Hello all!

Due to this non-stop rain all I have wanted to do is sleep!! I hate how I am never very comfortable in bed on mornings when I don’t have to get up early, BUT, the mornings when I have to wake up I feel like my bed is the most comfortable place on earth! Well, this has been happening to me all week. I guess the rain just makes my energy run on low.

As far as school goes, I feel like I’ve been living at NESAD (The New England School of Art & Design) lately, which is the trend with most of the art students. My classes have been pretty busy as usual. I am taking five courses: Residential Design Studio, Furniture Design, Ideas of Western Art II, Interior Materials and Finishes, and Interior Codes and Construction.

We had a project due in Residential Design this week. We had to design a master bedroom suite in Cambridge, Ma where we had to use inspiration from another famous designer. I choose Mark Hampton and made a pretty cool room based on transitional design. I was really happy with how it came out! I had a critique for it yesterday, which entails presenting your finished work to your classmates and professor (and sometimes outsiders such as other designers or architects). A critique can be nerve racking, but it’s a great way to develop strong presentation skills, handle positive and negative criticism as well as get input from professionals. I don’t mind presenting my finished work, but some people find it very stressful. I love that class because we have the freedom to put our own personal taste into our projects. Plus, we have a great teacher! In Ideas of Western Art we are going to the MFA today to look at the Medieval exhibit. I find a lot of these pieces from the Renaissance to be really interesting. This class is definitely ALOT of work, but I like learning how all of the past art and architecture impacts how we design today. In furniture design we are working on designing our own table, lamp, or seating unit. I chose to make a cool table out of old magazines! I want to concentrate on the verticals vs. the curves and how they relate to one another. I haven’t done too much else with that concept so I will keep you posted on my final thoughts. I am excited for my next Materials and Finishes class because we are having someone come in and talk to us about glass. Now for all of you non-artsy people who read this, I know that sounds boring and dumb but I find it fascinating how many different types of glass there are and how many ways there are to use them in design! Plus, I’ve heard from other students who have taken the course that the presentation is awesome. Last, in Codes and Construction, we are working on the fundamentals of how a house is built and how the materials (studs, gypsum board, cement, steel, etc) are all used in the structure. FEWW, that was a mouth full but now that you have a summary of what I am working on, I’ll be able to keep you updated on my projects.

Outside of school, I’ve had quite an exciting week. My boyfriend got a puppy! Her name is Patch and she is five months old and ADORABLE! Patch was rescued from Georgia and the vet thinks that she is an American Bulldog/Lab mix (I think she looks more like a Beagle/Lab mix). Maybe running her around and listening to her cry at night (we are in the process of crate training her) is contributing to that longing for sleep I mentioned earlier. My best friend, Jessica, is coming to Cambridge today to go eat at Fajitas and ‘Rita’s with me. I haven’t been there since last semester and I am craving it! Jessica goes to UMASS Boston so it’s pretty convenient for her to travel my way after class either by T or by car. That is one of the perks of living and going to school in Boston. There are so many schools in the city so it feels like one giant campus!

On another exciting note, Nick Verreos from Project Runway is coming to the C. Walsh Theatre on March 1st at 7pm, and the tickets are free! Yes, I said FREE to all of you broke college students (me included). I loved him on the show and this visit promises to be entertaining! I plan on going with another interior design student and I expect to see a lot of people there.

Well, that about sums up my life in the past week. I’ll be back next week to fill you in on every upcoming detail!

Stay Warm and Dry,

Kris