Blog Question #1- What did you learn from your first week at your internship? Did anything surprise you or make you excited? Were there any challenges? Did you make any connections with co-workers? Did you engage in any code switching?
During the first week of my internship I became very familiar with the inventory of the store in the south side gallery by moving all the store inventory from one area to another in order to make it possible to paint the walls of the gallery.
One of the things that surprised me about my internship this week was that as my supervisors were talking about future artists that they will be hosting in the gallery, they considered me to help this artist set up her show. It surprised me because they all remembered what medium of art (photography) I specialized in, so when they talked about this professional photographer, it was nice that they thought of me.
One of the only challenges that I’ve faced with this internship is the hours of the gallery. To no fault of their own, it is difficult for me to make sure I will be getting all of my hours on time. Although it has worked out in my favor so far, I can’t help but stress about not being able to get all my hours.
By making friends with Katherine, a fellow co-worker, while we moved the inventory between rooms, we furthered our connection and relationship through music such as Pearl Jam and other old, classic jams. She told me about her grandkids and how they and I were similar ages and how she never would have thought a kid my age to have the same music taste as her. I’m excited to continue to build my relationship with her.
I didn’t feel like I had to do too much code switching. Although I felt that I wanted to seem professional towards my supervisors, I seemed to not have to change the way I talk or act too much. My supervisors even told me that they thought I was doing a very good job portraying myself as a professional intern, yet they still thought I was really cool and chill which they said made them feel as if I was comfortable with them, which they like.
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Blog 2: Networking
Begin by interviewing 2-3 of your coworkers with the following 3 questions (about 10 minutes of their time). Time allowing: feel free to ask them more questions to get to know them better. Following the interviews answer the questions below for Blog 2.
Interview questions:
- Did you study art after high school? Art or traditional college? Internship or apprenticeship?
- How did you get your first job in the creative industries?
- If you were in an intern in this field, where would you focus your learning during your internship? What is the most important learning one can do when beginning a career in this profession?
- (Time allowing) Is there anything interesting about you that is non-work related that you would like to tell me about? Hobbies or interests?
Blog Question # 2: What co-workers did you interview? Did your co-workers study art after high school either through higher education or internships/apprenticeships? What recommendations did they have for what you should try to learn as an intern in this field? Did they have any advice on how to begin your creative career? Did you learn anything interesting about your co-workers that was non-work related?
I decided to interview the gallery assistant, Katherine, because we have worked together each time I have been at CHAC and she is fun to talk to, so I wanted to know more about her. Katherine did not study art after high school, like me she took art classes in high school, but after she graduated she went through college and proceeded to med school. She is very interested in the medical field but due to other events in her life, those jobs did not work out for her. She told me that the best thing I could do in order to start working in a creative field is exactly what I am doing now. Working as an intern at a gallery in the creative field. She said that by starting now, in high school, I am preparing myself for what I can expect in my first few years of work, anywhere I end up. Her recommendations for how to start my creative career were to not lose my love for photography. Katherine also made it very clear that I should keep busy (because that’s how creative minds work best) but that I should not be too busy that I do not have time for my art and photography. After working with Katherine the month I’ve been going to CHAC, I’ve learned that she used to live in LA, loves oldies music, and does not speak much Spanish, which she told me that she finds humorous because she works in a Chicano art gallery. I look forward to continuing my work around the gallery with her, she has become someone who I can joke around with and makes the time go by fast.
For the second person I interviewed, Katherine told me that I should interview Sean, my supervisor, because once you ask him one question, he will lead the conversation himself. This is true. So I started talking to Sean and I did not mention that I would be interviewing him in order to write this, but all of my questions were covered. Sean did not study art after high school but instead took a year off of school and then proceeded to get a degree in business and marketing from Denver Metro. He says that this degree has helped him in his career because he knows how to network the artists and how to get the best deal for himself. Sean agrees with Katherine that this internship is the best thing that I can be doing in order to jumpstart a career in a creative field. Also like Katherine, Sean was adamant that I not lose my eye for photography and my desire to shoot.
It’s nice to know that my co-workers and supervisor are supportive of my creativity and want me to continue. It’s also nice to now know more about them and feel more connected.
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Blog Question #3 How do your actions affect your workplace? Are you able to be mindful and bring a good attitude when you come to your internship? Do you contribute positively?
Do you feel like you have a good work ethic so far? How do your co-workers actions affect your internship? Are you beginning to develop any work place friendships?
