I Am Awesome

in

Humbleness Humility is the key. Please hear me on that. But false humility is just pride in disguise. If you do something that you're proud of you need to take ownership of that thing and accept the praise you receive. There's nothing worse then when you compliment someone and their response goes something like this: "Oh me? No I'm not that good. I just got lucky." The results of hard work and dedication don't result in dumb luck. God did not give us our talents to simply disregard them as something that happened by accident. So the next time someone compliments you on what a good job you've done, look them straight in the eyes and say: "I know. Thank you."

The Half-Way Point

in

This year has been one full of perseverance and new challenges. I set the bar extremely high for myself in hopes that I would prove to myself that I can do so much more than I thought possible. But in past endeavors, I have found myself being one with a louder bark than bite. Meaning that when the going gets tough, I stop pushing. But I'm trying.

I'm not giving up!

I still have six more months to go on my Daily 365 photo project. I still have twenty-six more weeks of my 52 Profiles project. I don't want to reach the end of this year with an apology and a poor excuse on why I didn't finish what I started. I want to reach the end with my arms raised in victory and a smile on my face. I want to prove to myself that I am capable of more than my past mistakes.

Chair and Microphone, Vol. 4

in

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?

in

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

in , ,

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