A lot has happened this week and the majority of it has been fantastic. I will take you through the events chronologically.
Lunch with Victoria Price.
The week began when I was invited to attend, along with three other students, a lunch with Victoria Price. This was her second visit to SCAD to give a special presentation about Raymond Lowey and Henry Dreyfus. We sat down with Victoria over tea at the Gryphon Tea Room. It was a pretty informal which led to wide range of discussion topics which included everything from the economy slump, to the trends in Santa Fe, the weather, business practices and sustainability. One of the many key thoughts I took away from her was the idea of regionalism. For example regional food vs a national chain or using wood from a forest in another state. When you apply this to a global market things start to make since because less is flown from one place to another and it supports local economies. There's more to it but not enough room in for this post.
SCAD Merit Award semi-finalist.
After submitting my work, I was selected Thursday to be a member of the "elite eight" to compete for the SCAD IDSA Merit Award. I will be presenting my work this Tuesday to compete for a spot in the top 3. I've got a lot of work to do between now and then :).
Hanging out with Chris Lefteri.
This is probably the coolest thing to happen... Chris Lefteri, material guro and author of Materials for Inspirational Design and Making-It, came to SCAD to work with some of the classes, give a presentation about inspiration materials and do business with the I.D Department. Myself and the other officers of SCAD IDSA saw a great opportunity to met with Chris to discuss design and materials at our weekly BYODD (Bring Your Own Design Discussion). Chris agreed and a small group of SCAD IDSA met up with him and his host Prof. Fossick at Tantra thrus @ 8. It was a great event and I think Chris enjoyed himself. Chris was curious about the cultural differences in the south and I informed him about the vast difference between a Texas and Southern accent. This led into a discussion about his travels and experiences which was very interesting considering he's been practically everywhere. We also spoke about materials and design. Like his books he told of the materials characteristics or identity which can led to a new design. Or instead of creating a product and spec. a material, work backward and see what can be done with the material. To sum up it was a bit surreal and a fantastic night for SCAD IDSA.
Traveling to Hong Kong as apart of my senior studio.
And to top the week off... After being selected to present today I was chosen along with 9 other students to participate in the Hong Kong study abroad course. This is unlike a normal course at SCAD, a bit of a hybrid, the other two courses you normally take a SCAD are rolled into this sponsored course. It runs just like a job or internship in that we have our own dedicated studio space and have to arrive at 8:30 and leave by no later than 5:30 (with a lunch break). The last two weeks of the quarter are topped off with a trip to Hong Kong to met the client and present our work. While there we will tour the city and visit other design firms. Amazing.
I'm looking forward to everything that's coming up and thankful for all the great things happening right now. And I've still got the weekend :P.