During my internship at the CHAC Gallery so far, I have been very conscious of my attitude as well as my work ethic. I think that I have been able to come into each day at the gallery with a good attitude despite possibly (most likely) being tired from school. As I enter the gallery each day I make sure that I am resetting myself in order to enter my afternoon in the most positive way possible. I believe that I have been contributing positively because as we re-arranged the South Gallery for the past few weeks, I have been able to contribute my opinions on how we should be setting up the merchandise.
So far, in the past month I think that my work ethic has been strong, whenever my supervisor, Sean, or the Gallery Manager, Lucille, ask me to get something done, that task automatically gets moved to the top of my list. Most of my tasks include working with my co-worker, Katherine who is extremely supportive of all the work I do and the ideas that I contribute. She has become one of my best friends at the gallery, and we often find ourselves joking about the tasks we do and have bonded through our similar interests and tastes. I think that Katherine’s actions around the gallery have influenced my internship because she is always so positive despite plans often being changed, and her positivity is very contagious which helps me maintain my positivity throughout the afternoons.
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Blog Question #4: Freestyle blog week. Write your own blog prompt about your internship, then answer it in 200-250 words
Blog Question #4: What are you most excited about for your internship inspired project? Do you think that your work on your project will build connections with you and your co-workers? What are you most worried about for this project?
For my internship inspired project, I decided to enter my photography into the CHAC Gallery’s upcoming photography based show. I’m really excited to work on my images for this show because I’m getting the opportunity to show who I am as a person and what I am able to do when you put a camera in my hand.
So far my internship has been a lot of inventory and organizing, along with data entry, whereas the other intern at the gallery gets to work on marketing posters and flyers for promotions, and I assume he’s an intern for that specific purpose, but I can’t help but feel jealous that he gets to have an extremely creative internship while I carry boxes up from the basement. But, with the opportunity to show my supervisor, the gallery manager, and my co-workers my photography, I’m excited for them to see what I’m really passionate about.
Last Friday, I sat with my friend and co-worker, Katherine and we went through the pictures that I was about to show my supervisor. She told me that they were really impressive and she has no doubt that the rest of the gallery staff will love them. Her confidence in me really amped me up to go show everyone else my pictures and she said that it made her really happy that I wanted to show her my pictures. I can’t wait to work with Katherine more on the show.
The only thing I’m really worried about with this project is showing my pictures to Lucille, the gallery manager. Lucille is a big time photographer, she shoots weddings and other events along with other, beautiful images. I am only nervous to show her because I want her to like my pictures and the ideas I have for the series that Sean, my supervisor, wants me to put in the show.
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Blog Question #5 How do you feel like your internship is going so far? What are the highlights? What are the challenges? Do you feel like you are making connections with your co-workers? Are you using your internship inspired project as a creative connection between you and your supervisor?
So far, my internship has been going really well. The past two months have been really fun and I’ve really enjoyed the time I spend at CHAC. I was unable to go into the gallery last week because I was touring colleges in Montana, and I actually found myself missing the slow afternoons of the gallery, along with the tasks I often preform such as scooping water out of a cooler and reorganizing the basement, and other riveting tasks such as these. The highlights would be the times I get to meet, talk to, and work with the artists displaying at the gallery. They are all really nice people and are super happy that I’m working towards my creative career so young. Challenges at the gallery are pretty limited to the days when there’s no work to be done, and there’s no medial task to be finished. On these days I find myself feeling oddly like a robot who expects his orders to be given to him, and then when there are no orders or tasks, he just wanders aimlessly around the room pretending to be interested with the art that’s been thumbed through hundreds of times, or that one paint chip on the wall that is just begging to be peeled off. Although days often seem slow, the hours whiz by when we get to the fun stuff and I remember why I signed up for this internship in the first place. When I get to hang out with Katherine, or learn more about Sean, or hear about Lucille’s son (even if she was talking to someone else), I feel the connection that I’ve made with these people. When Cynthia gets excited every time I walk through the door, the people at the gallery have made me feel welcome. As far as the internship inspired project goes, its a work in progress, we are still deciding which images I will want to display, and whether or not I will want to print notecards with my pictures on them. But brainstorming all the components to this project has allowed me to spend more time working with Sean, which is really fun, he’s super cool.
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Blog Question #6 End of the quarter check- in. OK to do 150 words this week. Please do an inventory of your hours completed up until now and make sure your electronic time card is updated coming into the end of the quarter. How are you doing so far on completing your hours? Do you have the amount of hours complete that you should have at this point in the internship? If you are behind on your hours, what is your plan to make up the hours you are missing? How are you doing with the challenge of maintaining your intern work schedule? Are you using your google calendar to keep track of your intern schedule and homework assignments? Is there any other challenge you feel the Internship Program Director should be aware of at the end of the first half of your internship?
