News & Chitchat | Keltic Kat Graphic Design

29 Jun 2010, Comments (0)

The Crosby Festival of the Arts

Author: Joanne

OMG!!! HOT!!! STICKY!!! It is that way every year… sometimes it rains… I guess that is what happens when you live in a swamp. Honestly it wasn’t too bad in the walk ways but the booth were like little ovens. Is that what they mean about suffering for your art? The poor artists were melting.

So many fascinating things. A lot of collage art work this year. As always quite a bit of pottery and glass, Toledo Botanical Gardens does house the pottery and glass guilds. I don’t know if could describe everything there if I was typing as I walked around. I would take a thousand pictures but a lot of the artists don’t like that. For some reason the “black cat from “Chat Noir” kept showing up. Recycling was big, too; there some really great stained glass incorporating old cut glass bowls and platters.

I’ve going to the art Festival for as long as I can remember. I wonder what Mr. Crosby would think of his old horse farm? It is now sculptured gardens, there are pieces modern sculpture, the stable is a conference center and the creek has large ponds. Not the place we used to run around as kids.

Anyway…

My sister got tickets for the preview party on Friday night. That really nice to wander around not in the noon sun, and when things weren’t so crowed. I went back Sunday morning to look again. I am feeling very inspired but I don’t know where to begin.

Categories:
Uncategorized

31 May 2010, Comments (0)

The Content is Back

Author: Joanne

The shop pages anyway. It is a bit of a mess, but in the end I decided it was better to have it up and imperfect than to not have it all. So I imported some of the pages from an old back up. I’ll have to go through and fix them one by one, that might be easier than starting from scratch.

I also added a Press File.

I also added a Logo Portfolio. I haven’t had a lot of practice at logos but a found a few I’ve made I think are quite nice.

Little by little the site is starting come together, as I sort through everything from the old site and all my new ideas. It will never be done, but it will be less untidy.

Categories:
Site Update

27 May 2010, Comments (0)

Quirky & Slightly Off Kilter

Author: Joanne

I adapted the design from a project I did for my Typography class. It is a little quirky with off kilter shapes, layers of rich colors and textures, in some ways it shouldn’t work but it does. I think it really reflects both my personality and my artistic style. There are still a few technical bus to workout, I’ve loving the look!

I finally started getting my online portfolio up, Print Project Portfolio is in place. I planned to go with a slide show or a grid with pop-ups, but I had trouble finding one I could use in without losing my mind. In the end I decided that plain is better than nothing and my sanity is worth more than web 2.0. Overall I’m very happy with way it came out, now I have to get the rest of the pages done and a cover page made.

Categories:
Keltic Design Graphic Design,Site Update

2 May 2010, Comments (0)

Spring Semester is Done!

Author: Joanne

Almost, I have an exam/critique on Thursday.

I start working on the census tomorrow. Hopefully that will keep me employed until my divorce goes through. Pays pretty good, but it is temporary.

Seems strange not having homework deadlines hanging over my head. I have about million things to do, I don’t even know where to start. At the top of my list is an update to my resume, several updates to my website and designing some super awesome graduation announcements for my son. (OMG! My baby is graduating high school! That doesn’t seem possible, but I guess it is.)

I have killer sore throat and I don’t really want to do anything today, but neither can I sit and do nothing, but the extensive spring cleaning this house needs and/or moving boxes is not happening. Nor am I going to any big cooking projects, I have been wanting to make some hummus for days. One of my goals this summer is to change my eating habits and get away from so much processed foods, simple carbohydrates, sugar and salt. I want add more vegetables, fruit, whole grains and lean meats. I haven’t made a plan yet, but step one has to be cutting out fast food.

For my resume I’ve decided to go bold and non-traditional. A traditional resume hasn’t been getting me anything and since I want to work in the graphic design or printing industry I’m hoping a bold graphic resume will get me in the door.

Categories:
Chitchat

18 Apr 2010, Comments (0)

Spring is here-ish kinda sorta…

Author: Joanne

Sometimes its warm sometimes its cold, my sinuses are imploding -yes it is painful- the birds are singing and the murderous moggies are murderous, well more murderous than usual. It was warm and sunny early in the week, now when I’m home it is chilly and breezy. Such is my luck. Car has been in the garage 2 times in the last week; general planned maintenance, a dead battery and a flat tire. The garage actually took care of battery for free since it was a simple cleaning and it had just been in there. The tire something flew at me on the highway. Just bad luck and stress I didn’t need.

I have to say though, I can’t believe Saturn is going away, it’s like Timex car it takes a licking and keeps on going. It is a ’95 and has lived through me and my sister, both of us being a little hard on cars. I’m a little worried about the transmission, but other than that that it runs pretty good. Cross my fingers that it keeps going for another year or two or five.

There is less than 2 months until my son graduates. I have less than 3 weeks of school this semester. My divorce papers are filled out and filed (the lawyer has then hopefully he filed them). Hopefully we’ll packed and ready to move by mid June. The end is near! That is a good thing. I’ve had too many things going all at once for so long I want everything to be settled and done!

