John Kester

ruggedly creative, innovatively handsome

April 19, 2009 • 1:07 pm 0

Sunday-What good are ye?

Happy Sunday? Maybe. Thanks to Ms. McGee for a special shoutout and page on her website here. I’m looking forward to showing more work at ArtWalk this month in downtown Jacksonville. Let’s hope for no rain or apparent-rain this time!

In other news, I have lots of new work hiding here and there. I’ve plunged one such into this post haphazardly. These past few weeks can be best remembered as lacking sleep-mouth-gape-at-women-forgetting-i-have-netflix. I’ve started a small addiction to tumblr as well, unfortunately I can only hold onto so many addictions. This one, however, is super fun. Get an account, be silly with me.

Filed under: links, personal

April 14, 2009 • 11:26 pm 0

Don’t touch my paper samples! (no, really, don’t.)

10x14 It’s rare these days to find a graphic designer who doesn’t tag “web developer” or “web designer” or “interaction expert” onto her title. That’s not a knock, I do it too, occasionally. I hope there’s a “green fallout” at some point and a certain level of groupthink brings everyone back to the importance of tactile qualities in print. Until I can touch my screen and feel the embossed curve of a letter in an e-vite, or tilt the screen from side to side to see the spot gloss varnish covering part of the image on the cover of that annual report PDF– it just won’t be as evocative to me.

Is it nostalgia at this point? I don’t think so. Good packaging never dies. An invitation in your hand is worth two in your bush – I forget the exact quote, but it’s true. The last digital tattoo I got faded too quickly for my liking. It’s not as trendy as it once was to have certain things inked; but, more for perception marketing than absolute real-ness. Appearing as an environmental steward is more important than understanding what it really means to be one anyway, right? Anyway. I love the web. I love pristine digital files. I love it when people try to be “perfect” when “perfect” is obviously an imaginary construct. I love all those things with one part of my soul, that isn’t relative or intrinsic to design or my design background. It feels removed from there, and I’m not ashamed of that.

I’m one of those geeks that gets paper sample books to lick them. I buy letterpress business cards that cost four times more than some silly glossy cousin that people “get.” I buy CDs I hate so I can paste the booklet to my walls. I don’t own a record player anymore, but still buy vinyl for the album covers. I love print. I love knowing exactly what you’re going to get, and then seeing how organic and imperfectly perfect it really is. I love it when happy mistakes happen, and when you discover something really wonderful about yourself when you play with ink and paper.

Filed under: design, personal, emboss, graphic design, invitation, print, spot varnish, web design

April 13, 2009 • 9:25 am 0

Monday Errata

Just a note, if you’re looking for a more robust sampling of my work sans commentary), go to flickr.com/saturated. I use the photostream as a timeline of my projects. It’s an interesting chronological way to look back at what you’ve done and see how choosing one path affects future work.

If you have an account, feel free to make me a contact. It’s a great way to see my content updates before anyone else. If you don’t have an account, you should. Totally fun.

My Humour
I write in stream-of-consciousness style and can lose even the most astute of audience. So, don’t feel bad if you find yourself lost from time to time. My sense of humor is one-part dry sarcasm, and one part non sequitur wasteland. Under further consideration, I find myself a little giddy at the relationship between two or more non-relative items. I enjoy linking things that may only make sense on some very abstract level in my mind.

To the point of clarity. I only have deep, personal knowledge of two people’s work with such a distinction that I would feel comfortable with a general recommendation. Both of those people contribute directly to this blog. Kastoory + Marcia, feel the love.

Filed under: personal, photography, relationships, errata, flickr, shout out

April 9, 2009 • 8:13 pm 4

Guest Post: Naked vs Lewd

goldie There’s always been this one thing about American society that puzzled me for the longest time.

Here it is:

It’s perfectly OK to sit down in a theatre or even turn on some version of “network” television to watch an hour or so of people shooting each other, blowing each other up and, with whatever means chosen- be it chainsaw, knife, spear, hand grenade or what-have-you -commit some heinous act of violence that passes for entertainment. Bear in mind, that except in times of war, this same society says all such activity is bad. It is never OK. “Use your words, not your hands,” we tell small children who are pummeling one another on the playground. Violence = Inappropriate Human Behavior BUT Appropriate Viewing.

However, if there’s a movie or television show that might include frontal nudity or sexuality or, G-d forbid, a woman breast feeding a child, THAT is not considered acceptable viewing. Even though, human sexuality is a normal part of human development and breast feeding is kinda what breasts were invented for in the first place. Sex = Appropriate Human Behavior BUT Inappropriate Viewing.

