wings. strings. meridians: a blighted bestiary-- a book by tara jane o'neil

total awe. these drawings are *beautiful.* i discovered this book by tara jane o'neil over at buyolympia.com, and i'm totally and completely smitten. it's published by yeti publishing, whose selection of books and magazines looks just astounding. have any of you seen one of their books or mags in person? i'm seriously tempted to buy this right now. it comes with a CD, too, of tara jane's music!

you can buy the book and other yeti publications here and here,
and see more of tara's work here.

enjoy!

zeixs: the most gorgeous design books

i think you all know that i'm pretty obsessed with pattern design, so imagine my excitement when i received an email about this new book that's being published by zeixs, a publishing company based in germany. they publish the most gorgeous design books, and this pattern design book is their next project.

here's the premise of the book, as stated on zeixs' website:

patterns are everywhere-- on paper or cloth, as a wallpaper or on wrapping material. patterns can be strictly abstract and geometrical or concrete, multicoloured or monochrome. sometimes they serve as a background, sometimes as a coating. regardless if they're stark and restrained, or flowery and colourful-- we're looking for patterns of all kinds and dimensions.

the deadline for submitting work passed a couple of days ago (i should've posted this last week, darn!)-- i'll be anxious to see all the designs in the book when it's published.

a few of zeixs' other books that look especially fabulous, in my opinion:





check out the rest of their publications on their website-- they're very tempting indeed!

parasol magazine: issue 2

oh happy day, it's friday. it's been one heck of a week, hasn't it?
here is something to add to your weekend reading list: parasol magazine's second issue!

it's a good one, bursting with gorgeous images and fascinating interviews (there is even an interview with little ol' me on page 11!)

i'm just floored by yasmine's incredible talent and what seems to be endless energy, so i think you'll really want to check this out. (also, if you don't already read yasmine's blog, a print a day, that's another one to add to your blogroll. it's a goodie!)

enjoy!

juana gaita magazine

like i said the other day, i really am so enamored of illustration and design from the 1950s and 1960s, so these images of canadian-latvian literature magazine juana gaita are making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! i found the images on mikus vanags' flickr page-- (mikus is from riga, latvia, a place i visited several years ago and absolutely loved!)

mikus says that juana gaita magazine was "published around the world since 1950s. experimental cover designs with national elements and style balancing between pseudo-amateur and highly professional creativity." i can't get over how amazing these covers are. WOW. it's still being published, too, and you can learn more about it here.

an awesome book: by dallas clayton

to say i am thrilled to introduce you to dallas clayton would be a major understatement. dallas emailed me last week to tell me about a book he created, called "an awesome book", and goodness gracious, i want dallas to be my new best friend. this book is amazing. it's all about dreaming big, and is a really touching story about how people are in the world and the importance of following your dreams.

it's sort-of in the vein of dr.seuss and shel silverstein, in that there is a deeper message all wrapped up in a kid-friendly wrapper (complete with rocket-powered unicorns!) people of all ages will love this book.

dallas also told me that the book has recently been picked up by urban outfitters (which he attributes to the power of positive thinking-- go dallas!), so you can either get a copy there, or purchase it online here. (oh, and you can preview the entire book right here, and let me tell you, you're going to get goosebumps.)

you'll probably want to watch this video that dallas made about the book, too, because it is fun, and he is adorable. :)

*big thank you to dallas for sending this over to me!*

parasol magazine!!

i'm so so so excited to share this project with you that my friend yasmine from a print a day is debuting today-- parasol magazine.

wow, is this girl incredible. yasmine is supremely talented, and the fact that she's promoting other creative and talented people through her new venture (which is downloadable and free, by the way!) is just too wonderful.

wait until you see it. it's hard to describe how seriously terrific it is.

click here to visit the parasol website, and you can download the magazine here.
(and if you look on page 27, there's a fun ad from yours truly!)

the printmaking bible

oh my oh my oh my! i want this book so badly! i just discovered it-- have i been living in the dark? did you all know about this book already? does anyone have it and can tell me about it? i sure would love to know what it's like before i make the splurge and buy it. (who am i kidding? i can't resist books like this. i'm certain it'll be purchased before the week's end...!)

check it out-- it's available over at buyolympia.com, one of my new fave shops.

