About Me
My work takes place at the intersection of the technical and the creative
My work ranges and includes WordPress development and design, branding, graphic design, illustration, image editing and motion graphics. The commonality between them all is their embodiment of the word “creative”. One of the things I love about working as a freelancer is the variety of work and projects, opportunities to learn and experience I gain along the way.
I enjoy the challenge of figuring things out, finding problems hidden in code and possibilities hidden in graphics software, capturing a client’s vision and coming up with ways to make it as much of a reality as possible.
I’ve been a WordPress professional for seven years, motion graphics designer for five and working with photography and digital media even longer. My work is grounded in training, experience and knowledge as well as technical proficiency with motion graphics software.
I’m hopelessly optimistic, resilient, an innovative big picture strategist.
My Story: How I Got To This Place
It started with art. When I was 14 I decided to be an artist. I discovered that making a career choice to be an artist requires a strong commitment and determination.
Eventually I earned a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) degree followed by an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree with an emphasis in cast metal sculpture.
For eight years I taught as an adjunct professor in the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota . A group of us lost our jobs unexpectedly, at a time when prospects in college teaching were dismal.
Changing careers. I discovered a program through the State of Minnesota’s CareerForce for displaced workers which paid for school or training in other fields.
Web Design seemed like a natural fit, so I enrolled in a program at Minneapolis Community and Technical College titled Graphic Design: Web & Interactive Media, where I earned an Associate’s Degree.
Design, coding and WordPress. In addition to graphic design the program offered courses in basic coding: HTML, CSS, Javascript, mySQL, PHP and WordPress. I enjoy the technical process of writing code.
Learning the development process has allowed me to control the way my design is implemented on the web. While there I discovered WordPress. Learning how to build a custom theme was a powerful experience.
Motion Graphics. I took all of the motion graphics, animation and video courses that were offered. Amazing things were possible with graphics software like AfterEffects and PremierPro. I wanted to learn everything.
Comparison to making sculpture. I liken my experience to learning bronze casting in grad school. Going through the complex casting process gave me control over what I made. Understanding the properties of the metal helped me take it through a process where a design on paper was transformed into a bronze sculpture. On the web, understanding the properties of design, coding languages and how motion behaves helped me transform a design on paper into a website.
The fluid nature of the web. Through the years I have honed a process of working that helps me reflect the fluid nature of the web, by fusing the design and development phases. I find it more efficient to work with them hand in hand, and it results in better work.
Education
AAS Web and Interactive Media, Minneapolis Community and Technical College
• Honors Graduate, Dean’s List every semester
-Officer, Student Design Collective.
-Participated on two web teams, SDC Inaugural site and Graphic Design Portfolio Show website.
MFA, University of Minnesota
-Member of Mayor’s Design Forum, St. Paul
-Regional Exhibitions and Community Iron Casting Events
-Teaching Assistant every semester: Direct Metal Sculpture, Drawing I and II, Women’s Images
-MFA Thesis Exhibition From the Lost Lands Installation with life size cast bronze figure, pools and fountains
BFA Summa Cum Laude, University of Minnesota
-Awards: Association of University Women Merit Scholarship, Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society, Honors Thesis Project Grant
-BFA Thesis Exhibition Autobiography: My Name is Lucy Hand colored black and white photographs
Everything is I do is hand crafted. I create my own illustrations, vector graphics. and photos.
When we were kids my Mom would stop the car to collect pine cones, bittersweet, cattails, and wildflowers, which she would use to make things. She taught me that there were more important things in life and that every once in a while you just had to stop and see them.
My dad encouraged me to do whatever I dreamed of. He saw me for who I really was. I grew up thinking I could be anything. My mom and dad gave me gifts of real art supplies.