Blog Post #6- Happy New Year!

I thought that I would continue a tradition of writing down some of the things that happened in 2022. I had a pretty good year; I hope you did too!

Movies: Lately, my partner and I have been starting a movie collection that we’re pretty proud of so far. Watching and finding some of these old movies have been a cool adventure for us. We went out on a few movie dates, met some eccentric people briefly in our adventures, and had fun watching these movies together. I’m happy I was able to go to a movie theater again.

Barbarian (2022), The Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), One Piece RED (2022), Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022), Sadako vs. Kayako (2016), The Vampire Lovers (1970), When Harry Met Sally (1989), Notting Hill (1999), Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), Rabid (2019), My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2022), The Munsters (2022), V/H/S/94 (2021), Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022), MEN (2022), Werewolf By Night (2022), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Turning RED (2022), Moana (2016), Onward (2020), Insidious (2010), Signature Move (2017), Mope (2019), The Batman (2022), The Black Phone (2021), Nosferatu (1922), Malignant (2021), Candyman (2021), Umma (2022), Last Night in Soho (2021). 

Music: I was lucky enough to go to 2 concerts last year, one being AJR’s and the other being My Chemical Romance. It was pretty exciting to see music live, and it was awesome to go with my best friend and my partner. My partner has shown me a lot of cool music, like Smash into Pieces, Zack Hemsey, A Verse Unsung/New Medicine, and Montgomery Gentry. My partner and I went to some regular haunts and found some pretty great finds, support your local record stores! Some bands I enjoyed this year were The Shins, The Front Bottoms, Mom Jeans, Modern Baseball, and Band of Horses. I got a Spotify Wrapped from last year, but I think it would be better to highlight the songs and artists that I found cool. 

"Under My Skin" by Jukebox the Ghost, "Better Go" by Mal Blum, "Using" by Sorority Noise, "The Gardener" by The Tallest Man on Earth, "Swim Club" by The Cave Singers, "No No No" by Beirut, "Don’t Haunt This Place" by The Rural Alberta Advantage, "Sex with a Ghost" by Teddy Hyde, "Best Tears" by The Happy Fits, "Simple Song" by The Shins, "Furr" by Blitzen Trapper, "The Mall & Misery" by Broken Bells, "No One’s Gonna Love You" by Band of Horses, "You’re a Wolf" by Sea Wolf, "Way Less Sad" by AJR, "In Every Direction" by Junip, "We Will Become Silhouettes" by The Shins, "Ivy & Gold" by Bombay Bicycle Club, "Sleeping Lessons" by The Shins, "Our Swords" by Band of Horses, "Bad Advice" by Penelope Scott, "Groundhog Day" Em Beihold, "At the Hop" by Devendra Banhart, "West Coast" by Coconut Records, "Death Cup" by Mom Jeans, "Victoria" by Jukebox the Ghost, "Art School Wannabe" by Sorority Noise, "Two Beers In" by Free Throw, "Fine, Great" by Modern Baseball, "Saint Bernard" by Lincoln, "She Wants Me" by The Happy Fits, "Such Small Hands" by La Dispute, "Yet Again" by Grizzly Bear, "Lights out, Words Gone" by Bombay Bicycle Club, "Young Bride" by Midlake, "All Wash Out" by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, "Lately" by The Helio Sequence, "My Ordinary Life" by The Living Tombstone, "Needle in the Hay" by Elliott Smith, "Severance" by Portrait Red, "PANIC!" by Smith & Myers, "Skeleton Key" by Origami Angel, "Tear You Apart" by She Wants Revenge, "Goodbye Graceful" by Falling in Reverse, "Let’s Cheers To This" by Sleeping With Sirens, "Tongue Tied" by Free Throw, "After Dark" by Mr. Kitty, "Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional, "Valentine" by The Get Up Kids, "Fat Around the Heart" by King 810, "Daylily" by Movements, "Scott Pilgrim vs. My GPA" by Mom Jeans, "Stress Relief" by late night drive home, "#BrooklynBloodPop!" by Syko, "If We Ever Broke Up" by Mae Stephens, "We’ll Never Have Sex" by Leith Ross, "Chickhead" by Greg Lou, "Sobriety" by Ditto Music

TV: Laid Back Camp, Parallel World Pharmacy, Chainsaw Man, and Spy x Family were all that were watched. It’s been hard to settle on a show, I continued the shows I started years ago, but for the most part nothing too new. My partner has been explaining what’s been going on in the Wrestling world, which has been interesting. I hadn’t engaged with wrestling or understood what was going on before, so it’s nice to have someone explain who these stars are and why what’s going on is going on. It gave me a new appreciation for what these wrestlers do.

