Farewell Grandmother

My dear, beloved grandmother Miriam has left this earth today. My heart is sad that I shall never again be held in her arms or greet her smiling face. She was so special to me, and I wish I had told her more. As I moved through the eery fog of today, I tried to remember bits and pieces of how she graced my life. I let go of all my petty, worrisome thoughts and filled my head with my lovely grandmother.
I know as the years pass these memories will become even more fleeting, especially since I cannot make anymore. So I want to write them down, to remember her beautiful life that was a part of my own.
Grandma always loved and cherished my creativity. She made sure I was constantly stocked with art supplies. She was a source of encouragement in every creative endeavor, sure to tell me how she had known I was so talented since a young age. Every child loves to be artistic, but she had seen I was so deliberate and concerned with my art. When I was older, she always told me she wanted a drawing or painting, but I was so busy with school, life and work. Finally this past year I was able to give her a painting. A whole lifetime of support, I hope she saw it in that one painting.
Grandma always left gifts from Santa. Wrapped in parcel paper with her distinct penmanship. Those parcels were simply magical to me, and am glad I recognized her handwriting for it all to make sense when I was older. I looked forward to Grandma visiting for Christmas each year. She would spend the whole day making her amazing meatballs and spaghetti sauce from scratch. She gave me that recipe, I really hope I can find it. On Christmas day my two favorites were her clam dip and cherry & boysenberry jello mold with sour cream sauce. I don't need a recipe for those, I make them every year, by heart.
As children, we so looked forward to our summers, when we would travel to stay with grandma. We would beg her to go swimming every single day. She and grandpa had a condo in San Pedro. I still remember the smell, the color of the furniture, how everything was blue because it was her favorite color. Her collection of creepy head mugs. We were a handful, my brother, sister and I, I'm sure, but even when grandma was stern with us it was never mean.
As an adult, grandma was just that much more enjoyable. She had an awesome sense of humor. She loved her Raiders and Tiger Woods. And if anyone challenged, she would staunchly defend. She was immensely giving, your happiness and comfort always her concern. When I'd visit her she would make me food and we would spend an afternoon talking of her trinkets or old photographs, I loved to hear all the stories behind them and I wish I could recall them now. I am lucky enough to possess a couple of those photos, which we had discovered copies of as we rummaged through boxes of gorgeous vintage photos from the early 1900's.
My dear grandma Miriam, I am so lucky to have known you, to have loved and been loved by you. Thank you for being such a positive influence in my life. Love you forever.

Miriam Ellen Robert

June 16, 1935 

December 30, 2013

Typewalk Poster

Have you heard of the AIGA? It's the Associated Institute of Graphic Arts. I joined the Reno/Tahoe chapter in 2011 and have tried my best to attend as many of the meetings as my schedule allows. We also have a student group which I recently became president of. A crazy move on my normally super shy selfs part! But hey, I need to step up and be a little more outgoing. I also think that it will force me into networking within the local design scene, which will be immensely beneficial as I am about to graduate and enter the field of my chosen profession.
This past June the Reno/Tahoe AIGA group held their second annual type walk. Unfortunately I missed out on the first one, but I had heard from fellow group members how fun it was, so I made sure to make time for this one. Designers love our typography, and the typewalk sends us into our little city in search of all the unique typography we see and often take for granted. The first year it was held in downtown Reno. This past one was in Reno's Midtown district.
We paired off and were given a map to confine our journeys to a certain area. And we were off! We walked around in search of fabulous examples of typography. You could try and get the entire alphabet if you wanted. I was in search of an awesome K, for Kristine of course. But I also thought unique letters like X and Q would be fun finds.
Everyone then submits their photos and from them one of each letter is chosen to create the annual Typewalk poster! Here are my submissions...

And here is the final poster. My F and G made the cut!

Click image if you wish to purchase.

Until next time. XO. K.

Major Things Considered

So this semester marks my last class, Portfolio, in which I need to create my brand and personal portfolio of 8-12 of my best works. Easy. I thought. I was planning on keeping with my typography self portrait as my "brand". You can see my business card with it here. But now I am up in the air about it. Perhaps it's because I am used to it, so it seems old and tired to me. I am also thinking it may be a little busy looking as well.
Nevertheless, the thought of branding myself is becoming overwhelming. I like so many styles and designs, it's hard to pin point myself to one. I would also like to expand on the number of non-school projects for my portfolio. I have a couple, but I'd like to design a couple more. All this thought into creatively portraying myself is complicated, and I feel the need to perfect it. Soon enough.
I always like sharing some photos, though totally unrelated to the post, enjoy!