Nichole's Art Studio

I know I keep disapearing, but no, I am not dead.

2010-03-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

Ampersand has a new blog! www.ampersand-blog.com
Fans of mine may want to start following because I post much more often there...for business reasons- ya know?

We have some cool stuff coming up- I will try and keep ya posted.

The Graduate.

2010-01-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

Here is Frannie and I graduating! Hooray! BFA in Graphic Design... I got hair in my lipgloss...hate when that happens.

Black & White

2009-12-16T18:03:00.000-08:00

So- it is almost over. I am cramming for my last final that's tomorrow. My graduation commencement is on Friday morning, but the shitty thing about it is that i will have no idea whether or not I am technically graduation since grades won't be in. Bullshit.

Anyways---here is a pen and ink drawing from the ampersand series.

WoooooooahMan!!!

2009-12-15T17:11:00.000-08:00

Man & Woman

Pogs!!

2009-12-11T08:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I am supposed to be finishing up a big fat paper for class today- but instead I have it in my mind that blogging is somehow a necessity...although I have pretty much lost all my readers due to abandonment. Oh well- it is good for me to post. Like therapy. :-)

Pogs are something that I remember from childhood and I thought that it would be fun to make my own series of pogs as a sort of business card for my partner and I. I think they turned out really great and the illustrations are fun. Now for slammers!!!

Where does the time go?

2009-12-11T08:21:00.001-08:00

I decided that it it high time that I get back into blogging....I have had a few people get after me for not keep up with it- I AM SO SORRY GUYS! From now on I am going to kick all sorts of ass...until other things get the best of me. ;-) Everything has been a bit overwhelming with trying to finish up school and running a business- but I am going to start doing art I love as soon as school gets outs- don't worry! For now, I will post some stuff from my portfolio show- that's right, my SENIOR portfolio show! The end is near.

Unbelieveable.

2009-10-31T02:09:00.000-07:00

Man- so many new and exciting things have been happening these days. Ampersand Studios is up and running, kicking ass & taking names :-) We have been so busy it is hard to keep up! We are currently working on getting a studio space in an office building...I am still pinching myself because in a million years I would have never imagined having the opportunity of a storefront in our first year of business! Although things are really hard right now, I have to remind myself that all this hard work will pay off. This is what I went to school for, this is my love and livelihood! Right now, much of my time is spent with school and the Rec Center design position as well as my part time waitressing job...ampersand time is spent meeting with clients, photoshoots, retouching, invitation design, corporate design, planning, web building, marketing, and trying to keep my head on straight.

I couldn't do anything without my friend, roommate, and business partner Frannie. She is one of the most talented and amazing people I know. Thank you to everyone who has been supportive through all this...you keep us strong and we couldn't do it without the people who believe in us.

xoxo
Nic

2009-09-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that graduation is almost upon me...it feels so close I can touch it! At the same time- am I ready? What happens when I no longer have school as a security blanket? I am going to have to go out and find my own health insurance...I am not even sure how to do that? *sigh* All I have to look forward to is the end of interning and no more mundane projects that are so influenced by my professors. It is time to do what I want- now, am I ready for it?

Now that you had to listen to that- here are a couple new rec posters.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-09-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

So everything is keeping me sooooo busy! Here is a photo from a senior shoot I just did. I am trying to keep uploading more fine art/design stuff if I can.

2009-09-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Back to School!

2009-08-24T16:20:00.001-07:00

Okay, so it is time to get back in the groove of things. Everything is falling back into place and I am going to try and find more time for my own work. Here is a back-to-school poster I did for AIGA Bsu to help us recruit some new members. I will be posting a lot more soon. Thanks for following me guys- I am glad you didn't give up.

The Rec

2009-06-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

So I currently have a job at the campus rec center on Boise State campus as a designer- I just design promo posters for sporting events I know nothing about. Here is some the the stuff I have done so far: The flag football one already got rejected (he thought the concept was confusing)...so it really limits the inspiration to be creative---oh well. I will share it with you guys!

Magazine

2009-06-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

What the hell have I been up to!?

2009-06-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I bet all of you are wondering where I have been and why I don't have any new work up...welp- the big answer to that is that I am currently working 2 design internships as well as my waitress job and I am working on getting my business together. Ampersand Studios will be up and running in no time at all!! If you guys are interested in keeping up with the updates- www.ampersand-studios.com is our site (no there isn't much on it yet) and we are also on Twitter I will most definitely keep posted on our progress! Also- check back here and I will get more of my weird shit up in no time. :-)

xoxo
Nic

P.S. I love the comments! I appreciate it!

TEAM AMPERSAND!!!!

AIGA BSU

2009-05-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

I am now the Vice President of AIGA BSU Student Chapter- this is a poster I designed for an upcoming event.