Video Games: I’m not big into playing video games as much as others are, however, I picked up a few games and played them irregularly throughout the year. I started playing At the World’s End and loved it. Its art designer is the same as the one for Kingdom Hearts, but the game itself reminds me a lot of how the Persona games are. It’s pretty fun, and I recommend it to people who want something similar to Persona. I recently found out what Animal Crossing Pocket Camp was and I love it so much. I may like it even more than that New Horizons as the repetitious tasks can be circumvented, i.e. giving villagers what they want to raise their heart level. There’s not an overwhelming amount of choices in regards to what can be put into your cabin, camper and camp so it feels less daunting than having an island that requires space for updates all the time. I know these games are not as intense as others, but I like having chill gaming experiences. I do love watching horror game play-throughs, recently I like watching play-throughs of the indie franchise Chilla's Art games. They’re slow to build realistic horror games, like dealing with customers at a coffee shop or a convenience store. I love horror games, but I have an issue trying to play them. Jump scares always get me. I remember when Slenderman was a big indie game, and my friends and I would play it in the school library a lot even though we would always scream at the scares.

Podcasts: I do continue to listen to the podcasts I mentioned in the previous year, but in 2022 I started to go to the gym more and wanted to find more podcasts with a lot of episodes. The great thing about these podcasts below is that they have many spinoff podcasts that include these comedians. 

The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds/The Dollop- England & UK- Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds review the goofiest yet terrible things that happened in history. Some of my favorite media is reviewing history through a comedic lens, from Drunk History (tv show) to Epic Rap Battles of History (Youtube), this podcasting comedy duo tells stories I had never heard of before. Sports, Medical Science, Mythology, Crimes, Schemes, Wars, Scandals, Scoundrels, and Misaligned People. Topics like the epidemic of American Vampires, a glimpse into the mind of Ronald Regan with comedian Patton Oswalt, and even a tour through the life of 80’s action movie star Steven Segal. 

The Past Times Podcast- Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds discuss a newspaper from a random point in time with guests. The news in these papers varies from strange ads for snake oil products to concerning missing information that would add some clarity.

My Brother, My Brother and Me- Griffin, Travis, and Justin McElroys are a trio of brothers who discuss the internet’s most pressing issues from the bygone website, yahoo answers, with unhelpful to surprisingly solid advice, try to answer the worst riddles ever made, and most importantly, report in whatever random marketing campaign fast-food places put out. It makes me wish I had brothers or sisters. Listening to the start of the podcast back in 2011 is like a blast from the past with the topics they discuss. 

Wonderful! (Previously called Rose Buddies)- Rachel and Griffin McElroy are a husband-wife duo who for the first part of this podcast discussed the show The Bachelor and all the inner play-by-plays of the show. Sincerely, I have never watched any reality tv shows like this before, but their passion for the show was comedic and brought up great points on dating. Both Rachel and Griffin begin to notice the show's decline and lack of interest in protecting the contestants from hostile environments to the point that they felt it necessary to move away from the Bachelor franchise entirely, and now do a show that talks about positivity and things that they are grateful for in life, like music, poetry, video games, toys, and foods. The goal in their current podcast setting is to express happiness and rejoice in the small everyday things. 

Youtube: Mostly engage in the same content as before, with some video essays here and there. I often use Youtube as a learning tool to help me in my day-to-day job, as I’m currently learning how to use Adobe After Effects to create smooth animations.

Dear Modern- Youtuber who blends principles of Fenshui and design while keeping a cheerful yet biting commentary. “Ok, let’s furnish this apartment from Hell”

The Judges Podcast- Christian, Erika, and Josh curate stories from the internet and judge them accordingly. Usually never too serious, just goofy fun over other people’s drama.

Jacob Sharpe- Jacob Andrew Sharpe is a brain cancer survivor who reviews general topics online. A lot of his videos have nuggets. 

Garrett Watts- A chaotically happy man, ghost hunting and room decorating. I love the video editing and commentary on everything.

Chefreactions- A tired chef reviews disgusting and amazing tiktok food-related videos, as some recipes, are fake and some you have to train for 10 years to do right.

