Month: December 2023

The tech I’m most interested in right now is an iPad. Being able to sketch easily using procreate in a way that could easily connect with Illustraor would allow my designs to have more of a hand-made feel, which can be hard to achieve in illustrator. I’m also interested in using an iPad to design furniture with sketchup. The iPad has lidar technology that I am interested in learning, especially as it comes to furniture design and home remodeling. I also think an iPad would be very useful as a second screen for watching tutorials and working alongside at the same time, and also for reading Ebooks. I can also see myself using it for recipies in the kitchen or watching TV.

iPad Pros:

iPad offers more flexibility of location when working–I can see myself doodling with it on the couch. This is especially nice compared with a wacom tablet or similar product which are large and need to be flat on a table with several cords to work.

Easily transfer handmade sketches into Illustrator w/o dealing with cleaning up a photo

Easier to add a handmade element to my designs

Good for adding texture

iPad Cons:

$799 for big screen

Stuck in the apple verse

Procreate Pros:

$10 one time

Best app out there for digitally sketching

Procreate Cons:

Textures and Brushes are expensive

Maybe making digital sketches won’t end up being “my thing.”

Having an iPad would give me another tool in my design pallette to draw upon when I need more textrues/brushes, or a handmade look.

I also think it would aid in developing my design skills because the iPad/Procreate lends itself to easy experimentation, without having to be at a table with a mouse.

I come from a strongly matriarchal family with deep roots in Washington State. My grandmother grew up farming in the Yakima Valley and raised her three kids in Olympia. My grandmother, my mother, and my two aunts have always been at the center of my large extended family. The three of them, along with their younger brother, instilled in all of us a sense that if you wanted something, you could make it yourself. Some of my fondest memories are of my mother, grandmother, aunts, and sister all sewing banners for a party, or making soap and clove oranges. My grandmother built three houses in her lifetime, and she frequently volunteered with habitat for humanity–even into her nineties.

I’m privileged to have been able to attend a small liberal arts college in Eastern WA. While it was a difficult experience for a visually-minded, hands on person, I’m incredibly grateful for the gifts it gave me, including critical thinking, writing, and lasting friendships.

I took a year off from college after my sophomore year. During that time I worked as a caregiver for my godmother who was sick with bone marrow cancer. This was an incredibly emotional experience that taught me so much about how to support others in grief and anger and what my role can be in difficult situations.

I have ten years of experience working for local artists helping them bring their public art projects to life. Through these projects I have learned a wide variety of fabricating techniques. I also know how to work with opinionated creatives to help them realize their vision.

My work with artists led me into a role in construction. For the past three years I have been working with local artists to restore an early 1900s brick storefront and turn it into a coffee shop. Construction experience makes me an excellent problem solver and planner. I learned to think through everything in advance, which is invaluable when applied to graphic design work.