Post Grad Update – Artists Block

Hi guys, coming to you live from my bedroom.  I know it has been a while since I’ve posted to my blog, and usually its about health or technology, but today we’re switching things up!  Recently, I graduated from University of Detroit Mercy, receiving my BA in Digital Media Studies.  Woot woot!

I know I knowwww… Thank you. You’re all too kind, lol.  I have had the great fortune of working on a film set fresh out of college, a true blessing for me and I really enjoyed it. I truly learned a lot and can’t wait to work on more productions and sets. But now that the film has ended its shooting, it’s time to get back to other work.  

As a graphic designer, I am always looking for new ways to expand my capabilities, stay on top of trends and produce satisfying and groundbreaking art.  But, recently I’ve found myself in a bit of a creative rut. All these questions of, What to produce next? What to design next? Where to START?

So I got online and started to research.  Projects, challenges, trends, baubauhaus… and I got inspired! Guys, when I tell you, there’s so much out there to learn and grow from.  After reading countless posts, articles and researching brands and inspirational quotes, I’ve decided to do a 30 day Graphic Design challenge.  I challenge myself to create a new graphic piece everyday for 30 days.  Whether it is a poster, retouched image, gif, or logo design, I must embrace my inner creativity and let my mind go to work.

I’m hoping that by the end of this journey, I can really see my growth from day 1 to day 30.  I really want to push myself to create something interesting and worthwhile. Not only will it help build my portfolio but also my confidence and skill set as a designer.  I will begin to see the “graphic stamp” that comes with my work.  What makes a piece by Autumn Russell, “Autumn Russell’s”.  Learning doesn’t end at graduation, it just branches off into something greater, more inventive.

I recently invested in a new laptop, (THANK HEAVENS) and a wacom intuos tablet  (YAY!).  So, I am overly excited to use this to my advantage and create endlessly! Now I have greater tools at my disposal to help me achieve the looks that I need in a faster and more efficient manner.  Shoot, part of writing this blog post is part of that very inspiration!

I’m excited to bring you all on this journey with me.  I will post my entire collection of designs in a spontaneous blog post at the end of the 30 days, as well as upload them day by day, to keep me disciplined into doing them all, lol.  I know at some point, maybe by day 15, I’ll get lazy and not want to do it, but I will DO IT.  I believe in the power of me!

A little inspiration ahead and happy creating to me! And ALSO, all of you that want to join me in my challenge! Just comment below if this inspired you to do the same, I want to be updated with your progress as well! This should be fun! Happy designing, and I hope that wherever you are reading this, you are having a fantastic day! Stay beautiful!

Beginning design challenge: 7/11/2018-  8/09/18

autumnrussell.com

 

Scientific Terms that may be Unknown

A Whaaatttt??

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If you’re a science major, go ahead and TEST YOURSELF, if you’re not, still, read on.  I’ve compiled a list of TEN frequent terms that I’ve recently come across in several scientific journals, that may be unfamiliar or incomprehensible to those who are not in the scientific field.  They were all over the research articles that I’ve read this past week, with the expectation that the reader would already know what they were.  News flash, we’re lost!  So, I’ve placed them here, so that when they are used, we’ll know exactly what is meant by them.  The more you know, right?

