My beautiful cousin is expecting a beautiful baby boy, so for this queen I made a crown. Since my last adventure with wire, I haven't had much practice, but I think her floral headpiece turned out quite lovely. I hope she feels as exquisite as she looks in it. Maternity photos are soon to come! 

I've been in Detroit for three days and it feels like I've already spent more hours behind a camera than I did the whole year I spent in California. Granted my China and I began shooting at 6am and ended around 6pm, but man, it was absolutely lovely. Donned with some giraffe spots and amazing pants, she proved (yet again) to be an amazing subject matter. Not only is she amazing to look at but she's also a phenomenal photographer-  and in our twelve hours of adventuring, eating coney, and catching up on a year's worth of missed memories I also got a chance to play dress up and get in front of her lens. 

Miss China's work can be checked out on her instagram and tumblr... but for now, here are a couple of shots I took of her. 

As an art major I always struggled with finding my creative identity, and in that I began to lose my entire sense of self and individuality, my art was my life but with lack of purpose in all that I created, I felt useless to myself and my community... Last year when I traded portfolio reviews, darkroom chemicals and paintbrushes for- data, observations, session planning and well, more paintbrushes, I figured I'd lose myself even further in the realm of identity crisis, but the complete opposite happened. Though, it was not between the lines of my SSMs that I discovered who I really was- it was within my circle. The same circle I stood in every Monday through Friday (and occasionally Saturday). It was within this circle of friends- or more like family that I truly began to understand who I was and my purpose in this big world. Through these 16 amazing individuals, I was empowered to be myself wholly. In learning to love all of their beautiful and unique minds- I learned to love my own, and now I can go confidently back into the community that I felt so lost in, and make a positive impact. 

Special Ops, Thank you for inspiring me to be me, I love you all.

Hello Two Thousand and Fourteen, I do not believe I've introduced myself properly, my name is Kristian. I'm somewhat of an artist and a dreamer, oh and I mustn't forget an adventurer. Although lately, I've only been a tutor, classroom support, lunchtime chaperone, amateur Pokemon trainer, and half marathon runner. With my world revolving around a year of service with City Year I haven't made much time to develop the things I daydream, doodle, and design- my creativity stays hidden in my many journals and sketchbooks and I often spend more time fawning over Pinterest posts instead of my own ideas. Alas, my year of service is quickly coming to a close so I must begin to work diligently on the things I hope to dedicate a lifetime of service to. Not that the last 9 months haven't been amazingly fulfilling, its just now time that I take all that I've learned and all that I aspire to do to bring to life the organization that will best make use of my creative ability and love for working with children. I'm journeying into the land of non-profits and along the way I want to challenge myself, explore new creative concepts, design, build, sew, write, cook, meet, and so much more. I have to really hone my ability as a leader for young people- which means I have to be able to grow and learn every day. I'm going to make my learning experiences as a student of life, as colorful, hope inspired, and meaningful as they can possibly be. Using this blog as a vessel to showcase all the things I get into, I'll do my best to make every post, picture, and update as wonderfully uplifting and enriching as the experiences themselves- so that maybe I can inspire whoever comes across this page. I've got a lot of work to do but until then, Happy 2014!