Excursion

After a month of intensive staring contests with a computer screen (against my own will), a nice brief backpacking trip back into the wild was long overdue. Our destination had to be in close proximity as we only had the weekend, yet far enough that we had no cell reception whatsoever. The logical choice was obviously Pt. Reyes National Seashore just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. One of the few things I like about California is the diverse terrain, having cloud covered mountains right next to the beach, two things that I can never choose between so why bother? We left Berkeley at 6am with backpacks holding sleeping bags, tent, 3 gallons of water, beef jerky, trail mix, and of course the whistle (for the black bears, they're shy).

The first day involved hiking to our campsite right next to the beach, pitching our tent (we had rehearsed this a week before and completed it within five minutes), a search for an imaginary safeway (Vitamin Water, and some dvds), hitting a few dead ends (MUDDY HOLLOWWWSS!!), a nap on the beach, and a sunset at "the Three Kings". We covered about twenty miles.

I somehow managed to injure my right leg and had trouble walking, let alone carry a full backpack another twenty miles. We woke again at 6am, this time at our own accord, and left immediately for arch rock, which was beautiful. It made me quite pleased with myself as a photographer to see the lengths I would go to for a good shot. After that it was another 4 miles back to the trailhead where our ride to our 6 dollar burrito was waiting. I could barely walk afterwards.

Studio

The concept of an art studio has always been a luxury in my eyes. One equipped with a seemingly endless supply of blank canvases, colors, windows, and a stereo. I enjoy those rare oppurtunities in which I am able, not forced, to work hours on end, oblivious to the passage of time. The concept of a studio at home is even more foreign to me, and is something that I can only hope will materialize as my resources do; having to pay for materials is also unreasonably difficult, mentally. Up to now, I have been confined to converting the bedroom, garage, and everynow and then, the living room. I'm sure it annoys my housemates much more than myself.

As some of you might know, my mother has recently purchased a brand new Mini Cooper. I was amused to find a Mini care package in the mail the other day. Notebooks, code readers, pens, brochures, trading cards, 3d glasses, window stickers. A car company that loves its customers. And its marketing scheme.

SLVR 111. This angle makes my leg look like I ought to roast it in honey mustard.

Analogy

Massimo Vignelli compared the role of a designer in society to that of a doctor, explaining that both are meant to cure. The doctor seeks to cure people of sickness whereas the designer seeks to cure the world of ugliness. I truly appreciated this statement as it reinforced the resolve that I had when I began to pursue a creatice direction in the first place. If you are going to make anything at all, why not make it beautiful. Right God? I think everything humans do is in response to a problem. Engineers cure the world of inefficiency, scientists cure the world of ignorance, entertainers cure the world of boredom, Christians attempt to cure the world of sin. This is why civilization thrives, because we will be here as long as there are problems. It has been said before, we are the problem.