Vince Michael

I went to listen to Vince Michael speak about sustainability and preserving community Thursday evening. A lot to think about.

A few points:

• He said there are four factors that play into sustainability: environmental, economic, cultural and social.

• It's better environmentally to update old building than to tear them down and build new ones. It's more efficient than hauling old material away and bringing in new stuff.

• The trend has moved from preserving old buildings to preserving communities.

• Sustainability is not just about preserving buildings or landscape but keeping them in use, not museums.

Seems like every time an old building is vacated, someone suggests turning it into a museum. How many historic museums can a city have? Las Cruces wanted to preserve its old railroad depot. It ended up some kind of railroad museum that no one goes to. The old Amador Hotel is being turned into some kind of museum. J. Paul Taylor's home in Mesilla is supposed to become a museum after he dies. Preservation is good, but it would be nice if the building were more sustainable.

I think NMSU is better at sustainability than the city. The old YMCA building, built in 1909, was once nearly unsalvageable. But today is the Honors Center. The original president's home is today used as the Center for Latin American Studies. Williams gym, where the Aggies played basketball before the Pan Am Center was built was turned into the Art Department.

• Historical districts are a kind of community planning – the community deciding what it wants to be – what is worth keeping.

• Sometimes a community means the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It's not just a few select buildings that are worth preserving. It's the whole area.

• Historical districts were a reaction to urban renewal.

• A community is an organized sense of place. Democracy of built environment.

Examples of preserving communities: the old Alameda district, downtown Main Street and the Mesquite district.

• Georgetown was one of the first historic districts that wasn't about tourism. It was a community deciding it has the right to be beautiful.

• National Heritage Areas were developed as a way to preserve special areas. They are locally driven and not owned by the federal government.

• There are 40 plus National Heritage Areas in the U.S.

• NHAs involve four factors: historic preservation, natural beauty, recreation/tourism and economic development.

• Authenticity can't be re-created. If an old building is torn down. Rebuilding a duplicate doesn't work. It's not authentic. You can't fake authenticity.

I'm reminded of the log cabin that was erected in Las Cruces for the nation's bicentennial or something like that. I don't know whose bright idea that was. But it was moved here from the mountains a hundred miles away. There were never any log cabins in Las Cruces. I never got the connection.

I saw new city councilor Greg Smith at the Vince Michael talk, which I was glad to see. It would be nice if other city leaders could have heard the message.

Something that bothers me about Las Cruces is it is growing so fast, it is losing the sense of community. When I drive along Sonoma Ranch Blvd, I regret the loss of open space and wonder what these neighborhoods will be like when they are no longer brand new. Will there be anything worth preserving? Will we regret filling up our open spaces with ticky-tack houses? But it's hard to get elected on a no-growth platform.

Job Fair

I went to the government job fair at NMSU yesterday. Kind of felt like I was crashing a party. I'd tell people I was a graphic artist, and they would look at me like "Why are you wasting my time?" The Defense Department said they were looking for people in accounting. They told me to check their website, usajobs.com. The USDA also recommended that I try usajobs.com. I learned from the USDA that they have about 55 employees in Las Cruces, and one person does the graphic design work for publications and such. I was told that's about the ratio for the national USDA scene. The Peace Corps told me they could use me to teach English.
I took a few pictures while I was there.

Nov. 9

I woke up thinking about the freezing temps forecast for tonight. Realized I haven't winterized my air conditioner and there that annoying leaking pipe out back. Hope a freeze doesn't turn expand the drip to a gusher.

Today:
8-9:40 Video editing. Review for test
10-Noon  Finish tri-fold brochure for InDesign
12-12:30 Lunch
12:30-2 Fix logo. Needs transparent background.
2-3:40 Illustrator. Work on still life
4-5:40 InDesign. Unveil brochure. Review for test
6-7 Winterize air conditioner. Check leaky pipe.

Things to do:
Still life
Look Who's Dancing flier
Portfolio website
Job fair. There's a government career fair Tuesday, Nov 15.
Intern paper
Professional meeting

Nov. 17 Vince Michael talk will cover seminar requirement

When school's over or maybe Thanksgiving week, I'll get the flat tire in the back of my pickup fixed and a plumber to fix the leaky pipe. I did make time to vote yesterday.

These 4:30 a.m. stress checks are becoming a habit.

My latest work of art, a perspective assignment for Illustrator:

Nov. 2

The end-of-the-semester rush is starting early. If I was in retail I would hire some seasonal employees.

