My Last Summer

Hello all! I've finished a couple new songs, Crazy Baby and Detachment, which you can check out above or by clicking the links. Check them out!

Another semester done and I begin possibly my last summer as a college student. I know I'll miss it when it's done, it's been literally a life changing experience. There is the Freshman 15 I've packed on, for starters. I thought I was a little old for that but apparently it doesn't care how old you are. But it will be good to get back out into the work force and start making money again. Then we can start those repairs on the house and maybe I can start visiting people again!

Anyway, the stand out class for me this semester was Painting 2, where I really got to explore my love of street art, using stencils and spraypaint and odd found objects to paint on instead of canvas. And who doesn't love the pretty colors and swirly lights you see in your head after you've breathed in enough spraypaint fumes? It's ok, I added enough new braincells in my other classes to make up for the ones I killed. I even got to work on some really big pieces like a seven foot high piece of pressboard which I think used to be used as a door. That one proved to be a little bit of a logistic challenge and is still sitting at school until I can figure out how I'm getting it home. You can see the new work on the painting page of my site. I also really loved the Figure Drawing class, probably because of how  
                                           naughty it seemed to be drawing naked people on a Catholic college campus. I couldn't help looking over my shoulder to see if I was being followed right before I stepped into the secret Nekkid Room. Those nuns can be stealthy. I kid the nuns. They're actually a very progressive group of ladies, so big ups to the Sisters! We did have to say goodbye to Ryan, the printmaking and figure drawing instructor who is currently planning to leave Wichita. Ryan's the one who got me into printmaking and is an all around great guy and a friend. Good luck in Lawrence, my friend, we'll miss you!

Another class I enjoyed which surprised the hell out of me was Chemistry. First off, all humanities majors get steered towards a different apparently easier class which filled up before I could register, so I was a little nervous about venturing into unknown territory. All of the other students were nursing or premed, which made me something of an anomaly. But as it turned out, I totally kicked atomic behind! Those chemicals didn't know what hit them! Take that HCL and NaOH and you too CH3CO2H! I know this sounds like bragging, but yeah I'm kicking pH and taking names! But seriously, I'm kind of in disbelief, honestly. I got 100's on all the exams and, according to the professor, I'm the first student she's had to completely ace a final. Can you believe it? Me either! Ok, enough of me bragging even though I totally rocked those covalent bonds. I'm just sayin.


Sue isn't teaching any classes this summer, so she should have some time to relax and garden and do some other fun things. She managed to get away last weekend with my Mom and a friend of theirs to go to a gardening/music type festival at this farm in Missouri. There she learned many things about the evils of corn and how everything is Genetically Modified and we're all doomed. Maybe that last part was just me, but since we added another raised bed to the backyard, we'll hopefully be growing more of our own food! Sue is also getting to see her Dad and Scott over the Fourth of July weekend in Cali. They have plans to go camping, which sounds awesome. For me, it should be pretty busy. I'm taking two classes, a capstone class called Faith and Society which everyone takes before they graduate, and Oral Communication which I have put off as long as possible.

I'll still be working on campus in the graphic design job but I may also take on a second internship if at all possible and I have an interview with someone next week. Plus I'll be trying to meet with Pamela, the graphic design instructor at Newman, to get a jump start on my portfolio so I won't have to get too much done at the last minute before graduation.

Well, besides all that, things have been pretty run of the mill here. As you can see, we've started letting the cats and pigs interact a little more and they seem to be fine with each other. The pigs don't seem all that scared of the cats, and as a result the cats don't feel the need to chase and bat at them. They have come to an understanding. And the cats, for their part, have come to the understanding that Sue and I should never sleep past 7am ever again. Between Toots' early morning howling and Scratch's I'm going to walk all over you until you get up, we've been a little sleepy in the afternoons. But how can you be mad them? Look at that face.

Oh, one other bit of excitement. As some of you may have heard, we had a tornado scare here in April. A pretty big one moved through the south part of town, about five miles from us. Luckily, the Weather Service did such an amazing job that we were warned about it three days in advance and remarkably, last I heard no one was killed. It was the first time Sue and I fled for the basement though and luckily we didn't lose power like most everyone else in east Wichita, which would have made it a bit scarier. Yes, that's Sue in the pic wearing a bike helmet.

Let me close by wishing all the mothers a happy Mothers Day! Do something nice for them to make up for what a bad kid you were. See you soon!

