An Introduction to Gingerjargogle

Hiya, I'm Kam!

I run Gingerjargogle, my art account, small Etsy Shop, and (admittedly) a mouthful. But I promise it’s more than just a jumble of sounds… sort of.

If you couldn't tell by now, my red hair makes up a large portion of my online presence. And as a young artist looking to make a name for herself — to somehow attain the coveted username that is both identifying, and easy for people to recognize you by — I took a journey through words that would pair well with the Ginger moniker.

Did I achieve that? Jury's still out, but hopefully that answer will be yes because I've invested too much in this name for it not to be. But maybe in all of that confusion, I've manifested it perfectly?

Jargogle is an Old-English word (seriously, it hasn't been used since the 1600s) meaning confusion, or to confuse. Which is almost poetic, considering how many times I've had friends call my page "Ginger Goggles." That one probably would have made for easier branding, but here we are.

My Creative Journey

At my very core, I’m a creative hobby hoarder! I’ve said to my boyfriend once (after he gave me a look when I pondered trying to make my own pickles) that I could genuinely spend all of my time exploring different hobbies — perfecting some, endlessly trying new ones — and never get bored.

I went to the University of Central Florida, and earned my BFA in Emerging Media, specializing in Experimental Animation — which basically means that I got to build my own major around a few core Animation classes. I took more animation history classes than was strictly necessary, animated a few ridiculous scenes, and dipped my toes into anything else available to me. Comic making, motion graphics, special effects …

After college, my collection of skills only continued to grow. I now had an education to boost my love for digital illustration; I had done my time in observational drawing classes to take my sketchbook to Zoos and Museums; I make social media graphics for a local volunteer group (the only time being chronically online has ever been helpful); and I worked as a Graphic Designer at a local print shop, where I got to make fun logos for real customers, who would then tell me that they wanted Comic Sans on their business cards (trust me, I wish I could tell you that was a joke).

With my trusty iPad and my experience in a print shop, I make all of my own stickers for my Etsy Shop, and custom Dungeons and Dragons standees for my party members and I. My friend and I write with each other, and trade off leaving love letters in the comments. I bring my knitting projects on airplanes, rotate through all my Cozy Games, and become delusional in the kitchen where I think I can make anything… despite still not being able to make any kind of bread (I’m determined to make my own bagels, I just need the yeast not to hate me.)

My Goal for Gingerjargogle

Why do I tell you everything above? Because the heart of Gingerjargogle is my innate need to be creative, to make something in any capacity. Stickers, illustrations, stories, scarves, a custom apron, the copycat recipe of my favorite sweet treat, a one to one replica in the Sims of the Lucky Cat Cafe from Big Hero 6 (hours of my life I will never get back)…

What will I be doing? I will be making things. So my personal challenge to you will be to make something everyday. Anything you like, in whatever form your creativity takes, big or small, and as poorly as your new skills will allow you to — I know that's hard to accept sometimes, but I've been told it's good for you.

So as I figure out what I'm doing, adding this new blog to my extensive list of hobbies, I'll be talking about the creative projects I worked on each week, sharing my progress and what I've learned. I hope that you'll join me for the ride, and hopefully we can inspire each other along the way!