Brand New Melodies, Songs So Sweet

So, it’s been a while since I posted on here and I’m getting tired of seeing that picture of a journal on the last post. If you’re just DYING to hear from me, I have been posting much more frequently over at merereflections.org with Trey and Eric. Let’s see, what have I been up to?

Well,

I’ve been slaving over a project for my Publication Design class, and it’s been oh so delightful! Seriously. I’m getting Trey, Eric, Katie, Ryan, and Erin to write poetry for me and it’s going really well. Every time I get a poem in my inbox from one of them and read it I’m pleasantly surprised at how good it is, seriously, guys, they’re all amazing.

Nathan has settled in here in Austin, and it’s going well. Green Bay Packers and Godzilla paraphernalia have begun to pop up in our apartment, and it’s kind of funny. Austin is becoming home, which is wonderful, because it’s beautiful here. I feel more like myself, if that makes sense. Like, I don’t have to try as hard to be someone, I can just be. And it’s fine.

That said, I’ve also begun this fantastic book called Common Prayer which was compiled and written-ish by The Simple Way, of which Shane Claiborne is a part. The book is basically liturgical prayers and Bible passaged and bits of Christian history laid out so that there is some to read every day, and I must say that reading it has been really enriching. That combined with The Valley of Vision, which I just got this week, and that my missional community is reading Ephesians and you’ve got yourself a very content Zach. SRSLY, if you don’t have Valley of Vision: GET IT. Also, I’ve been keeping a rather intense prayer journal (the book regimen is def helping) and it’s making me happy. I’m FINALLY actually keeping up with a journal of some sort! It’s quite exciting.

In other news, I’m currently in the process of trying to get a job at Starbucks, which is reallllyyyy exciting. I’ve been interviewed twice, which is the normal amount of times, and am waiting to hear back about whether or not I have a job. It’s weird though, because it’s almost like God is preparing me to not get the job, because I’ve gotten two really out-of-the-blue design jobs this week. One from an admissions girl from the Ai in Houston for a graphic for her wedding, and one from a guy who was recommended to me from Michelle Sanders (bless her!) for what could possible end up being 20+ iPhone app designs and a steady stream of money over the next few months, which is AWESOME. All I can say is, God provides.

And, Hallelujah!

Now, enjoy one of my favorite photographs:

Robert Doisneau’s The Kiss

Beautiful Things

These are some beautiful things I saw a Barnes & Noble today that I thought were worth sharing. Enjoy me judging books by their covers:

I really like this sketchy style that has been big with journals lately. I like more realistic sketchiness more than this, though.

I WISH I could buy this. It’s pretty much awesome.

Also, I absolutely love all of Barnes & Noble’s classics that are designed like this. I was going to buy the Jules Verne compilation today, but they didn’t have it in stock.

Aside from having a horrible title (“Aurorarama”) this book looks awesome. I literally only picked it up because the spine’s awesome design caught my eye.

This is the inner cover of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales compilation from the fancy B&N classics. I want to die.

I love these Shakespeare publications. None of them are actually white, but slightly off-white to match the color of the letters. It’s great.

Another beautifully laid out Shakespeare publication.

I bought this tea today with a giftcard I received for Christmas. I’ve always wanted to get one of these teas because the tins are amazing. Also, it smells SO GOOD.

Blog Overhaul

So, I’m currently working on changing the layout and stuff of my blog. I think I’ve at least settled on a theme and header. Probably will only tweak things from here on out. What do you think? I decided to go back to the “Colors & Shapes” theme/title that I had a long time ago. I decided it kind of fit with my graphic designer-ness and stuff. And I like the theme-ability of it.

Let’s see. I’m going to be in Houston this weekend and next weekend. This weekend because some friends are in town and next weekend because my parents are out of town (so I’ll be watching Nick.) Also, this weekend because my parents will be out of town next weekend and I kind of want to see them. So yeah.

I’m working on some pretty cool projects right now. My favorites are in my class that I have today. We have to design a T-shirt that gets across a statement (how broad, I know), and I think I’m going to design a blue shirt with a large heart on the front, and in the heart will be a tumultuous ocean and storm clouds and lightning, and in the ocean will be a boat that obviously isn’t faring very well. On the back, the shirt will say something along the lines of “Love is a Storm Worth Weathering.” The other project I’m working on in that class is a semi-abstract self-portrait. What I am doing for that project is carving a large book (a NY Times cover page anthology I found at Half-Price Books for 3 dollars) into looking like the body of a grand piano. When I’m done carving it out, it will open with the cover as the top of the piano and will be hollow inside. I think I want it to hang on a wall so that when it is open, there will me a model of myself sitting along the inside like it’s a window ledge. Then I’m going to do something with wires and paint inside it also. I’m really excited about that one.

Anyway, that’s just a little bit of what’s going on with me right now.

Fall Quarter Classes!

So, after much fanfare and nonsense, I have finally signed up for classes in the fall quarter at the Art Institute of Austin! Finally! They got my credits transferred over and not everything is good, so here’s what my weeks will look like:

Monday – Editorial Design, 6p – 10p
Tuesday – Web Design for Designers, 8a – 12p
Layout II, 1p – 5p
Wednesday – Art History II, 1p – 5p
Thursday – Conceptual Imagery, 1p – 5p

I’m very excited, to say the least. less than 48 hours until I move!

