Happy New Year!! I know I said I wouldn’t be back until Jan. 2nd but I’m just way too excited not to share MY NEW BLOG with you all!! YAY!! 2012 is off to a good start – I’ve actually already published 4 posts over there!!

So, here we are. New year and NEW BLOG! What do you think? I decided to start the new year off hosting my own blog again. If you’ve been following my blogs for the last few years you’ll know that I kind of accidentally deleted my blog back in 2009. I went back to wordpress.com and have been happily blogging since. 2011 was my best blogging year yet and 2012 is already promising to be a stellar year! So, I’m taking control of my blog again and allowing myself to have more design control by hosting it myself. Now, fingers crossed, I can keep this one in tact! Joking, I’m totally not going to delete this one. Ha! Anyways, I’m still in the progress of working out some bugs, so if you see anything funny please don’t hesitate to let me know.

I LOVE my new space! Please head over to my new blog and update your e-mail subscriptions and RSS feed subscriptions! Thank you all for following along this past year! It’s been a lot of fun and 2012 is going to be an even better year for blogging!

PLEASE NOTE: I will no longer be posting to this blog. I am however keeping it up for now as I decide if I want to try to transfer all of these posts over to my new blog.

Hello! I just wanted to pop-in to say Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend – I know I did! I will be back to regular posting January 2nd after ringing in 2012! Best wishes to all!

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In case you’re wondering, I spent the night at my sister’s house Christmas Eve and her tree lights were purple! I’ve never seen purple Christmas lights before. Apparently my niece is going through a purple phase and everything must me purple. So cute!

As promised, here is a recap post of the Lovin’ Letterpress class I took over at the Printing & Book Arts Center at Genesee Center for the Arts.

Here are 10 things I learned during the 10 week class:

1. I LOVE laying out type. It’s really calming.

2. I do NOT like putting type away. Ha!

3. I love bookmarks about as much as I love books. I designed and printed two of them! (one and two)

4. Rounded corners are growing on me – mostly because I like using the machine. It has a fun pedal.

5. DO NOT leave the inking rollers down when you’re not running the press. Not only will the ink dry faster and rollers suffer needless wear, but your instructor will make you recite this golden rule in front of the class. Three times. Oops!

6. I really like the consistency of the ink, especially when you roll it out by hand until it reaches the perfect “orange peel” consistency. Ah, I miss the print shop…

7. Ink should really be allowed to dry for at least 24 hrs. I’m way too impatient.

8. There is something so rewarding about making something with your hands from start to finish.

9. Genesee Center for the Arts is a great local organization. If you live in or around ROC you should definitely check out their list of classes. Perhaps I’ll have to check out one of the pottery classes next!

10. LETTERPRESS IS FUN!!!!!!

I miss being in the print shop! I’m very much looking forward to the Spring so I can take the second part of the class – but, I’m not wishing away the next few months by any means. I want to take 2012 nice and slow. 2011 went by way too fast!

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Read about Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 & 4, Week 5 & 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9 and Week 10!

Actor Jason Schwartzman drops his friend off at LACMA and keeps walking along Wilshire because he doesn’t like museums. He is surprised by John Baldessari’s light projected head. Baldessari’s head follows him and explains ones taste for art matures likes one taste for cheese. Jason escapes Baldessari and runs into Jeff Garland at Rays and Stark bar. Jason tries to convince Jeff that Baldessari’s head is following him to which Jeff says I don’t see him but don’t complain as he’s a master artist. So Jason walks along while Baldessari educates him on art, cubism, impressionists, Broadway Boogie Woogie and tells Schwartzman not to be intimidated of museums because art is fun. Soundtrack is “Any Fun” on Davy album by Jason’s band Coconut records.

Have you seen this video of Jason Schwartzman and John Baldessari yet? It’s pure bliss. Check out Pacific Standard Time for more info. What a smart initiative!

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thanks for the heads up Jessica!

Yep, another Twitter-related post!

I first shared the post, Join the Street Journalism movement by Alissa Walker (@gelatobaby), on Google+ and decided to share it here as well as I plan on joining the movement!

No, I do not consider myself a journalist. I am an artist who blogs. I have steadily started writing more (outside of school – ha!) largely because of this blog and since I started blogging almost six years ago I have always commented on local art-related events. I would like to see this blog continue to grow (it has grown so much in the last year!) and to do that I need to write more! I plan on using the Street Journalism movement as a motivator.

One of my favorite statements in the Street Journalism manifesto is: “We will keep our eyes open, our cameras focused, and our Twitter streams active.” YES!

Want to participate? Use the hashtag #streetjourno and get out there and pound the pavement! Personally, I spend far too much time in my car when I live within walking distance to so many local arts and cultural organizations. Follow me on Twitter while I join in on the movement.

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screenshot above from Gelatobaby post

Speaking of The New York Times, have you seen the current Interactive Feature: Predicting the Future of Computing on NYTimes.com?

Readers can post their predictions in categories of Computation, Artificial Intelligence, Transportation & Lifestyle, and Communication. You can then vote on the likeliness of the predictions coming true and change the predicted date if you see fit.