Yesterday:
8:30-10 Updated Media Productions log

10-noon  Organized "Look Who's Dancing" (LWD from now on) material and sketched ideas for flier.
I'm thinking ribbons of music.

Noon-noon:30  Media Productions class. Passed out posters

12:30-1:30  Perspective assignment for Illustrator class. Gradient mesh of sculpture.

2-3  Job Squad. Not as many changes as I expected. Little things like, don't capitalize Website. Generic cover letter nixed. She said it should be job-specific and for job fairs cover letters aren't necessary.

3-4:30 Stopped by my house for lunch and read one story from Elmore Leonard's collection of westerns
I'm falling behind on my New Year's resolution to read 50 books in 2011. I'm on 38 with 8 weeks to go.

4:30-8  Perspective. I'm doing an art museum interior. I was too ambitious in the beginning – 3 stories, with stairs and balconies and a cafe. I basically started over and downsized to one room with about a dozen paintings, one sculpture and a couple of people.

Vince Michael poster

I think the Vince Michael poster is done.

Friday I registered on LinkedIn.

I've been swamped
Today's schedule:
8-10 a.m. - Video editing project
10-? - Talk to Matt about printing poster. Possibly print it.
11-11:30 - Lunch
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. - Finish interactive InDesign project
1-2 Illustrator perspective project
2-4 Illustrator class
4-6 InDesign class
6-6:30 Eat something
6:30-8:30 Work on cover letter and resume for Meeting with Job Squad tomorrow

Portfolio presentation II

I announced the results from my portfolio survey too soon. It turns out I'd only looked at about half of them. I found some more at the bottom of the stack, under some blanks.
The final results are, from most popular to least:
1. Seurat
2. Oz
3. Grackle
4. Grad Card
5. Calendar Snake
6 (Tie) Photoshop House, Rudolph
8. Los Muertos
9. (Tie) Ethics Chess, FiloSofia
11. Protesters
12. Chupacabra

I take three things from this:

1. I ought to drop Protesters and Chupacabra from the portfolio. They finished in the bottom two by a sizable margin.

2. For PowerPoint presentations, simple and clean trumps complex. The top four are all relatively simple compared to 5 through 9. (I would put Rudolph in the simple category, though). Photoshop House was 20 times more difficult than Seurat. But I think pieces like PS House and FiloSofia have details that are hard to see on a projector screen. Also the survey group only had about 15 seconds to look at and comment on each slide. Again, I think that favors the simpler, cleaner works.

3. It helps if you can show steps involved in the process. If I'd shown Seurat on it's own, it wouldn't have worked as well. But by showing the original painting and the original photo of the girl I inserted in the painting, it guided the viewers through the process. That can't be done with every work, but it's something to keep in mind.

Ethics Chess drew the most diverse comments. Some picked it as their favorite. Some picked it as their least favorite.

Last week, I finished a Butterfield Stage map and a how-to on how to hit a golf ball from a sand trap. I think they are both portfolio-worthy, especially given Matt's comments about demand for informational graphics.

Portfolio Presentation

I gave my portfolio PowerPoint presentaion today. It went well. No embarrassing snafus. When I tallied the scores from the surveys, there were a few surprised but nothing that offended me. I was shocked that "Oz" finished No. 1 in the polls. It was a late addition and I considered it a candidate to finish last. And my favorite, "Photoshop House" finished 8th. Shows how much I know. I realize it's not a scientific poll. Still, it's interesting.
Here are the survey results:
1. Oz
2. (Tie) Rudolph, Seurat
4. Grackle
5. Grad Card
6. (Tie) Calendar Snake, Chess/Ethics
8. (Tie) Photoshop House, Muertos
10. Protest
11. FiloSofia
12. Chupacabra

 Oz

Rudolph

Seurat

Job Squad/Résumé

Rosa De La Torre Burmeister, of the Job Squad, talked to the Portfolio class today. I worked with her brother, Joe, a long time ago at the newspaper. It's the third time I've heard her presentation. The first was in August in Technical Writing class. The second was a much shorter version a few weeks ago in Media Productions class. Each time I pick up something different. Today she reminded me I need to get references. I've been thinking about it all day. Here are a few names I've come up with: Supervisors, Jim Lawitz, Lucas Peerman, Craig Massey; co-workers, Walt Rubel, Deborah Massingale, Diana Alba, Brook Stockberger, Norm Dettlaff, Josh Byers, Chris Boland; Instructor, Abby Osborne.

In the next couple weeks, I ought to get in to see the Job Squad. I've been waiting until my résumé was more polished. But I think I'll just go with what I got, and they can help me polish it.

