I've been neglecting this website for some time. But I've decided to do an overhaul and try to upload all of the posters I ever made for First Avenue (which will be insane). mostly because I am legitimately curious as to how many I had made while working there. I am also going to be adding more of my work for MN Opera, as well as some fun freelance projects I've been working on. I'm excited to share all my new work with you!
Photo by: Gina Reis
Farewell First Avenue
Friday, March 4, 2016 will be my last day as Art Director at First Avenue.
It’s been real. It’s been REALLY real, you guys. I am so thankful for the past 7 years and being given the opportunity to be a part of such a historical establishment. I am so thankful for the friends I’ve made, the things I’ve learned, and the people I’ve served. I am so happy to have met and hung out with so many wonderful individuals. I am so grateful for all the friends who have been there to share awesome memories with me, and I am so SO grateful to all of my friends who’ve come alongside me when times were stressful and hard. I wouldn’t be who I am if it weren’t for you. All of you. Each and every one.
And I want to say thank you to First Avenue. Thank you for letting little ole me, a 25 year old wannabe graphic designer at the time I was hired, have a chance to make something of myself (while making you look good in the process). Thank you for giving me the opportunity to grow as a graphic designer and as a creative human being. Thank you for letting me make your posters pretty and your holiday sweatshirts silly. Thank you for giving me some of the best friends I could ever ask for and some of the most amazing experiences of my life. Thank you for making me feel like a damn rock star, but at the same time teaching me the importance of humility. Most importantly though, thank you for allowing me to follow my dreams and pursue my passions. I’ve learned so much in my time here and saying goodbye is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I am excited for the future and what comes next, and I look forward to beginning this new chapter of my life as Design Manager at Minnesota Opera. Who knew I could be so fancy?
I hope to see some of you at the sold out Poliça show on Friday. If you catch me, maybe we can grab a drink, or even a shot of tequila in the Depot (hah!). But if I don’t see you there, I’d love if you could make it to my “Farewell First Avenue” brunch at the Turf Club Clown Lounge on Sunday March 6th from Noon – 3pm. Feel free to RSVP here.
In Anticipation for Game of Thrones Season 5
My Custom Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts
In No Real Order...
CMD + SHIFT + X = Expand Selection (usually set to 2 pixels)CMD + R = Select Color Range
CMD + SHIFT + D = Create Layer Mask
CMD + ALT + SHIFT + H = Create new Adjustment Layer Hue/Saturation
CMD + OPT + SHIFT + 0 = New Background from Layer
CMD + SHIFT + A = Rotate Canvas Counter Clockwise
March 24, 2015 - An Introduction
Tonight I attended a lecture (part of the Walker 2015 Insights Lecture Series) which featured Amsterdam-based designer, Bart de Baets. It was a very interesting lecture overall. One project of his that struck me as inspirational was his Mosquitoes, Elephants, Mountains & Molehills project which is described on his website as, "a collection of casually written short stories, observations, lists and rumors, starring family, friends and lovers, the dead and the living, the gorgeous and the not so gorgeous."
This interesting process of giving personal musings and ideas a visual format is very appealing to me and has inspired me to take the same approach with my very own ideas. De Baets described having "text files" full of plots for movies, dreams he's had, ideas for inventions, and so on.
Like de Baets (and I assume many other creatives) I, too, have my own collection of ideas and inspiration projects: scripts for situational sitcom episodes, post-apocalyptic movie plots, dream journal entries, deconstructions of my favourite movie that probably only a few thousand people have seen (pssst, it's called Down Under The Big Top and I have it memorized), journaled observations of other people, and many other "silly" ideas and musings that come to my mind when I least expect them.
At least once a week, I've decided to take a time out from my life and flesh out all these ideas rattling around my brain and present them to the world, in the form of this blog. I'm hesitant to use the term "blog" because I really don't know what it means to have one. Is it a personal journal, or is it an objective presentation of my projects? Is it a black hole where I will put all of my ideas only to be neglected by third parties since I assume (probably incorrectly) that no one reads this crap anyway? Who knows. I guess we'll see.