Hi, I'm Allison, a graphic designer based in Western Massachusetts. I work with entrepreneurs who are passionate about what they do. My goal is not only to provide effective graphic design, but be a valuable business resource to my clients.
Last Saturday, I scheduled an inner portait session with local artist, and all around nice person, Dana Wilde. We met in a large studio in the Arts and Industry building in Florence, and after a little chat, she began to create my inner portrait. Unlike a normal portrait, where the artist creates an image based on your exterior appearing, an inner portrait is a visual representation of how the artist sees and interprets you on the inside.
Dana uses a method called ‘touch drawing‘, which incorporates drawing, painting, and printmaking, all into one process. This was my first run in with this medium, but I can see how it would be conducive to intuitive work. There’s no chance for over-thinking, all you can do is let the creativity flow.
Below are the two inner portraits that Dana created for me during our session. I’ve been living with them for a few days, figuring out what they have to say to and about me. As I was editing the photo of the face image, I realized that I had cocked to the right (as I usually do when I’m working), and it was like I was looking in a mirror. As for the cat image, I’ve always had a connection with cats. Being approached and loved by even the cats that “don’t like anyone”. I also see a lot of my personality traits as being cat-like, but not in a bad way (I’m not catty!).
Those of you that are close friends of mine, what do you see in these inner portraits?
Make sure that you check out Dana’s beautiful artwork on her portfolio site, www.danawildeart.com.
I just signed up for an online course given by Susannah Conway, called Unravelling: Ways of Seeing Myself. This eight week course starts on September 28th, and during the course we will be using photography, along with guided questions, journaling, and discussion to become more introspective, and gain a greater appreciation of all that’s around us.
From the Unravelling site:
“The Unravelling process is a new way to view your world, taking time to appreciate the beauty around you. And we do this in the simplest way – we stop and look. Beginning with your feet, you’re going to go on a photo safari into your own life to reconnect with who you are, where you’ve been and where you want to go next.
These definitely won’t be self-portraits in the traditional sense – we’ll be using the camera as a tool to unlock how we see not only ourselves but also the world we live in, including the immediate surrounds of our homes, places of work and our friends and family.”
You can learn more about the course, and register here.
I have always admired the endless talent of The Decemberists, and last Sunday evening I was thrilled to be able to see them at Mountain Park in Holyoke, MA. Mountain Park was an amusement park, from the era of my parents, and was closed, and abandoned in the mid-eighties. Most of me was hoping to see some haunting remnants of decaying cartoon figurines, but sadly, everything had been completely dozed to the ground. Quite literally the only thing there was the concession stand and newly erected stage. This was the perfect venue though, as it felt like we had our own private concert in the middle of the forest. Lead singer, Colin Meloy, joked later on in the concert, “I was told you all live here, in the woods…” And as the concert ended, he added, “Scurry off to your little forest homes!”
The opening act was a group called The Heartless Bastards. Seeing that on your ticket, one isn’t quite sure what to expect, but I was quite struck with this group. The lead singer really blew me away with her powerful, sexy voice, which reminded me of one of my current fav female songstresses, Brandi Carlisle.
Where do I start, proclaiming my love for The Decemberists? When you go to a rock concert, and the opening note is a pipe organ, you know you’ve stumbled upon something different. Incorporated into their music are instruments you might think disparate with rock and roll, like the accordian and the harpsicord. Next, you mix in lyrics drawn from literary works, and old english folk tunes. And then, what do you say, their entire new album is really just one long story, made up of seventeen different songs? The Decemberists are truly a group that still considers what they are doing an artform, and are constantly persuing ways to develop their work, and continue to grow, explore, and refine. Of all of their qualities of greatness, the lyrics are what sold me. Songwriter Colin Meloy has a way of writing that is simple and profound, stringing together poetic little gems, each verse standing on it’s own.
The concert was part of their Hazards of Love tour (the previously mentioned seventeen song story). Seeing this album performed live added an entire level of understanding that one misses out on when just listening. You really catch on to the different characters of the story, as well as the emotions, the energy, and the relationships. The song that I felt really benefited the most from this live show was The Wanting Comes in Waves. Before the concert, I was undecided on how I felt about it. After seeing it in person, I can’t stop listening. Shara, the lead female vocal on this song, swept the crowd away!
It was a beautiful night, and so the band stayed for an extra set of songs, playing some of my favorites; The Crane’s Wife, O Valencia, Engine Driver, Red Right Ankle, and Sons and Daughters. Sitting under the stars, on this warm summer night, sitting on the grass with my blanket, I remembered why I love live music so much. Here you are, sitting in this large group of strangers, but you all have at least one thing in common. As you sing along, you realize that you may be much more connected to the world around you than you thought.
Enjoy this clip of The Decemberists performing The Wanting Comes in Waves on The Colbert Report.
I am constantly reminded of how it’s the little things in life that make you smile, keep you inspired, and feed your creativity. I picked up these wildflowers at the Forest Park farmer’s market, along with some fresh veggies, and some raspberry sorbet from Bart’s. Definitely a recipe for a good day.
So before I moved in my new place, I put together some mood boards of what I’d like the rooms to look like. This took precedence over packing. Things were being hurriedly stuffed into boxes at the last minute, but the mood boards were done, printed, and constantly referred to. Many of my friends laughed.
Overall, the mood boards helped me organize my thoughts better, decided whether certain styles really went together (sometimes things look a lot better in your head), and saved me money by allowing me to know what I had already, and not buying more things than I could fit in a room.
This is my very first post in my new design blog, In the Works. So allow me to introduce myself. My name is Allison and I am graphic designer based in Western Massachusetts. I am also an adjunct professor at a local state college, sharing my computer wisdom with the next generation (ok, I’m not going to lie, I’m only a few years older than them.)
The blog title “In the Works” has several different meanings for me, which you will see why they each apply equally. My graphic design portfolio site is www.amdesignworks.com, see the wordplay? Next, I intend to share current client projects on this blog, in progress, or as I like to say, in the works. And finally, this blog will serve as a place for me to share my design inspiration and appreciation, whether that be references to things other designers are doing, my own photography, my current, non work related creative endeavors, or basically what’s running through my mind, or again, as I said, what’s in the works.
I look forward to sharing with you several times a week. My first posts will most likely allude to the transformation of my new apartment (and when I say new, I mean new to me). I just moved into a great place, in a house that was built in 1890. Wood floors, big windows, and tons of, um, charm.
