School update and more

I have been remiss in posting to my blog and I do apologize. Currently my work schedule is Monday through Friday with an hour and a half of overtime mandatory per day. My work schedule has been hectic, but I am making overtime (time and a half). This is a good thing, but with this much overtime and work, it can really eat at your soul. I am trying to not let this get to me though. For those of you that read this blog, I am now a part time student with the Arts Institute of Pittsburgh Online. This is a great school to get associates in graphic design. I have recently completed my second class and should be getting my grades shortly. Since I have come back to school, I have felt like I have more of a direction or purpose in my life. I can actually stop and think of what my goals will be (join the graphic design industry and promote my artwork). With the support that the school offers, this will be my best chance at locating a job in this field. With my studies, I have found that I am thinking more of the future and what may lie ahead. 10 or 20 years down the line, will we still have books printed in paper. Will the current developments with the Internet slowly cross over into print media? I found a great article on the Popular Science website dealing with the future of magazines. Please see the following video:

 

 

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

 

With recent developments in E-Ink and E-Readers (see the Kindel and the Nook) & how technology has been leaping forward, who can say how our books in the future may look or read? Since I will be a graphic designer, I need to think ahead and try to plan for the future. What will it be. What will we See. Who can say.

A 2nd chance at Life means?

When I first graduated High School I was still in the state of mind that everything could be solved by computers. This was in the hay day of Yahoo back in the ancient megabit era of 1996 (Yes that means I'm 31 now). I really didn't have an idea of what I wanted to do, so after a consultation with a counselor at my local college after many years I got an associates in Information Management Technology in 2001.

This was shortly after the majority of these types of jobs went to India. You can imagine my disposition at the time. Shortly a few years after I started doing my own artwork (Pencils and Paper) a friend of mine was taking classes in Graphical design at the same college. Through her I discovered what more you can do with artwork & there was a thing as a Graphic Design field. With a little more research, I found out that you could do magazine,Internet , & many other types of advertisement. Oh sure I've seen advertisements, and have even kept really neat looking ones, but had no idea you could even make money on your work. Soon I began taking classes and learning more about Photoshop, typography, artistic styles, linear & radial artwork, etc. Frankly it was the best classes ever taken. It was all great until one day I got a call from financial Aid.

"We are sorry but due to the previous classes you took for your first major, you have reached the financial aid cap for the state of Texas and no longer qualify for financial aid" - paraphrased from best of memory.

I knew I could take loans, but my financial situation at the time, I didn't think I could do it. And the Idea of debt scared the daylights out of me. Since that day in 2005, I always regretted not finishing those classes. One of my best friends, who I consider a blood sister ( Love ya Tracy) gave me the idea of looking for an online college to finish my Associates in Graphic Design. Well after a few months of trying I've found one I really like. It took so long because when you type online college and graphic design in Google, you get a lot of shady sites.

The school I found and choose is The Arts Institute Online Pittsburgh Division. From my talking to their representative and researching their online website, I've found this school would be a great choice for me. I can still work full time and take the classes part time. Now you may be asking, how will you afford this. I hate to admit it but I'm going to take the student loans. Yes I know I'm paying my current debt off still, but I think this might be my last chance at a change in life. I love art so much and want to do Graphic Design even more. How will it go? Who knows. But Its a start.

Japanese Light

During this years Second Life Rely for Life Campaign I created a series of ten images to sell for various art auctions. These were sold to raise funds for the relay. The original images were mounted in a film strip style and will not be resold in second life again. When i was wandering around second life, the insperation I found for this set at a sim called Japan Dream. For those of you that are not versed in second life, A Sim is a area created in the game space by a user to represent a particular idea or space they want to show. This Sim was created to represent a 1950's Japan sea side town. The creator of this sim clubkenjin Loon definatly put time and dedication into the creation of this enviroment. This shows an example of what second life can be about. How art can come from the simpelist things.

I had the most doing this set. Going around this area, seeing all of the cultural images of the time made me smile. Reminded me why I wanted to become an artist. Please be sure to visit and check out this sim. I have provided the Land Mark at the beginning of this post.

ur⋅ban⋅i⋅ty

 

–noun, plural -ties.

1.	the quality of being urbane; refined courtesy or politeness; suavity: He was the last word in urbanity.

2.	urbanities, civilities or amenities.

3.	the quality or state of being urban.

.. One of the many things I will be talking about in this blog is the Live Music Scene in Second Life. For the past three years i have managed various clubs in second life. For the past two years I have been the manager at a club called Urbanity. Owned by Keth Mommsen and Josi Nebestanka, Urbanity is a club all of its own. An outdoor environment, we specialize in bringing high class entertainment to all of our clientele. We also specialize in greeting and making sure that people's of all types, race, creed or avatar type have a safe and secure environment to frequent. Mainly in Second Life you will run into clubs that do look good but sometimes you feel something missing. We try to maintain that whole experience. If your looking for that type of club or environment that will allow you to relax or even propose to your certain loved one, we do it. Urbanity is set on Eros Cove along with the Ishtars Kiss Art Gallery, we also present high quality clothing at Eros Fashion and Casual Elegance.

 

This Week makes officially 2 years since we have been in business. With a friendly staff and great events, this week will be one musical blow out that has never been seen before. See you there ...

Why i am a Neko Part 2

I just saw this on the Virtual Neko blog and this explains the phenomenon of Being Neko in Second Life a whole lot better then i ever can:

 

Virtual Neko Blog

 

Japanese Light Photo Series

Over the past few months I have been working on a series of Images called Japanese light. These were taken at the following Sim Name: JAPAN DREAM KENJIN

When i first saw this Sim it really stroke a note with me for the detail and artistic beauty I saw in it. Over the period of two months of working on each individual picture. When you are a Photoshop geek you know your dedicated when you work on a series of ten images all in a row with no break .

The first 5 of this set have already been auctioned off in a art auction I have held at the club i manage called Urbanity and the last 5 will be sold off in a special art auction at the main relay for Life fund raising event.

Each image will not be reproduced in second life in this film strip style again. Only one of each will exist. I do not know for sure if i will sell full sized images of this set, but for now the film strip style will be the only version that exist.

The Auction for relay for life will be held on July 18th during the main relay for life event.

100 Word Story: Cybernetic Delight

Hmmmmmmmm. A moan escapes my lips as electronic fingertips
caress the flesh. Our cybernetic implants connect.

Just a few years ago, who would even think about cybernetics
and sex. Our minds connect. Computer code flashes before my
eyes, then, Oh I can feel it. Through his body, I can feel him
holding me. Ummmmm. 

Oh the fun well have. He can hear my thoughts. He closes his eyes.
A taste of lips, the  feel of muscle and flesh. Basic body chemical reactions intensified a thousand fold.

Electrical impulses, Ecstacy, Primal animal Instinct, who knew lust and  cybernetics could do this.