1. My presentation is about how my unique life experiences and have impacted my creativity. Through a series of case studies, I will examine four people from my life, tell you a little bit about who they are, share an anecdote about them, and then reveal how that story shaped my design.

Drives a Miata Loves Kenny G Tight Shoelaces Slept thru Grad. Is on Facebook Performs Fire Farts

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Plays Yahtzeeat Restaurants

2. This is a highly scientific bar chart diagramming the embarrassment level I experience in relation to my dad’s antics. As you can see, his fire fart performances are most embarrassing. These occurred during family camping trips.

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Blue Flame Special

3. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Blue Flame Special recipe, I decided to visualize it for you.

- Jeans must be Wranglers... according to my dad... to prevent back-draft.

- Van Camps known for their musical fruit producing Pork and Beans.

- Long Stick lighter, because my dad isn’t that flexible.

4. And so, this traumatizing experience became the subject of one of my first graphic design projects in college. We were assigned a display case and chose a product to create a window advertisement for. I’m especially proud of my tag line “Comfart Food.”

Cooking4%

Putting on Lipstick32%

Organizing32%

Making Me Feel Guilty12%

Emailing8%

Sleeping8%

Eating4%

5. This next case study is about my mother. Here I have diagramed how my mom spends her day. As you can see the 2 largest portions are spent organizing and applying lipstick. In fact, my mom has 5 strategically placed lipsticks: one in the bathroom, one in her purse, one next to the computer, one next to her recliner, and one in the car… that one she keeps without a lid for faster applications.

- = momhappy

6. But as fascinating as her lipstick obsession is, it’s her organization anal retentiveness that is the subject of my presentation. You see, I grewupinahousewithaforbiddenphotocopier.Whydidwehaveaphotocopier?Basically,mymomgotittoquenchherorganizationalthirst.Anditwasn'tlongbeforeIfiguredouthowtouseit,andmoreimportantly,howtoabuseit.Unfortunately,myparentssoondiscoveredthattonerwasexpensive,andmassproductionofmyfunnyfaceswasn'tveryeconomical.Thus,Iwasbanned.

7.Ithinkthebanishmentmusthavegivenmeacomplexthathassinceresurfacedinmyadultlife.Aboveisascannedselfportrait(theforegroundismyhair).Oneday,whileburningthemidnightoilatwork,IdecidedtoseewhatwouldhappenifIscannedmyface.

8.Turnsoutthereisanameforthis.It’scalled“Scanography,”or“ScanArt”...whichmygoodfriendMelissacoinedas“Scart.”SoonafterIscannedmyface,Iwasaskedtopresentonatopicofmychoosingforwork.SoIdecidedtoinvestigatethismediumalittlefurther.Herearejustsomerandomstilllifes(fortherecordtheeggwascrackedontoatransparency).

9. HomagetoSwingline.Yes,Ihavethenotoriousstaplerfromthecultclassic,OfficeSpace(itactuallycameinsideauseddeskIbought).Usingmotion,Icreatedsomeinterestingeffects.

10.Likemostgirls,Iabsolutelylovejewelry.Thecolors,andshapesandintricaciesarefascinatingtome.Thesearesomeofmyfavoriteearringsandrings.Theimagetothefarleftistheoriginalscan.Thetwoontherightarepatternedrepeatsoftheoriginal.

Sleeping Working Socializing Crying Drinking Sharpening Pencils

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Being calleda Motherfucker

11.ThisnextcasestudyisaboutmygoodfriendMadeleine.SheandIwereinTeachforAmericatogether.Andoneofthemostshockingthingsaboutmy2yearsofteachingwasthedisparitybetweenthelifestylesofaregular22yearold(showninblue),andaTFA22yearold(showningreen).

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Typical Friday Night

12.Tofurtherillustratethisdisparity;hereisasimplestoryaboutMadeleine.OnedayIcamehomefromworkat4pmintheafternoontofindherpassedoutonthecouch…with6emptyMillerlights,andMrs.Doubtfireplayingonthetv.Imeanthatisjustsad...sheshouldbeoutscrewingguysanddoingkegstands...ButthiswasjustatypicalFridayforanewteacher.

13.Later,afterIwasdonewithmytwo‐yeartermteaching,IwasaskedtohostsomenewTFAteachersatmyhouse.IrackedmybrainforwhatIcouldimpartonthem…becauseitsurewasn’tclassroommanagementskills.SoIthoughtaboutwhatitwasIwantedmostwhileIwasteaching:asociallife.ThisismyguidefornewteachersinCharlotte.

14.Icallit“OneEightOh!”aplayonthenumberofdaysinyoufirstyearofteaching(180).Thiscollectionofillustrationsencompassesseveralrookieteachingmistakes:improperuseoftheScantronmachine,monopolizingthecopymachinerightbeforeclass,gettingburiedinpapergrading,eatingcafeteriafood,andmakingbadhealthdecisions.

15.Onthereverseofeachillustrationareremediesforthosedisastersintheformoflocalentertainment,shopping,restaurants,events,andactivities.Thisprojectisasmalltokenofmyappreciationforthoseteachersgoingintothetrenchesforpubliceducation.Becauseeveryoneneedstohavealittlefun,eventeachers.

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Attention Span Hyper Activity Intelligence Extrovertedness Saliva-Talking Imagination Plays Well w/ Others

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16.MyfinalcasestudyisaboutoneofmysoccerpupilsnamedTrip.HereisacomparisonchartthatlooksatthedifferencesbetweenTrip(inOrange)andtheothermembersofour6andundersoccerteam…theTigerSharks(inGray).AsyoucanseeTriphasashorterattentionspananddoesn’tplaywellwithothers.But,heisalsomoreintelligentwithamuchgreaterimagination.

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17.Forinstance,onourfirstdayofpractice,Iwasjustgoingoverthebasicsandstartedwithasimpledrill.BeforeIcouldevensayaword,Triphadgrabbedasoccerballandacone,putoneontopoftheother,andcalledit“ICECREAM!”SoonIhadeight6‐year‐oldsrunningaroundthefieldbreakingthecardinalruleofsoccer:“Don’ttouchthefuckingball!”Needlesstosaywehadtheworstrecordintheleague,butthemostentertaininggamestowatch.

18.StillTripremindedmethat,sometimesthebestideas,breakafewrules.Thislastprojectismerevertingtoamorechildlikemindset:usingmyimagination,sayingthingsIshouldn’tjustforalaugh,beingcolorful,andteasing.Icreated12Charlotte‐Centricmagnets.Thisisthefirstsix.

19.AndtomydisbeliefithasbeenoneofthemostgratifyingandsuccessfulprojectsI’veeverdone.I’vefinallystarteddoingdesignformyself.ProducingthingsIwanttosee,notclientdrivenwork.Norules.Ievenstartedablogandonlineshopcalled“NotMadeinChina,”basicallyanextensionofthisproject.And,I’mexcitedaboutdesignagain.

20.Fromflamingflatulence,toaforbiddenphotocopier,toRobinWilliamsindrag,totheBadNewsBearsofyouthsoccer,I’vediscoveredthatinspirationtrulyexistseverywhere.Thankyou.