It's over!

What's over? My so-called life (omg do you remember that show? I was really little but I sort of do)? No. My relationship with boyfriend? No. My blog? It seems like it but no. My first quarter of interior architecture school? YES! I was beginning myself to not be sure if I'd make it. The last few weeks were really straining and I was just so emotionally tired and then busy with trying to finish up strong while making trips out to Chicago that I never really got to update the blog regarding my projects. So on my last day of Spring Break (I didn't really get a full week off. I finished last week and got like 3 days off) I vowed to update the blog on my last works while trying to download all my online lectures and what-not.

So this is my first project 5 on pattern. I say first because inevitably I will have to revise it. At this point I was really drained over school and just feeling like I didn't know what I wanted to do. Not feeling super inspired as others. And my first time working with gouache (as well as color for the class in general since everything up til now was black and white, well graphite pencil and black and white). Anyway, so basically the design problem was creating a pattern than would vary to create movement. I had to use a total of 4 colors, each design using only 3 colors. My original design did not pan out and since I was a little bit on a time crunch I just went with overlapping the pattern. My overlaps weren't drastic enough to create an effect and my color palette choice was fairly poor. But since I was on that time crunch again, I didn't have time for a re-do and was just banking on the ability to do a revise.
So after enduring the critique and feeling like a failure (OK i got a B but that was unacceptable to me), I went back and re-did the project using the same concept but varied the size rather than trying to go back to that overlapping thing. So below is the revised design. Sorry all these pictures were taken quickly for my sketchbook and its a little difficult to see the third color in the top design. Anyway, so I went with a purple, blue and gray for the top and yellow, blue and gray for the bottom. Switching the purple for the yellow really makes an impact on brightening the blue and gray which were the same colors up top, but seem different because the yellow is so much brighter/warmer than the purple. So revised mission accomplished (hehe) and I can continue living with an A.


I had similar issues with my Project 6, Four in One tile, which was also my final project. It seemed so easy, but really... not. Ok so the premise of make four different individual tiles, and connect them with a center tile/motif to create on tile that evokes a different design. So my first issue with this one was what the heck do I draw. I had taken inspiration pictures and my sketches were a bit more literal until she said not to be so literal so I kind of went back to this project for inspiration on how to do it. I wish I had learned a bit more from my color mistakes as during my critique, that was really my issue. I had a few ideas while I was actually doing the project and I think I just got a little crazy with trying to use so many different colors and it ruined my project. What I thought would be good color ideas just didn't come through and of course my time crunch was worse this time as I finished my project an hour before class but it needed to be mounted on mat board and then I had to do the write up in my car 20 minutes before class started (hmm some habits never die?). But luckily the design concept was so strong that it got me an A- despite the color choices which weren't horrible, just could have been better. Also, that star motif in the middle probably could have been bigger or maybe just more bolder to connect time stronger. Anyway, the final design:


And now on to my fundamentals class. For the final project we had to choice an architect/interior designer and write a paper on them and present a design inspiration board with a 2 minute speech. I decided to do Dorothy Draper (too bad so did like 6 other girls but that just made it much easier to present since the class had already heard it). She was really fascinating as she was the first person (and woman!) to professionalize interior decorating. She had fabulous style and loved using color and big bold furniture and prints.So below is the presentation board I made. The background is fabric that I thought she would use and the pictures are of hotels she has designed as well as furniture still produced today that she designed. Hopefully I end up with a good grade =)
So I survived my first quarter and I really am proud of myself. This was a really big change for me and something I wasn't too sure I could do. Hope I'm ready for next quarter!