Blog #1
My first week at the internship I got to stuff envelopes. I learned what things needed to be on and in the envelopes. I assisted them with pricing items at the gift shop and putting them where they belong. This helped me to know where things belong. I was surprised to see how simple and easy the things I had to do were. I imagined talking to a lot of people and helping set up art work, but instead I was stuffing envelops and other easy tasks. I met Sean and Crystal, my supervisors, they are very nice and showed me where everything is kept, such as projects, paint, color pencils, sugar skull ingredients, tools, and display stands. They also told me some of the other things I might be doing later on like the sugar skulls. There are also two wonderful women (whose names I cant remember) they are very kind, they help around the gallery usually as cashiers. I also met Felipe, he is one of the artist at CHAC. Most of these people are older, latinas and latinos who are passionate about art and speak Spanish. This week I did very little code switching, however, I did not curse, I used respectful language and respectful body language. Usually I do not curse, but sometimes curse words slip out. Thankfully at my internship none slip out because I am professional.
Blog #2
The Best thing I did this week was make Sugar Skulls. This made me feel like I was learning more about my own culture. I never got to do this when I was younger and now I get to make some, I was very excited. I learned the recipe for how the sugar skulls are made. This is a part of my culture that has been around for a long time and now that I have made some and not just seen or bought some it makes me feel more involved. Now I can do this with my son and get him involved with the culture too. Soon there will be classes at CHAC gallery for kids to decorate them.This week I also did something that was challenging for for me, I made a sign on the computer for the Sugar skulls. I could not get the boarder on the page without my words being erased. When I finally got the boarder on the page I had to figure out how to make the words not blend in with the boarder and make sure that the information (price) was legible. This also made me feel like part of the CHAC gallery community.
Blog #3
My actions affect my workplace by getting things done a little faster. I believe I do contribute positively. I Help with whatever needs to be done even if its something as small as sweeping the floor. My co-workers affect my internship by helping me learn and grow. They have been there for a longer time and know what is expected. This week I got to contribute to teaching two classes of kindergarten. They got a book red to them about how colors “were created” and the macaw had all the colors put on it. For their project they had to put feathers, the beak, and some feet on the macaw. There was one adult assigned to each table (four tables, three parents and the teacher). Each parent was assigned the table where their child was sitting. One of the parents was only helping her child and did most of the project for him. Another one of the parents was not helping and was just watching the students. The third parent was actually helping all the kids at the table and not just her own. This made me reflect on the fact that we should help everyone and not just our own “team”.
Blog #4
My responsibilities at my work place are to do anything that needs to be done. Usually it is making posters, making fliers, making signs, helping at the “register”. My main contribution is to help and do the things that need to be done. While Sean and Crystal do things that need to be done right away out in the gallery, or helping customers. I think my main contribution is labeling.
Blog #5
So far I think my internship is going great. I have learned new things like making the sugar skulls, and I have met a lot of new people. I am forming very good relationships with my co-workers. I talk to everyone, they are very kind and they help me with whatever I need help with, or I help them if they need help in whatever they are working on. To improve my experience I could start doing things on my own like charging for merchandise. Above all everything is going great!
Blog #6
My internship project is turning out really good. I got it down on the canvas all I need is to paint it. The conversation with my sponsor when great. He told me about things I could do to make my painting stand out and look better. Such as putting a frame on it could help it look better and more presentable. My project bridges what I’m doing at my internship because there is art everywhere paintings done with water colors, acrylic paint, pencil, markers, and spray paint , so I believe my painting will fit right in. The challenge I am facing is getting all the details correct to make it look like the actual thing.
Blog #7
People at my work treat me very nice. Everyone is very kind and are always very happy. It makes me feel great that these people have a great attitude and that they are very respectful. Even the people that go in to look or to by things they are always very polite. If I have an intern one day yes, I want them to have the same great experience that I had. It makes you feel welcome and at home. You don’t feel out of place, feels like you belong.
Blog #8
The difference between working on a personal art project and working on a creative business; working on a personal art project is just for you and you do what you like and what feels right. Working on a creative business you have to think on what other people like and you have to make whatever will fit their needs. I learned that working in a creative business is not as hard as I thought, but people also like all kinds of different stuff. Each person has their own definition of what art is whether its jewelry, painting or music.
Blog #9
Something I saw at my internship that inspired me was a zentangle it was so simple but looked great. I don’t have to do things that are so complicated for them to look great. Yes this has changed my artistic ambition I feel i should do my best but don’t force it. There was also this really nice painting of two skeletons on a motorcycle and it looked great. It had a big frame that made it stand out. This helped me see that the way you present your art makes a great difference on how people see it and on how it catches peoples eye with simple things.
Blog #10
This experience has been very rewarding for me. I have learned many things. I have gained experiences I didn’t have before. This was not what I expected. I thought I would have to do a lot more work, but it was great. The most important thing I learned during my internship time was that it’s a lot of work to keep a place running, and your always busy.