4 4 U

Birth announcements. They chose the one on the right.

Business card designs for Matt Kesler. He chose the big one with a blank back. The ones in the middle are 1.5"x3.5". I like to call them "skinny" cards. And I'm in love with them. I wish more people would choose them.

Here are some awesome logos that I designed for a student (who failed to pay us).

Business card designs for Brandon Smith at North Peak Photography. He chose the big ones in the middle (front and back).

I think I've mentioned how much I LOVE designing business cards. And I do. Truely. They are wonderful puzzles to solve. And there are so many things you can do with them! Round corners, dye cuts, varying dimensions, different stock weights, coatings, paper colors, foil stamping... Oh my god. At any rate, this is still my favorite kind of design project. Followed closely by logo generation. : )

Here's a question. I have had some designs that I've done that have been redone by others after clients have failed to pay for their design work. The designs are different, but very closely similar to the originals that I was responsible for. I'm having trouble deciding how to feel about these people stealing my ideas and generating bastardized versions of them. Do I have cause to feel jilted? I don't even get paid for my designs (as they are included in the printing costs...) Does anyone have any opinions on the morality (or lack of it) in this situation? I'd love to hear them.

Weekend Update!

A calendar magnet for my Mom.

Business card designs for The Glazer Law Office. They ended up choosing the one on the left.

And an ad for Frank's Daily Bread Deli.

I had a money hemorrhage today. Glad it's out of my system. : )

Stardate 10183.6

Gotta love frequent buyer cards! Here's one for Frank's. He makes awesome hot dogs!

And now, a tangent...

Day 83

Or something like that.

I'll admit, it's basic, but here it is! I designed the back, my co-worker did the front.

Lies!

Oops, that lasted less than a week. So you get 6 today!

Here are business card designs for Dais. They chose the top left one.

This is a magnet design for the Flagstaff Denim and Diamonds Gala.

This is the business card I designed for Dent Towing Services.

These are the business cards I designed for The Eagle, a local classic rock station. They chose the horizontal design. (And ordered 3,000 cards printed, and failed to pay us.)

Here are some business card designs and a flier for Epiphany Community School.

Circus Bacchus went to DarkCon in Phoenix and did a show during the event. Both the show and the convention itself were TONS of fun! I got lots of compliments about my trumpeting and the Bacchus Family Band and had a great weekend full of the nerdiest fun ever! I'll definitely be attending that event again.

Update Complete!

Day 4

I don't know why I'm numbering my days. : )

Here's a business card I designed for CREC. It was printed on recycled brown paper, which makes all the difference.

Do I want to move to Germany? I'm seriously considering it...

Day 3

In addition to just quitting alcohol, I have also accidentally quit smoking. Now, don't freak out. My decision to start again was taken under deep and careful consideration before I began. And now, I think I've gotten whatever it was out of my system. It's a pretty disgusting habit; I'm glad it's over. Besides, e-ciggs are a much brighter alternative.

Cue tangent! Here are two designs for the front of the announcement post card for Alchemy Salon & Spa.

And here's another. And the back.

I know, I know. I said I was only posting 1 per day. But in this case, waiting for the rest of the design would be silly. Enjoy.

Day 2...

Here are business card designs for Alchemy Salon & Spa. Unfortunately, the company no longer exists, but that doesn't mean I didn't do an awesome job on their identity! Yes, I did the logo too. And the pallet. And I gained a fun font into my library called HamburgSymbols. The other font is Anastasia.

On a completely tangent subject, I think I might have accidentally quit drinking forever... Oh well.

Also, I got a Kindle this Xmas and I'm super excited to start loading it up with CRUNCHY LITERATURE!!!!! OMNOMNOM! (And now this...)

6 or so months pass...

...and nothing much has changed.

Here's a business card and alternate logo I made for 34 Electric and Communications in Flagstaff.

I'll be posting one image per day for the next couple weeks. Each image comes from the span of time that I have been employed at The Print Raven in Flagstaff.

6 months from now, I will be living somewhere else! I've decided that it is time to take my leave of this stifling small town, and actually get paid for my expertise at a more professional organization. I have had a good time up here, met many good friends and had many good times, especially the circus related ones. But it's time to move on. I am growing to hate this place, and that isn't what I want.

Ram Dass is my new guru. If you haven't heard of/listened to him, you ought to. His name was Richard Alpert before his awakening. He is in his 80's now. And my new goal in life is to meet him before he dies. He has beautiful thoughts. And an equally beautiful smile.

Speaking of goals, it's time for new years resolutions! Which I hate. So I've decided to have new year's guidelines instead:

Yoga regularly.

Begin juicing.

Eat more raw foods, veges, salad, fruits, smoothies.

Eat REAL breakfasts in the morning. (By real I mean see above and quit the mini doughnut and mountain dew combo I've been living on for a YEAR almost...)

Control blood sugars. (The docs tell me it will help my joint problems among other things.)

Regular meditation.

More sitting in the sun.

Control inflammatory pain.

More art for me.

Art as activism.

More poetry.

Better general hygene (eew, I know...)

"Be the lover you desire" and then start looking.

All easy guidelines to stick to.

My first plan for moving away is to move to Eugene, OR with my friend Natasha. The second plan is to just apply for jobs in whatever city I feel like going to and see what turns out. I definately need a job before I do any moving. Work cut me to part time, so now I have next to no income. And jobs in Flagstaff are hard to find unless you want to work food or retail. But even then...

I will, however be doing some figure modeling at NAU in February and March. Putting just a little bit of cold hard evil into my savings account for the move.

One last thing, I'm pretty sure I'm an anarchist. I'm also pretty sure I'm a communist. But I'm pretty sure I'm not an anarcho-communist. That community has a tendency toward violence and disrespect that I am not angry enough to get behind yet. I mean, sorry black bloc, but I don't have to believe in private property to respect it or accept people's addiction to it. Breaking windows only demonstrates your anger, it doesn't really make any kind of point beyond that.

Actually, that's not the last thing. The last thing is a "big think" (read The Island of Dr. Moreau). I'm an adult. I can make my life be whatever I want it to be. When I was younger, I used to get discouraged about being stuck in a rut and not being able to change anything. Now, I am seeing that it just takes a little more time than I want it to, and that is the source of my frustration. But, the time is necessary. Time presents the opportunity to grow, plan, change without growing pains, and make easy transitions. One of the things that I will take away from my time in Flagstaff is the ability to appreciate the baby steps in the process to bettering oneself. I have changed a lot since I've been here, and it has been too slow to account for all at once. But looking back on the last 2 years, I can see the progression. And only now does it all begin to make sense and fit together. Patience, as it turns out, is less of a virtue and more of a necessity. People only say it is a virtue because they are victims of their culture, too ADD to sit and wait, contentedly, for an outcome. Maybe patience should be on my list of new year's guidelines.

The end. For now.