The process: summary

I sit here, exactly a day away from giving my final presentation for City Farm. I'm actually really excited, but also nervous. Up till now, this blog has been a way for me to keep track of my thoughts, and collect the images of my process. Tomorrow, when I present to panel, I will be directing them to this blog should they wish to view my process. Since I tend to ramble on a bit, I decided to post a journal summary. So.....

Hello panel! I hope you have enjoyed my presentation, and are gearing up to share it with people you know. Below are some images with captions of my process, and easy links to posts that I consider milestones in the process.

First some links:

The presentation book
http://issuu.com/mschrenker/docs/cityfarm

My portfolio (website is about 90% completed as of today) 
Website: http://cargocollective.com/schrenker
Book: http://issuu.com/mschrenker/docs/portfolio


Now for some quick links to earlier posts:

The original project overview: http://cityfarmthesis.blogspot.com/2010/06/project.html
Semester of work: http://cityfarmthesis.blogspot.com/2011/05/final-presentation.html
Farmer market visit: http://cityfarmthesis.blogspot.com/2011/06/back-at-it.html
Images of the assembly: http://cityfarmthesis.blogspot.com/2011/06/staining-messing-up-and-having-fun.html
Images from photo shoot #1: http://cityfarmthesis.blogspot.com/2011/08/final-presentation-for-summer.html
Experimenting with recipes: http://cityfarmthesis.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-2011-ready-or-not.html
First book binding test: http://cityfarmthesis.blogspot.com/2011/09/week-1-done.html
Images from photo shoot #2: http://cityfarmthesis.blogspot.com/2011/09/week-2-felt-like-week-12.html
The City Farm typeface: http://cityfarmthesis.blogspot.com/2011/10/week-4-re-cap.html
Early stages of the website: http://cityfarmthesis.blogspot.com/2011/10/week-8-complete.html


And now... visuals!

name brainstorm

testing stain and paint for the "thank you" box

testing the iron on application for the "Little Farmers" t-shirt

the first book binding test

photo shoot day 2

prepping pieces to photograph

the staining pile

the line up for photos

painting the Farm Food picnic tables

photos of the little food delivery bikes

the constructed pieces ready to photograph

my work space

photo shoot day 2

the bank of words made of hand made City Farm type

shoot #2

shoot #2 with some of my hand models in the back

The identity crisis continues....

This week in the "I have no idea who I am" saga, we focus on Missy's issues with defining who she is as a designer, and watch the dramatic cycles of doing work over and over. Will Missy lose her mind? Or, will Missy figure out who she is, and once and for all commit to a concept!

Based on my introduction to this weeks post, I guess I am losing my mind. Oh well.

I'm having a hard time nailing down my concept for portfolio. After some back and forth on my incessant list of concept ideas, I have found that I was actually on the right track to begin with. I just did a poor job defining what I meant.

So I am back at the beginning to work out just what was going on in my head, and to refine my thoughts so others can understand. To do this, I am back to loud music and booze. (Oh great. I'm a design drunk) No Beck tonight. Tonight I am enjoying the soulful voice of Adele, and bashing the songs, and terrorizing the husband, with my voice above it.

Thesis book: It sits next to me as I type this, judging me, filled with markups I need to refine. I shed tears on it everyday that I have no time to work on it. I'm looking forward to this 3-day weekend and my "day off a month" on Thursday to get it finished. What. A. Nerd.

Last weekend I shot one of my portfolio pieces to test out my new lights, and to practice different shooting styles. I think it looks OK, but I have not posted to class yet, so I may find I have to do it over.

Anyways, here are a few samples.

the page numbering system

title page

interior spread

Oh, hey there!

I haven't written in a while. I was not planning on keeping weekly posts because I am not technically in a thesis class, and I don't have much to show every week.

But, I think I need this blog. I have been writing in it since thesis started, and now I feel like I can't "feel" like I am in a semester unless I write about it each week. So here goes.....

Break was good. I worked ahead for my portfolio class, and also worked on my thesis book. It only felt like 20% of a break, but that is better than 0%. I thought I was behind where I wanted to be, but I'm not. At the end of the fall semester, I freaked out and wrote myself this insane 3 month to-do list and apparently added weird items to my list that were the same as others. It feels good to double-cross off to-do's!

