Digging through computer

I've literally spent the last 7 hours (minus an hour for lunch break) going through every folder on my computer and cleaning it out. Six hours! And I can't even tell how much progress I've made. The fun part however is finding little graphics I started for projects. Here's one for a blog I was going to do but then never did. I think it's an OK start. Ugh. Back to it.

Autumn 2008

Spelling what?

I like where they're headed but I think the 2 and the 8 are cut off too much. Not quite sure what to do there. I think I like the colors but I might play around a bit here as well. Seems sparse. Originally I wanted to do it like a poster for a band, but when I flipped it to a horizontal document I feel like I'm making more of a post card.

Beading/Wiring Attempt #1

This is my first attempt in a long time at making jewelry that wasn't an earring. Also, I seriously bruised my palm from gripping my pliers so hard, and we'll be stepping on wire bits in the apartment for some time. To put it nicely, I have a lot to learn. But that said I'm pretty happy with how it came out, and it already has clothing to go with it. Score!

Creativity

I'm still moving. How long does it take to move? Well, when you have as much stuff as I have, apparently a long time. (It doesn't help however that my evenings are now spent in rehearsal and most nights I won't get home until 10pm starting tonight but that is an aside.) I had this realization on Friday that I desperately needed to do something with my hands. My new studio is still mostly a cardboard box growth culture and I might know where my paints are but that doesn't mean I've yet located my brushes OR have a surface on which to paint. So I opened my stamp drawer. I literally used a few colors and grabbed for stamps at random and worked off of whatever was on the floor next to me whether it be a 6x8 index card or a piece of green painted paper. And for about 30 minutes I just played. It felt good and reminded me of why it's so important I get focused and put my studio together.

Sherri Haab's "Resin Jewelry"

I am so excited to work on resin this holiday season (is it too early to get excited about the holiday season?) Here is an excerpt from Sherri Haab's DVD craft workshop, "Resin Jewelry."

Bubble Magnet Tutorial

I posted this some time ago but it's been brought to the light again. I think I still like it. I find that the most frustrating part of poster design (freelance design) is how you have to change the design to fit all the information they want on there but didn't tell you originally. So you design it with a certain amount of type in mind and then find out right at the very end all the additional type. I think it's too easy for people (me included) to think of type as something different than the design as a whole. Type isn't separate from a poster, it IS a poster.

Santa paper

OK, it makes my eyes bleed just a little being this small...but who doesn't need Santa paper in well, August.

Rhetorical question.

Encore Poster

Poster I did for a show this last spring. The designer is doing an encore show in October and so hopefully you'll be seeing these out and about here pretty soon.

Pattern

I was working on this just on a whim but ended up liking it very much.

Studio update: My new studio is now basically filled floor to mid way with boxes. I have no table yet b/c it couldn't fit through the door. I could just put a plank across the boxes or stack all the books I don't know where to put and then put the plank on that.

It will come together. I know I just need to give myself the time to get everything moved and put away.

Paper Mache Flowers

So it begins

I've been waiting for about a week now for all the parts to arrive. Yesterday the final pieces came, and I know am the proud owner of a digital camera and a macro lens. Let the eye ball photographs begin. No leaf, cat, or Creative Catalyst employee is safe.

Nicky Vector

I came across this lovely profile on flickr and the owner was nice enough to let me use her image. It's been months but here is a draft. I've been holding onto it for awhile because I wanted to use my own patterns. I'm starting to have enough now that I have design options.

I can tell I have some things to fix with the vectors and layers but mostly I like how the colors are coming together.

(Thank you Nicky!)

Thank You Card

Z and I crashed a potluck on Friday, and I'm using it as an excuse to make a thank you card. All patterns here are mine. Some of them are dangerously close to damask. (!!!) Have I mentioned I'm excited about pattern making? Yeah....

In other news, I'm moving. Chaos. BUT tonight I'm getting some expert advice on how to set up my new studio.

Patterns Day 5

Patterns Day 4

So apparently this is pattern week. That wasn't my intention at the onset but it's been a fun way to let my brain decompress between editing chapters.

Here's some more.

Patterns Day 3

Found an image of a friend and thought it could be a great shape. I'm surprised at how well it works. I'm going to pursue this one.

Patterns Day 2

More patterns I'm working on. Some come easier than others. I think the red columns has potential to morph into more intricate designs. Part of pattern making is understanding the simple designs that the more complex designs rest upon. I've been carrying a great book on pattern making around with me wherever I go but haven't really read more than 15 pages. I'm going to a water park this weekend. Maybe I'll be able to find a quiet corner and breeze through some chapters. RIGHT!

Dotted Circle Pattern

I've been making up work hours all weekend on my home computer. Because it has no internet, I'm probably getting a lot more done (or why I'm working today at home again) but I need to find something other than email checking as a bribe to get through a difficult editing chunk. My solution: pattern practice. My goal is to come up with X number of patterns for Christmas so that I can use mostly my own papers in this year's cards.

The first image shows the evolution of one pattern attempt. I still need to add one more circle probably. That need becomes pretty clear when you look at the second set of images. But for the most part I like it. It's not super original, there is paper all over like this, but it's a good starting place. Most of the papers I enjoy using most in my work are pretty straight forward. The day I master damask is the day I'll really feel like I've accomplished a massive goal. Until then, I'm pretty happy with my dotted circles.

PS- You can see the inspiration for this paper in my header. It's the green circle one second in from the right.

Digital Scrapbook Attempt #1 (like ever)

I am not a scrapbooker. My sense of design doesn't extend beyond about 4x6 inches. But when I look around at some of the art people are doing, I can't help but be intrigued. There are some amazing graphic designers who have never probably considered themselves as such in the scrapbook world. What intrigues me most is digital scrapbooking. It links up a lot with what I'm already doing but adds the photo element. I'm getting a camera soon and I think this is something I will slowly edge into. Here is attempt one. Images always come out darker when I move from Illustrator to PSD to jpg. I have a lot of negative things I could say about it but I won't. I'll be negative when I've tried a few and am not completely overwhelmed by the square format.