I wish I had the time to write something thoughtful, but nothing's in my brain right now.
Mainly, I just wanted to make an entry to thank Everyone for their support and comments.
It's been quite a blessing to be showered with so much positive vibes. I promise to continue to work hard and not take that for granted.
I'm headed out for California from Alabama in a few minutes. I think I will gun for El Paso.
Thank you.
Seacreat Out! :D
Summary: I got a job as an Art Director for DesignbyHumans.com and am moving Irvine, California. Thank you internet and supporters! Now you don't have to read the rest. ;P
They picked me up the airport. Matt opened the back passenger door to the S-Class Mercedes and as I entered, the President said, "Hey Jimi, How was the flight?" as he put his fist up between the seats for a dap.
The whole experience even now seems pretty surreal.
Who knew that almost two short years ago when I took a flying leap into unemployment, that after those two years consisting of meandering out in the US, living at a ranch, freelancing, and pursuing art through design contests, that the experience would all be perfect training for me to be just the right fit for a ground level opportunity at a company that's without a doubt in my mind, poised to be a humongous online leader in the apparel world and art production, if it's not already.
So they flew me out to California...
It had been almost 13 years since I had last flow. I had a window seat.
As the plane began to move, I was surprised at how fast the plane was accelerating, and as the Super 80 lifted off the ground, the ground zoomed away, I couldn't help from chuckling in a wide grin and letting out a fairly audible and inadvertent "Oh S**t!", a little from fear, a little from awe.
I am somewhat anixous at the moment. I start March 2nd, and from now, February 22, and then, I am to find a home, and drive myself and my belongings 2000 miles across the United States.
Things seem to be moving just as fast as the ground fell away, and soon, I shall land, and everything will be peaceful again... I think.
I am excited. It's a bold move, and it's seems fairly daunting, but to miss out on such an experience regardless of it's outcome would be even scarier to miss.
As the plane rose, everything shrank: people, cars, buildings. I had a profound notion of how insignificant we all are in the grand scheme of things. We are but tiny specs on a vast endless landscape too far for our eyes to see, and the time we exist is even more miniscual. I think it is this notion that I seem to often entertain, that seems to drive me. There often is a sense of urgency, even fright and anxiety at times, as I feel my time and the time of those around me is plummeting faster and faster towards an inevitable and abrupt end.
Another thought that the experience conjured was that in a world (at least to me) which seems to scream of our insignificance, the best way to make a meaning for ourselves is to give meaning to others and raise them up on an alter. Most everyone wants to be acknowledged, to be heard, to be loved, to feel, to know that they have meaning. It is by fulfilling this need, that one can arrive at some sort of solace in the contradiction: Though we have no meaning, we can create meaning, by giving meaning. It's somewhat nihilistic in thought, except from nothing, something can be made. Anyways, that all useless, unsubstantiated drivel.
Regardless, it is assumed that like Teefury, the position at DBH will allow me to help artists get a little spotlight, a little acknowlegdement, and at the same time help me feel I have meaning as well.
I will miss my family.
I've spent the month of February with them as I had been anticipating the possibility, but I read one time, to be in the sun, you have to leave the shade of your family tree... so we'll see...
One more thing, when I first graduated college in 2002, I made idle threats about moving to New York or California, and after seven years, I'm finally not a liar. Now, I just have to become a successful gallery artist, create a company that is able to drop mad charity funds, and build and own a studio/home that people can come to learn how to create art. We'll see about those. For now, I am OK just scratching out the 'move to big city as an artist' item.
Anyways, you know, this opportunity would not have materialised unless I had the help of all of you out on the internets helping me achieve my goals and supporting me.
Thank you!
;j
I'm at my parent's home as I decided to spend a few weeks with them before the impending move out to California. I am to fly out on Thursday for a face to face meeting, and if all is well, the previously discussed tentative start date for my new job is March 1st.
