Soak it in!

The Birmingham, Alabama area just experienced a torrential downpour Sunday evening into Monday morning. Some areas received as much as eight inches of rain, or probably more, and many residents had to evacuate their homes or abandon their cars. Mother nature can really throw your life for a loop sometimes, and my thoughts are with these individuals and families.

Now I didn't anticipate too much flooding in my area since I live downtown and we have a proper drainage system that carries out excess water. But I did anticipate being stuck inside for a couple of days. So on Sunday morning around 5 am, my husband and I, along with our 15 year old pup, took a long walk through downtown. After that somewhat misty walk, we decided to soak in more somewhat dry outdoor activities before our area became completely soaked by copious amounts of rainfall.

We had not yet been to Greenwood Park since Birmingham Parks and Rec updated the area and playground equipment in 2012. So this was a perfect opportunity to get out and explore the updates.

We were impressed with the park's space and updates, especially since we constantly look for new places to walk our pup. Greenwood has a long walking path lined with several benches alongside a creek. And if you are into watching planes fly overhead, then this park is perfect for you as it is directly in line with the airport. Greenwood also has many playground equipment for young kids, a basketball court, and an open area for kickball or softball.


All in all, it is a great park to explore, especially before becoming stuck inside while a monsoon comes through the area.

Awaiting the sun's return, out. ~M

Sanspointe Newsletter Designs

I designed these two similar newsletters for Sanspointe Dance Company's upcoming 2012 fundraising campaign. One provides a full color option and the other has more of a conservative color option.

Designs for UAB's Health & Wellness Fair

UAB will have its 8th Annual Spring Health and Wellness Fair in February 2012. The theme for this year's event is "Step Up to Wellness," and this is the logo design and postcard design that I developed based on the director's vision and needs. Other collateral materials included a large banner, event flier, and a vendor invite letter.

Logo & Stationary Designs

One of my latest logo designs as well as three stationary options to complement the overall branding.

Master Class Poster

This is another poster that I have been working on for a friend/choreographer.

Sabers Launch Party Poster

Poster design that I did for the Birmingham Sabers Launch Party!

CGSS Website & Logo Redesign

I am so excited to be working for and with Community Grief Support Service in Homewood. CGSS is such a great nonprofit serving bereaving adults in the Birmingham area and has a wonderful staff! I just redesigned the website and logo. The new site is up on the net now! Above is a preview of the new designs.

Video from Bike-To-Work Day

Birmingham Bike-to-Work Day 2010

source

Bike-To-Work Day

Yay! Tomorrow is the Bike-to-Work Day 2010 Ride! More details from CommuteSmart follows:

"May is National Bike Month! The League of American Bicyclists along with partner cities and organizations from across the nation are promoting Bike-to-Work Week on Monday May 17th through Friday the 21st. Birmingham’s Bike-to-Work Day group ride will be held Friday, May 21st 2010. A bicycle convoy will start at the fountain in Five Points South at 7:00 a.m. The ride will finish between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m. at Regions Center Plaza on the corner of 20th Street and 5th Avenue North. Cyclist will ride approximately 5½ miles through Birmingham’s City Center to raise awareness and catch a glimpse of several exciting downtown developments including the Railroad Reservation Park construction project. Directly after the ride, there will be a photo opportunity, cold drinks, t-shirts and giveaway items for cyclists." (CommuteSmart)

ALSO, from 7:30am to 9:45am, the Green Resource Center for Alabama will be having their 2nd Annual Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast. Tickets and more information for this event are available on their website here.

Paint the Town Red Birmingham

From 6pm - 11pm on Saturday, April 17th, the Loft Districts' red brick walls on 2nd Avenue North in downtown Birmingham will be the canvas for the Paint the Town Red event. This event will feature digital art displays, live music, food, and street entertainers. Proceeds benefit the Birmingham Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. Advance ticket purchases are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-11, and free for children ages 5 and younger ($15 at the gate for adults).

Visit paintthetownredbham.com for more information!

