Update.

It has been quite a while since I have updated anything, especially anything of artistic value. Here is what has been up since my last post. Hopefully it will shed some light on why I have been neglecting the few people who check this page for artistic insights. I know how it feels when a blog suddenly goes MIA with its updates. That is how I feel about www.worldfamousdesignjunkies.com. They haven't updated in almost as long as me.

Anyway. I decided to go back to school. I have applied to Indiana University, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I know, I know, Lincoln is a pretty big jump from the Kentucky/Indiana area.

When I looked into grad school, I wanted a program that offered an MFA and letterpress. Other than that, I wasn't too concerned about where I lived. So I picked places that had and MFA and letterpress, but I picked IU because their program is supposed to be one of the top 10 in the country, and I picked Nebraska because I visited there once and I liked the city, and the campus, and I know 2 people from there. I thought that if I had to move to a strange city, it would be nice to possibly have a few friends already there.

I looked into Nashville, but the closest program I saw was in Knoxville. I don't know enough about the city to apply. I also looked into Oregon and Texas because I knew people in those areas too. I was also seriously considering Wisconsin because I felt like I really liked the teaching styles presented in the videos on their website, and they also were a highly ranked school. I waited too long to apply though and I missed the deadline.

In other news, I have a new internship. It is a lot of fun and I am learning a lot about the way galleries, and realty works. It is nice to be able to work in an environment with cool people who have similar interests. More than anything I think that I like the lack of corporate involvement that I have to deal with the other 5 days a week. I also like that it requires me to be creative and do some real life problem solving. I am writing a blog for them, so my focus has switched a little. Check it out at www.mellwoodartcenter.wordpress.com

Finally the biggest thing in my life is the passing of my dad. He lost his battle with cancer after about 6 months. There are a lot of things to say about this event, but I think that I don't really need to say anything at all.

Other than that, I have just been working my full time gig and playing Call of Duty Black Ops.

I can't really promise that I will be keeping up with this page as much as I used to, but if you ever think about it, check up on me just in case. Between grad school, the internship at the gallery, and the passing of my dad, there are a lot of doors in front of me that are opening, and with that could be new found inspiration for art and blogging.

Help Wanted

I know this is sort of a long shot and will probably result in tons of spam, but I thought with the surprising amount of people who read this blog, it might help.

I am looking for a job. I have a job right now, and have held the same job for almost 10 years. But working retail is not cutting it for me anymore, and I feel like for the good of my soul and my happiness, I need to get out.

Here is what I am looking for.

-full time

-art related including jobs in or related to: screenprinting, t-shirt or poster screenprinting, industrial screenprinting, letterpress, education, gallery work, or design. It doesn't even have to be hands on printing really.

That is about it really.

Here is what I have to offer:

-4 years management experience.

-BFA in studio arts with an emphasis on printmaking.

-Studio Assistant to the intro printmaking class. This included cleaning, coating, and burning screens for screenprinting classes, as well as troubleshooting and demonstrating printmaking processes.

-Internship at Hatch Show Print in Nashville, TN where I worked closely with clients to design and print posters.

-I was hired to teach multiple classes at the Melwood Art Center, including one that I had designed myself, but the classes never filled.

-Excellent attendance!

-Excellent personality, and work ethic!

-Some experience with Photoshop.

-I learn new skills very easily.

The Flaming Lips Screenprinting With Blood

My good friend and former Hatch Show Print intern Michaela Powell sent me this video of The lead singer of the Flaming Lips screenprinting a poster with his own blood. Happy Halloween!



P.S. Check out Michaela's blog AT michaelampowell.wordpress.com/

The Smallest Zine...In The World!!!

Here is something cool. It is a How-to about making the smallest zine in the world. It is essentially a book smaller than a fingernail that combines relief printing, and zine making. The designs for the zine are cut into the eraser on the top of a pencil, and then bound together. Very cool.

Banksy on The Simpsons

When I sat down to watch Sunday night cartoons this week, the intro for The Simpsons had a pretty cool intro. When I first watched it I just thought the word Banksy being written on a few walls was just a pop cultural reference thrown in just because that is what the Simpsons does.

Then when Bart was writing on the chalkboard it said something about how he must not write on the walls. Another Graffiti reference. I thought "Oh, since other episodes of the Simpsons have featured graphic novel artists, and other pop artists, maybe Banksy guest stars for some reason."

Then the "couch gag" happened, and it was very cool looking, and satirical and sad all at the same time.

It wasn't till the next day that I found out that Banksy had actually directed it. But why? He is known for his graffiti art, and his "appropriation" of Paris Hilton's album, both of which usually try to make comments about the society, or the way a certain institution is run.

It seems unlikely for a company to allow an outsider to come in and make something for them that ends up showing them in a negative light, it seems just as unlikely that an artist like Banksy would join forces with a Television cartoon show. So what was he trying to say about the Simpsons, or 20th Century Fox?

Part of me wonders if it was nothing more than to become a bigger part of pop culture? To get his name out a broader audience, while making a joke about the state of corporate branding? He did get everyone talking about the Simpsons again, and he did get his name out there to a broader American audience. Just google "Banksy Simpsons" and see all the news reports, and blogs about this 2 minutes of animation. It's win win. Here is a link to a page where the video can be found.
You can also see versions of it on Youtube, but the quality does not seem to be as good.

New Kanye West and an Older Passion Pit

I don't post too much about music really, or about video stuff that isn't a video showing a printmaking process, but I just googled "New Kanye West" to hear the song he performed on SNL last week, and this came up.

Kanye West, Power (New Album "Good Ass Job" 2010) from WE ARE FROM L.A on Vimeo.

I am pretty excited about the album, and this video(whether official or not) is also pretty cool. I think that the reason I like it is because of the same reasons I like the Passion Pit video "The Reeling". Both of these videos have a quality of printed material given life!

Craft Time!: Stickers to Magnets.

I have a pretty extensive sticker collection. The thing is though, that as a collector, I don't want to use these pretty printed things on just any old thing. So I have an album full of stickers that no one really ever sees. So the other day it hit me! Why not take these stickers I love to look at, and find a way to make them mobile, and reusable?

STEP 1. Go to an office supply store and buy a pack of magnetic paper. These business card sized magnetic sheets were on clearance at STAPLES so we will use them.
STEP 2. I removed the sticky paper on the magnetic paper and stuck them together in different directions to create a more sturdy and powerful backer for the sticker.

STEP 3. Remove the paper from the sticky tops of the magnets, and remove the paper from the sticker and stick them together making sure to smooth it out evenly and avoid air bubbles.
STEP 4. After the sticker is stuck to the magnet carefully cut around the original sticker design and slap it on the fridge, or your car.
OTHER USES.

If you are into the graffiti scene you could make sticker art, or small pieces that people could easily remove, or collect. Collectible street art.

Use magazine images or hand drawn images to create collages on the fridge or cars.