Tales of a Disoriented Artist

Daily Doodle: Day 70

2011-03-09T22:48:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 69

2011-03-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 68

2011-03-09T22:45:00.000-08:00

It was my little sister's 17th birthday February 15th, she got a new camera and has really been in to photography lately (I wonder where she got that from?) so I made this little illustration for her!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 67

2011-03-09T22:41:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 66

2011-03-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 65

2011-03-09T22:38:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 64

2011-03-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

I felt like playing with the Xacto knives this week and post-its seemed like the natural choice.

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 63

2011-03-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim Davies

Daily Doodle: Day 62

2011-03-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim Davies

Daily Doodle: Day 61

2011-03-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim Davies

Daily Doodle: Day 60

2011-03-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim Davies

Daily Doodle: Day 59

2011-03-08T14:53:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim Davies

Daily Doodle: Day 58

2011-03-08T14:51:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim Davies

Daily Doodle: Day 57

2011-03-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

I felt like doing some hand drawn type so I went with "hello" in 7 different languages.

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 56

2011-03-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 55

2011-03-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 54

2011-03-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 53

2011-03-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 52

2011-03-06T13:19:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 51

2011-03-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 50

2011-03-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

My own little zoo for this theme...

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 49

2011-03-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 48

2011-03-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 47

2011-03-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 46

2011-03-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 45

2011-03-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 44

2011-03-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 43

2011-03-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

I got off the computer for this theme and just did some simple illustrations of French words that begin with a P.

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 42

2011-03-04T20:37:00.001-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 41

2011-03-04T20:36:00.001-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 40

2011-03-04T20:35:00.001-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 39

2011-03-04T20:34:00.002-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 38

2011-03-04T20:34:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 37

2011-03-04T20:33:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 36

2011-03-04T19:32:00.000-08:00

Get ready for the 7 Deadly Sins!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 35

2011-03-03T17:32:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 34

2011-03-03T17:15:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 33

2011-03-03T17:13:00.001-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 32

2011-03-03T17:12:00.001-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 31

2011-03-03T17:11:00.001-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 30

2011-03-03T17:10:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 29

2011-03-03T17:09:00.000-08:00

This theme? Beards and mustaches of course!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 28

2011-03-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 27

2011-03-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 26

2011-03-02T20:06:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 25

2011-03-02T20:05:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 24

2011-03-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 23

2011-03-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

This one was for my brother's 21st birthday!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 22

2011-03-02T19:58:00.001-08:00

This theme was inspired by the snowy Boston weather!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 21

2011-03-02T19:57:00.001-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 20

2011-03-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 19

2011-03-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 18

2011-03-02T19:53:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

I'm back!!

2011-03-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

Mwah haha, I fooled you all! I bet you thought I completely gave up on my Daily Doodles, but that is not the case. I have an entire folder filled with my little illustrations, I've just been lame and haven't posted them. I know, I know, I've deprived you all long enough so I'll start posting them again and get all caught up. Enjoy...

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 17

2010-12-26T18:06:00.000-08:00

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Recipe from Allrecipies.com

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 16

2010-12-25T21:46:00.000-08:00

Peanut Butter Kisses

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 11 ounce package milk chocolate candies

Preheat oven to 375°. Cream together granulated sugar, brown sugar, shortening and peanut butter. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; Beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; add to peanut butter mixture. Beat well.
Shape into 1-inch balls; roll in additional granulated sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Press a chocolate candy into the center of each warm cookie. Return to oven; bake 3 minutes longer.
Makes 6-7 dozen cookies.

I got this recipe from an old Jif Peanut Butter Cookbook that my Mom has been using for years. Enjoy!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 15

2010-12-25T02:00:00.000-08:00

In spirit of the holidays, this next week I'm going to be illustrating the cookie recipes my Mom always makes this time of year. A little bit of fun and yumminess is sure to be in store. I didn't have a lot of time to work on this one today so it's more of a rough draft but I'll give the next few a bit more time. I'll also include the full recipes in the future in case anyone wants to try them out!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 14

2010-12-24T01:17:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 13

2010-12-23T01:41:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 12

2010-12-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 11

2010-12-20T19:47:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 10

2010-12-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 9

2010-12-19T02:08:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 8

2010-12-18T04:34:00.000-08:00

I think I've decided to have a theme each week, a new one starting every Friday. I'm still figuring out how I want this project to go, for now I'm just having fun with it and I think it's working just fine but I want a little more purpose to it. Anyway, I'm going with a nautical theme this week, it's pretty basic but always fun!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 7

2010-12-16T23:38:00.000-08:00

Woo! One whole week of daily designing!!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

A Little Bit of Elegance

2010-12-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

I came across the portfolio of Amy Borrell today and thought I would pass it along. Her work is very soft and romantic and I found it very endearing. It was a nice change from the bold, sarcastic illustrators I've been admiring lately. Take a look!

