Bless her very tightly!

That is a quote from Lacey. She asked us to write down during family home evening that she wanted Heavenly Father to bless London very tightly. Now if that's not adorable, I don't know what is. The other day, in response to a compliment from his mother, Ronan looked kind of sheepish and said, "Aw shucks" in a funny way and then looked around for a response. Topher has lately been cracking jokes as well. Real, legit, funny jokes. I give thanks every day for the kids we have been blessed with. I am constantly impressed with the caliber of little people they are and how much they grasp of the gospel at such a young age. I'm sure the family will remember the occasion, when we lived in Salt Lake, when the fellas were wrestling on our bed and Ronan was wearing a headband thingy-ma-gig on his head. In the middle of the fray, Topher stopped, paused, looked at Ronan and said, "You look like a Philistine!". Shortly before or after that, Mommy and Topher were tickling on the bed, when Mommy let Topher get the best of her momentarily. Topher stopped, rose straight up on his knees, held his hands above his head, and in a yell of victory yelled, "The Lord has delivered you into my hands!". Hahahahaha. Man it was funny. I still chuckle about that one.

I got released last Sunday from branch mission leader, which I have been for the last 2.5 years, and was called as the first councilor in the young men's presidency. I am super excited. We have some good strong boys, as well as a couple who are struggling with different things. Anyway, I am constantly blessed by the Lord and I am going to take Elder Eyring's advice to write more of those blessings down.

One man show

Well, at the end of January I had the opportunity for a one man show at our little gallery on campus. The work shown was a mix of new stuff, older unpublished work, and work from my grad show in summer 2005. Even with my limited experience, I have found that I have a love/hate relationship with showing my work. On one hand, it forces me to evaluate where I am at with my work; what is new, what kind of stuff I'm working on, where I want to be with my work, and what I need to accomplish to get the show put together. On the other hand, the amount of work required to do a show is staggering for all the above reasons, plus making new work, publicizing, planning the show in the gallery space, hanging the show and then doing the opening. Whew! Why would I do it? Besides the obvious boost to the ego, and the real evaluation of work, it does look good on the academic resume and my students really get a kick out of it.

Click on images to enlarge.



There were two pieces of new work in this show that I really loved. One is called "A study". Shown below. The impetus for the piece came from an assignment I give my Design 1 students. I traced many, many different letter 'A's, then cut them out, and finished by pasting them down to a piece of printmaking paper is the shape of a lowercase letter 'a' from the typeface Mrs. Eaves Roman. It got me away from the computer screen and working by hand again, which was a big deal for me.



The second is called, simply, "Dad". I took my father's name and words that I think about when I think of him, and I began layering them to create a portrait of him at the time he and my mother were married. Because I have such an affinity for words and letterforms, the portrait takes on more significance for me than just an image. The closer you look, you can see that even the areas that look like they are solid black are really layered type.

I had to put it in the show before I was quite finished, so if the images look a little unfinished, you know they are. I am working to finish it as we speak. When I do, I am going to make a framed copy for mom and the siblings if they want one.

The other images are of other parts of the show. If you have any questions, ask.

Big dog

Mom and Lauralee have made a good point. A big dog is what I have wanted for years. At least 10 years. Particularly the breed known as the Bullmastiff, or Gamekeeper's Night Dog.

Shilo, my ideal Bullmastiff

Now, most people at this point go, "WHOA! That's one of those huge dogs that looks like a small horse, right?" The answer is no. The Bullmastiff is a big dog, but decidedly not the biggest. No taller than a Labrador Retriever, the Bully is a heavily muscled, squared dog with a nice straight topline and smallish feet. Extremely agile and quick, the Bully was bred to protect english estates from poachers. The breed was bred to be quiet so except for the odd dog, barking is usually minimal. Another genetic trait is non-aggressive protection, which is why the breed is such a good family dog. Original color is Brindle, like Charlie here. I love this color.

So, why don't I have one? Good question. Ask Lauralee. No not really, although we made have had one by now, our timing has never really been right. But Ronan and the kids have been begging for a dog, maybe my time is approaching. The other color I love is what they call red-fawn. The black mask is standard to the breed.

Shilo and Mooksa, father and son

I would like to thank Betty Ruffini, Tammy Rhodes and Dot Martell for always putting up my questions and visits, even when I couldn't afford to buy a dog.

I'm it

10 years ago: That was 1998. I worked that year in my first agency. Blain/Olsen White/Gurr. I got my second design piece published in a book which I have on my shelf. Topher turned 1 in September. Like Laur said, we were living in the Governor's mansion in Salt Lake, which is still kind of a trip to think about. My primary mode of transportation was a 1966 Volkswagen Notchback. (so very cool). I got 1 of 2 Christmas bonus checks I have ever received. BOWG was still in a pretty dangerous part of town. I used to eat out almost every day. I met my good friend and colleague, Ryan Anderson, who is one of the only people I keep up with in the Salt Lake design scene. I believe that was the year that we sat with Pres. and Sis Hinkley in the bleachers at the 24th of July parade. (correct me if I'm wrong Lauralee). It was also the year we moved back into the beloved Green St. Apartment. Good memories there. Even the sad memories are good.

