For those of you who don't know, I am Jane Labowitch. I'm an alumni who graduated from FHS back in 09, and I most recently graduated from the American Academy of Art in Chicago a little more than a month ago.

For my entire life I've been a student, and now I'm not. Now I have a spiffy new BFA degree in...Illustration. That's fine and dandy, but the only problem is...I've been searching online for a job this last month in art, and it seems the only work out there is for graphic/web designers. I consider myself pretty fortunate though, because I happen to enjoy both of these things. It's kind of a catch 22, though. These jobs want you to already have experience in the field, but how can I get experience if I haven't had a job in the field yet??? Check out this doozy of a job (as quoted directly from my most recent facebook status):

Pay: This is a pro bono (volunteer) position
This is "a 3-5 hour commitment each week over the course of approximately 6 months."
Experience: At least 3 years

This legitimately angers me on multiple levels. For one, this "job" is asking for someone who has extensive experience in the design field to do consistent work for free. For FREE! Ah! Come on! I just dropped over 100k on a degree in art, and there are people out there who have the audacity to ask that I work for free???

On a related note, check out this infographic, designed by renowned designer/illustrator Jessica Hische:

What I like about this infographic is that it clearly defines when it is and when it isn't okay to work for free. As a recent graduate, I really can't afford to just do art for free. I've got some scary government officials that will be knocking on my door in a couple months demanding I start paying my loans back. I've got rent to pay and groceries to buy.

So why is it that people are okay with asking artists to do work for free, where as it's unthinkable to ask, say, a doctor to do work for free? I think it's one of those societal issues, where people think that artists jump for joy at the next opportunity to draw a pretty picture, and no real labor is involved. No one doubts that a doctor has to labor. I think pretty much everyone agrees that med school sounds like a difficult endeavor. But art school? Nah. "Don't you just draw pictures all day?" "Cool, your homework is a painting. I wish I could paint for my homework." Upon graduating, I think I can safely say I pulled the same number of all-nighters as many other students pursuing different degrees. And let me tell you--when you're working on that same piece that you've been working on all last week and it's 4am and it's due at 8am, you better believe it's work!!!

Alas, my lofty rant has run its course. By no means do I want to end this on a negative note--as a recent graduate, I know it's going to be hard to get that first job. It's probably still going to take a while. And though I am in a giant pile of debt, I don't regret my decision to go to art school. Right now I could have some degree in whatever topical employment opportunity is out there floating dollar signs in the air, but at the end of the day I just wanted to create. My bank account weeps for my loss, but I don't think I'll be weeping with it. read more

First of all this is not to place blame anywhere, and any of you in advertising... sorry.

We all know there is less and less reading happening these days. Books have been replaced by T.V.'s, magazines and newspapers replaced by the internet. Why spend days reading a novel when you can spend an hour watching a story? Why wait till next month, next week, or even tomorrow to get the news when you can watch it as it happens?

I started thinking about the loss of written words when I was given a box of magazines from the 60's-70's.

40 years ago, advertisements looked like this:

Text takes up as much space as the picture. The car isn't driving through the desert, up a mountain, by a stream, around downtown. The picture is real. This is what we do with our cars. This is real. 

The dog sitting in front of the car reflects the headline, and if you read on, the ad seems to not only compare the car to a family pet, but personifies it in a way.

It gives you details on the vehicle, and tries to sell it to you by telling you about it.

And here is today.

We have come to rely so heavily on images words are disappearing.

I'm happy becomes :)

Play has become an arrow.

Starbucks logo is just a girls green face.

Pepsi is a patriotic ying-yang.

The flashy visuals of TV and internet marketing have changed the way we perceive a product. We don't buy things we have been informed about, we buy things based off of images, and what ours (image) will be if we have that thing.

This phenomenon is a chicken and the egg...

Is the new style of advertising creating the culture shift, or are advertisers just keeping pace with where we are at?

Is this a natural evolution?

Is symbol speak (LOL, JK, SMH) the new it's (it is)?

I'm not smart enough to know,

but I'm curious enough to wonder.

read more

Hello Everyone!
My name is Dakota Bruce, I am a 2009 Franklin Grad. I was the Vice President of NAHS my senior year, and a business owner of a photography company Sunflower Productions LLC today! Rheault has been on me to post away so... here we go!

