a frustration and a story

January 31
by Christine 31. January 2008 22:16

Seriously! Church bulletins, as well people who send announcements for church bulletins, can be really frustrating. Some people make announcements with the worst wording or even better -- really vague. Sometime, I'd like to take a poll sometime to find out how many people read what they've written before sending an email, finishing a note, etc. If we all did this, just think. There'd be a ton less errors in our correspondence. We'd get more done because we communicated more clearly and to top it all off we'd sound more professional. 

I put together the bulletin for my church. Tonight as I was compiling anouncements for this week's edition, I found myself having a discussion with myself as to whether to left justify or fully justify the text. It was at this point that I remembered an incident several weeks old. For those of you who don't know me too well, I am an avid reader. I read every chance I get. It's partially why my eyes are always tired or dry (the other reason is the constant staring at a computer screen).

This particular night was no different. I had a free evening and I wanted to read. This thing is I couldn't. The book I picked up to read was really hard to read. I finally figured out after a chapter or two that the text was distracting. It was left justified instead of full justified as most books. This got me thinking. Are we really that dependent on fully justified paragraphs or do they really aid our reading?

Who knows. All I know is that it works. 

Tags:

day of discovery

January 30
by Christine 30. January 2008 23:25

My desk resides beside a community of now 14 plants, over half of those being cacti. A month or two ago, I trimmed the baby sprouts off the barrel cacti and several of them turned a tannish yellow. I did a little research and turns out you can sunburn a cactus. They turn color and then the skin turns a different color and dies. According to a study by the University of Arizona, "The plant often recovers but is permanently scarred." There is hope for the cacti...

Today I explored the use of InDesign book format. Looks like they may come in quite handy.

Tags:

friday

January 29
by Christine 29. January 2008 23:48

This friday is not just any friday. It's first friday in Lancaster. Every month on the first friday, all the art galleries are open and free to the public. This month, I'm taking some friends along as I walk down Prince ST and Gallery Row. Above Prince ST Cafe and across from the Fulton Opera House is The Infantree on the 4th floor. This month's show is new work by Brenton Good: Chances & the Grid.

I first met Brent Good when he taught my art history class at Messiah College.  He's a young but very knowledgable professor. I really appreciated the incite he brought to the classroom. As with most art professors, Brent is also an artist. The focus of his work has been on painting and most recently on printmaking. I find his pieces to be meditative and quite captivating. I'm really excited to see some new work from him and see how he has progressed since his last showing. 

During my last year of college, I was also dealing with some questions of how my faith tradition fits into the art world. Brent Good came and shared his journey in our Senior Seminar and gave me hope that being from a Mennonite background and an artist is possible, even if it's difficult. (Brent grew up in Ephrata and attended a Mennonite Church.)

So if you are free this friday night, come on out and learn to appreciate some art; modern or otherwise. )

Tags:

Just an ordinary day

January 25
by Christine 25. January 2008 12:14

I uploaded a few more images over my lunch break today and tried to put the link in my facebook profile.  Cool

 

My grandma came home and is doing relatively well. This morning seemed like a good day for her, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Tags:

an impending tomorrow

January 22
by Christine 22. January 2008 22:26

Tomorrow, we will be bringing my grandmother home. I don't think any of us really have any idea of what we will face or how long this will last. It's all still a mystery of how this weill come together.

 

Got a few images uploaded to the portfolio. Still working. 

Tags: