The road to finishing my thesis was by no means conventional. I finished the winter quarter at SCAD feeling accomplished and on track. My film was about 95% complete, which meant I could focus my full attention building my artist book and finishing my paper during the spring quarter. I left Atlanta feeling confident about my thesis. I had no idea that when I landed in San Antonio that my spring break trip would be extended, indefinitely.
COVID-19 sent the world into lockdown, getting a flight back to Atlanta became impossible. I was stranded in the Lone Star State, far from the tools, spaces, and people that my project’s success depended on... left instead with copious amounts of caffeine, a new love for breakfast tacos, and a stubborn sense of optimism. The artist book I had imagined building no longer fit into the reality of my boyfriend's small apartment and aging inkjet printer whose idea of ‘functional' was a loose interpretation. Ultimately I had to pivot, adapting the design to meet the constraints of my new normal. I was able finish my film, complete the final draft of my paper, and create a book that communicated the themes of my thesis work; all remote.
My thesis defense took place in May of 2020 on a Zoom call consisting of three Atlanta-based professors, me (new to Texas, practicing my ‘y’all's), and a shared screen. After my defense I was not greeted with the thunderous applause of friends and family like I had dreamed of for the past three years, but rather the quiet click of a disconnected call. That soft click marked the end of my time as a SCAD graduate student, although the end was anticlimactic, SCAD was a formative chapter in my life. I am deeply grateful for all the friends, peers, and professors that helped shape me into the artist I am now. Without further ado, my thesis work: Scarab Eternal.