First off, I LOVE MY JOB! I love working with new people, and capturing the most important days, or moments of their lives. It's what makes me get up in the morning, and get through the mounds of paper work you wouldn't think would be involved in a small photography business. There is a ton of things I never really considered before starting up Sunflower now two years ago. One of them was paper work, the other being just how obsessed I would become with my business.

Turns out you have to be obsessed to get anywhere.. A lot of people think my job is awesome because I have my 'own' hours and I work at 'home', but what people don't realize, is that starting your own business (especially) in the arts, is like having a baby. Something you have to care for and maintain every day. You think about it every minute and are always trying to make it grow and be the best it can possibly be. My days are no longer my own.. they are 100% Sunflower Driven.

You don't think about how every client will go on their own soap box and talk to friends and family more about how you made them feel, and their experience with you then the actual work that you have to offer them! It really makes you take a step back and think 'Oh man, these are forever!' Theses past two years have been a crazy ride.

Just from this January, Sunflower has been at the Detroit Auto Show Charity Preview, in Slice of the 80's Pizza Menu, and just this morning, on Good Morning America with our reaction footage from a friend who proposed the most epic and amazing way this past Monday! Having good connections and networking constantly is a huge part of good business.. at least in my experience.

So here are some words of advice for any future 'art' business owners. Make sure you LOVE what you do, 100% of the time. Understand that you will be living, breathing and thinking about your business 24 hours a day 8 days a week. Accept that you can't make everyone happy, no matter how hard you try or just how 'amazing' you may be. And finally, reward your self because no one else will for those little victories in every day business life.

"Have a Thursday"

Dakota Bruce

Richie & Joanne’s Epic Proposal

Sunflower Productions LLC Facebook

Sunflower Productions LLC read more

im not really sure what to start with, or where to start from. What advise id have to offer or what ideas i bring. all i can say is this path is not one to be taken likely, like alot of dark alleys this one for most will have very little surrender and appreciation for your self worth. you will put more than you will ever get out. There are no answers only more questions the further you stare into it. Ive watched 90% of the people i worked with disappear saying this world was to much bullshit or not enough. its a game to some. players are thrown into a field of a sport that people from mars play... and once you think you have it, it changes cause the rules bend and warp.. some times peel right off like paint on plastic. This is the world that i wish all of us wish to live in, constant struggle , consistent barriers , and systematic oppression / depression / neglect. There is no real way to win... sometimes it takes someone special to see you, sometimes it takes a name to notice you... but for the most part ya hustle, trying to sell pineapples as if they were crack rocks. sometimes you subside and take a day off... or maybe a year ... maybe get a real job and make yourself on the weekends, jamming out in your garage drinking 2 liters and smoking white owls with your friends. Maybe you move downtown and hang with artist's, build up a circle, and just live your life as happy as you can be, void of the stresses of shows and pressure of your ego. knowing the pay off may never come, you may abandon your old self to find what you really wanted out of life. no matter what you choose fight for it like its your last breath under water.. fight for your survival cause i know some of you have nothing else... to be this way is to be sensitive to the world around you, to deal with it is nearly impossible.. maybe we get girlfriends maybe we get nice jobs to buy things to make us happy.. but once you've crossed a line of no return .. once you've seen/ felt how others live, its sometimes hard to pull back. you are w/e you want your life to be... if you think there are things you cant get cause your not rich enough, not powerful enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough. dont worry, cause neither is anyone else ... everyone has the same chances as you. what you have going is yourself.. your culture and your past, your convictions and your successes as a human.. this world is worth fighting for . pick your battles and have a life worth living.  if all fails, what will happen tomorrow? the sun will still rise.

 the only thing i can tell you is to fail, its the only way your gonna succeed . thank you  read more

I've always had the philosophy that Final Exams should be a culmination of skills and techniques learned throughout the semester.

They should actually make the student feel good. Feel proud.

If you recall, high school exams are half days, two classes per day. Extended time obviously.  Think of what you could accomplish in an 1:40 minutes.

 Marley Larson, Jr

Sometimes it is a one day final exam, utilizing that particular time period to create a piece or critique.  Mostly though, I assign the final assignment a week prior giving students the time to be inspired, plan, and get supplies with the deadline being during the exam date.