She has lots of work on her website so check it out at cakewithgiants.com.

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 6

2010-12-16T01:57:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 5

2010-12-15T00:33:00.000-08:00

I had fun doing the poster yesterday so I think I'm going to do a few more...

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 4

2010-12-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 3

2010-12-13T01:31:00.000-08:00

Hmm, this one didn't exactly turn out how I planed it to but the good thing about this project is that I get to try again tomorrow!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Daily Doodle: Day 2

2010-12-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Original painting is Tragedy by Amaury-Duval )

My New Plan

2010-12-11T00:17:00.000-08:00

Earlier today (technically yesterday) I was talking to one of my very best friends, Brandon Hunter about jobs, moving, art and all kinds of other fun stuff. During our conversation he brought up several designers who have committed to designing something everyday. I've seen a few blogs of designers who do this and I have always thought it was a great project just not one I was going to take on myself. Well, Mr.Hunter has inspired me (once again) to take on this project. He is one of the most passionate people I know and his love for design is contagious. So starting today I'm going to design/create/produce something new everyday. This doesn't include any work I do for my job or a client, this is strictly personal artwork that I want to make. You want to hear the best news? I'm going to post it all on this lovely blog of mine for your viewing pleasure. Are you excited? Because I am.

For today's little piece of artwork I did a simple little drawing in my sketch book, but I like it. My plan is to add a little bit to this drawing everyday and see how it evolves, Layer Tennis style. I figure it's a good way to ease me into this new project, plus I think it could turn out really crazy and cool. Once I'm done or bored with this drawing I'll move on to something new. So without further delay, I give you design numero uno:

I know, it's not much now but I already have plans tumbling around in my head that will make it super awesome, so make sure you stay tuned!

Oh and don't forget to check out Brandon's very spectacular blog, White Spase. He always has great posts about all different kinds of artists and insightful musings on what is going on in today's art world!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Where to Find a Time Machine in Boston...

2010-12-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

I realized today that I haven't really posted anything about Boston since I announced that I was moving up here. Well today that changes! Last month, the week before Thanksgiving, I went to the Museum of Fine Arts with a friend and was very impressed with several of the collections. Being from around the DC area I have always had access to many different art museums, my absolute favorite being the Hirshhorn Museum, so I was excited to be able to go to a new museum with all new art.

Generally speaking, I always like the modern art sections of galleries the most. The MFA had some really nice pieces and a great exhibit of work by Nicholas Nixon but it was a fairly small collection, that or we just didn't find the rest. The floor plan was a bit confusing, haha. On the other hand the ancient world collections were amazing. We started off with the Egyptian art. The exhibit was beautifully set up, the lighting was perfect and the pieces were amazing. They had so much artwork! I felt like I was back in ancient times. It was definitely the highlight of my visit. They even had several tombs (at least I think that's what they were...) that were reconstructed and allowed you to go inside. After studying art history in school it's always amazing to see the pieces in person. Here are a few pieces from their Egyptian collections.

Funerary stele of Djedinheret

Shawabty of the Lady of the House of Behdetnedjmet

Shawabty of Neferseshempsamtik

Dummy Canopic Jar

Canopic Jar

And here's a photo I found of the exhibit.

(Image from finalarchitecture.com)

If you're ever up in Boston and want to see some great artwork definitely head to the MFA. I'm going to try to make it to the Institute of Contemporary Art next so look for a post about that. This time I won't forget my camera so I'll have my own photos to show you.

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Images from educators.mfa.org)

Platinum in the Rough

2010-12-09T22:37:00.000-08:00

The other day I came across the photography of Michael Massaia and felt I had to share it with you. The New Jersey native (just like me!) takes large format, black and white photos of places in New Jersey and New York. I was blown away when I first saw his work, his images literally glow. It turns out they are platinum prints, something that I have been very unfamiliar with till now. The special printing process is VERY archival, has a vast tonal range and as I mentioned before, appears to glow.

