I've started the last semester of my last year at the Alberta College of Art + Design.

I’m taking four studio classes to finish off my degree: Photography on Monday, Editorial design on Tuesday, Advertising illustration on Thursday and Branding on Friday.

First impressions of the classes have been positive. Photography will be great. There’s a different vocabulary than that found in design (though not without its crossovers). It’s refreshing and pardon the pun it's reminding me to look at the world through different lenses (pun semi-intended). The same goes for the illustration class; different vocabulary, different lens.

On the first morning of illustration we made patterns following instructions on this blog. Sometimes it’s nice to just make stuff and not get too bogged down with demographics and an audience. There’s certainly a place for each approach but it was a nice break.

Friday afternoon, before the weekend started, my friend Scott Trones was showing me some of his work in Cinema 4D. We ended up playing around, breaking things, backtracking and experimenting. It was rewarding. 3D printing is something I'm interested in so some more exploration might be needed.

But the whole New-Software-Cinema-4D experience had me thinking – sometimes you get so focused on the software you’re using that you forget about the influence it’s having on the aesthetics of the work. I have this note posted above my desk that reminds me to always ask “How is this machine translating my intentions?”

I also overheard an analogy this week that seemed to appropriately describe this last semester; it’s going to be a marathon, not a horse race.

And then the week ended with pistachio in a pistachio.