the dust will never settle.

things have been wacky and there is no end in sight.
I guess a couple rad things have come of this semester, but I'm still feeling pretty bitter and downtrodden. and thus, I have not been sharing.

I don't feel like figuring out everything that I should post, but here is one project that is finally wrapping up.
Gary's band Good Teeth Gold Teeth is putting out a 7". Gary had me do the artwork, and we screen printed it on arigato packs on friday.




I printed 200 of these. and every inch of my body hurt afterward.

the type is all handwritten. the "good teeth gold teeth" on the front is Gary's writing, and the rest is mine.
the vinyls themselves are going to be hand stamped and hand numbered.
DIY OR DIE.

knife goes in, guts come out.

today at approximately 1125am I lost the very last shred of faith I had in my school.
it's really a golden moment when you realize that the administrations does not care in the least about the success of students, just so long as they get their money.

here's whats going on.
I currently have 108 completed credits, meaning I only have 4 classes left to take to complete my major in graphic design. theoretically, that's only one semester. but because of the nature of these 4 classes, I can't take them all at once. but to keep my financial aid (and insurance) I have to be enrolled in 4 classes a semester, so I decided to pursue a minor in printmaking, adding another 4 classes to my to-be-completed list, and keeping me a full time student for my remaining two semesters.
I was really excited because I absolutely love printmaking and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to spend more time exploring things. I'm currently taking Printmaking II and an independent study course in screen printing.
so the only issue is where to work on my projects. the open lab hours this semester are severely lacking (9pm until midnight monday through thursday?) and storing projects and supplies in the printroom is like asking people to steal it. and walking a mile and a half each way with large screens and paper and supplies is impossible.
solution? Stacy and I decided to share a studio at the school where we could work whenever we want and store all of our supplies and projects. so two weeks ago when the notice went up to sign up for studio space, I noticed that it was addressed to "Fine Arts Students". I became a little concerned since I have yet to declare my minor so I emailed the woman in charge, let's refer to her as Useless from now on, to find out if this was required before signing up. she effectively snubbed me and told me that I could not get space because I'm not MAJORing in fine arts and it didn't matter if I was sharing with an Illustration major.
so I spoke with my printmaking professor and she said she would speak with Useless on my behalf.
this morning I woke up early and trudged over to the school especially for the studio space allocation meeting. when I got there I went to Useless and asked her if she had spoken with my professor and if it would be possible for Stacy and I to share a space. I was then informed that there was "absolutely no way possible" for me to have a studio and its "just too bad" that this means that I have no way to work on my minor.
I became increasingly enraged the longer I thought about it so I went to the school counselor who watched me cry for 10 minutes and stared at me like an alien. she offered no advice, but said she would speak to someone and get back to me. she just called me and told me she had spoken to some people who told her that printmakers don't need studio space anyway because ALL the work is done in the printroom. you know, no preparation or storage needed.

so.
I'm fucked.
I have absolutely no idea how I am going to complete my work.
and I want to throw up when I think about how much time and money I've wasted on this fucking school where no one cares in the least about giving students the opportunity and the resources to learn what they want to learn.

what happens on the road always comes home.

so this is pretty much what I did from July 20th until August 11th.


I started to write a long-winded recap of tour but decided against it.
it was a good time, even though nothing went as planned. I am extremely fortunate to have such amazing friends and I am forever grateful that I was given the opportunity to be a part of this.

I was rather lethargic after I returned and Dan went back home. I think it was because I was without my kitty and without my boy. but after a short trip to yale, Caslon is home and things are looking better.
I've cut my hair 3 times in the past 3 days and I have finally gotten it to a point that I like. and I completely rearranged my room today and it feels so much more comfortable.

productivity! its a sign that I am happy.
and I really, really am.

I'm starting to figure some things out and see things in a better light. a lot of opportunities lay ahead of me, I hope I can make the most of them.

the best laid plans.

as it always tends to work out for me, things have not really gone according to plan.
but things have a way of working themselves out and the past week and a half have been amazing. I can't even begin to express how much my friends and family on cape cod mean to me, or how much it hurts every time I have to leave them. I've cried about 20 times in the past two days.

I think maybe I will do a giant wrap up post after this adventure is fully completed, so for now I will not go into too much detail, just a few odds and ends.

it has never been more clear to me that I cannot run away from my problems. I mean, I knew that before, but the events that unfolded during this trip to the cape really drove it home. some of these problems I was able to solve or at least make slightly better (thanks in most part to Agatha, my trusty blackberry). but others are the kinds of problems that have no solutions and seem like they will never go away. I realize this is rather cryptic, but I don't feel the need to delve into such petty matters any longer. what's done is done, I just wish everyone else could realize as much.

I did, however, go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art yesterday. I witnessed upwards of 25 people run up the steps and jump up and down like Rocky. I found it interesting that a movie has made such an impact on so many people...and then I found it incredibly depressing that none of the people who ran up the stairs went into the museum.

