Images

nikography:

i went to school for graphic design, and did not spend my nights getting drunk. instead, i worked my ass off, spent most of my outside-class time learning/trying/doing as much as possible, and then got an awesome job after graduating.

protip: if you’re lucky enough (and i mean it when i say lucky) to be in college, you should be spending all available time learning, trying, making things, messing things up, experimenting and READING. (seriously. they make sketchbooks with words in them already. they are just called books.)

i didn’t waste a single day. and neither should you. build your momentum and go with it.

for the but-i’m-an-artist’s: you want money? learn a technical skill related to your field and get good at it. then get better at it. jonathan harris built wefeelfine on the weekends while working a full time job. just sayin’.

final note: i had a BLAST in college, and miss it like crazy. working hard does not mean no-fun-allowed, it means relax harder 🙂

orginal image via synecdoche

(Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/workerman/4285870664/)

“peace on earth,” a limited edition woodblock print/greeting card

the three-color block print art is based on a drawing by an eight year old. it’s part is a limited printing of 15. each card is numbered. these limited editions are printed on paper good enough to frame.

Not a traditional print shop

The kitchen not only functions as a dinning room & laundry room… it also functions as a print shop. big thanks to my eight year old child for helping with the woodblock prints.

woodblock prints/greeting cards

i transposed a drawing by an eight year old child into woodblock prints. typography designed by the child… all other mistakes are mine.

“christmas night,” a limited edition woodblock print/greeting card

the two-color block print art is based on a drawing of one of the kidlingers. it’s part is a limited printing of 17. each card is numbered. if you receive one of these limited editions it is printed on paper good enough to frame (if you so desired).

diy woodblock prints/greeting cards

i transposed a drawing by a four year old child into a two-color print.

this nice thing about using acrylic paint (instead of traditional ink) is that it drys quick.

woodblock printing on a budget… or diy woodblock printing.

i dug out some old art supplies & a few scraps of 2”x4” wood to create a limited printing holiday greeting card series.

the art for the print is my translation of a drawing by one of the kidlingers.

Picturing the Past 10 Years

karenh: “Picturing the Past 10 Years” by Phillip Niemeyer (Op-Chart via NYTimes.com)

(Source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/12/27/opinion/28opchart.html)

High def regrets

high def regrets…

(via frontiercity)

(Source: http://www.asofterworld.com/)

Send you my heart

(via giannasunshine)

mid-atlantic blizzard of december ‘09

another photo from our end of the mid-atlantic blizzard of december ‘09… it’s still snowing… expecting another foot of snow by sundown…

mid-atlantic blizzard

photo from our end of the mid-atlantic blizzard of december ‘09

Michael Bierut notebooks from 1982 until 2008

newyorkfornow:

Michael Bierut shares notebooks he has kept from 1982 until 2008.

“There always seems to be a lot of interest in designers’ sketchbooks, but I call these notebooks for a reason. I’ve seen other designer’s sketchbooks and I’m always impressed by how much creativity is on display. Not in mine. Page after page contain nothing but records of phone conversations, notes from meetings, price estimates, specifications. I keep the random doodles to a minimum. Someone looking at those pages would think the book might belong to a lawyer or, more likely, a party planner. Every once in a while, though, there are some drawings that would suggest that the owner was a designer.” – Michael Bierut

I’ve always envied other designers who keep really interesting notebooks with amazing sketches and beautifully handwritten notes, worthy of exhibition (Jose Cabaco, Mathias Paeres, Patrick Rockwell..). I’ve tried to analyse my notebooks at one time, and out of laziness I drew the conclusion that my role and relationship with my work has reached a point where I don’t feel the need to meticulously draft it all out. But a more accurate analysis would be that my process is just different from those designers whose notebooks I envy. And this is ok. Thanks Mr. Bierut. 🙂

(Source: http://designobserver.com/archives/entry.html?id=38831)

For years have pushed art making away from me. Partly due to lack of space and consolidating my paintings into small sketchbooks. Then I replaced paint for pen and ink, and drew smaller images into Moleskines until my drawings disappeared into lines of characters trying to form poems…

Now, I want to start painting again…

(Image source via creativeinspiration: 472239364: artpixie: love letters and skypaints: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinycastles/3912498882/)

C.S. Lewis was abducted by aliens?

um… does this mean c.s. lewis was abducted by aliens?

how can i get one of these for my backyard?

creativeinspiration: adorablelife: bookspaperscissors: The Bibliobarn’s Bibliobargains! (via yeksitra)

(Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yeksitra/6142023/in/pool-bookshop)

gift ideas for cultural creatives

the storyboard book

(Source: http://www.thestoryboardbook.com/products-page/featured/the-storyboard-book-3-pk/)

gift ideas for graphic designers

field notes notebooks

(Source: http://fieldnotesbrand.com/)

Instax camera

liz:

WANT!

superamit:

This new Polaroid-like camera from Japan in our store today is pretty sweet.

Photojojo – Fuji Instax Instant Camera

(Source: http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/instax-camera)

Never work for cheap.

never work for cheap…

unknownskywalker: (via greyscalegorilla)

painting with kidlingers on a saturday morning…

coffeehouse junkie podcasts

there are three new coffeehouse junkie podcasts (link) available this month. the recent episode features an essay i wrote — for a poetry writing workshop I’m teaching at the flood fine arts center — titled ‘the echo.’ also included are two poems that were discused in the second session of the poetry writing workshop: ‘i saw her through the mist’ by roger aplon and ‘the old man goes home’ by kell robertson.

(Source: http://www.coffeehousejunkie.com/podcast.html)

Field notes

malty: My post-it note confession

Action book

quality paper action book (via)