Chair and Microphone, Vol. 4

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Front Cover

Inside Left

Inside Right

Back Cover

Overview

The Chair and Microphone series from Enter the Worship Circle are as unique as each artist that is featured. I was honored to be a part of the creative process for Volume 4. Working with Ben Pasley and Tim Coons (the featured musician) was a joy. I had a ton of creative freedom right from the start. Some of you may remember the initial concept I posted on dribbble. Well that came from listening to some of the rough mixes of Tim's songs. I really felt a theme of surrender and water from Tim's music. The story of Moses parting the Red Sea kept coming to mind.

Based on the past three chair and microphone albums I knew everything had to be done by hand. And that made me feel all tingly inside. If you didn't know already, I'm a huge fan of the DIY/Hand-crafted style. So I started with some soft sketches on post-it notes and sketch books. After receiving feedback I moved into Illustrator and started my refining process. The whole project went pretty seamless and I'm very proud of how it all turned out.

Links

Chair and Microphone, Vol. 1 Chair and Microphone, Vol. 2 Chair and Microphone, Vol. 3

What Makes Someone An Artist?

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While I was re-organizing my workspace today I found an old artist statement from a previous mentor of mine, James Michael Starr. I read it again and was reminded of why I’ve kept it all these years. I hope it speaks to you as much as it does to me.

What Makes Someone An Artist?

I could draw from a very early age. I remember, when I was about four, drawing a shield on the side of a cardboard box so that I could climb into a fantasy police cruiser and be Broderick Crawford on the 50’s television drama, Highway Patrol.
I also remember many of my first drawings were of revolvers. Apparently I watched a little too much tv.
As I grew up, everyone knew what I’d be. It was obvious. I could draw very well.
But, did that make me an artist?
When I was in high school, I entered the Draw Me contest to win a scholarship for an artist’s correspondence course. I didn’t win, but I took the course anyhow and paid for it with a paper route, throwing the Dallas Morning News. Evenings I sat in my room and did lessons in transparent wash, pen & ink, and charcoal pencil.
Was I an artist yet?
I was an art major in college, worked in an art store, and then started my career as an art director. At home I tried to paint, but couldn’t. I had nothing to say.
Twenty years passed. When I was 42, I looked back. On the eleven-year, childhood separation from my mother that even now cannot seem to be recovered. On my best friend who doused his car with gasoline and set himself on fire while I was away at college. On the failure of my sixteen-year marriage and the passing of youth’s warm sun. And on the rediscovery of a loving God who’d been there all along.
Now I had something to say. Now I was an artist.
Dallas critic, Jim Fowler, wrote, “Painters attempt to capture the world around them and color the image with a little bit of their insides; artists attempt to capture the world inside them using the images they see in the external world.”
What’s inside of you? What do you have to say?

- James Michael Starr

Next Steps

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You guys rock. That's the first thing I want to say. After my last post about leaving my current job in a step of faith I have received nothing but encouragement. So now that I have a clear plan of what I'm going to be doing next on my professional journey I thought the least I could do would be to fill you in.

Stable Environment

I will be taking two weeks off after my last day at my current job to catch up on some freelance work as well as spend some time resting with my wife. But starting June 01 I will become the 4th member on the UX team at Fellowship Technologies. After much prayer and consideration I see this opportunity as the right move for me and my family right now. But that's not to say I didn't struggle with feeling like I was selling out to "the man" or anything. The notion of freelancing full-time still intrigues me and is something I want to pursue someday, but right now we need something stable while my wife finishes her degree.

The UX Team that has already been assembled at Fellowship is something I am looking forward to. For the past 2 1/2 years I have been a lone ranger figuring things out for myself. Not to say that it hasn't had its perks, but one can only go so far on his own. So this transition into a team environment is something I'm really looking forward to. Plus, I will be working with people my own age that I will actually have something in common with. My fellow team members include: Matt Vasquez, Nathan Smith and David Brooks.