Tiktok: Tiktok is an algorithm based on your specific interests, so my hyper-specific interests vary from day to day, often I use it to find other’s artwork or drawing techniques, computer shortcuts for graphic design, or for suggestions on what to read or watch next. Like @kbladeart has a tiktok showing how to make a simple projector and use that to trace onto a canvas, @angietherose has a tiktok explaining how to tighten a storebought canvas, or @prokotv helped illustrate how to block out shadows, mid-tones, and highlights. I highly encourage tiktok for connecting to artists, however, it is important to remember that the algorithm is learning based on what you put into it and what others your friends with are putting into it. Be aware that the content time is short, the amount of information gathered is large, and can be addictive. Also, a lot of it is advertising, which is great for artists but can be overwhelming. 

Comedic tiktokers: @ghosthoney, @stanzipotenza, @wreitewordsmagic, @onyxthefortuitous, @jordanthestallion8, @aeimurataishi, @jenevaroseauthor, @mrnigelng, @lyleforever, @hunterprosper, @taylortomlinsoncomedy, @straw_hat_goofy, @tonystatovic, @danhentschel

General thoughts: Looking over this list, I seem not to care when I’m interacting with media, no matter when it was made. I feel in general, it’s much more accessible to find media nowadays than ever before. 

For the movies, it’s been a shockingly great couple of years for horror. I had heard that nothing can top the ’70s-’80s movies with horror, but personally, these recent horror films have been incredible. Not only self-aware but provide commentary on the state of the world. I would say 2010-present has had the best hits in horror since the 80s. 90’s horror seems to fall to the wayside, with the only property from that era talked about being Scream, which it deserves, but I’m excited by seeing so many horror movies considered to be “high art” or thinking outside of the box. The attitude towards what is scary nowadays has changed in many ways but most of all has gone further in-depth for what the emotional turmoil of the individual protagonist. Movies like Barbarian, MEN, and Last Night in Soho especially highlight the experience from a woman’s perspective of how we interact with the world through hypervigilance due to what happened in the past. I’m very excited about the future of horror!

A lot of the music I found over the year reconnected to the emo and indie scene that I missed. My Chemical Romance was the first band that I saw live in concert when I was a kid. My family couldn’t afford Warp Tour, but we did go to the My Chemical Romance/Blink-182 concert when I was young. We sang Happy Birthday to Mikey Way. Seeing them live again, so many emotions came back, I couldn’t help but beam. My partner bought a poster, however, was surprised to see it was a poster of a fly and not a bee as he had originally thought. Seeing AJR was an awesome experience, as my friend liked them. I was only aware of what I heard on the radio by them, but their performance was very fun and creative. It felt like a party. I’m thankful I went to both this past year; I hope to go to more in the future!

For the future, I have some plans for creating long-term projects and engaging in some art challenges. Thanks to my partner, I have a 24-inch Wacom tablet! It’s huge, and awesome for detail work, so I’m thinking of all the ways to utilize it for these upcoming projects. I think committing to these long-term projects will be super satisfying to finish. My partner has also found a whole small-scale printing press system, so I am thinking of starting to make shirts in the future. I like connecting with artists and learning all that I can about art, so I am optimistic about the future ahead. 

Blog Post #5- Some of My Favorite Things

Sometime has passed since my last blog post; I would say that these past couple years have been the hardest of my life. All I can do is move forward and hope for the future. The few things that have kept me sane has been media. So, I’m going to go over a few of my favorite things that have helped me during this trying time. A lot of these are helpful for grief and self-reflection.

Movies

The best movies that came out last year that I loved watching were Inside (2021), The Green Knight (2021), The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021), Spiderman No Way Home (2021), The Suicide Squad (2021), and In the Heights (2021).

Older Films that I just got around to seeing: Promising Young Woman (2020), Possessor (2020), The Handmaiden (2016), The House that Jack Built (2018), Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019), The Love Witch (2016), Carol (2015), The Social Network (2010), The Re-Animator (1985), The Bride of the Re-Animator (1989), Us (2019 ), The Invisible Man (2020), Ready or Not (2019), The Howling (1981), and Freaky (2020).

TV Shows

Not all of these shows came out recently, however I found myself looping through some of them over and over again or I put off watching the final season until I had more time.

