Artist?

I always feel funny calling myself an artist. As a graphic design major, you would think I would be completely comfortable with the title. I am not though. I feel like calling myself an artist puts a
sort of expectation on me to be someone as great as Warhol, Winogrand, or Maholy Nagy (those were
just the first names that popped into my head haha). So what should I call myself?

On another note...Here is the work that I've recently done for class.

Photography. Earlier I posted my first project. Below is my second project. I always thought thrift stores were interesting. You always find the weirdest stuff, and some stuff is just sad. So I went and explored a few different stores. I tried to pick stuff that was weird or that triggered some sort of emotion. I could go on and on, but I'll just post the images. I'm not sure how successful this project was, and some images are better then the rest. :)

The photos below are from the third and most recent project. The assignment was appropriation. I decided to copy famous abstract paintings from the past. I took them from online and traced over them in Illustrator. I think copying or appropriation is kind of silly. Sherri Levine directly copied other's work and reprinted them. I think that is outrageous. So I wanted to start a similar conversation. On the other hand, as a student, It can be very beneficial. By appropriating you can learn about another artist's style and technique. The following before are from 3 different artists. Throughout the process of copying and drawing them out. I started off thinking it was their work, and then I started calling it my work. It took time to draw and then print it all out. Funny how appropriation works. Again, I could ramble, but I'll show the images below along with the original artist. 

It wouldn't let me upload the images. I am not quite sure why. I don't know how to make it work! For now, here is a screen shot of my? work. There is more, but these are the ones I presented. 

Surprise from the fiance!

Joe came to my job on Saturday. It was the sweetest thing. My manager asked me to go help the guy 'cuz she knew those weren't for her. I turned around to see Joe holding flowers and a Starbucks coffee. It was amazing. I blushed. I took the flowers from him and put it away. I came back and told him to follow me. I gave him a quick kiss and my car keys. He wanted to get my oil changed. How sweet!

He later told me that he got those flowers from Dominick's. He asked them to arrange something for me. He knows that I am considering Dominick's for my flower arrangements for our wedding. They did a great job! They are beautiful and the arrangement is fantastic! I approve! 

Engaged - How Joe purposed to me.

I wrote this shortly after the engagement. I thought I'd share it her on my new blog.



I just got engaged on Saturday, the 8th of January.

It was the best night of my life.

We went out to celebrate our anniversary. He gave me a hint and said we were going
to see an iphoneography exhibit. I got ready and wore something nice. I realize
now why my mom told me to get a little bit more dressed up. haha. He picked me up
and we got Starbucks. because I really had a taste for a hot drink. We arrived at
the gallery when he told me to close my eyes. He ran inside (to make sure everything
was perfect and kick the others out). He came back and let me out of the car when
everything was ready. I walked up to the door and he pointed out a sign he made. 
It said Iphoneography by Melissa Alicea. I was happy to know he went out of his
way to do such a thing as put up my photos in a gallery. We walked inside, said hi to the owners, and walked around. We viewed my pictures on the dividers and on the wall.
We talked about each one and he asked me questions on where/when/and how I took/
edited each photo. It was a very romantic moment. He skipped over one that was on
a stand, and said it was the best one. When we were finished we went back to the frame
that was covered with a black blanket. He told me to close my eyes. Music played in
the background. I opened my eyes when he was ready to see a huge collage of pictures.
There were pictures of me and him throughout the past couple of years. Written in
large red letters was, "Will you marry me?" I was in shock. It took me about 5 minutes 
to read it and understand what the question was. haha. Joe later told me he had
what he was going to say all planned out, but kind of lost it because I took so long. haha.
I turned around to see him on one knee with a tiny black box with a beautiful 
ring inside. He asked me to marry him and told me how much I mean to him. I honestly
can't remember his speech. I was in shock. I started crying and asked him like 10
times, "Really?!?!" It was so unreal to me. I nodded yes while tears poured down my 
face. He started to put the ring on my finger as I laughed and told him he was 
putting it on the wrong hand. He took the other hand and pushed it up my finger. It
was a perfect fit. It was gorgeous. I couldn't actually see the ring right away because I 
was crying so much. I could see it sparkle though, and boy did it sparkle!  We hugged for a minute and he spun me around the room a couple of times. haha. He got a phone call
and said one word. His family and close friends (Roman and Karla) came in. They gave us
both hugs and congratulated us. I couldn't talk, because when they came in I started to
cry really hard again. I cried once more when my family all came through the door. My mom said later that I was shaking like a leaf. I was in "engagementcoma" as Gabi puts it.
It was the happiest moment of my life. A couple more people joined us and we toasted with Champagne.

Afterwards Me and Joe, Roman, Karla, Nikisha, Dyamond, and Fey went out to dinner at a nearby Italian resteraunt. It was really good food and service. We relaxed and spent
time with good friends. After that Joe and I went to his house for an hour just to talk about what happened and laugh.

I am still in disbelief at times when I look at my ring. I can't wait to spend the rest 
of my life with this man. 

Bye Bye Minor in Business...

Ahh. How I love October. There is nothing better then wearing jackets, hoodies, and boots as the leaves start to change and the cool air blows in. I love it!

What I don't love is school. I decided to minor in business this semester. I am enrolled in 5 classes total, two of which are business. The minor is Managerial skills. The class I thought I was doing well in, I ended up getting a horrible grade on the test. I have been extremely stressed ever since. I literally have no idea why I did so bad. I had the notes in front of me. I have been trying to decide if I should drop the business classes. I want to. I would be stress free and then I could actually have time to focus on my other graphic design classes. I just feel like such a failure. I have never had this feeling before. Then again, I've also never done this poorly on a test. Maybe in high school, but high school doesn't matter.

I've e-mailed a counselor and I am waiting for her reply. What a horrible feeling.

Have any of you ever had a drop a class so late into the semester?
Do minors even make a difference?


On another note. I have decided to get a  little bit more serious in my goal to start up my own Etsy shop. I want to make invites, posters, and jewelry. I took a photo of a necklace I am working on. I wanted to show my Fiancé, so I took a photo at work (thus the name tag). Haha. Don't worry, there were no customers in the store. It needs some work, but I LOVE IT! I can't wait to wear it again. When It is finished, I might show how I made it on here.

business failure & jewelry maker,

Melissa