It's only a matter of time...

Today was a day of meetings. The good kind.

First I had the privilege of meeting the talented Chris Harding who was in town giving a talk at the annual Flash Forward Conference. I was first exposed to Chris's work several months ago when I saw his latest short film, "Learn Self Defense". It's a brilliant piece with great timing, beautiful designs, and a solid story to boot. I was amazed to find out he did the whole thing in 3 months...single-handedly. Already the animation community is starting to buzz about this guy since his film is being shown at high-profile festivals like SXSW and Annecy. We had a nice time lunching at Japantown and scouring Kinokuniya Bookstore for inspiration. I'm sure the animation world will be seeing more from Chris. You can check out a great interview with Chris from Cold, Hard Flash here.

Then tonight I had a reunion with a former classmate of mine, Paul Curreri. Paul is, and always has been, an artist through-and-through. We were in the same freshman section and even shared the same major going through the Film department. However after graduation, Paul embraced his first love and pursued music. On campus, he would always be a favorite performer so I'm not surprised at his success now. When he takes the stage, he has a captive audience. His performance was mesmerizing, masterful, and incredibly entertaining. I can't help but think that everything Paul learned in art school is being applied to his craft now. His sense of timing, ebb/flow, contrast, texture, and dynamics were all impeccable. And he's a darn good guitar player. My pal Arvin described his hands as "liquid" over the strings. Do yourself a favor and check out his music (he's available on iTunes for pete's sake). It'll make you smile.

What a day.