Stuffed Animals Don't Count

2009-06-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

Image Number 3.
Francesco bored with all the small zoo animals.

Trip to the Zoo Image 2

2009-05-23T13:16:00.003-07:00

2nd image in the works :)
in this one, Francesco, the brother, is telling his parents where he wants to go for his bday.

still working on some kind of flooring......dont know yet

Finished!!

2009-05-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

And the 2nd image is on it's way :)

A Trip to the Zoo

2009-05-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

I'm illustrating a children's book in between classes and jobs now. Written by a former Creative Writing teacher at Drexel - he is now teaching at Union College in NY - it's about a brother and sister who stray from their parents at the zoo, and encounter animals in their habitats who help them find their way back to the zoo entrance.

I'm documenting the different stage of all illustrations.

The first page illustration (so far):

1 begun, 19 to go...and a book sleeve, almost forgot about that.

RANT BOX

2009-04-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

I did a little story board illustrating over the weekend for Gari Media Group. RANT BOX, a forum type television show for voicing your opinion on today's politics/social issues/whatever is pissing you off.
They pitched the tvshow idea to NBC yesterday morning with these drawings:

hopefully the pitch went well, I have not heard any further developments about it, so we shall see..... :)

Goat Button

2009-04-24T08:09:00.001-07:00

The Tate Museum - Free and all over iTunes!

2009-04-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Jen Graves from Seattle's SLOG - always has the best updates, such as:

The Tate galleries have made hundreds of video and audio downloads available for free on iTunes.

More than 400 files are now on iTunes U - a section of the online store which features educational content.

Projects include a series of films that use social networking site Twitter to bring the audience's questions directly to artists like David Hockney.

There are also recent interviews with contemporary artists including Jeff Koons and Louise Bourgeois.

ART NERD ALERT!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7998191.stm

Wynton Marsalis's Speech/Performance at Arts Advocacy Day 2009

2009-04-11T09:22:00.000-07:00

Wynton Marsalis: 22nd Annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy from Americans for the Arts on Vimeo.

New Painting

2009-04-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

Still in progress (obviously) and this is sadly my only form of critique, so please, let the comments start rollin' in.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

April's First Friday at Sazz Vintage, Philadelphia, PA

2009-04-04T07:06:00.000-07:00

Old City was rockin last night for April's First Friday! (a.k.a. ArtWalk, for all you Greenvillians..ahaha villians)

Combined with vintage clothes and somewhat vintage snacks (the old vanilla sandwich cookies, gingersnaps you ate when you were 3, and Mondos! the twist off top blue sugar water refreshments) my work, titled "Animals and Adcock" got some attention. It's a more commercial series than anything, and I had a few people cooooing over the elephant drawings. People love elephants.

So go visit the store, buy some vintage shit, I plan on doing so when I actually get a paycheck.

Arts Advocacy Day 2009

2009-04-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

Along with my fellow Arts Administration colleagues, we ruled Capitol Hill!

500+ Arts leaders showed up for the American's for the Art's 22nd Annual Arts Advocacy Day.
Pennsylvania representatives were in high numbers, with Drexel students, of course, Arts Management students from Carnegie Melon in Pittsburg, most of the staff of the Philadelphia cultural Alliance and more.

The night before Capitol Hill, the nation's arts leaders witnessed the most amazing speech/spoken word/jazz performance ever given. Wynton Marsalis delivered a passionate call for action that had the entire Kennedy Center in tears and on their feet. In my opinion, the speech seamlessly articulated why people enter the arts, why they stay in the arts and why they fight for the arts.

On the Hill, I met with Senator Spector, as well as House of Representatives Charles Dent and Allyson Schwartz. They are all arts policy supporters, so my job wasn't too difficult.

Onwards and upwards! I will be running for Arts Advocacy Coordinator on the AAGA Board this year, and after that, hopefully be sitting at the North Carolina table at all future Arts Advocacy Days :)

HOME for a Week

2009-04-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

It was magical.
I saw fields and wilderness and drove my car and lived out of a suitcase.
Thanks to all of those who put up with me while I emersed myself back into a world that made sense.
It's odd how proud I've finally become of the state I semi-hated when I resided in it.

I'm moving back. Soon-ish.

Asian Sensation - George Nelson

2009-02-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

from the depths of art school hell, we rise!

My buddy George Nelson has some interesting projects going on out in California.

Here's a piece that features ME, on a morning i left him in CA. "Day of Departure."

His updates and work can be viewed at his blog:

http://wakasashe.blogspot.com/

New York Day

2009-02-06T18:00:00.001-08:00

I couldn't take too many photos because we were on the move all day, and the whole tourist thing.