These shows were Killing Eve, Hannibal, Squid Game, Sweet Home, The Good Place, Santa Clarita Diet, Preacher, The Haunting of Hill House, What We Do in the Shadows, The Great, Pen15, and Dollface.

For anime, One Piece, BNA: Brand New Animal, Higurashi, Fruits Basket, Komi Can’t Communicate, Jujustsu Kaisen, Wonder Egg Priority, and Horimiya.

Music

I’m not a big music buff so this category will be small. I got into Joy Division, The Smiths, The Front Bottoms, and Halsey more. I did get gifted a Halsey and The Killers albums on vinyl to add to my small collection. I still really enjoy mixed hip/hop tunes to study to, though.

Games

I’m not the biggest gamer either. I enjoy story based games and look forward to playing games more in the future, but really Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been stress reliving. One day, I broke down and played Bioshock, which was very cool. I like to watch people play games more so. I really want to play Resident Evil 8 for the aesthetic alone.

Podcasts

Without these podcasts, I would not be able to work through some of the issues I was having over the pandemic. These podcasts were holding a mirror to shine onto issues that deeply struck a cord with me, or were humorous and made me not so scared in the pandemic. These kept me sane and kept me going.

The Worst Bestsellers- These two podcasters review best selling books and discuss the ridiculous nature of some of these books. From the Twilight saga to the personal memoirs of stars like Matthew McConaughey, these ladies review all types of books. At the end of their episodes, they have a cat corner, where one of the podcaster’s cat shares his ideas on the book. Also, at the end of their episodes, they play a game of Rock, Paper, Snikt where they as a guest if the book would be better with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Wolverine would improve the book, or choose to leave the book as is (paper).

Nobel Blood- Dana Scwartz reviews the exciting and mostly bloody lives of Nobel people. It’s a history podcast with a flair of drama and more empathy towards ladies of history than a lot of what I’ve been taught.

This Ends at Prom- These two podcasters focus on teen girl movies that are often regarded as less than important by their male counterparts. I appreciate the deep dives they’re willing to do, the discussion around culture surrounding the movie, and Harmony suggestions of music to listen to at the end of the episodes. I cried a lot at some of these episodes, some of them are very emotionally draining.

Horror Queers- These two podcasters offer their takes on the queer subtext or text in a horror movie. I love horror movies, and I love fans who offer their takes on horror movies. Often they find insider tips about the movie itself.

You’re Wrong About- These two podcasters do a deep dive into the stories that media has covered briefly and left to forget, such as the “Satanic Panic” of American hysteria, the women behind the crimes of men who were used as scapegoats, and the look into starlets’ lives behind the scenes. I appreciate their compassion to those in these historic stories.

You Are Good- Literally, I think I cry every episode I listen to. Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed are pretty much having a group therapy session to unpack trauma while talking about a movie. Every time I listen to an episode, I feel like I learn something more about who I am as a person. Previously, they were called Why are Dads? but changed their name into You Are Good.

Random Number Generator Horror Podcast No. 9- Cecil Baldwin and Jeffery Cranor watch horror movies and talk about them together. Cecil loves horror movies; Jeffery is a bit horror adverse. They’re watching horror movies together with a focus about the movie itself. The energy they bring is giddy and fun. Jeffery does a not so scary story at the end of the episodes which are usually funny.

Welcome to Nightvale- The desert town of Nightvale is described by Cecil, a queer radio host who is bewildered not by the strange goings on in the town, but more so by the handsome scientist Carlos. It’s a surrealist post-apocalyptic American satirical podcast that has horror elements and black humor in it.

Youtubers

These youtubers have brought me comfort in a time where it has been difficult to really think about anything going right. I felt it wouldn’t be right to not describe these channels, as movies and tv shows have trailers, these do not usually. This is really only part of the channels I follow, but these were helpful to cheer me up from 2019 to now. There is something much more authentic for people to actually casually mentioning the pandemic. The only media that really talked about it was Bo Burnham’s Inside, which I highly recommend.

