May 30th and 31st –

This was the beginning days of my internship at the Hand Art Center working under Tonya Curran. Today I was taught the process of scoring the walls in order to get ready for a new exhibit that would be displayed over the summer. Scoring is the process of taking out art hardware filling the holes with Spackle. I have not really used this before so it was definitely a new experience to do. After filling the holes I sanded them and then repainted the walls before I could hang the art and level it out on the wall. I believe that this was a fun learning experience as I got to know the other people working in the museum alongside me.

The next day was the first day of being able to dive into the Oscar Bluemner exhibit, which I really enjoyed! We took the exhibit down and I was able to take them out of the frames and finally got to learn about the vault! I had taken museology with Tonya prior to this internship so I was aware of the work that I would be handling and taking care of. I was taught the documentation software Past Perfect and learned the beginnings of it. My favorite part of putting away the art was truly getting to see all of the works that I had not yet seen. I like the ability to be able to put it away and document it on my own with the guidance of Tonya.

Well, the internship I’ve been planning for/looking forward to is finally underway! It’s honestly surreal to think about how just months prior I was searching fervently for a summer job or internship. I was constantly scouring the Internet and worrying that I might not have anything significant to do with my downtime. But now, here I am in Morehead City, North Carolina, settling in to my new duties as a Coastal Plain League multimedia intern.

I have to say that I had a lot of mixed emotions going into this position. On one hand, I was excited for the possibilities, as a multimedia position often allows for work in different mediums. Seeing as my portfolio definitely needs more love, I was happy for the chance to have a multitude of pictures, videos, graphics, and maybe even audio work under my belt. But on the other hand, I was nervous that I wouldn’t enjoy it, that I would be so far from home, and that it wouldn’t be as rewarding of an experience as I hoped.

After completing my first game/first line of duties Friday night however, I can safely say that those fears are pretty much being laid to rest! Friday night marked the first home game of the baseball team I’ve been assigned to, the Morehead City Marlins. I was definitely a little nervous going in, as I had a lot on my plate. Essentially, I was expected to take pictures and videos of the game and all its events, coupled with posting regular game updates on social media. It was my first time taking more “professional” pictures, and therefore I was worried about the quality of work I would produce.

Once I got into a battle rhythm however, it ended up being a lot of fun! I was able to scope out just the right places to photograph the action, and with the correct settings, I was able to capture some shots I didn’t even know I was capable of taking! Definitely a confidence booster. Not only that, but I ended up with over 500 pictures by the end of the game, ie plenty of work to show for myself. And that was only one game out of many more to come.

Suffice to say, I’m looking forward to what the next games will bring, and I’m excited to see how much my skills improve over the next months! I’ve also got my fingers crossed for some graphic/audio opportunities with this internship, so I’ll keep you posted on any new experiences!

For my second week of interning with Chesapeake Family, I created more advertisements for the magazine and its social media, such as Facebook and Instagram, where they appear as links for the user to click on. Some of these advertisements are photos (some photos belong to the company and some are bought) with text and logos, and some advertisements are designs that I create entirely with Adobe Illustrator. For example, one design I created is of a stage with parted curtains and a spotlight shining on the center with the words “Stage Struck,” an article about theater programs for kids.

The art director taught me new Photoshop and Illustrator techniques that I wasn’t familiar with, such as making the text on an ad “pop out” more. I’ve always been familiar with the different fonts and sizes, but there are ways to edit the shadows, transparency, etc. of text that I previously wasn’t aware of.

Another part of my internship that I started this week is going out on a boat with Spa Creek Conservancy, a conservation group that tests water levels in the Chesapeake Bay. We check the bacteria to make sure the water is safe to swim in, and the nutrients to make sure there aren’t any algae blooms that deplete the oxygen in the water. Spa Creek Conservancy and Chesapeake Family are partners, and I will be taking photos and videos of us on the boat on nice days (it was cloudy and rainy this week so  didn’t bring my camera) for our media. I also participated in a live Facebook stream with Chesapeake Family where I discussed water testing.

According to the art director, I will be starting a new project next week.