Two Editor-in-chiefs, One Interview
By Eva Rizk
This long semester is finally coming to an end, which means I will no longer be Editor-in-Chief of this beautiful paper. However, I get to pass on the torch to our current graphic designer! Daylen Conserve is a second-year graphic design student who began their journey at The Plant in the fall of 2018 as our cover artist. I had a little chat with them via Zoom, one editor-in-chief to another.
What do you hope to get out of your experience as editor-in-chief in the upcoming year?
Being Editor-in-Chief next year will definitely help me develop my leadership skills in a huge way. I’m not used to being the one in charge but I’m really looking forward to coordinating The Plant so it can continue to grow and thrive. I also wouldn’t be upset if it could help me land a sick internship at a media company, like Vice *wink*.
Do you have any worries?
With Dawson confirming that next semester will be held online, I’m mostly concerned about how to reach the Dawson student base. It will be a challenge to attract the same amount of students who read our paper in print form since we don’t have the same reach on our social media pages.
Do you miss going to school?
Honestly, yeah. I never thought I’d miss going to school so much, even though I would complain about it all the time. I think it’s something about the rituals I would practice around going to school, like picking out outfits or just going to grab a coffee before taking the metro. That routine was comforting. I really miss the shared “dead-inside” energy felt throughout the 4G hallway; it was something special.
How have you been keeping yourself busy during quarantine?
Mostly school and work. Something about online classes makes it harder for me to separate school and “play” time. I feel like I’m always working on one of my graphic design projects, whether it be me actually sitting down and doing it or it just being in the back of my head all day. The other half of my time is spent working in the Fruits & Veggies section at my job which has been very different due to the pandemic. But, it allows me to go outside a bit and do physical work which clears my mind a bit. There’s also Animal Crossing, which I've been spending a lot of time on. I’ve clocked in 180 hours so far and I just completed this Versailles inspired garden section that people need to see!
As an artist, are you finding it easier to be creative during this time?
I was at first. During the end of March, I felt like I had so many ideas and things I wanted to do. I had finally gotten around to working on a project I had envisioned for a long time called ANGLBBIE (@anglbbie on Instagram) but that motivation went away when I had to start my online classes. Hopefully I can get back into that groove soon once I rest up a bit.
What is your creative process?
A whole mess! Sometimes I’ll just brew an idea for a while and slowly build it up until I feel it’s ready to be birthed into the world. Other times it’s like a flash and I gotta rush to take a note of it or sketch it in my sketchbook. I think my favourite part of my creative process is choosing colours. Even though I gravitate towards the same 4 colours, there’s something so satisfying with colours that work well together. I also usually try to balance out which mediums I use. As a graphic designer and illustrator I end up being on the computer a lot so I try to paint, make sculptures, and play around with other hands-on mediums when I can. I like the hand feel of using traditional mediums and they give me a cleanse from the screen.
Where can our readers find your work?
@its.daylen on Instagram.