Slow Art Movement

Don't you just love a good movement?! (I guess the key word being GOOD!) Well, similar to the Slow Food Movement, the Slow Art Movement is creeping around all over the world including here in Birmingham, Alabama. Tomorrow, Saturday, April 17th from 11:00am - 12:30pm, Slow Art Birmingham is holding an event at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The museum visit is free, but donations are welcomed. Afterwards, the group will be going to Cantina for lunch and a discussion of the slow art experience (buy your own lunch).

For more details, you should contact Caroline Wingate at (205) 251-5602 or visit the event site slowartbirmingham2010.eventbrite.com for more information about the movement.

Upcoming Art Deadlines

Here are some upcoming art deadlines that I grabbed from Al.com:

March 31 is the deadline for entries for the 2010 Paint the Town RedDigital Art Show. The second annual event, to be held April 17 in the downtown Loft District, benefits the Birmingham Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. Entries in digital design, animation and photographs are being accepted at paintthetownredbham.com. Those that use the color red will be given special consideration. Thirty entries will be selected and will be digitally projected onto downtown walls and windows.

April 19 is the first day to submit art for ArtPrize, the Grand Rapids, Mich., competition that netted $250,000 for the first-prize winner last year. The prize is touted to be the world's largest. The 2009 competition, which was decided by a public vote, placed UAB faculty artist John Douglas Powers in the top 10. For his sculpture, "Field of Reeds," he won $7,000 for his seventh-place finish. The last day to submit an entry is May 27. Voting takes place Oct. 7.

April 23-25. Application deadlines are long past, but mark these dates to attend the 2010 Magic City Art Connection. The free Linn Park event usually attracts upwards of 200 artists and 30,000 people and includes gourmet food and children's activities.

June 1 is the artists' deadline for Kentuck Festival of the Arts in Northport. The annual festival will be held Oct. 16-17 and is expected to attract 15,000 visitors and more than 250 artists. Go tohttps://www.zapplication.org/index.php to apply.

Call to Artists

Happy Twenty Ten! The Naked Art Gallery is inviting artists and graphic designers to submit works inspired by the WPA posters of the 1930s. "What would you tell Birmingham about recycling, eating local, living better, and community involvement?" This should be a fun project to work on at the start of the new year. The deadline to submit is Tuesday, April 6, 2010. So plenty of time to be creative and submit. Please check out the gallery's site for more specific details.

Birmingham, AL Art Listings

Having just moved back to the Birmingham area, I wanted to compile a list of the different art galleries, groups, and supply shops. I'm sure this list will grow as I start re-discovering the 'Ham. I would also like to incorporate Birmingham artists' website links as well...but for now here is the composite of galleries, groups, and shops:

B'HAM ART GALLERIES
Birmingham Museum of Art
Naked Art Gallery
Loretta Goodwin Gallery
Bare Hands Gallery
Sojourns
Space One Eleven
Jennifer Harwell Art Gallery
Monty Stabler Galleries
Cobb Lane Gallery
UAB Visual Arts Gallery

B'HAM ART GROUPS
Birmingham Art Association

BHAM ART SUPPLIES

Alabama Art Supply
Forstall Art Center

Design Portfolio

I just completed designing and uploading my Design Portfolio to Issuu. (Above is the embedded source.) It's pretty flippin' awesome...the site issuu.com is anyway...I'm continually working on my folio. :) But Issuu.com is a fabulously free open source publisher providing beautiful three dimensional flip views of almost any pdf document you can imagine (books, journals, photo albums, folios, etc). Now you can upgrade to a professional version, it will just cost a little more. So many other great designers have uploaded their portfolios, so it can become a great source of inspiration as well! Check it...

First Post!

Years ago, I operated a blog in supplement to my website and I have since decided to start it back up again! I am a freelance graphic designer residing in the Birmingham, Alabama area. I enjoy designing logos, posters, and other print and web materials. Please check out my website for examples of my work.

This site is set out, again, to be a supplementary design outlet as well as provide for an open forum of critiques. I might even publicize local events that will occur or have occurred.

Thanks for the visit and more to come in the near future!

~Miranda