Oh Celebration

Christmas day came incredibly quickly this year. Anyone else agree? I feel like the holiday season speeds up more each year. Since coming home I've mostly been spending time with family and making gifts. And that has all been so wonderful but...I haven't taken much time to slow down. And I wish I had. 
Christmas day is here and I feel like I haven't thought enough about the gift of Immanuel. Such a beautiful and indescribable gift we have been given. God with us...God with us. How sweet it is to say! May I continue throughout the day to remember and celebrate the truth that God became man for our sakes. It's not too late to take a breath and slow down. This is a day for incredible celebration!


Danielle is one of my favorite people to give gifts to. We are very similar and love nearly all the same things. One of these common loves of ours is Andrew Bird. My parents and I pitched in to get us both tickets for his show at the Ryman in March. I hid this picture in one of Dani's shoes and gave her a note that said, "A little bird is hiding in one of your shoes. The bird will tell you what your gift is." 

My siblings and I do a gift exchange (since there's eight of us) each year, and this year I got my brother David. I had the hardest time trying to figure out what I could make him. I've always made my gifts and thought this might have to be the first time I buy one. However, with the help of one of my sisters I came up with the idea of this vintage body builder painted on two canvases. I saw him on an old stamp from 1984 that I saw on Etsy. So I blew him up and made some wall decor out of him!

And you know you're an art student when half of your Christmas gifts are art supplies and you get excited about lacquer thinner and acrylic gel medium. 

Film Friday

I developed my first roll! Today I went over to the photo house and developed my very first roll of film (taken on my Minolta) all by myself. It was so intimidating and the whole time I thought my roll wasn't going to turn out. When I finished and pulled my negatives off the reel, I yelped at the sight of actual photos and quickly stuck them in the drier. Immediately after shutting the door of the drier, I literally jumped up and down out of sheer joy and excitement. All by myself, in the back of the photo house. It was one of the best feelings ever. Here's some prints! I have to admit I lightened them up a bit after scanning them so you guys could see the photos better. Isn't this way too cool to handle?

From top to bottom:
-Seryn concert
-Think Tank friend
-Beasley on drums
-shirt twin Adam

Weekend Sketches

When I have days like I had this past Saturday, I reflect and wonder, why does the Lord bless me so? I had the tremendous privilege of going to Think Tank through AIGA in Nashville. Basically, it's a really awesome graphic design conference. I was encouraged by such wonderful people as Kate Bingaman-Burt and Justin Ahrens. The entire time Kate was talking I was trying to soak in as much as I possibly could. She combines hand craft with digital craft in such a simple and beautiful way. She does what she loves and does it well. I loved listening to her. I even got to talk to her a bit during a break and took her picture on some good ole' black and white film. 

I also got to meet a few other people at the conference and won two $40 books on branding and font! God is so good. Oh, and funny story...there was a guy there that had on a button down plaid shirt of the exact same color palette as the one I was wearing. My instant thought: we must become friends. So we met and commented on each other's shirts and it was great.

And not to mention the mind-blowing concert by Seryn to finish the day right. I would say it was the best concert I've ever been to. Each of the band members drew in my sketchbook after the concert. They were all so hilarious. I truly hope I get to see them again in the future.