Best of 2015 / Happy 2016!

January 1, 2016

HAPPY 2016!

Like everyone else on the planet rn, I'm taking a moment to look back on 2015 - I can't believe that it's over! It's crazy how fast time flies.. and naturally, it's a time to take a moment and reflect on "what was" and speculate "what will be."

Today, I wanted to quickly drop in and share some of my favorite posts from the year. 2015 was my first full year of blogging, and that's something I'm personally pretty proud of! While I may not have completed all of my 2015 resolutions (let's be real.. who has?), I'm glad that I stayed committed to regularly writing / creating blog posts. As I've mentioned before, a lot of time and energy goes into running a blog - and it's really nice to look back and see the year's content all in one place. These posts by no means cover every single thing that's happened to me in 2015, but I think they create a nice highlight reel:

Refinery29's #29Rooms NYFW Installation

September 22, 2015

A little over a week ago, I got to experience one of the best interactive art installations I've ever experienced: #29Rooms. It was the only NY Fashion Week event I attended this time around, but I'm okay with that because it fulfilled all of my wildest dreams, haha..

For their 10th anniversary, Refinery29 put together an epic 29-room funhouse inside a Greenpoint (Brooklyn) warehouse. Each room was created by a different artist and offered a different experience than the one next to it. It was an extremely overwhelming visual experience to say the least, lol... I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to see it Thursday night before it went live to the public on Friday / Saturday. Despite this exclusive viewing opportunity though, I still felt like I could have easily spent more time in each of the rooms. There were even some rooms I didn't go into at all or failed to photograph because I was so overwhelmed trying to just take it all in. 29 is A LOT! I think I would have been overwhelmed had there been only 10 rooms... so imagine 3 times that. I unfortunately wasn't able to catch the name / artist of each room because I felt so scatterbrained through out the night, but will try to share that info with you for the ones I was able to catch or recognized on my own.

Real Talk: The Specialist vs. The Generalist

July 15, 2015

For awhile, I was convinced that I needed to limit my love to one thing - but I'm learning to accept the fact that I love a lot of things, and that it's okay. It's okay to be some sort of creative nomad, and it's okay that I'm not the ultimate master at any one particular thing. It's okay to explore and immerse myself in a number of things, and it's okay that I don't have it all figured out just yet.

"Love what you do and do what you love."

You hear it all the time, but what the hell are you supposed to do when you don't exactly know what that thing that you love is? We graduate from high school and are expected to narrow that thing we love down to a college major. When we graduate from college, we are expected to then turn that college major into a job. With this societal mindset, we're trained to believe that that thing we do for a living, that thing that sets our soul on fire, that thing that we love has to be one thing - one thing that we decide upon in those exact moments -- but what if we don't know what that thing is when those times come? And what happens when you can't quite pinpoint just one thing? What happens when you love a lot of things?

Lorraine Loots #ANTSinNYC Exhibition

July 12, 2015

Yesterday, I wandered into Brooklyn with Kristyn Brady to see the #ANTSinNYC exhibition by South African artist Lorraine Loots on display at Three Kings Studio. We walked over from the lower east side via the Williamsburg bridge. It was my first time walking that bridge, so I was pretty stoked to be doing something completely new. We stopped in at a bunch of cute boutiques on our walk towards the gallery, and it was a super fulfilling (and super hot) day. It was totally worth the sweaty trek, though!

Today I decided to write up this quick blog post - in hopes that it inspires you to also stop on by to see Lorraine's incredible show. It is only open for a few more days (closing on July 15) - so if you are in NYC, I highly recommend going to see it before it's gone!

Yayoi Kusama's Obliteration Room

May 28, 2015

A couple weekends back, I went to see Yayoi Kusama's Obliteration Room - which is part of her current exhibition "Give Me Love" at the David Zwirner Gallery! I've seen photos of her Obliteration Room when it was on display in other parts of the world, and have always been wanting to experience it for myself (hoping that it would some day make its way to NY). When I found out she was returning to the David Zwirner gallery this spring, I was SUPER stoked and got my butt over there ASAP.

Elly Kim Daeun's SS14 Collection

April 8, 2015

Back in January, my friend Elly asked me if I could help her photograph her SS14 collection. I met Elly during my freshman year at Pratt, and I'm so glad that even years later after studying in different departments (fashion design vs. graphic design) - that we were able to come together post grad to do this fun shoot! Elly's collection is inspired by various different aspects of Korean culture, and I love her eye for color and pattern - as those are two things I am a mega fan of myself. ;) I absolutely couldn't wait to do a collab shoot with her!

