Bridge 5 : Cross Course Reflection

My name is Caragh Shea and I am a student at Parsons studying interior design. I have been interested in interior design since I was little, watching HGTV shows with my mom. This summer, I have my first internship in the field and I am very excited to learn as much as possible.

This year I have been trying to bring interior design and architecture into my projects when possible. I have created architectural spaces, redesigned public spaces and waste reciprocals. I realized through looking back at my projects that the majority of them either create a space or impact one. In my Time class, I learned how to create an accordion book with a book binding. I then used the skill of making an accordion book in studio as a form of presenting the research I had done on the High Line. In studio and seminar this year I showed an interest in designing and redesigning spaces. I found researching the High Line through my experiences really exciting. You can read about a place but you don’t truly understand it until you experience it yourself. Through this observational research, I was able to write an essay for seminar as well as make site plans, orthographic and section drawings for studio. I think if I had done a bit more research online I could’ve expanded my knowledge even further.

One of my highlights is my Drawing and Imaging final project. I started this project with a watercolour painting I made in my sketchbook. It was inspired by paintings we had looked at in class as well as my own interest in space. As I researched space and learned more about it, I tweaked the image using Photoshop and markers. I really enjoyed creating a piece that was inspired by topics that I had already been thinking about outside of class. I created the Photoshop composition for one of the assignments we had during the process and decided it would work well in the window frame. I then added an Illustrator galaxy and a planet narrative that followed my stream of thought. When I was freaking out about space and how big it really is, I thought about planets we know nothing about and what could be living there. I loved the fact that no one could really say that this planet of chairs doesn’t exist because no one knows.

Planning:

Final:

I created a window to an area of space undiscovered by humans. I think this project is one of my highlights of the year because I pushed myself to create something different and weird. I have realized that I need to push myself out of the box more in my projects and I am proud of how I did that in this one.

Also in my Drawing & Imaging class this year, I learned how to make risograph prints. The prints were of a self portrait that I painted and then transferred to Illustrator. I had never used a risograph printer before but it was much like silk screening which I had done so I was excited to try it. I prepared to go print by setting up my illustrator file and bringing a decent number of pieces of paper for test prints. I should have brought a bit more paper and gotten a bit more help at the beginning because I couldn’t quite get my sections lined up. However, there weren’t many people working in the design lab that day and when I did ask for help they didn’t know many answers. However, I learned a lot more through trial and error in this printing process. I wasn’t having someone else do parts of the work for me as they explained, I was figuring it all out as I went.

I created a risograph print of a self portrait that I initially painted and then traced in Illustrator. I then embellished two of my risograph prints. I was proud of this work because I worked really hard on it and my teacher ended up submitting my sketchbook to the first year sketchbook competition, highlighting these prints.

This summer I am working at an interior design firm in Toronto which I am very nervous but excited for. I am very excited to start fully immersing myself in the world of interior design this summer and in the coming years through learning as much as I possibly can. Over the summer, I want to start learning the design programs through my internship so I can be the best I can be at using them. A few of my teachers this year would tell me that my work was great but the next step is trying to push myself out of my box. In the coming months and years I want to just overall push myself to step outside of my box and not be afraid to fail or create something I don’t love.