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1. Cognition:  the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.
2. [Beta] Protein Gene:  Also, and more properly called, the APP gene, is a gene that provides instructions for making a protein called amyloid precursor protein. This protein is found in many tissues and organs, including the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).  Studies suggest that in the brain, it helps direct the movement (migration) of nerve cells (neurons) during early development.  Amyloid precursor protein is cut by enzymes to create smaller fragments (peptides), some of which are released outside the cell. Two of these fragments are called soluble amyloid precursor protein (sAPP) and amyloid beta (β) peptide.  Which is why the term “beta protein gene” is also used. Amyloid β peptide is likely involved in the ability of neurons to change and adapt over time (plasticity).
3. Antibodies:  a blood protein produced in response to and counteracting a specific antigen (a toxin or other foreign substance, like bacteria and viruses). Antibodies then combine chemically with those substances to fight them off in your immune system.
4. Amyliods: are groups of proteins that become folded into a shape that allows many copies of that protein to stick together forming fibrils (a small/slender fibers).  Amyloid plaques are sticky buildup which accumulates outside nerve cells, or neurons. For reasons still unknown, in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the protein divides improperly, creating a form called beta amyloid which is toxic to neurons in the brain.
5. mRNA (messenger RNA):  is a subtype of RNA. An mRNA molecule carries a portion of the DNA code to other parts of the cell for processing.  mRNA is created during transcription.
6. Autosomal Dominant Gene:  is one of several ways that a trait or disorder can be passed down (inherited) through families. In an autosomal dominant disease, if you inherit the abnormal gene from only one parent, you can get the disease. Often, one of the parents may also have the disease.  An autosomal recessive disorder means two copies of an abnormal gene must be present in order for the disease or trait to develop.
7. Gene Locus:  A locus (plural loci) in genetics is the POSITION on a chromosome. Each chromosome carries many genes.  There’s 23 chromosomes.
8. Synthesized:  make (something) by synthesis, especially chemically.  Combining (constituent elements) into a single or unified entity.
9. Centromere:  the region of a chromosome to which the microtubules of the spindle attach, via the kinetochore, during cell division.
10. Neurofibrillary Tangles (NFT):  are groups of hyperphosphorylated tau protein that are most commonly known as a primary marker of Alzheimer’s disease.  They are insoluble twisted fibers found inside the brain’s cells. These tangles consist primarily of a protein called tau, which forms part of a structure called a microtubule. The microtubule helps transport nutrients and other important substances from one part of the nerve cell to another. In Alzheimer’s disease, however, the tau protein is abnormal and the microtubule structures collapse.  The neuropathological diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease relies on the presence of both neurofibrillary tangles and senile/amyloid plaques.

[This list may increase over time]

Topic Selection

 

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As Michio Kaku once remarked, “Sitting on your shoulders is the most complicated object in the known universe”.  So why not discover as much as you can about it right now?  I find it vital for us to understand and learn how the brain operates.  We all have one.  So, we should share some interest in this topic, right?  Just by reading some articles and scientific studies about how simple and complex actions take place, like remembering a song sang to you as a baby or clutching your fist, we get closer to understanding how our everyday actions are carried out.  How do our bodies carry out actions?  How are those brain signals being relayed that fast?  It’s a crazy thought if you sit and think about it, almost magical.   How do our brains send signals to other parts of our body to perform actions?  How does a simple action like looking down at your feet and moving your toes possible to do in a nanosecond?  If you do not know the exact answer to that, then reading up on some neuroscience articles should be on your list of priorities.  Why not expand your knowledge?  The more we study what is normal brain function, the easier it becomes for us to recognize what may be abnormal when something feels wrong.  Therefore, I chose the topic of neuroscience to translate to the public this semester.  I want to get this information out to the public in a CLEAR, and easily comprehensible manner.  A lot of scientific journals that you find often stick to scientific jargon when relaying information to the public, which makes it difficult for the reader to stay engaged and comprehend all the information that is flowing at them.  I want to get that information out in a simpler way that both keeps people engaged and shows them how important brain health is, especially as you get older.

I plan on exploring, the limits of our brains, new/existing studies on the causes of certain brain ailments and disorders like Alzheimer’s, how to maintain good brain health as we age, and how our brains are being implemented in today’s advancing society of technology.  This pulls in the technology crowd, the scientific crowd, the curious crowd, and those who can identify with certain brain ailments or know someone who has.  We can ALL learn together.  I will do the research, and everyone else tune in.  I already know why certain actions take place in our brains, like how we sustain our memories, how thirst and hunger relate to our brains and what triggers it, how to repair brain function after a stroke, and ways to sustain your brain health and increase brain activity.  I want to discover how the brain links to Alzheimer’s.  What occurs to get us there?  I researched a few articles on the topic before, and read that scientists are still unclear on what causes the disease.  But, there has been studies developed around genes being a factor.  There seems to be a correlation between the gene/chromosome that causes Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, but researchers have not found what that link is just yet.  So, I would like to delve deeper into that subject and find more studies that can provide me with better answers as to why this disease occurs.  Do poor eating habits play into effect?  Lack of brain stimulation, as you get older?  Is poor memory as an adolescent a factor, when you don’t work to improve it?  This all interests me, and I’m sure someone else out there who may not be a scientist, or expert researcher, might want to know as well.

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