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Time for some summer reading!

Joe Leave a comment

Welcome to arts, ink., where our student artists and writers are given a forum to illuminate the Michigan student experience through art. Take a few minutes this summer to sit back, relax, and look back on some of our favorite posts from the last year by perusing the Summer 2023 Reading List tag!

If you’re a U-M student interested in becoming a weekly contributor, there may be a position available to get paid for your work. We review applications and hire new bloggers twice a year, in September and January. Read more about Blogging Opportunities here!
Email us at arts@umich.edu with questions.

Industrious Illustrating #40 – End of Another Semester!

Robin Leave a comment

Hey everyone! I don’t have as much to share this time, as I’m doing last-minute preparations to table at Anime Park at Canton High School tomorrow. What I will say that I’m really happy about all the progress and work I’ve done as an illustrator and designer this past semester, and I’m feeling good about my trajectory overall.

I’m actually going to be attending the School of Information in the fall semester instead of Stamps for a myriad of reasons, but I absolutely intend to continue working as an art freelancer and hone my skills in my free time hoping that one day I can support myself solely on my art. I will also continue posting on this blog during the school year for the foreseeable future documenting my experiences and journey as an artist for all of you to follow along with.

While I will be working hard this summer on improving my art skills and doing commissions/commercial work, I also intend to take time off for myself and relax as much as I can. I think that’s an important part of truly making summer break into a break and not just another summer of grinding — there’ll be decades of work ahead of me where I don’t get a summer break anymore, so why rush it?

I’m looking forward to another semester of sharing my thoughts and process with you guys, and I hope everyone has a great summer!

Evolving Emotions: Anticipation- Poetry

EKArts Leave a comment

Here in the Wind

 

The wind drowns out the words

swirling, interweaving,

pulsing in my head

 

I stand at the top

with cars below

the honking is dizzying

 

Feet unsteady

legs limp

hands outstretching

 

An ambulance whines

obstructed by selfish drivers

consumed by oblivion

 

Frigid air

sets pimples on my skin

and escapes into the night

 

A cold sweat on my temples

ushered by my racing heart

and that knot in my stomach

 

I try to remember

what carried me here

to this moment

in the wind

Letters by Lydia: Summer Inspiration and Resources

lydnas Leave a comment

Happy end of semester, everyone!  Congrats to all for making it through the year, and I hope you’re all settling into the summer.  This is my last post of the school year, so I thought I’d leave you all with some ways to stay involved in handlettering and art over the summer.

First off, here are some of my favorite lettering accounts on Instagram, if you’re looking for more inspiration, resources, tips, etc.

If you’re looking for something colorful, bold, digital, and maybe politically progressive, I’d recommend @inkusdingus or @glitterandbold.  For satisfying process videos and lots of juicy pens, I’d turn to @lettersandlattesllc (who also happens to be a fellow Michigander!), or @the_letter_salon.  For bullet journaling inspiration, definitely check out @thegraytergood, and for pen and stationery recs, look no further than @amandarachlee.  As for other favorites of mine, @snooze.one is a more experimental, graffiti-inspired typographer, and @keeplivingfaster is definitely the page to visit if you want watercolor lettering and lots of glitter.  Finally, if you want a page to get some general inspo and find lots of artists, my favorite account is @goodtype.  Enjoying your scrolling!

Now, if you want some website recommendations for some stationery shopping, here my go-to’s for that.

JetPens is a classic for keeping up with new pens as well as finding the classics, plus it has lots of variety and is reasonably priced.  Stationery Pal is really fun for specialty or limited edition items, cheap stationery (like, super cheap), and colorful and fun pens, trinkets, etc.  Shipping takes a bit, but in my opinion the price makes it worth it.  Tokyo Pen Shop is a new one I’ve been perusing, so I can’t speak to how it is to order from them, but they have a lot of fun and unique items.  For more stationery rather than pen-centered products, Present and Correct is a really fun one to check out for a very vintage, specialized feel.  And, of course, Amazon is always a fast and cheap option.  If you want to do some in-person shopping, Michael’s, Blick Art Materials, and even stores like Barnes and Nobles are all good options.  For Ann Arbor stores, I’d check out Rock Paper Scissors, Papersource, and Found.  There are tons of independent stationery stores everywhere, though, so if you’re traveling somewhere, it’s never a bad idea to look up stationery stores in that area (I’ve found some really good ones that way!).  Happy shopping!

I hope that information is helpful and gives you a lot to look into over the summer if you’re interested!  Either way, I hope you all have a relaxing few months and do some art if you can or want to 🙂

The Indian Artist, Revamped: The Last Hurrah, Year 3!

Riya A 2 Comments

Good afternoon everyone! I hope that you are all doing well and that your semester came to a successful end. Knowing that I am done with my junior year of undergrad is incredibly exciting yet terrifying at the same time. Time has flown by and I am so excited for the journey to come next!

I am currently in the process of applying to medical schools, about to depart for vacation with family, and trying not to let the anxiety of applications get to me. It has been very tough navigating the onslaught of COVID-19, moving out of home to a new environment for the first time, and juggling a part-time job, research, full course loads, and life all at once. Things did not go as planned. There have been so many hiccups and nothing turned out exactly as I had planned for. However, I truly think that I will end up where I am meant to (in the least cliché way possible).

There have been a few big lessons that I have learned this year. I have learned to stop looking outward and doing what people expect of me, and rather to treat myself with compassion and love. I have notoriously been very good at pushing myself to the nth degree. However, over this past year a lot of that has started to catch up and really affect me mentally and physically. I am trying to learn to listen to my body and mind, assess what I need to do to myself, and allow myself to prioritize what makes me happy. I am not good at following this advice, but I have learned the hard way how important balance really is.

Pursuing a career in medicine, I realized that it is important for me to establish ways of taking care of myself in order for me to fully take care of others. Nobody truly prepared me for the challenges I have faced, and the ones to come. What I have learned though is that I am fully capable. All it takes is patience, compassion, resilience, dedication, and flexibility.

Patience to wait out the bad times and know that good things are coming my way. Patience with myself as I struggle and push through challenges.

Compassion to others and myself. Compassion for those that I serve, my friends, my family, and my own limits.

Resilience to keep going, especially when things get tough.

Dedication to my passions, endeavors, and work. Dedication to my goals, to myself, and to my dream of becoming a kind, good, and successful physician.

Flexibility of mind, allowing myself to adjust my plans and sail with the changing ocean tides.

 

As I write my final blog post of the year, I hope to embody each of these values and more. I keep the image of my young self in my mind and award her the grace, love, and kindness that she deserves. Be kind to yourselves. Life is too short not to live it to the fullest. Have a beautiful and restful summer everyone!

Until next semester,

Riya

 

Instagram: @riya_agg.art

Portfolio: https://theindianartist.weebly.com/ 

Industrious Illustrating #39 – Life Drawing 4

Robin Leave a comment

At this point all my classes are over, so I want to share more of the life drawings I did in ARTDES 269 during the winter semester. I had a lot of fun and learned a decent amount from taking this course and getting to draw human figures from live models using a variety of traditional media and approaches. I’d definitely recommend this course to any Stamps majors or minors who want to learn more about drawing humans.

Warning for depictions of artistic nudity under the cut:

*Edit 5/11/2023: I fixed the image embed issues with this post!

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