Gwen Bishop Portfolio

GWEN BISHOP

OVERVIEW

Variety is the spice of life, or so they say.

During the years I’ve spent in publishing, marketing and now graphic design, I’ve done everything from cutting color at the local newspaper to learning how to build a gif ad. And somewhere in between I’ve created billboards, t-shirt designs, grocery store circulars, online and social media ads, written web copy, touched up photos, and a myriad of other marketing projects either my employer or client needed at the time.

I cut my teeth at the local newspaper, then went on to work in marketing, as an editor, then freelancing for over 10 years.

You’ll see a variety of designs here, but honestly, my favorite is a clean, simple look.

BRANDING

One of my biggest irks is inconsistency. I remember before I even knew what branding meant or any rules of marketing, I would spend time with clients at the newspaper who didn’t understand that their ads needed to have a certain amount of consistency. A lot of the long-time business owners got it, but I remember telling smaller business owners there needed to be something, even if it was just a logo, customers would see and recognize everytime they flipped through the paper.

Some of my favorite branding that I’ve done has been with our local hospital (I’ve worked with them for over 10 years). I don’t have a hand in everything they do, but the marketing director has always trusted me with brainstorming, big projects and campaigns.

From time to time, there will be companies that just need to step outside the box and do something that no one would expect. I’ve included a few samples from a local pest control company and a waste management company.

Colors, fonts, graphics and the overall feel is what I think about when designing a new campaign. Does everything flow/match the overall branding? Have I done my best to get the message across they are looking for? I have found that a good psychological instinct is my friend when I’m pulling together a campaign, or trying to feel out a new client.

Special trash.

Our trash IQ.

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understand all things garbage. We understand the what, where and why of recycling. We already have the capability and resources to recycle everything we can, so you don’t have to worry about. You have better things to worry about.

And don’t forget, we love our customers and treat them like the family members we like!

WORDS

I started my career as a typesetter at my local newspaper. I’ve always been surrounded by words and have an understanding how to use them not only in news and feature stories, but how to best use them in advertising. In my newspaper days, after moving from news to advertising, I became the go-to girl for business reviews. I wish I had kept the lunch napkin the advertising director gave me with about 15 words on it for an article that needed to be at least 12 inches long. It was my crowning glory of my copywriting career! After that, the sales department had me write ad copy, or at least let me tweak whatever they had written.

I spent 5 years as an editor of a local lifestyle magazine. I did look for digital versions of that, but during that period, we didn’t really digitize for the web and I couldn’t find a hard copy to scan a few samples.

Included here is a magazine I owned and operated for about a year. Although I was a terrible phone sales person at the time, I still am happy with the content and design. The next magazine I wrote all the articles and split the design with another artist. In the final magazine I wrote three feature articles, including the cover story, in the one issue.

Words are especially important in digital advertising. I’m no SEO expert, but I have worked with one and understand the importance of web words, as well as using concise wording in digital and social media ads.

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Visual and 8MM Editor Gwen Bishop gwenbishop1@gmail.com 256.750.5209

Creative Director/Music Editor Jonalan Wright jonalan.wright1@gmail.com 334.223.6467

Layout and Design John Denney john_denney@att.net 256.675.6598

Marketing Manager Brian Svencer bsvencer@gmail.com 334.652.4232

IT Director/Marketing John Bailey johnbailey3000@gmail.com 334.424.4177

Marketing Clyde Gulledge clydegulledge@gmail.com 256.234.1249

If you tell the guys of Blackberry Smoke they’re an overnight sensation, more likely than not, they are going to laugh.

Then, if you get worried that their new-found stardom might affect their rock-star egos, causing them to over-indulge in things they shouldn’t, they’ll probably laugh again.

Blackberry Smoke, an Atlanta-based band, with frontman Charlie Starr hailing from Lanett, AL, have spent years getting to this point - that elusive “on the verge” of fame that musicians dream about. And the five-member band is ready with their feet firmly planted in reality.

The long haul to success “isn’t frustrating at all,” drummer Brit Turner said. “We would quit doing it if we didn’t enjoy it and we’re appreciative of people who are getting to know us now.”

