Update no. 2

Hello Parents!

So when I updated last, I was dogsitting for one of my mentors. Well, I had my internship the next day and had a very productive time. I went out on an errand to pick up art although I wasn’t able to get any contact from the place because there wasn’t exactly a business to go to and I was pressed for time. There’s only so much you can do when you’re sent to the other side of the city. Nevertheless, I think that my responsibilities in my internship have started to become more important. I did a lot of phone banking, calling other artists on when they were going to donate their art to the auction. I have also been asked to come in for a lot of tasks in the upcoming week. I am becoming more talkative at my internship and getting to show more of my personality and enthusiasm. I believe that this will lead to bigger responsibilities and more opportunities to get more connected and familiar with the industry.

Also, as I have already told you about, I finished my portfolio today! I left my camera at my mentor’s house so I wasn’t able to photograph them properly but they’re up there for now. Now that I don’t have to do the specific kind of drawing that the application required, I have decided to do more work that is more rewarding to do. I really think that now you will be seeing a different kind of effort put into producing work because now I can focus on work that I definitely want to do. Just don’t expect too much, because I still am busy with all my other obligations.

Having said that, I have created a new blog in which I can produce work that will be more like the work I plan to do professionally – editorial work and art direction. This will be very different than producing drawings. So I propose that every week, I will submit two fully designed articles on whatever interests me. For example, this upcoming week I will definitely post about working in the auction coming up and what it’s like setting it up.

Working on this project will be a good opportunity to apply myself to Art Direction and Editorial design - the kind of work that I will be doing in New York. This will also be a great chance to make use of my stay here in San Francisco, where there is an art community. The blog will force me to be better at my internship and more conscious about what the art world is like here in San Francisco. I think that this project will also force me into learn how to brand myself, promote myself, and market myself so I can get more interesting articles and get more connected with the art community. And most importantly, I think this will help build a strong design portfolio.

I have set up the website with a sample post on what the articles are going to be like. You can check it out here.

As for schoolwork, it was hard getting anything done this week because of dogsitting but I did submit what was required for this week. But now that I have finished my portfolio, drawing all night wouldn’t have to take up most of my time. And I have dedicated time tomorrow and Tuesday to work solely on schoolwork.

So next week, I will be focusing on getting my application for SVA done so I can send it out by Sunday or earlier. I already know that I will be asking for the application fee, which is $50. I am calling the Admissions Counselor first thing tomorrow morning so that I can be clear that I already have everything I need to mail in my application and if there were any other requirements I am not aware of. I will let you guys know more about it when I update this blog next time.
Next week is also the week of the auction. I will be working at my internship non-stop from Wednesday to Saturday night. The goals for the internship are pretty much the same: talk more, keep my enthusiasm, and learn as much as I can about what it takes to set up an auction. And of course, I will also try to get some information to put up in my blog.

I have a pretty busy week coming up ahead, so although I know that mom did mention that now I can focus more on the EKG program, I won’t be able to do any serious reading on it for at least two weeks. But don’t worry. I feel like we still have some time because the actual course does not start until January. There’s still some time after two weeks to learn about Basic Life Support and get a grasp on EKG.

I really appreciate the support that I have been getting since I started this blog. I’m grateful for the encouragement that you guys have been showing and it does make me feel better about writing these updates. So I’m definitely grateful for that the most. And I am also thankful for the extra money that you guys have sent recently. I know that Dad send $100 for “art supplies and etc.” But I’m not sure exactly if he expects that to also cover food and allowance. It’s just a bit unclear. I do have some money now but I don’t know how to exactly budget that toward the next couple of weeks. Because what if I called next Friday and asked for allowance and you say, “Well I just sent you $100.” It would just be easier to know so that I will know when it would be a more than okay time to ask for some allowance and food.

Dad, can you please send me some stuff from the house? I still would like the frame from the trunk of the car; apparently the deadline for art submissions for the auction is on Thursday and Friday. So it’s not that much of a rush and it would be great if you could send it so I can save a little money. I also have a book on Art Direction + Editorial design lying around. It’s by Yolanda Zappaterra. I don’t remember much about how it looks like other than it has an eye somewhere in the book cover. It would be very helpful for the blog.

There are two other books that I’m very interested in that would help both the blog and my efforts here in San Francisco. The first is Art Direction Explained, At Last! I have browsed this book here in San Francisco and it’s pretty good introductory course into what it would be like working as an Art Director and what I would need to improve on in order to be a great one. The other one is Seven Days in the Art World, which I feel will help me get a better insight on what the art world is like. I have done research and Amazon has a really good deal on the paperback versions of these books and with the Free Shipping deal, it’s even cheaper to get them new than buying them used.

So that’s it for now, the next update will be Tuesday night or Wednesday morning at the latest. I’ll let you guys know what the Admissions Counselor says then.