Postcard Design

2009-05-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

I got a a new job doing part time freelance for a design firm in Boise. Most of the work they do is out of TX, this is also an out of state client "Advanced Pain Care" who needed a postcard to let their clients know they were switching locations.
I am proud that I built this all by myself completely vector! Yay!

2009-05-17T20:17:00.001-07:00

After the Circus

2009-04-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

The Chicken or The Egg

2009-04-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

2009-04-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

Here is the logo I designed for a corporate identity project. It is a modern "vintage" tattoo shop that prints the work of their tattoo artists on apparel and novelties.

Sorry I haven't been uploading much lately!! I will be better about it! I promise....

Color!

2009-03-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

2009-03-19T09:46:00.001-07:00

Stereotypes Series

2009-03-06T23:10:00.000-08:00

(click to view larger)

2009-02-26T21:51:00.000-08:00

Fun in Class with John Francis

2009-02-18T19:29:00.000-08:00

So last week, Francesca and I had a drawing contest during our class critique that consisted of us drawing our professor....well this is the outcome of my drawing which we decided to print on T-shirts. We then wore our T-shirts to his class today...he was a really good sport! All in the fun of design eh?

2009-02-16T17:39:00.000-08:00

This is an assignment from a couple years ago- we were supposed to record something we do regularly for a couple of weeks and then present it in a vehicle that takes a stand on the habit. My habit was lipgloss application and I presented it in pop-up book form.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T17:25:00.000-08:00

Pointless "Super" Heroes

2009-02-14T13:19:00.001-08:00

I got an assignment in my photo class to: take a phrase from an email or text message and make a 4-photo series about it. I took the phrase "yes I do have wild hair, it is my super hero power" said by my sister. So I got the idea to make a series of pointless super heroes that really have more of "traits" rather than "powers":

Captain Iron Lung

Trendy Hippie Guy

Granny Pantie Gal

Mustache Man Incognito

Designing T-Shirts

2009-02-11T18:28:00.000-08:00

The obsession continues....

2009-02-11T00:53:00.000-08:00

For those of you who actually follow my blog, I uploaded a little tidbit of the shoot I did last weekend. As most of you know, I have been obsessing over Alice in Wonderland for quite some time--so I had a vision of what I wanted this shoot to look like and I feel like it came out just how I wanted it to. I am happy.

Fun with the Lens Baby

2009-02-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

So today I checked out a little lens for my Canon digital SLR called a "lens baby." It is really my first time ever playing with the lense so i did some experimental stuff to see what it could do. I had a lot of fun playing with it---it has a small focal point and then blurs everything around that point. The apertures are all manually attached by a magnet- what a hoot. I will probably do quite a bit more shooting with it since I have it til next week. Fun Fun!!

3D projects

2009-02-02T20:16:00.001-08:00

These are way back from last year-- I just barely got some pictures of them, so here they are!

Sex Pistols collectible discography
This boxed set includes 4 Sex Pistols albums featuring the faces of the band members on a fold out, hand stitched, disc case. Includes collectors cards with Pistols snapshots and a limited edition "Sex Pistol Condom Box"----get it? "SEX" "PISTOL"!! I am so clever.

Propaganda: Magnetic Feelings
For this assignment I was asked to design something that falls along the line of propaganda. I went with the idea of categorizing feelings. Each feeling goes into a box with a representative corresponding face icon. At the time I was going through some tough stuff in my life and honestly felt....nothing. At which time it seemed that I was pressured to identify my feelings by others and at the same time, wondering what I was feeling myself. This opened up a door to the idea superficial-izing "feelings" and the mixed messages associated.

Precious

2009-02-02T19:42:00.000-08:00

This was my second to last design project for last semester. I posted some of the progress as I got it done. The assignment was to find a body of text that was precious to us in some way. I chose excerpts from my journal and ended up with a piece that deals with my relationships with the men in my life. I love love love the way it turned out---I painted the portrait in the background with acrylic, the heart is made out the clay, I used a real zipper, needles, razor blades etc. The text is screen printed on sheets of liquid latex. It is in a glass case and the tool is a pair of medical skin pickups.

It is an interactive piece in which the viewer has to use the tool in order to work around the skin-like latex.

2009-02-02T17:25:00.000-08:00

2009-01-28T21:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some pieces from a couple years ago. I made them in a hand process class and have a special attachment to both. The top is a one of several prints and the bottom is a few pages from a book that I made. Finally got them scanned in.