It felt nice walking around with an agenda (mostly for Daniel Radcliffe and cupcakes) in New York .
I have become used to the bustling yet laid back nature of Philadelphia, it was an amazing change of pace to ride the subways of the lower east side.

Thanks to my guides Liz and Ying, who know that city better than i ever will.

Everyone go see EQUUS before it closes! (in a week)

Punk Rock Flea Market - The Light Factory, Philly PA

2009-02-01T13:43:00.000-08:00

This shit just ain't my scene anymore.
I can understand being wall to wall people for a performance, but for shopping? Aaanothankyou.
I will not be attending again.

and then, as if someone up above knew i was having a horrible time....cupcakes :)

I had fun with Rashni and Andrew though. I feel like that has to be clarified.

The Last 2 Weeksof Equus in NYC

2009-01-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

I'm praying i don't get offered a job in the next 2 weeks b/c Feb 4th, i'm planning a day trip to see Daniel. Radcliffe. Nude.
That and it's supposedly an amazing story
And stage seating? I never knew tickets to seat ON the stage were sold.
But those are the ones I'm supposedly getting.
I hope it's the best $75 I ever spend.

A review of it as soon as I come back, I promise.

Scott Fife is Kicking Ass

2009-01-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

Scott Fife’s exhibit, Northwest Perspectives at the Tacoma Art Museum was a 25 year survey of this talented, Northwest sculptor’s work. Scott has a degree in Architecture and Fine Arts, from University of Idaho and the Minneapolis School of Art & Design respectively.

I can't get enough of this guy.

Tom Brokaw Fucked Up

2009-01-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

to compliment the amazingly amazing Inaugural speech, a little goof up i heard just minutes before the important people actually started filling the stage at the capital:

ok, so i'm watching the inaugural address, rather, the building up to it and Tom Brokaw was commenting on how "hats" are back in style blah blah blah i guess a lot of people were wearing one...

and then he said...."hats had kind of gone out of style when John Kennedy showed up headless....i mean.....hatless at his inaugural address..."

aaaawhooooops

you are losing your touch Brokaw.

Let's Get Serious America

2009-01-20T13:40:00.000-08:00

Responsibility is the new change.

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
.....
We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when the crisis began. our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week, last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
....
There are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
....
A nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.
....
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.
....
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
....
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering a new era of peace.
....
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
....
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
....
With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

FINALLY!!

Things That Make Me Feel Better

2009-01-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

in no particular order.

Thank you for existing and tolerating me.

Good iDeas Turned Rubbish

2009-01-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

Are good ideas good ideas if no one shows up?
Praise is one thing, participation another.

I went it alone.

I'm just sitting on the shelf.

Disgraced my NAME!

2009-01-16T20:00:00.000-08:00

Counselor Amy Henning
You are awful.
You were awful to me, and apparently awful to quite a bit of Drexel undergrads.

You don't NOT write down the history of your patients and then request them re-tell all the painful shit they already told you and then get MAD AT THEM for getting mad about having to relive all of it. SHE does not deserve that.

She is the oldest-almost-21 year old I know and you could have helped!

GUUH! How do you still have a job?!?!)#!$%*#!
If you choose to be a public servant fucking DO YOUR JOB. SERVE THE PUBLIC.

YOU MAKE ME SO MAAAAD

Giving Philly_and myself_Some Time

2009-01-07T20:11:00.001-08:00

By the end of my first quarter of Drexel, I felt beaten.
My work/thought process was not graduate level (for business school standards), the city still intimidated me and whenever I returned from Christmas break, I would have no job waiting for me.

But after several conversations with people in the same position as myself, we have all decided to give Philly more of a chance. A support system arose for me from people I did not expect, and some that I've been waiting on for years.

We can do this.
We are just as strong if not stronger than we thought we were while making the decision to pursue this city. It might have brought us down in the beginning, but no more.

It's time to grow.
To see this 180 for what it is, and ourselves for what we will become.

I will not let him down:

You did not raise a quitter.

My Last Days at DVRPC

2008-12-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

DVRPC

stands for

A. Delaware Valley Robot Production Council
B. Delaware Valley Rabbit Puree Candies
C. Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
D. Delaware Valley Regulations of Popcorn Consumption
E. Nobody will ever take the time to memorize it's actual name who doesn't work there

So this week is my last before getting laid off
no interviews lined up so far, but, it's December, so I'm not completely spazzing out yet.
Unemployment looks like a bright and shining option at the moment.

I'm heading home on Saturday to bask in the joy of Family.... and a high school reunion... and my bestest best college friends that i talk to nearly everyday but haven't seen since September.

Happy Holidays everyone!

This Makes Me Sad - So I Must Photograph and Post It

2008-09-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

dead baby squirrel in my backyard.
he's getting a proper burial on wednesday night, if birds haven't carried him off.