I am pretty sure that I have been doing a good job at keeping up with my hours, even only having two days a week that add up to four hours a week, being able to work on First Fridays has allowed me to keep up. Although I can’t remember how many hours I had of the paper time cards, the First Friday hours have made sure that I keep getting my hours. I have gotten better with the challenge of keeping up with my hours because I have fallen into a groove of when I go to the gallery. Having a routine makes the challenges easier. My google calendar has been very helpful in keeping me on track with balancing my internship as wells as my school work and other responsibilities. Everything has been going really well and I do not think there are going to be any issues.
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Blog Question #7: What is your favorite part of working on personal art projects? What challenges do you face on personal art projects? What have you learned about working in a creative business? What is your favorite part of working in a creative business? What is the difference between working on personal art and working in a creative business? *(Please read below now in preparation for Blog 8)
No Blog Next Week- you will need to use the week to work on your Internship Inspired Project in preparation for blog 8. You cannot write blog 8 if you have not talked to your supervisor about your internship project. Make talking to your supervisor about the project #1 priority if that hasn’t happened.
My current personal project is a series of portraits of the different people you can find at multiple ski resorts. This project consists of me going to different ski resorts, carrying my camera and a big cardboard sign that says “COME SAY HI”. My favorite part about working on this project is the in process time of getting to meet the people that I am photographing. As well as editing these people’s photos and getting to relive the conversations that I had with them. The challenge with these types of projects is that when you carry around a sign and take people’s pictures for free, and then give them a link as to where they will be able to find their images, you get about 600 pictures, and then you have to run those 600 pictures through photoshop as fast as you can, color correcting and changing the saturation of 600 different faces. It’s exhausting. But as I’ve been working in a creative industry, I have learned that you are constantly meeting artists, talking about your art, their art, and working out ways you can both collaborate at some point. The amount of connections I see get made in the times I’m at CHAC are astounding. I think my favorite part of working in a creative industry is being able to see the connections being made, like taking people’s pictures at the ski resorts, you get to meet hundreds of people. The difference between working on your own personal projects and working in the creative industry is the time you are able to dedicate to your projects. Even though you are constantly thinking about your own projects, you are also contemplating others and even how you two would be able to work together. While working in the creative industry you also have to be constantly focused on meticulous planning and filing in order to keep your business running smoothly.
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Blog Question #8 :
How is your internship project going? Describe the progress of your project. How did the conversation about your project go with your sponsor? (If you haven’t discussed the project with your sponsor yet, how do you plan to do so?) Did they have good insights into how to improve or expand the project? How does your project bridge what you do at your internship and what you like to create for yourself? Has your relationship with your sponsor evolved as you have engaged in a creative dialogue about your project? Art there any challenges you are experiencing planning or doing your project?
My internship project went really well. My project was to work with Sean, my sponsor, to get my photography into the gallery for the “youth art show”. We began the project by sitting down to look at my photography website and decide which type of image I wanted to submit for the show. Once Sean saw my image of the blue door (attached below), he was hooked on that theme for my images. I then took about a week and wandered around downtown Denver looking for doors that reached out to me, doors that were aesthetically appealing and looked as if they told their own story.
When I came back the next week I showed Sean the images that I had taken and we chose the three best ones, together. We then talked about how I should edit them in order to keep a solid theme between the works besides the subject of doors.
Working on this project brought a lot of interesting conversations into my internship because we were able to have conversations about my interests, photography, and how I can bring that photography into a creative setting to show people my work. Over the three weeks that we worked on this project, I have learned a lot about Sean and how he thinks about images and art as a whole, it has been very interesting. Bringing in my images and displaying them for the March First Friday was a whole new experience as well. Being able to be at the event as an artist rather than an intern (or should I say AS WELL AS an intern) was a very cool experience. Having people come up to me and ask me about my images, wanting to see more, and wanting to hear about other projects that I am working on was so surreal and cool to me.
Throughout working on the whole project there did not seem to be any issues or challenges, I could say that I am extremely lucky that this process went so smoothly. I am very glad that I was able to display my photography in this gallery and have these experiences.
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Blog Question #9 What have you seen or experienced in your internship that has inspired you the most on your own artistic journey? Has this experience changed your artistic ambitions? How? Have you used this experience to diversify your skill set? What skills have you added?
Blog Question #10 : Has this experience been a rewarding one for you? Why or Why not (keep it positive, if you had negative experiences, focus on what you learned- make yourself look good!)? How has the reality of your internship matched or contrasted with your expectations? What is the most important learning you did during your internship?