Identity Book

As a young adult trying to establish her own identity, my personal work has generally dealt with just that. For this piece, I wanted to explore a new avenue of question and opportunity: the identity of others. Throughout the duration of this assignment, I asked fifty-five people to write down what they believe to be their “identity.” Although the question seems pretty broad and somewhat arbitrary, I used it to my advantage to get a wide variety of responses. I asked people of all ages, some I know very well and some that I don’t know at all. I was so surprised with how honest and revealing some people were with their reactions. This has been such a wonderful experience and will always be a powerful piece to me personally.

Media:
Handmade paper from recycled personal documents
Printed with wood and lead type; handwriting
Hand bound

Church Logo Proposal

2009-01-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

I was recently asked to design a logo for the Central Assembly of God in Meridian Idaho. The logos I submitted were narrowed down and this was the favorite of the client. I am now awaiting approval from the church- so it will be exciting if my design is chosen.

New addition to the Accidental Death Series

2009-01-22T19:04:00.001-08:00

The Original:

Haunted house

2009-01-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

So my friend TJ and I went on a shooting adventure since we were both feeling like we hadn't done much art over the Christmas break. We found an old abandoned house and did some exploring- here are some of my photos from the adventure:

Logo Mania

2008-12-29T10:36:00.001-08:00

Playing "Catch up"

2008-12-29T10:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, here is some old stuff from my black and white manual photo class. I am trying to get somewhat of an updated portfolio on here- so I am moving a little backwards til I get new stuff up. Enjoy.

End of the Semester...Whew!

2008-12-22T01:11:00.000-08:00

So it is finally the end of the semester, actually went by pretty quick. I am hoping to have a good break to work on some long awaited projects and take a breather from forced creativity.
Here is a painting I did that I gave to a friend for Christmas, it is approx. 3 x 3 ft in acrylic.

Carbon Transfer of Alice and Rabbit.
I have a bit of an obsession with Alice in Wonderland right now. I am currently reading the book and getting pretty hyped about the Tim Burton movie coming out soon!!

Type Installation

2008-12-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

I just finished an assignment where we were supposed to install a series of 3 "truisms" in the environment that sum up things we have learned in our lives so far. These are mine:

Truism #1 "Art is cheap therapy"
Materials: Plastic Bag, Overland Overpass

On my first adventure, I had a little run in with the police. I tried to smooze my way out of it, he was a real jerk...oh how one suffers for art!

Truism #2 "All we have is our own perception of the world"
Materials: Cellophane, Spray Paint, Trees

Truism #3 "We really aren't that important"
Materials: Magnetic Letters, Various Metal Surfaces

Jazz Festival Poster

2008-11-24T21:51:00.001-08:00

Here is my poster for the Gene Harris Jazz Festival from September

Stylist Corporate Identity

2008-11-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

I recently did a promotional advertisement and business card design for a good friend and personal hairstylist Stacie Hall

Business Card:

Post Card Ad:

CD Album Design

2008-11-13T12:45:00.000-08:00

This is a project I did a little while ago, in which I used mixed media to create a CD album.

Current Projects

2008-11-13T11:42:00.001-08:00

This is an illustration project where we had to design a theater poster of our choice. I used painting, photography, and digital elements.

Here are some of the preliminary parts of a mixed media piece I just did- I will post photos of the finished version as soon as I get it back from my professor. I wanted to include my inspiration by the work of Frida Kahlo, as well as dissection and medical practice mixed with my own feelings and thoughts.

Batikaholic

2008-11-13T11:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the many batiks I have made. For those of you who don't know- batik is a process that deals with wax resist on fabric. You first put the wax where you don't want the dye to go- then you dye it, then wax off that color and so on. It is so fun and awesome- this is a Nampa High huge batik I did- took me forever!

Here are some self portraits:

Personal Work

2008-11-13T11:12:00.000-08:00

REACH OUT AND TOUCH FAITH
This is a conceptual piece focusing on faith being tangible. I am poking slight fun on religion as well- and the idea of having "your own personal Jesus." Religion has become something else, while faith is so personal. I believe God has a sense of humor, otherwise he wouldn't allow us to make Jesus action figures.

After finding an bird corpse in the grill of my car, I became inspired by both the humor and mortality of the situation. I decided to make the first of a (hopeful) series titled "the accidental death series." I have many more ideas- it is just a matter of time to get them done.

If you haven't figured it out already, I have a little bit of a sick sense of humor... I love things that are ironic about our culture and I get a real kick on playing that up. This one is titled: "Vitamins and Cigarettes" It is about the justification of American culture and how we make excuses for ourselves.

My new art blog

2008-11-13T11:02:00.000-08:00

I decided to take the advice of Bill Carman and make an art blog of my own to post my up and comings. Plus I think it is good practice to be able to talk about my work, since that is never easy for me. So I will start off with some older stuff and try to move up to date. I am just going to post my favorites of whats been done in the past 6 months or so...here we go!
Here are some old illustration projects: