Wednesday, October 29, 2008

wednesday lunch break pattern


today's heroine :: edith head :: costume design

tuesday night i went to see the movie "city of ember"... the costumes- mostly knitwear- were beautiful. so much texture, the costume designer ruth meyers did an amazing job.
therefore, i felt inspired to blog about one of my favorite (cliche or not) costume designers of all time, edith head.
is it a coincidence that all of my heroines wear amazing glasses or have funny bangs? i think not.
"...Head was a very private woman, a trait well illustrated by the dark sunglasses that became her trademark. Originally the lenses were blue, but later they were dark shades of gray. They were worn originally to see how the clothing would appear in black and white. The glasses and her unchanging hair style helped her to hide her true age. In the 1920s, she wore a Colleen Moore Dutch boy cut, but in the 1930s she noticed Anna May Wong's style and copied it: flat bangs with a chignon at the back. She would wear it for the rest of her life. These features and the consistency of her appearance over the decades helped make her an instantly recognised figure. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Head

also, if you remember the movie "the incredibles", i would like to note the remarkable resemblance between edith head and the silly little seamstress "edna more"...

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

the end of fall


cue the magic words..."and a chance of flurries"

"take a hike" or "go felt yourself"

a week ago i went on a short hike with my parents. i spent most of the hike picking up leaves and acorns and at one point found these awesome fungi and decided it would be a good photo op for the iphone case i made out of felt. (this is about the point where i heard my mother who was further up the path yell "are you ok!?!").

Monday, October 27, 2008

SAORI :: my current fibercraft

i recently started taking a saori weaving class and am finding it more enjoyable, relaxing and intuitive than previous fibercraft endeavors.

so with that said, let me introduce you to SAORI:

"The "sa" in "SAORI" ("ori" means "weaving"), is a Zen Buddhist term that means "each thing has its own unique quality" or "each person has his or her own unique quality." So, because of these spiritual roots, as experienced and expressed by founder Misao Jo, SAORI is more than just a technique. It is also:
A philosophy that all people are artists: each of us has a latent intuitive power that SAORI can awaken
An aesthetic that embraces the natural beauty of unintended "mistakes" and encourages exploring the unknown.
A social movement towards bringing diverse people together to learn from one another. It is especially a movement to include within a larger community people who may be isolated or marginalized because of disability, age, income, overwork, caregiving, ethnicity, or other reasons. An artistic yet practical path of meditation, therapy, rehabilitation, trauma recovery, stress reduction, identity-building, community-building, economic self-reliance, and holistic human devlopment."
http://saoriworcester.com/what.htm

my teacher bobbie had to get permission from the city of osaka to open a saori studio outside of japan. pretty crazy eh? i however do not drive to worcester for classes, but to a studio in penacook, nh. the photo on the left is misao jo who is now 95 yrs. old.

monday boos




i heart henry

it seems like every time i hear or read a poem and like it, it ends up being by longfellow. though i enjoy the way "iambic pentameter" rolls off the tongue-don't mistake me for a poetry buff, i've just been getting back into it lately.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

pattern 03

does it look crooked? it's crooked. why is it crooked? i tried to fix it. hmmph.

si scott :: hold onto your scivies

consider yourself inspired. check it out http://www.siscottstudio.com/

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

miz kate

between dave drawing the same car over and over and kate drawing adorable animals... it's a wonder we ever accomplish things during meetings.

pattern 02


pattern 01

Friday, October 17, 2008

fall flowers

i made it to the last page of my sketchbook today. back to bob slate in harvard sq. for a new one. yippeeeeeeee! have a great weekend!

i <3 fall


the colors these days are off the heezy. they're just beautiful and the combinations are so perfect. mother nature = one BA mother of a color designer. i didn't even do any photoshop touch up. it's iphone au natural.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

miz kate and the sad pack

makes you weep a wee bit eh? a fish friend she just passed me. you should see her panda (cough *blog kate blog* cough)

cowbot


the boss :: no i don't mean bruce springsteen

most days i forget how sweet my boss is...
after last night's debate and the "science and technology education" snippet, dean's organization FIRST came to mind. check it out here http://www.usfirst.org/
but in the mean time, enjoy the photos posted above. some of my favorites (yes, that is steve wozniak, co-founder of apple playing segway polo at dean's house and yes, that is lucy lawless aka xena princess warrior).

plug 02

my inspiration for starting OnePaisley... robb hunter and his sketch party aka http://www.potatowedged.blogspot.com/ brings the haute-ness to my day. all things go!

plug 01

i have no drawings yet today. the day is not over. however, i do want to plug a few of my friends blogs... blatantly and outright.

nothing's finer than peter steiner... at www.freshcrayons.blogspot.com. one of my very bestest friends in the entire world. he's brushing up on his already impressive cartooning abilities by taking classes at sva in nyc. fingers crossed he'll bring us more!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

lay off the lollibots


this drawing makes me uncomfortable. if i wanted to b.s. i would say something to the effect of "it's a social commentary on the future of our children"... but it's not. i set out to do cute and ended up with a chubby robot girl.
kinda creepy, but following my last post i think "creepy" might just be the theme du jour.

my hero

this posting has absolutely nothing to do with design. however i think we can all learn a thing or two from a woman who lived well into her 122nd year of life. this is her still stylin at 122. check out her blog (jeannecalment.blogspot.com) or her wiki page.

lessons from jeanne: "She reportedly attributed her longevity and relatively youthful appearance for her age to olive oil, which she said she poured on all her food and rubbed onto her skin, as well as a diet of port wine, and nearly 2 pounds of chocolate eaten every week. Jeanne Calment smoked until she was 117, and only quit when she could no longer see well enough to light the cigarettes."


oh she met vincent van gogh when she was 14.... that's how it relates to art/design!!!

the perfect costume

i've been searching for a reason to combine rollerskates, multiple limbs and goggles. it all came together about 5 minutes ago. think i'll take kate up on her suggestion on knee pads and elbow pads (on all my elbows).

a wednesday bird

i've started using color. and it feels so good!

little nesting babushkas



this is dedicated to my friend spencer. who does not read my blog. or any blog for that matter. but he does speak russian.

Monday, October 13, 2008

happy columbus day


did this on the train into nyc this weekend. currently trying to think of something to sketch that would be columbus day appropriate...

Friday, October 10, 2008

it's friday i'm in love

and i want to scream it from a mountain top, just waiting for him to come to life. a couple friends and i were at the cambridge antique market a few weeks ago. my friend taryn fell for the sailor while i fell in love with the cowboy. by swedish designer elsi bourelius circa: mid 20th century (of course!)

friday bouquet

Thursday, October 9, 2008

mr. eames!

i forgot today's drawing at home.... so instead i've posted a photo of my adorable puppy. though he's summering in ohio, he's returning thanksgiving to keep me warm this winter. his treat jar and adorable alessi water bowl are expectantly awaiting his arrival.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

a must see


If you haven't seen Kimberly Wu's work, you must.
It. is. phenomenal. Truly inspiring.
http://www.kwudesign.com/

debate bouquet




Ah the debate... good thing I took my sketchbook

adam's birthday card