what did we feature: my instructable

Wow, so recognition online can make you feel pretty good about yourself. My instructable (which is the post below this one on this blog) was chosen to be featured on the site!

You can find "Put Insightful Text Into Your Life" on the landing page of the site or more prominently in the Living / Art channel.

Thanks Instructables Editors!

what did we feel compelled by: brian w. ferry

brian w. ferry is a photographer who previously resided in brooklyn and currently lives in london. his photos are fantastically mesmerizing.

i first came across his work on kitsune noir where danica describes his work as the "sort of images that pull you out of the attention deficit disorder-induced habit of compulsive clicking and compel you to pause, inhale and quietly gaze"

i agree entirely and personally think that what makes his photography so compelling is the atmosphere felt within those locations, created by half eaten plates of food and possessions - there is a quiet quality and all the things associated with that word: peace, calm, silence. however, more than being about the presence of these attributes it's the lack of frenzy, clutter and anxiety that pulls me in.

and personal. stockphotos have their place in company quarterlies and as website place holders, but this is the level of intimacy i love. a specific breakfast and someone's weekend trip.

check out his portfolio and find more images on his online journal.

what did we come across: bennett robots

bennett robots are currently being displayed in the window of paul smith on fifth ave and 16th street which is where i came across the wonderfully crafted objects.

they are each unique sculptures made from found objects by gordon bennett. they each take about a month to build, are all on sale and cost some hefty prices. though not real functional robots with any actually working parts i find them incredibly imaginative and fun. pictured here in order are: volt ohmyst, nick and nora, and arvin 2. (and i kind of like arvin 2 the best because the hitchhikers guide robot was named marvin.)

what did we illustrate: daily drop cap

DAILY DROP CAP by Jessica Hische

im not sure if i've blogged about this before, but no harm. daily drop cap is a website i'm fairly certain most fans of typography have come across before - the title and tagline says it all, "an illustrative initial every day." definitely worth going through the now almost three complete sets of the alphabet. the artist puts a great deal of effort and creativity (and dilligence in commitment to the project) - some i like better than others, but that's personal preference. i also appreciate the artist's welcoming of blogging and usage.



it's an exercise that i think would be fun to try out myself, just in a sketchbook or really roughly in illustrator - a letter a day might be a bit pushing it - maybe a letter a week and that way i'd be able to go through the alphabet twice in a year...just thoughts - maybe something you'd like to attempt?

what did we LOVE: BAD MACHINERY (and scarygoround!)

sept 21, 2009 (first bad machinery strip)

beginning in approximately tenth grade, i started reading a great deal on online comics / graphic novels etc. the non syndicated kinds drawn lovingly by laboring artists around the world trying to earn a living by posting a lovely strip of art a day.

bad machinery sept 23, 2009

here's one of my favorites:
BAD MACHINERY by John Allison (as presented by scary go round)
the artists earlier strip (his second) was entitled scary go round and lasted from 2002 to 2009(of which i have read from beginning to end - trolling through archives is a great deal of fun and wonderfully time consuming) and the characters currently featured in bad machinery stem in a way from this work.

both scary go round and bad machinery are excellently done in their artwork, full color, character development and long story plotlines. and i know i've included a lot of links in this post but if nothing else...go read this interview with the artist! i like knowing more into the minds that engineer the creative work i love.

bad machinery jan 7, 2010

someday (*hint hint*) i would love to own all the SGR books...unfortunately 1- 3 are out of print.

sketch from sketch fiesta dec 2009

the artist also has a flickr full of sketches well worth browsing. and a blog! the man is well versed in the ways of the internet world.

what did we find

""I mean, yes, we're sinking" But the music is exceptional""

austin kleon

there is something so perfectly poetic about austin kleon's blackout poems.

i must give credit to my friend delaney for having led me to his site and the wonders that he makes out of simply sharpie-ing out sections of newspapers to leave words and phrases behind that form thoughts, stories, questions and anything really.

i'd like to try and see the results that come of it.


