Sunday, December 11, 2011


My final infographic: PLACES I'VE LIVED AND THE TIES I'VE MADE

Saturday, December 10, 2011

It's been a while.





Right now I am day dreaming (night dreaming, while awake?) of days to come. I am in my kitchen/living room combo area, in my no-longer new apartment, with my often long-lost roommate a few paces off to the left of me. It feels good right now. At the moment, I am in the belly of the beast with school. Finals week of my second to last semester of college. Lately a lot of topics have been thrown around in school, or between friends. The big F word comes up a lot. No, not the run of the mill four letter variety, but the bigger one, the one that seems more offensive yet desirable as word could be: FUTURE. Everyone grapples with it and I've had my head stuck in futureville for some time now. 

When I returned home from the Southwest this summer I was feeling pretty lost. (I still am, to some extent). It was yet another life changing summer, but this time in different ways. I'm not sure I'm ready to detail anything on the internet yet, especially considering my thoughts about hypercontectivity these days, needless to say, it was big. I left with a whole new batch of questions about life, and where I want to be and what I want to do with myself. A lot of this was sparked by a more subtle reason: I might have fallen out of love with design. Or at least that's the way it has felt this semester, and this past summer as well. I never thought twice about 'design.' I didn't feel the loss and separation from school as I have with other years. In the past, the summers have always started off a little rough. I'd feel a bit empty. After all, you work so hard in the last month of school it becomes your life, and when that end, if only temporarily, it feels a little strange. I didn't get that this year though. I didn't miss school, philadelphia, or the design world. It wasn't that I was actively setting aside former interests, it was just that, they seemed just that former

Discussions this semester have shed light on other sides of design in the world. Not just the sexy product stuff, of the science-y material side, but the designing of something less tangible. Designing interaction, or systems, or feelings even. It's gotten me more interested, sure. But I am still not there. I have yet to feel a surge of creativity, inspiration, or motivation. Nothing really. I am great at thinking of places I would rather be. Philadelphia still doesn't feel like home to me yet. It did at one point, but not now. I am just here for the time being, finishing what I started, waiting for the next chapter. At the same time though, I really resent myself for not enjoying what I have here to the fullest extent. There have been many successful efforts to make the most of the wonderful relationship that exists in our class and I am very thankful for those times, and the people I have shared them with. At the end of they day though, I am sad about the fact that I would rather be somewhere else, with someone else. Sometimes, It can feel like the end can't come soon enough. 

But, I am going to stop before I get any farther away from the reason I started writing. I've been pretty absent from my blog for a lot of reasons lately. First, it was my summer in New Mexico. And then it became the start of the school year. After that... I had no desire to share anything. Every time I tried to start a post it felt forced. I shouldn't blog because I have to, I should do it because I want to. Blogging has been filed, along with many other things, under the header of 'dormant creativity.' I want that spark back. It seems like something isn't syncing up. But right now, twenty minutes ago actually, I felt the need to start writing. And writing something to share, as small as my audience might be, it's nice to share things once in a while. Things are good right now. I am not nearly as stressed out as I could be considering the time of year, and I have lots of things to look forward to in the next month. Even if I have been in a bit of a funk for the past few months, one thing I have carried with me from the summer was a faith in the universe, to be put so broadly. Everything does happen for a reason, and it all works itself out in the end. As of a week from now, I will have about four months of school left, and a whole word of possibilities in front of me. I just have to make sure I have fun on the way there. 

Monday, November 7, 2011


Movie made for ProCom class. I had way too much fun with this. Pie has become my go-to iconography. 

Friday, October 28, 2011


I'm trying to get better about sharing things I make on the internet. Usually, if not a project for school, all of my making is for myself. Lately, I have been doing a lot a small drawings and diagrams. They're addicting. This was a map I drew during a six hour class filled with presentations. So in an attempt to get my creativity out of the confines of my notebook, here you go. Soon I'll be sharing the stop motion I made for ProCom, featuring a dancing pie, among other things. 

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Got to see my favorite boy(s) this weekend. It was pretty lovely. I'm all smiles thinking about it, even while currently being buried up to my neck in work for the week... :)

Monday, October 10, 2011










Photos of the past few weeks. Things have been off and on around here. A lot of ups and downs. Philadelphia still hasn't welcomed me back with the open arms I was hoping for. It can be so hard when it feels like the city you're stuck in is doing everything it can to push you out. This would be fine if it weren't for the small fact that I am contracted to be here for another 8 months or so. That pesky school thing. It's time for things to shape up, and by that I mean me. I have to hunt down all the things I liked here before I left. Either that, or grin and bear it until may. 