Things on my To-Do list today-
Make it to work. Meeting with the Dean of Undergraduate students. Figure out what to do in my Book Design class. Book Design class. (2 hours). Lunch. Graphic Design 2 class. (2 hours). Work on illustration in Adobe Illustrator. Work on website in Dreamweaver. Administrative stuff for work. Make folding paper boxes. Home for dinner. Pack meeting in Jaffrey. Kids to bed. Back to work. Write Emily Simons letter of recommendation. Do email interview for Kyle Correia. Write description for IC101 freshman seminar class. Bed if time.

If I were to become a billionaire today:
I'm sure I would have to be resuscitated. If I make it, I would begin investing immediately. After paying off everyone's student loans and house payments, I would buy a couple of cars. First, a perfectly restored 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible. I would then require some old-fashioned American muscle. Maybe a 1971 Chevelle or a 1970 Olds 442. Because Lauralee made a billion too, I would not have to build myself a hidden design studio behind the bookcase above the 5 car garage, so I would build her a music studio with a big, custom painted grand piano. Then I would make a music studio for the kids and fill it with every instrument I can find so they can experiment to their hearts content. I would buy a house in Jackson Hole so that the families could get together on vacation. I would set up a fund so that anyone in the family could draw on it if they were in a bind. Perpetual Education Fund, Cancer research, man so much good stuff a person could do with that much money. I would set up my own studio and do pro-bono design work for non-profits. I would build a Fifties-style diner attached to the house and stock it with food for my kids to hang out in after school and on the weekends. I don't know. Seems like I am just being selfish.

Bad Habits

1. I'm addicted to movies and I'm not nearly as discriminating as I should be.
2. I drink soda. Lots of it. Mostly Diet Dew. Sometimes a NOS energy drink. (really bad for me)
3. I have a penchant for being alone. Sometimes my family suffers for it.
4. I am hopelessly addicted to letterforms.

Places I've Lived

1. New Mexico-Santa Fe
2. Idaho-Weiser, Boise, Rexburg
3. Oregon-Ontario
4. Utah-Salt Lake City
5. Argentina-Eduardo Castex, Caleta Olivia, General Roca, Cutral Co, Pigue, Necochea
6. New Hampshire-Jaffrey, Rindge

Jobs I've Had

1. Movie concessionista
2. Projectionist (several times)
3. Lumber Mill Worker
4. Banquet Server for Marriott hotels
5. Laundry Guy
6. Baggage Guy for Delta Airlines
7. Graphic Designer-for University of Utah, Blain/Olsen/White/Gurr, FJC&N, freelance
8. Art Director-Creative Source International/Aspen Marketing
9. Etc.

Things People Don't Know About Me

1. I LOVE sushi. Particularly a good spicy tuna roll
2. I make handmade books. Some have turned out pretty cool.
3. If I could, I would wear a variation of the same thing everyday. Levi's Silvertab Baggy jeans and Shortsleeve Dickies workshirts. (untucked)
4. I am dying to learn (or re-learn) an instrument
5. I envy my sibling's successes
6. I chipped my front tooth when I was 16 jumping on the trampoline with a 16# lead shotput and I have had a filling there ever since. (I was with Andy Bell at the time, but he didn't jump).
   

Eleven Days!

Well, I'm not much of a blogger! So, remember my weird fascination with ampersands? Last night I was up late working and I started making patterns with ampersands from all different typefaces. Here is one of my favorites. Typeface is called Dearest.

Here I incorporated it into a design.

Danger Zone

We have officially entered the danger zone. After working for nearly 7 months, one dime at a time, the kids have earned a Playstation 2. Our deal was, if the kids would do chores on the first time with no complaining, they would earn a dime. The dime was not for the chores, mind you, it was for their attitude. They did chores either way.

So, we would buy a $10 roll of dimes every so often and put them in a bowl on the counter. They didn't get a dime every time, but there was always the chance that Mom or Dad would would say something like, "Good work, Ronan. Thanks for the great attitude! That's a dime for you!". It worked really well except when we couldn't afford the dimes. :~| They couldn't put one in on their own, it had to be offered, or sometimes they might try a gentle reminder. Usually that worked in their favor. At some point during the experience, we bought them a piggy bank that counted their money for them as they put it through the slot on top, so they we able to track the total a little more closely.

Anyway, they reached their goal and because of a concentrated effort yesterday, we took them today to buy their PS2. You must realize that this is the cheapest gaming system out there, and the games are affordable too, especially if you can find them used. But the kids are absolutely thrilled and are home frantically cleaning the van at the moment so they can play. We told them that they have earned the system, now they need to keep earning the right to play it. No playing if there is homework or on days when they have cub scouts for sure. But on the days that they have no commitments, they can earn playing time for continued help and good attitude around the house. It seems to be working pretty good. We'll see.