So, will there be a telepathic society by 2280? I think not. WiFi to the brain, Robot Wars, cash is outlawed, curing cancer, flying cars, A.I. government…yikes! What do you think? Do you have your own predictions?

At the heart of the film is the burning question on the minds of everyone who cares about a rigorous American press, Times lover or not: what will happen if the fast-moving future of media leaves behind the fact-based, original reporting that helps to define our society?

Last night I finally got around to watching PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES.

I was most interested in the conversation that unfolded focusing on new/social media. David Carr at one point says, “Why talk when you can tweet?”, and I instantly flashed back to the Photo 2.0 — Online Photographic Thinking panel discussion with Andy Adams (moderator), Molly Landreth, Amy Stein and Philip Toledano at the SPE Northeast conference last month at Light Work. I’m just realizing now I never posted about it! Where did this last month go?! Anyways, I’ll get around to it, but in the meantime I would like to point out a moment at the end of the discussion when everyone was packing up and leaving for dinner. I walked up to the podium to introduce myself to Andy Adams and found myself waiting in line. While I was on deck, I was behind a woman who was voicing her disgust regarding the presence of Twitter during the panel discussion. See, before the conversation even started, Andy had invited the audience to participate in the Twitter feed using the hashtag #FlakPhoto and/or mentioning @FlakPhoto. While the four panel participants were discussing Photo 2.0 you could look around the auditorium and see more than half of the room tweeting away on their smart phones and devices. I know I was tweeting and re-tweeting and having even Andy re-tweeting my tweets! That was the point! We’re sharing news and communicating on a global scale in real time.

Speaking of real time, the panel discussion was streaming live! Participants were not limited to those sitting in the auditorium of Light Work, but they really could have been viewing and interacting from anywhere.

The question proposed in the quote above, “what will happen if the fast-moving future of media leaves behind the fact-based, original reporting that helps to define our society?” Why does it have to be one or the other? Something to think about, that’s for sure!

I do not subscribe to The New York Times (printed newspaper or online). Honestly, I don’t see a need to. Considering I currently work for a printed journal, I realize how that statement is pure blasphemy. I follow @nytimes and @nytimesarts (among others) on Twitter. I watch my local news. I feel like I’m getting my fill. What do you think? Do you still buy the paper? Why or why not?

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photos from the Official Movie Site
caption information: A scene from PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Yesterday was the Fall 2011 Work Share at Visual Studies Workshop. I shared the photobook I have been working on for the last seven months. The response was positive and the criticism that was made, I was expecting. This book is definitely not finished yet. If you follow me on Twitter you may have noticed this tweet – which I can’t help but laugh at myself about now. “I feel really good about this one!” Really? Really, Megan? Now, with each book dummy I print I am getting closer to a finished book, but my instinct has always been to finish up a project at the end of the semester and move on to the next project. This is a mindset I need to get out of. This book will be finished when it is finished.

I still need to come up with a title – bane of my existence second to writing an artist statement! I also need to work on my statement. I did reach a “moment of truth” in thinking about my artist statement, and my work in general. I am interested in the way in which images speak to each other. I am interested in design and formal relationships. When writing artist statements I always feel pressured to make the work personal even though the work is not. I write the artist statement as I feel others want it to read, rather than being honest about the work. This is a problem. Now that I have owned up to this shortcoming on my part, I know I can finish this book strong.

Next semester is Graduate Project I – Research Seminar and my last semester of classes before I start working on my thesis. Spring 2012 I will not be participating in Work Share as I have the last three semesters, but will be presenting at the Graduate Review which is when I will be proposing my thesis project. My colleagues in the VSW community will vote on whether I can start working on my thesis. I am closer and closer each day to becoming a Master (MFA). No pressure.

I am officially on semester break until the end of January and plan on giving myself a couple of weeks off from working on my book. I will keep you all posted! Also, with the end of the semester means more blog posts. A lot of exciting things are going to be happening around here in the next few weeks! It’s amazing how this personal blog has grown in the last year. Thank you all for reading!

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read about Spring 2011 Work Share and Fall 2010 Work Share

This past Wednesday night was my final Lovin’ Letterpress class over at PABA and I designed, proofed, and printed a HELLO! note card. These photos do not give that green ink justice – it’s a beautiful emerald green. LOVE it. As for the design, I’m sure it comes to no surprise to you by now that I went super minimal. Just my style! I’m so excited to use them! Handwritten notes are the best. Yay!

Next week I will be putting together a re-cap of the 10 weeks I spent in the print studio. I will miss it!
FYI: I do plan on taking the second part of the class in the spring! Already counting down the days…

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Read about Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 & 4, Week 5 & 6, Week 7, Week 8, and Week 9!

I came across BOOK/SHOP today and, damn, I’m in love. They sell books, art, furnishings, and small goods. I just added the Chair Side Bookcase to my wish-list. Honestly that beauty might end up on my need-list soon! Love.

Apart from a beautifully curated shop, BOOK/SHOP also leads a Book Club! Now, I just need to find a paperback from 1954…

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all images are from the BOOK/SHOP website