One of the things I like the most about Massaia's work, in addition to his stunning compositions, is that the majority of his photo are taken at night. The dark photos really make the glowing lights of his subject matter work perfectly with the platinum prints. The Final Throes, Chinatown Nights and Afterlife are my three favorite series. Check it out-

Afterlife-02

Afterlife-12

Afterlife-06

In the Final Throes-New Jersey-3

In the Final Throes-New Jersey-8

In the Final Throes-New Jersey-1

The Bayard Building-Chinatown

Nice One Bakery-Chinatown

Chinatown Finge

Chinatown-6am

He has a ton more photos on his website so check it out!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Afterlife images from michaelmassaiaphotography.com

The Final Throes images from beautifuldecay.com

Chinatown Nights images from luminous-lint.com)

More than just a hobby

2010-12-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

Sumbleupon has done it for me again! This time in the form of John Kenn. Kenn is a writer and director for kids shows but in his free time he transforms into an illustrator of epic proportions. His subject matter is mainly monsters of all shapes and sizes. His media? Pen and ink and, drum roll please... Post-It's. Yep that's right, he creates beautiful drawings that would be amazing enough as is but to top it off he does them on little squares of 3x3 yellow paper. His work immediately brings to mind the illustrations of Maurice Sendak, another favorite of mine. His drawings are detailed and have wonderful textures that make them come to life.

I also love that this is just a hobby for him. There is no pressure for him to create a new piece of artwork and no deadlines for him to meet. It's easy as a graphic designer to get caught up with projects and clients and forget to create work just for yourself. Kenn has been doing just that and lucky enough for us has been kind enough to let us join him in his little Post-It worlds. I definitely am going to set some time aside to do more personal work and maybe I'll start posting it up here too!

He adds new work to his blog about every week so make sure you check it out!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Images from johnkenn.blogspot.com)

Time to deal out the cards

2010-12-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

I found this while doing my usual rounds on Etsy. They're a fun and quirky shop called Able and Game that makes fun and quirky cards. Simplistic drawings combined with funny little sayings make me a very happy customer!

These cards are a great way to tell someone how you feel in a unique and unconventional way and they are always good for a laugh. Keep up the good work Able and Game!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Images from Able and Game's Etsy Shop)

Simplicity is key

2010-11-09T17:32:00.000-08:00

I'm alive, I promise! I know my posts have become few and far between but I'm still here and I'll try and do better. No promises though.

Today I was wandering around the good old internet using StumbleUpon and came across this image:

It made me laugh so I looked up Marc Johns and found a bunch of similar drawings. Voila, I have a new second favorite illustrator (Jon Klassen is and will alway be number one). His illustrations themselves are very basic but that's one of the reasons I like them so much. He picks a lot of common objects to draw but adds an unexpected element to them and there is always a little statement underneath. They are just so random and have a childish quality to them that not many artists have anymore. His blog will definitly be added to my list of daily reads and I have a feeling that my days will be a bit brighter because of it. Here are a few more drawings from his website:

I would love some of these prints to hang up in my room, hmmm, I'm thinking Christmas list!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Images from marcjohns.com)

Check It Out

2010-10-28T23:06:00.000-07:00

I was just going through my bookmarked pages and rediscovered this site. You might have been there before but I thought it was a very pretty way to waste a few minutes. It's in Spanish but you don't have to read anything to enjoy the site. It's also a FWA people's choice website which doesn't hurt.

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

I love claymation!

2010-10-26T21:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I stumbled across a movie on Netflix that I had never heard of before called Mary & Max. I was just browsing the independent film section for something new to watch when I found it. I didn't really know what to expect but I soon as I read the words "clay animation" I was hooked. I thought it was going to be a kids film, beautifully animated and I was okay with that, little did I know it would become one of my new favorites. The story is about two people, an eight year old girl from Australia and a middle aged, obese man with Asperger's from New York who become pen pals and is definitely not a kiddie movie. Do you want to see it yet? Because you should. I hate it when people give away to much in a story line so I'm not going to say anymore about that. You'll have to watch it to find out about Mister Alfonso Ravioli, Damian Cyril Popodopolous, and Mister Biscuit (who is a parakeet), to name a few.

Adam Elliot is the masterful director behind this film and has done several animated short before Mary & Max. The animation is absolute perfection. The whole film has a very minimal color pallet which works great for the story line. All of the characters are a little wacky looking (some more so then others) but just makes the film that much more charming. The details are also incredible and just help to add to the humor and sarcastic tone spread through out the film. Just check out some of these screen shots.

