Things have been quite busy here on the homefront…so busy, in fact, that my blogging has been nonexistent since my return from our honeymoon in October. I finished my fifth quarter at SCAD at the end of November, completing ARTH 702, Art Criticism. I had to withdraw from Typography Studio 2 due to time considerations, but will hopefully register again for that course in the next couple of quarters. Although it is not horribly suprising, I have been unable to keep up with the demands of work, married life, family and friends, and school without something suffering. Therefore, Crystal and I have decided that I should take a quarter off (that would be Winter quarter for all of those following along), and to resume my graduate studies in a limited way during the spring quarter.

I completed Art Criticism with a paper entitled Aural and Visual Sign Functioning: A Semiotic Analysis of Wassily Kandinsky’s Composition VIII discussing the entertwining communicative properties of visual and musical idioms.

I hope to post additional details (and pictures!) of our wedding in the near future. We just got a complete set of prints (around 300) from our photographer, and we’re really excited about getting them put in frames around our house.
Attached Files:

Aural and Visual Sign Functioning: A Semiotic Analysis of Wassily Kandinsky’s Composition VIII

crystal and I want to express our appreciation for the support of our family and friends at our wedding on october 13. we have been honeymooning in bar harbor, maine and sevierville, tennessee, and are just now attempting to return to the daily grind. more details to follow, but I’ve included some photos from our honeymoon…

also, here are some photos from our wedding (taken by my brother-in-law). tj getz (of getzcreative) also took bridal portraits of crystal available here.

I have been meaning to let people know what my current plans are (and were) for some time now, but for some reason, I haven’t taken the time to update these plans through my blog, instead being content to repeat the same story to dozens of people. So, here it goes, for all the people that already know most of the intimate details of my life. I’ll conveniently split it out by period to make it a bit easier for those with issues in the department of time or planning orientation.

this summer

I finished my spring quarter at SCAD in Savannah, and promptly moved all of my earthly possessions back up to my parent’s house in Greenville. No, I am not quitting my degree program, just merely relocating for pragmatic and financial reasons. The past year in Savannah has been a learning experience–certainly not always the easiest or most comfortable, but most valuable experiences aren’t. SCAD has been a mixed bag thus far, a mixture of disorganization, high tuition, and somewhat helpful classes, with a couple of extraordinary classes and professors thrown into the mix. Although I may be somewhat reticent to recommend SCAD at this point for graduate studies (at least in my field), I do know the direction of the new chair of the graphic design department, and the movement I’m seeing is positive.

So, all of these details about SCAD this past year leads me to my move back to Greenville. I realized early on that student loans were going to be one of the unfortunate casualties of my graduate education, but there’s nothing like looking at a loan statement for one year totaling over $18,000. This realization prompted me to consider working while completing my degree. Fortunately, SCAD offers an MFA in Graphic Design through distance learning, and, although the environment is not especially ideal, it does provide the pragmatic basis to pay off student loans, continue my education, and (most importantly) get married this fall. I have been working at Port City Java in Greenville since its first location opened in March 2004, and continued working in an assistant manager capacity until I left for SCAD last fall. Due to the gracious flexibility of management and owners, I was able to continue working to make extra money during breaks and on weekends up during my school quarters. After I made the decision to return to Greenville, PCJ was a logical choice to continue employment. So, I am currently working at PCJ as a store manager, soon to take control of a new store poised to open on Augusta Road. I have been training staff and dealing with logistical details since I returned on June 1, and hopefully will be opening in the next couple of weeks.

this fall

My primary plan for this fall is to get married. As most of you know, I proposed to Crystal Marquardt on August 28, 2005 in Baltimore, MD after a long friendship and brief dating period (original post of the engagement). Our wedding date is set for October 13, 2006 (yes, that would be a Friday, we’re quite aware) at a small bed and breakfast in Lancaster, SC. We both wanted a smaller wedding, so the ceremony and reception will include just family and close friends. We’ll just let all of our friends throw the big weddings! Crystal will be moving to Greenville at the end of August at the conclusion of her (and my) summer quarter at SCAD. At this point, she’ll be finished with her coursework for her MA in Art History, just leaving her master’s thesis to finish. I will continue taking classes, with a projected graduation date of August 2007, including my thesis.

the near future

For the near future, we plan to stay in Greenville while we both attempt to finish our masters degrees and pay off our student loans. I plan on staying on with PCJ for the next year or so while I finish off my coursework, and hope to eventually teach on the college level. In the more distant future, I hope to go back to school (for the last time, I think) for doctoral work. After spending much time researching Design doctoral work at a handful of schools (Carnegie-Mellon, SAIC, NC State), I feel that a more standard academic doctorate in Art History would serve me better for the long haul then a shaky degree in a still amorphous field (degree programs are still sketchy at best, including virtually no faculty with terminal degrees in the area of study). My best and most hopeful prospect for the future at this point is Emory University, which would be fully funded if I was able to get in (they accept only five candidates per year into their Art History program). Crystal and I are praying that God would lead us in the right path over the next number of years as we attempt to complete our education, and find the next thing He has for us.