Haven't even caught my breath from the semester and the Holidays are here already. Crazy! Well, it's totally groovie that the break is here and we can relax a little, even if it means being a little mellow for Christmas. A chance to be mellow is the best present I can think of. We managed to put the tree up and decorate it all pretty like

...and then the kittehs saw the wonderful bounty we had prepared for them and de-ornamenated the bottom half of the tree (so far). I swear, just as we were putting up the last ornament, I heard a deathmetal howl "DESTROOOOOOOOY," and there was no one in the room except for Scratch and Toots, looking all innocent. I turned back around and half the tree was gone. They're THAT good. Good thing they're cute. Hey and we've had them officially a year already!

I had a good time this semester

though, taking my second Printmaking class, which I was totally into. My teacher, Ryan, even suggested that he and I could collaborate on a print for a conference next year. You can check out the new prints at my website: http://www.misguideddesign.com/index.php/my-prints/. I also had fun getting my hands dirty in my first ceramics class. You can check those out at

.http://www.misguideddesign.com/index.php/ceramics

I apologize that the images aren't exactly Christmasy, but you know me: Mr. Doom'n'Gloom Artist Guy.

I also finally got College Algebra out of the way after slugging through the basic and intermediate classes. Considering that I'm a math dummy who hadn't thought about math once in

two decades, I'm amazed that I got all A's. Besides that, I also got through Biology and had fun checking out little microscopic critters and the innards of a fetal pig. I also wrapped up my Graphic Design requirements this semester with Advance Studio. It was a little tough having a very different teacher with very different methodology, but I did my best and I still have two more semesters to put together a kick-azz portfolio.

Sue had her usual Tsunami of Essays to survive but she kept her head above like a champ. I think she's getting better at managing the whole Division Chair thing along with her teaching duties. She would probably disagree with me but you and I know she's being modest.

Sue's bro Scott (this sculpture wasn't based on him, I promise) was here for Thanksgiving and it was great to have him for a week. We felt like we ignored him half the time as we both dealt with our respective school work, but we managed to hang out a decent amount of time. He came with us to the Final Friday art show at Newman which included the work of several of my classmates who

graduated this fall. We also brought him to the Aviation Museum–Wichita being the Air Capital

of the World and all–and he even managed to get up to the Salt Mines in Hutchinson one day while

Sue and I were busy. Oh and then there was Thanksgiving and the juicy ham that Sue made for Scott, my mom and I.

Speaking of visits, Sue and I have booked a flight to Pennsylvania to see Pops on January 3rd and we'll be there for a week. Anyone who might be in the Reading area during that time should give us a ring. I may even be able to take a short road trip for a day or two, if anyone in the more distant vicinity is available.

We wish you all a very Happy Holidays and here's to a prospero año!

Jeez, what month is it? Augseptoctember? They're going by too fast for me to keep up. It's like an endless sweep transition like they used to have in old Batman episodes except it doesn't transition from one scene to the next, it just keeps going. I had intended to write this blog during the brief two weeks break before the semester started up, but then my Mac started crapping out on me and then the semester started and then...pant pant. Well, here we are halfway through the semester. Better late than never. Speaking of my Mac, I should give some major shouts and wut wuts to Ribbit Computers, who identified the problem (logic board dying, too expensive for me to replace) and made some minor repairs to keep the thing running while I backed everything up and got a new one and they didn't charge me one red cent for the effort. What?! I know it's crazy! I've been there twice and I still haven't paid anything. I don't know how they do it but they've got a costumer for life, as long as they don't ever charge me anything, just kidding, sort of. But seriously, you should go to Ribbit Computers. Even if you don't live in Wichita, you should get on a plane and fly to Wichita and go there. You'll save money, somehow, I donno, it made sense when I thought of it.

It was a busy summer for Sue and I. Like a crazy person I slugged my way through a full 15 credit hours. It wasn't intentional. I had signed up for a couple Gen Eds and then realized I should get my coop work credit out of the way. Then Heather, the awesome design instructor who built Newman's program, announced she was leaving and this summer would be my last opportunity to take her helpful summer portfolio classes. Suddenly, I had five classes going. Well, I survived and the portfolio classes were very useful. Usually taken by seniors about to graduate, they help you put your portfolio in order and develop a logo and letterhead. I still have two more semesters to go after this one but I'm one step ahead thanks to all the work I put in this summer. Oh and speaking of Heather leaving, guess who had the stress of finding her replacement with no time to spare. Yeah, Sue had a busy summer too.

Another thing I intended to do before the summer was over was work on my website. Well, I managed to get something up and running though

it's a bit generic looking right now and a far way from being complete. But the slideshow is pretty neat and some of my work is posted. Go to www.misguideddesign.com to check it out and perhaps give me some feedback, it would be most appreciated!