Mind is Racing Like a Pro

2008-09-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

i made it back to NC for a few days, and was overwhelmed by the people i left behind. you guys are immeasurably great human beings and don't know how much you mean to me and i doubt i could ever articulate it.

so i will do drawings of you all instead.
first one is of levi, then erin, then me. I've started a lot more, but am still waiting for feedback on content.

it's raining all weekend in Philly. Now i dont' feel so bad about not leaving the apartment.

Running Out of Time Said My Brain to My Mouth to Your Face

2008-08-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

This week has been aweeesome

it's time for Philly Fringe
a 16 day live arts festival! The theater production that I helped out with, Wandering Alice, premiered yesterday, but i got a sneak peak Thursday night with all the other people that helped with the show.
The most amazing piece of theater I have seen yet.
http://www.livearts-fringe.org/2008/details.cfm?id=2888
And the creator, Nichole Canuso, is a dancer/actress herself and she's cool as shit.

I've also been painting a lot, finishing up some stuff i began back at home. Mostly on paper and corkboard. I finished Dawn's portrait of her dog Coconut as well. First finished piece i've done in oils since i graduated! I'm making milestones here people.

also, my Financial Aid came in so some pressure is off as far as money goes, and Paul Baldwin wrote me a letter! Gotta go write him back.

My sis is riding up to Philly this week, I've got 3 plays lined up, one in a skateboarding park, and 2 others, Killer Bass and Wawapalooza! and a Summerbirds in the Cellar concert!

and I'm going to the Mutter Museum tomorrow! Weird scientific phenomenas, in jars!

later on suckaas

I'm Disappointed!

2008-08-21T07:07:00.001-07:00

in myself mostly.
I should be outside, finding things about this city that i can love, or grow to love, and i'm not.
I'm sitting in front of my computers, waiting for my job to send me work to design.
I wish introverts could just decide one day that they've had enough and turn a complete 180.
That sounds like i'm giving my behavior an excuse.
I promised myself that i would go out everyday and find something, some place new.
Call it nesting or fear of the unknown or whatever.
I get out everyday, just to places I've already been. Atleast I have some sort of comfort level here. My first week by myself I had none.
I wish i didn't take me so long to adapt.
If this were a test I think i'd be close to an F. Not completely failing, but one of those procrastinating slackshits that i hated so much when i was in school who would pull through at the last moment, but with no real goals, no vision.
I keep telling myself that i need to be sitting in front of my computers, the more i'm here, the more work I'll get to do, and the more i can actually go out and spend money.
I'm making money my excuse now.

Theres too many reasons. Too many reasons to not and too many reasons to.
And i'm sick of myself, that i can't pick one to go on and say fuck the rest.

I'm ALive!

2008-08-15T11:08:00.001-07:00

and living in Philadelphia, PA ya'll. (no, i don't use that expression up here)

it's taken 2 weeks to get internet (one week of that was my fault, the second week just b/c it takes a week to get anything done in a big fucking city)

I'm getting over a cold that kept me inside and bored all week, so this weekend it's on! I'm helping out with some local theater, working with the set/tech designers to get the show arollin'--free tickets to the show and actual human contact....sounds good to me.

I'm also still working with the Daily Reflector, doing freelance to help with the transition from Gville, NC to Philly--until they find a new hire or until i find a real job up here.

i miss everyone! heres pictures of my apartment --for those i haven't emailed it to, which isn't likely, b/c i am an email whore.

and finally - somewhere i can log onto (b/c hot, rich people really have to use the internet to find someone) and know i'm not talking to a complete troll:

2008-03-20T08:36:00.001-07:00

sick.
courtesy of Dave.
i spent all yesterday in bed watching Top Chef, Season 1.

Tiffany.
you should stop trying to be a chef if all you want to do is please yourself.
Everyone i've known named Tiffany have been the same.
Self absorbed.

Im back at work today, b/c sitting at home all day made me feel unproductive and useless.

Thanks to Nick Bailey for making me download Mute Math.
I think they are my new favs for a couple weeks too.

New York was awesome:

i'll post more when my eyes don't hurt.

Scene Around

2008-03-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

Wheew, It's been a busy few months guys

• applying to grad schools around the east coast and Europe, i've heard back from one in DC, one in PA and one in NY, so i'm off to visit campuses in the next 2 weeks.

• completing paintings in one night! yes, i'm that good!