And to top it all off, Toni Collette (who I'm absolutly in love with) is the voice of Mary. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Eric Bana also voice main characters. So now everyone should run and watch this movie, you won't be disappointed I promise!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Images from listal.com)

For a Cloudy Day

2010-10-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

The other day I was trying to find some inspiration for a website I'm working on for my internship when I came across these lovely folks. The Cloudy Collection was started by David Huyck who one day decided to invite some friends and colleagues to make a collection of letterpress prints. The results are beautiful prints that show off each designers unique talents but still work as a cohesive group as they all follow a theme and they have the same color pallet. They currently have 7 collections out with an average of 7 or 8 prints per set. They also are super eco-friendly when it comes to printing which is something that I think is very important this day in age.

I admire anyone who reaches out to other designers and artists to create something beautiful and exciting. I think that in the creative field it is so important to have other creative people around you to both inspire and support you. I know that I have my group of people that I always look to when I have designer's block or just want to bounce around a few ideas. I currently have two side projects with two different sets of friends that I'm hoping are going to take off soon. They are both really different projects but are each so much fun because I get to work with other designers who are also really close friends of mine. I think that sometimes working in a group can be really difficult but is usually worth it when everyone's best ideas come together to make a great finished product. I'm purposefully not giving away any specifics but as soon as there is something concrete to share you'll be hearing it first, I promise!

In the meantime here are some of the prints from the Cloudy Collection.

I definitely think that my favorite theme is "The Scarlet Lettering" (Vol. 1 Issue 3). Make sure you check them all out at their website, cloudycollection.com. They come out quarterly so there should be a new "issue" in a few months. Enjoy!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Images from cloudycollection.com)

Can someone help me, please?!?

2010-10-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely dying to learn how to print color photos in the darkroom. I've heard that it's complicated and hard but I don't care, I've wanted to learn for a while now. Color photography skills in the darkroom creates so many new possibilities. I keep on trying to find a class on color photography but so many people are switching to digital now that the classes that are in the darkroom are mostly on the basics. I've taken three photography classes now and want to learn something completely new. Does anyone out there know of a color photography class (in Boston) or know themselves and want to teach me? I'm getting pretty desperate here.

My other problem is that I don't have a darkroom so I can't even teach myself (which believe me would be very entertaining for all of you). The wonderful thing about being in college is that everything is right at your fingertips. I've been realizing since graduation exactly how much I depended on the school's resources. Let me tell you, I was VERY dependent. And now it is all gone just like that. I honestly haven't looked at all for a public darkroom in Boston but I did look when I was in Virginia and found nada so I'm a little pessimistic. Although that was Virginia and this is Boston so I probably should give it a chance. Even if I can't learn to print color photos I would still love a darkroom to play around in. I love darkrooms, they always feel comforting and safe. Oh why can't the real world be more like college? Tons and tons of art resources for everyone!

Well while I continue my search for a darkroom and color photography class here are some photographers who use color film (at least I'm pretty positive they do, either way they're all worth checking out):

Rineke Dijkstra

Beach Portraits
(Imgs: www.vincentborrelli.com )

William Eggleston

Los Alamos

(Imgs: www.egglestontrust.com)

Joakim Eskitdsen

The Roma Journeys

(Imgs: www.joakimeskildsen.com)

I hope you enjoyed! I found all of these artists on this website. It's a great resource for finding both classic and contemporary artists.You should definitely spend some time there, it's where I always go when looking for photographic inspiration!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

A Burst of Inspiration

2010-10-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

I think that it is about time I dedicate a post to my all time favorite illustrator, the absolutely amazing Jon Klassen! His quirky style and use of textures really make him stand out as an artist. His work usually has an almost childlike simplicity to it yet also has an edge of dark humor. Check it out...

This is one of my favorites if I was forced to choose.
There is definitely that dark humor that I mentioned.

Beautiful!!! Great illustration of isolation, it's kinda sad and sweet at the same time.

This is so amazing!!!!! I want all of his prints!

Oh and did I mention that he did artwork for Coraline? Because he did. I know know, how much are you in love with him? I want to post all of his prints but I'll let you look for yourself. Also check out the image he used for his about me page. I think I might have to still that idea, it's too cute!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Images from burstofbeaden.com)

BOSTON!!!!