Accent marks (résumé) and tildes (Doña Ana) are so much easier on a Mac than a PC.

Something to ask Rosa next time I see her: Should I put "Mr." before my name? I read somewhere that if your name is ambiguous, to do that. Often, because of the spelling of my name, I get a lot of mail addressed to Ms. Jerri Wells. On the  other hand, sex isn't supposed to be a factor in hiring for most jobs. If I don't put "Mr." it could lead to confusion, but if I do use the title, it looks like I think it could help land me a job.

The best thing I got out of that Technical Writing class was how to write a résumé. Casey Gray, who taught the class, said he would be available for résumé consultation if needed. I probably won't need his help, but it's good to have backup, and it was a wonderful gesture on his part.

Project update

I can't sleep, so I might as well blog. I don't blog enough.

It seems like all my projects are coming due at once. In Illustrator, my graphic on Aggie football winning percentages is due today. It's pretty much done. In InDesign, the commencement card is due today. The card is 90 percent done. I've just got to do the little personal card that goes inside. Plus there was an InDesign test Monday.

In Media Production, I'm tying to wrap up two projects. I'm doing a poster for DACC thanking the sponsors of the golf tournament and dance. I intended to get it done yesterday, but I spent all day on it, and it's still not right. It feels like the separate elements don't go together. I'm trying to give them what they want and do something I can be proud of. Right now, I feel like it's neither.

At the same time, I'm trying to wrap up a T-shirt design for the children's theatre. It's basically three characters from the Oz play they're doing. I'm happy with Tik-Tok and Dorothy. Princess Ozma is being a pain in the butt. Her style doesn't fit the other two. It's like putting Prince Valiant in a Peanuts cartoon. What's difficult about the Oz project is I'm not clear on the story line, who the characters are and what they look like. I've found stuff online, but it doesn't always match this particular production. Their rehearsals are at a time I've got a class. So I just send them pictures and say "like this?" They e-mail me back and say, "Not really. More this, less that."

I was thinking of going to a PowerPoint workshop at the main campus today, but after yesterday's non-progress on the poster, I'll probably be working on it instead.

I'll have to work on the career goals paper on Thursday.

It's a good thing I pulled out of the motion graphics conference. I've got a video editing project I need to work on this weekend.

Logo

My two basic logo designs. Soon I'll have to settle on one.

The oil well, I blogged about in an earlier post. It ties into my name, Wells. It symbolizes tapping into creativity – creative ideas gushing out.

The other one, I was thinking desert Southwest (where I've lived my whole life), which got me to thinking Native Americans. I like the art of Native American pottery and rugs – in fact, I own several. That led my thoughts to petroglyphs and pictographs. It's a real treat to see them and usually requires some work. I do a lot of hiking, and I've seen (and photographed) many. They are interesting on three levels:

(1) Design. Shapes, colors, natural materials and natural setting.
I enjoy nature. I don't like my designs to look to sterile, like they were created by a machine. Computers allow us to do amazing things with design, but sometimes I think they make it too easy to make dazzling effects, but they have no soul.
 (2) Communication. What were they trying to say?
Isn't that what graphic design is all about?
 (3) Historical. They've been around for hundreds or even thousands of years. But what they were doing is basically what I'm doing.

The hand is often seen in this rock art. Staring at my hand, I realized, it's shape is a "J" and "W" – my intials. So I looked up some information on what the hand symbolized in Native Amercan art. To quote, "The Hand, represents the presence of man, his work, his acheivements, his legacy.  It also represents the direction of the creative spirit through a man, as a vessel for the Creators power."


Perfect.


My hand logo still needs work. I like the spatter outline. The JW doesn't quite work.


Whatever I choose, I need to find a way to make it work with my online portfolio.

Photo shoot & motion graphics

I got word that Ceci Vasconcellos of the Doña Ana Arts Council was looking for photographers to shoot the "Color Las Cruces" events this weekend. I volunteered. I thought the experience would do me good. I spent 5 hours Saturday shooting the Mesquite Gallery Walk on Mesquite Street and the creation of a coffee-mug sculpture on the Downtown Mall.

Besides Ceci, I met many artists including Norma Hartell (above), Penny Duncklee, Linda Hagen, Mildred Grossman, Mel Stone (photography), James Gamble (ceramics), Antoinette Hague (glass and mosaics) and Karen Dahmer and Judi Miller (fiber arts); gallery owners, Mel Stone of Mesquite Art Gallery and Victor Gallegos of Nopalito's Galeria; Preston Thayer, director of NMSU art galleries; and Chris Bardley, organizer of SumArt, "Southern New Mexico's Alternative Arts Organization."

