Obviously you haven't been to "Cali"

Okay, the assignment for my graphic design class is out of the oven, mounted and submitted.

For your viewing pleasure:

Thumbnails for Pebble Project

6x6 Paper Rendering of Pebble Project 

6x6 Mixed Media Pebble Project

Our modules for class content close tonight.  This means there are still people posting absurdities about "Cali".  They have sort of abandoned the comments about California being a good place to work out and get plastic surgery, but they ALL seem to think all of California is located next to the beach and that the weather is AWESOME all the time.  All of California is the OC. Among my favorites:  "The whole state of California is exposed to water on one side and the tropical climate which is always perfect no matter what season it is." 

One thing I have observed every semester is that no one really grasps the idea of a critique.  I know critiques suck. A lot.  As with writing, you feel like a critique is a personal attack when you work up the nerve to share your art with others.  It is really difficult to separate yourself from your work.  It's not like math or science, where there is typically a right or a wrong and it is a definite expression of finite knowledge.  

Every semester, most of the critiques go a little something like this: I really like your work.  You did a good job.  It looks great.  

Rarely does anyone ever offer constructive criticism or tips or tricks they may have learned that have helped them along the way.  I sometimes feel as though I am the only one posting a critique that is more than 3 short sentences. I always point out the positive and give suggestions for improvement or suggestions on ways to better display their work (A lot of people are photographing their work at an angle and NOT using perspective crop to try to make adjustments.)  One of the BEST pieces of advice I can give when taking online classes at this school is go to out and buy an 11x17 scanner.  I bought one from Costco and it changed my submissions for the best.  Trying to photograph submissions or scan them using an 8.5x11 scanner bed and merge them together was hell