• going to New York on Friday, DC and Philadelphia the friday after that

oh yeah, and I made a flyer to celebrate my leave:

and here's the photographs individually so that you can better see how hilarious they are:

Busy Busy Busy

2008-01-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

I've applied to 4 Grad Schools so far
• Georgetown
• American
• Drexel
• George Washington
6 more to go
(George Washington plllease accept me and give me moneeeeeeey)

................
Saw Juno twice in the past 2 weeks
it should have won every award it was nominated for

................
Worked on a redesign for the Reflector's monthly women's tabloid "Her"
though it probably won't change at all

.....................
I've listened to nothing but Phosphorescent for 3 days

.....................
The secret here is that I love you so
But i don't want your heart to know

2007-12-27T07:56:00.001-08:00

My Christmas consists of:

Cool grandparents who actually have a greater sense of humor than I thought,

2 of the coolest little cousins a 24 year old cynic could ever have,

a sister who smokes too much,

a 3 year old yelling "POOP" for 20 minutes,

and this Hannah Montana wannabe who kept taking pictures because I was taking pictures.

I'd say it's been a pretty sweet holiday.

Christmas is Over and Santa Hates You

2007-12-26T08:47:00.000-08:00

i did pretty well
clothes and DVDs and albums

Next Up is New Years:
Neil and Meredith's

and my reply:

theres nothing to do at work
and everyone of my family members are hanging out all day.
Son of a Fuck.

Museum Studies and Nerds

2007-12-22T20:39:00.001-08:00

busy day
spent all morning getting all my graduate school applications in order/requesting transcripts/started writing my Statement of Purpose, etc.

Then my family from VA got here and i didnt do shit.

except this:

and this:

And this painting for my sister as half her Xmas present:

Tomorrow: it's off to see my GreatGrandma, Ruby Pearl.

RuuuubyPearl

Christmas Paaarty

2007-12-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

Coworker Portrait is completed and wrapped and awaiting opening.
Photo of people's reactions to it to follow....

I made some bad-ass Apple and Bread Pudding for the luncheon deal, and drew Santa Claus smuggling penguins into our conference room.

But for now I'm listening to lucero and radiohead and moving houses.
I can make houses move with my pointer finger.

Holy Mother of Mucha

2007-12-17T11:11:00.001-08:00

this girl outshines every mucha homage i've ever seen
including my own.

http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/2007/

it like Art Nouveau meets Creepy meets Woodgrain and it's pretty much where my art work should have been, but now can't be, because she thought of it first.

She is my antithesis as well as my favorite.

Somewhere There's a Better Part of Me

2007-12-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

but it didn;t come out when i needed it.

GREs kicked my ass. The math anyway.
and then the one person i wanted to answer his phone didn't.

December 15th 2007 gets a thumbs down.
From me and this guy

you can tell he's pretty pissed about GRE scores too.
He didnt pass them either.
And that's why he's selling pants.

Gap, here I come.

I Wish I Wasn't Scared of Everything

2007-12-13T06:55:00.000-08:00

if i wasn't, i woudl actually take this going to grad school in Europe idea seriously.
but I'm terrified and elated at the same time about the same thing.
theres a word for that. Ambivalent.

maybe a gradual introduction to over seas is what I need.
but no tuition sounds awesome.
but a foreign land where I know no one.....

FUCK

FUCK what is going oooonnnnnnnn

Coconut Flavoured Biscuits

2007-12-12T14:21:00.001-08:00

There are some dumbshit people working in my department.
Elitist, egocentric bullies who don't know when enough is enough.

When all you do is complain and STILL don't do your job, shouldn't you realize you're being a jerk?

Why don't people realize it when they're being mean?

OOOhhh balls
I'm ready to leave.

I will leave you all with this:

I got it from deviantart.com
I should probably give the artist's name.
I'll look for it later

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...

2007-12-10T15:06:00.000-08:00

...i need to finish reading that after I finish World War Z (thanks StuJuice) i only have about 30 pages left.

Today was good.
busy. car ads and webbanners.
time flew.
and I drew Erin a shoe.

here's a little nod to my friends Danny and Cameron
we call this: "How's that Taint Going???"

And here's the latest on my Coworkers portrait, a Christmas gift to the Creative Services/Sales Reps.

That is all for now.

It's time to make some motherfuckin HotDog Piiiiizzzaaaaaaaaaa

Mission Hermit

2007-12-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

well i've successfully ignored everyone for a few days.

Much needed though. i put in a lot of hours on 2 paintings, studied a bit for the GREs, ate way too much food, pre-watched DVDs that i bought for other people, finished up some christmas shopping, took dumb photos of myself and my dumb new lion slippers and wore the same shirt and pants for 3 days.

Kudos me.

I've never been so glad to see Monday roll around.

After the GREs on the 15th, I can finally let my hair down. I feel obligated to stay at home, at least to say i was studying.....which i'm not.....i'm watching America's Next Top Model re-runs.

Lord help me.

Here's a Momento of Our Time Together

2007-11-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

i have a BLOOOOOOOOG
like myspace and my own website aren't enough.

don't read any of it.