I am super excited for June!!
Currently my sister and my brother in-law live in Morocco working at a Western school. Well for graduation my sister is going to come over and shortly there after I will go over to Morocco.
Morocco!! So exciting!
I be leaving June 14th from Columbus and getting back July 13th. I wanted to do a whole month because it may be the last long trip I can take for some time. I am just so excited. It makes graduation bearable. Slightly sad, that.
Seniors in the Honors program at CCAD are required to complete a capstone project their last year. Students choose the subject, submit proposals, and delve deep into their projects.
Mine? Tax forms.
Here is the run down of this project.
It's simple. Redesign the U. S. Federal 1040 EZ income tax form. Seigal + Gale's design from the 70's (which has been modified year after year for tax laws) is outdated and hard to use. I want to clean it up, make it visually appealing, and test my concepts.
I have three stages:
Stage 1: Research and Sketching
What is already being done in this industry, analytical study of the effective and ineffective parts of the 1040 EZ form, and sketching concepts.
Stage 2: Design and Mock-ups
I have created 25 potential concepts for this project and have narrowed down my design to three for refinement.
Stage 3: Testing and Final Solution
Testing the effectiveness and clarity of the designs with a group of volunteers and adjusting my design to the results.
Currently I am in stage 2 looking at three potential testing designs, from out of 25 comps I created.
Monday will officially mark the beginning of the end of my CCAD career. Graduation in May will open up the conundrum of the "big girl job" and the "real world." I am horrified and excited all at the same time.
Here is one of the stories that has lead me into graphic design and more importantly deeply researching design.
When I was a little Chemster of about 10 my daddy gave me a parking ticket. It was orange with bold black text. I remember he wouldn't let me have it at first, hiding it in his amazing treasure chest of trinkets and recipts. I was so enthralled by this piece of paper.
Skip a few year down to the Pioneer Career and Technology Center, in Shelby, Ohio. Bright eyed and excited to create art and learn how to run offset lithography presses. While at the Vo.Tech. I had the overwhelming need to make more of that one ticket. 10, 20, hundreds! So I set about recreating it so that I could have many copies of this wondrous form.
Please excuse the terrible alignment, I was young and unintelligent in the ways of margins.
One of a many things that inspired me to go to art school.
Great advertising should touch you; it should connect with you on such a deep level that it is uncomfortable because it is not a living organism. Great advertising it the kind that doesn't tell you that you need this product, it shows you. Lastly, great advertising makes you come back for more. Either for the product or for the connection you have with the advertising. Let the video load first and full screen it. Example 1 There is a paper company, Domtar, that has these hilarious ads. There is a Cougar and in each ad the cougar is printed in a different way each. This shows the different techniques that their paper can handle, but here is the reason they are good. You can touch and feel the velvet fur, the scratchy tongue, the glass eyes. It's like Pat the Bunny books only better. They even have the cougar in an iguana's skin, a turkey's feathers, a fishes scales, and a elephant's hide. You can feel that animal. They communicate well and they connect with you more then just visually. Domtar main site.
Chema By the way, Dylan is the cougars name.
There is indeed a big difference. It has to do with flavor.
Just in case your confused or not sure where I am, ‘ner fear I am alive. I am actually back from England, at the moment in Ohio. I have been back since the 6th of January. I have been back for nearly a month and feel alright. CCAD had re-indoctrinated me again, and yes it is feelin’ good. I remember what deadlines and late nights are.
I have opted to keep Chemster going until I have a real portfolio site, who know this might just be home to it eventually... So, please, feel free to keep up with Chemster I will be adding my portfolio art, class thoughts, and interesting links to cool advertising. So it should be neat.
Classes are going well, so much to do this semester. 18 credit hours and an honors project, whew this is going to be interesting. Not including the fact that 3 of my LAs are 400 level and one may as well be a grad class because of the deep airy reading. Yes, I mean deep and airy.
So thank-you everyone for your support I appreciated it so much. You really have no idea. I am sad to be back, I do occasionally wake up and ask if I slept till three because it's dark outside when I get up. All in all I am glad to be back, but England is irreplaceable, I want to go back but this is how life works.
Thanks again,
Chema
“Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.
Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night
till it be morrow.” – Juliet
Caledonia
Dougie MacLean
I don't know if you can see,
The changes that have come over me.
In these last few days I've been afraid,
That I might drift away.