So... I am at my parent's house rummaging through my belongings to see what I will take, and what to leave behind.
Couple thoughts and findings:
I've kept my first cell phone from 2005 because it has pictures I took of an ex girlfriend, AND a tornado, both of which, I will probably never see again.
Both the ex girlfriend and the tornado came into my life quickly, f--ked s--t up, and left as quickly as they came.
Regardless, they were both probably some of the most exciting things to happen to me, and for that, I yearn to float in nostalgic ponderings about them on my visits to here.
I always leave the cell phone here, and every few months/years dig it back up.
Here's the tornado. I wish I would have been cool and posed in front of it. It was over a half mile away so there wasn't any immediate danger.
My Treasure Box
I have a large box with my treasures at my parents. I hope to have a home one day, and maybe then, I can be with my cherished belongings.
In the box, there are:
Art made by my friends,
Letters, cards, and notes from old friends,
Shirts from my road trips around the US,
Odd trinkets that are keys to unlocking some stored memories,
A small number of select Books that formed a significant amount of my perceptions about life.
I serendipitously found this one piece of artwork by my friend Ali while flipping through a book.
It is Good.
The Inspiration
In a folder with magazine clippings, old drawings, and random writings, I found this.
This is a scan of some magazine images from an old Amiga Arts magazine that started it all. I saw these when I was about 12 years old, around 1989.
I remember being in awe of these images, and I think that's where my interest in digital arts began.
A Sad, yet Entertaining Monkey
So I found some old spiral notebooks from 1995-97. I won't post the most embarrassing of the self pitying, brooding drivel, but here are some delightful little things that made me chuckle.
If you can't read it, this is a spiral notebook with Tennessee Tech printed on it, and I've added "Prison."
While looking through the notebook, apparently, I was very unhappy on November 2, 1997.
See, there are two figures of me in a most evocative, artistic expression of my woes.
One seems to be lying dead, while the second depiction of myself has my soul leaving the body, as if to say, "Im getting the f--k outta here."
All joking aside, I remember horrible episodes of severe anxiety and gloomy depression , where it actually felt like my soul wanted to leave my body. Maybe it was acid reflux, it sure did feel like it manifested itself physically.
Anyways, this makes me giggle. Pain... Is Funny.
Letter from Jail
I found an old letter written from jail from my drug dealer friend (Over a decade ago, we lost touch.) He was a nice fellow, except that he was a mass dealer of marijuana. He loved Bob Marley and frisbee golf, who would have guessed?
Anyways, I was to take care of his apartment during his 4 month incarceration, and one of the task that he spoke about in his letter besides finding God, was to cancel his AOL.
I remember I was unsuccessful...
Jimi: "My friend needs to cancel his account please."
CSR: "Why is your friend not calling?"
Jimi: "He's in jail. I have his account number and everything."
CSR: "How long is he in jail?"
Jimi: "Four months."
CSR: "Well, it looks like XXXXXX has been a long time customer so we would like to help him out. We will waive the monthly fee for four months, does that sound OK?"
This is a true story.
I think I stopped being his friend, not because he was a drug dealer, he was actually pretty discreet about that, so I never saw that part of his life, but one time...
He, a friend, and I went to play frisbee golf. During the short round of 18 holes, he sucked down 10 Natural Ice beers. I noticed this as he handed me the box when we got back in the car.
Jimi: "Ha."
Drunk Friend: "What's so funny?"
Jimi: "You threw down like 10 beers in less than 2 hours!"
Drunk Friend: "F--k you, you won't think it's funny when I hit you in your Face!"
It was an awkward ride home as he instructed the other friend to stop by a McDonalds and he got two Big Mac, and proceeded to get Thousand Island Special Sauce everywhere on the dash as he changed the air and radio with his dirty messy hands.
The friend was perturbed cause it was his brand new, NEW car.
I don't think I ever hung out with him again.
That is all. Going back to looking through my crap.