I added a little article under the Graphic Design menu called “What is a Graphic Designer?” Just to help people understand part of why this page is here and how I can help them a little bit. I know I need add a lot more but I’m a bit swamped right now. It does look as if I will have free time this summer.

Categories:
Chitchat,Site Update

10 Apr 2010, Comments (0)

Almost Afraid to Leave the House Today

Author: Joanne

Ever have one of those weeks when you are almost afraid to leave the house by the end of the week? Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were so traumatic I don’t even remember Monday and Tuesday.

Wednesday I spent all day trying to assemble some two sides tri-fold brochures. The school printers do not print two sided, and the work tables are sitting height not standing height so my back was killing me by the end of the day. It was pouring rain and I got soaked on my way to my car. My car was acting a little funny so I was supposed to drop it off at the mechanic after school. I got on the highway and immediately realized my car was not up to the task and started aiming for the next exit, so I round the bend and what do I find? Stopped traffic on N475. It took me 2.5 hours to get home, usually takes 20 minutes even with the detour to mechanic it should have been more than 40 minutes.

For some reason I didn’t get any sleep that night and couldn’t concentrate on studying -the aching back and the stress overload from 2.5 hours in stop and go traffic in soaking jeans might have had something to do with that- so Thursday test in Typography did not go well at all, the word “FAIL” comes to mind. Then the instructor got mad at me for being confused. I got my car back in the afternoon.

Friday I got up ran some errands and went to work. A few hours later I went to go get lunch and my battery was dead, my power locks wouldn’t work dead. Someone jumped it for me, it ran for 10 minutes and died again. This wouldn’t have been so bad but I work on the other side of town and I didn’t have anyone to call to come help me. I had it towed to the mechanic and the the driver gave me a ride and my wonderful mommy gave me ride from there.

The terminals were corroded underneath and the battery wasn’t making contact. The mechanic fixed it for free because they missed it, which really was understandable, I looked right at the battery and didn’t see it either. I’m not very mechanically inclined but I can tell corrosion when I see it, I know battery contacts need to be cleaned sometimes.

My car got a severe scolding on the way home from the mechanics today. Which is slightly more effective than scolding the cats… but still completely useless in the end.

Do you see why I might like to hide in my house today?

But I did go out, went to the student art show reception. Even drove my mom and we all survived. Next week will be better hopefully.

Categories:
Chitchat

26 Mar 2010, Comments (0)

7th Annual Student Art Show

Author: Joanne

7^th Annual Student Art Show

Walter E. Terhune Gallery Toledo Campus Owens Community College

April 10^th – May 1^st

Check out this Awesome Postcard for the event!

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[singlepic id=31 w=350]

Is that not the greatest event postcard ever?

(Yes, the back does really say designed by Joanne Rawson.)

There is a reception Saturday April 10th from 4 to 6PM (incase you can’t read the card.) Everybody in Toledo should come; there’s free food.

Oh yeah, and I got two pieces in the Commercial Art category.

Categories:
Celebrations,Chitchat,News

24 Mar 2010, Comments (0)

Spring Break Came and Went

Author: Joanne

I got nothing much done and now I’m struggling to get back into my class work. I don’t know why, I just can’t seem to focus. I am so not making the Honor Roll this semester; oh well, its not the grades that are important, it is the experience, the knowledge and the contacts.

I changed around my website some, still haven’t got most of my content back up. It had become such an unmanageable mess, I opted to reinstall the WordPress software. Hopefully, I will be able get all the pages and more back soon-ish!

My son put together a new computer for me. Works great! Doesn’t turn itself on. He is a total Superhero Kid!

The paperwork is at the lawyer office. I don’t know how all that will go. I really don’t want to deal with it now, but has to be done.

I also need to get my knees x-rayed. They apparently aren’t supposed to sound like rice crispies in milk when I bend them.

Categories:
Chitchat

20 Mar 2010, Comments (0)

Black Bean and Corn Chili (Slow Cooker Version)

Author: Joanne

I made this last Sunday. It was yummy.

1½ to 2 pounds stew meat

2 medium onions

2 tablespoons chili powder

½ teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoon canola oil

1 7 oz can of diced green chilies

1 6 oz tomato paste

2 15.25 oz corn (no sugar added both drained)

2 15 oz black beans (drained)

2 28 oz peeled tomatoes in juice (one drained)

Cut up the stew meat in little bits. Dice the onions. Mix meat, onions, oil and seasonings in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Add chilies, tomatoes, tomato paste, corn and beans. Add the second can of peeled tomato last to make sure there is enough liquid to fill the slow cooker. Stir up the tomatoes, beans and corn. I try to leave the meat on the bottom where the heat is. (I think I read that in the directions for the cooker.)

I mixed all that up in the evening and then put in the fridge overnight. My cooker has setting for 4,6 and 8 hours, I usually use 6 but I think 4 would be fine, too.

For Aaron and I, that lasted as miscellaneous lunches and dinners for the week; he had half days all week. It should freeze pretty good too. If you don’t like spicy omit the green chilies and ½ the chili powder.