Thursday, October 6, 2011

A mix for fall:


Music to create new memories to and reminisce over old ones. This is a playlist that I have had on repeat lately. It's got a little twang to it, so I don't forget the country while living in the city. Hopefully I'll be able to escape to somewhere green this weekend. This might be my sound track. Enjoy! (download here)




Wednesday, October 5, 2011


This is what I did for homework last night. I can't complain.

Monday, October 3, 2011

I'll be blogging for my design theory class this semester (which is by far my favorite class, I finally get a chance to work out all my beef with design) at my school blog. For lack of other content these days at onlyonemartha (i'm sorry! i've been feeling uninspired!) I will be featuring some of my writing for class on this site. 


on design: response from a theory debate

Often times, I hate design. I have been spending the past three years studying design: living, breathing, head-over-heels immersed in design world. At the end of the day, I still hate it. I cannot make my piece with design. Designers are wasteful, egotistical, and self indulgent. ‘I am going to create this product, put it out there in the world, adding to the never ending mass of stuff, just because I said so.’ It seems that so much of design is geared towards creating products to fill needs that were never there. Humans have lived happily for thousands of years with iPhones, they didn’t even know what they were missing. Then a man named Steve Jobs comes along and suddenly mass quantities cannot even dare think about living without their device. That iPhone has become essential. It creates the need for itself.


One of my main problems with design is that it often encourages and promotes a culture of excess. Product design in particular would not exist without consumer culture. Designers need people to keep buying things in order for there to be a market, or a reason to produce the next version. The cycle of product release, feedback, and redesign is inevitable. It’s what fuels necessary improvements. But what about all those version 1.0′s? They are now obsolete. Technology is the worst offender, of course. I know that personally, I have a graveyard of defunct cell phones and digital cameras. E-waste, a modern problem.


There are, of course, reasons not to hate design. Design can solve the problem of upgrades and replacement. It seems as though it should be obvious by now, considering the full life cycle of a product. As the system is right now there are no repercussions for creating a product that will break or be replaced within six months. That should change. A bill of product rights, or something along those lines. Whatever you buy should be guaranteed to function perfectly well, or not be out-shined by the newest version for at least a year after purchase. This is essentially a warranty, but what I would like to see the emphasis placed on is the acknowledgement that a new version will soon be released. I like the ‘services model’ that had been recently introduced: the idea that a user would simply rent a cell phone for a year or so, and then when it comes to for a replacement the company would automatically take the old one back to reuse the parts. There is no reason why a gently used computer housing cannot be refilled with shiny, speedier techno-guts. I would be happy to have a laptop that shows it’s age. Dings and scratches are the sign of frequent use and appreciation. Maybe if people knew that their returned and refilled laptop would be half the cost of a brand new version, they would be more likely to treat their possessions with care and consideration of their longevity.

Friday, September 23, 2011

I went here today. Will probably go back soon, I forgot how fun climbing is. 

Friday, September 16, 2011

welcome back to the internet. a highlight reel from my summer:


























I spent my summer doing nothing less than incredible. It started with a near perfect road trip, heading to new mexico via new orleans, and ended with a quick loop around the four corners. I couldn't stop smiling for six days straight, to say the least. I had the best time, and did so many things, and got to meet so many incredible people, and I followed my bliss, and that's all that really matters.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011




I moved out and enjoyed some time at the farm this past week. SO nice to be home before running off to my next adventure, new mexico! I can already predict that posting will be very slow around here. There's so much to do in a day out there, not much left for blogging. If you know me in real life, go check out facebook. I posted an album I spent some time on: a collection of photos representing my year with the view of only my hands, feet, or reflection.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011


I'm be out of the city for the next few days for ICFF and cousin-time. Until I come back, I'll leave you with a schipperke butt in the grass. 

Sunday, May 15, 2011


I know embedding a 50 minute long video here is a ridiculous idea. I love watching these kinds of things, and the likelihood of even me watching something this length on a whim is slim to none. BUT, that said, this is worth it. Debbie Millman may be the guru of branding, but she has some incredible things to say about the relationship of design, life, and education. I'm inspired. And if there is any chance that you'll consider spending an hour on this, do it. One of the better points she makes is to really know and define why you are a designer. 'Know what you believe in, and why.' And that you should stick to it. Believe in it so much that this mission statement becomes a part of you and everything you do. Debbie's own personal definition: to make the super market more beautiful. Love it. 

Saturday, May 14, 2011

spring, as seen by my phone





can you find the beret/unicycle? 











With school done I have a lot more time on my hands, so updates of the past month or so will be coming soon. For now, the end of school and beginning of spring, or i guess it would be summer. I apologize for the influx of instagram photos, I've joined the bandwagon. It's just such an amazing example of what is happening in technology and photography. Mediocre camera-phone pictures are uplifted into tiny time capsules (and it's super easy to configure for uploading/stalking friends).