the full story

Ever since I was a kid, I have drawn and doodled. As unlikely as it may seem, the best way to fit that talent to an academic discipline was to major in economics at Lawrence University, where I used colored pencils to chart and graph the ideas and information in my micro- and macroeconomics classes. Fortunately, Lawrence is a liberal arts college. So, in addition to honing my critical thinking and problem-solving skills as I explored a wide range of subjects, I was also able to take lots of drawing and painting classes. Thanks to the encouragement of a wonderful art professor, Arthur Thrall, my creative side took its own place in my academic career, as I presented an art show in my senior year.

On graduation day, I didn't think I’d be able to pursue a career that could translate my doodling into dollars. So off I trudged into the world of selling and marketing employee benefits, a world I inhabited for many years. During those years, I fed my 'creative habit' in my after-work hours by taking drawing classes at local parks and recreation centers, eventually landing in a pottery course taught at a university-based craft center in Raleigh, NC.

I was enthralled with throwing pots and making something tangible at night while I pushed paper, managed people and piloted various projects by day. My dream was to save enough money to run away from the corporate world and devote a full year to making pottery. That dream became a reality in the fall of 1999, when I enrolled in an eight-week class at Penland School of Crafts. What an amazing place! (Even the food is fabulous.)

After Penland, I set up a pottery studio in Raleigh, NC, which I later moved to nearby Durham. I built my own kiln in the garage and, as I got to work realizing my dream, discovered it wasn't so dreamy. Although I taught classes and sold work at local shows, I spent quite a bit of time working alone in my studio, where I found out just how much I missed interacting with people, brainstorming ideas, and implementing solutions for a particular problem or client. So, to the dismay of my pottery pals, I returned to the workaday world. This time, though, my work managing insurance contracts for a local university put me on the receiving end of the sales calls. But while my work colleagues were wonderful, the job was a horrible fit for me. After three and a half years of toil, I left and, thanks to my ok knack for saving money and a supportive new spouse (whom I met shortly after returning from Penland), indulged my creative side by taking design classes at Alamance Community College (ACC). Fortunately, ACC instructor David Davenport – who was tough but fair, a taskmaster and a cheerleader – became my mentor as I pursued a new career in web design and illustration. Another ACC instructor, Denise Archuleta, also made great contributions to my development as a web designer, as she showed me the way to enlightenment through file structure and lots of other vitally important left brain stuff.

I won some awards while I was a student, including a Silver ADDY (See page 81 of the 2009 ADDY award booklet for more details). I also earned a 2nd place Illustration award (juried by professional illustrators in the field) and a 2nd place Graphic Design award (juried by professional graphic designers in the field), both from ACC.

Client-based projects, cultivated by ACC's Davenport and Archuleta, requiring competition amidst classmates and feedback from professionals in Design, led to several ‘real world’ projects. For instance, the good people at Shakori Hills Festival of Music and Dance chose my poster design for their Spring 2009 Festival. And the fine husband and wife ownership team of Graham Chiropractic and Acupuncture chose my logo design for their business and subsequently asked me to create their website.

Despite the competition with classmates for each project, there were times where collaboration was essential and we all pulled together to produce some pretty cool projects under tight deadlines. Here's a special tip of the pixel to design classmates Jhovanny, David, Eddie, Dustin, April and Joy. I know the world is a better place because of you and your work

Lately, I've been busy with freelance web design and illustration projects. I remain ever grateful for the clients I have, both old and new, as well as the projects and art direction I've received from the magnificent Tessa Perrien and the superb advice about all things Dreamweaver and design on the web from the prolific, amazing, and talented web guru Susan Strozier.

The full story of my career, then, is that doodles can turn into dollars. Contact me to design a web presence that tells your organization's story and attracts your ideal customers. I'll make sure you get your money's worth!

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