Brandice Gilson

Back home in Green Bay, Wisconsin, my safe haven use to be a feild on the side of my house. Whenever then time came when I was just feeling frustraited or distracted I would grab my ipod and sketches and head over to that feild. On nice hot days I would just lay down in the tall over grown straw grass and stare at the sky while listening to Claude Debussy in my ipod. I would sit there for hours, up until the sun set and the stary night sky came out. I found this so relaxing and stress free. But the weather in Green Bay wasn't always nice. On stormy rainy days I would curl up in a blanket and sit by the fire place in the library of my house and sit and sketch, write or listen to music. I find that no matter where I am, music or nature can always be the right fix for the situation. I find peace in my sketches. It's a place where I can do what I want, I can be free. The possibilites are limitless in my sketches. I can take my feelings and put them into one of my apparel designs.

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I'm a small town girl. I was raised in Union Grove, Wisconsin. In 1993 the town consisted of about 500 people or less. I never really thought about the size until now. I've always been the country girl dressing like a city girl. People find it odd that I am into cars, four-wheeling, dirtbiking, hicking and just going out side after it rains and getting covered head to toe in mud. They find it odd because I don't dress like the kind of girl who like to get drenched in mud. But because I was raised in the middle of nowhere there really isn't that much to do besides go outside in a feild and race a dirtbike or run the four-wheeler through a new divit in the ground filled with murky, muddy water. I then moved to Green Bay, which wasn't ary better. Yes, there where more people, but more people doesn't always mean more to do. I lived on the outskirts of town on the corner of Big Creek and Glenmore. My yard was fairly big, a few acres or so. So still the passion continued of being outdoors. The thing I miss the most now being in Chicago, is the stars. I always had a huge passion for Astronomy. I love looking at the constellations. I find peace in it. Just to imagine another place is out there, maybe with someone in a different universe looking at the same stars. The possiblities are endless. Here in Chicago you can't see the stars, because the bright over powering city lights are over shinning their beauty. Thats what I miss the most. It's a comfort thing for me. Even though I highly disliked Green Bay and don't really miss it, I miss being able to be there, lying in the feild and being able to stare up at the night sky. Green Bay wasn't a fun city. It was rather dull and boring. It seemed to also be that everyone in some way, shape or form knew everybody. You were never really able to meet new, fun, and exciting people. No one was ever able to find a new adventure to go on.