Johnston Creations

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

2009-08-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

Custom Keirsey Temperament Report for: cody

Guardians are the cornerstone of society, for they are the temperament given to serving and preserving our most important social institutions. Guardians have natural talent in managing goods and services--from supervision to maintenance and supply -- and they use all their skills to keep things running smoothly in their families, communities, schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses.

Guardians can have a lot of fun with their friends, but they are quite serious about their duties and responsibilities. Guardians take pride in being dependable and trustworthy; if there's a job to be done, they can be counted on to put their shoulder to the wheel. Guardians also believe in law and order, and sometimes worry that respect for authority, even a fundamental sense of right and wrong, is being lost. Perhaps this is why Guardians honor customs and traditions so strongly -- they are familiar patterns that help bring stability to our modern, fast-paced world.

Practical and down-to-earth, Guardians believe in following the rules and cooperating with others. They are not very comfortable winging it or blazing new trails; working steadily within the system is the Guardian way, for in the long run loyalty, discipline, and teamwork get the job done right. Guardians are meticulous about schedules and have a sharp eye for proper procedures. They are cautious about change, even though they know that change can be healthy for an institution. Better to go slowly, they say, and look before you leap.

Guardians make up as much as 40 to 45 percent of the population, and a good thing, because they usually end up doing all the indispensable but thankless jobs everyone else takes for granted.

Guardians at Work
As a Guardian, you enjoy working as a valued member of a team, whether you are leading it or following a credible leader. You like to work with people who carry their weight. You appreciate having clear-cut responsibilities and being recognized for your dedication and achievements. Your natural traits are those that employers have traditionally valued - and that successful companies still respect. You are responsible and loyal to an organization once you've signed on.

On the job, you seem to innately understand how to create smooth, working processes in your environment. You can excel at directing others to fulfill their duties. In your ideal workplace, you and your colleagues would know what is expected of you and be predictably rewarded for meeting these expectations.

Refurbishing Project #1 (preview)

2009-07-31T05:33:00.000-07:00

This is an old end table that was given to me from a friend who had no more use for it. It has been painted over with a few coats of white latex paint of which I need to peel off. I plan on refinishing the wood surface.

I want to start working on some projects outside of class time during this coming semester just to build my portfolio and my craftsmanship.

Garden Dragon

2009-07-22T15:33:00.001-07:00

This steel frame now sits in my parents' yard and rusts while pole-beans are overgrowing the framework. (Steel)

Propaganda Camera Flower

2009-07-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

(White Oak, Steel)

Plyboo Coffee Table

2009-07-22T15:30:00.001-07:00

This table is a "green" table that was used in the coffee shop as well. (Plyboo, Maple)

Supremacist Table

2009-07-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

This was my first piece of furniture I made at VCU. Russian Suprematism was an inspiration here. This end table was used in a coffee shop for over a year before they closed. (Paperstone, Walnut, Basswood, Mahogany)

White Oak Barrel Stool

2009-07-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

I created this work right around the time I was attempting to connect my early years with my present. (White Oak, Steel)

Well here I am

2009-07-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

HEY ALL!

So here's the start of my blog. A little bit about me. I will be graduating soon from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA consisting of a Major in Sculpture & Extended Media and a Minor in Crafts & Material Studies with a focus on Furniture Design/Woodworking.

I grew up around nature and in doing so, nature grew on me. My dad has been working with wood for over 35 years, so that left me in a shadow of a professional. I grew up in a rural part of the tidewater area of VA, so having occupations such as housing construction, landscaping, farm-work, and tree removal were not-at-all unheard of. Though, when I transfered my state of living from the country to city life, my mind did not quite follow along with the open minded state that the city would soon bring to me.

My original intent when I came to school was to shoot for illustration when I first entered VCU's Art Foundation Program, but a teacher of mine insisted that I progress my ever-expanding interest in 3D art.

From there I went on to become a sculpture major. For a good year, I had my head stuck in a ball of metal where I was constantly attracted to and also distracted by welding and large scale steelwork. Along the way, as all fine artists are required in our program, I have to pick up classes in a different major. That's where the start of my woodworking adventure began.

Around the end of my Junior year, I started to realize how the Sculpture program truly tested the minds of us artists and how it taught me the meaning of the word "concept;" the understanding of the phrase "conceive thoughts." This expanded my mind into trying to connect my new-found city self with my past years of growing up around wildlife, outdoor sporting, blue-collar work, and big trucks.

From there on out I have been finding myself thinking about many different concepts in my art as I create it; Function vs. Aesthetic, Ugly vs. Beautiful, Plain vs. Extreme, etc. I have found that through an interest in past minds of the world of art, as well as the field of philosophy, that I two was and still am very capable of being what Professor Simon Blackburn calls a "Conceptual Engineer" in this ever changing art world that we live in.

I was once told by a professor of mine that, in our present day, "The Bachelors in Fine Arts is the new Bachelors in Business."