Holiday blues
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.
Old, but still new
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.
New Work
Wow. The past few days have been kind of crazy here. I’ve been preparing for MICA’s Art Market which has been more work than I thought it was going to be, but completely worth it. In addition, I woke up this morning intending to do a little website updating to realize that my account was disabled because someone hacked into my out-of-date Wordpress install. Oops. So that’s fixed now. Anyway, more importantly…
New work! A ten-color screenprint, 10×10″, that I just finished last weekend. It’s mostly for the Studio Remix print exchange, but I have a bunch of artist proofs that are for sale at Art Market right now. Whatever is left over will be on the etsy shop on Sunday.
I think I’m going to encorporate more hand drawn elements into my work. Maybe knock back the color a little bit, use more transparent colors or softer colors with small pops of brights. And definitely encorporate collage elements. I’ve been working on some small collages in my free time and they’re really helping me get back to making art on a regular basis. It’s just so natural to me to cut, tear, arrange and glue down elements.
I’ve been thinking about how emphemeral memories can be, that sort of fleeting, “better catch it while you can” feeling. I’d really like that to come across in my work. Little moments that form a greater whole, a brand new space/place. I know it’s all very vague right now, but it’ll come to form and hopefull make a lot more sense. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for me to write a better statement either. Big plans in the near future!
Launch!
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!
Exciting News
Surprise, surprise. I’ve been working in the shop lately! MICA has its second annual Art Market coming up next week and I’ve made some holiday cards for the event.
And hopefully more exciting…I’m finally opening my etsy shop next week! I know, I know, it’s about time, right? I have no idea what took me so long to get it going, but I think I just needed a little pressure to get me going in the right direction. You can find me on etsy here– http://electrofervor.etsy.com. I’m hoping for a Monday launch, so keep your eyes peeled!
Just to keep your mouth watering, this is a little peek at what I’m currently working on. I am the teaching intern for a class at MICA this semester called Studio Remix: A Dolphin Press Collaboration. It’s technically an illustration class, but it’s taught by a printmaking faculty member and students are actively involved in the editioning of Jon Rappleye’s work. In addition, they are taught how to screenprint. This piece is for our last assignment, a 10×10 print exchange. I’m hoping to print the edition tomorrow.
Sorry about the questionable quality. I’ve gotten in the bad habit of leaving my actual camera at home, so many of my photos come from my phone. Some photos are better than none?
just updating my blaaaaag
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.
more collage exchange
#1.2, from me to Jason
#1.3, from Jason to me
#2.1, from me to Jason
I love this project so far. It’s a surprise every time.
Friday Tumblr Round-up
A summary of my favorites that I posted to tumblr this week:
Monday:
Illustrator Natsko Seki, featured on It’s Nice That.
Tuesday:
Obey poster for Jane’s Addiction, perhaps one of my favorite Obey posters I’ve seen. (via OMG Posters)
Wednesday:
Post-election frenzy leads to an adorable illustration by Patrick Moberg.
Thursday:
Dear Ada featured woefoep, originally posted on notpaper (one of my new favorite blogs!).
Friday:
“Nevermore” by the always delightful Emmanuel Polanco.
Inspirations pt. 2
Taking a break from the often infuriating process of trying to cram an ungodly amount of text into a (relatively) small amount of space by posting on the ol’ blog. To continue the inspirations posts, I wanted to highlight a playlist that I made over the summer.
Even though I don’t have a musical background, music is, perhaps, one of my biggest inspirations. I am always listening to music, especially when I’m working, so it’s only natural that the nuances from what I’m hearing manifests itself into my artwork. I have a lot of old standbys (Spoon, duh) and a tendency to listen to the same handful of groups over and over and over again until I find something new. To give you an idea of my mindset at the time, here’s my summer 2008 playlist (which used to be on muxtape before it went belly up):
1. Health - “Heaven”
2. Holy Fuck - “Korock”
3. The Octopus Project - “Porno Disaster”
4. Black Moth Super Rainbow - “Vietcaterpillar”
5. Aphex Twin - “Fingerbib”
6. Crystal Castles - “Air War”
7. Modeselektor - “Hasir”
8. Dabrye - “Hyped-Up Plus Tax”
9. TRS-80 - “Tickle Fingers”
10. Add N to (X) - “Metal Fingers in my Body”
11. Justice - “One Minute to Midnight”Watch out for a zip file of this mix tonight, once I get back home!
Collage Exchange
#1.1, From Jason to me
According to the USPS, Jason should be getting this back along with a new collage sometime today. Once he scans it, I’ll post it here (and here)!
