emmalaiho.net/blog

When you get your best illustration gig ever, three days before your entrance exam, do you refuse? Hell no! The work in question being banner-illustrations and banner design for one of the biggest (the biggest?) webportals in Finland, which is going through a complete site redesign soon.

A friend comments that the thing architecture school left me with seems to be the ability to deal with crazy deadlines. I think it’s more about learning the freelance desiger ethic: when you’ve got work flowing in, you push other things aside and do it. And when there’s no work, you resume other things. Flexibility, to some extent.

The entrance exams start tomorrow. Good thing I haven’t had time to be nervous yet. After Tuesday there will be another cut and only half will be picked for the final stage, which will go on from Wednesday to Friday. Yikes! Wish me luck! I will get back to work now…

Rain. The raindrops tapping on roofs. Sun. A walk to the beach. It’s like two seasons in one day.

A great conversation with a friend made me try to refine some thoughts on growing up: I think the biggest lesson to learn, something that deems adulthood, is starting to do things for you and no one else. Not doing harmful things to spite someone else. Learning to take care of yourself, your health, your happiness. Learning to think you really are worth it. (sometimes I feel that so few of us do.)

Ask yourself some simple questions:
Am I feeling comfortable or uncomfortable?
Am I feeling happy or unhappy?
How am I alllowing myself to feel unhappy?
What am I allowing that isn’t making me happy?
Then ask yourself, What steps can I take?
- Bija Bennett

music video to make you smile
a book to make you smile
(gotta love the title)

head in the direction you are drawn to, even if you think it’s impossible or you don’t know how you will manage. Once you make the decision completely to do something the universe will jump in to help you out.

This week I’ve kept going back to Keri’s blog just to read the words above, again and again. I don’t know what they told me. Waiting for the letter they calmed me.

Trust the universe.

And then I got an invitation to take part in entrance examination to TAIK’s graphic design and illustration program. Yay!

(old and quick illo I still love)

April pointed me to this speech given by Steve Jobs. (love it!)

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something; your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

more inspiration:
directions in work
lunapark
kelly lynn jones
akiko kino quilts
ruby mag #6