Where the Wildflowers Are

 I realize I've been posting less and less, but that's because I'm working more and more, which doesn't always seem possible. Yet everyday I find several new messes to make in Megastudio.

 Today, applications for CIA's traveling scholarships were due. Graduating seniors (who meet a required GPA and have no outstanding credits) can apply for one of the six scholarships they announce at the BFA Exhibition reception. These scholarships, from $3,000-$4,500, go to students to further their career and fund their travels.

 To apply, you have to write a one-page proposal explaining what you would like to do with the money, where you would go, and what you might make. It's hard to fit everything in one page, but at the same time, it's a nice limit, and the lack of detail leaves flexibility.

 My proposal, naturally titled Where the Wildflowers Are, explains my wish to travel throughout the American West and use the almost infinite nature as the setting for a short film I want to make integrating a variety of experimental film and animation techniques.

 I made an envelope out of some chipboard, silkscreened my name & title onto it (and of course a couple wildflowers), and created a (wildflower &  string) clasp on the back. I'm a big fan of presenting everything cohesively, so even my DVDs are decorated.

 As dividers between each of the pages, I included pieces of tracing paper with xylene transfers of wildflowers: one of the techniques I want to experiment with, in animated form.

 And, since I had the screen out and my pigments mixed, I figured I might as well title my next sketchbook (since I only have a few pages left in the one I started just a few weeks ago!). I've become a big fan of coptic stitch. For awhile, I thought it was tacky, but I think that's because of the cover designs. The pages open really nicely and stay flat (nice for sketchbooks), and they look really nice as paperback. I'm hooked.

This weekend, my goals include designing another repeat pattern, prepping a screen, possibly silkscreening, hole-punching, and a ton of work on my handmade book project. Next week I'll be drawing until carpal tunnel gets the best of me.