I have a love/hate relationship with digital mock ups. It’s great to see what a print might look like before going through all the trouble of printing it, but it’s also very easy to fall into the Photoshop trap. I’ve been a lot better about this recently and haven’t been overplanning things as much. I’ve actually made more decisions on the fly. Most of which end serendipitiously. (Surprise!) You can blame the Longitude series for that. Anyway. New work.

- The old photograph of my parents will be a cymk halftone and the color will probably look nothing like the digital version
- The tan shape on the bottom is just a placeholder for some chine collé French Dur-o-tone newsprint (yay, archival “newsprint”)
- I have no idea what color(s) the text is going to be. I’ve made five separate layers, but I have a feeling I will need more. Or I’ll possibly need more torn paper shapes behind them. Or both. 
- I was originally going to include a black litho layer into this print, but I think it might be too much. And to be honest, I think I wanted to include it because it’s been a long time since I’ve printed a litho and that worries me. However, the more I think about it, the contrast between the oil based and the acrylic ink would be nice…
- Tentative title, “Great Wall.” Cheesy, yes, but it’s relevant, I promise. And not just in a “Ha ha my parents are Asian” way.

Almost forgot to mention that this print is a reworked/rethought version of what this painting was supposed to be–

I tried to finish it when I was home, but I should know better than to rush things. It usually takes me a ridiculous amount of time to finish paintings. I need to leave them alone for a while before I can work on them again. Otherwise I start nitpicking and the next thing I know I’ve painted the whole thing white again. Most of the time I don’t really feel much like a painter anyway, so it ends up being a “if the mood strikes me” sort of a thing. 

Promise I’ll be better about posting progress pictures, thoughts and such. Writing this post has already been pretty helpful.

1. I cannot get enough of this packaging system for Jamie Oliver’s line of food products, designed by Pearlfisher. I already posted it to my tumblr a while back, but it came up on Lovely Package yesterday and I figured I just had to make a post about it. I’m such a sucker for systems, and this one is no exception to the rule. I really enjoy how the different types of food products follow separate guidelines. Gives the whole line a lot of variety, yet they still read as coming from the same place. Toss in the letterpress type,  handwritten type  and the color palette and you’ve got a big fan. This would have been a good reference for the “Local Market” project we worked on in my Advanced Design class.

2. Colourlovers, a site that I’ve been a member of for a long time, but not actually a participant. Well, that has changed! I guess yesterday was just a good day for color, because now I’m totally infatuated with creating color palettes. I’ve been nitpicking, but here’s one I posted yesterday:

Color by COLOURlovers

Maybe this will be a good tool for creating palettes for design & print projects?

3. As a designer who is just starting out, few things scare me more than running into legal issues. I thought a lot about this when I was creating posters for my thesis last year. Even though I wasn’t planning on selling any of the posters, I searched for images on compfight, with the commercial use option turned on, just in case I ran into any trouble. Honestly, I’m not even sure that would have protected me from any potential trouble, but it was comforting to know that I had at least tried to go the extra mile. That said, I’m definitely surprised at the amount of appropriation in the design world, especially among poster designers/artists. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but still, look at some of these examples from the excellent flickr set by b_caruthers:

Same fish/woman’s head straight from the original to a Death Cab poster.

I suppose you could say the Nate Duval Spoon poster is a tribute to the original, but that can only go so far.

This is same image, slightly tweaked.

And this? It even uses the same colors!

I can’t say that everything I do is an original idea through and though, but I try to take a unique approach on everything. How are these appropriations ok? How is this remotely legal?

  
#3.2, from Jason back to me 

 
#4.1 from Jason to me 

These are the newest additions to the collage exchange repertoire. I have yet to receive them, but I’m already excited to work on them.

Everything else on my plate has been going slowly. I’ve found myself in back in the new job cycle where every day after work I feel too exhausted to do anything. It takes so long for me to get back into the swing of things that by the time I reach that point, there’s already a big change on the horizon. Next thing I know, I have a new job and I have to struggle through this lethargy all over again. I’ve been trying really hard to stay on top of making artwork and products to sell on etsy, but there is only so much I can do before I burn out. 

I’ve agreed to TAing another class this semester, though clearly that isn’t possible since I’ve been working 9–5 (ish). My solution to that was to offer weekend hours where I’d be in the shop to help students from the class. This way, I’ll be in the shop, hopefully working on my own work and still available if anyone needs help. A solution where everyone wins! I’ve been talking about making etching and lithos forever it seems, and it’ll be beyond good to actually start doing it.

In other news, I sent my application to Tamarind on Wednesday! Here’s the proof!

I’ve got my fingers crossed until I hear back from them!

