merry christmas everyone (or whatever you celebrate)! here’s a lil gem from my childhood - i recommend you check out the entire special if you can. it’s “emmet otter’s jug-band christmas“. fans of the muppets should appreciate another masterpiece from jim henson and frank oz. the songs are amazing and the dvd includes a sing-along to “brothers” - my personal fave. hopefully it will make it to the second edition of rock band.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_cc/article/0,2495,FOOD_20077_4622064,00.html

Being the foodie that I am, I’m always watching the food network channel. Last night there was a food network challenge which consisted of building a mansion ginger bread house completly out of edible pieces. Tariq Hanna one of the challengers is actually a local chef at the Casino’s here in Detroit. He built a super awesome model of the Falling Water house mostly out of edible things. These are the kinds of things that inspire me. I love cooking and art so when people combine the two I always get inspired.  Alot of these challengers are also artists too!

If I stay up another 4 hours, that will make 48 hours straight. I only got 3-4 hours of sleep the night before that. Somehow I made the 3 1/2 hr drive home without falling asleep behind the wheel (I think). Now I’m finally home, finally eating supper at 3:30 am. Oh, the bad habits we learn in art school : )

This is a really strange feeling. I don’t have any more projects due. I don’t have homework. I finally have time to work on all those ideas I have had over the past few years that never really fit the next project assignment. No more 24 hours of classes each week. I don’t have to pack up all my stuff and move between states 4 times a year. I started kindergarden in 1991, so the last….(good thing I’m not a math major)…16ish years I’ve had school every day (minus this last semester when I didn’t have classes on Wednesdays). No more of that. Now it’s off to look for a job. I am a graphic designer.

Last night was graduation and today I have my last final in Image Making. I just wanted to say a quick goodbye.

Nick, Erica, Shawn and Erica 2, thanks for kicking my butt into order every semester. You guys are all so inspiring and I know that you’ll be successful. I wouldn’t have graduated and gotten through it without you guys. I don’t have anyone to remind me of the things I have to do anymore, what am I going to do?! I don’t really have anyone outside of Eastern GD to talk about graphic design with so, I really think that we should get together at least once a month and just, talk. We’ll all chip in for gas money for Nick :). Bye Nick, I didn’t get to say goodbye because you didn’t go to graduation, but bye! I’ll miss you!

Goodbye to Ryan, Andy and Leslie. Thanks for putting up me. :) I feel that I’ve learned a lot and I think that I prepared for this. (Well, I hope…) I know that I am not the most inspired design student, but I do think that I have gained a great skill and talent for design while here. I’m young, the inspiration and drive will come. Anyway, just Thanks, you’re amazing.

Oh yeah, I like the design room messy. Not dirty, I mean pick up your old coffee! But I always liked walking around and picking up other peoples projects or scraps of paper. It was always entertaining. So don’t clean it too much, thats just boring.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

iloveyou!

Kari

I know some of you saw that I had an interview last week and was supposed to hear back from them this past friday. I knew I had nailed that interview and was really confused on why I hadn’t heard back. But apparently I was right. I did nail it!!! And I start in January!!!So I guess this is a lesson to everyone feel confident in your work and your interview skills and you’ll get the job!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3XPeGL907E

We originally watched this in Andrew’s 346 class and made sure to write a few of his quotes down. Mr. Rand was a very wise man.

I’m sure most of you who are planning to graduate today already know that commencements have been postponed until 6pm tomorrow. It’s kind of a bummer since many of us have plans tomorrow to work on projects or take finals. Damn snow! Anyway, hope to still see those of you graduating tomorrow.

Seriously Hallmark, American Greetings, and any other card company out their needs to starting designing some better Christmas Cards. And the stupid photo cards that everyone is sending out with the generic patterns, and background, and stupid seasons greeting signature. I think massed produced Christmas cards really degrade most designers talent. They are so bad, I do have to say though that Target has some really classic, simple, looking cards which I tend to buy. But next year since I’ll have time now, I want to start silk screen my christmas cards again.

I was inspired by this current post on Speak Up about landmark posters. http://www.underconsideration.com/speakup/archives/004208.html. Several of these have been shown at one point in time in one of my classes as I introduced an assignment. But, in case you were absent that day and/or missed design history. Or if you are just looking to learn and see some things. These two sites are quite amazing.

Dutch Graphic Design

and Alki1’s flickr sets of historical design.

I was inspired by this current post on Speak Up about landmark posters. http://www.underconsideration.com/speakup/archives/004208.html.

It is amazing how much stuff is out the on the web. A great deal of people are now using Flickr as a way to archive historical works such as these. (PS Flickr is also a good way to create an oline portfolio, and free).

So this past Friday I substituted for a former high school art teacher and the subjects were drawing, painting, and two different graphic design classes. O MY GOD were the graphic design students the biggest ass holes of them all. It suxed because that was the class I was so excited to teach. I don’t ever remember acting that way for a sub. A lot of the students in the two classes took it for a blow off class and were like failing it. I was so disappointed that they had no interest in graphic design or any art what so ever. Taking art classes when I was in high school was so much more different for me. Those where the classes I took to boost my GPA and that I enjoyed. I hope art is not lost with our younger generations. I think a lot of us have a lot more to do than just be graphic designer but to encourage the joy of art to the people that we are surrounded by.