Artist Internship

I learned about this internship through the Practice & Pie event. I was spotted by someone who told me that an employer liked my handknit sweater, who then directed me to them. She connected me with this artist after the event and I later introduced myself via email. My supervisor is a working artist who addresses and creates conversation around racism in America–with a focus on Baltimore, through craft. Many of her works are woven photography, repurposed ‘trash’ items such as plastic bags, caution tape, and more recently fruit bags. She uses various weaving techniques, hand-sewing, and other innovative joinery to create large sculptural works. My responsibilities were mainly to assist with making tests, or sketches, as she calls them. “Sketches” were like prototypes of larger works or playing around with materials. The sketches I created served as smaller models for larger projects, scalable measurements, potential joinery methods, and/or to learn about the characteristics of the material.

My biggest takeaway from this internship is how to look at art from both a business and passion perspective. It is not difficult for me to schedule around my art-making for class but I am amazed at the drive and discipline of all independent artists. I learned a lot more about project management and how to present your art than I did about artistic processes. Although, she did expose me to many new methods of art making that covered a variety of materials. 

From this internship, I have learned that I do not want to be an independent studio artist. I would argue that this realization can be just as important as learning that you want to be an independent studio artist. I deeply enjoy crafting, but I would like to work with sculptural textiles collaboratively. Designing for the Annual Benefit Fashion Show at MICA clarified that I want to design garments but that I definitely need a team to produce something more amazing. Kim also introduced me to the idea of becoming part of an artist’s team. In conceptual art and other collaborative projects, a team is needed to fully realize the idea. I often struggle with creating concepts for my work and, instead, focus mainly on the craft portion of an assignment. I would like to learn more about assistant fashion designers, co-direction, and collaborative art as a whole!

Baltimore Tree Trust Internship

This semester, I got to work with Baltimore Tree Trust as their communication design intern. I was lucky enough to meet my supervisor, the senior communications director at Baltimore Tree Trust, at the fall semester Practice and Pie event hosted by Career Development. Immediately, I became obsessed with Baltimore Tree Trust and the work they do for the Baltimore community. Baltimore Tree Trust is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that is focused on providing trees, environmental education, and career pathways in forestry to the Baltimore community. The bulk of what they do revolves around their team of Neighborhood Forestry Technicians – an awesome team of people born and raised in Baltimore who go out into the community and plant trees in neighborhoods that need it most.

Beyond just planting trees, Baltimore Tree Trust also provides educational resources on the importance of green spaces in urban environments and seeks to unite different Baltimore communities through city greening. This sort of work was super inspiring to me, so I reached out to my supervisor not long after the event, and somehow managed to impress the BTT team enough that they took me on. The bulk of my work at BTT was centered around helping the current communications team – which consisted of my supervisor and two other wonderful people – by creating email and social media graphics, print material, and fun graphics for fundraisers and events. Other than my supervisor, most of the team didn’t have a lot of graphic design education, so I was there to help create visuals for some of their messaging. Most of their communications revolved around environmental education and fundraising, and I was able to learn a lot about Baltimore’s native ecosystems through my research for the different campaigns and events they were involved in. I was able to create a lot of really great work that I’m super proud of (and which will definitely go into my portfolio), learn a lot about Baltimore’s environment and the importance of green spaces in cities, and create connections with great people doing important work.

This experience has definitely helped me realize that I want to continue doing work in the realms of activism and education, and showed me what my strengths are as a designer as well as gave me the opportunity to work on my weaknesses. I’m super thankful for the team at Baltimore Tree Trust for giving me the opportunity to work with them this semester, and for Career Development for not only having this for-credit internship program, but also for hosting Practice & Pie! If not for that event, it would have been a lot more difficult for me to secure this internship.

Prop Up Shop Internship

Originally I was going to intern for someone else, but I expressed an interest in product photography and they introduced me to the Prop Up Shop–a product photography studio. Then, I was interviewed and I’ve been working there for the last four months.  