We would welcome getting together with our friends that we’ve lost track of, or have inadvertently broken contact with. Although this summer will be busy with school, wedding plans, and work, we would welcome getting together with you as we finally get a place of our own in the Greenville area.

Just to give a brief rundown of my activities at SCAD this quarter… I’m taking three courses, Digital Studio I, Semiotics in Visual Communication, and Pre-Columbian Art in Mesoamerica. The latter two are lecture, semiotics being more philosophically based, and pre-columbian more experiential/post-modern in context. I’ve included my syllabus from semiotics for a brief rundown on suggested readings and course structure.

Semiotics in Visual Communication Syllabus

this last week has been a whirlwind of new activities, new faces, and most definitely a different environment. I’ll post some info on each of my classes, including instructor info, syllabi, and project stuff. A lot of the academic information is for my own chronicle of work at SCAD, as well as the art faculty at BJU.

I am taking three classes this quarter (which just started, and ends a little bit before thanksgiving–yes, that means I’m off for the entire holiday season.) The classes are scheduled in 2.5 hour blocks, so that actually amounts 15 hours of class time per week. I am taking History of Graphic Design–a provisional class for me to officially enter the program–as well as Design Methodologies and Typography Studio 1, both graduate level classes.

history of graphic design

this class is an undergraduate level class, and it really does show. although I am highly interested in the subject matter, due to a dual interest in graphic design and art history, the academic environment is not ideal. the professor seems to understand very little about the subject matter, and chooses not to teach, but to rather question the students about the subject matter, often resulting in a staggered and incomplete framework to base the remaining material on. the homework load is minor, which, on the optimistic side, will allow for more time in my studio classes. the load consists of 4 open book reviews on the required reading, a midterm, and a final exam. In addition, there is in class biography of a chosen graphic designer. the level of competency in this class alone is appalling–over two-thirds of the class are graduate graphic design students, yet, when questioned about their favorite designer or movement, most had no tangible knowledge of either. [Thanks to Mr. Bopp for encouraging us to look at type and design]
syllabus
schedule

Typography Studio 1

This class looks promising, but still probably close to undergraduate level. I’ll post about our first defined project in a subsequent post. The instructor is foreign, but is understandable, and seems passionate about his subject matter–especially type. We have a large proportion of foreign students (especially asian) in our class, and that adds a different (and helpful) dynamic that I didn’t get to experience at BJU. Again, basic competence seems to be lacking (even from some students who I know just took a provisional undergrad typography class). Today in class, we had to create a type specimen sheet based on requirements for a type design contest. The instructions were reasonably simple, asking largely to set type in various point sizes with solid or loose leading. Most of the students in the class did not understand how leading was specified (12/14 or solid), and misunderstood other basic typographic terms. Even competency in programs like illustrator or indesign were lacking. [thanks again mr. bopp, for imparting the core of what I know as typography–your undergrad typography program seems to be top-notch]

Design Methodologies

This class is the wild card right now. The syllabus is attached, but none of the projects are clearly defined, and the professor seems dead-set on keeping them that way. She is very attached to experimental design, creative and quickly executed. She also enjoys caffeine, hyperactivity, and swearing at every possible moment in class. She seems to be very intelligent, but stresses that point often in the context of design (my way is right because I’m really bright.) I think the class will be a good experience overall, but I’m still unprepared for the details. I also hope to be a positive christian influence, which often runs counter culture to everything around you. The projects will run on a rotating basis–thursday is execution and review, weekend is for refinements, final project due the following tuesday. This is repeated seven times through the quarter, which is pretty intense for a ten week quarter. We have been instructed to bring a box of art related materials to class on thursday (both 2 and 3-dimensional items); we will be given a topic on which we are to brainstorm, sketch, and execute in the first two hours of the class. The final 30 minutes is used as a critique forum. A final project based on the executed project is turned in the following class. Since this is primarily a theory class, no direct technology interaction is permitted for these projects. We have our choice of media, but beyond that, everything is developed and executed by hand. I’ll report back once we’ve completed our first project…it should be interesting.
syllabus

Hopefully thats enough reading material for now…i’ll post additional class details as they come up.