Also, I spotted some festivities going on at Klein Park, so I stopped and took some pictures there too. It was some church function with lots of kids' activities and live music – good photo subjects. Then hours later, on the Downtown Mall, some guy asked if I had been shooting pictures in the park. I said yes. He introduced himself as "Pastor Bob" and asked if I would e-mail him some pictures. I said I would.

They're not paying gigs, but it's good practice and fun and makes people happy.

This evening, I received an e-mail from the motion group saying I've been accepted as a volunteer for the motion graphics conference in Albuquerque. I didn't think I would because I don't know a lot about that field. I guess I'll soon learn a lot about it. The bad news is I will miss a couple days of school, which could be a pain if I have to play catch-up.

Writing tips

Today two writing experts from the English/Communications Department talked to the class. Some tips:
Rhetoric – effective communication; art of persuasion. Remember: good writing doesn't have to be long.
Logos – the message or purpose. Be clear on your main point. Back it up with logic.
Pathos – Who's your audience? Appeal to their values, beliefs and emotions. Emotion and logic (pathos and logos) must work together.
Medium – In what type of package will you be delivering this gem? Report, essay, memo, PowerPoint, e-mail, etc?

Ethos of writer – gives an impression of the writer. Professional? Knowledgeable? Neat? Remember grammar, spelling and punctuation. Check your facts. Proofread. Don't get sloppy.

In other words:

1. What's my point?

2 Who's the audience?

3. How shall I package it?

4. Be credible.

Add 'em up and I get rhetoric.

They also gave us a fill-in-blank form. I filled in my logo process.

What is my task? Design a personal business logo.

What is my purpose? Create an image that instantly conveys my personality, and what I do.

Who is my audience? Potential clients

What type of document is best for this task? A graphic (gif or pdf)

What strategies should I use to achieve my purpose? Brainstorm. Who am I? Use key words. Sketch ideas. Play with them. Get on the computer and play with them some more. Try different colors and sizes. Get feedback. Refine.

I got the following e-mail from Becky at Student Services: "In researching your request I noticed that you also applied for a General Studies degree.  You have to earn the AGS degree first and then your other degree in the next semester.  For example, if you want the AGS, you can get it in the Fall and the Digital Graphics degree next Spring.  Or you can forget about the AGS degree and get the Digital Graphics degree this semester."


I guess I'll forget the General Studies degree and take the Digital Graphics degree. It still doesn't make sense to me. Seems if I earn both, I should get both.

Julie and I were trying to figure out how to access the SkyDrive storage at my.nmsu.edu. Julie e-mailed me: "Open up your NMSU email and sign in.
At the top header at your email click on the "More" tab
Then click on "Sky Drive"
you can upload documents from your computer from there."
A good thing to know.

On Tuesday, I applied to be a volunteer at the motion graphics conference in Albuquerque. I'm not sure when they'll let me know if I got it or not.

I finished my rough draft for my Career Goals paper. It actually made me realize I wanted to go into journalism graphics. All this time I've had a fuzzy image of the work I'd like to do.  I never saw myself going freelance or working on ads. It suddenly occurred to me – journalism! That's my niche. I can see myself doing that.

There's a group called Society for News Design. Memberships are $60 for full-time students. I'll think about it. I checked on some workshops they offer, but the closest is in St. Louis.

I applied for my degree online. Turns out I applied for the wrong degree — creative Media Technology instead of Digital Graphics Technology. I went to the Student Services office (an e-mail was required: Beckie Taulbee rtaulbee@nmsu.edu) and hopefully got it straightened out. I'll find out in December. A good thing came out of it, though; it turns out I qualify for an associate degree in General Studies as well. So I applied for that too.

Updated my résumé. I'll need to update it again toward the end of the semester to include Final Cut Pro. I've kept it generic, and I can customize it for specific jobs.

Made an appointment with Matt to get the degree certification rolling.

Working on business card. Coming up with a good logo has proved difficult. I felt it should be more than just a cool way of showing my initials. I want people to remember my name, not my initials. I couldn't think of a symbol that represents me or connects my name to graphic arts. But now I might be on to something.  I'm working in Illustrator on an oil well. People can associate "well" with "Wells." Instead of oil gushing out of the top, there will be stars and rainbows and creative whatnot. Well, Wells; creativity bursting forth – it's got the whole package!

Oh, and I've added a photo to the blog.

1st Class

First thoughts:
I need a logo.
Portfolio website I did in spring is a good start.
Resume I did over summer a good start. Needs to be more creative.