The Watcher- Ryan, Shane, and Steven have their own channel in which they have shows like Puppet History, Too Many Spirits, Ghost Files, and more. Having been a long time fan of Buzzfeed Unsolved, both true crime and paranormal, I really love this channel. Great spooky vibes. https://www.youtube.com/c/watcher

Dead Meat- This youtuber is also a horror lover, he has a regular show of the kill count where he counts the kills in a movie, rating the best kill with a golden chainsaw. His podcast with his co-host Chelsea give pretty great insight into horror movies. Overall, a fun channel for those who love slashers. https://www.youtube.com/c/DeadMeat

Danny Gonzalez- The Spooky Boy who challenges what the Youtube formula usually suggests, from Troom Troom to children’s movies. Him and his nutcracker give way to trying to understand the content around us. https://www.youtube.com/c/Danny100

Drew Gooden- Self proclaimed only Youtuber, Drew is a guy who does small video essays on a variety of topics such as Sequels that are not Sequels, bad Hallmark Christmas movies, and general commentary on the world of tv shows that are coming out now (usually bad ones). https://www.youtube.com/c/DrewGooden1

Kurtis Conner- Canadian comic, mullet wearing, Digimon loving kind of guy. Openly feminist, and overall a goofy guy. He reviews tiktok subcultures, bad CGI movies, and the occasional Canadian gem of a tv show. https://www.youtube.com/user/kurtisconner

Chad Chad- Chad Chad is a youtuber who reviews the strange tiktoks sub cultures, reviews some movies, and general sexist sub cultures of the internet. They’ve dubbed this content as a “Twinge of Cringe.” https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmvp5czsIrQHsbqya4-6Jw

STRANGE AEONS- Feminist lesbian reviewer of bad content, such as a creep’s books, videos of her cat, cursed furby imagery and tumblr discourse. Overall aesthetic is goth girl, house plants and sphinx cat vibes. https://www.youtube.com/c/STRANGE%C3%86ONS

Nisipian- A recently found gem for me, this smooth voiced youtuber window shops the internet with the eloquence of a 70’s era radio hostess. I love her, she’s tall and pretty and funny. https://www.youtube.com/c/nisipisa

Sarah Schauer- Former viner, Sarah reviews Zillow’s most unhinged ads with Brittany Broski, makes heartful videos that celebrate the idea of divorce, and reacts to service workers having been a server before. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1T0JN1hhHfNsiKtqKn_dEQ

UNHhhh and I like to watch with Katya and Trixie- Drag Queens Katya and Trixie Mattel talk in general about a broad topic, share anecdotes and review Netflix’s newest releases. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9aNE3id6zw&list=PL2NUdoJlP9ZGfUd-W4h55Ryw4FOr22Kc7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNjy2Q_25Lk&list=PLvahqwMqN4M2o2ZzY6Y8a626Lf286LdVl

Unus Anus- Started 2019, Ended 2020. Markiplier, Amy and Crankgameplays created a channel in which a major theme was death, the thought of remembrance of a person once they had passed, and just all the goofy things that you could with your friends. Their goal was in just one year, complete a video challenge of uploading content everyday. The pandemic started a little time into their filming, but they continued to keep making content. I really admire them for completing this as an artist. Though their channel is gone, it has not been forgotten. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hubLaYcjnhs

NKU 2020 Juried Student Show

I was accepted!

While I was accepted into the NKU Student 2020 Juried Show, I was never able to see it in person. It was fortunate that it was recorded., though.

Northern Kentucky University School of the Arts (SOTA) Galleries annual "Juried Student Exhibition" video gallery tour. This year's juror, is Litsa Spanos, O...

My piece is a screen printed concert poster of the musician Father John Misty. In the image, I used Misty and his wife, with the word “Lovers” written over them. My original concept was to create a series of tarot cards reflecting the albums of Father John Misty, so if I wanted to do so I could revisit this project and continue with that idea. I picked the album I Love You, Honeybear.

'I Love You, Honeybear' (Release Date: February 10, 2015) Sub Pop Mega Mart http://u.subpop.com/1I4wBxn FJM store https://fatherjohnmisty.store/collections/m...

2020 Graduation!

Graduation during Quarantine

First, I’d like to say, I really hope everyone is doing okay during this pandemic. This has been the strangest year yet, it doesn’t even feel real.

For me, when the lock down started to happen, my school was on spring break at the time. Since the pandemic was announced, my college, NKU announced it would extend spring break and continue classes online. So for the last semester of my college career, I was taking all online classes. As the pandemic seemed to get worse, and the lock down time went on for longer, our professors were kind enough to be supportive towards us. While it does suck that I missed out on walking this spring, the ceremony was not the important part of why I went to school, I went to learn. I feel bad that there is now a whole class, 2020 for both high school and college, who are unable to go to senior dances or celebrate achievements they have worked hard to achieve. Our school has offered to let seniors walk in the Fall, but I am unsure if it would be safe to do so.