2010-10-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

I am here. I am in Boston. Right now, as I write this, I am in Boston, Massachusetts. It happened so fast that I barely believe I'm here, but after 13 hours of driving (there is a reason I'm a disoriented artist) over two days, I AM IN BOSTON! I actually got here on Friday but had to unpack and all of that. I know it's been over two weeks since my last post but I'm back and better then ever!

Great poster by Ork Posters, they have a bunch of other cities too!

Today was my first meeting with my boss at my internship and I think I'm really going to like it there. For those of you wondering what my internship is here is a brief overview. I'm interning for a Boston based DJ, doing all sorts of graphic design projects for him. He owns his own DJ/production company and an event promotion company. He is also working on setting up a DJ collective that consists of three DJ's, the twist being that the three DJ's are really just all him with a different identity for the three different genres of music he will play. I don't know if I explained that quite right but I hope you get the idea. Anyway, that's where I come in. I, along with his other graphic design intern, will be creating a site for each of the three identities as well as a site for the collective. It's going to be a lot of work but he really wants sites that are creative and fun so I can't wait.

Beat Train Productions (the NY branch)

In honor of my new musically inspired internship I thought the second half of this post should be about some album art. I've always loved album art, I think that it is one of the best way to be a commercial designer but still have a ton of freedom to be creative and experiment. My boss had a bunch of old album covers framed in his studio which I thought was very fitting and looked great. Here are a few album covers that I personally adore.

The Decemberists- The Crane Wife
Illustration is by Carson Ellis
(Image-decemberists.com)

The Decemberists- 5 Songs
Illustration is by Carson Ellis
(Image-decemberists.com)

Santogold- Self-titled
(Image- amazon.com)

Tilly and the Wall- Bottoms of Barrels
(Image- tillyandthewall.com)

The Black Keys- Brothers (just in case you weren't sure)
(Image- theblackkeys.com)

Ben Kweller- Sha Sha
(Image- goodrecords.com)

She & Him- Volume Two
(Image- sheandhim.com)

It's alive!!! I'm not such a fan of the color scheme or even the pattern but I do love how trippy it is.
Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion
(Image- drewtewksbury.com)

Now I do realize I left out the classics but everyone has seen those a thousand times, so why should I repost? And these are also mostly from music I listen to, so I'm probably a little biased, but it's my blog so that's the point I guess. It's a very diverse group but I think they all have something that really makes them stand out. What's your favorite album cover of the moment?

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Tennis Anyone?

2010-09-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

A month or two ago I came across an iPod Touch app called Layer Tennis. I was just searching around for graphic design and art related apps so I didn't really know what to expect. What I found was pretty cool.

Every Friday there is a new match between two designers, each match consists of 10 "volleys". As in the traditional game of tennis there is a serve. In Layer tennis the serve is a file that one of the designers made before the match started. After that the two designers send the image back and forth adding on and changing the image. After each volley the image is posted live on the site and there is a commentator for each match giving often funny and interesting opinions to what each designer has to offer. The most amazing thing to me is that the designers only have 15 minutes for each volley. I repeat, 15 MINUTES! The things these people do is so well done and creative. They never know what the other designer is going to do yet the manage to bring their best. After each match people who hold a "season pass" (myself included) can vote for who think they won the match on Twitter

Adobe does sponsor the site so that automatically tells you there are going to be some high quality designers featured and I haven't been disappointed yet. I admit I've only just gotten to season two (they have three seasons so far) but it is such a great idea and they all know how to deliver. I love match one and four of season one, they are both must sees. Things also start to heat up when animation is added to the equation in a couple matches towards the end of season one.

Season 1, Match 1, Volley 4, Shaun Inman

If anyone wants, I'm totally down for starting our own Layer Tennis Competition. Anyone game?

I don't think that I'll ever be able to watch a normal game of tennis again (not that I ever really watched tennis in the first place). You just never know what to expect, each match is so different.

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Image from Layer Tennis)

A Little Snapshot

2010-09-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned a few days ago I did a little project that I wanted to post about. This piece is a part of a series that I'm working on. They are lino cuts (one of my favorite medium) that I digitally made into little posters. I have three on my website and this one will get on there soon. In order to prove my absolute adoration with photography, each image is of a camera, so far I have made a print of a Holga (love!), an old Olympus 35mm, a Voigtlander Brillant, and now an Ansco Cadet. I own each of the cameras I've made a print of except for the Voigtlander (that's my next camera, or at least some kind of dual lens).