So here I am in week 2 of my LAST semester. Mixed feelings. I want to be done. Badly. But, I also love school. Will I have this collaboration and challenge on a daily basis when it's over? Will I keep excelling, or fall into a "suck trap"? I know I will miss this. My school is great. Good people to work with and good teachers to pull the best out of us. I will probably cry at graduation for being happy to be done, and being sad to be done.

This semester I am refining my thesis book, which is super kick ass! I love it, and when I refine it, I will love it even more. Of course, I have these awesome ideas that are going to take so much time, so I hope I have the energy to get it done. (was that a run-on?) Instead of typesetting all my type, I am hand-typing it on my typewriter and including those actual papers in my book. (world record for using the word "type" in one sentence) Times 3 books. My fingers will kill. I have no idea how people used to type on those things all day. They hurt! But, screw it, it will look and feel so awesome!

I also have portfolio this semester. I am having a slow start. My brain wants a break, but then I tell my brain to shut it, and wait till May. It hates me. I am having a bit of an identity crisis, which is not good when you need to define who you are to compile work about yourself.

To help me out of my funk, I came home from work, lit smelly candles, put on a warm hoodie, blasted Beck, drank some wine, and got to work. It's working. Now all I need is some food.......

Shooting for thesis. My apt is too small for this. But, it's fun!

Fall semester: finito

Well there goes that semester. These past few months went very quickly and I'm happy to say, I had a great semester. I did not get everything done that I wanted, but I have no idea why I really thought I could anyways. I tend to make more work than time, but that does help me bust my ass, so its a good thing. I did that to the extreme this semester.

Although the semester is over, I have a mountain of work to do before the spring starts. I need to finish my book, refine my website, re-do my presentation, refine older projects for my portfolio, assemble my initial portfolio, make my process journal, and refine parts to my thesis.... then re-shoot ALL of my work. I have 5 weeks to do that, one of them is completely off of work. Fingers crossed I keep up the motivation.

My pre-final presentation went great! Not "great, they loved it, my thesis is perfect", great. But, great as in, I received helpful feedback and it is mostly all parts I knew I needed work on. No surprises or big issues with my project as a whole. Just a LOT of work needs to be done to my presentation/organization of information. It's my weakness. But, the feedback they gave was so good, that I have a lot to work off of to make it better.

Although I won't be done till May, this was my final thesis class. I am not sure if I will keep up my weekly postings, but I will post when I have finished pieces to show. I'm happy to get working on my portfolio in the spring and building up the rest of my freelance business. So my efforts will soon be shifted over to my side work and day job, which will be nice. Hopefully no more spacey, stressed, Missy. :)

I plan on beginning a new blog to compile my images from photography jobs, just with a better blog system.....maybe tumbler. That blog will be used along with my website and will help me market my work. I look forward to doing some creative work that I get paid for.... rather than paying for it :)

In the meantime, here is a sample of images from the wedding I shot last month. Everyone looked amazing, the day was awesome, and Tico (the reception restaurant) did awesome. I hope I get to shoot there again.

Week, something or other...

Well, it is here. My pre-final presentation is tomorrow. I'm presenting a "new" way this time and I think it will go well. My presentation is heavy with visuals, and I have absolutely no speaking notes. I have practiced what I want to say over and over so many times, I remember it for the most part. I'm hoping not reading bullets or notes will keep the panel engaged. I know my work and topic well enough, that I should be fine. But there is a slight chance I get nervous and barf everywhere. Kidding.

Web
This was the last week it was on hold and I am ready to pick it back up again. I gave up thinking I will have the whole thing coded, but I do need to make some changes to the design for the final book. The code stuff will have to come later, or when I graduate. Learning never ends :)

Book
It is also the last week this is on hold too. Some parts are now refined though, because I needed them for my presentation. I can't wait to get my grid locked down, and make this book look really nice in the next month.

