There, I got a better idea of what a graphic designer does from day to day as well as further developing my skills in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. For my first project, I got to work with Rayz, a barber shop in the Village of East Davenport. While I didn't design their logo, I helped them create their logo for their promotion that was zombie themed. I know I know, it's very gory, but I had a lot of fun learning how to create my own brushes and patterns to achieve the blood-splattered textures.
I also got to learn the basics of designing my first website in Photoshop. Julie's Engraving is a small company out of Davenport that sells engraved products. I had a lot of fun researching the company and developing a website layout that would best administer to their customers.
In addition to the two internships and the Burn Journal, I took an English class at Blackhawk Community College and volunteered at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, helping teach art classes to third through fifth graders. It was a great opportunity to pass on my knowledge of art and design to eager young creatives. And while they learned a lot, my knowledge of art grew too. I got to meet and work with some of the best art enthusiasts in the Quad Cities.
All in all, I had a jammin' summer. It was a lot of hard work and I came home exhausted a whole lot, but the art I saw, the things I learned, the people I met are unforgettable.
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