Currently hearing: Don’t Say That by The Autumn Film
Currently Seeing: A bunch of silver, white and black apple products that make up my computer setup and the dining room table that will soon by mine in the apartment I’m moving into. Also, a view of my kitchen and living room that I won’t be seeing half as often come Saturday.
Book Update: Since I last posted info about books I’m reading, I have finished Watchmen which was quite a good read, though mostly very depressing, but in a reflective way. Also, I finished rereading Out of the Silent Planet and have started rereading Perelandra, which is probably my favorite book.

General Things

The 33Miles concert was better than I expected. They definitely sounded better in person. (aka less rascal flatts-ish) also, the guitarist was amazing. Afterwards he asked Trey and I what city we were in. haha. I was like, Nathan will so be like this guy…

<= I added an art page over on the left sidebar, so yeah!

I’m going to Austin this weekend to visit a family friend. Also, I’ll be visiting the Art Institute there, so that should be really interesting!

Not being on facebook is leaving a lot of time to read. (also, I have much less of an excuse to not do homework. haha.) I’m actively reading: The Church Can Change the World by Jimmy Siebert, Freedom of Simplicity by Richard J. Foster, Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis, and Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers by Shane Claiborne.

I’ve been listening to Stockholm Syndrome some more, what a crazy album! I like it though. There’s some good stuff in there.

I signed up for next quarter’s classes last week. (I’ll be a sophomore!!) They are tentatively:
Monday from 8a -12p: Form and Space
Tuesday from 1p – 5p: Digital Illustration II (which is basically the Adobe Illustrator class)
Wednesday 8a – 12p: Creative Writing (Hopefully this will be an interesting class!)
Thursday 6p – 10p: Layout I

I’m actually glad for the early classes, since this quarter will carry over into summer.

New Fields to Explore

Hello, all!

I’m enjoying the speech bubbles that appeared on my bulletin board after the crepe party.

Today is day one of no facebook for all of March. It shall be interesting. I’ve never done this before. But I get ahead of myself: I’ve felt convicted lately that I spend entirely too much time wandering around facebook. I seriously have, lately, been just doing nothing for hours on facebook when I have plenty of other things to be doing.

Anyway, I discovered something wonderful today! You can download free brushes to use in Illustrator! ahhh. They are amazing. I got some that look like watercolor streaks and markers. I also found a whole bunch of free stock vector files. Here’s an example of the wonderful brushes:

Needless to say, I am excited to get to use them for projects.

I’m about halfway through a book that Molly lent me, The Church Can Change The World, by Jimmy Siebert. It’s very, very challenging and a great read so far. It’s encouraging also, I’ve realized my neglect and underestimation of prayer. (Mark’s sermon on Sunday helped, too. He talked about how we are not supposed to be afraid to ask God for things, which is also something R. J. Foster talks a lot about in his book Celebration of Discipline. He points out that “Perhaps the most astonishing characteristic of Jesus’ praying is that he never concluded by saying ‘if it be thy will.’ Nor did the apostles or prophets when they were praying for others…there was evidently no room for indecisive, tentative, half-hoping, ‘if it be thy will’ prayers.” Of course Foster says there is a proper place for those prayers, but yeah.) Goodness that was a long aside.

Also, I just listened to She Must and Shall Go Free all the way through and actually enjoyed it. So there we go. haha. Also, what’s the best Sandra McCracken CD?

Make Of This What You Will…

“Next day messengers (who were chiefly squirrels and birds) were sent all over the country with a proclamation to the scattered Telmarines – including, of course, the prisoners in Beruna. They were told that Caspian was now King and that Narnia would henceforth belong to the Talking Beasts and the Dwarfs and Dryads and Fauns and other creatures quite as much as to the men. Any who chose to stay under the new conditions might do so; but for those who did not like the idea, Aslan would provide another home. Anyone who wished to go there must come to Aslan and the Kings at the Ford of Beruna by noon on the fifth day. You may imagine that this caused plenty of head-scratching among the Telmarines. Some of them, chiefly the young ones, had, like Caspian, heard stories of the Old Days and were delighted that they had come back. They were already making friends with the creatures. These all decided to stay in Narnia. But most of the older men, especially those who had been important under Miraz, were sulky and had no wish to live in a country where they could not rule the roost. ‘Live here with a lot of blooming performing animals! No fear,’ they said. ‘And ghosts too,’ some added with a shudder. ‘That’s what those Dryads really are. It’s not canny.’ They were also suspicious. ‘I don’t trust ‘em,’ they said. ‘Not with that awful Lion and all. He won’t keep his claws off us long, you’ll see.’ But then they were equally suspicious of his offer to give them a new home. ‘Take us off to his den and eat us one by one most likely,’ they muttered. And the more they talked to one another the sulkier and more suspicious they became.”
- C.S. Lewis from Prince Caspian

New Year

If you don’t care about my reading list (which I don’t blame you for) just skip the first two paragraphs and begin at the third.

