more work...

This is a good way to get these into picassa, so I can start my portfolio slide show!

As you can see I like rounded corners, so much so that I find it hard to use "sharp" cornered boxes (bad design feng shui!) Speaking of feng shui, I had to confess to my supervisor (she is design obsessed like me) that even in my home I round the corners; I looked around one day and realized that I have furniture in every corner of my living room. I really think that the rounding the corners helps the energy flow:)

a little bit of my work...

This annual report was one of my biggest accomplishments; the first being the logo and identity resdesign that I did for the Alaska Pioneer Homes (I did the logo and then everything project I received got a similar treatment... it was really fun to put branding into action!).

(Back to the Annual that I was talking about...)
The biggest challenges of doing something really well designed for Government agencies is convincing them that well thought out and presented documents will get a better response, and keeping the cost low (this annual was done on a digital press and it came out beautifully; althought the ink will rub off on you if you're not careful).

my crazy resumé!

I have gone live with my site:) I am going to buy my business licence on Tuesday... and try to get my business cards ordered this weekend. I also need to put together a leave-behind portfolio (for real design jobs) and that can be my "promo" until I get my home computer up and running.

I am going to try to get some of my professional work together for an online portfolio; just a simple picassa slideshow, but it will be faster then doing it properly; my perfectionism will take over when it comes to doing the actual web pages and the process will get very complicated, I'm sure!

moving on...

I'm getting overloaded with job leads... I barely know where to focus my search! My supervisor is really helping me out and putting the word out there; she is feeling responsible which is ridiculous. Unfortunately I don't think how we feel about things or how it affects us has any effect on what comes from above. It has been really politically motivated and I'm still shocked that the bottom of the ladder are the only ones feeling it (me and two others; one other cut was actually shocking because of the seniority they had). I expect things might change direction once a new commissioner has been chosen. I am not holding out hope that they will change for me... but that sure would be nice. Any way it goes, I have moved on in many ways and will not be nearly as dedicated as I was last month; I will continue looking for something better, something that will actually pay me enough so that I can pay my student loans!

I found another great quote, and words to live by in my inbox the other day:


June 12, 2008

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

— Victor Frankl

horse on the mountain

I've been looking at this great shape in the snow and rocks on the top of Mt. Roberts... had to try my hand at it before more snow melts. I would like to do a vector illustration of it; it reminds me of tribal. It would at least make a great graphic!

new mind-set... new pastel

We'll, I'm still laid-off. Everyone is sad to see me go, but no-one seems concerned enough about it to DO anything. There are programs that I work for that have $35,000 (some have more) dollars that they HAVE to spend on outreach, but they can't save my job. I don't think anyone even tried, or at least not that hard.

So, I am still a little angry about it... but I am not enraged about it (anymore). I realize now that the "universe" or "higher power" or God, or whatever you believe (I believe it all...) is telling me what I need to do. I have been taking really small baby-steps to get there; now I have to charge ahead and get serious about it. I'm starting my own freelance business... I'm terrified. I really can't imagine relying on freelance to make a living! I will continue my job search, but if I can make money at it I won't have to take just any job out of desperation... I can actually wait until I find a creative job better then the one I had. That is my ultimate goal... my next job will be the next step. I will not go back and I don't really want to step to the side. There is a job that pays the same as my old one, and I would accept it because the experience is the "next level."

The wheels are in motion. I have paid for my url (when I upload my pages I will announce it); I have a friend who will help me to get a small business loan; I am going to get my business license with my next paycheck. Then I have tons of other things I need to do... business cards, promo cards, leave behind mini-portfolios, invoices, etc. It is a little overwhelming, but now that some of it is done I feel much more sure about it. The big thing was my web-site and now I am glad that I did it for my mid-term; I need to change some things and add some pages, but it is ready to make "really" live! Yay:)

I have also started trying to create "fine art" in my new space and it is doable. It's no studio, but if I work in the kitchen I can just mop up the pastel dust. If I had a large easel... I could do it out my front door! I'm just not committed enough to it to get it done.

Here is a small (4"x 4" canvas) pastel taken from my "Soar" ideas... I like it, but is isn't quite there yet. I did put it in a shadow box to see how it looked and it really popped out against the black. I'm kind of excited. I could make a ton of these and just hang them all together on one wall and then I could give them away for presents, one by one! We'll see about that, too.