Monday, June 29, 2009

Am I the luckiest person on Earth?



...or are these things just really easy to find? This is the collection I returned with after a weekend of camping. And I even left some behind! Wtf is going on here? I hope this is the universe's way of encouraging my big move to NYC in August.

Cosmic, man, totally cosmic.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Beautiful plaster heads.



My moulding & casting totally WORKED! These are reproductions of vintage wall art that came from one of the old ladies in my family. Not sure which one, but that's not the point. The point is that I got it right and now I can make more! In case you were wondering, here's a list of materials I used:

- latex brush-on mold making rubber
- gauze (for mold backings)
- insulating foam sealant (helps molds keep their shape and still maintain flexibility)
- strong plaster of paris

Next, paint and sell on etsy!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Psych Out! A new print series.





I want to do a serious printmaking project while I still have a studio (btw, if you know anyone with a printmaking space to share in NYC, email me!)... "Psych Out!" is the idea... psychedelic compositions made with tons of transparent layers overprinted on each other. They look kind of subtle on screen. The ink colors will be more saturated when I do this fo' real. It will be a small, varied edition of 10 prints or less. 18" x 18" with borders for framing. I'm going to get this done in the next 3 weeks... process photos will be posted here, twitter, and flickr.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

EPIC WEEKEND



Good times were had by all this weekend at Los Vesparados and Sweet Hair art shows. I haven't stayed out that late in a loooooong time, which is kinda sad. So fun! Check out the pics I snapped during the riotous merriment.

An interesting discussion...

This is an essay I posted in response to an article called Prude or Professional? by Courtney Remes regarding an inappropriate presentation at this year's Flashbelt conference. Read that article here.

I'd like to start by saying that I am a young graphic designer with 3 years of professional experience. I did my graphic design senior project on the subject of feminism, when I was afraid I'd be spending my career in a boy's club. While I realize this is not much, I am compelled to share my thoughts on this subject.

Upon reading this post and the original article, I was very much appalled. However, I can't say that Hoss's bit is completely irrelevant. In poor taste, ABSOLUTELY. But it certainly does represent a market segment. As designers and developers, we work to execute the goals of defined market segments. As individuals, we choose which market segments apply to us and filter the content we view accordingly.

The history of media platforms coincides with the history of sexism, civil rights, equality, feminism, etc. While we as a society are still sorting out these issues, so are our media platforms. The Internet is the newest form and distributor of media, and also the largest anyone has ever seen. Therefor, we have millions of sites tailored to millions of different niche markets, globally. This presentation undeniably represents a large one of those markets: pornography. While the content of the presentation was base, to say the very least, I can't deny that it is nonetheless valid in the grand spectrum of the web, which was born out of the 90's - still a hugely sexist time - where it was accepted on a grand scale that technology was a "guy thing."

Read the rest...
It doesn't surprise me (now, although it did at the time I graduated college), that the most knowledgeable and experienced male designers and developers may have this mentality. I recall the Art of the Book event in 2006 when Milton Glaser made a controversial remark regarding why there weren't as many superstar women designers as men. In this case, the very essence of the remark caused a massive explosion of comments and replies to posts. The truth of the matter was that it was not a lack of women in the field, but a perceived (or imagined?) lack of respect or public recognition.

While the senior-level individuals in the industry may have this mentality and affectively influence younger generations, the young women know it's bullshit. We no longer feel that the gender struggles of our mothers (mine is a baby boomer) apply to us, or rather, have to apply to us. This is very important, because we will teach our children or our young students not to perpetuate myths.

But back to the presentation. Again, I believe it was in poor taste and its contents were totally base, tactless, and not terribly innovative. It's not something I would have been OK with having paid to see. But the larger question in my mind is about censorship. I believe it would have been nice, even necessary, to have censored Hoss's presentation at the conference. Perhaps he would have been better suited to speak at a conference of web developers for the porn industry (as subtlety is certainly not his thing). However, his aesthetic and moral preferences do have a place on the giant Internet, which should never be censored. Censoring factions of the web would would go against it's very principles as the global information network.

Friday, June 12, 2009

A beautiful new lantern!



I'm super proud of this one. It's made with sturdy 100# cover stock, spraypainted on both sides with metallic gold. It stands 11" tall. Someone should totally buy this... that's it, I'm posting on Etsy.

Monday, June 8, 2009

No. 6 — now with more leather (rings)



Enameled leather rings, available soon from my Etsy shop. More shapes and color combos to come!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

No. 6 — Wearable Graphic Art



The paper lanterns lead to another obsessive idea: wearable paper pieces. This on is a medallion. It's got a tribal, art deco thing goin' on, and I think I like it. Hair accessories are in the works as well, to be sold on Etsy. Yay, paper!

Oh, did I mention how AWESOME gold spray paint is? I've been harboring a secret crush for years...

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Dude, there's a monkey...



...on your back.

I'm not really sure why I made this, but it's funny, eh?