Ignatius Friend  

February was a hard month for me. I had a sibling die in a vehicle accident, consequently, I had to travel to Florida, which made me sad.Understandably, this made it tough to complete tasks and come up with new ideas. My senior thesis has been causing me difficulties. I had an idea that had been swirling around in my head, but I hadn’t done many sketches. Mostly because I was trying to schedule meetings with my advisors and gather all of the necessary information after conducting some research. I had a few meetings, and all but one went smoothly. Sketching is something that I often struggle with. It feels like showing your work when you’re doing complicated arithmetic to me. If you make a mistake when doing math, you can go back and look at your work to discover where it occurred. 

The difference between mathematics and design, however, is that there is no single answer, and what you believe to be correct may be perceived incorrectly by others. I offer this to let you know that drawing, or showing your work, can sometimes be useful since it helps you come up with new ideas. Sketching is also used to solve problems with greater precision. So, at my meeting, I was told that I hadn’t taken my design far enough and that I should just see what I could accomplish. I didn’t take it well because I was busy and thought I was in a good place. I knew we had a presentation, and I didn’t enjoy being incorrect, so I tried to sketch out a bunch of process work to prove to myself that I was correct. That’s when I realized I was completely wrong, and all I did was improve on ideas that seemed to be headed in the right direction and revamp a lot of things I was interested in working on with my designs. In the end, I can admit that I was wrong, and I created better work simply because I sketched, so the moral of the story…sketch more, and if you think you’ve sketched enough, try again.

Myra Brooks

My favorite VCAD resource is the wide printer and the keyboard plugs aka chargers. The lab benefits VSU by providing a practical place for all printing needs and people really dont have to be frantic and stressed because they have to find a printer. I would like VCAD to become a 24/7 place, so not just from 9-4 but from 7-12am, and have someone to work morning shift and the other to work the night shift. Out of studio management, I hope to gain knowledge and tools that would make me have a smoother senior year. I hope to be better in management and director roles because my ourside career with require it. Some challenges we face in management of the VCAD lab is maybe having the work put on one person can be overwelming and not as many things can be printing if there is only one person printing them. To solve this they can hire another worker or allow the assistants to be more hands on when Mr. Gray cannot work.

Julia Taylor

Getting started in the VCAD Lab was fairly easy. It is very similar to receiving projects from your professor, except you are being assigned a project from a list of on-going projects. Every project starts with identifying the challenge for the project, which is identifying what the client wants. Then we continue to follow the creative process with thumbnails and sketches and so on and so forth. My favorite resource in the VCAD lab is Mr. Gray. He is very knowledgable and helpful with design issues and feedback. For the class itself, I am a fan of Microsoft Teams because it makes sharing files easier. VCAD Lab benefits the Art + Design Department by giving students experience and opportunities to work with clients, as well as creative development. It helps to develop professionalism as well. The lab benefits the university as a whole by minimizing outsourcing costs. It also gives the university the opportunity to have work designed and printed “in house” by students, which gives students the opportunity to demonstrate what we have learned and our capabilities.

I would like to see the VCAD Lab become a one-stop shop for all printing projects. However, I understand there is a limitation of space and finances to support a full one-stop shop. I would like to see the lab become the best that it can possibly be. From the VCAD 499 course, I hope to get more experience with client meetings and interactions, as well as skill and creative development. As of right now, I have not seen too many challenges in management of the lab. Some projects have been put on hold, but that is out of our hands. One challenge is having design assistants on a different schedule than the class, but that is easily resolvable with email and discord for arranging meetings. 

Blog Entry – Andrea Kinnaman

Okay, we all know how scary it is to be a senior. For almost our whole lives, we have lived an academic life, whether in public or private school or even homeschooling. But now you are asked the age-old question repeated throughout life. “What do you want to be when you grow up.” Which honestly is a terrifying question. As an artist, we have numerous paths we can take. There is no correct answer to the career path we want to pursue. But regardless of what we want to do after graduation, we have the tools to become successful in our chosen field. And one of the tools under our belt is Senior Thesis, taught by Dr.Larose! With Senior Thesis, you do a lot of soul-searching about who you are, what you are willing to put up, and realizing your talents. But most importantly, you learn the business side of art and how to work with others.  

What is amazing about Senior Thesis is you will be taken care of, and I have been super thankful for that. I was nervous about this class and how I would design my thesis, and it was apparent. But after my 1st meeting and the comfort of Dr. Larose, Ms. Odell, Ms. Ford, and Mr. Johnson. I felt like I was safe and that I would learn and grow so much before I graduated. 

Another thing about Senior Thesis is that it can be fast paced. Everything is happening at once. It can be stressful, but there is one piece of advice I want to give to future Seniors. Manage your time. It is as painful as we make it to be. But also become close with your classmates now so you can work better without clashing too much. I have been thankful my friend, Lekia, and my personalities complement each other, so doing side tasks for Senior Thesis has been a breeze. 

There was not a day where I did not think about how else I could design my magazines. How crazy can I make my magazine? How many rules can I break? It was hard to focus on anything else since we also had quizzes and a textbook to read to stay on top of the class. A lot of work goes into this class, but that work can enrich art students.

Blog Entry – Alexys Hewlett

Recently, our Three-Dimensional course with Professor Tracy Shell was able to work with artist Aimee Joyaux. For two weeks, we traveled to Aimee’s workshop/studio in Downtown Petersburg to learn a few techniques for making our own paper, and we created our own layout for the letterpress. 

By making our own paper, we learned to soak the paper and how to insert it into the pulper carefully. We were introduced to several mechanisms such as a deckle and the vacuum to shape the paper and drain the excess water. We then pressed the paper with a handmade hydraulic press created by her husband, Alain. Alain, along with studio students Anquavis Luvene and Keith Banks, worked to press the paper. Jonathan Brown and I worked to place the paper on the drying rack. 

While the paper dried, we went on to start creating the layout for our print. We selected from a variety of font sizes and types to create a ‘Black Love’ themed print.  

In the following days, we printed several prints, carefully selecting colors, sizing paper, and learning to use the letterpress. Aimee Joyaux and her husband Alain Joyaux (woodwork) have had many successes within the art world. Check out some of their work in the links below and photos from our visit!