Well, well, well, here we are. It’s the last official day of the design and build internship, and man, has it been a wild ride. We never expected the past eight weeks to be so purely majical, but they certainly were. They were abundantly filled to the brim with friendship, love, creativity, and creation. It’s safe to say that we all learned so much, and made friendships that are sure to pass the test of time.
During our last week in the studio as the 2018 Design and Build team, you could feel the sadness in the air. We knew something very beautiful was coming to an end. We tried to spend every possible moment that we could together. But there was also something else lingering… something a little bit more like… stress?
There was a lot of stress filling the studio. We still had SO much to do in so little time. As Jen always says, we needed get everything buttoned up! We shipped off all of the walls that were done, we finished the Mother Nature resin floor, Alex got a handle on a few lighting elements, Heather created the perfect fabric finish for some of the trees, and a few more smaller projects came to a close.
Wednesday night was particularly fun, we got a drink at one of our go-to spots, Grandma’s House, an immersive brewery in Denver that will literally transport you 20 years back in time, and then walked across the street to Massif Studios to finally bring the projection for the water element of the installation into fruition. We had a photo and video shoot with Divinity Rae scheduled, a local makeup artist, hair stylist, and performer that shares a love for all things mystical. She made for Natura’s perfect mermaid!
Not only was the shoot super fun and so beautiful, it was a really lovely way to spend one of our last nights as a team. All hands were on deck and everyone was trying to help out as much as they could. I personally feel like I learned a lot from being there, and it was really special to see Alex’s theater costuming skills, Silas’ filming, lighting, and directing skills, Daniel’s photography skills, and Jen’s management skills all in action playing so perfectly with each other. After the shoot, most of us headed down to Goth Night at Milk, another very immersive gem that’s kind of bar-meets nightclub-meets Clockwork Orange!
The rest of the week consisted of finishing up projects, loading a truck of materials to be sent to storage, a pool-party, and cleaning the Museum of Outdoor Arts’ studio. After cleaning, the museum treated us to an extremely fun day of lunch, laser-tag (GO RED TEAM!!!), and bowling. A few of us even went to Build-A-Bear, and then continued the action-packed day at Jen and Eric’s place. It was my best friend’s birthday that upcoming weekend, so I left to get on a plane to California so I could celebrate with her. And it happened that fast, Design and Build was really over…
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As much as I wish I could have been in all twelve (maybe even more like fourteen or fifteen) places at once, I couldn’t, so I just want all of our lovely readers to be aware of how much I was unable to talk about. There were so many artists working on so many different aspects of this project, I’m genuinely bummed that I couldn’t also share their exact story and perspective with you. All in all, I deeply hope, however, that you were able to take this as a glimpse into the creation of Natura Obscura and cultivate it in your mind. This installation is our baby, and we nourished and cared for it as well as we possibly could in order to give you (yes, you!) a truly unique art experience. Be it opening your mind to help discover your unconscious self in effort to pursue your journey, helping you become the best possible version of yourself, or if it simply helps guide you to discover the majic that surrounds you, we’re honored to have had the opportunity to bring you there.
    As we made our way out the doors of MOA as the 2018 Design and Build team for the very last time, we sang Graduation by Vitamin C, and it got me thinking. The truth is, when I walked into Prismajic’s studio, I had no idea what I was in for. I’ve gained so much from this experience that it is absolutely impossible to put all of the friendship, love, learning, creativity, and opportunity into words.
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Those that were able to stick around during the month of August continued to work on projects that weren’t totally completed, and we’ve still got a few projects that we’re finishing at the Prismajic studio, but you know what they say, an immersive arts experience wasn’t built in 7 weeks!

 

    Thanks for sticking around and reading about our adventures.
                xo,
                     Lexie