So, the summer. Hmmm, the summer (cue: grainy, sepia toned footage) It was so long ago. Sue and I did manage to have some fun in the midst of all the craziness. We made it up to Kansas City twice: once to see Rasputina play at the Beaumont Club, and a

second time when good friend Erika came to visit. This was Erika's second time visiting, though her first seeing our new house and enjoying our comfortable guest accommodations. Welllll, comfortable after we cranked up the portable air conditioner. It gets kind of, um, airless up their in the summer. Between the two visits we saw

and did lots of cool stuff in KC, visited a couple museums, ate

some tasty meals, browsed an impressive farmers market with lots of ethnic fare and hung out in Laurence. We also took Erika to Tanganyika, a local wildlife park, and to Bartelli's, the only New York style pizzeria in Wichita (it got a thumbs up from Erika and my mom). Btw, some of the pics on this post were taken by Erika, but I won't say which ones, hmmwaahaha. We're looking forward to two more visitors soon; Marisa, who will be speaking at Newman about the Islamic Spring; and Sue's bro Scott, who will be here for Thanksgiving. See more pics from our summer below.

Wow, time does fly. The kittens are just about a year old now.

Scratch is pretty huge but Toots, fitting for his name, will be a small boy. They are hella energetic and like to wake us up bright and early in the morning. Thankfully they are great company for each other. I can't imaging how friggin annoying they'd be if either one of them was by himself. But we

love them. And my mom has been here for over a year! I think we knew it would be a good move for her in some ways, getting out of the Post Office, retiring somewhere with a reasonable cost-of-living. But we didn't guess how

great the change would be. She made friends right away and seems to have a more active social life than she had back in NY. She belongs to a book club and reads ravenously, goes to a gym, and now has even started volunteering at a couple local ranches working with the horsies. The ranch work has been a life-long dream of hers and she seems to be enjoying the experience immensely. She is proof that you can be busier after retirement than before, but in a good way.

I'll probably get into this semester more during the next blog, but I will say that I'm taking my second printmaking class and am loving it so much that I'm considering getting a double emphasis

(graphic design & printmaking). It will depend a lot of whether or not they can get enough enrollment to put together a special class in the spring but even if they can't I'll probably get three classes of printmaking in before I graduate. It's such hard work and can be frustrating but I love the process and it feels really good when it comes together. Anyone who wants to come to Wichita in the spring to take a printmaking class should definitely consider it. You won't have to pay for lodging and will probably get a lot of your meals taken care of too. Totally sounds worth it to me. Just sayin'.

So anyway, I feel like I'm skipping a lot of stuff, but that's life these days. Got to www.misguideddesign.com and let me know what you think. I'm definitely not a web designer (yet), so any advice would be accepted gratefully. For those of you planning

visits (you know who you are. Oh yeah and now everyone else does too), we look forward to seeing you! And we hope the rest of you are happy and healthy and all that good stuff. Talk to you soon!

If we keep this up, Sue and I will have to clone ourselves to keep up with our crazy schedules. Definitely the busiest semester for both of us, but we've survived. At least Sue had some accomplishments this semester like when she and her fellow English dept colleagues organized what everyone has been calling the...best...Litfest...ever! Some of my festival highlights included the participation of Wichita's first slam poetry team and a visiting appearance by NYC Nuyorican slam poet Carlos Andres Gomez, who wrapped up the festivities with a kickass set that brought the house down. He's a truly decent guy, too, who stayed afterwords to talk to just about every last person there. The ICT Slam Team (Wichita is sometimes called ICT after its airport - Intercontinental) just started up last year based out of a very cool new poetry cafe on the eastside of town call Poetic Justice, a must-visit if you're in town. The owners of the cafe are awesome people dedicated to bringing some cool and positive youth culture to Wichita. We hope they succeed.

Another highlight of the Fest was a reading by English depart sooperstar professor Bryan Dietrich from his work in progress, a sci-fi novel that he's been writing. Bryan is an accomplished poet who has published several books (including his latest: Prime Directive, in stores now!) but this will be his first work of fiction and from the teaser he gave us, I can't wait for him to finish.

Oh and I guess I should also mention that I won first prize in the Sheridan Edwards Review's prose category. "What!" you say, "That's impossible!" I know! That's what I said! But there it is. I even got to read an excerpt of the piece I submitted, The Void, at the Fest. The SER is Newman's literary journal that every year accepts writing and artwork submissions from students and the public and this year I submitted almost all of my pieces from last semester's printmaking class along with the short story. They accepted almost all of it and I was pretty stunned when I found out about the prize for the story. If you have some time, you can read it here, a short surrealist tale about a world turned literally up-side-down.