I spent most of my time in the European Art 1850-1900 and the Modern and Contemporary Art sections. I got to see so many amazing pieces of art that I've only seen in crappy power point presentations projected on a painted white wall in room 219 at Kendall. It blew my fucking mind.
I stood in front of this painting for about ten minutes and I couldn't stop myself from shaking.

it is one of my favorite paintings ever. it is called Il Saltimbanco and was painted by Antonio Mancini. He is one of my dead crushes. Click HERE to check out a pretty good New York Times page about him.

I did not, however, get to see Étant donnés: 1. La chute d’eau, 2. Le gaz d’éclairage (Given: 1. The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas) by Marcel Duchamp, which is one of the MAIN REASONS I wanted to go to the museum in the first place. when I checked the website tuesday night to find out where it was it said it was on view. when I got there wednesday, it was closed off. and now the website says it is not on view. FUCK MY LIFE. that museum owns so many pieces that I would fucking DIE to see, and 90% of them are in storage. I asked a security guard if all of the Duchamp items were closed off and he looked confused and said "yeah, uh I think so" and I told him that he had just shattered my universe. I did catch a quick glimpse of The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass), but not enough to be able to appreciate it. heartbroken.

so tomorrow it's back to Valparaiso. Saturday in Michigan City to attempt to sort out some Grown Ups drama, and then Sunday I hit the road with the Reptilian. if you want to try to keep up with me a bit (cough, Veronica) then you can check out my twitter, HERE, and check out the Reptilian's tour schedule (and listen to some tunes) at their myspace HERE.

dream summer.

on friday I will be heading out for about a month on the road.
friday, saturday, and sunday I'll be in Indianapolis for Dudefest with Gary, Bobby, Stacy, and Matt. we may or may not die at the hotel we're staying at... if we live, we will get to enjoy 3 days of amazing music and fantastic people.
then I'll be back in grand rapids for a night before heading off on an amazing expedition.
My best friend Jason and I are heading out east to visit my amazing family and friends on Cape Cod, then hopefully checking out Boston, Providence, and Philadelphia as possible destinations after I graduate next spring.
we will be returning to Valparaiso in time to head out on the Reptilian/Grown Ups tour from August 1st until the 16th.

I cannot even begin to express my excitement.

I get to see Erik, Tammy, Linda, Scotty, Stephanie, Nick, Fitz, and the rest of the cape kids. I don't know how I've made it almost a year without seeing any of them. it breaks my heart to be away from them and the thought that I get to see them next week makes me tear up a little bit.
and I've always wanted to go on tour with a band, and I feel extremely lucky to be welcomed to do so with some of my best friends. I expect a lot of poor hygiene, too many farts, drunken debauchery, new friends, PB&J, sweat, swimming, sun burns, being tour mom, and getting to see two of my favorite bands play for 16 days straight.

my month looks something like this:


I. can't. wait.

reptili-shirts.

heh.
its been a minute since I posted anything in this piece. I read everyone's shit every day but just haven't really felt compelled to post my own.
the semester did not exactly pan out how I had expected. and I'm having a little trouble coping with that actually...a lot of things changed and I realized a lot of things.

/cryptic

anyway. here's something I'm proud to share. I've been working on a couple projects for my boys in Victor! Fix the Sun and the Reptilian.
I did a layout for Victor's upcoming 12" release and did some type work and retooling on their tour demo packaging as well. after all the work I put into that 12", I will DEFINITELY be posting it. it should be out in september.

for the Reptilian, I designed some pretty fucking sweet shirts.


the image is from a painting that Brok (retilibassist and my very good friend) did for the Stache Bash artshow- Trimmings: Art for the Facialite.
and the type is hand drawn by yours truly.
the shirts were printed by Jeff Kraus (of Victor!) at Think Screenprinting.
art direction by Jon "short fuse" Sacha.
YAY TEAMWORK!

konnect bots

I fail pretty hard at blogging.
and at accomplishing things I guess.

here's a shitty image of the shirts Brandon and I just printed for Konnect.

and here's a better version of the image on the shirts.

I had everyone draw themselves as a robot. wanna guess which one is me?

Rodrigo Corral

Rodrigo Corral was in grand rapids yesterday to speak to the Ad Club.
and then Angie commandeered him and brought him to Kendall to speak to us.
and it made my life so much better.

he said it is okay to obsess over things and eventually all the time you spend obsessing will translate into knowing what to do quickly.

we also held a 45 minute book cover design workshop where everyone made book covers with their hands! no computers! it was hard. and mine sucked.

then we went to dinner and the school paid. lawls. thanks Kendall!

Ben took this picture of Rodrigo and me. I am super bummed that it is out of focus, and that you can't tell that he put his arm around my waist. swoon.

Zach Johnsen

this shit is blowing my mind.

Dreamcatcher 17" x 26" - pen, ink, & watercolor on heavyweight watercolor paper, 2007

Red No.3 - graphite, coffee, & watercolor on paper - 27"x60"

The Wanderer Series - mixed media on plywood, 2008

all I did today was read Scott Pilgrim.


all four.
the fifth one comes out on february 4th.

I wish Scott Pilgrim were real.
and that he were my boyfran.

I am KONNECT.

even if everything else this semester seems like shit,
Konnect is going to be amazing.