"I want to stay up all night drinking beer and make trouble with the law to see what good, and what tragedy, will come of it."

what did we derive inspiration from: gregoire alexandre + david byun

i am not usually so ADD and all over the place but i think i might just want to put images up as...inspiration posts. so we'll give it a try. today's post turns out to be about two photographers that i fail to have words to adequately express my......this is where my brain comes up with nothing and i can only look and look and look.....

todays image overload begins with 5 of gregoire alexandre's amazing photos. his portfolio (all of it) is absolutely worth your time to click completely through. and then do it again. i want to print out all of his photos and plaster them on walls around me.





(di: how is it i was not even aware your packing images came from this stunning photographer and yet halfway around the world we manage to frequent the same things?)


another amazing photographer david byun who is pretty much brilliant at everything: beauty, fashion, editorial, conceptual, advertisement...is represented around the world and has done a multitude of W covers plus vogue covers. his portfolio IS my inspiration post. so go there. what are you doing here looking at these five images still?

(images: not sure of 1st, 2nd and 3rd of magdalena in W, 4th and 5th of agyness in W)






oof. would like a nice color printer plus hi-res images.

what did we wear: threadless

"disbelief" by dan sheffield

threadless
is having a "back 2 cool" sale where a looot of shirts are going for $8, a lot going for $10 and a lot for $15 (USD) - basically everything is on sale. it's true.

for those of you who don't know. threadless is an online graphic design t-shirt company where allll the tshirts sold are designed and thought up by really cool artsy people in the community! there is an incredible amount of talent out there. really really.

i think i have maybe 8? 12? 15? of their shirts. : P so do my friends! two of my friends and i once gave them all out for christmas...i now buy less (because i have waaaaaaay too many tshirts) but once in a while am still tempted. they have an actual store in chicago where cool art is sold. threadless has gotten a LOT bigger and MORE popular over the years (i can't believe i'm old enough to say that and think i was around when it was "simpler"...)

they have great graphics, great typography, strong community development and the entire "threadless" concept and social network is still going strong. i will one day submit something (artists that have their shirts printed get money rewards!)

what did we LOVE: YUKO SHIMIZU

for Microsoft's Ultimate PC project
artists were asked to create series of 5 personal works using PC instead of Mac to showcase in Microsoft's new experimental art site UltimatePC.com

CIA Superhero Calandar 2009

YUKO SHIMIZU

an amazing illustrator and fine artist who is currently teaching at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in new york. from a traditional japanese family, she originally obtained a BA in advertising and marketing at waseda university before enrolling in SVA in 1999 and obtaining an MFA in illustration. she lives in new york and is the ex-roommate of james jean (another much loved artist of mine).

clients include: Microsoft, Pepsi, VISA, MTV, TARGET, T-Mobile, Neiman Marcus, Warner Elektra Atlantic Music, NPR, FUSE TV, M.A.C. Cosmetics, Pentagram, Sagmeister Inc.,
TIME, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, PLAYBOY, GQ, etc.

i love the asian flare and her trend in asian girls. she has a VAST portfolio with an incredible amount of simply spectactular illustrative work. categories include "fashion and lifestyle" "asian theme" "sex" "business and politics" "portraits" and "advertising." i would recommend taking your time to seriously click through her site, draw inspiration from it and let yourself be amazed. i love the woodcut quality of her work. the pastels and soft color schemes as well as graphic clean lines and the fantastical nature of her subjects and compositions. i have a particular interest in very imaginative detailed work. i believe her GAP product(red) shirts are still being sold currently so if you're interested - drop by a store and pick one up.

showing in new york (one work): Sept. 1 ~ Oct. 17, 2009
New York Spectrum Exhibition II Spectrum Exhibition II (group show)
The Museum of American Illustration at The Society of Illustrators: 128 East 63rd Street, New York City

also if you're in venice this summer: July 24 - 29, 2009 venice illustration course (workshop)
six day long workshop for illustrators of any level
taught and guided very individually and to student's ability
her two blogs are also great material:
DRAWGER
LOST AT E MINOR


PLANSPONSOR Magazine 2008
story about choosing between two choices
and
PLANSPONSOR Magazine 403(b) Special Issue cover 2008


