Yesterday marked the last day of my internship with Upkey! It was such a great experience and I got to connect with so many incredible minds from around the world and learn from so many incredible speakers! I'm not sure if I'm more sad or happy that it's coming to an end in all honesty! It was a great experience and I am going to miss interacting with my fellow interns daily, but on the other hand, now I have much more free time to do more art-related stuff and work on other projects!
For my final project with Upkey, we had a capstone moderated by IE Business School where we created and pitched a startup idea. Around 40-50 teams were entered but we made it into the top 10! My partners and I plan to continue with this startup and I couldn't be more excited! I feel the internship has properly prepared me for actually beginning something like this! On the left is the logo I designed for or startup.
While I am excited to be done interning, it's time to find yet another internship, this time hopefully in the graphic design field.
Hello hello! It's been a while since my first blog entry so I figured now's a good time to update!
I've just finished my second week back at school and man am I stressed! Thankfully, my core classes for my major and minor have been good so far, it's the A&P class I have to retake that's getting me. One of my science credits didn't transfer over from Mississippi College so now I'm back to spending the majority of my time reading a textbook and listening to lectures on a subject that has nothing to do with my future career. Woohoo! I've always been given more hours at work, which is a blessing because that's my schooling money, but also a curse because of how draining it is and how I can't study or paint while I'm working.
Now that we're done talking about what's got me down so far this year, let's talk about the upside! I'm excited to tell you about a couple of new opportunities I have received! I was recently asked to be apart of the creative team at the church function I attend, "The Vue", so now I will be helping design merch and social media posts! I'm super excited for the first meeting! I've been praying for a way to use my skills to serve and God is really answering the prayer!
I'd also like to talk about another fun opportunity, my internship with Upkey! For the past two weeks, I have been attending webinars, completing assignments, and making friends with so many cool people in the Upkey winter internship program! I feel like I'm learning a lot and I absolutely love making new connections, business or casual! We are currently approaching our capstone project, where we are being paired with companies outside of Upkey for separate internships and I'm really excited and hopeful to be paired with a company that needs a graphic designer!
I have definitely been lacking with painting lately and keeping my socials updated, so here's my solution! Every Friday night, I've decided to start streaming on Twitch! And if I can't do Fridays, I'll do Saturdays! I had my first stream last night and already gained 3 followers! Two of which I got to talk to and hang out with while I painted. So much fun! Right here on the left, you can see the sad clown ice cream cone I decided I was in the mood to paint! Check me out at: https://www.twitch.tv/lindseymariearts
Well, on top of everything else, I am currently quarantined! I was exposed on Sunday to someone who had it so now I'm spending all my time in my room or outside! While yes, it does suck I can't go to the gym or hang out with my friends, I really don't mind all that much! Trying to balance work, school, my internship, and painting are a big enough burden to bear at the moment!
All in all, things are going well, even though they don't feel like it all the time. I'm so incredibly blessed with the opportunities God has provided and I'm excited to see how the rest of this semester goes!
Hi There! My name is Lindsey Vaughn, I'm a 21 year old graphic design major at the University of Memphis with a minor in marketing management. Welcome to my blog!
Here is where I'd like to share a little bit about me, my life, my art, and the things that inspire me!
A quick background about me: I was born and raised in Memphis, TN, I was homeschooled from second grade until I graduated high school, and I played basketball from the age of 7 all the way up to my sophomore year of college (13 years!). I was also raised in a loving, Christian household with my mom, dad, two brothers, and many different pets! For me, nothing is more important than my relationship with God and my family!
I have always been somewhat artsy in my childhood, whether it be drawing with my brothers or making up stories in my head and trying to write them down, but getting bored after 10 minutes of trying every time. I remember the first moment when I got my true creative spark, I was around 11 or 12 years old and I was watching a cartoon, although I don't remember what it was, I distinctly remember thinking, "Man, I really wish I could create characters like that" and quickly after thinking "Well, why don't I?". So I did. For a very long time I drew people and weird creatures and continued to make up stories in my mind for these characters. Of course at this time in my life, I didn't even consider art as a possibility for me to pursue, I even told my parents I would become a lawyer because it paid well and not to worry because I would never choose a profession as "dumb" and "impractical" as art (well look how that turned out). around the age of 15 or 16, I began to get really into web comics, specifically on the site WebToons. I would spend all my spare time away from practice and church reading these stories that, to me, were absolutely fascinating ("Elf and Warrior" and "Lookism" as a few examples). So the idea came to me, why don't I create webcomics to? Or maybe I could be an animator! So, to the dismay of my younger self and the confusion of my parents, in my junior year of high school, I decided I would be a graphic designer.
Now some time has passed since I decided I would become an artist, I've just completed my first semester at the University of Memphis after transferring from Mississippi College where I played basketball, a lifelong dream of mine (one of the hardest decisions of my life, but 100% necessary for the sake of my career). I've since discovered telling stories through comics isn't the right fit for me. I believe God has called me to work as a graphic designer and hopefully He will call me to be a full time painter down the line!
I invest a lot of time into my art and into what I study. I am extremely ambitious, competitive, and I will rarely turn down a challenge. My goal is to be the best artist I can be and to honor God with and through my work.
If you have continued to read this far, thank you so much! I hope you will continue to follow me and my journey through the art world!