So I've been telling old stories, singing songs,
That make me think about where I came from.
And that's the reason why I seem,
So far away today.
Oh, but let me tell you that I love you,
That I think about you all the time.
Caledonia you're calling me,
And now I'm going home.
If I should become a stranger,
You know that it would make me more than sad.
Caledonia's been everything,
I've ever had.
Now I have moved and I've kept on moving,
Proved the points that I needed proving.
Lost the friends that I needed losing,
Found others on the way.
I have kissed the ladies and left them crying,
Stolen dreams, yes there's no denying.
I have traveled hard with coattails flying,
Somewhere in the wind.
Oh, but let me tell you that I love you,
That I think about you all the time.
Caledonia you're calling me,
And now I'm going home.
If I should become a stranger,
You know that it would make me more than sad.
Caledonia's been everything,
I've ever had.
Now I'm sitting here before the fire,
The empty room, the forest choir.
The flames that could not get any higher,
They've withered now they've gone.
But I'm steady thinking my way is clear,
And I know what I will do tomorrow.
When the hands are shaken and the kisses flow,
Then I will disappear.
Caledonia, Live.
“I'm not dead yet.”
Photo Uploads
Church - 36 new
Newcastle - 51 new
Edinburgh
York
Hadrian’s Wall
Christmas in Scotland
Oh look a wee bit o' commentary...
Christmas in Scotland is the best ever. There was snow everywhere, really just perfect. The trip I took was with a company called Haggis Adventures. If you know what Haggis is you will understand my amusement at the fitting title. They offer a wide range of trips but the Christmas one was the one I took. Five days in the Scottish Highlands. I honestly can even give detail every where we went there was so much, that, and I can't remember all the Gaelic names.
We went to Loch Ness at Inverness, stayed in a castle two nights, saw scenery like no other. Went to the Isle of Skye and saw Kilt Rock, stayed at Morags Lodge, listened to plenty of traditional music. Danced a Ceilidh, saw some kilts, met Davy Holt, saw three waterfalls, and truly winter wonderlands. Ate Scottish snow, saw the battlegrounds of Culloden, learned about the vast inaccuracies of Braveheart—which I have never seen. Met a real Highland coo named, had real Scottish whiskey, ate real Scottish Haggis. That Haggis was amazing! Saw a castle used many times in James Bond, passed Ian Flemming house, passed Hugh Hefners Scottish house, passed Loch Clooney named after George Clooney. Met some Kiwis, some Aussies, some Alaskians, and plenty of Joe.
We had a tour guide named Kyle and our grumpy 60 year ol' bus driver was Joe. Both were absolutely fabulous, and really funny. Technically Joe was not supposed to talk, just drive, but I am so glad he did...the stuff that he would say. I sat right behind him and when ever someone would try and pass us—not fast enough to Joe's liking—he would curse up a storm. And sometimes he would tell Kyle some random facts and then segway into some random rambling... Kyle and I would just look at each other and bust a kidney from laughing. Sometimes from the fact we had no idea what he said, but most of the time it was from what he said. Joe is from the Island of Barra so he was raised on Gaelic.
Here is a joke for you, from Joe...one of the clean ones mind you. What is the difference between Irish and Scottish languages... Scots speak Gaa-lic, but the Irish are Gay-lic.
I swear though the two of them had some great jokes...
But not this one... We stopped through a town called Calender. And Joe said that's where you take all the girls for a date. After a few moments of silence on the bus he, of course calling the entire bus some fanciful words, explained the joke.
Calender is also where some of Monty Pythons The Life of Brian was filmed. There were two Monty Python references on this trip. That one and another when we were at a place which I don't know the name. But while there Kyle and another guide, Fergus, told us a story about the faeries that live under the bridge and a viking princess. Well as Fergus is telling the story the princess, Kyle, comes galloping down to the stream. Yes, yes they were a pair of cocoanuts.
But wait there's more... As Fergus is telling the story about how the princess was injured and her beauty destroyed the faerie of the stream comes out and tells her he has a cure to restore her beauty. Now you might be asking where is Joe? Well as Fergus tells of the cure to beauty Joe saunters down by the steam. In the story the Faerie tells the princess to hold her head under the water for 10 seconds and her beauty will be restored and last forever. There we see Joe, with his head fully submerged in this frozen stream...ice cold water. Of course then they tell us we have to do it too...it wasn't that bad actually. Joe is a beast though...a beast.
