About Me: Nikki

1. Name and e-mail. Blog address. Please take a "selfie" and include it on your blog. 

- Nikki Strube. tstrube@leomail.tamuc.edu https://artistlifekiki.blogspot.com/

2. What’s your major? What year will you graduate? 

- Studio Art Major with concentration of Experimental Studies. I am looking into minoring in Photography. I should graduate in 2019-2020

3. Why did you choose a photography class (or photography as a major), and what do you hope to learn from school in general and this class specifically? 

- I chose a photography class because I have always been interested in how to edit the photographs I would take and how to find the right way to take the perfect picture. I hope to become a better artist when I graduate, and I believe this class will ensure that. 

4. What are your goals after graduation? Please list your goals in reverse order, starting five years out, then three, two, one, and six months. 

- 6 mo goal would be to working in a special effects or photography company as an internship or as their employee. 

1 yr goal would be to make twice as many connections to artists and photographers and potentially have a job within a company. 

2 yr goal would be to be able to get commissions from customers and have a steady income from 2 different sources: commissions and my job 

3 yr goal would to find love and be married with either a house or an apartment. 

5 yr goal is to be sufficient in my career, hopefully moving up in the company, have a wonderful family and home-life, and to constantly pushing my limits with my art. 

5. What artists, musicians, photographers, writers, movies, books have influenced you/your work? 

- Laura Dandridge and Tate Steinsiek from Face Off both inspire me to go out of my comfort zone. They both are incredible sfx artists and have done well after the show. Lindsey Stirling, Todrick Hall, Pentatonix and multiple Broadway musicals influence me because each of them pushed the boundaries as musicians to become who they are and didn't let narrow minded people tell them they could not make it. My favorite show, Grey's Anatomy, inspires me to become a better special effects artist to blur the line of what is real and fake. 

6. Where do you get information about current national and international events? 

- I usually get my news that pertains to America from CNN or Fox News, and unfortunately I do not hear much of international new. 

7. Are there any important websites that you are referencing for art/photo competitions and/or information? What websites do you regularly visit? What TV programs?

-I enjoy looking at other artists' work from Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube, but enjoy watching how an artist works with shows such as Face Off, Grey's Anatomy, and House.  

8. What museums and/or galleries have you been to in the past year? 

- I have only been to a few of the exhibits that have been on campus. 

9. Have you had any photo projects and/ or training in the past? 

- Around 10 yrs ago I took a photography class in school and got to work with pinhole cameras and developing film. I enjoyed it a lot and would love to work with film.  

10. What is the value of art for the artist? 

- To make some outward expression of a feeling or emotion in your life. 

11. What is the value of art for the audience? 

- To intake the information given by the artist and interpret to fit into their own life. 

12. Is photography a vocation or an avocation? 

- I believe it is both. It can be one's job to sustain their life financially, but can also be a hobby they enjoy. Dance continues to be argued for and against being a vocation or avocation, but why can't it be both? I am a dancer of 20 years and I also own my own dance studio. I dance to create an income, but then also dance as a way to express myself. 

13. What is your passion? 

- My passion is creating something new whether it be with photography, sculpture, painting, sketch, dance or music. I want to make something no one has ever done and set a new standard or normal. 

14.What are you afraid of? What makes you uncomfortable? 

- I am afraid of the dark, failing, falling, and being alone. Each of these can come from lack of effort in achieving your goals in your life. Today's beauty standard and makeup requirements make me uncomfortable. I do not feel like you should paint your face into a porcelain skinned human with unrealistic features to impress or be successful.  

15. Do you have a passport?

- Yes I do and intend to use it to travel the world to make art. 

16. Why did you sign up for this class? What do you hope to learn from it?

- I wanted a photography class and this was a class I needed. I hope to learn how the difference between taking a photograph and capturing a moment in life. 

17. Name three people who have influenced you and tell me how and why.

- Shonda Rhimes. She created the world of Grey's Anatomy and did not let the possibility of looking unrealistic stand in her way. 

James Wan and Leigh Whannell. They both wrote and created the Saw franchise which pushed the limits and boundaries of the human body and torture. 

Any of the youtube artists I watch because they inspire me to keep trying on the days I want to quit. 

18. Name three books (four, if one is the Bible) that have been important in your development. How have they influenced you? 

- Wake trilogy by Lisa McMann. They opened my eyes to new imaginary worlds created by the mind and dreams 

Identical by Ellen Hopkins. It is about identical twin sisters but each have their own story that twists around each other. It has helped me show that one side of the story is not always the truth. 

Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith. She believed art wasn't just limited to professionals but for the everyday person and that art isn't always neat and precise. She created a book that allows someone to create art from topical pages but the trick is you interpret her instructions however you want, including how messy and outrageous you want to be.