Little Drawings for Little Ones

I give little pieces of art as gifts, instead of toys. 

Parents always seem a little more excited. 

Happy Spring!

Occasionally my old school district has projects for me, usually for the elementary schools. I've made a bunch of these hand painted signs and have even done some funny murals over the years. I always enjoy these projects, because elementary school was where I really found my love of art and design. It feels like an odd sense of accomplishment, like I've really come full circle.

A little photoshop action

I've been working at a small start-up for 7 months now, and I've been doing a bit more odd projects. A client wanted a very specific icebreaker ship image showing ice breaking away...which doesn't really exist, because the ice doesn't break like how they imagine. So yay, I get to practice my photoshopping skills. Kinda fun, super random.

Here's what the image looked like before:

The Spinster Ring

This year I received a little family heirloom known as the Spinster Ring. It belonged to my Great Great (Great?) Aunt Helen. She was my Great Grandmother's Aunt, who never married. She was a hostess of some hotels in Palm Springs, whatever else she was up to is a mystery to the family. We have no idea how she got the ring, if she bought it herself or if someone gave it to her as a gift. There is no documentation or knowledge of what her true stories are. I like to believe they she was entertained by a fabulous man who would take her out whenever he was in town. My Grandmother gave my Aunt the ring when she was past her "prime marrying" age. Possibly in hopes it would give her luck to find a husband, and she wore it every day until she married. And now she's given it to me. We had it cleaned by a local jeweler who told me that the ring is most likely from the early 1940s and was stamped white-gold, probably made in Newark, New Jersey. It's fascinating how some people know their craft so well that they can tell the year and where something originated from one quick look.

More to come on how this new old ring effects my love life...

Backpacking Essentials

Thought I should share my favorite little lifesavers from my recent backpacking trip in Europe.

- Secret purse for peace of mind

- Sunglasses for style

- Hat to cover travel hair

- Backpacking backpack, duh

- Blanket for cold hostels 

Reading List Update

 

Its maybe going to snow tonight, time to read! Unfortunately I only got through half of last years list before needing to add more. The bottom 4 are actually some novels that I really enjoyed earlier this year. You can judge me all you want for The Fault in our Stars, but it was the best airplane read, super fast and entertaining. Sucker for a little romance.

Golden Girls

Was shopping for gold shoes for a friends wedding. Got a little distracted. So many lovely ladies out there. 

1. American Apparel  2. Adidas Originals X Jeremy Scott  3. Fendi  4. Kate Spade 

Drinks in Portland

Four of my favorite drinks I had when vacationing in Portland, OR. 

HOWLER from Harlow

The most refreshing juice. 
Pineapple, ginger, cucumber, parsley, kale, & spinach.

S'MORE STOUT from Base Camp Brewing Co

I'm not the biggest beer fan, but when in Portland… 
This one was de-lish, chocolate, coffee, and a little smoke. 
Of course it comes with a perfectly toasted Mallow.

BLT Martini from The Gilt Club

House roma tomato vodka, basil & lemon olive oil and bacon salt. 
Looks weird, tastes exactly like my dreams.

The Sapphire Hotel
Unfortunately can't remember the name of this last pepper cocktail. 
But I love anything with a bite, and this one had some major kick.

K, now I'm thirsty. 

Wardrobe

One / Two / Three / Four

Bought a little too much on ModCloth today. I leave for Thailand soon and realized I don't have much clothing suitable for 90 degree weather. Sounds like an excuse to shop, don't you think? I don't check bags, so dresses and skirts are the easiest things to pack. I hope I'll have enough pieces to mix and match for 2 weeks.

Pen Pal

New pieces from my "Commentaries" project. They are all quotes from my darling friend Ray. The first set of quotes are up on my shop and were recorded while she was creating new pieces of art. I just started writing down odd things she would say, mostly to herself about how she felt about what she was making. I imagined them as signs up in other artists studios as a reminder that most artist have similar internal experience when trying to create something. Ray has since moved to Thailand and we have been conversing and sending little doodles via snail mail. They are super fun little projects. More to come.

Wheelies

We shot this adorable kid a while ago for work. He was amazing and super pumped to be on the bike. He wanted to do all kinds of tricks and looked like he was having so much fun. Those kinds of photo shoots are a peice of cake, when you get a kid that's superstar. Of course, I ended up getting on set after and attempting a couple tricks on the tiny bike. There is one shot of me that I will probably never show out of fear of completely embarrassing myself. My wheelie attempts are pretty sad.

I do consider myself a little bit of a biker, but not an extremest. Without a car, the bus and my bike are my only means (and very kind friends). Once the snow starts sticking my poor bike gets neglected. When making this silly gif I chuckled a little. This is totally the image I have in my head of how I feel in the dead of winter. When you think winter is almost over and then MN decides to dump a couple more blizzards in March. I'm so antsy to get on my bike, I imagine myself doing little wheelies in the living room going slightly insane... and winter's only just begun. Oof.

Photographed by Michael Haug

Christmas come early

I put two holiday cards up on my shop. They will also be available at the annual MCAD Art Sale, along with several other various pieces of my art. Happy shopping! 

This Week

Designed/Art Directed by yours truly.

Feeling Like A Fool

After being stood up last night in the rain....

Winter Reading

MN is turning chilly. I'm ready to hibernate in my apartment with some good books. I finally spent the time to find all the different places that I have noted titles of books, from screenshots on my phone to little post-its here and there. I even found an old email from Lady 'Librarian' Katharine of 10 must-read and excitedly crossed off 4 titles that I had already read. I'm actually surprised that this list isn't much longer. With the possibility of a little girly book club around the corner... I'm excited to flip through these babies.