On the lighter side.

We are coming upon the final weeks, and I know we are all feeling the burn. It's funny though, next semester is my last, and i am just starting to feel as if ive figured out what motivates me, how to get my ideas flowing, and how long it will take me to get that onto paper. It may seem like a trivial thing, but in a design world with everything due "yesterday," it's makes me feel a little more in control when I am aware of my own design process.
This has meant me coming to terms with a dreadful aspect of myself--I'm a morning person. Now, mind you, i've always kinda known, but getting a master's degree while working an 8-5 and raising a 2 1/2 year old on my own has really worn me down. Pre-real job and Chloe, i could fiddle around for a while on the computer and generate nothing and, well, all it meant was a few less hours in the bar. But now my time is squeezed and i am always plagued with what i "should be doing" while im doing something else. So I've started to wake up at 3:45 Mon-Thurs. to do schoolwork before i start my day. Dragging myself out of bed is brutal most mornings, but i make a pot of coffee and sit down in front of my computer. And, sure enough, i produce more in the few hours before work than i do all day Saturday. I'm not distracted, my brain is perky, caffine is flowin, and things happen. Those morning hours have saved my ass.
I guess a lot of what a master's degree consists of is what you learn about yourself. What you are good at, what you struggle with, how you work, and why you are doing all this in the first place. Maybe even what you aspire to be. I've pushed myself to no longer be a slave to the computer. To use it in design but not always make things that completely revolve around it. to draw, to carve, to enjoy that fine line between being an artist and a designer..if it exists.
I find it interesting to learn how others work (like i was amazed at Pam's ability to make 50 logos in an hour) and what people learn about themselves in the process.
Oh, so i know many, many, blogs ago i claimed that inspiration was hard to come by for me, but ever since i was shown this in another class this semester, watching this became my way of pulling myself back together. As stupid as it sounds, this short video inspired me to take a different approach to my projects this year, like illustration and the ole linolium blocks.