The Ansco Cadet is actually my Mother's but I just found out she had it about a month ago. Now, I've been seriously studying photography for about the past two years so why she didn't tell me about it earlier I have no idea. She didn't tell me about it until my Aunt and I were talking about cameras that might be in my grandfather's attic. It was her first camera, my two Aunts also got one each. When I asked why she hadn't told me about it before she said I never asked. I didn't know I was supposed to but that's my Mom for you.

Anyway, on to the goods. I took a bunch of photos of my process so I thought I would share.

Isn't it so cute?

And the box is amazing! Thank God for my Mother's pack-rat tendencies!!

First I made sketch,

Then I made a pencil rubbing of the drawing,

The first round of cuts,

Then I go in and add different widths of lines and make sure all the cuts are deep enough,

I thought I'd give the blue ink a try,

The ink is a little thin but it was just a test print and no I didn't mean to match my nail polish to the ink,

Gotta make sure all the ink is transfered,

Tada! Again, the ink is a little thin but not bad for a test print in my opinion.

The end.

So that's my little project for the week, hope you enjoyed!

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

You Gotta Like the Like a Leika

2010-09-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

This summer I fell in love with everything HBO. I was already a True Blood fan but I also started to watch The Sopranos, Big Love, Six Feet Under, Bored to Death... what can I say? I didn't have a whole lot going on this summer. Anyway, one of my new favorite shows comes from the fabulous HBO, The Neistat Brothers. If you haven't seen the show it's a compilation of home videos made by two brothers, Casey and Van, all about the crazy adventures they have in their life. It's a super simple concept but done so well. They split the show in half so each brother gets 15 minutes to do with what ever they want. The results are funny, crazy, and inspirational all at the same time. They make films about whatever is going on at the moment in their life, not afraid to leave anything out, from stories about how they climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, to finding Van's biological father, to getting their HBO deal. They have their own website here, or here is the HBO page.

Casey on the left and Van on the right.

They use several different low end cameras that they talk about on their show. My favorite camera that they use is what they call the Like a Leika. How amazing is that? It is actually a Canon PowerShot SD780 that is painted black with a Leika logo on it. I don't have a thing for Leikas or anything, I just love the name and thought it was funny. It's little things like that that really make the show the gem that it is. I only found out when researching for this post that Tom Sachs is the creator of the Like a Leika. He is an artist based out of NYC and employed Casey and Van before they got the HBO gig. He also sold 12 of the cameras for $2,500...each. Makes me wish I had thought of that! His website is here.

The Like a Leika!

Throughout their videos they have a bunch of stop actions segments and other low tech touches that make the show feel complete yet spontaneous at the same time. By the end of the season I had convinced myself that I had to move to New York (where they live) and just be creative, go on adventures, and life would work its self out. That idea only lasted a couple of hours, thank goodness. I told you I'm a little crazy, haha. The show is just that inspirational and great.

They also have an AMAZING Polaroid wall that consists of pictures of everyone that had been in their studio. I think I need to start that in my new apartment. All I need is a Polaroid camera and some film and I'll have a great conversation piece!

I think I need more friends...

It is a great, original show and I think everyone should watch it. The end, no more discussion.

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

(Images from the Neistat Brother's website, Tom Sachs' website and HBO)

Movin' On Up

2010-09-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

I do have another post in the works that might make it on here sometime tonight but I've been a little preoccupied because, drum roll please... I'm moving to Boston! That's right, I'm getting out of good ol' VA and heading up North. It's all kind of happened with in the past few days so that's why I haven't been posting that much. I've been apartment hunting and trying to find out as much as I can about Boston because, well, I've never actually been there. Now I know you must be thinking I'm crazy for just picking up and moving to a completely new city but I have my reasons. I do have some great friends up there, one of which I will be living with, and I also was offered a paid internship that sounds totally rad (more on that once it starts!) and I need a good adventure in my life right about now! I still am finding it a little hard to believe that it's happening, usually I get grand plans in my head but they only stay there for about a day before I'm on to something new. But I'm making it happen! It's going to be scary and different but I think (I hope!) I'm ready for it. Well, ready or not it's happening, I'll be up there within the next couple of weeks, so I think that means a brief break on the blogging. No worries though I'll be back as soon as I get a chance to breathe.

May X never mark just one spot!

Kim

Don't think, Do!