DBH Lyon Design Approved
Please Vote!
Please Vote!
Please Vote!
Please Vote!
Please Vote!
So, I finally won over at Threadless, it's in the window! I assume it goes on sale Monday.
Here's the one if you don't see it.
I'm happy, probably Proud in fact, to say that my design looks NOTHING like the others.
Outside the Box Baby.
OUTSIDE THE BOX!
Woot. That was a quick design... Used http://www.chadlonius.com vectors for embellishment. Probably a DBH submission since no where else will do it justice with colors if ever printed.
This makes me want to procreate and make a child of my own in hopes that my spawn would make such awesomeness...
very different than usual. tattoo style, but hopefully the final image will be happy in mood.
http://www.designbyhumans.com/vote/detail/43320
Pale Horse Design and Jimiyo Collab.
I hear Chris is working on a modified version as a poster print. Ooo Laa!
What else is new?
I update my Twitter now more than this blog. Migrate over there with me!
http://www.twitter.com/jimiyo
I've actually been quite busy making stuff, recycling, etc etc.
Tomorrow, look for apartments! Eeek!
Chris Parks is going to be adding some elements for a poster version. Apparently there's something huge he and Hydro74 are working on. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be pretty tight.
We are most likely going to submit this design to DBH. 
DownRodeo posted this
http://www.yourfonts.com/
Make Your Own Handwriting Fonts For Free
So I tried it. The ttf is whack and I dont want to fix it, so I'm offering the PSD hand font instead. I might actually make a video tutorial because to use it, there are some techniques that some people might not know about that would be helpful in general.
http://jimiyo.com/downloads/drippyfont.psd
BTW, DownRodeo has a very awesome blog. Check it.
I had my phone interview with the prospective employer yesterday.
Overall, I think it went well, I stumbled through the first few minutes, and I could feel my answers being somewhat incoherent at times, but I am to fly out to meet the company later this February, and if all goes well, I am to start the position tentatively by March 1st.
We talked, and at the most perfect time, when they were saying, "Well, we would like to fly you out,..." The phone disconnected. Wakka wakka wakka. Thankfully, my cell phone I never use was charged so I was able to call back.
It had been almost 4 years since I have had an interview, and the previous interview was quite easy, I slapped my portfolio down, and their jaws about dropped open, or at least I say that, to make this blog more interesting. At least their eyes widened, and you could tell that I was just answering questions as a formality. Essentially, they had contacted me through a referral, and I feel the AD was sold on hiring me prior to the interview because he had seen my works through the internet.
Previous to that interview, it was in a corporate setting, where the main hiring manager came in 15 minutes late, and I had already expended my silver bullets with the other interviewers who didn't matter. That interview was lost from the beginning. It seems in the corporate world, when interviewing, most of the time, there are already those who have been groomed for the position. I could probably write in length on that experience as it was one of the most disappointing, yet most valuable life lessons I ever received. It was from then on, I suppose you might say I became almost arrogant in the sense that, I no longer want to supplicate to perceived higher authorities to give me a chance to make money for them. If I was to take placement, it would be through being headhunted rather than trying to submit resumes and trying to get my foot in the door.
If you have ever attempted to search for jobs, you can know how disappointing it is. The doors are usually closed unless you know someone on the inside, regardless of if you are the best candidate for the position.
It's not actual arrogance than it is about knowing what I can provide or not provide, that I don't necessarily seek out jobs. From the humiliation of being rejected regardless of my true worth, I decided that I would rather start to work on my skills, market, and hope that work would come to me. And it's proven to work for the last year or so, as I am often contacted to do freelance work from unsolicited businesses, as well as on occassion job offers from really solid companies.
What's refreshing about the prospective company is that they approached me after judging me on my whole identity beforehand, they know extensively about me, my work, and my work habits, so it's not by a Good Ole Boy system that they approached me.
