feather2pixels

Another fine showing at the Vallejo Chevy‘s by the students and faculty of the ET department can only mean one thing.  Summer is finally here.

Here is a big fat shout out to my main man, Frank Fernandez, who not only backs me up in the classroom on teaching days but gives me a second chance to raise one of his prizewinning orchids from the bulb. It can’t possibly die faster than the last one.

It’s midterm season.

I thought this stack of gambling-enabled Dynamics tests was beautiful enough to photograph.

An instant classic:

(Didn’t he read the syllabus?  I only accept cash.)

I just completed my fifth year teaching undergraduate engineering.

If you know me, maybe you find that statement amusing.  I would guess you might think this is funny in the same way that it was funny when Bugs Bunny put on a tuxedo and conducted Wagner’s theme from Act III of the opera, Lohengrin.  Trust me, no one is as surprised as me. And I am me.

Amusing or disturbing, the completion of the academic year always means graduation.  It’s one of my favorite times of the year because I always feel very proud of my seniors.  And because it means summer is here. And because sometimes I get presents.

This year, before accepting any gifts from the class of 2011. I decided to strike first.  I thought that since the senior awards so benevolently bestowed by the university are usually a little boring, it would be fun to make my own.  One for each senior, construction paper and typewriting, a safety pin sewed on the back: that sort of flaunt-my-masculinity thing.

Anyway, I did it. I got all twenty-five made!  I was a little fretful about offending someone, but each fortune came from what I think Christians call a place of love.  Therefore I ultimately feel comfortable about all that was said.  We had a small ceremony on the last day of ET460: Automation and some people even wore their ribbons for the rest of the day.  Class of 2011, I will miss you.  (And thanks for the booze, Lamar)

click to enlarge:

To begin designing the set of Down A Little Dirt Road, I popped my head in the CMA Library.   From the visual perceptive, the particular theme from the script that gets me most hot and bothered is earthquakes, and I found several technical books filled with engineering imagery that had me licking my chops.  Even just two minutes with these books make me kind of sorry that I can’t magically change my job from teaching this kind of stuff to teaching how to make art out of this kind of stuff.  But everything is okay–did you know that as an engineering teacher here, I am allowed to borrow an unlimited number of books for an unlimited period of time?  That  gave me a great idea for a way to make easy money over the summer.

But right now I need to start making this set.  I decided that a healthy variety of technical figures from the fields of geology and structural engineering would be an interesting starting point for look of this world.

I compiled 30 pages of images into one humongous project in Photoshop, where I was able to experiment with sizing, juxtaposition, and layering (click to enlarge):

A peek at part of the compiled image project.

The result was a continuous image roughly 5 x 3 feet in area.   That’s 15 square feet of great ideas!  I have plans to use this image to produce three large silkscreens for stenciling.  Looking ahead, if I get my way I think I kind of prefer to pretty much screen print the shit out of the entire set.

Dispatch from the San Pablo Bay tusnami:

(San Pablo Bay 3/11/11)

We lucked out this time.

feather 2 pixel tip riders know that I am a sucker for atmospheric phenomena.  Therefore I present the Monday morning office view immediately preceding today’s  soul sucking commute.

No more February Light? No problem, apparently:

I kind of went back and forth about posting this.  But this is a really nice thing and it makes me feel proud so I am going to post it.  Plus, I am procrastinating.

Is it that time of year again?  The winning bridge held almost 25 pounds with 25 pieces of pasta.  And I haven’t even taught these students anything yet.

[flv:bridge_testing.flv 640 480]

The view from the ol’ office today.  Sun setting behind Mt. Tamalpais in the background,  “No Photography” sign in the foreground.

I hope you don’t mind if I interrupt ignoring my journal to post a Halloween picture.  For years I have wanted to dress up in the uniform my students and colleagues wear everyday.  This year I finally did it.  Not just that, but me and fellow instructor Robbie Jackson dressed as each other.

Except I never wear a tie and he isn’t a slob.