random and unexpected inspiration

have i ever told you that in a previous life i was a singer/songwriter?

(ok, not a previous life, but when i was in college and a couple years beyond.) i taught myself t to play the guitar when i was 15 and started writing songs shortly thereafter.


but once my art career started swinging when i was 23, and i was trying to juggle art-making and making a living, the singing, guitar playing, and songwriting got lost in the shuffle. i just stopped doing it.

well, tonight, while ryan i and i were making sushi for dinner (vegetarian, of course!
avocado, bean sprouts, tofu, carrots, zucchini... yum!), i popped in an old, old favorite sarah mclachlan cd that i hadn't listened to since i was, oh, 18 years old or so. i have no idea what made me want to hear it, but i'm so, so glad i did because, first of all, it was still beautiful. (i think once i started listening to indie music and bands like the dismemberment plan and modest mouse, i shunned all my old "chick music." so sad.)

and second of all, IT MADE ME GET OUT MY GUITAR AND START PLAYING AGAIN. i kid you not. and it felt GOOD. my fingers are raw and throbbing, but i'm feeling something i haven't felt for a long time, and i think i'm hooked again.

perhaps one of these days i'll figure out how to record something and put it on this here blog.
but first i need to get those callouses on my fingers back.
all i can say is OUCH!

(photo from sean dreilinger's flickr page. it is not a photo of me--just a photo i liked!!)

type as art

[by i am still alive]

lately i am really into typography as art. i'm sure you've been seeing it around. there is the poster above, which i first noticed in a photo of lisa congdon's apartment.

and there's this one, which was made famous after gracing the pages of domino magazine:

[available at village]

and then there's this one, also in lisa congdon's apartment (i swear, i don't know how that woman ever leaves her house-- it's so colorful and perfect!!)

and victoria's keep calm and carry on posters


and design for mankind's inspiration poster

and this one by paraszpinak

and then there's my new little project. this is the first installment. it is a 4x4" gocco print in a chunky white frame.what do you think? there will be 3 more to come, but i'll have to keep you in suspense for now.

this one is available in my etsy shop, framed and ready to go! check it out! and do let me know what you think-- comments are much appreciated.

stay tuned for a {creative history} post later today!

consider everything as an experiment

this feels very apt for me right now. i've been asking myself the question "what if i just had fun doing this?" sometimes i tend to complain a lot, and lately i've been complaining a lot, and it knocks the energy out of me and makes everything very un-fun. so, i've been wondering how to make things more FUN, and rule's #9 and #4 are particularly speaking to me. also #7 an #8, because it makes me feel like my constant working is leading me somewhere amazing! (but isn't this moment right now amazing, if you think about it differently?)

anyway, happy friday, and i hope you all have a great weekend! i will be painting up a storm and will have more photos to show for it soon.

(sorry to sound like a negative nancy above..... ack! the overwhelm! sometimes it bites me and hangs on for a few days....)


["rules," by sister mary corita kent, via strange beautiful]

flickr favorites

a quick little post here, to show you some of my recent flickr favorites.
i love the way they look in this grid shape, don't you?

here is where they each came from:

1. for SAIGON MARKET ZINE, 2. Pocket journals with handprinted covers, 3. Pocket journals with handprinted covers!!, 4. 2007-09-23 Calvin's Horse Whale, 5. whalecity2, 6. Where You Wish, They Will Take You, 7. Backtracked, 8. Toothy Blue Whale, 9. Untitled, 10. Untitled, 11. Vintage illustration from children's book, 12. benday rose framed, 13. no. 2 pencil transformation, 14. finished, 15. YES art space, 16. One of a Kind Show 2007 - panel paintings, 17. bird on branch silhouettes, 18. a tree from Heather in Philly, 19. tallreeds, 20. good book!!, 21. room, 22. all dressed up, 23. Fresh for Fall, 24. woven and painted, 25. P8034311, 26. The Blossom of the Willow Tree, 27. city pond, 28. Nature_Z1406L, 29. Untitled, 30. War is Naughty, 31. snowmancat, 32. Ladybird cluster, 33. Garden Girl in snow, 34. sky of the day (Feb. 1, 2007)35. Not available36. Not available

happy wednesday! it is spring here in atlanta and i'm loving it!!

the sounds of color

[unrelated photo... but i love the colors. :) from karaku's flickr photostream]

so, i just saw this on platinum blonde life and had to share-- it looks like the gap is getting even more creative with their advertising. they got 5 different artists to write a song that embodies a color, and the results are so fun!

you can see 2 below (my personal faves):

dntel's take on red:

and marie digby's take on yellow:

check them all out on youtube, and also on the sound of color website. isn't this fun??

color dreaming

if i had a spare $499 i would buy this. for a color obsessed type of girl (like, ahem, me), this would be the most exciting purchase ever. i'm not kidding. 2,058 chromatically arranged solid colors? sign me up.

or, maybe for a day when i have a spare $149, this could do the job as well:

also chromatically-arranged.
have i mentioned that i love organization?

thursday morning colors

just a little thursday morning color inspiration. i'm loving using paint swatches for color inspiration these days....