Friday, March 27, 2009

Film: Curls Studio Visits Baltimore Comic Con 2008


Check out our short film documenting Curls Studio's appearance at Baltimore Comic Con 2008 by Astray Productions. The film features another Kenneth Rocafort sketch sequence (if you missed with our Baltimore Comic Con 2007 Film), appearances by Jimmy Palmiotti, Tim Sale, Cliff Chang, Carolyn Belefski, and magician Zack Bruno. Music provided by VCR and the amazing Criss Angel. I am the Mindfreak!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Stanley Hainsworth - AIGA DC Continuum Fund Button Campaign


At tonight's event, "Stanley Hainsworth: 10 in 20" we will premiere to the public AIGA DC's Continuum Fund Button Campaign to help DC metro area students pursue a graphic design degree. All proceeds go to AIGA DC’s Continuum Fund Scholarship, which allows young people from minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds not only to realize their artistic dreams, but also to give back to their communities.

Stanley Hainsworth, who is the founder of the global creative agency, Tether, and former creative director of Nike, Lego and Starbucks was gracious enough to design our first set. His five buttons say "DESIGN*" (red orange = *ASKS) (purple = *STARTS) (yellow = *STOPS) (green = *HOPES) and (blue = *FEELS).


I have made 75 sets of the buttons and they will be available tonight at the suggested minimum donation of $5. Thanks goes out to Tamera Lawrence who designed the label and Joe Carabeo of Astray Productions for photographing the buttons.

If you would like more information about AIGA DC's Continuum Fund Scholarship or have questions about donating to AIGA DC's Continuum Fund, please email continuum@aigadc.org or visit www.aigadc.org/continuum.

I hope to see you tonight at the Corcoran for Stanley's event. Please pick up a button set or two to support the Continuum Fund Scholarship. Here is some more information about the event:

WHAT: Stanley Hainsworth: 10 in 20
WHEN: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM)
WHERE: Corcoran Auditorium
500 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
PRICES: $5 to $25

--
Carolyn Belefski
Continuum Chair, AIGA DC

Thursday, March 19, 2009

AIGA DC’s 2009 Continuum Fund Event Recap

The Design Continuum Fund: An AIGA DC Endowment for Design Education held its second annual event on March 11, 2009 at The Art Institute of Washington. Those who attended the event are founding members of the fund and official members of the 2008-2009 Continuum Circle. (The Continuum Circle is comprised of donors who make cumulative pledges of or exceeding $350 per year to the Continuum Fund).


This year's festivities included a wine pairing and tasting from Chef Michael Roll. He serves as chef/instructor for the à la carte class which staffs The Art Institute of Washington's restaurant, Culinaire. Everyone was greeted at the table with a placemat describing the wines and a special Continuum Fund button to mark the occasion. I'm not much of a drinker, but I did sample sips to participate. We savored two white wines and two red wines from Chile and Argentina. Many people were interested in fielding questions to Michael and learn about all things wine in the Q&A! It definitely was a fun and enjoyable experience and I hope everyone gained some wine knowledge.

After Michael's demonstration, we settled in for presentations from many people who helped launch the fund last year. This included our chapter president, Mira Azarm, who reported last year's activities and our upcoming objectives. Former chapter president Emily Carr spoke about expanding the fund and the importance of its founding members. Jill Spaeth explained that we are working to create a culture of philanthropy. Pat Taylor stood up and talked about giving back to society. Beth Singer mentioned that this small group of forty people has already made such a tremendous difference in the lives of young designers and the community.


One of the most moving moments of the night was Rodney Williams introducing the two past Tom Suzuki Scholarship recipients, Joseph Cabato and Alfredo Ramirez. It was amazing to physically see where scholarships are going to. I could tell both Joseph and Alfredo have passion for the design industry. They work several jobs and save what they can in order to attend school to study design. Joseph talked about his relatives in the Philippines and how they knew from a young age that he would be connected to the arts. Alfredo was very grateful in his freestyle speech about how the scholarship has helped assist his education.

Our event this year raised $6,900 and it could not have happened without the efforts of many great contributors in our local community. In the words of Mira, "Look forward to seeing this fund grow bigger and stronger every year." It started with some simple thoughts, but now it has grown by the willingness of our design community to give. I plan to stay on as Continuum Chair for our 2009-2010 programming season, and there are many initiatives I plan to ignite for the fund. One is the AIGA DC Continuum Fund Button Campaign to raise funds for the scholarship! We plan to ask several designers to design sets of 1.25" buttons that will be available for donations at upcoming AIGA DC events. Tamera Lawrence, who designed the Continuum Fund materials, created the first button design for our March 11 event. Stanley Hainsworth has designed five buttons which we plan to have available on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at "Stanley Hainsworth: 10 in 20" at the Corcoran. We hope you can join us there and donate to AIGA DC's Continuum Fund for a button... or two... or the full set!


