Samantha Reid
Year-in-Review
Sophomore Year, 2013-2014
Something that I learned this year that really impacted me was how to throw on a wheel. I decided to take Intro to Wheelthrowing in the spring 2014 semester simply to fulfill my 3D studio credit and didn’t think I would end up liking it very much. I thought I wouldn’t be able to get the hang of it and that I would lose interest pretty quickly. I could not have been more wrong about this class. I absolutely loved my professor and she was a really great person to learn from. I did struggle with wheelthrowing and it took me a long time to get the hang of it, but it definitely held my interest. Having a hard time getting the hang of it just made me want to try at it harder and kept me working at it until I got it right. It was beyond frustrating at points, especially when I saw how easily some other people were getting the hang of it, but again that just made me want to try even harder because I saw the beautiful pottery pieces that they were able to make. My professor, Katie, is very skilled at this and it comes so easily for her, but she was still really good at explaining things to those of us who had never even used a wheel before. She was also a really great support system—even though my first cylinders were awful and it took me a very long time to get a piece that would stand up on its own and wasn’t wobbly, Katie focused on the improvements in my skill level. This was really important for me because I realized that I don’t always know what will interest me, and that I should expand my focus to include things other than my concentration of photography. This experience has enhanced my ability to contribute academically because it helped me to see connections between areas of art that seem unrelated. Wheelthrowing helped me learn about surfaces and form, which will help me with my photography. Treating different surfaces actually forming shapes has helped me to understand how objects sit in space better and, in turn, how they will photograph.
One manageable goal that I identified for myself during the second year advising session was regarding running the business my mom and I have. I wanted to organize the business better, research and obtain all the information needed to get it up and running as an LLC, and making sure all of our files were up to date. My steps to achieve this were to set aside more time for office work, delegate some responsibilities to Jean or other employees, figure out how to file our taxes as an LLC, and make sure I am on track and staying focused. In the spring, I didn’t have any set office days during the week; now, I have Tuesdays set aside to do office work and am working on being home Thursdays as well to do so. We successfully filed our taxes and gave forms to all of our employees, so that is another goal I accomplished. I also made a weekly plan from April 2014-April 2015 of what we need to accomplish to make sure that I am staying on track.
The piece of advice that I would like to give myself as I prepare for the upcoming year is to make sure I don’t overload my schedule. I have been a little overwhelmed lately with all the different jobs and projects that I have going on, so I need to make sure I set aside enough time for each thing and that I also leave time to relax so I don’t get too stressed out.
This year, I got a job with Images by Daniel Michael who is a wedding photographer. Up until now, my interest had always been in nature and still life photography; I had never wanted to photograph people. After working with IDM, my thoughts on that have changed. Through working with i-do boutique I have been around a lot of weddings and love the atmosphere and knowing that I am helping people on an important day. I feel the same way about IDM; I still love being involved in weddings in a different way than I am used to and think that I may like to continue this career path.
Through working with i-do boutique, I have learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes at weddings. This information has helped me with photography at IDM because I know what to look for before it happens and already be there with a camera to capture it. I plan to use both my skills from i-do boutique and what I have learned about photography on my own, as well as my newfound skills at IDM to give back to my community by helping couples on a very important day in their lives.
Year-in-Review
Sophomore Year, 2013-2014
Something that I learned this year that really impacted me was how to throw on a wheel. I decided to take Intro to Wheelthrowing in the spring 2014 semester simply to fulfill my 3D studio credit and didn’t think I would end up liking it very much. I thought I wouldn’t be able to get the hang of it and that I would lose interest pretty quickly. I could not have been more wrong about this class. I absolutely loved my professor and she was a really great person to learn from. I did struggle with wheelthrowing and it took me a long time to get the hang of it, but it definitely held my interest. Having a hard time getting the hang of it just made me want to try at it harder and kept me working at it until I got it right. It was beyond frustrating at points, especially when I saw how easily some other people were getting the hang of it, but again that just made me want to try even harder because I saw the beautiful pottery pieces that they were able to make. My professor, Katie, is very skilled at this and it comes so easily for her, but she was still really good at explaining things to those of us who had never even used a wheel before. She was also a really great support system—even though my first cylinders were awful and it took me a very long time to get a piece that would stand up on its own and wasn’t wobbly, Katie focused on the improvements in my skill level. This was really important for me because I realized that I don’t always know what will interest me, and that I should expand my focus to include things other than my concentration of photography. This experience has enhanced my ability to contribute academically because it helped me to see connections between areas of art that seem unrelated. Wheelthrowing helped me learn about surfaces and form, which will help me with my photography. Treating different surfaces actually forming shapes has helped me to understand how objects sit in space better and, in turn, how they will photograph.
One manageable goal that I identified for myself during the second year advising session was regarding running the business my mom and I have. I wanted to organize the business better, research and obtain all the information needed to get it up and running as an LLC, and making sure all of our files were up to date. My steps to achieve this were to set aside more time for office work, delegate some responsibilities to Jean or other employees, figure out how to file our taxes as an LLC, and make sure I am on track and staying focused. In the spring, I didn’t have any set office days during the week; now, I have Tuesdays set aside to do office work and am working on being home Thursdays as well to do so. We successfully filed our taxes and gave forms to all of our employees, so that is another goal I accomplished. I also made a weekly plan from April 2014-April 2015 of what we need to accomplish to make sure that I am staying on track.
The piece of advice that I would like to give myself as I prepare for the upcoming year is to make sure I don’t overload my schedule. I have been a little overwhelmed lately with all the different jobs and projects that I have going on, so I need to make sure I set aside enough time for each thing and that I also leave time to relax so I don’t get too stressed out.
This year, I got a job with Images by Daniel Michael who is a wedding photographer. Up until now, my interest had always been in nature and still life photography; I had never wanted to photograph people. After working with IDM, my thoughts on that have changed. Through working with i-do boutique I have been around a lot of weddings and love the atmosphere and knowing that I am helping people on an important day. I feel the same way about IDM; I still love being involved in weddings in a different way than I am used to and think that I may like to continue this career path.
Through working with i-do boutique, I have learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes at weddings. This information has helped me with photography at IDM because I know what to look for before it happens and already be there with a camera to capture it. I plan to use both my skills from i-do boutique and what I have learned about photography on my own, as well as my newfound skills at IDM to give back to my community by helping couples on a very important day in their lives.