I just ordered some delicious colors of French paper for new cards & plentiful envelopes to put all those cards in. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get all the films done this week and start on printing next weekend. I have two colorways for each card design: Blue Raspberry and Orange Fizz for the Thank You cards and Starch Rain and True White for the Birthday cards. I’m also planning to make some general cards (no greeting) and some Valentine’s Day cards using leftover papers that I have. 

At this point, I’m really unsure of how many to make, so I’m aiming low with the intent to print more if the demand calls for it. A hundred cards for each colorway. Does that sound right? I’ve still got to work out pricing, but this is a start. 

Anyway, since there aren’t any pictures in this post…I’ll leave you with some music that I’ve been listening to nonstop: The Hood Internet. I’m totally late to the game on that one, but the mixtapes are phenomenal! I haven’t been able to stop listening to them over the past few days. Go, download and enjoy!

The holiday season always manages to suck the life out of me. I go home, try to relax and end up feeling more down than cheerful. I mean, I haven’t even been checking my blogs! But, it’s a new year and I’m heading back to my apartment in Baltimore and I finally have less than 1000 items in Google Reader. Clearly, it’s time to get back to work!

I’m planning on doing some etching when I get back, hopefully before the semester starts and the shop becomes overrun by students again. The progress from that will be posted. Also thinking about making new cards for different occasions. I guess I’m just trying to figure out what to make cards for – probably a birthday one, thank you cards, something general? If anyone has any suggestions, please send them my way! Oh, I also have a secret project that I’m developing…but you’ll hear about that when it’s done.

That’s it for now, I’m still at home, so there’s not a whole lot to post about. This visit has been really low key.

Finally got around to taking pictures of the entire Longitude series. I have no idea why it took me so long to do so because it’s not difficult…but you know how things go. Here are some of my favorite detail shots or you can view all of the images on Flickr.

Today’s the day, friends. I have an etsy shop! Please check it out– http://electrofervor.etsy.com – and let me know what you think. If you’re an etsy pro and have any helpful tips, I would love to hear them. All the artwork is listed at super low holiday prices, so tell your friends!

Also, for anyone reading this that is in the Baltimore area, please check out MICA’s Art Market, which starts Wednesday of this week. I will be selling work with the Printmaking dept. and let me assure you, there’s going to be a lot of really good stuff! Not to be missed!

Three years ago my time on the internet was occupied by checking facebook and livejournal. Now, the majority of my time online is spent catching up with my feeds on Google Reader. It’s interesting to think that blogs have come so far, not only in my world, but for millions of others as well. Although not always the most reliable of sources, reading blogs fills up my daily requirement of information intake. For me, it’s mostly art, design and culture blogs, a smattering of food blogs, the big two in music (in my opinion – Pitchfork and Stereogum, but I’d love any suggestions on others out there) and the precious gems of my collection, the printmaking blogs. Reading these 100 or so blogs has kept me fairly current with the world, in comparison to three years ago when I really had no clue what was going on outside my bubble. Is it the equivalent of reading the New York Times or any other renowned publication? No, but it is an important step in how we get and share information and it’s pretty cool to witness these changes first hand. 

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you some of my favorite blogs…

Mainly text/link based entries:
Kottke – I can’t even remember when I started reading kottke, but it’s definitely one of the first that I started off with. Jason Kottke is essentially a great editor; picking out delicious internet gems that are always interesting reads. 
Dooce – Another classic that I’ve read for years now. Heather B. Armstrong is a legend in the blog world and has some of the most hilarious posts I’ve ever read. She also has some of the most critical fans, whose comments sometimes make guest appearances. 

Mainly image based entries:
It’s Nice That – One of my more recent reads, there’s always something new and beautiful being posted here. 
Dear Ada – Birdie, of Dear Ada, features work from a handful of artists each day. This blog has played a big part in my discovery of new artists both big and small.
Not Paper – Another relatively new blog in my roster, Not Paper feeds my collage addiction. Mmm, tasty.
OMG Posters! – My source for news in the poster world. OMG updates frequently on new prints for sale, often leading to an empty wallet and very happy walls.
 

Wow, it only took me a couple of weeks, but hey! I upgraded WordPress! 

One of the main reasons why I was so motivated to start posting again was because of a new project I’m working on. Jason and I are doing a collaboration through the mail. We’re working on a bunch of mixed media/collage pieces and as soon as I can get some photos, they will be posted. This is exciting news because I’ve wanted to work on a collaborative project for quite a while but I’ve always run into some obstacle or another to prevent me from doing so. Even more exciting, working on a project will get me back in the routine of making art, something that has been sadly absent from my life as of late.

So, consider this the first of many posts about the collage project!

Whoa, hey!
Here are some photos of semi-recent travels!

From Tejas!

From Chicago!

From Providence!

From Santa Barbara!

Now, to update this blog from WordPress 2.1.2 to the current version – 2.6.something. Shameful!