On April 26th we added Opal to our family. It was love at first sight for me and Macha is quickly adjusting big sisterhood. 

Opal is a black lab mix from Alabama, and I’m looking forward to her learning what it’s like to be a Vermont dog.

Every year I make the trek back to my hometown to attend the Mount Washington Valley Ice Fest. And every year I have an absolute blast meeting a wide variety of climbers. This event brings people from different corners of the world together to swing some ice tools and gain some vertical elevation. Whether they have never touched an ice tool before or spent years honing their skills, they all bring a level of excitement to the event. Without them this event wouldn’t be celebrating it’s 25th year!

This winter marked the fourth year in a row, I have had the pleasure of volunteering and taking photos. 

When my cousin River asked me to take her senior portraits, I couldn’t have been more excited. After some planning, I drove over from Vermont and met her after school at a location that looks out at the Moat Mountain Range. This shoot was the perfect opportunity for the two of us to catch up and talk about the future. I am always in awe of the level of intellect that this girl possesses. Watch out world, she is going to do amazing things! 

This summer marked 10 years since Kismet Rock Foundation has been a part of my life. The program has helped me grow into the person that I am today, and I will be forever grateful to be a part of the Kismet family. But this post isn’t about me, it’s about these two groups of phenomenal individuals that I have seen grow up over the past four years. 

A major part of Kismet has always been the family-like atmosphere that is created in the house. For one week each summer I have had the pleasure of getting to know each and every one of these students, while we all played games, cooked and ate dinner, packed lunches, did chores and went on evening activities together. Each one of them has a light inside them that shines brighter than they will ever know and they will always hold their own special place in my heart. Over the past four years I have learned about their dreams and ambitions and I look forward to hearing about all of the amazing things that they do.

Senior Year has been a whirlwind, so it was only fitting that my Senior Studio project for my Studio Art major and Senior Seminar project for my Media Studies major would be presented on back-to-back days. 

Here’s a little bit about what I’ve been putting my blood sweat and tears into since the end of last August:

Insignificance

“Insignificance” is a series of physically altered photographs. Each photo was originally an image of a typical, insignificant household object, that was then altered by the object in the photograph, scanned and reprinted in large scale.

The Art on the Ride - Exploring Board Sport Graphics

I have been very busy the past seven months working on my senior seminar project for my Media Studies Journalism and Digital Arts major at St. Mike’s. Here is the final product, a self published book that explores the graphics on skate, snow and surfboards as an art.
I interviewed various artists and designers from around the United States in order to explore the different perspectives of the artistic values of board graphics. I also utilized my experience in both the Studio Art and MJD programs at St. Michael’s, as well as my volunteer experience at the Burlington City Arts Center Gallery and my passion for these sports to draw conclusions about the artistry.

Thank you so much to everyone who played a part in making these projects come to life!

Lapping the park all day isn’t so bad when you are getting content for a book that you are writing about the board sport industry… Stay tuned.