As part of my New Year’s resolutions, I have decided to reread some of my favorite books that I haven’t had the pleasure of reading for a while. I started two days ago, deciding to read The Chronicles of Narnia, which are perhaps my most favorite books. As evidence, I’m already part way through the second one (I’m reading them Narnia-history-chronologically, so that’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), and I am quickly rediscovering why I enjoy them so much. Every time I read them, I find more connections to Lewis’ other books and more allusions to the Bible. And indeed, the end of each one of them is so beautiful. I won’t discuss them now, because you may not have finished any or all of them (if so, put them at the top of your reading list!) and I don’t want to ruin them, but they almost all end beautifully. Other’s on my ‘to reread’ list are the Hobbit and LOTR, and possibly The Space Trilogy, maybe the Circle trilogy by Ted Dekker, and I’ll probably end up reading The Great Divorce and The Screwtape Letters, too.

I also plan on reading for the first time The Cost of Discipleship (which I recently received for Christmas from AJ), and the prequel/sequel to the Circle Trilogy (weird I know), Green. I hope to read the books from Lewis’ “signature” classics that I haven’t already; Mere Christianity (how can I not have read that one, I know), Miracles (which I started once but had a hard time wading through, there’s so much thought in each paragraph!), and The Problem of Pain. I also need to finish the GMac anthology that Trey lent to me, along with like a thousand other books that I’ve started and never finished.

In other news, I’ve all but decided to leave the Art Institute of Houston – North. I think most of you who read this have heard in some way or another, but I wanted to let you know what I’m thinking. First of all, I don’t see me going to a college that isn’t an Art Institute. Honestly, I’ve been far too spoiled by the lack of Gen. Ed. classes to switch back to taking math and english (which I pretty much have gotten all done with AP classes in high school to the ). I’ll have to take a few history courses eventually, other than art history even, but I’m okay with that. I had originally considered checking out the art program at UT (which, if you know me, is hugely out of character, haha.) But in it you have to take something like 33 hours of Gen. Ed. classes and they don’t really even have a specific Graphic Design program from what I can tell.

So, I will be staying with the Art Institutes. What’s wrong with the one I’m at?

If you have asked me how I am liking school in the last few weeks, I have most likely told you that I am enjoying it a lot, which is true, but what I probably haven’ told you is that I am not satisfied with the school I’m at. I love the subjects we’re learning about (the adobe programs, color and design theory, drawing, etc.), but I don’t think that I like the fact that my class is the pioneer class, as in, we are the first to take any of the classes, so we’re the guinea pigs, we get all the failed methods. I’d prefer to be way down the line where we are the beneficiaries of the already refined teaching methods, if that makes sense.

So, this Art Institute leaves something to be desired, where will I transfer to?

There are two Art Institutes in my sights: The one downtown here, and the one in Austin. Basically, since the option recently came into sights to possibly find a place to live with Riley and JM (who are going to UT) in Austin, I’m majorly leaning towards that one, and if it works out, I will definitely go with that one. So the only way I would go with the one downtown is if it was for the quarter between this one and the one that starts in the summer. Otherwise, I will probably take the quarter after this one off and start at the Austin Art Institute in July.

The End.

What do you think?

This Week…

So, I’ve had a whole bunch of work lately! And actually, It’s great. I really like working at The Container Store. The people all enjoy being there and try to have fun doing what they’re doing. On Wednesday, I worked from 9 pm until Thursday at 5 am setting up the middle of the store for the Christmas thing they do called gift wrap wonderland. I must admit I enjoyed getting to see all the patterns of wrapping paper. There were a whole bunch that reminded me of 60s and 70s wallpaper, which was interesting. But I liked them. Like one looked like stylized woodgrain, and some had silhouettes of deer and trees. (Erin, you better not go into the container store anytime soon, because there are a HUGE amount of things that you would love. haha). But yeah, the graphic designer in me was saying “You should probably get all of this because you could use it! Eventually.”

Anyway! Oh yes! Mrs. Sherri asked me to do the graphics for Christmas Café! I’m pretty excited. I’m working on a few designs for when I meet with her and Pastor Stu on Monday. One of them is kind of Container Store wrapping paper inspired. haha. But yeah.

The weather is amazing right now! It makes me THAT MUCH MORE excited to go visit Taylor and Marie in Oklahoma with Erin in November! gah! I’m really, really excited!

In other news, I’m currently debating in my mind weather or not the new Mac ‘Magic Mouse’ would be a good investment for me…It’s SO COOL! It’s like a laptop trackpad on top of a mouse body! I’m leaning towards getting it…

So yeah, there’s my life lately. How are you?

Books

This is just a bunch of books that I have on my list to read (or reread) at the moment.

by Ted Dekker
Saint
Showdown
Renegade
Chaos
Lunatic
Elyon
Green

by Richard J. Foster
Freedom of Simplicity

by Andrew Murray
With Christ in the School of Prayer

By J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

This is going to take a while. I’m still reading Celebration of Discipline which continues to amaze me. It’s a great read. I just finished Sinner by Ted Dekker, which was a great thriller, as most of his books are.