“We’re happy just making music, regardless,” Charlie said. “This success is hard won and worth its salt to me. I can’t see us ever being spoiled.”

Brit echoed the sentiment saying they “would enjoy playing for 10 or 10 thousand.”

Because they have been performing for years, many of the temptations that stardom brings with it aren’t an issue for the band.

“Some people just get thrown because they have money they didn’t have before,” Brit said. “And having a family

movin’ on up

makes a difference.”

The band believes that no matter how many people you are playing for or what venue, their show should be the best show they’ve ever done, so the audience - regardless of size - knows the band appreciates them being there.

The biggest difference Brit noticed playing to larger audiences - which they do much more often now - is the sound on the stage.

“We’re further away from the audience, we actually like to stay close,” he said.

“There’s a totally different energy when you’re in front of a huge crowd. There were 8000 people in Paris line dancing.

You can’t even imagine it.”

Their current fame has brought with it a few major changes.

For

“Obviously, everyone wants a label who will dump money in their front yards,” Brit said. “It’s expensive on the road when you don’t have tour support.”

Driving from gig to gig in the old days, they would perform, sell CDs and shirts from their van, put enough gas to get to the next town, usually taking turns sleeping while on the road, then cleaning up, eating cheap, performing and doing it all over again.

All the band members are married, so they didn’t tour the entire year.

“Its hard,” Brit said, “being away from your family.”

When the band wasn’t touring, they all had part-time work at home giving them flexible times to be able to go on

the road when there were shows to perform.

“We’ve all been able to make ends meet,” Brit said. “We never quit our jobs.”

Those days are behind them. Once the band had major record label backing, they were able to purchase a tour bus, traveling much more comfortably and adding the fifth member.

“The people that work with us are old friends,” Charlie said, “but we had to add a few to refresh our jokes.”

And you don’t mess with their friends.

“At the end of the day, it’s us against the world. We might fight each other, but nobody else can,” he said.

The loyality is still there, but now they are just a bit more comfortable.

The BamaJam label indeed dumped some cash on them, supporting the release of their first full-length CD, Little

several years BBS was a four-man band, but they recently added a keyboard player - a sound they had been wanting to add for a while - but the space in their small van didn’t allow for a fifth member.

Piece of Dixie. The BamaJam folks also believe in them enough to give them great billing at the upcoming BamaJam Music Festival to be held June 3-5 near Enterprise. And check out the hilarious promo video on www.bamajammusicfestival.com.

Yes, the band is happy with their current success, but they know it may be short lived.

“It’s all about the people who buy tickets,” Brit said. “We can always survive. The record industry may fall flat, you just don’t know.

“And you can’t replace live music.”

The other major change for the band has been songwriting.

Until recently, Charlie has been the main songwriter. When the group stated working on Little Piece of Dixie, the producers did two things: had the band listen to other songwriters music, and had the band work with songwriters.

“Good One Comin’ On” is the first song they recorded that someone else had written. “We had never even thought of playing songs other folks had written,” Charlie said.

is sure to draw fans not only from their music, but their personalities as well.

“It’s all very simple,” Charlie said. “We just do what we do. We’re pushing forward for the same thing.”

all about the people who buy tickets. you can’t replace live music. -Brit Turner

Charlie said working with a songwriter outside the band was a little unnerving at first. Most songs are personal, “about a girl, or life,” he said and they were unsure how it would work. But after meeting a songwriter and working with him, a few were recorded for the new CD, and BBS formed a new friendship.

“And there’s no formula for songwriting,” he said. “They come when they come.

“Sometimes they’ll come to me at the craziest times and if I don’t write it down, I’ll lose it.”

Seems these five long-haired Southern boys are ready for the big time. Keeping their wits about them and their egos in check, and remembering that the music is what it’s all about, Blackberry Smoke

Blackberry Smoke’s current schedule:

The Bad Manor, Athens, Georgia - May 27

Coalfest, Brilliant - May 29

Lake Martin Amphitheater, Eclectic - May 30

BamaJam, Enterprise - Saturday, June 4

Check their website, www.blackberrysmoke.com for other tour dates.

In an era of YouTube, Lady Gaga and American Idol, it’s super refreshing to find an artist not interested in becoming rich and famous just for the sake of being rich and famous.