I know many people can not afford to give a few hundred dollars, especially in the current economy, but there are other ways to give back and help support our industry and its future. One way is to volunteer with AIGA DC. That is how I got to know the board and become more involved. It helps to have an activity outside of work and forced me to talk to people instead of being shy. That was one of my personal incentives for volunteering... to open myself up and meet wonderful people. When you give of yourself, there are some rewards in making yourself a better person. You can also volunteer with other non-profits in the area to give back to your community or use your design skills on a pro bono project while building your portfolio and showcasing your skills! There are tons of ways to give or make a difference and they don't always have to revolve around money.

Another way to help our design community out is to inform local high school or college students and design educators about the scholarship. The scholarship application is due Friday, April 3, 2009, so please get the word out as soon as possible. Details can be found at: http://www.aigadc.org/events/2009/04/28509614

If you would like more information about AIGA DC's Continuum Fund Scholarship or have questions about donating to AIGA DC's Continuum Fund, please email continuum@aigadc.org.

To view more images from the 2009 Continuum Fund Event, visit the AIGA DC Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aigadc/sets/72157615577930484/

Special thanks goes out to Joe Carabeo of Astray Productions for photographing the event!

--
Carolyn Belefski
Continuum Chair, AIGA DC

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Sketch Cards to benefit American Cancer Society


Here are my four sketch cards for Blue Line Art's second annual Sketch Card Auction and Gallery Show. There will be a public exhibition at Comics 2 Games, 166 Mount Zion Road in Florence, Kentucky on April 4, 2009. The auction of all the original art cards will go online starting the week before the Sketch Card Exhibition and will end that evening. All proceeds from the sale of the cards will go to the American Cancer Society.

I did one card for each of Curls Studio's properties: Curls, Kid Roxy, Black Magic Tales, and The Legettes. I like little Roxy with her magic drink. I always imagined it to be something like Hi-C Ecto Cooler! That's something I'd like to see (and taste) again. Awww... and look it's Curls supporting her boobs. Yes, let's cure cancer and save the boobies!

Click here for more information or to donate to Comics for Cures. In 2008, they raised more than $7,400!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

AIGA DC Continuum Fund Scholarships


Do you know of a local high school student who is college-bound and intends to pursue design as a degree? Or do you know of a local college student who is currently enrolled and working toward a degree in design?

Tell them about AIGA DC’s Continuum Fund Scholarships!

Applications will be evaluated by a jury of creative professionals, who will consider a number of factors, including: quality of submitted work, financial need, and academic record. Up to two scholarships will be awarded on behalf of the AIGA DC Design Continuum Fund via the WorldStudio AIGA Scholarship Program.

For complete information about the AIGA Worldstudio Scholarship program and how to apply, visit scholarships.worldstudioinc.com.

Deadline
The application deadline is April 3, 2009. Note: This is not a postmark deadline — all applications must be received by April 3, 2009.

Application
All applications for Worldstudio AIGA Scholarships must be completed in two parts:

STEP 1 is completed online and requires inputting information about yourself and your school, as well as uploading digital images of your work. This part of the application can be found here: Worldstudio AIGA Scholarships

STEP 2 requires filling out and mailing a hard copy of an application form, Worldstudio AIGA Scholarship Application and Guidelines, click to download an Acrobat PDF here: 2009/2010 Worldstudio AIGA Scholarship Application

Read the guidelines thoroughly and please follow all instructions. Incomplete or late applications will be disqualified. If you have a question, check out the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section on the AIGA Worldstudio Scholarships website.

Donate
The Design Continuum Fund scholarship was made possible by the generous donations of the founding members of the Continuum Circle, comprised of numerous prominent and long-standing members of the AIGA DC community. Thank you to all of the donors who are helping empower the design leaders of tomorrow.

To make a donation to the Design Continuum Fund, visit the AIGA DC Continuum page or email Continuum Chair Carolyn Belefski at continuum@aigadc.org.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Social Networking!

Curls Studio has been connecting to this thing called the Internet recently, you know, going viral and social media and all that janks. Soon we'll be everywhere, but we wanted you to be the first to know... so check out the links below and join up with us.

Facebook Fan Page
Twitter
The Carolyn & Joe Show