Posts from — April 2009

Talk about serendipity! If you read my post yesterday, I had written about Azure Ray being an inspiration to me. I had planned this topic for a week… so when I buckled down and started typing away about them, I find out that Maria Taylor was playing that evening! So how was the show last night, you ask? It was enchanting. It’s been a few years since I have seen her and the band perform. Doug Fir Lounge is such a great venue, awesome acoustics. Talk about an upgrade from the Sokol Underground in Omaha! I love their lounge seating and their glowing cubed tables.

Hearing Maria’s new songs live was so dreamy and blissful, I just had to pick up a copy of the new album. And check out the album art! I really think it represents Miss Taylor and the music. I love the color palette the designer chose, Seafoam green is one of my favorites. Someday when I’m able to paint my home, I’m totally going to paint a few walls this color. Martha Stewart’s Signature paint color line has this color too, she calls it Vintage Map. How clever. Back to the album art, I also love the simple outline flower drawings that envelope the whole album. Oh and the notebook paper overlapped and behind the lyrics. I can’t hide the fact that I’m a designer, huh?

If I had to pick one favorite song that Maria Taylor and her band played last night, it would be No Stars. I enjoyed this song even more live than recorded. I love how the song became more and more intense as it was played. Very well done.

“And what I knew, was left behind.
There were no stars, or a wish, to find.
And there was nothing in my clenching fist,
And I just can’t wait for tomorrow,
Cause I will let go-
Just ask me.”

Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink parted ways quite some time now. They were once known as the indie duo Azure Ray and their voices were phenomenal in unison. I sure hope the future brings them back together. My first ever Azure Ray album purchase was November. I picked it up on one of my many trips to Antiquarium Records in downtown Omaha. For those that don’t know, within the past 4 or 5 years they have both gone solo. Coincidentally, this afternoon I found out that Maria is playing a show tonight right here in Portland. How funny!

You can check out their music on Last.fm. Enjoy!

One of my best friends passed this lampshade down to me. Isn’t it wonderful? I just had to share it with you. I love how the embroidered leaves overlap one another. I think it works perfect in my living room… though I’m no interior decorator.

I thought I would share a random happy decorating discovery. So, months ago, while I was taking down the Christmas tree, I was brainstorming what I could do with the clear glass ornaments that I had filled with moss. I was thinking that maybe they would be cool as a necklace but a little bulky. I thought about taking the metal pieces off of them and displaying them in a decorative bowl. Then, I came across these wooden candlesticks that my mother-in-law passed down to me. I was never successful putting candles in them because all the candles I found were slightly too wide in diameter to fit. So what do I discover… if I flip the glass ornaments over they fit snug into the candlesticks. Ta da!

Here’s to a brand new week! *raises latte*

I’m excited for this week, though it’s not much different than the others. I’m just looking forward to what I’ll accomplish this week with my art and with my design work. I’ve been working on a few projects for some time… wedding invitations… baby announcements… wedding website, etc. This is the week that I’m wrapping these projects up. I’m also planning on finishing the backs of my latest wooden block creations. Did you think I forgot? Nope!

Did everyone have a good weekend? Mine was pretty spiffy. Yes, spiffy.
Justin & I visited the Tinymeat™ warehouse sale & Sausagefest! We munched on lil’ smokies and pickles and chit-chatted with Tinymeat’s owner Michael. To fill ya in, Tinymeat collaborates with artists making wallets, passport cases, and business card cases. Do check out their Etsy shop here! It was such a challenge to narrow down my wallet purchases. After going back and forth, I decided to purchase this fun goat portrait done by Ryan Berkley.

I thought this would be a great birthday gift for one of my best friends. Since she doesn’t read my blog, I don’t think I’m ruining the surprise. Ha ha.

More ramblings about the weekend… I watched the movie Capote.
A – m – a – z – i – n – g.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is becoming one of my favorite actors.

One thing I enjoy while working on my art is to watch movies. To say the least, I didn’t get much accomplish while Capote was on. It’s that good.

Lastly, I would like to present to you… my new batch of pendant necklaces creations!

Nurture thy Mind No.3 Pendant Necklace – Weeping Willow – purchase

Nurture thy Mind No.4 Pendant Necklace – Box Elder – purchase

Nurture thy Mind No.5 Pendant Necklace – Cherry Blossom – purchase

They each include drawings of trees that I have come across in Portland. This batch I added a pearl to each chain… for lil’ something extra. I’m pretty happy how these turned out. It’s going to be a little tough to give them up. He he. Kinda a bitter sweet thing… I love knowing that they are headed to a new home and again I like to think they keep happy thoughts close to one’s heart.

After three attempts, my 14th work of the Standard Movement series, titled 00014 is finished! I am more than happy to share this bundle of joy with you on this sunny afternoon.

Bike riding down the Eastbank Esplanade, I discovered a magnificent Weeping Willow. A willow with catkins, might I add. These cylindrical flower clusters are why it took me three tries to make this artwork, I was being a lil’ picky of how they were drawn on a page torn from a bookkeeping & accounting study guide, which was once in the hands of a lady named Ava. The drawn raindrops and globe-like orbs faintly blend onto the page.