Alexander City resident Marché Webb is that writer. Mature and thoughtful beyond his 23 years, he has future plans of becoming a songwriter, but in his own way and his own time.

Citing Bob Dillon as his favorite songwriter, Marché said that one of the main things he admired about him was his ideals.

“He didn’t care about being

styles. The following is just a small sampling of the different poetic styles he uses, all written at different emotional times in his life over the past few years.

(stimulants + a quiet mind) worldy views/hypocrisy (memory x ecstasy) + tyranny = this quaint poetic piece

marché webb

intro by Gwen Bishop photo by Jonalan Wright

famous. He was more like a prophet and he didn’t even realize it,” Marché said.

“Most musicians now just do it for the money. Running their mouths, dancing around ... there’s just no soul to it.”

Marché has been busy trying to learn to set his words to music, although he’s much more confident in his lyrics than his music. Out of the many pieces he has written, he’s only finished setting one or two to music. How appropriate that a writer works full time at the local library ... but surprisingly, during one of Marché’s main responsibilities is when he creates some of his best work.

“Most of my ideas come at work when I’m shelving books,” he said.

“My mind is at rest doing this repetitive work, so I’ve learned to try and save my words before I forget them.”

Employing this use of his iPhone, one of the things he does enjoy about his generation, the writer can capture those illusive thoughts before they’re gone forever.

Marché uses a variety of writing

the stubborn abolitionist and the cultist contortionist on theology they would subsist on ideas they would blacklist for the meanings they would dismiss to the Prisoners they would insist “to resist” they’d gist “this act you must desist!!”

to exist poor souls, your minds you must enlist, into that, which boldly boasts bliss.

To those who Fret that which has yet to be seen by sightless eyes - an opus in progressio

Prepare your raft, your boat or yacht Procure your bait, your tackle box Your rusted rod and things forgot Your selfish schemes and twisted plots.

Its time to sail the seas.

Leave the things u want unseen Your hopes, your lust, your gutted dreams

Your faults, your lack of self esteem Your tangled strings and busted seams Taste the misty breeze.

Cast your line the waters fine, tho the compliments u seek to find, have past your ears and left your mind, fisherman you’re wasting time.

Poseidon longs to see you there The Sirens sing to reach your ear Upon his wings Boreas bares The destination of your care the Ocean’s angst is heard.

Gone, the world you’ve left behind Taken away for you to find The rusted cages of your mind Inhabitates imprisoned Time. Your vessel strikes a berg.

Cast your line the waters fine, tho the compliments u seek to find, have past your ears and left your mind, fisherman you’re wasting time.

The moon is full of selfish pride As tidal torrents toss you by Regarding fate: to sail or die? Your answer trails a train of sighs.

You sing your final song. Its all a show the actors play The camera rolls your pain away The artificial night is day The aqua blue has turned to grey. The violent sea is gone.

Somnium A City Terminus, ita ut Somnium intus Hic

The sun did rise and blinded eyes of the people that lived in the city. the old relaxed while the young made tracks in the book of the town’s new history. the students bought what teachers taught what choice had the Slaves otherwise? for the powers that be, couldn’t handle the Free; brainwashings a clever disguise. the teens abused with no better muse than obstinate views of the Sane. while the Dark Child cuts to cover up the scars of a Greater Pain.

Parents sold their borrowed souls for wages of selfworth, the Stones kept rolling with the Jones’ to compensate this curse “to emulate”, they’d propagate “is simply flattery” tho hidden well, all could smell the stench of jealousy.

it’s

Publisher/Advertising Sales

Photography

Mary Patchunka-Smith 256.396.2828 claychamber@centurytel.net

Layout and Design/Photography John Denney 256.794.4774 john_denney@att.net

Copy Editor/Writer/Advertising Sales Gwen Bishop 256.307.8155 gwenbishop1@gmail.com

The Clay County

THE GREAT OUTDOORS GOLD MINES

“The _ _ _ _ was hidden in that deep spot.” “The _ _ _ _ weighed so-and-so.” Then think about how fisherman don’t really want you to know exactly where they found that big fish. And how the fish is always bigger in the story than what it really was.