The Prop Shop is run by a prop stylist and her husband who is a graphic designer. The studio contains a gallery of props that clients are allowed to rent out. My direct supervisor was the studio manager and his role was to help manage the cleanliness of the studio, helping clients rent props, as well as documenting studio prop inventory to show up on the Prop Shop Website. I was also tasked with helping my supervisor and the past studio manager style props for a creative shoot. The Prop Shop is run by my supervisor who is a Prop stylist and her husband who is a graphic designer. The studio contains a gallery of props that clients are allowed to rent out. I was also able to shoot their fabric collections and was tasked with helping the current studio manager style them. 

I’m most proud of getting the opportunity to style props for their website. The most important thing that I’ve learned is learning how to collaborate with other photographers. This internship has helped with my career goals of learning what goes into product photography and working with other photographers and how important styling is to photography. These skills will very much benefit me not only in product work but my portraiture work as well.

Photography Intern for Alex Heilner

I found this internship because of a class I previously took with Alex Heilner. I took his Environmentally Engaged Photography class fall of 2021 and his Moving Photography class spring of 2023. Since I knew Alex previously I emailed him asking if I could intern for him and he accepted. There were other Baltimore-based photographers that I emailed but they either didn't reply or they didn't need an intern. 

Alex Heilner is a fine art and documentary, multidisciplinary artist and photographer. His work investigates the relationship between artificial and natural elements within the environment and within our culture. His work currently focuses on the Colorado River and its surrounding areas, he is currently documenting how fast the river's basin is draining. Some of what I did with Alex included helping him find organizations on and around the Colorado River and Drone work. Alex also gave me lots of feedback on my thesis work.

With this internship, Alex also gave me the time to look for artist opportunities for both me and him. This allowed me to see what was out there and to know what to expect when I graduate. I learned how to use a drone for photography work and that's something I've really wanted to do for a while. I think in the future it’ll come in handy especially because my work is constantly changing and I'd love to see how this new skill fits in with my work.

Lucky Jefferson Intern

I found this internship from a Google search. I just uploaded my resume and my personal website. I don’t really remember how much time passed, and then I got an email that said they were interested in working with me. For the process, they sent me something that acted as a test that required me to finish a piece of work, almost like an audition. Then, after my work was reviewed, they would send an email back to tell me if they wanted to hire me. After that, they sent me the offer. 

They are a non-profit publisher organization. They don’t really have a lot of people, the only two people I knew were our direct supervisor, and another one being the Editor-in-Chief. My direct supervisor would give us work that we needed to complete in time before the deadline. She would also give you help if you were to have any problems as well as suggestions sometimes. 

My position was as an illustrator intern. I needed to finish the illustration for their specific work. The work would be an illustration of a poem. These illustrations would be for words or designs for tote bags. I think the biggest takeaway from this experience was working with other students. I needed to communicate with other people and give some suggestions. The thing that I am the most proud of is that my tote bag design was chosen by the clients for a festival. I also got the experience of how publishers work. All of this was very important and helpful in helping me figure out my next step. 

BEGA Intern

During my internship with my supervisor, a remote, creative, professional specializing in graphic design and website development, I engaged in a diverse array of tasks that enriched my understanding of the field. As my supervisors direct mentee, I collaborated closely with him on various projects, including creating website mood boards tailored to clients' needs and preferences.

Despite the logistical challenge of being in different time zones, I learned to manage my time effectively and maintain open lines of communication to ensure seamless workflow. Additionally, I had the opportunity to expand my skill set by mastering Prezi, an AI platform, to craft visually compelling presentations for client pitches and project proposals. Under my supervisors guidance, I gained insights into the nuances of graphic design within a professional context, learning not only the technical aspects but also the importance of effective communication and client management.

As I navigated the intricacies of remote work, I developed a heightened sense of adaptability and resilience, quickly acclimating to the company's preferred project management tools and collaborative platforms. Reflecting on my experience, I take pride in my ability to deliver consistently high-quality work amidst the challenges of remote collaboration. This internship has been instrumental in clarifying my career aspirations in graphic design, providing me with invaluable hands-on experience and equipping me with the skills and confidence to excel in the industry.