I am often reminded of why I like teaching so much. It is really great when you can turn someone onto something and they run with it. My former student at Moore, Lauren Medsker, really liked Illustrator and continued long after our class had ended to hone her talents. I am really proud of her! Check out her vintage Polaroid illustration featured here. Its like a photo of the camera itself ;) 
From our email, "Want to tell you how much I enjoyed the class!  As promised, here are three out of four of my final vintage items (haven't finished the phone yet).  I'd love your feedback if you have any.  Otherwise, just wanted to share these with you.  I'm pretty proud of how they turned out." Me too!

Local artist and sculptor George Nista, a former fellow faculty member at The Art Institute of Philadelphia, approached me recently about creating a website to showcase his work. I have had an opportunity to learn so much about George's craft over the last several weeks. So much of what he does is rooted in a tradition of plain old fashioned hard work. When I asked George about the labor intensive nature of sculpting he admitted it is often a challenging part of the process but this is outweighed by the sense of discovery that still motivates him.
"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." - Michelangelo

Stay tuned for the website in the coming weeks!

As I mentioned in my previous post I had a chance to visit the National Parks of the west for vacation. I think I got some good shots over all. The thing that you can't capture in photos, even with a little digital help, is the vastness of it all. American is a beautiful place and offers so much diversity and vast stretches of lonely landscapes. I often forget that living in a major city. Hopefully these pictures inspire you to see it for yourself!
For more check out my pics here :)

I was asked to "audition" for a freelance gig with CCI Consulting. I presented on Executive Leadership which is a topic I am well versed in. I was quite happy with my presentation. Its intent is to be the first of 7 modules on Executive Leadership and how to approach it from the stand point of brand building. Be forewarned I include some of the techniques used by "The Donald" here ;)
Check out the complete presentation and accompanying web site under my consulting tab + leadership training or simply click here
https://www.kirkwidra.com/leadership-training.html

Been slowly adding my photos from my trip to South East Asian to my Digital Photography section. I had the chance to visit Thailand, Laos and Cambodia this year! I met up with my friend Merry (yes as in Merry Christmas) who was already there visiting friends and family. Needless to say I was afforded a unique cultural view of the region that I otherwise would not have had due to Merry's formidable language and cultural skills. We kept a fairly loose schedule and often made plans on the fly from the cab (what did we ever do before cell phones anyway?) From the chaos that is Bangkok, to the  floating markets and the beaches of Pattaya, to the chill vibe of Laos, to the Indiana Jones like ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, exploring South East Asia was simply amazing!

Worked on our first (dry run project) under the Community Arts Resource Exchange Program (C.A.R.E) this week. My student Katrina Joyce worked with my Farm to Families client featured in an early post. Katrina worked with me to identify their needs and propose some solutions. She managed not only to come up with some solid solutions for a new brochure and promotional poster she created also created a really nice presentation to boot!

I was asked to spear head the new Community Arts Resource Exchange Program (C.A.R.E) as part of the new student design group. The Art Institutes system of schools introduced the Community Arts Resource Exchange Program (C.A.R.E) in 2017. My role was to connect to the Philadelphia business and non-profit sectors to provide students with opportunities to apply their talents to projects that support the needs of the community, exposing them to the value and reward of charitable giving and, at the same time, advancing their educational progress and career aspirations. Check out the Student Design Group tab above for more information. I'm looking forward to being apart of this great program!