 

I've had tremendous success with this. Most all advanced classes have a "Large Self Portrait" as the final exam. Many have this final exam multiple times during their careers with me as an end of the semester final exam.

 

"It's the best piece you've done all semester" just heard said by Haley to Marley.

Marley just received her "A".

Here's some pics from 1st semester Final Exams "Large Self Portrait"

read more

I’m Sara, a class of 99’ grad whose passion for art has always far surpassed the minimal talents that I possess, or so I thought, until I picked up a makeup brush.  Turns out having a passion for painting doesn’t always mean you’re to use a canvas and paint. In my case, I harnessed my inner desires, talent and education to create works of art in the cosmetic industry.  To see the way a woman truly feels about herself after someone has taken the time to teach her the essentials of skincare and makeup application, well it’s one of the most gratifying things in the world. We like to say in the industry that, “life gets real when the makeup comes off.” When you’re sitting across from a woman at her dining room table and she’s slowly removing her makeup; she’s becoming more vulnerable by the second and then she sees how truly beautiful she is…she trusts you in that very moment and you build an instant relationship.

Not to offend - but you don’t get a connection like that when you visit Sephora or the MAC counter at Macy’s. The person behind the counter is just trying to make more commission than the person they’ve been forced to work with that day.  That’s why I choose to become an Independent Contractor with the #1 selling brand in 35 markets worldwide – Mary Kay Cosmetics. No other cosmetic company can boast that they have been featured on customer loyalty lists alongside brands like Apple, Google, Amazon, McDonald’s and Facebook. In fact, we are the ONLY cosmetic brand to be featured.  Why? We build lasting relationships with our customers and truly care about their every need and what they can financially afford. 

I’ve always dreamed of being an art teacher, I just never knew I would be teaching people “the art” of washing their face and how to match the perfect shade of plum to contrast the green in their eyes...the purpose of a smudge brush as opposed to a contour brush and so on. This business is so much more than lipstick, this job is so much more than makeup and my background in art has only fueled my passion to make woman across the world feel their absolute best! For all of the artists out there who are unsure of your gifts and feel that you need to fit some sort of “mold,” look to me and my discoveries, because ART is all around us and anything can be used to create it, even a makeup brush!

Please feel free to contact me at any time for a consultation or more information about what I do. Also, be sure to visit my FB page and click “like”  WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SARATROIAMARYKAY

 

 

WWW.MARYKAY.COM/SARATROIA

read more

I am a huge believer of art being an amazing kind of therapy.  My Great Grandma has always been into ceramics, as have I. When I started working at a ceramics shop, my Grandma was living with my Uncle and eventually went into an assisted living home for seniors. It's an apartment for seniors where they are able to do whatever they want but they have the help when they need it.

I started visiting her once a week on my day off and was known as the craft lady always bringing her something to keep her busy. I was the only one who could get her up and moving, staying awake and talking, after all she is 98 and wants nothing more then to sleep and have some of Curt's coffee (her favorite). Eventually my best friend and her daughter started coming with me, which Grandma adores. And we always have crafts for them to do.

We've painted ceramics and made aprons for them (which they wore all day) and have done plenty of drawing and playing with stickers. Every time we come she always lites up and is ready to learn the next craft. Telling everyone what we've done with a big smile.

Working with your hands keeps your mind moving, as well as working on your coordination, even for those who aren't very mobile anymore. It gives everyone something to smile about everytime they see it hanging on their bedroom wall as well as something to talk about with those visiting.

My Great Grandma has made me a true believer of art therapy and has given me many memories, which I will always be able to remember.

read more

 

Flight Patterns by JUCO

I thought I'd post a few photographers that have been a really big inspiration to me, both in college and since graduating. JUCO is a photography duo made up of Julia Galdo and Cody Cloud, both located in LA. I have really always admired their simplistic yet flawless approach to photography. Their work influenced my thesis project at CCS.

 

Tamara Lichtenstein 

Another photographer that I seriously can not get enough of. A young, female, Texas photographer. She shots in film and focuses on females, fashion and sensuality. I love the colors in her photographs and the geniality that comes with her subjects. Nothing ever looks forced and every photo has a comforting warmth.

Other photographers to check out:

http://www.abbeymoore.net/

http://ninawestervelt.net/

http://photolauren.com/#

http://www.meganmcisaac.com/ 

read more