One more silly story. While at Morags Lodge Kyle and Fergus were in the same room. Well Kyle woke up the last morning to a very cold room and strange cooing noised. He rolls over and sees Fergus talking to a squirrel. A red squirrel at that, who was sitting on the ledge of the window.
"Fergus, what are ye doing?"
"He is so cute and cute..."
As he is talking and petting this squirrel he KISSES its ear! Kyle said he was saying sweet nothings to it as well. If that wasn't enough after while talking his shower Kyle said he was signing "I kissed a squirrel and I like'ded it."
I nearly thought I would die from laughing so hard. The whole bus was in tears. Of course once we calmed down Joe adds his own loving comment about Fergus. *read sarcasm* this of course sets us all into giggle fits again.
Then there was Hammish. Oh sexy Hammish. You will ner meet such a fine beast as this. Hammish is a highland coo (cow) and he is a sexy sexy beast. He can eat a whole apple at once, really just a great creature. Very gentle too as he has been raised by humans after he was abandoned.
All in all a great Christmas trip, really just the best. If your wondering I will be leaving early on the 6th of January. Should prove fun. I am starting to slowly pack up. But tonight there are fireworks!
Chema
p.s. the Deep Scottish Love comes from the trip...but basically its when you just can't contain your love for the Highlands...haha.
“The ice age is coming,
the sun's zooming in
Meltdown expected,
the wheat is growing thin
Engines stop running,
but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning
and I, live by the river.”
Well a cookie if you know the song, no cheating. Back from London and it was Amazing! But was it expensive, and I even took the cheep route. I was there from Thursday morning to late afternoon Saturday. The cheep route included hostels, taking my own food (minus two meals) and only paying for one tourist attraction. The biggest cost was the coach down, under 50£, the hostel around 65£, and my bus/metro pass which was 18£. London is not cheep.
I got to see a lot, think of it this way I took 650 some digital photographs and two and a half rolls of film.
I got there early Thursday morning and nothing was open so I just wandered a bit toward Buckingham Palace. Literally the only people there were a few walking to work a army unit taking pictures. This is the sheer reason lone the photos have no one in them at the beginning. At one point during the day before the changing of the guard there was the sound of bagpipes coming from the inner wall area, which I assume is the gardens.
I met an older gentleman who was feeding the squirrels. Okay I hate squirrels. BUT, I got to hand feed one. There were also pigeons missing feet. The squirrels were called Suzie and the pigeons Hoppy. ...yeah.
The changing of the guard was just as boring as I expected. But it was at least more lively then the Arlington National Cemetery one. I could have died of bordom at that one. Here though they played music and rode horses. Better trade I think. The music, I kid you not, was Indiana Jones and the Imperial March from Starwars. Also, just fyi, I didn't listen to my mother...and didn't stand at the gate... Did I regret this, yes. There I said it. Now go stuff your Turkey.
Oh I did see the Queen. hehe. Albeit it was her hat...lol. There us more to this but that is the best part.
Later on after some annoying issues with the hostel I went to the National Gallery in Trafagar Square. Too many painting for a 3 hour tour. I saw Van Gogh's Sunflower vase.
It's even uglier then I expected.
And I knew it was ugly. I swear on all the products its ever been on it looks better. Ugh, there was NO depth, the flowers are just one solid chunk of UGH!—or yellow—with no details to the seeds at all. Even in Starry Night the moon has more variety of color.
After that adventure I went to Her Majesties Theatre. What for? Phantom of the Opera of course!! I think I drooled the entire time. This Phantom is my favorite. I saw it in Columbus, have seen the movie, love the music, and own the book, but this Phantom knocks the others away. His emotion was spot on with how it should be. I told him he was excentric after the play...yes there is a photo! By far my favorite.
To bad he is not starring in the new production of the Phantom called Love Never Dies. Will it live up to the original...ooo, I don't know.
What else. I saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abby, the Tower Bridge, the London Eye. Funny enough they don't look that big up close. It's amazing how movies and pictures have illusoned us to think they are double the actually size. Still impressive but not as menacing.
I attended Mass at Westminster, which was neat and very pleasant. But quite honestly St. Paul's Cathedral is so very much more impressive. I went up into the dome and the views are amazing! The dome from the inside is just at beatutiful. I also got the blessed chance and opportunity to stay for evensong. I got to even sit up in the choir's area, next to them. Wow. Thanks God, because that was cool.