It’s of an elementary class, adhered pretty darn well to a piece of worn matte board, with no date present. I purchased this photograph along with some report cards from a flea market. I love the idea of using bits of something that was once together, that has created something historical visually, that once had an impact on more than one individual. I like to compare these bits to pixels, which I also love drawing with brown ink sporadically in my artwork.

I also worked in a piece from a hard cover book about astrology that’s full of tables. One thing that I think is thrilling about using used books is that at one time in it’s life it was owned by someone else and it had a particular purpose. Years later it’s now having a new purpose, a purpose that it was not intended to be used. I love flipping open the cover of old books and finding the previous owners name and address written by their hand. I question if they are still alive; do they still live at this address; did they read this book all the way through; did they read this book more than once? I don’t believe too many people write their name in their books in this day and age. In today’s culture it seems that we go through so much information, that it’s easier for us to do away with books after a short period of time. Websites like half.com and Amazon have encouraged this. I find this interesting.

I’ll stop there with that thought, I could go on and on but I need to continue working on some graphic design projects! I hope everyone is enjoying their Friday. Also I hope you have a swell weekend and get around to doing something creative! I’m really giddy about tomorrow & Sunday, I’m going to be spending many hours working on a new batch of miniature artworks for new pendant necklaces! Weeeeeeeeeeee!

I really fancy these petite artworks, I do, I do. The idea that art doesn’t have to be displayed on a wall is sublime in my mind. This is true with my wooden block artworks too. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy working with flat surfaces like canvases and framing art too. I think I love bouncing back and forth, I love having options. So all in all, making these necklaces has been an eye-opening and positive experience for me and I want to continue to pursue them. So this weekend I’m planning on making at least two… maybe four. We’ll just see.

The Cocktail Party has been hanging on my inspiration board. This installation of Cheetos, mannequins, and people was created in the early 90’s by Sandy Skoglund. When I discovered Sandy’s work in an art textbook back in high school it had a huge impact on me. Huge. It has encouraged me to think outside of the box when creating art. Her work makes me want to make my own rendition of installation art.

Installation art is a media that I haven’t touched a whole lot, but I know it will someday be involved in my art career. I love the idea of setting up 3-dimensional objects within a space with purpose and thought, for others to be able to walk through it as if they were part of it. Now that concept really excites me. I have been brainstorming about my future in installation art for quite some time. You can imagine the amount of ideas that are stored in the ol’ noggin.

I picked a few of Skoglund’s works that are my favorites. I find it humorous that they have a 80’s & early 90’s feel. I also included video of the making of The Cocktail Party… brilliant!

REVENGE OF THE GOLDFISH, 1981 Sandy Skoglund, www.sandyskoglund.com

FERNS, 1980 Sandy Skoglund, www.sandyskoglund.com

FOX GAMES, 1989 Sandy Skoglund, www.sandyskoglund.com

RADIOACTIVE CATS, 1980 Sandy Skoglund, www.sandyskoglund.com

RAINING POPCORN, 2001 Sandy Skoglund, www.sandyskoglund.com

AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE, 2001 Sandy Skoglund, www.sandyskoglund.com

WALKING ON EGGSHELLS, 1997 Sandy Skoglund, www.sandyskoglund.com

With a warm breezy night, how could one resist being a little bit mischievous by partaking in some street art installation? Fused and sitting flushed against the cement ground, a 1 1/4″ square wooden cube hides from passers-by. On one side of the cube, vintage ledger paper is adhered and coated with resin. Below the resin, a cropped coffee ring from my coffee, drawn pixels and orbs float on the ledger’s surface. It’s been awhile since I’ve done any street art so it was very thrilling to interfere with the urban environment. I have decided that the coming warm nights of the summer season, means partaking in more installations. Stay tuned as I document more and more of these non-permission based artworks.

Just a reminder that there are other wooden blocks of mine that are on sale for a limited time. These original blocks can be displayed on a shelf, window sill, or in a shadow box. These little masterpieces would be great idea for a Mother’s Day gift. It’s just around the corner… May 10th! Did I mention that they are 25% off? Hop on over to my Etsy shop and take a peak if you haven’t yet.

Saturday and Sunday’s weather was glorious. I very much enjoyed my time outdoors. Especially when I was able to hang out all afternoon on a picnic blanket in the park, reading. I picked out a book from the library called Plastic Culture, How Japanese Toys Conquered the World. It’s a very delightful read! I’ll follow-up with you all with a summary when I finish reading it.

Speaking of drawing, I worked on my 14th work of the Standard Movement series, titled 00014. To be honest I wasn’t too thrilled of how it was panning out, even after two attempts. When it came to drawing up the Weeping Willow’s catkins, I guess I was a little persnickity of their final look. So hopefully by the end of this week I’ll have something complete to share.

So I’m hoping these photos of my latest work make up for my absence on Wednesday & Thursday.

Sadly I didn’t make it back here for my weekly inspiration post on Wednesday. But you can count on it next week, it will be a good one. Nor did I get to my planned post yesterday. It’s just been one of those weeks, ya know?

So these lil’ wee ones are still in the process of being completed. I intend to do a bit of stencil graffiti on their backs. Possibly doing layers of spray paint upon layers of resin, we’ll see. I’ll get more in depth about them with you at a later date. My weekend to-do list starts today… well this evening. It’s a lengthy one alright. I better hop to it. So I will see you all bright and early on Monday morn!