This is the life of a goldminer. Big “gold” tales, and always the hope of finding more, but not giving away the secret locations.

A little known mining camp, Alabama Gold Camp, is helping gold miners feed their addiction and at the same time is becoming a big attraction in Clay County.

Located in Cragford, Alabama Gold Camp is like a page out of a history book - minus the camp grounds which tend to be filled with a variety of campers in all shapes and sizes.

Owner Jeff Landrum bought the property of what is now Alabama Gold Camp in 2005, and it was nothing more than timberland with a logging road running through it. Today, the camp is the epitome of good, old-fashioned outdoor fun.

Vistors can begin their gold-mining experience with lessons in panning, or head straight to the creek and start dredging. No equipment? No problem! The camp has everything a first-time and an experienced panner needs.

“We will teach as much as a person wants to learn,” Mike Slavant, an expert prospecter at the camp, said. Beginning with panning demonstrations, new prospecters can learn everything they need to know about panning, rent the equipment and begin telling their own “gold tales.”

The camp crew recommends panning first, then once the miner has a little experience, move up to dredging.

“Panning is mainly to determine if gold is in the area,” Mike said. “If there is, then you want to move up to the other equipment.”

Panning - a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan.*

Panning allows the prospecter to get rid of the lightest, smallest pieces first, which is opposite of what a trommel does.

Trommel - a screened cylinder used to separate materials by size.*

Dredging involves digging buckets of dirt out of any of the cleared out creek locations and pouring the wet dirt into a small trommel which works out rocks, and continues to allow the miner to sift through the dirt until only the smallest particles remain.

Dredging - an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location.*

Hopefully, after the sifting and hard work, there will be a bit of gold left to snuff then transfer to a vial.

Snuffer - hand-held plastic bottle vacuum that sucks the gold out of the pan when it is squeezed and released. Holds small pieces or flakes of gold until the panner is ready to put it in a vial.

Several mining clubs stay for a week or so every year not only to mine but to continue to improve their techniques.

For a newbie interested in learning more about prospecting, coinciding a trip to Alabama Gold Camp while one of the clubs is there is a great way to get tips from those more experienced, Mike said.

Once or twice a year, Jeff cranks up Godzilla (shown on

these two pages), a commercial style wash plant with four separating bins, for the large group of onlookers.

A gold wash plant is designed like the smaller trommels - the screens separate the materials by size - but on a much larger scale.

The building of Godzilla was a huge undertaking and took many years to complete. The machine is expensive to operate, so it is only run during busy times so gold enthusiasts can watch it operate, Mike said.

Situated on top of a hill, the massive machinery not only does its job, but has plenty of platforms along its expanse for onlookers to watch it operate.

The areas set up creekside for prospecters are along two natural creeks

- Wesobulga and Crooked Creek. There are also two “weather” creeks which only fill during heavy rainfall.

The natural creeks flow year round.

With natural sandbars and riffles, there are plenty of places to prospect in the creeks.

Riffle - a short, relatively shallow and coarse-bedded length of stream over which the stream flows at higher velocity and higher turbulence than it normally does in comparison to a pool.*

Both riffles and sandbars are popular places to look for gold.

And once a prospector finds anything in one of these places, he will start trying to hide his location from everyone else.

“But we know if they are in the same spot for days, they had to find something,” Mike said smiling.

Experts like Mike can also look at the different colors of the bedrock and determine where a gold vein might be located. It’s these location that a prospecter might luck up and find a picker.

Picker - a piece of gold big enough to pick up with your finger.

Whether it’s gold dust or a picker or rock size, prospecters

of all backgrounds and ages get excited about finding gold and they continue looking for it. “I enjoy watching people get excited over finding gold,” Mike said. And hoping for a big payload, visitors continue to enjoy their time at Alabama Gold Camp.

And what about Mike?

“I’ve been doing this for about seven years,” he said. “Before that I’ve always been interested in geology - it has always been a passion. Gold is the only element you can recover in its natural form. It’s not just about the value, it’s the hunt. The anticipation.”

Gold mining and prospecting are not new in the area.