2010-09-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

About a year ago this November, I had the opportunity to travel with a group of my friends down to Ft. Benning, Georgia for a few days during Thanksgiving break. We didn't go down for sightseeing or for a relaxing break, not at all. We were making the 12 hour drive to go to a protest against the US Army School of the Americas.

Now a brief history of the cause: the group that has been putting on the protest and vigil for the past 19 years is called the SOA (School of America) Watch. The School of America is a military training camp for Latin American soldiers located in Ft. Benning. This school has many graduates that have a direct correlation with many murders and massacres of their own innocent people. In short, it's bad real bad. I don't want to get into it to much so for more information check out the SOA Watch's website.

So now to my point, this protest was AMAZING and inspired me so much. There were around 20,000 people there (don't quote me on this number I couldn't find any source) all fighting (peacefully of course) for so many people who had lots their lives and families because of this school. There was chanting, singing, marching, it was so powerful and moving.

I had brought the Nikon D80 that I had been borrowing from a friend and was able to capture it on film. I'm so in love with the photos and I wanted to share a few with you because the next vigil is coming up this November. It is the 20th anniversary and should be a sight to see. If you can GET DOWN THERE!

I had no idea when I went down there that I would be around so much raw emotion and have the chance to photograph something so life changing. I've taken photos before of protests and other events but this one was different somehow. I think that it was because everyone's guard was down and no one was holding back anything, anger, sadness, desperation- anything.

Now when I'm working on a photography project it helps to think back to the protest and how I need to stop thinking about things and just shoot. Almost all of my best projects have come from little to no planning. It might sound ridiculous but sometimes I forget how easy it is to take pictures.

Here are a few of the photos I took:

My friend Jessie!

The marchers who are in the background are all those who crossed the police line.

Anne! The amazing woman who invited us to go to the protest/vigil with her!

They had a cross for everyone who had lost their life due to an SOA graduate at the end of the march they were put in to the fence at the gates of the school. It was so powerful and devastating to see how many there were.

I wish I could go this year but it doesn't look like I can due to lack of funds. If anyone ends up going take lots of photos and let me know! Even if you can't go it's a great group to get involved with!

May X never mark just one spot,

Kim

PS Thanks Jessie-Lee for the sign off idea! What do you guys think? I think it might be a keeper!!

I have the coolest friends...

2010-09-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

So last week two of my friends featured me on their blogs and I think it is only fitting to do the same for them...

I know I mentioned Jessie-Lee's blog, The Hyphen Tantrum, before, but I think I should give her some more credit, she definitely deserves it. As I said, she is the entire reason why I'm writing this now! Her blog is full of all sorts of goodies from funky furniture to beautiful, hand-crafted stationary. When she first told me she had a blog I had no idea I would find all the amazing, inspirational posts that she writes. I met Jessie-Lee down at Lynchburg College while we were both studying graphic design. She is an amazing designer and should definitely post more about her own work (hint hint) because she knows what she is doing and has her own unique style like none I've seen before. She recently got married and did her own wedding invitations which were absolutely stunning and blew away everyone I showed (and you better believe I showed off those puppies). I wish I had some pictures to show you (again, hint hint). I think you all get the picture, now get on over to her blog!

Stephen is another amazing designer that I met while at Lynchburg. His blog, The Blog of Stephen Kissel, is filled with posts about people and projects that are so much fun and beyond creative. His blog is a part of his personal website so while your there be sure to check out his work, he does a lot of custom fonts which are really great and take his designs to the next level. He is also a great illustrator and his characters always make me smile! I find a lot of inspiration from both Stephen's work and the work he posts about.

I can't say enough good things about these people, they have been great friends and colleagues and I can't wait to see what they come up with next!

If your in the discovering mood, here are some other friends of mine who you should check out as well:

Brandon Hunter at whitespase.com (blog) and brandonhunter.org (portfolio)
Jake Mace at jakemace.org
Katie Scott at katiescottdesign.com
Myles Katherine at myleskatherine.daportfolio.com

I wish I could write about each one of them but I feel like I've already gone on long enough so I'll save that for another time.

Still searching for the proper send off,

Kim

(images from thehyphentantrum.com and blog.stephenkissel.com respectively)

Color Theory

2010-09-11T00:53:00.000-07:00

So I've seen a bunch of posts about arranging books by color and I thought I would give it a try to spruce up my bookshelves. Honestly it didn't work out quite as I had hoped but that is mainly due to the middle shelf being just a bit to short to fit in some of my books. I also need more green books. I definitely like it better though, maybe it's my slightly OCD tendencies taking over but it just looks so much more organized. Which of course is ironic because before I rearranged them I had them all grouped together by series and on different shelves depending on if I had read them yet or if they were worth reading again, among other categories that I'm sure only my crazy brain could figure out. By now I guess I should realize that I always pick form over function! Unfortunately my bookshelf is currently the only part of my room that reflects that. Maybe I'll have to do a post about a weekend room makeover. That could be very fun!