Life
Still not much of a life. I got out a little this week and took some time off of homework to mess around with my macro lens and the Christmas lights. That was a good time. :) I didn't get to yoga this week and I miss it. I was just busy this weekend with homework and could not take the 2 hours to go. :( Maybe I will do a quick vinyasa before bed so I feel like I worked out.

Food
Been taking pictures of random foods to get inspired, but I'm not sure how I will use them in my book. Either way, I need some food spreads in my book as a breather to the thesis work, and to remind the reader what it is all about. I'm gathering some images of food production, plates of food, ingredients and my typical cooking mess. I'm hoping this will spark some idea of how to use them. Nothing yet.....so I just eat the food.

Most likely, there will be no visuals till the book is done. So here are a few images I took with the tree lights that will make this post sparkly.

Last day of week 12

I know I say it every week, but I have no idea where this week went. It's taking me longer than I thought to put this presentation together, so I didn't get through my weekly to-do list. Oh well. It is due today for the rehearsal, but I can make the changes I need the rest of the week before the actual presentation. The long weekend away from work was good, I have no idea how I would have gotten all the work done I did, if I had to work Friday. But, I was pretty happy to come back to work today. I was lonely. I spent most of the time off, sitting in front of my computer and I feel better being around other people, even though I am working.

Web
Still on hold. I hope by this weekend my presentation will be refined and practiced enough, that I can move on. I also hope to practice the code that Mike has been teaching me these past few weeks before I forget it.

Book
Also still on hold. I miss working on my book. It was just starting to get it pulled together when I had to put it off. But, there is no point in working on it before I get overall feedback on my thesis. I would end up doing things twice. Not a good use of my time.

Life
Still don't have one, obviously, if I am looking forward to coming into work to be with people. I went back to the hot yoga class and it went well. I am sore but not as bad. I wish I could go every night. It is my happy time lately. I can't think of school or work, or life. I love being able to clear my head by focusing on not falling over, or breathing through the pain of holding myself up in a weird contorted position


Food
I am not the cook anymore, or even the food planner. I tossed that duty to the hubby. He is a great cook, but not is so into the food planning for the week. I just don't have the brain space to plan meals ahead lately, so he has to do that too. He even took over the thanksgiving baking. I can't lie, I was jealous. Once I graduate I'm going to make so much food, everyone I know will be fat from me giving it away. That is my goal.

I'm lacking with the visuals for this week. My presentation is meant to be presented, not seen as stills. So I will post a few pictures of a shoot I did at Latitude restaurant in W. Spfld. Hey, it's food, and is my work, so why not!?

Looking back at week 11

This week's to-do list was a big one, and I got through almost all of it. Yay! Everything is so insane right now, that I feel like I am floating around through life in someone's dream... not even my own. Oddly enough, its a good feeling. I'm too busy to be stressed, running around so much I don't have to worry about staying sleeping, and working on so many cool things that I don't need to worry about being inspired.

Web
No time these past couple weeks to work on code. I miss it and I can't wait for the insanity to die down so I can mess around with it again.

Book
I love my book! The binding is really nice and the pages are taking shape. I did not get my grid worked on this past week, but that has to take a back seat for another 2 weeks.

Presentation
This is what is causing all the stir lately. I present my "final" on the 6th. I will get to present in a sort of formal way and get some feedback from 3 people who sit on panel at the real final in May. I'm looking forward to it. I'm working on my presentation now and need it to be done in a week from today. Yikes! Luckily, the pieces I am missing for the presentation are also needed for the book, so in my mind, I'm working on both.

Life
I decided that I should do some sort of physical activity each week, because stress is high and my body has gone to shit. I hit up a hot yoga class on Sunday, which is something I haven't done in close to 2 years. Apparently I jumped in on the strength one and I am feeling it today. I had to roll out of bed this morning because my arms, legs and abs were too sore to use. That's pretty bad. I will be going back next week, and hopefully soon, I can be back in shape.

Food
Brandon made sauce on Sunday and it smelled awesome. I dunked a few slices of bread it in, once it was done and it tasted so good! He is making pasta with it tonight for us.

City Farm building and land

ALMOST final mock up, book cover

Spine, binding