Mike said there are about 12 mines in a three-mile radius of the gold camp. Less than a half hour away, the famous goldmining town of Goldville and Hog Mountain, where the Gold Rush was in full force in the 1840s, still hold interest to many modern prospectors.

On a website by Joe Waters, a local prospecter from Tallapoosa County, he writes a short history on the gold rush in Goldville.

“In 1842, gold was discovered in Northeast Tallapoosa County. The news spread fast and furiously in the same manner as the 1849 strike in California. It brought all kinds of people with the same lust for riches.

The population of Goldville quickly reached 3,500. Almost overnight Goldville became one of the largest towns in Alabama.

“In the ‘Goldville District’, gold veins were rich. The gold was there, but the methods of obtaining it were crude. There also was free gold, concentrated at the surface by weathering which made it possible to work with a shovel and pan in some places. Gold was worked down to water level. A great amount of work was done as indicated by the trenches, pits, and shafts that can still be found.

“There were at least fourteen merchants, seven saloons, and two hotels that served the miners needs.

Most of the miners lived in tents.

There is not any evidence of a church in the gold rush days. The town of Goldville was born and died between the census of 1840 and 1850. The amount of gold taken from the mines and pits will never be known.

Most of the miners were gone before 1850. When news of the California gold strike reached Goldville, the miners packed up and left not even taking time to put out their campfires.”

Joe also writes about Hog Mountain: “There was more gold removed here and over a longer period of time than any other location in Tallapoosa County.

“Hog Mountain, an unfortunate name, is located three miles west of Goldville and ten miles northeast of Alexander City. The mountain reaches an elevation of more than 1,000 feet and stands about 500 feet above Hillabee Creek. Surrounded

count the cows with his grandfather.

“We would drive out there in his Chrysler, sit in the pasture and look at the cows for hours. I thought ‘this is the dumbest thing an adult can do - count cows.’

“In college, I would start to miss it. So I would come home, sit in the Chrysler and count cattle,” he said laughing.

“Most of my grandkids live in subdivisions in Jefferson County. They don’t have the opportunity to experience the same things as they do here,” Gov. Riley said.

“People are trying to search out beauty and a different way of life. They want get dirty and know its ok.”

bob riley

For 52 years Bob Riley led a life pretty much the same as everyone else. He worked, married, raised a family, vacationed, worked some more, went to church, hunted and fished.

Although it was only a short time in his life, the Bob Riley that most people think they know was Governor Bob Riley. For eight years, Gov. Riley made headlines and did his job running the State of Alabama.

But what about those other years?

The main portion of his life that many people either don’t know about or have forgotten after Gov. Riley started making headlines are the ones that make up the real Bob Riley.

A Clay County native born in 1944, Gov. Riley spent his entire life in the county until he was elected governor in 2003. Although he and wife Patsy currently have a part-time residence in Jefferson County, he continues to

spend most of his time at the family farm in Clay County.

Like most who grew up during this era, Gov. Riley was raised understanding that hard work, family, church and community were important.

And growing up in a rural area is something he finds difficult to get today’s children to understand or appreciate.

“It’s hard to explain to kids how geat it is. You knew everyone and they knew everything about you,” he said. After the chores were done, they would leave home after breakfast and come back at dark. Nobody was worried about what you were doing, he said.

“Dad’s philosophy was he didn’t care what I was doing as long as I was doing something.”

of Gov. Riley’s most dreaded “chores” as a child was to

denney

Laughing about his son-in-law Robert who was raised in Tampa, FL, he said “he was one of those Versace-wearing stylish guys. In about 14 years, he finally bought his first shirt at Tractor Supply Company. He loves the farm, green fields, and he hunts now.”

Even though the area was different when he was a child, Gov. Riley still believes Clay County is a great place to raise children.

“Things here revolve around church, shool and volunteerism,” he said. “Everyone here still volunteers.”

He recalled when he was 14 or 15, Ashland had their first volunteer fire department with seven or eight men on board.

“This creates a sense of community that’s hard to replicate in urban or metro areas,” he said.

Other memories of his childhood include his dad’s business and his own.

“My dad ran a little grocery store where [Monte Alban, on the square in Ashland] is now. My granddad had a dry goods store in the same building. There was a wall between them,” he said.

