Meet Amber Bullis

Brooke Williams, a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder, shares her journey from initially pursuing Architectural Engineering to finding her true passion in Environmental Design. Hailing from Santa Cruz, California, Brooke initially chose CU Boulder for its engineering program, drawn by her proficiency in math. However, after two years in engineering, she discovered the Environmental Design program through a friend and quickly realized it offered the design-focused education she craved, which was lacking in her engineering curriculum. She describes the competitive environment of engineering versus the supportive community she found in ENVD, highlighting the unique faculty-student relationships where professors encourage students to address them by their first names. Brooke's academic path includes a transformative study abroad experience in Rome during her junior year, where she immersed herself in a challenging 3000-level studio. This six-week summer program was pivotal, pushing her out of her comfort zone and providing intense, enriching learning opportunities. She emphasizes the value of travel for inspiration and personal growth, having also explored Germany and Venice during her time abroad. Within her major, Brooke appreciates the wide breadth of study in Environmental Design, which encourages understanding the entire human-built environment, encompassing architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning. She believes this comprehensive approach provides her with a unique edge in the field. Beyond academics, Brooke actively participates in campus clubs such as the Illumination Engineering Society (IES), Design Build Institute of America (DBIA), and American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), aligning her extracurriculars with her passions. She recounts a particularly gratifying experience as a Teaching Assistant, where she inspired students during an impromptu lecture on the importance of model-making. Brooke also shares her involvement as the team captain for a DBIA competition, leading a multidisciplinary team to a third-place finish. This experience, which involved responding to an RFQ, creating design concepts, and managing construction schedules, solidified her desire to one day own her own firm and be involved in all aspects of projects. Her summer internship at Fuse, an architecture firm in her hometown, was a significant turning point. Initially, she secured the internship by cold-emailing the firm and was tasked with basic duties. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, she quickly stepped into more significant roles, including drafting renderings for clients and developing a schematic design for a cake shop that is now being built. This hands-on experience confirmed her passion for architecture and provided early exposure to the construction process. She plans to return to Fuse to see the cake shop project through to completion. Brooke's future aspirations include becoming an architectural intern, incorporating lighting design into her work, and eventually earning her architecture license to open a small residential firm, ideally in San Francisco or Santa Cruz. Her advice to underclassmen is to seek out as much work experience as possible to clarify career goals and to fully utilize university resources, separating the theoretical learning of school from the practical, budget-driven realities of the professional world. #EnvironmentalDesign #ArchitectureStudent #StudyAbroad #CareerJourney #DesignInternship #StudentLeadership #ArchitecturalEngineering #UniversityOfColoradoBoulder #LightingDesign

This article features an interview with Ann Flemings, a contemporary abstract painter based in Austin, Texas. Flemings discusses a significant project she undertook in 2017: a self-designed residency focused on scaling up her artwork. Initially, she envisioned painting "big" but lacked the necessary studio space. To overcome this, she arranged a trade with an artist friend, pet-sitting in exchange for using a large studio for two months. Her plan involved working on ten 4-foot by 4-foot canvases, dedicating June to preparing small study paintings, and acquiring larger art supplies like brushes, mixing containers, and gallery-wrapped canvases. She set up ladders as easels and felt a sense of excitement rather than intimidation by the large scale. Flemings began painting on July 5th, using her reference studies as a starting point. She quickly realized that scaling up presented unique challenges, including mixing larger quantities of consistent color and effectively wielding bigger brushes. To translate images from smaller studies to large canvases, she used a tracing-paper grid. While she started with vigor, the work output gradually slowed down as the larger canvases required more time and attention. Challenges arose from the studio environment, which lacked air conditioning in Texas during July and did not have a bathroom. The intense heat caused her paint to dry rapidly, necessitating the use of gel mediums and water to revive it, which altered the paint's texture and flow, hindering her process. Despite these difficulties, she persevered, finishing two paintings and making modest progress on two others. After four weeks, Flemings decided to complete the remaining two canvases at home due to the studio conditions. This self-directed residency, while frustrating, provided invaluable lessons about the complexities of scaling up artwork. She now enjoys painting large-scale pieces, with the primary limitation being the size of canvases that can fit in her car. This experience boosted her confidence in tackling ambitious projects and refining her artistic approach. She also views the self-directed residency as a beneficial strategy for exploring concepts for future formal residency applications. Flemings, born in Los Angeles and raised in Pennsylvania, has a BFA and previously worked in fundraising. She re-engaged with art in 2015 and now creates vibrant abstract art through layering, excavating, and revealing, aiming to evoke peace and beauty. Her process is intuitive, influenced by emotions and memories, allowing the painting to guide her. She emphasizes the importance of listening to the painting and believes each piece has a unique story and soul, bringing personality and spirit to a home. She hopes her work conveys a sense of calm energy, balance, and "relaxed spaciousness," a Buddhist concept she incorporates into her life and art. The article also covers how to foster a supportive environment for artists. Flemings encourages individuals to attend exhibitions, become museum members, visit local art shows, purchase original art directly from artists, and contribute to arts non-profits. She advocates for voting for representatives who support the arts and encouraging community engagement in the creative ecosystem. She highlights the role of art in offering beauty and reflection, quoting Brian Rutenberg on how art encourages "slowing down" and "breathing." Flemings believes that finding original artwork that resonates with an individual is a special experience and strives to share her work widely through social media and, ideally, in person, emphasizing the unique experience of engaging with handmade art in a technology-driven world. Flemings shares a story about resilience, recounting a challenging portfolio review in 2015 that criticized her composition, color use, and lack of focal points. Despite initial devastation, she adopted a practical, objective approach, deciding to strengthen her foundational skills. She joined a life drawing group, practiced "notans," and worked with a respected teacher to improve her drawing, painting, and color mixing. This rigorous training, though frustrating at times, helped her develop a stronger artistic eye and a better understanding of line, tone, and value. A year later, her improved work was well-received by the public, validating her growth as an artist. She expressed gratitude for the candid feedback, attributing her increased strength as an artist to that challenging experience. #AnnFlemings #AbstractArt #ArtistInterview #ArtResidency #PaintingChallenges #CreativeProcess #ArtistResilience #ArtisticGrowth #HomeDecor #ArtCommunity

