Painting

My Grandfather Olsen called me up with a request about three months ago... a painting of tulips. I am not madly skilled with painting, but I thought I'd give it a shot. So I browsed online for an idea... and then I went from there. I am pretty impressed with myself. My Grandpa liked it! It is actually pretty large. Maybe 32 x 60.

My Cousins came over while I was finishing it up. They wanted to join in on the fun and painted on some canvas themselves for Grandpa's birthday. Cameron did a painting of the Columbia River Gorge. He did a great job with painting in the lines. He is an awesome artist. Jayden helped a little too.

Jayden did something of her own design. A whole bunch of G's in different colors. It was really well balanced with the colors and I thought it was pretty.

Cameron went to Utah for Thanksgiving to drop the paintings off.

I wish this was a joke.

What? Redesign! How fun... unless you are redesigning to totally destroy your company. WHAT THE HECK PEPSI? Coming to a grocery store near you in the next few months is Pepsi's redesigned logo and packaging. As a 'future' package designer I think I vomited a little in my mouth when I saw what this national brand decided to do to itself. Not only does it look cheap and poorly designed it is as if the quality of the soda itself degraded in less then a second.

The frosted bottle looks cool and refreshing. I'll give them that. But look at it. hideous. The two dimensional logo looks as if a first year design student sat down at a computer and moved the the lines a little and turned it in hoping for a C.

All I am asking is Who allowed this... and who is the mastermind that talked this thing up?

Uglies

These past two weeks I read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. They are science fiction teen novels. My Mom recommended them to me, and since they were on the bookshelf next to my bed I decided to give them a shot.

The books are based on a town that is in the future and feature a girl named Tally. She is 16 and awaiting an operation that will make her Pretty. When a person turns 16 they become pretty, all thier flaws are taken away and they become the ideal in both mind and body. As her birthday approaches Tally, who is a mischevious Ugly, meets Shay, who shares a birthday. Shay teaches Tally about a underground society who runs away from Ugly town before the operation to a place called the Smoke. Well the day before the operation Shay runs away... and to become a Pretty, Tally must find her. That's where the journey begins.

I wouldn't say these are the greatest books I ever read but they have a great plot and were enjoyable. The reasoning behind the operation and the world Tally lives in causes you to reflect on our own society and why we do, say, and act the way we do... and what happens when the right to freely think is taken away from us, or when we take that right from someone else.

Busy!

So I got a seasonal job at UPS. I think I'll look awesome in a brown uniform. If only I could pull of a mullet and mustache like this guy I would be set. I'll be a drivers helper. Cherie did this around Christmas one year and made good money. It should be fun.

Jenessa my youngest sister got her mission call. Italy, Rome! Another to Europe. She is the fifth and last of my siblings to go on a mission. We used to joke when we were little that one day if we all went on missions we could sit around the table and speak a different language! Now it is true. Jon my oldest brother went to Germany, Cherie to Uruguay, Kent to the Philippines, and I went to Norway. Craziness, eh? We are so excited for Jenessa. She is going to be an awesome missionary! She was just in Italy a month ago but her experience there was super positive so she is thrilled to return.

My Mom bought a new car for Jenessa and I to drive. A blue VW bug. It's super cute. I had a scary experience with our little golf. I was getting on the freeway and the steering went out and I did a complete 180. Staring at traffic coming towards you is never fun. I luckily got it on the side of the road with out to much trouble. Well Jenessa and I decided to never drive the car again and we protested for a new car. So we got this cute bugger.

I have a new design Blog. It is meant to be a portfolio of my work. Check it out and tell me what you think:

http://kristenmilesdesign.blogspot.com/

Vote

I did my civic duty. Did you do yours?

I decided to keep who I voted for a secret. I told Jenessa but that'll be all.

Blog title

A few people have asked where I got the Princess on the Steeple name for my blog. It actually comes from my favorite Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone". The songs words struck a cord with me about how sometimes you are on top of your game and then it all falls apart, and you look back seeing how great you had it. How conceit and pride comes back to bite you... so enjoy things while you have them, remember the good times, and don't make enemies on your climb.

Like A Rolling Stone

Once upon a time you dressed so fine

You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?

People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"

You thought they were all kiddin' youYou used to laugh about

Everybody that was hangin' out

Now you don't talk so loud

Now you don't seem so proud

About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely

But you know you only used to get juiced in it

And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street

And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it

You said you'd never compromise

With the mystery tramp, but now you realize

He's not selling any alibis

As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes

And ask him do you want to make a deal?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns

When they all come down and did tricks for you

You never understood that it ain't no good

You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you

You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat

Ain't it hard when you discover that

He really wasn't where it's at

After he took from you everything he could steal.

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people

They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made

Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things

But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe

You used to be so amused

At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used

Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse

When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose

You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel

How does it feel

To be on your own

With no direction home

Like a complete unknown

Like a rolling stone?

Pumpkin Carving

Jenessa and I went to the YSA FHE on Monday and participated in some good ole' fashioned pumpkin carving. We decided to actually put some thought into it this year and planned out our designs before we came. It made us look obsessive. We came with our own tools and cool designs. People kept commenting on how artistic we were. I mean come on people, Plan ahead! We were planning on doing a skull with an eyeball poping out but I got lazy and didn't want to alter the drawing, and carving took was a lot more difficult then I thought it would be.

At the Shell station they were giving pumpkins away for 6 gallons of gas. So we got some lowering gas priced pumpkins. It made me a little happy for once to fill up the car. Jenessa carved the eyeball that was supposed to fall out of my pumpkins face.

Here is me giving a little love to the pumpkin.

The final product. Not to fancy... it could use some work.