Why is that? Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: art, personal, censorship, commentary, lewd, naked, sexuality, violence

March 31, 2009 • 10:41 am 0

Newspapers Are Irrelevant

Walking into work this morning, I hear the faint cry of Cyndi Lauper. This is of particular interest for a few reasons:

There isn’t an 80s radio station in town anymore, and
The nearest car is stopped at the light half a block away. Well, it is coming from that car. LOUD.

It’s a large man in a small truck…blaring Cyndi Lauper no less!

As I cross the road, he barrels down it. I turn around because I’m shocked at the speed. I turn around again because I hear him coming to an abrupt halt. He stops at my building. My first thought (no matter how silly) is that he stopped to come and kick my ass. He looks at me, and boom! Hurls a newspaper at me. Now, I don’t think he was aiming for me, but he threw it with extreme force, very close to where I was walking. I don’t think he would have been displeased at all to see me get whopped in the head. Nothing against me, it just makes the job more fun (I would assume).

Hell, if I were delivering papers, I’d go all Nintendo Paper Boy on people too. And, after a while maybe I’d probably even get a sicker thrill from whopping people while Cyndi Lauper plays. Maybe I’d throw some Devo in there to keep it level.

Filed under: personal, cyndi lauper, devo, newspaper, paper boy, sick thrills

March 29, 2009 • 7:51 pm 0

Updates on John

Photo shoot and some post finished! Mixed media piece created. The piece is a see-in-person only, but you can get a taste from the attachment in this post. Also, I keep finding new feathers all around my studio. Hmmmm. You probably can’t tell from the micro-pic, but this shot worked perfectly with a shot I took in Central Park last October. It’s a shot I’ve been waiting to marry with the right partner, so very cool!

In other News: If you sign an e-mail “chow” I’m never talking to you again. I’m not kidding.

Don’t agree to something if you can’t follow through (I’m guilty of that recently).

I have two (yes, two!) ambitious new projects coming up. I’ll be posting more details as they materialize. Both art-related, and both very different for me. I’m style-agnostic if you didn’t catch on!

Filed under: art, personal, ali, art, ciao, new york, photography

January 29, 2008 • 4:23 am 2

My personality profile

A General Description of How You Interact with Others

You are important. So are other people, especially if they are in trouble. You have a tender heart, but you know how to establish and keep personal boundaries. You are empathetic and compassionate, but you also believe that it’s best if people solve their own problems and learn to take care of themselves, if they are able.

You are deeply moved by the needs of others, but you know that if you don’t take good care of yourself, you’ll wind up being of no use to anyone. So yours is a thoughtful compassion. You strive to be fair and sensible, taking care of others while also taking care of yourself.

When someone really is in trouble, you like to collaborate with them toward a solution; they do their part, you do yours. You consider carefully, and respond in a sensible way; they do their part, and together you move through the difficulty.

You seldom act impulsively; rather, when a problem arises, you take your time to think through the situation. This contemplative quality usually means that you’ll arrive at a diplomatic solution, one that’s fair for the other person and also fair to you. It’s frequently a win/win situation.

Negative Reactions Others May Have Toward You

For people who are ruled by tender-hearted compassion, your more diplomatic response to problems might seem too cool, too focused on fairness and not filled enough with sympathy and selflessness.

For them, when someone’s life is on fire, what is needed is not collaboration but rescue. And the person who experiences their life on fire may resent the time you take to contemplate. “I need you, and I need you NOW! This isn’t about fairness, it’s about the fire.” “All deliberate speed” may seem too deliberate and not fast enough, either to the more compassionate or to people in genuine trouble.

At the other end of the spectrum of compassion, those who believe people should take care of themselves may find even your thoughtful sympathies too soft. They expect people, themselves included, to work their own way out of trouble. They are convinced that the helping hand you lend just fosters dependence and is not good for the development of character, either in you or in the person you assist.

Positive Responses Others May Have Toward You

Many people, perhaps the majority, will come to appreciate your balance as a compassionate person. The more they get to know you, the more they will admire your thoughtful compassion for others and its compliment in the sensible ways you take good care of yourself.

Those whom you help will appreciate the way you leave them with their dignity by expecting them to collaborate in their own rescue. Those who are more tender-hearted will find in you a balance they lack; when they’ve run out of energy because they fail to take good care of themselves, you will still have enough compassion left to lift others out of trouble.

Even the tough-hearted, those who believe people should solve their own problems, might come to admire your tenderness which they don’t find in themselves. So the people you help will be grateful, and the people who see your balance between self and others will admire you. Certainly, balanced is not bad at all as a way to be known among your friends.

Filed under: personal, Uncategorized

Contact Me

If you'd like to connect and see new work, visit my Facebook page

If you stopped by to check out my work, (thanks!) go to http://johnkester.me. I love to hear new opinions, thoughts and comments, so have at it!

If you'd like to commission a piece, schedule a shoot, or engage in random ranting, email me at john.m.kester [at] gmail.com