I guess the main issue about becoming employed again which was raised by the interviewer, is why is Jimiyo, the artist, now considering taking a job that may not necessarily be a position in which he is not creating art?
Yup, it's not an art position.
Also, although this is not something they do not know about my stance on employment, why would I take a job when I believe that the road to financial independence is through working for oneself? (Via Robert Kiyosaki)
Those are very important questions.
I guess in summation, I believe that, though the road may seemingly deviate from my plan of figuring out how to earn a living through my art and my own business, it will be parallel to the road or even helpful, as there is a great possibility that the position will greatly increase my visibility as an artist to the internet world thus increasing the potential in which the likelihood of success of attaining greater returns on my individual efforts should increase. HOPEFULLY.
Also hopefully being out in LA, I will be closer to other aritst's and artist communities that will spur my growth as an artist.
Though this may seem to be a haughty comment, I feel like in Nashville, I am a big fish in a small pond of artists. Los Angeles seems to be a larger hub for art, so if I do actually continue to paint in acrylics or whatever medium I pursue, it will be a better place I think to test the waters, as well as find some inspiration from other artists that are successful, if I actually start gallery hopping and networking.
Besides, art is mostly subjective, and my theory on how an artist achieves success beyond mastering one's own craft, is through building and forming the perception of success in audiences through getting published, winning contests/awards, spreading the artist persona through different locations so it seems that the artist's work is ubiquitously accepted through various outlets. It is a theory. Somewhat tested, seemingly true. Though it is through works, it is also greatly dependent on you asking the audience to increase their perceived value of your work.
Frankly, just the notion that small town artist Jimiyo from Nashville packs all his crap in a tiny car to move out to California to pursue art and to become a figure for a large and upcoming company affiliated with spreading a tremendous amount of art into the world, sounds impressive. It's perfect fodder for press releases and interviews. Although in reality, I am still sacrificing a significant amount of my time for a 'job' not doing art, it will still carry with it advantages that I could not attain otherwise.
Besides, I've been unemployed or freelancing for almost 2 years now, I feel like working, and making designs is fun, but I almost sick of making shirts. The process has become somewhat boring, although it is still very cool when I end up making a cool design, the expression is somewhat stilted.
Also, I am not worried the position will suck the life out of my own art making. If you look at my portfolio, some of my best works IMO was during 2005, when I was working 45-55 hours as a sales representative. Time to take it back old school and start doing portraits again.
Also, I live so spartan, I think I might be able to save a tremendous amount of money while I am there. Be it a year, two years, or five, if I ever decide to leave California and come back to Nashville, Ill be able to drop incredibly large for a downpayment on a house if I wanted, or live freely without a job or clients/take a extended sabbatical as I did recently.
I think everything will be OK. I will miss my family, and some of my long time Nashville friends, but thank goodness for the internet.
Also, I think my coworkers are going to be pretty awesome and uplifting.
Oh yeah, the position calls that I be a figure representative of the company online, so I am hoping that it will spur my writing. I enjoy writing, as well as teaching or informing as it's in my nature to be analytical and generally helpful in sharing.
It might just be the perfect scenario for my life at this time.
Also, apparently the chicks are hot out there... ;j
We'll see.
New-ish rework of some old designs. Named after Killer Instinct Character. Killer Combo!
Yet another voluntary membership into what is a global conspiracy to track all human actions for the blah blah blah Skynet, Terminator and Matrix joke, Big Brother reference, etc etc. You get where I'm going...
Add/Follow my twits!
https://twitter.com/jimiyo
It's quite interesting.
As there is a limit on the number of characters, it makes you BE BRIEF, and make you sound like you speak broken English if you not careful.
George Orwell would approve of Twitter.
I haven't run for two weeks. I haven't painted in acrylics since the last update either. Just sayin'... Fell of the track a little. Happens on occasion. Fall seven times, get up eight... eventually. During the slump, I learned how to play the intro and chords of More than a Feeling by Boston, and I think that's what really counts. :D