Picadilly is a neat area filled with theaters and shops. At one point I was in a book shop holding a book from 1809. I was this close to getting it. --> <-- If anyone tells you that Piccadilly is like New York Times Square they are full of it. They are nothing alike. Just fyi. It's stil cool though.
All in all the trip was great even with the few hiccups here and there. I really enjoyed it. The only thing I didn't get to see was at Earls Court. I didn't know about this till Sunday, but there is a TARDIS shaped police box there. A near replica to the TARDIS in Doctor Who. UGH!! I was so close to that! That almost makes me want to go back...another life maybe.
Now the pictures.
London (160 pictures)
Keswick (79 pictures)
Newcastle (25 pictures)
There you go.
Chema
“Oh Look! Black Mountains!”
— Michael of Sweden,
upon seeing the Lake Districts mountains.
I shouldn't have to explain this quote but I will anyway. This past weekend the Germans, two of the Swedes and I went to the lake district. Keswick to be exact. Oh let me tell you what it was beautiful! But upon on arrival and first wanderings we stopped to take pictures and Michael, bless him, says “Oh Look! Black Mountains!” There was no snow on the caps and so the soil really looked black because it was very damp.
I really can't explain too much of what I saw scenery wise, and the pictures are not up yet. Sorry they will have to wait. I can tell you about the other two things I saw in Keswick. No, sorry to say but I didn't get to see Beatrix Potter's house. The group of us split off and I went outside the village to the countryside.
The first was the James Bond Museum. hehehe. Yes, it's everything you hope for. Cars. Although it was a private collection is was so funny to see. And yes I did get my picture taken with a few items. I will be honest though I have never been a big fan of James Bond over the years but I can still appreciate a smokin car. Oh alright, I can hear a few of you, Sean Connery was the exception, but I really didn't watch those movies.
There was also the Pencil Factory. Okay I was far more excited for this then the James Bond Museum. It was DERWENT pencils. If you don't know what that means thats okay. If you do you better be jealous. They were, up until a few years ago, located in Keswick and the only factory in England that made pencils. They have since moved out of Keswick and are still the only factory in England. Frankly I didn't care...it was pencils. The museum was neat. At one point the company had a secret contract with the military to make spy pencils. The ferrule and shaft of the pencil was hollow and the stored very thin paper for maps inside. Please tell me the gift shop sells these!
They didn't but that was okay because art student in an art store is bad enough. Let me put it this way...they had a rejected pencil pile. I stood there for ten minutes.
Mostly I just wandered around, I do this. A lot. I don't like traveling with people. I never have and these excursions just make me more aware of that. Pictures will explain better. I will try and get them up but if they don't load before I leave to catch my bus they will have to wait until Sunday.
Why?
I'm going to London!!
Funny enough I said back in August I didn't really want to. I am still a little whatever about it but I think it will be fun. I am taking the bus at 11:45 and will get there around 6ish. What am I going to see? You will just have to wait.
Chema
...Oh before I forget, the reason Keswick is home of the pencil is because it was a coal mining village. And funny enough during the wars (pick one) they pencil factory was only allowed so much graphite/coal to make their pencils.
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him? Burn him!
November the 5th, Guy Fawkes in England usually equals fireworks and bonfires. If you don't know what this means that's okay, frankly neither do I. I know what is talked about in V for Vendetta, a movie from 2005, but mostly just that guy Fawkes in 1605 tried to blow up parliament. I think this is the only celebration I know of that celebrates something that did not happen.
Tonight and still going, as I see out my window, fireworks are being let off. My flatmates and I went to go see a showing nearby. It was fun but there was no bonfire there...but that's okay.
Now for photos. Some of my photos are still uploading but hopefully by the time you do read this, when ever that may be, they will be all up. Pretty much I am going to link you to each one individually so you can decide where to go. there are a few that will be updated occasionally and I will be sure to let you know and provide a link. Also if there are any new sets I will of course link you. So if you want an image to be bigger just click on it.
Guy Fawkes Day
Blaitewaite House
Newcastle upon Tyne
Church
Durham Cathedral
Tynemouth Priory
Holy Island and Bamburgh Castle
Alnwick
Classwork/Art
Flying
There you are.
Chema
edit:gah the size of the type won't stay put. grr
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