The Importance of Keeping a Notebook

If there is one thing I have come to understand in my many years of art schooling, it's that notebooks are pretty important. Full of sketches, doodles, words, etc., they hold all your ideas and dreams in a nice little bound package. Which is both cute and good for helping you communicate and work through your ideas.

In all honesty, I struggled with notebooks for a long time. This struggle can be traced back to 2 things. 1.) Each class had so many requirements as to what had to be in the notebook that often times keeping a notebook felt like a chore. A chore that was really easy to get behind on and then slap something together right before the due date. 2.) The perfectionist in me was afraid of messing up, of not creating a book that flowed from one page to the next and told a beautiful story. It wasn't until my senior portfolio class that I really understood how I functioned in the realm of notebooks. Because in that year long class, we were only told to keep a notebook. No requirements. No guidelines. No rules. My notebook for that class actually ended up being mostly words. Which is very appropriate because at the time I was having a lot of conceptual ideas and trying to plan out my future... and also I am one of those people who makes lists.

The notebook I kept this summer during my internship at Lilly turned out almost completely opposite from my senior year notebook. Which is crazy interesting when I think about the type of work I was doing and my state of mind during those two different periods. And well... I'd like to share a few pages with you.

Lilly & I: The Tale of an Internship

Recapping an entire summer's worth of experiences in one post? Let's do this. Essentially, this summer I had the wonderful opportunity to intern with Lilly Pulitzer's print design team in King of Prussia, PA. I when I say wonderful, I am not exaggerating. Lilly is a relatively small, close knit company devoted to their brand, and that really shines through in the fun-loving, community-oriented atmosphere that permeates the Pink Palace. (Seriously. I worked in a pastel pink building. How cool is that?)

Immediately on the first day, I was thrown right into the mix, helping to finish up Summer 2012 artwork and send it out to vendors. From there we jumped right into concepting and designing for Fall 2012. The pace was fast, the work challenging, and I loved every minute of it. Whether we were hard at work or giggling around a table, there was not once a dull moment at Lilly. In between designing and cleaning prints, we took an inspiration trip to the local botanical gardens and sponsored a charity event with Oceana in the Hamptons. Okay... maaaaaybe those days spent cleaning prints for what seemed like forever were a little dull, but even those weren't too bad.

When I wasn't working on Summer and Fall artwork, the other interns and I were working on a collaborative project to design and market a proposed line of products for Spring 2013. With interns representing many different departments at Lilly, we had a lot of great minds from a variety of backgrounds each bringing a unique perspective. Large group projects are always challenge.... but we pulled it together and wowed our audience in our final presentation.One of the things I really appreciated was that in my 2 months there I was never just an intern. I was part of the team, working side by side with seasoned print designers. Because I got to work so closely with them, I really did learn a lot this summer. Now I understand better how products become reality. I know I can paint giant canvases with ease (one of mine even ended up in the Lilly store in Ardmore, PA!). Most importantly, I have learned to just do it, also known as confidence in your first attempt. I think that in coming out of art school many of us think too much about what we make. To the point where the focus is on whether or not what we are making is good/right/valuable/worthy of an A and not the actual product. I have learned the value of an idea and the importance of editing. Get your idea out there. Let people see it and give feedback. Adjust from there.