Here are the before and afters! I do think it works until after the black, where I put all the books that couldn't fit on the second shelf. And like I said a little more green would be nice to fill it out. I'll have to keep that in mind when I'm a famous graphic designer, designing hundreds of book covers!

Before

After

Later gators!

Kim

Dirty Design

2010-09-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer I stumbled across a New York based designer, Annica Lydenberg and her company Dirty Bandits. I absolutely love her spunky illustrations and custom typography. She has a great combination of humor and style that is very refreshing. She does a lot of client work and then some stationary too. Check out these prints...

Who doesn't love cheesy pickup lines? And as an added bonus she posts monthly themed calenders for your computer's desktop. This month's theme? National honey month! It's a cute treat each month and brightens up my desktop. They are screen prints too that you can buy, if it was the beginning of the year I totally would have gotten them! Maybe we'll all be lucky and she'll do a set for 2011!

Umm, can you say adorable?!

Even as a vegetarian I love it!

Buzz buzz!

She sells a lot of her work on Etsy, including the pieces I linked, so be sure to check it out!

That's all for now!

Kim

(all images can be found at dirtybandits.com)

A Little Thursday Fun!

2010-09-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

I've never really been a big blog follower but when I decided to start my own I figured I should do some research. I found some really interesting blogs that are very inspiring, including one from the Jones Design Company. She posts a lot of little DIY projects that are really cute. There was one on silhouettes that I thought looked fun so I did a few and I think that they could be really cute hung up in a group with some fun frames. I didn't follow the tutorial exactly but if you don't know Photoshop then her tutorial is a good jumping of point. They didn't take me any time at all once I had the picture of myself that I liked. Try it out and see what you come up with!

I love the patterns and colors that she used so I tried the same, a modern take on an old classic

The classic look.

A little taste of the 70's, haha.

This one started out red but looked a little too much like blood, ew!

I've always loved the simplicity and elegance of silhouettes. Since they are so easy it is definitely an easy decorating fix! I think I might have to explore this further. I might redo the top ones and print them out to hang up. If I do I'll definitely post pictures! I'm definitely going to retake a photo to use, in these I was smiling and I think it makes my mouth looks a little funny, haha.

Have fun,

Kim

My First Post!

2010-09-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't really explain why but I'm a little nervous writing this post. I don't really expect to get a lot of readers or anything so I don't know what it is I have to be nervous about. I think that I just really want to be able to make this blog in to something that I can enjoy and have fun with. I've started many a journal and the longest one only lasted a few months. I've always liked the idea but lacked the commitment to write down my thoughts and feelings everyday, or for that matter, weekly or even monthly.

So I guess that's why I'm nervous, answering my own curiosity. I don't want this blog to fall by the wayside as so many of my attempts at journaling have.

And I'm not going to let it. I'm excited about this blog. I don't know what exactly what it is I have to say (which I'm sure is a no-no in blog writing 101 but as I said I'm not expecting a whole lot of readers anyway) but I'm going to find something to say. That will be my promise to you (whoever you is).

Most of my journals start out with some sort of promise of me writing at least one entry every other day. Soon enough I'm writing a single sentence every other day saying how I don't feel like writing and I'll make up for it another day, and then, nothing at all. So I'm not going to make that promise here, I'll write when I feel like it, whether it be 5 times a day or once a year (God, I hope that isn't the case!), and this way I think this blog will feel more like a hobby rather then a chore.

To wrap up I'll apologize for my little conversation with myself. I don't see this blog as a place for my deepest and darkest thoughts, so this will be the only post like this, I swear. I'm thinking of this as more of a literary and visual sketchbook (whatever that might mean). A place of creativity and experiments. I already have a list of topics that will hopefully excite someone else as much as they have me excited.

I don't have any snazzy sign-off yet so it's just my name for now,

Kim

P.S.- I really wanted to mention a quick thank-you to Jessie Lee who inspired me to start this blog, you should check out her's over at the The Hyphen Tantrum. It's really great and a lot of fun!!

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