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Welcome to ilaxstudio.com. The intent of this website is to help me keep in touch with my family and friends, and to reach others in the artistic community.

So, what does ilaxstudio mean? Ilax is my last name (as of now), so using it to identify myself here seemed natural. I am currently a fourth-year architecture student at Iowa State University, and I spend most of my time at school in my "studio". The studio is a space I share with other architecture students to generate, craft, and display my ideas. It is a place for sharing information and skills with those who wish to learn. The studio collaborates a variety of talents, creating a dynamic, energetic environment. The contents of this site represent my work and ideas, which have been shaped by what I have learned in studio environments. I believe that your talent never grows if you don't expose it and take critique and comments. So I am extending my studio environment by bringing it here.

The site is currently organized into 7 topics: Home, Portfolio, Photos, Archive, Resume, theKnot, and Contact. You can directly enter any of these categories by clicking on the desired button on the right side of the screen.

Home is the page you are on now. This page will feature entries about what is going on in my life, and any thoughts I want to share with you. This page will be updated most often, so make sure you check it out on a regular basis. I will also post any other updates in the site here, so you know where to head for new information. This "welcome" entry will remain at the top of the page, so you will need to scroll down to see the new entries.

Portfolio is where to go to find samples of my work. I have split my samples into two categories - architecture and non-architecture. The architecture category features all of the work I have done in school, and in the professional architecture environment. As of now, the non-architecture category features the rest of my work. As new projects come along, and I prepare more projects for this site, this page will grow and change.

Photos is just what the name implies, a photo album. Here you will find pictures of my friends and family, and of my travels.

Archive is the place to find old entries from the home page. The entries will be archived by month.

Resume is a where you can take a peek at my personal skills and job experiences.

theKnot documents the wedding plans of Steven and me. You can look in as we decide exactly how we are going to tie the knot. When it is closer to the wedding date, you will be able to find information about where the wedding and reception will be, at what time, where we are registered, who is in the bridal party, and all sorts of fun information.

Contact is your way to get in touch with me, please don't hesitate!

Hope this helps with navigation around the site!

The entries following will not be like this one. They will be updates of what is going on in my life. I will probably let you know what has been going on at my architectural internship, what projects Steven and I have been tackling this summer, and other things I have going on. Make sure you check back soon to read the new post!

Thanks for stopping by!

kilax

I feel creatively drained. Not to say that I was ever the "creative type", but when you are a design major, creative is how you want to feel - all the time - which is near impossible. Is this urge to be creative replaced by the urge for innovation in other professions? It this feeling just an offspring of the basic human need to feel like an individual? I had an appointment with the doctor today, and she asked me "So are all the architecture majors really artistic?" And I told her that there is a variety - some of us are very pragmatic and some of us are very artistic, and there are a great chunk of people that fall into the middle ground. She then asked me "Are you more pragmatic then?" I told her I fall somewhere in between but sometimes feel like I should have been a graphic designer. Ha ha! Now there is a major you can't survive in without a creative edge!

It is all very true though - some of the students here are too artistic for their own good. They create building designs that are based on aesthetic principles alone. And there are those that are entirely pragmatic - following the codes for every design and simply creating a large box to hold the building's program. If you observe the students closely, I think you can get a hint of where they are heading with their career. It is obvious that some people will never become a licensed architect because that is not how they want to use their education/or they don't have the motivation. And it is also obvious that some of the students have the potential to become a "celebrity" architect. And for me? I want to become licensed so I can begin making decision contributions in the firms I will work at after I graduate. But I can definitely imagine that my architectural career will head down paths that are unpredictable, simply because that is the way of the profession. Architectural design changes as society changes.

The point of all this rambling is to say that I have felt so drained lately - creatively, physically, emotionally, you name it. I know that lack of sleep is definitely an influencing factor, but for some reason, I continue to ignore my body's wishes to rest. There is so much I want to do everyday, and sleeping just gets in my way. So I end up staying up very late every night working on all the things I want to work on. This worked for awhile, but now I am beginning to see the effects it is having on my body - my eyes feel sore, my feet hurt, I feel more emotional than I probably should. What am I supposed to do? Quit work? Quit class? Quit editing this web site (this would probably have the least amount of consequences)? I am sure I will figure it out...

Tomorrow is my nephew's one-year birthday. It feels so weird to be an aunt. It is a good sort of weird feeling that really puts your life into perspective and makes you think about the future. When I am 40, he will be 20! I am too young to be thinking about being 40! Anyway, I love my nephew to pieces. He is such an adorable baby (you know how some babies aren't...)! I have been really excited working on this scrapbooking project for him (see Portfolio page). Of course, being creatively drained, I did not finish it in time for his birthday. I did buy him a wonderfully humorous card though, that doesn't really make any sense, but gives me a chance to tease my brother and his girlfriend!

 

I feel like I am living in a nightmare of an awful week that will not go away. I have been feeling worn out, unmotivated, and very frustrated with almost everyone/thing since last Monday! I can say a few positive things though - the first being that I got my laptop back last Thursday, with a brand new hard drive in it (this just raises more frustration though, as I waste my time trying to get my personal settings back to normal). I also found out on Thursday that I was getting a substantial raise at work because my employers want to "pay the highest wage on campus and draw in the best employees." I also got to see Steven this weekend, which was nice because I hadn't seen him for a little under a month (unfortunately, Steven had another agenda while we were together this weekend, so when I say I saw him, that is what I mean... I saw him for a second or two).

I worked really hard last week on persuading Alejandra to come to Rome, then I finally realized today that the only reason I want her to come is so I will have a travel buddy. I think I would enjoy traveling alone in Europe during my free time, but I doubt it is safe for me. As intelligent and witty as I like to think I am, I know that it would be wise for me to travel in a foreign continent with at least one other person. So today I was thinking that it would be the most fun if I was with her, but if she doesn't come, oh well, her loss. I have other friends I am sure are planning on traveling... or I might end up out on my own.