Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The Greasy Five: My New Blog Header

Today I'm unveiling my new header, so this edition of The Greasy Five is a list of five things you need to know about my blog's new look:
  • The header was designed and created by one my talented and creative students. I sat down with her the last week of the school year and explained the vision I had for the artwork. She showed me her portfolio and jotted down some notes. School ended and about a week later she emailed me two rough drafts. I was blown away by her work, but she encouraged me to give her feedback and suggestions. I gave her a few minor suggestions, thinking there would be a little bit of improvement, but she worked her magic and created a final piece of art that exceeded my expectations. Through the whole process, I was impressed with her creativity and professionalism. If you need a new blog header, I could put you in touch with this student.
  • The header was inspired by a John Stuart Curry mural titled Tragic Prelude that you can find in the Kansas Statehouse.
  • Mr. Crankypants wanted to have the words This skillet kills fascists on the skillet I'm holding as a nod to Woody Guthrie, but I thought the message might be misconstrued. Coupled with the image of John Brown, it might have been too brash and radical.

  • I still feel awkward with my image on the header. I'm a quiet, behind-the-scenes guy who shies away from the spotlight, but since I'm also a firm believer in getting outside my comfort zone, I decided to become part of the header. It's still awkward, but it will grow on me.
  • Each time I look at the new header I smile. It's a bit goofy, but in my book goofy is good. It's nice to have a little piece of art that tickles me. We all need this in our lives.
keep your skillet good and greasy,
muddy

PS. . . Michelle, thanks for making my vision a reality. I appreciate your work.

11 comments:

JoAnna said...

Wow. WOW! The new header is fantastic! She did a great job.

Nice seeing you on Sunday~

Rechelle said...

Love it! Good job Michelle!

Amanda said...

The header is awesome!!! Great work Michelle!

One Toothbrush said...

Bravo!

Anonymous said...

Cooler than the other side of the pillow.

Did you write the code or was it a simple drag and drop?

muddywaters said...

Thanks! I'll be sure to share your comments with Michelle.

Steve: I didn't write the code. I just added it using blogger. However, Michelle made sure it was formatted for a blog header.

She impressed me so much as we worked on this. The next time I complain about my students' poor work ethic and lack of creativity I 'll look at this as a reminder of what's possible.

WilleWorks.com said...

What great artwork, Michelle! Did you make her a pie for her hard work? :) I just noticed all the pies floating around in the header. So clever!

Anonymous said...

Very cool! It makes me want pie very badly, though.

Nella said...

Great header. Kudos to Michelle!

And I wholeheartedly agree that goofy is a good thing.

LMTgraphics said...

Wow, thanks guys! (This is Michelle) I've been trying to remember my blog password so I could comment, haha.

marilyn @ simmer till done said...

Artwork (and blog, as always) fantastic! Very nice look.