Picking Up the Pace

It seems like things are becoming pretty routine these days. I do not have a whole lot to report this time around, aside from the fact that the weather continues to not be on my side. I never thought that I would be the one to complain about a snow day, but it's getting to be a little ridiculous.

Since classes have started I have had a whole one session of two of my courses and three (luckily) of art therapy. Though I don't have a whole lot to go on, thusfar I'm enjoying the content and practice in all three. 

You know... just your
typical art therapy.

I'll start out strong with the class I've gotten the most out of so far: Methods and Techniques in Art Therapy. It's a very tight knit program, with one professor heading the department and teaching the majority of the classes. A definite strength of NJCU is the small class sizes. I think there's only none of us in this particular courses, so it's very personal and I feel like I'm really building relationships with not only my fellow aspiring therapists but also the professor. A large part of each day's session is hands on work: experientials. It's been interesting learning how an experience relates to a client by stepping into their shoes and living the therapy. There's also lectures given by the professor where she tells of her own experience in the field. This has been especially enlightening in that she's still working in NYC, so obviously the diversity of her clientele is just extraordinary and her experience couldn't get much wider. Sometime in April I'll be leading my own art therapy session through the use of acrylic painting and co-leading a session with environmental art. 

As much fun as art therapy has been, I'm also really excited about my digital media class. The majority if it is animation in Adobe After Effects. I was worried this class would be difficult for me to walk into without the same pre-requisites but the professor does a great job walking through the exercises and I actually ended up assisting a few students near by, so that always feels good. The professor has us build the scenes and objects in Photoshop, which has bit of an adjustment from my recent obsession with Illustrator but I'm liking getting back to my roots and learning some new tricks. It's like reconnecting with an old friend and then making a new one along the way. In his demo during class, the professor threw in a random Godzilla in the background. Because, you know, why not? So I think we're going to get along just fine. 

They're not the NJCU Gothic
Knights for nothin'.

My third class is Information Design, a four hundred level course to take the place of the studio I'm missing back at Iowa State. Due to my ongoing battle with the PATH rails, I arrived a little late on syllabus day (whoops!) and so far that's all the class time we've had so far. The professor seems very passionate about the subject matter though, and as luck would have it she's been assigned as my advisor for my co-op learning assignments. I guess what I find most interesting about this class is though it's very specific, it's also everywhere. Information design goes into everything from textbooks to signage, and Professor Quinn really stresses being unconventional in your design. At our first hang ups she offered the critique to all of us they we were very much working within the easy definition of 'design', but why would we bother doing something that's already been done before? I think this class is really going to push my boundaries and redefine my portfolio. There should really be some interesting pieces that come out of this semester. The diversity on campus will probably have a big impact on my day to day design work. I just honestly don't see how it couldn't. 

Clockwise from top-left: my desk,
my mugshot, the art department intern photos,
and the Mashable feature wall in the bullpen.

Aside from the obvious benefit of hands on experience and the general fiesta that is my internship at Mashable, I'm also gaining class credit. Four whole credit hours to be exact. On top of getting paid and spending four days of the week in New York City, I don't think it really gets any better. As in, I'm still ninety percent sure this isn't real life. Nina, the art director, is from San Francisco and is basically a stud. I feel like I'm really learning a lot from her.  She's one of those people who's never happy with a project the first time around, and even in these first few weeks watching my work progress from sketches to the final publish on the site is so satisfying. Dat refinement, yo. Recently some valentines I made featuring Grumpy Cat were posted, and ended up getting over 24,000 shares at the time of this blog's publication! Pretty exciting, if I say so myself. Also I finally got my Mashable suite ID, which I was pretty stoked about but keep accidentally trying to swipe my meals with at NJCU... so that's always a little awkward. I also kickstarted my modeling career the other day with my headshot, so hit me up if you'd like an autograph. My people will be in touch with your people.

I took a few shots of the office on my phone for your viewing pleasure as well. In the top left is the Mash Cafe: complete with couches and TV's which primarily get used for uh... work related stuff. Like the Winter Olympics. Top right is the Brand Cafe with the 3D printer which I have every intention of learning to use for my own nefarious purposes (*cue evil cackle*). The two bottom pictures are of the wall with all the #InterNinja photos (plus Chinese new year decorations) and the sign leading to the Intern Parlor, which features a nice view of the building right next to us (i.e. a brick wall). Aside from what I consider possibly the funniest window placement ever (aside from those apartments in Ames called Beach View, like where is there a beach in Central Iowa? Hello?), it's actually a pretty sweet set-up with blue chalk walls and shenanigans at every turn. There is blue and green everywhere... like my dorm room. So it's easy to feel pretty at home. You don't hear me complaining.

The front door - complete
with door men!

Synopsis: work is great, classes are few. I'm gearing up for an exciting weekend, so I'll leave you all to guess what I'm getting ready for. Hint: I'll be cashing in some free tickets and hanging out with some friends, old and new!