My design history course finished up last week with an epic presentation on Victorian folk architecture. Well, not so epic… but not too shabby either! I wrote a 25 page research paper including a historic restoration of an 1890’s Victorian parlor as part of my final project for the class.

The drawing class I assisted with this summer finished up their semester with full color drawing / mixed media art for their final critique. It was amazing to see the improvement in all the student’s work from the 8 week course and I was surprised and delighted by the effect the students had on me. I learned so much from them! By the end of the course, they were giving me tips on how to use different medium and helping each other with ideas. The students not only blossomed as individuals, but they successfully worked as a team to create a safe place for self-expression. It was wonderful to see them progress and grow. One of the most difficult things to do as you continue through design and art is to work alone! Having a good relationship with your peers and supporting each other is a large part of the working art community!

I think Drawing (or any art-based course) is a great class to take during the summer. Drawing is a “practice makes perfect” talent and immersing yourself in the art form for longer amounts at a time and more often is a great way to get ahead in a class like this. I just hope the students continue to draw at home to keep their skills fresh… and me too!

Upcoming Events

In the fall, I will teach my own course for sophomore level art majors. The class will cover much of the basics of graphic design – we will design logos, book covers, posters, packaging, and ads. The students will use Photoshop and Illustrator primarily as well as drawing and conceptualizing. I’m really excited to start teaching – I know some of the students from the summer drawing class and look forward to working with them in the fall. I am in the process of building a class blog for the course which will be here: http://grd3000-fall2010.blogspot.com

I’ve been commissioned to paint a newspaper box for Creative Loafing! The project is to paint a newspaper box inspired by Salvador Dali… not much art direction besides that… So far’s progress… I started sketching ideas and picked up the box from CL today. Tomorrow, I visit the High’s Dali exhibit. Stand by for more updates on this project! Here is a link to some of the boxes painted from the last round: http://clatl.com/relaunch/mini/artists.html

That ends my summation of the summer events! It’s been great to catch up and I’ll be back next week with more on my Creative Loafing project and other exciting endeavors!