Letter to David
Mr. David Carson,
I've had a lot of time to think about how I'm going to write this essay. In fact, I’ve written it once already. I've put on the professional mask, the humble mask, the confident mask, and several other masks trying to find exactly what you might want to hear. I've watched videos of you on youtube to see what kind of person you might be. I've looked at your work, I've read about you on wikipedia, I've been listening to nine inch nails' the fragile, and I've talked to my instructor Jenny Venn, and students who were invited to meet you on your first visit to Laramie, about their experience. But the fact of the matter is that I have no idea what you are looking for.
I believe that the reason I've been trying so hard to find out what you want to see is because of my academic experiences. I have been a professional student since 1990. School has consumed my life. In the academic world I have learned that you might succeed by being intuitive but you are more likely to succeed by doing exactly what the instructor wants. I’ve never liked doing that. So I’m going to take off the masks and try my best not to bullshit you. First I’m going to talk a little bit about myself, then I’ll talk about the work I’ve selected, and finally I am going to talk about why I think I should be in your class.
I’ve lived in Wyoming my whole life and I haven’t traveled much. I’ve been designing things before I knew what graphic design was. When I was little my mom wouldn’t let me listen to Metallica so I would sneak in to my brothers room and record his CDs onto cassette when she wasn’t home. The music wasn’t enough for me. I had to have the album art as well. So I would cut a peace of paper in the shape of the cassette insert and I would design the cover with crayons and colored pencils. Later in life, I dropped out of high school, got my GED, and went to community college. I became very interested in street art. Particularly artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey who would use stencils in their work. In 2007 I transferred to the University of Wyoming and became a graphic design major because I decided to be brave and try to make a living doing what I love to do.
I like school because it teaches me technical skills, introduces me to new elements that I can apply to my design, and it teaches me social skills. But what I hate about school is that it limits me. In school I am a B student but in my world there are no grades. In my world there are only messages, emotions, meanings, and there are absolutely no limitations. That’s why I’ve selected work that I’ve designed mostly outside of school. I like it better. I realize that in the real world people don’t often give you complete creative freedom and so it is important for me to learn how to work with people but this is my portfolio and I get to choose what you see. I’m excited about showing you some of the things I like. I’m horrible at being organized so a lot of my best work has been washed away or lost and while this may not be my best work it is some of my favorite.
Finally I would like to talk about why I should be in your class. It would be exciting to meet a designer who is making a living doing what they love to do and doing it successfully. I might learn something that will help me succeed as a designer. It would be awesome to meet the guy who designed the cover of the fragile and and all that could have been; two of my most favorite NIN albums of all time musically and visually (I have the fragile on vinyl and I LOVE IT). It would be nice to learn from someone other than just Jenny Venn as she is the only design instructor at UW. Its not that I don’t love what she does but it would be nice to have some variety.
As far as why I “should” be in your class I guess that is for you to decide. But if I had to pick a reason it would be because I love art and design and I think I’m pretty good at it. I hope you find what you’re looking for in my portfolio and my essay and I look forward to meeting you this fall! Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Isaac James Grover
I've had a lot of time to think about how I'm going to write this essay. In fact, I’ve written it once already. I've put on the professional mask, the humble mask, the confident mask, and several other masks trying to find exactly what you might want to hear. I've watched videos of you on youtube to see what kind of person you might be. I've looked at your work, I've read about you on wikipedia, I've been listening to nine inch nails' the fragile, and I've talked to my instructor Jenny Venn, and students who were invited to meet you on your first visit to Laramie, about their experience. But the fact of the matter is that I have no idea what you are looking for.
I believe that the reason I've been trying so hard to find out what you want to see is because of my academic experiences. I have been a professional student since 1990. School has consumed my life. In the academic world I have learned that you might succeed by being intuitive but you are more likely to succeed by doing exactly what the instructor wants. I’ve never liked doing that. So I’m going to take off the masks and try my best not to bullshit you. First I’m going to talk a little bit about myself, then I’ll talk about the work I’ve selected, and finally I am going to talk about why I think I should be in your class.
I’ve lived in Wyoming my whole life and I haven’t traveled much. I’ve been designing things before I knew what graphic design was. When I was little my mom wouldn’t let me listen to Metallica so I would sneak in to my brothers room and record his CDs onto cassette when she wasn’t home. The music wasn’t enough for me. I had to have the album art as well. So I would cut a peace of paper in the shape of the cassette insert and I would design the cover with crayons and colored pencils. Later in life, I dropped out of high school, got my GED, and went to community college. I became very interested in street art. Particularly artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey who would use stencils in their work. In 2007 I transferred to the University of Wyoming and became a graphic design major because I decided to be brave and try to make a living doing what I love to do.
I like school because it teaches me technical skills, introduces me to new elements that I can apply to my design, and it teaches me social skills. But what I hate about school is that it limits me. In school I am a B student but in my world there are no grades. In my world there are only messages, emotions, meanings, and there are absolutely no limitations. That’s why I’ve selected work that I’ve designed mostly outside of school. I like it better. I realize that in the real world people don’t often give you complete creative freedom and so it is important for me to learn how to work with people but this is my portfolio and I get to choose what you see. I’m excited about showing you some of the things I like. I’m horrible at being organized so a lot of my best work has been washed away or lost and while this may not be my best work it is some of my favorite.
Finally I would like to talk about why I should be in your class. It would be exciting to meet a designer who is making a living doing what they love to do and doing it successfully. I might learn something that will help me succeed as a designer. It would be awesome to meet the guy who designed the cover of the fragile and and all that could have been; two of my most favorite NIN albums of all time musically and visually (I have the fragile on vinyl and I LOVE IT). It would be nice to learn from someone other than just Jenny Venn as she is the only design instructor at UW. Its not that I don’t love what she does but it would be nice to have some variety.
As far as why I “should” be in your class I guess that is for you to decide. But if I had to pick a reason it would be because I love art and design and I think I’m pretty good at it. I hope you find what you’re looking for in my portfolio and my essay and I look forward to meeting you this fall! Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Isaac James Grover
