On not being poor vs. doing what you love

31 May 2009 by 12 Comments

    “Screw cash. Do you know what it’s like to wake up knowing that you’re doing what you love?”

    - People on Twitter quoting Gary Vaynerchuck at BEA

Over the course of the past ten years or so I’ve heard a few different people declare that they aren’t going to “be poor!” This is usually in the context of college majors, career choice or current job. I haven’t probed when it’s come up, but I’m guessing the sentiment is often the result of personal past impoverished experiences. If I recall correctly from a book of his I read five years ago, Dave Ramsey’s wife has a bit of this complex.

My wife and I are in a pickle, as I explained a week or so ago, and might be on the poor road very soon (if we’re not already). Just after moving to Arkansas in 2003 we were in a similar financial situation. Needless to say it’s not a fun place to be. We’ve given ourselves to the ministry we moved down here to serve with and making money, beyond what we need to live on, has not registered on the radar.

The question all of this is raising in my mind is as follows: Is American affluence driving people away from their gifts? In other words, does the cultural pressure in our consumerist culture keep people from pursuing careers they might enjoy and excel at, instead wooing them to pursue more secure and higher paying marginal careers?

It’s on my mind in a personal way as we think about what will come of the rest of this year, and the years to come. The hope is to move to a place with lower housing costs and more part-time work to supplement our continued service with the ministry. In theory, our living expenses would be cut to the point we wouldn’t have to maintain full-time employment, freeing up more time for both of us to work on our crafts.

It seems to us that our plans are pretty modest. We’re eager to pursue the things in life we’re passionate about — missions, sculpture, writing, the fiber arts. Despite these seemingly modest aspirations, though, I’m wondering if we’re actually going to be able to execute this plan. Learning the house isn’t worth as much as we figured and noticing yesterday that we haven’t paid off as much as I’d thought in the past four years were chinks in our armor.

I’ve never developed or cultivated an aversion to poverty, assuming we still have a roof over our head and food on the table. Regardless, our present circumstances have been testing our faith. I really like the so-called plan we’ve sketched out (on a napkin, so to speak) and hope it works out. If we can’t make it work, I have positively no idea what we’ll we be doing or where we’ll end up.

And while I won’t refer to that as “scary,” it’s certainly the kind of situation that makes most of us humans very uncomfortable.

Filed under Affluenza, Business of art, Entitlement, Modern culture, Northwest Arkansas, Personal reflection, Siloam Springs

Intentional observation, as I clean

26 May 2009 by 1 Comment

Tidying up the house and yard in a bit of a fury, and at the same time trying to get a sense of where we’ll end up. As I was picking up sticks in the backyard this Memorial Day weekend (the eleventh anniversary of the day I met my wife!) I found this rotten little specimen.

Lichen

All of the futuristic postulating was dented this afternoon when the realtor we’ve begun working with told us our cute little bungalow was probably going to to for $5,000-7,000 less than I was hoping for. That’s a whole lotta cash in our little economy, and makes finding a suitable replacement for our Siloam Springs’ home more challenging — even in less expensive Nebraska. According to the real estate agent, the disparity comes as a result of foreclosures entering the market, foreclosures which are selling for less than other properties and thereby dragging the value of other houses down with them. Curse the greedy New York bankers, and the gullible Americans they suckered into bloated mortgages too!

Not surprisingly, we’re a bit worn out on the whole mess.

Filed under Intentional observation, Personal reflection, Siloam Springs

House for sale in Siloam Springs, Arkansas

24 May 2009 by Leave a Comment

Even though we plan to employ a realtor to help us sell our little bungalow — we don’t have the time to do it ourselves — I’ve established a website (using WordPress) featuring the Hygge and Fika. I’m adding photos as I go, but there’s enough there already to give you a decent idea of the house already posted.

Garrett St banner image

Visit House for Sale Siloam Springs Arkansas for the details, and share it with anyone you know who might be interested in a great little bungalow in Northwest Arkansas!

Filed under Northwest Arkansas, Personal reflection, Siloam Springs

In a pickle

21 May 2009 by 8 Comments

I haven’t mentioned the whole moving scenario in a while. After not being comfortable, so to speak, with Enid real estate I decided to pursue a job at John Brown University, more specifically their Soderquist Center for Business and Ethics. A friend had recommended me for the position, a part-time design job which would allow me to continue working for M-DAT through the end of the year as I hope to do.

It seemed like I had a good shot at getting the position. I was qualified — based on the draft of a job description I was sent — and my own design aesthetic fit well with the Center’s intentions. Further, despite figuring there would be competition in an economy like this, it didn’t seem like there were many other candidates. If any. And of course my friend, a JBU professor who helped create the position, gave them my name. Regardless, I learned yesterday afternoon that I was “not selected for this position.”

Upon reading the rejection in my inbox yesterday afternoon, my gut conjured up one of those sinking sensations. Thankfully it didn’t last long, but to say the near future looks comfortable would be quite absurd. A year ago we would have been more comfortable in this kind of situation, but a slew of unexpected expenses over the past six months or so have damaged the savings account.