“People would come in [the store] on Saturday, give us a list of what they wanted to buy, then they would go to the movies. Whole town didn’t close until 11:30 or so. You would come to town and stay all day.”

Gov. Riley’s childhood sweetheart, Patsy Adams, was nearby in her father’s dry goods store just two doors down.

“I carried her to the prom,” he said smiling. And in December 1964 they were married.

“A lot of people had a huge influence on my life and Patsy’s and how we raised our kids,” Gov Riley said.

by hardwood and pine covered hills near the junction of Hillabee and Enantichopko Creeks, the mountain is located in a sparsely populated area and displays some of the most beautiful and rugged country in Tallapoosa County.

“The Hog Mountain or Hillabee Mines have been operated since 1844 when only the crudest machines were used and hauling of ore to the creek was accomplished with oxen. Many times over the years the mine was abandoned only to be reopened. When Dr. Phillips visited the mine in 1891 there was a ten-stamp mill with an engine and boiler on the site but no work had been done for several years. An assay of ore from the mine in 1886 gave the value of the ore as $7.50 a ton. The site also yielded some silver.”

For more information on the old gold mines, visit Joe’s website at http://jovikri.tripod.com/public-index. html#comments.

In an article written by Jim Denney for the Lake Magazine April 2012 issue, other mines around Tallapoosa County are discussed, mostly around Lake Martin, and those under Lake Martin.

All in all, gold prospecting can be a fun hobby with the hopes of striking it rich one day. Often, prospectors may not find a lot of gold, but are lucky enough to find semiprecious stones, keeping the thrill of the hunt alive for another day.

For more information on Alabama Gold Camp, find them on Facebook, or visit their website at www. alabamagoldcamp.com.

*Definitions are from Wikipedia.com.

After college, his brother and he started an egg business.

“We worked seven days a week. I looked back at pictures from Christmas morning and I wasn’t in any of them. I had to get the eggs out to the houses,” he said.

Although Clay County can never be exactly like it used to be, Gov. Riley believes the area has a great opportunity to grow and thrive because it is rural and full of caring, hard working people.

“I think we can get [the towns] back to where it was - I think we’re going to see that. The North can’t compete with the American South. More and more are coming here because they were too competitive.

“If we do in Clay County what I think we can do, where small towns start to revive themselves, the quality of life we have gives us a leg up. But we have to work hard to make it happen,” he said.

“We still haven’t gotten over the loss of textiles to China,” he said, “and this has created a void. But now with the advent of technology I can do anything in this office that I can do in Birmingham. I think that the technology will drive a resurgence to this area.

“You get the benefits of a rural area and not deprive yourself of technology.”

In building up Clay County, Gov. Riley said you “don’t want to lose what makes us so special. We have to expand for our kids and the [Central High of Clay County] can offer so much that we couldn’t offer before. The classes are the same that are offered in Mountain Brook.”

They say you can never go back home. Not true.

For many people such as Gov. Riley, home never really leaves you. The foundation instilled from a rural upbringing is one that is carried forever. The sense of family, community, church and hard work becomes an internal gift that can be given and taught to help everyone live a better life. This gift is what he is trying to give us.

For a man who was once the leader of Alabama, the humbleness he possesses is an attestment to what growing up in a rural town does for a person.

“There are a hundred things I wish I would have done earlier. I can never give back to the community as much as they have given us,” he said.

Mike Slavant

CLAY COUNTY LIFE 19

Above, Paydirt! The small amount of gold keeps prospectors coming back for more.

Reflections of life, family and rural Alabama from Clay County’s own former governor of Alabama, Bob Riley.

One

story by gwen bishop photos by john

ORGANIZATION

The following samples are by far not my best work, but I felt it was important to include them so you can understand that I am able to organize complicated materials. The four page home improvement circulation was from a regular client of a client. He was old-school and would always send his ad info handwritten, and his assistant would fax pages upon pages to me. There might be roofing supplies, lumber and paint on one page, fencing and faucets on another.

The flyer on the next page is hideous, but notice the original! I was tasked with making it look better and be reader friendly.

I believe keeping items, thoughts, etc. organized in a pleasant manner makes your target audience relate to whatever message your are trying to convey to them.