Valentine Colorventures

February 14, 2015

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know that I have literally dropped off the face of the blogging world as of lately, but this post is the end of that dry spell! I have taken up quite a bit of exciting personal projects lately since the new year has gotten started, and just haven't made it a priority to sit down and write in awhile.

I started up my own Society 6 shop, which is something that I have been wanting to do for awhile. Come visit me! society6.com/amyventures

In January, I also wrote a collab blog post with Live Like You're Traveling about solo adventuring - which was a lot of fun to write! You should definitely go check it out. ;)

15 Mantras For 2015!

January 8, 2015

Happy New Year! I can't believe that it's 2015 already - 2014 came and went so fast!

This being my first full year of post-grad life, I'm feeling like kicking some serious ass and have decided to take up a personal project. Gotta start the new year with a bang! ;) I have been wanting to work on my hand-lettering typography skills for a little while now, and so I created this little project to share with you all: a series of 15 hand-lettered mantras for 2015! (If it all goes well, I may do more than 15). I have looked to inspiring / motivational quotes quite a bit this past year to get me through some of my lowest points. Sometimes when you're not feeling on top of the world, reading just the right words can totally change your mood and mindset.

New Year's is always a time to reflect back on all that has happened in the last year, acknowledge what you have learned, and revel in all the ways that you have grown. It is also a time to set new goals, hopes, and dreams - and find a way to make the next year even better. With my "15 Mantras For 2015" project, I hope to share with you some "words to live by" to keep your spirits flying high in the new year. By taking steps to fulfill my resolution, I am also hoping to motivate you to fulfill yours as well.

(it looks like I'm totally flipping the bird, but I assure you - I'm not haha…)

Someday, Someday, Maybe

November 4, 2014

Lately I've been channelling my inner Mulan, so let's get down to business:

I have taken up blogging (and social media to promote the blogging) pretty much full storm. I wake up and tackle a list of things to accomplish for my blog, and set out to do those things throughout the day. Whether it's plan new posts, photograph for an upcoming post, or sit down and write - it has all been quite a bit of work -- work that I truly enjoy. I treat it like a job, except the one problem is that I'm not getting paid for any of this, lol. I really hope that this blog can eventually become my main source of income some day (sooner rather than later), but for now I'm okay with it being something I do for pure enjoyment. I have faith that if I keep being gung-ho with it all, it will pay off - but that is much easier said than done. I know it's going to take time to establish, and I am aware of that. The support thus far has been incredible, though - and to those of you who have reached out to offer encouraging words - it seriously means the world to me.

I have a habit of hoarding all print collateral / entry tickets / etc. whenever I go to events / exhibitions ... #designerhoardingproblems — I have a habit of hoarding all print collateral / entry tickets / etc. whenever I go to events / exhibitions ... #designerhoardingproblems

Storm King & Jeff Koons

October 16, 2014

This is my first art / design related post on my blog – and after a month of blogging, I think it’s long overdue haha. This past weekend, my family drove through upstate NY, and I got the chance to finally experience the wonderland that is Storm King Art Center. It’s been on my “places to see” list for a little while now, and I keep hearing / seeing good things about it from multiple sources (mostly Instagram because… let’s be real: that’s my main source of *news*). The Jeff Koons exhibit is something I saw about 3 weeks ago at The Whitney (in Manhattan, NY) but never wrote a post about. The exhibit is the last to be hosted at the Madison Ave Whitney location before it relocates in the spring to somewhere in the Meatpacking District. I made it my mission to be sure to see it, and that was one of the reasons why. Both of these trips could have easily been separate blog posts, but since the Jeff Koons exhibit is winding down, I figured I would include it with my most recent venture to Storm King. Both of these exhibits have to do with sculpture – and while that isn’t what I studied in school - it’s one of my favorite fine art fields to go out and see. This may or may not have to do with my love for dimensional design in my own (graphic design) work. I love the interactivity of sculpture; you can’t “walk around” a flat painting to observe different angles like you can with a 3D piece. Sculpture is also affected by light and shadows – which is recipe for epic photos ;) I took a bajillion (photos) during both trips, so brace yourselves.

AMYVENTURES

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