My wife and I really don’t know where to go from here (although we have some ideas). Two quite promising part-time jobs have not panned out in the past four months, a building we hoped to turn into living/retail seems out of range financially (thanks to mandatory fire sprinklers) and the doors to Enid, Oklahoma — where the in-laws live — seem to have all closed. In all likelihood we’ll have to put the house on the market and hope it sells very quickly.

Moving map

I’ll conclude this little rant by posting links to my portfolio and resume. While I may not be featured in PRINT magazine any time soon (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), I am a good designer with a fairly broad level of experience in print media, and a good knowledge of the internet even though I’m not a programmer.

Adding: I’ve published the portfolio and resume. When I posted this entry they were not yet public.

Filed under Design, Personal reflection, Siloam Springs

Getting over an American dream

28 March 2009 by 7 Comments

My wife and I are, in essence, being forced again to think about moving. We’d like to believe we have a variety of options, that we can go anywhere we want to put down new roots on a whim. That’s part of our American culture, isn’t it, the freedom to be transient?

We considered cities and small prairie towns. We talked specifically about moving to a community known for the arts, and thought about moving north to be in a colder climate more conducive to my wife’s knitting and crocheting.

So when the best we can come up with after wrangling with ideas for six months or more is moving back to the nondescript midwestern town in which I graduated from high school, the whole scenario feels regressive. The American dream entails either moving to the city or to an estate in the suburbs (not that I’ve necessarily ever aspired to these). Plains communities of 50,000 people just don’t qualify.

Why this would bother me to begin with I don’t know. I’ve never really been a fan of the progressive ideal — which seems more like an excuse to embrace any and every new philosophy that comes along than an ideal. But last night, in a half-asleep and slightly irrational 5 a.m. moment, it did bother me. It kept me awake for more than an hour. I tossed and turned and tried to get it out of my head altogether. I just wanted to go back to sleep, knowing the paranoia would dissipate at an hour proper for humans to think about serious matters.

And it did.

We’ve rehashed the thought of moving again and again. Real estate in Grand Island, Nebraska, the Plains city in question, is very inexpensive, particularly the building we have in mind which would serve as our apartment and my studio — a large studio — with 1,000+ square feet of retail besides. It is further north, which is good for my wife’s craft and for my allergies. It’s on the prairie which is great for storm chasing. Point being, it’s not just the easy way out, moving back to where the family lives.

Further, I’ve become more interested in the past year at how the arts can really thrive in smaller communities. In some ways, ways that aren’t as immediately accessible to me here in Siloam Springs, moving back to Nebraska will allow me to play a more integral role in that city’s artistic nexus.

I suppose I’ll just have to live with being a regressive person. Drat, and blast. Of course, in the scheme of things, isn’t part of the progressive ideal being counter-cultural? And if I’m bucking the American dream and know it, isn’t that counter cultural and thus progressive?

Such wonderful logic.

gitornadopic2

Photo of the 1980 Grand Island, Nebraska, tornado outbreak. From Wikipedia.

Filed under Living incarnationally, Modern culture, Personal reflection, Siloam Springs

Yellow is more yellow on the truck

5 March 2009 by Leave a Comment

For years — and years — I’ve had a fascination with the Yellow trucking company. This stems mainly from the paradox of the business’ name and color of their logo. The name is “Yellow,” but the logo is distinctly orange.

This dichotomy was probably a very intentional part of the company’s original branding scheme, for whatever reason. Even with this knowledge, however, the mismatch still bothers me — which very well may have been their reasoning.

Running to the post office today I spotted a Yellow truck sporting a new logo. This newer, slightly Web 2.0 esque design actually bears a tinge of yellow running through its core.

YellowLogo

I must admit that, yellow or orange or both, I approve of this new incarnation of the company’s identity. Alas, it’s apparently not going to last that long. “The trucks and trailers for Akron-based Roadway and Yellow Transportation will soon sport a new, supplemental logo: YRC. And at some point — the parent company won’t say when — the Roadway and Yellow names will be replaced by YRC,” according to Ohio.com. The following image from the Under Consideration blog places Yellow, Roadway and YRC logos next to each other.

yrc_logo

I’m not really feeling the new YRC logo; it’s trying to do too much, and the type seems unintentionally askew. I will be, in fact, sad to see the Yellow brand disappear. For whatever twisted reason, it’s been a part of my personal visual iconography since childhood.

Just for kicks, here’s a photo of the old Yellow logo from ToastyKen’s Flickr photostream.

yellow

Filed under Advertising, Basis for designing well, Color, Design, Siloam Springs

You know you live in a small town when

24 February 2009 by 1 Comment

You know you live in a small town when businesses don’t have to specify their lunch hours.

photo0044

Tomorrow morning I leave our small town for the big city, the Big Apple, that concrete jungle they call New York City. On my first foray into Manhattan — I’ve been to the Statue of Liberty but haven’t actually been in the city — I’ll be attending the IAM Encounter conference.