Brittny Button, an interior designer and real estate investor, discusses her journey in establishing her own business and her unique design philosophy. Her passion for building, architecture, and design naturally led her to open an interior design firm, where she focuses on transforming spaces. Additionally, she realized a long-held dream by opening Button Atelier, a shop within the Agoura Antique Mart. This venture allows her to showcase and sell her collection of vintage furniture, many of which have been revitalized with new upholstery, alongside a curated selection of decorative accessories. Button's distinctive design aesthetic is deeply rooted in Old World European Classicism, with a particular fondness for Spanish architecture and Art Deco-inspired furniture. Her past projects have garnered significant recognition, being featured in prominent publications such as Architectural Digest, Vogue Living, Homes & Gardens, and Living etc. This acclaim underscores her ability to create aesthetically pleasing and functional living environments. A notable challenge she identifies in her work is the difficulty of assembling a cohesive on-site team, including project managers, contractors, and subcontractors, who fully grasp and align with her design vision. She emphasizes the importance of shared understanding, even suggesting that it is better to disengage from a project if the team is not in sync, to ensure the integrity of the final outcome. Button Atelier is envisioned as an evolving 'workshop' or 'studio,' extending beyond a traditional interior design firm, with various exciting projects anticipated for completion later in the year. When asked about local recommendations, Button suggests visiting the Pacific Design Center in LA to explore new home furnishings. For family outings, she highlights the playground at Malibu Country Mart, often combined with lunch at one of the local restaurants. She also enjoys browsing CB2 Design Shop in Malibu for new arrivals. For unwinding with friends, Soho House and Nobu in the same vicinity are her preferred spots. She acknowledges the significant impact of recent fires on the Malibu area, expressing empathy for affected families and businesses, and offering her design services at free or reduced rates to support those who have suffered losses. Button attributes much of her success and development to the influence of her parents, who fostered her artistic eye from a young age through their shared passion for collecting antiques and architectural history, particularly Art Deco. Accompanying them to flea markets and estate sales instilled in her a joy for discovering and reimagining vintage pieces, a practice she has maintained throughout her life. She recalls acquiring a vintage chandelier and mirror for her bedroom in high school, marking the beginning of her fascination with reclaimed items. Her husband, Jenson Button, is credited as a constant source of support over the past decade, granting her full creative freedom in their home renovation projects and bolstering her confidence in her design capabilities. Her four-year-old daughter, Lenny, also expresses an interest in following in her mother's footsteps, aspiring to design houses. #InteriorDesign #RealEstateInvesting #Entrepreneurship #DesignAesthetics #VintageFurniture #ArchitecturalDesign #SmallBusiness #CreativeProcess