Honolulu Magazine February 05 Hawaiian Valentine's Day
and
The Word magazine (UK) monthly supplement CD Now Hear This! cover for July 2009 issue


Fujiyama Sakura-Fubuki an image for a calendar to promote B&A Boutique


"Panda Bear Girl - The First Asian American Superheroine"
for "Artistic Utopia" a calendar book features personal work by illustrators. Designed by Murphy Design
(accepted into Society of Illustartor 47th Annual Awards)

what did we read: LICD

LEAST I COULD DO
BY RYAN SOHMER AND LAR DESOUZA

a four panel monday through friday daily comic about a man named rayne. slightly X rated and 18+ mature audience...but still occasionally very hilarious. like the above comic.

everyone at parsons has a mac (mostly everyone) we're big fans of apple and steve jobs.

what did we watch: TONY vs PAUL

some seriously amazing stop motion work. it's pretty much 5 minutes of crazy mind-blowing video. so well done. i can't imagine how much work this must have taken. i really really cannot comprehend beginning to do this.
you tube link

let morning shine

"Let Morning Shine! : SEEDS" is a charity event intended to bring awareness of the present situation in North Korea and to practically assist those in need.

The evening will feature a documentary filmed by a national geographic reporter and her camera crew, who were only able to film this by posing as nurses/doctor assistants to a Nepalese eye doctor visiting North Korea to heal 1000+ people of cataracts . There will also be live musical performances of some of the songs from the first-ever cd of music entirely written for the people of North Korea; a cd which was released in February, 2008 and which will be available during the evening. Finally, there will be an art auction with most of the artwork being created for the event by artists from Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States. Featured artists include students from Parsons School of Design in New York, as well as Eric Lafforgue, a professional, freelance photographer whose work has appeared in numerous publications such as National Geographic, Lonely Planet, the Times, BBC, Reader's Digest, Blue Planet, and CNN Traveller.

Admission is free and is open to everyone.

7:30 pm, Sunday, June 28, 2009
ECC Ministry Centre
Unit 226, 2/F, Hankow Centre
5 Hankow Road, Tsim Sha Tsui


The money made from the event will be donated to two projects:
1. a project coordinated by LiNK (Liberty in North Korea) called SEEDs. The money will aid North Korean refugee children in the specific areas of food, education, and shelter. The concept of this project, SEEDs, is to "invest in the younger generation" of North Korea, that they might be nurtured, grow up and be able to make a difference to benefit their home country.
2. a non-profit bread factory in North Korea that provides thousands of children in poverty with soybean milk and bread rolls everyday.



(a couple of my pieces will be auctioned at this event)

let morning shine
csw

what did we do: ap art

"independent" watercolor and ink 26" x 18" model: janice lee

i don't usually put my own work on my blog.

but here's some past ap art work completed in the fall of 07 during my senior year in high school in hk. i recently dug some up (took it off a shelf actually) in my room while "cleaning" (being nostalgic) and finding art to donate to my friend ariana's event "let morning shine" (more on it later) and photographed a few pieces.

"analytical" watercolor and ink 22" x 14" model: grace lyu



"flirt" 16 1/2" x 23 1/2" prismacolor pencil and ink model: marilyn li

what did we aspire: DAVE COLLINSON

DAVE COLLINSON

21 year old brisbane based artist with excellent illustration skills also adept at motion graphics, incorporating digital illustration and traditional textures. can be contacted at davecollinson@gmail.com

love his style, love the figures and compositions and color harmonies and palettes. love the textures and traditional illustration style completed in digital illustration methods and techniques.

what did we LOVE: RANDOLPH + PEORIA

at the intersection of randolph st and peoria st in the west loop district of chicago is this amazing mural created by bernard williams and michelle welzen.

the colors are enough to make anyone happy. they are bright, psychedelic, trippy and an absolute treasure to stumble upon. the words are witty and well placed.



you look at it and get lost. you want to remember the way it was standing in front of it in the sun and smiling at how joyful this public piece of art, this section of wall makes you feel, makes the neighborhood light up.



so we took photos to remember.



hurray for sisters and bright yellow lines and strong public art and chicago.