love: a book

i don't think i could be more excited to tell you about this project that i am lucky enough to be a part of. samantha hahn (one of my bff's from printsource a couple weeks ago) asked me to submit an image for a book called 'love' that she has put together specially for valentine's day, and it is chock full of images, all with a love theme, by a group of incredibly talented people! (the gorgeous cover above is done by samantha herself- isn't it amazing??)


this is my contribution above.

and here is how samantha describes the book:

"i'm excited to share an art book on "love" with you. i asked 25 artists & writers—each with a distinct style and voice—to submit a piece inspired by their idea of love, and then I published them as a book on blurb, a print-on-demand website. the contributing artists hail from around the world. I knew that each one's interpretation of love would be singular, but with some profound similarities.

love is the ideal subject for artists to interpret. we all love, but everyone defines love differently in their minds and hearts. we all love differently and the same. we are connected through love and art."

click here for a full list of the contributing artists and also to see some sneak peeks!
it looks like a goodie, folks. and the best part is that you can purchase it on the blurb website! what a perfect valentine's day gift, wouldn't you say? i can't wait to receive my copy!

paint by number

i want this book. in a bad way.

olle eksell

i just ordered this book and i cannot wait to get it. olle eksell was a swedish graphic designer, and his illustrations are incredible. i will be impatiently waiting for the mailman to deliver this to me.

the oxford project

well, this project has just hit me right to the core this morning when i saw it posted over on the sub-studio design blog. something about it... it feels so human. i know that sounds sort-of vague, but geez, reading the stories of these people's lives in oxford, iowa has really shaken me up this morning.

peter feldstein photographed 670 of the 673 residents of oxford, iowa in 1984, and then went back 21 years later to photograph them again and hear their stories. the book is full of their images and words, and from what i saw on his website, it is simply breath-taking.

i am amazed at how life is so different from one place to another, but remarkably similar at the same time. people leave their wives, people have trouble sleeping, people worry about their children, people pray...

i find myself wondering if a project like this could happen in anything other than a small midwestern town such as oxford, iowa, where so many of the residents have never moved away or have even considered moving away. it makes me feel happy and breaks my heart at the same time.

[you can order the book right here.]

lula magazine

i'm a big fan of zooey deschanel. i think she's just adorable and her voice is to die for.
so i was happy to see her in lula magazine when i checked out the magazine online this morning. who knows-- i'm probably totally out of the loop (read: uncool) for never checking out this magazine, but it is gorgeous! i'm hooked.

these are some of my favorite images from flipping through the magazine-- you can flip through all the issues on their website, and you can subscribe right here.

reading list: beyond trend

if i'm not careful, all my money is going to be spent on books these days! i just bought lena corwin's book (which still has not arrived... arrgh!), and i must have mike perry's book that i posted about yesterday, and then i spied this gem over on julia rothman's blog, book by its cover, and i really don't think there's any stopping my from buying it.

what's a girl to do? some girls like to spend their money on shoes and purses-- i go for books and art supplies. :)

judging by the photos of the book on julia's blog, it looks really fantastic and inspiring-- and you can order it on amazon-- oh, internet, why do you make it so easy to spend money? i don't even have to go to a book store to pick up my copy!

over & over: by mike perry

holy hell, people.

those of you on strict budgets should stop reading this post right now. those of you who are not should pre-order yourselves a copy of this new book of hand-drawn patterns, called over & over, by mike perry (think, author of hand job), as fast as your fingers can type amazon.com.

it look INCREDIBLE. i kid you not.
betsy walton has some drawings in it (the first 2 images came from her flickr photostream), and the rest of the catalog looks pretty dang intriguing.

and while you're at it, check out the rest of mike perry's site, because it's pretty spectacular.

{via ~ <> ~, lena corwin's blog}

Mankind Mag-- and I'm in it!

i am beyond thrilled to be part of the first ever issue of mankind mag!! erin asked me if she could use some of my drawings for a calendar in the magazine, but i had NO IDEA it was going to look so dang CUTE!!!! you absolutely have to check it out-- and the best part is that you can check out the magazine as a pdf (save the trees!), or, if you have to have a real life copy like i do, you can order one right here at mag cloud. erin, as ever, did an unbelievably amazing job with the magazine, as she does with everything!

thank you, erin, THANK YOU a thousand times. i am honored and excited to be part of the first ever issue. i know it's going to be a wild success!!

