excitement!

Some exciting stuff has happened lately. I entered some images into my universities Photography Club Exhibit "Into The Woods", and one of them got chosen! This will be my first ever exhibit in the history of ever. I am beyond excited! 

This was the winning image of all the ones I submitted, and it will be hanging in the exhibit! 

photo copyright 2015 jessikalloyd photography 

the end is near.... well, the end of college

It's official. I have officially registered for my last semester of college here at SUU. It's kind of a bittersweet thing really. While I am more than ready to get out of here, I will definitely miss all of the friends I made, and people I met during the 4 years I will have been here. Luckily, there are great ways to keep in touch with everyone. Gotta love Facebook and Instagram! 

I think one of the things I will miss the most about living in Southern Utah, are the red rock mountains. Sure, I've lived in Utah my entire life, and seen the mountains that the North has to offer, but there's something about that red dirt that is just beautiful. I can say one thing though, I definitely will not miss the 3-hour drive back and forth everytime I want to take a trip home. Three hours of driving through the middle of nowhere takes a toll on one's mind, and wallet. 

My next adventure: figuring out what to do with my degree, paying back my student loans, and deciding where I want to go next in life. Maybe the right guy will come along, and I'll get married. Maybe I'll travel. Heck, I'm a photo major, maybe I'll travel and work for National Geographic or something cool like that.

All I know is,
"We're all just stories in the end, make it a good one"

my life as of late

Helloooo!! And happy summer! It's definitely been a busy one for me. This summer is the first time in my life that I've had 2 jobs at the same time. They're both part time, so it's not too crazy, but sometimes schedules are crazy, and then life gets crazy! And not to mention that when I'm not working, I'm volunteering at the library. It's better than sitting on my butt and being bored and lazy all summer though! 

It's also helping me earn up for a camera, like a really nice one. Which reminds me, are there any photographers reading this? If so, would you kindly comment or contact me with what camera(s) you love and why you love them, or ones you hate and why? I'm trying to decide what I want to get, and want to hear some reviews! 

Speaking of crazy... My best friend comes home from his mission next week! Like in 4 days! The closer it gets, the more excited I am. It doesn't seem like it's been 2 years already, but it has. Time flies when you're having fun at college I suppose haha. 

The last thing I want to write about today is a family that is very dear to my heart. I have known this family since I was 3, and the husband was my science teacher in middle school. Within the last 2 years, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's. His wife and family felt it best to put him in a care facility (about $4,000 a month), and that has put some financial stress on the family. To add to that, the wife had to undergo radiation for a meningioma (tumor) in her right eye. There is a GoFundMe page set up for the family to help them pay all of their medical bills. 
I'm not normally one to post donation pages and ask that people donate, especially if they don't know the receiving family personally. But this is an exception because of how close I am to the family, and I know that they can use all they help they can get financially right now. So, if you have a few spare dollars that you could donate, that would mean a lot to not only the family, but to me as well. 
I have included the link to the page in this post, and there is also a direct donation widget on my page under my profile. 

http://www.gofundme.com/helpdavetoday

Thank you and have a fantastic day!

screen printing

I found yet another fun art medium that I love!! Screen Printing!
It's definitely way easier and faster than the relief prints I was doing, but just as fun :) It's an interesting process taking an image and making two images from it, and turning it back into one image. It's also kind of confusing at first because the image is inverted when you print the stencil, so it looks different than the original, but the print looks like the original. The first was a print on paper, I used a photo of my friend and her now husband that I took for their engagements.

Second print I did was on a shirt. It's basically the same as the paper print, except that the ink we use for the shirts is oil based, not water based acrylics, so it's a ton messier and harder to clean up. But the printing is just as fun! 

I did a fun tribal/henna giraffe design that I found online. ( I wanted to draw it, but i'm not THAT good ) I did a blend roll from a bright plum purple to a bright lemon yellow. It kind of reminded me of a sunset, maybe on the African savanna or something :p I decided to try it on a black shirt, and I like it, but I think I want to try another on something lighter, maybe cream?

The third and final screen print I did was a reductive screen print. Basically, you start with your lightest color and once that is printed, you paint over that section on your screen with shellac. Then you continue the process with the rest of your colors. I did an eight color print, which in my opinion, didn't turn out all that great, but it was a learning experience. I called it "The Abstract Life of A Flower". The image on the left is the photo I used to create the stencil on the screen.

new artsy love of mine

I'm still here! Just been busy. But while I've been away, I have found a new form of art that I LOVE! It's expensive and it takes forever, but I find it quite fun and maybe even relaxing. What is it, you ask? Relief printing! 

The one on the top of the single eye is a 12"x12". It was the less expensive of the two. The linoleum cost $5, and the paper was like $2 a sheet and I got 5 prints out of 3 sheets.

The second one is roughly 3 feet long by 2 feet wide. The linoleum for this one was $30 (for a 36"x24" sheet). And the paper was $4 a sheet ( I bought 6). I think I really rather enjoyed the larger one though. Since it was so large, I could add more details that would be impossible to have added to the smaller print.

Relief definitely takes patience haha. But it looks sooooo cool when its done :) 

If you are interested in purchasing either of these prints, please fill out the Contact Me form at the bottom of my blog for pricing and availability. I currently have a few of both.

finding my inner nerd

Well, I can now say that I have experienced my very first Comic Con! My friend convinced me to go with her because the Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) was there. So, I got me a ticket. But then I found out that Matt Smith (11th Doctor) was going to be there too!!!! That was a dream come true! As soon as photo ops went on sale, I got me one. It only cost me my soul haha. I even made a special shirt for the occasion :) It was definitely worth the money I paid. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat! They even had a Tardis! I spent waaayyy too much, but I'll be ready for the next one in September. That is, if there's people there I want to meet haha