Edward Tufte…!

One of my design heroes, Edward Tufte, is coming to Chicago to teach a course in October! >sigh< Why does it have to be in a month so far away? I'm excited and bummed at the same time...

This week's beginnings

Enjoyed a lovely picnic on Monday in Millenium Park with a free evening show of Icy Demons and The Feelies:



Trying to crank out photos in the studio with John:


And if you're in the mood to purchase art, Leandro Castelao has a really wonderful graphic piece for sale at Tiny Showcase.


I have a soft spot for diagrams, and there are elements to this piece that remind me of old Time Life science books. All of his work is amazing; reminds me a bit of Christian Montenegro.

currently listening to: The Replacements

New series of work:

I've started a new series of pieces titled “The State I’m In”.

Because I travel so much during the year, literally and figuratively, I thought this would be a good way to chronicle those events/feelings/memories into graphic journal entries.

The studies are to illustrate the current and post experience of visiting a city, as well as the nostalgic visit via memory. Some illustrations speak literally to my physical state/location, others speak figuratively to my mental/emotional state of what I'm doing, how I'm feeling.

Here's the first group, introducing 2 states of being:



Random fact about me: I do my best non-thinking doing laps in the pool. It's my place of solace where all I do is breathe and maintain the rhythm. After I hit the 30th lap my lungs have adjusted, and as silly as it sounds, I feel like a fish.

currently listening to: Ambulance LTD

Lazy Sunday

The fan in my computer has been talking pretty loud lately. I thought it was just the increasing temperature shift outside, or the simple fact that she's old; but I decided to crack her open and take a look all the same…



Behold the culprit, pretty gross I know. That ginormous dust ball makes me feel like a bad mother to my machine. You know how Bob Barker says to "Please, have your pets spayed or neutered", I would say "Please, clean your computers with cans of air once in a while."

After that I just spent the rest of the day cleaning and mopping the apartment/studio, which resulted in an Eames compound:


Cleaning rewards itself with curried cauliflower/tofu/mushrooms/spinach over quinoa, ice cold Red Hook IPA, and my new favorite— Bubba Ho-Tep. By far, the best line in that movie is within in the first 5 min…



currently listening to: Pinback

in December…

Look for me in the 2009 PRINT Regional Design issue (on shelves in December), and you'll see this guy made the grade! Thank you PRINT and design judges! And thank you Joe & Mike for the photos, John for your retouching skills!

Maybe we'll get a Grammy Nod in 2010 too? One can only hope…

currently listening to: Phoenix

Monsieur Girard

Is now very accessible at Urban Outfitters:

currently listening to: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

My Favorite

Sharp as a tack

I love my new Möbius + Ruppert pencil sharpener. Now I can't imagine why I put off buying one for so long.


currently listening to: Boards of Canada

Palette

I need to use these colors for something in the future. They're Miami and mod at the same time, and I dig the bit of mauve in there.


currently listening to: Sleeping States

Post NY

Went to DWR this evening for a showing of Volume 6 of the Eames Films. I recommend the last essay "Parade"— it's fun, it's cute, and it makes me want to build model sets and photograph them.

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I love the soft colors and layers of texture in this background loading image on Free People's site. Too bad you only get to really see it for a fraction of a second:

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My new favorite beverage, post New York: Kombucha Gingerade (pure ginger juice and tea) It's helping my stomach recover…

currently listening to: Simon & Garfunkel

Bumming Around Brooklyn

Just got back from visiting friends in New York this past weekend. Got some good walking, good laughing, good drinking, and of course good eating done, with good people:


The view from Solange's apartment:


Day o1

"Recession Lunch Special" from a cafe in Cobble Hill— chicken vegetable soup, with avocado/tomato/grilled cheese sandwich.


Getting my Portland fix in New York— Cafe Pedlar in Brooklyn sells Stumptown Coffee, (naturally I had to take home 2lbs. worth of beans)


Stopping for a snacky-snack at One Girl Cookies, for their amazing whoopie pies.


Whiskey, scotch, and more whiskey at Char No. 4


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Day o2

Fabric and inspiration shopping in SoHo— at Purl Fabrics, ABC Home, Kiosk, (to name a few), and lunching at Pink Berry.






Ended the day with an amazing meal prepared by Lisel— wine and foie gras treats from her visit to France, radish + fennel salad, asparagus, cupcakes from Crumbs, and watching all of Yacht Rock.






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Day o3

Renegade Craft Fair was going on the same weekend as my trip, which was a nice coincidence. We fueled ourselves first with brunch from Egg in Williamsburg, and headed over to the fair to check out the goods. Made our way down to the Yard Party in Gowanus, to catch up with a friend who's soon to have his first record release for his band, and ended the evening with a laid back birthday party.


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Day o4

Got to check out Fort Greene for a little bit, starting off with lunch at No. 7, and ending the trip with a very warm day in the city, before jumping on the plane.


Now it's time to sleep and detox.

Very local brew

One of my favorite silkscreen artists is Sasha Barr, and I was excited to see the art he created for Half Acre brewery. But I was even more excited to learn that the brewery is just 0.8 miles away from my front door!

photo of bottle from Sasha's website; image of labels from Half Acre's blog




I've ridden my bike, drove my car, and walked by this location so many times, that I took for granted that it's not just an old warehouse anymore. I need to get my hands on as many varieties as I can… fresh from the brewery.

currently listening to: Sera Cahoone