{here's a little preview of the drawings.....}

print & pattern book!!

have you heard the exciting news? print & pattern, the blog, is going to be turned into a BOOK!
and bowie, the author of the blog, is calling for submissions!!

she's looking for any form of surface design (patterns, cards, papergoods, scrapbooking, textiles, ceramics, etc.), from any form of designer (professionals, students, crafters, etc.)

i can't wait to submit some work! how amazing would that be to be included in the book? wow. it would be a dream come true.

check out the details here.

cool magazine...

while browsing barnes & noble the other day, i came across this incredible magazine that is published in hong kong called international designer's network.

it cost whopping $15, but after flipping it open i realized it was something i could not live without.


the best part is that it has a special section all about the semiotics of illustration (the meaning behind illustrations) featuring interviews with 8 illustrators from around the world.
the magazine is bursting with images, all printed on this great thick matte paper, so vibrant, and it's so lovely that it's hard to put into words.

you can visit the website for more info about the magazine, but believe me, it does no justice to how fantastic it is to hold it in your hands. too bad a subscription is $118 for 6 issues-- otherwise i would be coveting this each and every time it was delivered to my mailbox!

new book by lotta jansdotter!

i must have this book. i am pre-ordering it as we speak. if you pre-order it, it will come signed by lotta herself. it says on the website that it is due to ship in late march, which is... now!

{via oh joy)

i just heard about tastebook, where you can make your own cookbook! this is something i've always wanted to do, and this site makes it super easy. you can add your own photos, create a personal mix of recipes.... the possibilities are endless. i'm loving all these self-publishing options lately, like blurb and iphoto... and now this!

enjoy!

{via sparkletopia, banana bread image via aloalosabine on flickr and sushi image via drp on flickr }

life is a road, not a highway

i have been feeling a little off lately. i'm not really sure why, although i think it is just the ups and downs of being both an artist and a human being. it seems that the up and down is just a part of life. my life, at least.

i was reading earlier, immortality by milan kundera, which i read once before, but which is striking me in entirely new ways than when i read it the first time several years ago.

{ps... read his books. they are really something else.)

this section spoke to me:

'Road: a strip of ground over which one walks. A highway differs from a road not only because it is solely intended for vehicles, but also because it is merely a line that connects one point with another. A highway has no meaning in itself; its meaning derives entirely from the two points that it connects. A road is a tribute to space. Every stretch of road has meaning in itself and invites us to stop. A highway is the devaluation of space, which thanks to it has been reduced to a mere obstacle to human movement and a waste of time.

Before roads and paths disappeared from the landscape, they had disappeared from the human soul: man stopped wanting to walk, to walk on his own feet and to enjoy it. What's more, he no longer saw his own life as a road, but as a highway: a line that led from one point to another, from the rank of captain to the rank of general, from the role of wife to the role of widow. Time became a mere obstacle to life, an obstacle that had to be overcome by ever greater speed......

In the world of highways, a beautiful landscape means: an island of beauty connected by a long line with other islands of beauty. In the world of roads and paths, beauty is continuous and constantly changing; it tells us at every step: "Stop!"'

this seems to fit for me these days. my life has become a highway, both physically and metaphorically. i am driving more these days here in georgia than i ever have before, and i get stuck in traffic every day, and it makes me want to scream. the time in the car is not peaceful, relaxing, rejuvenating, or any of the good stuff. i find myself cursing and wanting to get to where i'm going as fast as i possibly can, so as not to waste any time. on a metaphorical level, i'm measuring my life by 'islands of beauty.' i compare myself. to everyone. there's always someone out there who is doing something i deem a little (or a lot!) better, or they seem to have it a little (or a lot) more together, and lives seem just a bit better than mine. as an artist, this comparing is both useful and detrimental: i'm learning a lot by watching what others are doing, but at the same time i'm allowing the line to be crossed from healthy admiration to jealousy, and that does *nothing* to feed my creativity. it's like i'm waiting for something big to happen that i can mark as 'something i accomplished' on my life-highway, when really my life is happening right now. RIGHT NOW. isn't that crazy? this is my life. and that is your life. right now.

anyway, sorry to sound melancholy. the book is pulling big questions out of me, and where else to put them but out into the big ol' internet world?

enjoy the book if you decide to read it. :) it is wonderful.