Walk by Faith not by Sight

I am continually blown away by the grace and favor that God has given me. By continuing to seek His will, I made a decision of faith last week without any secure plans ahead of me to quit my job. I knew that a position with Fellowship was in the cards, but they still hadn't given me a firm decision. So my plan was to work freelance full-time. To which I received an immense amount of support and encouragement in. But in following my heart I found something better than I expected. Sorry, I don't mean to keep repeating myself here, but I just hope to encourage you to stop being afraid, trust God, and let go of all that's holding you back. I don't mean quit today, not by any means, but start praying and see where God might lead you. I know I've waited for over a year now before making this move.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

Last but not least

I still plan to do side work, but more than likely I will be very picky about what projects I work on. (If you have already contacted me about freelance work or would like to you can email me at: hello[at]kylesteed[dot]com.) I think that's one of the greatest advantages to working full-time, you can pick and choose very carefully about what other projects you want to work on. Also, I have no immediate plans of returning to school. This last semester really proved to me that school is a waste of time. Being in my current situation I can see how school is only slowing me down from what I really want to be doing, and what I'm already doing. It's sad to me that we put so much pressure on kids to go to college and get a degree. I don't want to go off on a huge tangent, I will write a post on this topic, but I know people who have their degrees and either (A) aren't using them or (B) still don't have a job.

I know this much. I am blessed to have a vision for my life, a wife that supports me and the skills that pay that bills. Or something like that. ;)

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1:17

A Time To Shine

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After 2 1/2 years at my employer I am taking a step of faith out on my own. Yep, in just 2 weeks I will no longer be working in a cubicle. This definitely hasn't been an easy decision to come to, but I feel like this is where God is calling me. I have spent an enormous amount of time praying and patiently waiting for the right time. Am I nervous? I don't think I would be human if I wasn't. Am I scared? No. God has always provided for me and my family and I trust that He will continue to do so.

So What's Next?

Right now I have a month's worth of freelance ahead of me, and after that I'm not sure. I do have a couple of leads right now with some other companies but nothing set in stone. I hold fast to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-27,34 -

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Community

Of course I wouldn't be where I am today without the great community I'm connected to. You know who you are. And a few of you I've already reached out to asking if you have any upcoming design work. I feel like this is a big part of not only my future, but all of ours. As one has a need another can help out. Sometimes that will be in the form of a job and sometimes not. I'm not interested in meeting people just to have a connection, but to build a relationship. And I don't expect anyone to give me hand-outs, please hear me on this. When I say community, I'm talking about a group of people who have the same vision, goals and aspirations as their peers and can depend on each other.

How You Can Help

You can pray. If you don't pray you can start. ;) Just kidding. But seriously, I would love your prayers. Thank you.

on death and dying

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Death is our last act here on earth, dying on the other hand is something we must do daily.

"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." - Romans 8:36 referencing Psalm 44:22

The physical act of dying is something that scares us and yet is totally unpredictable. I remember as a child being fascinated with death and asking my mom a lot what would happen after I died. Death is just a natural part of life. We come and go, and what we leave behind us are mostly memories.

The spiritual act of dying is a constant battle. The victory is already won, Jesus Christ has paid the price and defeated death. But while we're still alive on this earth we are constantly waging war against ourselves. The devil really doesn't have to do much because he has no real power over us who have been saved. But the parts of ourselves that need to be worked out by "fear and trembling" are what's holding us back from living in the full revelation as sons of God.

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." - Philippians 2:12-13

What should we fear? Homelessness? Starvation? Nakedness? Hasn't God already told us not to worry about those things?

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" - Matthew 6:25-27

So why am I still so damn concerned with my own well being? I still can't figure out if it's my genetics or the way God made me, but I seem to think that my life is a constant struggle. There are those moments of peace, but everything in between seems to be an uphill battle. My wife does a good job of helping me realize that we have it pretty good compared to other people in this world, and for that I'm thankful. But it still doesn't completely put to rest the uneasy burden I carry with me.

My pastor and I met for breakfast a few weeks ago and he shared with me something that he prayed for that he had never prayed before. He asked The Lord to receive his "flesh" upon the alter. (I know that sounds kind of odd, but I think it's completely necessary.) Our flesh is what we are constantly doing battle with. The old way of doing things. It's why I believe Paul told us to put on the full armor of God. By reading the word of God and praying and being baptized in the Holy Spirit, it's the only way I'll ever feel secure. The more that I choose to follow Christ the more my flesh will wither away.