behind the red door

editor's note: miss kwistin has limited access to internet for now (we shall forgo details at present) but she does feel bad her posts have been spotty. she has lots to say, and asks your forgiveness and cooperation as you continue to check back for her upcoming posts. she may or may not be typing this at the apple store using their computers right now. ;) 


i've started to do videos because they save time! i was going to edit this so it's not so long and boring, but didn't have time. so, you can skip it or enjoy the walk to work (from the bus) with me. :) 

my first week at society of illustrators had a learning curve for sure, and not only for my actual job description. i admit: i felt very out of my element those first few days. there are many things that separate me from the people i'm surrounded with there. however, now that i'm a few weeks into it, i see all the things that connect us together, and the other day i realized how much i like and truly enjoy all the people that i work with.

i made this closet beautiful.

it's pretty cool, you know, being thrown into a place that's completely new with people who live very different life styles from those you're generally around. if you're a boy, i imagine it's like calling a girl you like a whole bunch for a first date and just waiting those few eternal seconds while the phone slowly proceeds to that droning ring, until she finally picks up and you stumble through the words and wait for the response....and she finally says yes. (i don't really know...i'm not a boy. i just figure it's like this). or maybe it's kind of like that old feeling in the days of dodgeball, sitting there on the sidelines with sweaty palms, wondering if you'll get picked last and what you'll say and how people will see you----then finally breathing when you get picked at all. i'm not sure on that either; i always avoided dodgeball for that reason....

anyway, i guess it feels just like you're a girl from a town you've grown up in where you know a lot of people who all live the same way you do and you're comfortable with it and they like you and you like them and you like the place but you want to get out and experience new things and new environments that you can't possibly get in that one location and so you leave all on your own and you're kind of nervous but you decide that you'll take the risks and so you do it and it's hard and stressful and then you stop and realize that....hey. it's not so bad. in fact, you find you enjoy it.

i think it's kind of like that.

my first day there, another intern let me in because everyone else was in a meeting. so i sat in a chair, not knowing what to expect. later, a nice-looking boy came down (i later found out his name is alvy) and opened up the gallery that belongs to the society of illustrators: the museum of american illustration. the other intern told me i could look around (his name is jonny) so i did. come to find out, the student showcase was going! meaning, i had 7 friends from byu enter that showcase and i saw all their work in the actual gallery! it was a tender mercy and a sweet piece of home, as i saw each of them and remembered seeing the same work in the bfa studio where i spend most my time at school.


the work: anyway, my job at society consists of the typical intern-things--lots of odds and ends. things that need to be done but that no one has time for, but i'm so glad--i've learned so much!

annelle miller and i stacked all these:
they are the student show pieces!
never has any bin of artwork been
so cleanly stacked. it's incredibly hard.

a lot of it is manual labor...so far, i have: unpackaged artwork, carried big boxes up 4 flights of stairs (repeatedly), packaged artwork (including brown paper, bubble wrap, cardboard carrying case, AND handles. yes, handles for the carrying case), filed artwork, done data entry, resized images, color corrected images, cut labels, typed up name tags, transported artwork for shows, researched art supplies online and helped figure out budget for them, run to the post office to drop off a package, sat at the front desk and answered phones, and anything else that they might need. i really enjoy being around artwork from artists that i've studied so often. it's also really good to interact with bigger artists who come in every once in a while. 


sometimes it's ridiculous how much there is to do, and other times we get sent home early (i have yet to be sent home early though) because there's not much going on that really needs the presence of more than one intern.


the building is absolutely inspiring. it's pretty small, but 5 stories tall (and i'm constantly running up and down all those stories! the best part is the walls. on all the walls, there are originals of all the artists i've studied in the past few years in bethanne's history of american illustration classes! hopefully i can do another blog sometime about that specifically, but i'm talking guys like coles phillips, al hirschfeld, n.c. wyeth, and j.c. leyendecker. oh boy. (!)  i really feel fortunate that i took those classes from bethanne, because i feel like i can appreciate the atmosphere so much better! 


lunch is great; dave is the master chef dude and he fixes amazing meals daily. members of the society get to come in and eat in their dining room and bar for free, and so do the staff and interns! so i'm very well fed here. it's great. lunchtime has been a great way for me to get to know the other interns, the staff members, and occasionally some artists. i don't often get to bump into artists because the staff/interns have a separate table, but i've been fortunate a couple times. : )

this is at the opening of the earth show! "earth: fragile planet"

i also get to attend the events society holds, for free! this includes sketch nights and lectures, which is great! i attended the opening of the new show (after helping to get everything ready for it) so it was exciting to see the final product. it was out of my way to go, but i'm really glad i did. i enjoyed seeing everyone i knew there out of their normal element, and got to meet a couple of the artists. {off topic, why is this font so large?! it's driving me nuts and i have no time to deal with it now}

anyway. good times all the way around. i feel really fortunate to be getting all sorts of training! until next time ~