And, gasp, I’ll be leaving the latpop at home.

So no blogging from New York. I’ll be using good old pen and paper to record my thoughts for the next few days. I might, though schedule a few random posts to appear during my absence.

Filed under Art, Art and faith, Art education, Personal reflection, Siloam Springs

Christian art center, downtown?

10 February 2009 by 10 Comments

Generally, when my mind wanders with daydreams of a missions focused art center (retreat, colony, center, I don’t know what to call it exactly), I imagine twenty acres in the countryside. Hence my last post on the matter inquiring about the use of farmsteads as anchors for the place.

This week I’ve pondered putting the center in the middle of Siloam Springs, Arkansas. This is a result of the recent revival in downtown Siloam and conversations about the city center’s available real estate — hashed out mainly with the owner of The Baby Habit.

So far as I can tell (without actually having talked to a realtor) the buildings on each of the corners of Wright and Ashley are for sale. Three of the buildings formerly formed a lumberyard, one represented a tile shop and coffeehouse and gracing the last corner in question are the Creekview Flats.

wright-and-ashley

I’m having fun imagining the kind of positive impact such an institution might render on modestly populated Siloam Springs, especially the impact on downtown. The spaces seem more or less ideal for such a proposal: The lumberyard for studios and galleries; the buildings across the street, including the tile shop and coffeehouse, for classrooms and the Creekview Flats (which are still on the market, though being rented out) for housing. The lumberyard and flats were both just remodeled, but the flats would probably need to be split into ten 1,200 square foot apartments. Presently they are five 2,400 square foot condos, which — in my opinion — is why they remain unsold. There just isn’t the demographic here willing and able to spend $250,000 on living space downtown, from what I can tell.

Imagining cost is a bit difficult. Buying all of the flats gets you going at $1.5 million (which they are not worth, especially in this market), before any renovations to add kitchens upstairs. Apparently the tile shop/coffeehouse building is on the market for only $80,000; as I recall it was round about 3,500 square feet. I haven’t the slightest idea what (or, honestly, if) the old M&D lumberyard is for sale, but I assume so. It constitutes, basically, an entire city block by itself. Take into account other remodeling, purchase of equipment (kilns, wood shop, forge, easels, chairs, tables, office equipment etc. etc.), an initial marketing and design campaign, a savings account for maintenance and some sort of endowment for scholarships and I suppose we’re looking at $2.5 to $3 million.

Any donors out there with that kind of capital interested in this kind of project?

Filed under Art, Art and faith, Art and Missions, Art education, Northwest Arkansas, Siloam Springs Tagged with

The Zap! comes to Siloam Springs

9 February 2009 by 2 Comments

This little green contraption surprised me a couple months ago at a local motorsports dealer.

photo00241

I finally snapped a photo of it with my cameraphone. This is the all electric Zap! Xebra sedan. As I recall, it tops out at 40 mph and has a range of 25 miles.

Zap! isn’t the most reliable or reputable company, but this still seems worth mentioning. The car is almost $12,000, and somehow squeezes four seats into the tiny three-wheel automobile. Frankly, I wouldn’t spend twelve grand on this car. I’d sooner look for a used Honda or Toyota. There are mechanics in Arkansas who know their way around a Japanese car, and they get good enough gas mileage I won’t feel guilty about my carbon footprint — although, I probably wouldn’t feel guilty about this anyway. My wife and I don’t drive much as it is, and try and live a sustainable lifestyle otherwise.

Filed under Environmental stewardship, Siloam Springs, Sustainable living

Art gallery grand opening in Siloam Springs

6 February 2009 by 4 Comments

It’s been a week of short posts, and here’s another.

photo0021

Tonight is the grand opening of the Local Flair Art Gallery in downtown Siloam Springs from 6-9pm. The downtown gallery features two and three-dimensional works by 10 or 12 local artists including Joel Armstrong, Charles Peer, Neil Ward, John Lein and myself.

photo0020

This is a significant step in the revival of downtown Siloam Springs. Another such step is getting a restaurant down there, which seems to be happening in the next six months as well. Emelia’s Mediterranean Kitchen is supposed to going into the dilapidated building on the corner of Mount Olive and University.

Other recently new retail downtown includes a Books on Broadway, Broadway Flowers and The Baby Habit. And, in conjunction with Local Flair, a furniture boutique is opening next door called Amandromeda. Amandromeda’s growing collection includes seating designed by both a Bertoia and Le Corbusier. The interior of the store below.

photo0019

Another downtown building is also receiving a makeover now, although I’m not sure what’s going in it. It was formerly Felt’s Shoes before recently being used as storage by now mayor David Allen. Apartments continue to go in the second floors of two or three buildings as well.

Now we just have to hope these new businesses find some staying power.

Filed under Art, Business of art, Community planning, Furniture, New Urbanism, Northwest Arkansas, Siloam Springs

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