Now that I have graduated there were a few plans I had for this year that due to the pandemic, I cannot do. This will bleed into my next years’ plans. We’ll see what the future holds.

Be safe out there!

Tired Drawing Tutorial

A Sleepy Presentation on How to Draw Pikachu.

I have always loved Pokémon since I was a kid. The anime would air right before I had to go to school, specifically I think it was the Indigo League until Advance came out. I found that Pokémon was a great way to start drawing as the designs from Pokémon were very simple and easier shapes to copy than drawing objects from real life. Pokémon cards were less big than Yu-Gi-Oh! cards were in my school, but my neighbor was really into collecting them. Recently, I have been down this rabbit hole on YouTube where people open these old card packs and explain the significance of the cards they opened. When I was in high school, I had a lot of down time in between my classes and played a lot of Pokémon Yellow to pass the time. By the time I was in college, Pokémon GO! was available on the app store and people went nuts over it. I think it is sorta a big stress release that has been a comfort to me from school life since I was little, so it’s kinda funny how important and relevant Pokémon has stayed in my life as well as others. In case anyone is curious, my favorite Pokémon has been Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam. https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Kadabra_(Pok%C3%A9mon)

Blog Post #3- Burning House Project

Kassondra Yount, 22, Florence, Kentucky, Student

1.) My playstation 2 that I’ve had since I was a kid.

2.) A Japanese folding fan I’ve had since high school, though it is a little broken.

3.) My first album I bought on Vinyl for Christmas, “Lonerism” by Tame Impala.

4.) A few of my favorite books, Surrender by Sonya Hartnett, The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, and Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly.

5.) My personal favorite, Shinji, my cat.

Blog Post #2 - How I Became an Artist

My name is Shinji (pronounced SHIN-gee), and my owner is Kassondra Yount. She adopted me from the Boone County animal shelter in the early summer of 2018. My namesake is from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. I have conducted this interview to get a better perspective of why Kassondra gets so frustrated when she works on artwork, especially when I bat pencils out of her hand or step on her paintings. 

(S): What is the reason you became an artist? 

(K): I do not believe I consciously chose to be an artist. I feel as though drawing is second nature to me, but it is not the case for some mediums like sculpture and ceramics. Two-dimension art makes sense to me, but three-dimensional art is hard for me to think about. I have been practicing with that, but it is still a challenge to me. The reason I choose to go to college for Graphic Design was due to my parents suggesting not to be a studio artist. Jokes on them, I can be a Graphic Designer with a studio, too. 

(S): What is your artistic practice? 

(K): Well, most of my art can be categorized into three audiences; for school, for loved ones, and for me. My artistic practice is different depending on who I work on a project for. I tend to keep a stricter schedule for school projects, as I am trying to accomplish a set goal with a rubric. With artwork for my friends or family, I do exactly as I am told, as they never commission something experimental. There is also a deadline for the piece to be finished with love ones (birthdays, Christmas, whatever, ect.), but not with friends for some reason. I tend to be more experimental for art that is for myself. I will try out different shading styles or try to be looser with my designs because this is when I typically have more fun. Though being able to have time to work on my own project is harder to manage on my own. 

(S): What environmental factors do you consider to be helpful (or limiting) to your creative process? 

(K): I do not have a studio space, but I would really like one. I hope to move into a house with my boyfriend after I graduate so I can have more space to work properly, but I have found that my best and most focused work comes from my determination towards my artwork and not my location. I am an only child of divorced parents, so while I did get two Christmases of art supplies, the tradeoff was a lonesome childhood. I didn’t have any friends that lived near me, so staying inside to draw was the only thing I felt like doing. Luckily, I had amazing art teachers all my life who always supported me and encouraged I become an artist. Even my other teachers for different subjects supported the idea of me becoming an artist. My schools were always well funded or well-resourced enough to provide its students with helpful art education. Also, you actively try to step on my work to get me to pet you.  

(S): What are your influences? 