Well, as I alluded to earlier, this has been one tushy-kicking semester. I haven't had time to work on music, go to Taekwondo, or practice Chinese. Every moment, seven days a week, has been spent working on projects. With two design classes and two studio art classes, I spent a record amount of out-of-class time working on my assignments. I won't lie and say I didn't love it though, especially painting class. See some more examples of stuff I've done below - not best you've seen, I'm sure, but I've been having fun. I decided to act like I'm in art school and start getting dark and angry. Everyone else was doing sunflowers and rainbows but that made it all the more important that I do people with their heads being blown off. I'm not sure why, it just was. I even got to play around with street-style stencil art techniques which was awwwwwwesome. I'm just a noob at it, but I plan on doing a lot more of stuff like that when I take painting 2. Later this summer I plan on creating a portfolio site so I can better display all the design and fine art stuff I've been doing, and now maybe some writing too!

Oh, I said I loved painting

class but I also got a kick out of sculpture, especially the last assignment: metal work!

That's right, nothing makes you feel like a man

than wielding a blow torch and slamming bright orange shards of superheated rusty metal with a sledge hammer! Arrrrgh! I call this one

Mosquider, it's already got a spot staked out for itself in our garden.

There's been a bit of drama in the design program at Newman: our design instructor, Heather, is leaving and who knows what the program is going to look like next fall. I'll say I'm a bit worried but Sue is on the job. She's been put in charge of the search committee to find Heather's replacement. I'll miss Heather's guidance, she's built a fun and challenging program, but at least I'm taking two portfolio classes with her this summer before she's gone for good. The portfolio classes are usually taken by those about to graduate, which for me won't be until next summer, but it seemed worth it to take advantage of Heather's being around for a little bit longer.

Along with the two portfolio classes this summer, I'm also taking Sociology, which started yesterday and Intermediate Algebra, so no rest for the weary! But I'm enjoying the classes so I can't complain. Sue is excited to be taking a watercolor class which started yesterday. It's a five-days-a-week class, so it's pretty intensive, but she's really looking forward to be doing art stuff. The other bit of drama came earlier this semester when Darrel, the graphic designer I was working with at University Relations left to take a job closer to his home, leaving me virtually alone as the only designer in the department for a few weeks. They shielded me from having to shoulder the full workload by myself but it was

a good opportunity to show that I can stand the heat.

The kittens and pigs say hi. Toots and Scratch are getting ginormous quickly, especially Scratch who is on his way to becoming the longest kitteh in the world! They are still adorable and loving furballs but have gotten into an annoying habit of waking us up at five in the morning. Unfortunately, we've had to start locking them upstairs at night so we can get a decent night's sleep.

Mom hurt her wrist in a dog walking incident earlier this year but hasn't let it stop her. She managed to go on a short trip to Savanna, GA and met up with one her friends from New York, and has since had the cast removed and is undergoing therapy to restore movement. She's kept her good humor throughout the ordeal.

So anyway, keep scrolling to see some of the work I've done this semester, caution: some disturbing subject matter. We have no plans to visit people right now, so if anyone feels like a long weekend in the heartland, we're all for it! We love you all and hope you're doing well. Talk to you soon!

Burning Monk, a triptych of the disturbing photo from the Vietnam war of the Buddhist monks who burned themselves alive as a protest. The background was made to look dull and washed out while the flames were rendered bright and with texture that makes them jump a little off the canvas. One of my favorite from the semester.

Two companion pieces called Victoria Fascista and 500000. The first is from a photo from the Spanish Civil War, the second a fascist propaganda poster from the same. I got to play around with stencil and spray paint for these, rendering the backgrounds in oil paint and building stencils for the subjects. Tricky to get it looking as neat as I wanted but some gritty street messiness was desired so I'm happy with them.

Boxman is a wood relief cut. Self explanatory: a man stuffed inside a box.

The Most Comfort is some sort of post-apocalyptic advertisement for gas masks. Can you tell I like typography and doom-and-gloom? Came out a little more cartoony than I planned but I wanted it to be graphic and poster-like so it's not far off the mark. Possibly inspired by nuclear meltdowns in Japan.

Pastele with Rice and Beans was our first assignment, food, meant to correspond with the Litfest which was food-themed this year. All of our pieces, along with the drawing and photography classes, were hung outside the Art Dept during the fest. This one celebrates those awesome meals Grandma made when I was young.

This was the first sculpture assignment, a giant hornet made from wire.

This was the last assignment in my Materials And Processes class, a desk sculpture toy, a collection of blocks or pieces that someone could arrange in any way. Mine is called D3 - Desk Droid of Doom. The tag line under the name on the box says "All your desk are belong to us" for those of you who recognize that early Internet meme. The boxes are hexagon shaped and have magnets in them so they fit together in a variety of ways. The boxes have various abstract mechanical graphics on them. We also had to construct packaging. D3 is a workstation defense system designed to keep away annoying coworkers, tyrannical bosses and pushy clients.