I'm a Flockstar

Flock, Flock, I keep singing your praises but too many people have the attitude "well, I ain't never heard of it so it can't be no good." Um, just try it okay? It's not like getting a tattoo, if you don't like it go back to whatever you've been using. Ugh! It drives me nuts that people are so chicken... not even chicken so much as an absence of curiosity. As soon as I found Flock I wanted to try it right away, what's the worst that can happen? I don't like it? The best thing was that I did. So come on don't be afraid, dive right in the water is fine.

What's next? The day was a rocky one, I stayed up all night trying to come up with an idea for a thank you note... ridiculous I know. Sometimes I just get stumped, or more likely over think it... focus too much mind power on being clever and not enough on being thankful. When I worked toward that goal suddenly the idea was genuine and not contrived. Here's my favorite image, I thought it looked just like a 1950's yearbook photo. I think she became a librarian after graduation.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Wednesday has a nice ring to it

Don’t ask me why but Wednesday seems like a happy day. I guess it’s because it’s the tipping point toward the weekend… eh. I have a perpetual weekend at the moment, keeping pretty busy with freelance but it’s getting old, even though I do find myself extremely clever and accommodating, ha, I need human contact.

While looking through my bookmarks last night I ran across a link to Pressure Printing it’s an odd looking site in a way, sort of hazy, reminiscent of Charles Anderson and Duffy design before the CSA conglomeration when all retro ad art became his. Pressure Printing hand presses limited edition books and prints for some of the great contemporary artists/illustrators IMO, I guess the plates used to print from must be etched because the images have a bit of relief and are predominantly limited color but some 4/c here and there. See the work of Mark Ryden, Tim Biskup, Glenn Barr our Motown hometown superstar (except his website doesn’t do his work justice, hint, hint) and many more. I was just looking at a book of Kim Deitch’s art. I’m not familiar with him, but his work is comic book, cartoon style, i.e. Cheap Thrills: Big Brother and the Holding Company-esque. The printing makes everything look like a little gem, valuable and precious, something you want to hold in your hands. And of course, don’t miss out on my own dazzling display of illustrative and design-y delights at pinkchocolatedesign.com

It’s the 5th of July!

59 foot tall robot sculpture in Tokyo, Japan

Check out this awesome giant Gundam sculpture, seems just right for a lovely Independence Day weekend.

Tricked by Yuki 7

The color and 60's style of Kevin Dart's Yuki 7 illustrations makes me all happy and warm inside. I've posted the link everywhere I can think of, check out the series, they're totally cool. When I first ran across the slideshow through notcot.org I truly thought they were examples of old Japanese movie posters. I've only figured out after doing a little more research that the art is a representation of a fictitious spy character. I suppose I should've realized right away based on the Shag, Ed Fotheringham, Glenn Barr clean modern quality that it was current, although I'm glad I didn't. I was able to go off into imagination land and think about this series of films that I'd never heard of and how could it be that I hadn't run across this artwork somewhere? What a discovery! Alas even though it's new it still presents the same level of excitement and anticipation... this is only the beginning.

I talk a lot about illustration as a major part of the graphic design cocktail and less about "design" per se but to me it's all smooshed together. As an illustrator and a designer I don't know how to separate the two, art is an integral part of how I approach design. Not only is it a way to maintain control of the project and my vision of the outcome, but it's also an absolutely essential tool for composition and inspiration. Not too many things can stop me in my tracks like a beautiful, thoughtful, well drawn, masterfully executed piece of illustration can, I am mesmerized, temporarily paralyzed by it... good thing galleries don't appear in the roadway, I would have been squashed long ago. Maybe it's due to the nature of illustration which is often representational, I can easily get lost in the color and the style without being bogged down in interpretation. This isn't always the case of course, much editorial art is quite conceptual but it's meaning is generally grounded in the story it seeks to represent and not so much wrapped up in the artist's personal manifesto. Color and skill alone are enough to dazzle me, art does not require deep meaning to be called art. I'll stop by the MOMA for a dose of concept and vision when I need it, but I will continue to appreciate art purely for art's sake.

information overload!

I have spent so much time today thinking about all of the things I want and need to learn, research and create that I'm immobilized at the moment. I think my head will explode if I read one more tweet. There is sooo much out there, does anyone know it all? Are all of you struggling to stay on top of technology racing at the speed of sound just like me? Shoot, I'm a self-taught technician and played the role of IT person at home and at work because in those days, no one knew the answer. I took responsibility in order to learn and because it was an interesting challenge. I hope the next technological advancement is a Johnny Mnemonic injection, I'll be first in line.

So through all of that, here's some links to share that I found very cool... MephoBox a great site to pick up or examples to review. There's so many neat things to look at it satisfies my OCD. How about 20,000 names from around the world? From Sumiko to Adhiambo, Padraig to Miroslaw, go ahead — Baby Dwynwen deserves to be unique. Last but not least... morbid yet hysterical, these pillows are a stitch fromKeetra.com

'til next time

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It's happy hour

Graphic design cocktail, sponsored by Pink Chocolate Design, takes its maiden voyage. All beverages are half price until 6pm!

Once again I am up past my bedtime, my empty blog cried out for attention and I must oblige the little dickens by typing a few lines. So to get started, let me share two of my most favorite things.

First notcot.org the coolest website around. Design, architecture, gadgets, fine art, illustration, you name it, a random collection of art related yet unexpected links that continuously update. I think I was lost for three hours the first time I visited, it's an amazing source of inspiration and reminds you how much creativity is out there. Millions of people around the world making stuff, daring to go public and share with the rest of us... the world seems vast and small at the same time.

Second, the most amazing dolls by Marina Bychkova. Beautiful yet pensive, the eyes seem filled with tears... as if they are witnessing something perfectly beautiful or the moment following when the vision has faded. They are capable of such lifelike poses it's easy to forget they are enchanted dolls and not real people. The costumes, jewelry and headpieces are so finely crafted, they are true works of art in their own right.

enjoy