(K): That is a pretty hard question, Shinji. I guess the general answer is everything I have ever experienced has influenced me. My number one passion in life is art, but my second is movies. My very favorite movie is Donnie Darko, and I could write several essays why, but I will spare you hearing that, Shinji. After seeing hundreds and hundreds of films, I have always went back and stood my ground that Donnie Darko is my favorite. I suggest not watching the trailer, if you haven’t seen it, and just watch it without any knowledge going in. Movies have provided me so much comfort and entertainment of the years, I would not be the same person if I had to live without them. There have been many movies that shaped my imagination, and my love of artwork as well. As a child, my parents did not stop me from watching any movie I wanted and was able to watch more adult films at a younger age. My very first movie I remember watching was Jaws, and I just remember not being too scared by the idea of a shark since we lived in Kentucky. Movies connected me with art better than any book could, but movies also allowed me to connect to others across the world. 

(S): If you had to start over, would you choose a different path in your career? Why not be something that makes you a ton of money like a lawyer or something cool like a pilot? 

(K): You would think that the conversation of why become an artist would no longer be a question after a while, but I still get asked this. If I had to start over and be something else, I still would not pick a high paying career. As I was entering college, I took a few general education courses, and the most interesting classes I took were anthropology classes. Anthropology is the study of human relations, in the past and present. I just thought it was so cool to see different cultures as someone who has never left the states, but this also would not make as much as a lawyer. In high school, I helped establish the environmental club at our school, and when I was much younger, I was a part of an environmental science club that’s primary focus was “REUSEable energy.” But I had been advised against looking for a career in that due to no one in our government taking the environment seriously, as well as I already knew I wanted to be an artist when I was a kid. 

(S): Think back to your childhood. What did you hope to become as an adult? 

(K): Ha, well it is sorta funny. I wanted to be a vet so bad when I was a little girl, but I grew into a terrible dog allergy as I got older and gave up this dream. If I was not allergic to dogs, maybe we would have had a puppy instead of a cool cat like you, buddy. But I am glad to have an awesome pet like you Shinji, you have made me the happiest owner in the world. And without that dog allergy I probably would be on track for post animal medical school instead of my senior year in college for Graphic Design.  

(S): How would you like to be remembered? 

(K): Kinda morbid to think about, right? No one really gets to choose how one is remembered nor if other people will even care to remember you at all. All you can do is try your best at what you want to do and be yourself. The thing I think is so weird is knowing what an artist looks like, because their work is what people focus on rather than how they looked, unless they do self-portraits. But if you go to a grave, there’s not always an image of what the person who died looked like. It is only now in a modern era we get to keep photos forever, or at least longer than before. But the true tragedy is not knowing them, and always wondering who they are really. We may have a timeline of life events or personal letters written to their loved ones, but we never have a complete record of their personality. So, if I could choose to be remembered, if someone had to know anything about me, I would hope they could keep in mind that it is my personality and my artwork that is worth remembering rather than my face. 

(S): If you had the chance to live during a different artistic movement other than now, which one would you choose? 

(K): I think that I would have liked to see a freshly painted romantic period painting. The romantics were so fantastical with their horror, and they had some interesting lighting techniques that are described as sublime. It was not only a period for art but for writers as well. This is the time period when the Frankenstein was written, which is one of my favorite books of all time. If I could only be in the artist world at that time, and not have to deal with the terrible parts of being a woman in history. 

Liberty Leading the People (July 28, 1830) (1830) By Eugène Delacroix, found at https://www.theartstory.org/movement/romanticism/

The Raft of the Medusa (1818-1819), by Théodore Géricault, found at https://www.theartstory.org/movement/romanticism/

(S): Are you ever afraid or concerned about being judged by others or worried about how your creativity is perceived? 

(K): I think I do worry a bit about what others may say about my artwork, as it relates to me. I remember in middle school, we went on a trip to the Cincinnati school of Arts, and I saw huge nude self-portraits of these women artists, and though wow, I didn't think I would be fully comfortable doing with drawing nude figures, but I was able to do it. I am always curious towards what I can add to my skill set or what I can learn from others. I think exposure therapy is the best way to get over something you fear or something you’re comfortable with, so if I keep working towards something and pushing my boundaries, I might get something rewarding out of it. 

(S): What has been your greatest sacrifice that you have made for your craft? 

(K): Probably my own sanity at times. During my freshman year in college, I was told I had to do an interview process to even apply into the Visual Communication Design program at NKU, and quickly scrambled to get everything ready to go, despite the interview being held my sophomore year. I redid all like 20 pieces I had to show, I found older students who had passed or graduated and asked for advice and spent a good amount of money of mounting and making sure things were straight.