friday wisdom.

artist of the week :: christine wu

theres been a lot of double exposure type paintings popping up lately in contemporary art... one of my favorite painters exploring this recently is christine wu. check out her work and find out more about here on her blog.
i think i am drawn to her work because of the surface treatment - and the fact that the works are not totally photo realistically rendered... they're perfectly drippy and surreal.

re-reading 'the four agreements'

im re-reading a book that was a gift from my mentor bill stephens, and was a favorite of my mother-in-law amy.
its called 'the four agreements', by don miguel ruiz.
i highly recommend it. it will change your life.

and they were friday wisdoms once!

friday wisdom.

RIT artist/teacher art show

join us from 6-9pm on thursday, may 24 at gallery r for the opening reception for the first ever RIT MST program artist/teacher show, taking place alongside the MST program capstone student teaching show.

i will have 3 pieces in the show, alongside other local artist/teachers including bill stephens, luvon sheppard, amy bonner, andy reddout, and others.

new mix :: the summer divide

you'll be hearing this a lot in class...

want a copy? let me know.

artroom playlist.

curious about this week's music... yes, it's a lot of bob marley.

a tribe called quest - mix
"almost famous" soundtrack
"amélie" soundtrack
the black keys - brothers
bob dylan - blood on the tracks
bob marley & the wailers - babylon by bus
bob marley & the wailers - kaya
bob marley & the wailers - live at the roxy
bob marley & the wailers - natty dread
bob marley & the wailers - rastaman vibration
bob marley & the wailers - talking' blues
john mayer - born and raised
michael kiwanuka - home again
morphine - the night
norah jones - little broken hearts
red hot chili peppers - mix
rubblebucket - mix
the xx - xx
"electronic meets organic" mix
"wayfarers" mix

friday wisdom.

arizona ice tea design contest

To celebrate their 20th anniversary and our status as the number one ready-to-drink tea in America, they're turning to their amazing fans and asking YOU to design the label of a brand new flavor -Cherry Lime Rickey. Made famous in soda shops throughout Brooklyn, NY, Cherry Lime Rickey is a sparkling, refreshing balance of sweet and tangy fruit flavors. Your design could be the golden ticket to some cool swag, a fatter wallet, and best of all bragging rights. In your design, keep in mind some basic packaging design tips:

• Be creative and unique.
• Consider AriZona Branding and Positioning within our line of 23oz cans
• Use the template included in the contest assets. Only designs that fit this specific shape are eligible to win.
• The AriZona logo should run up the can vertically as it appears on the template.
• You must include the flavor name "Cherry Lime Rickey"
• On the back of the can, be mindful of the nutritional information that is required by law.
• Remember that AriZona Beverages was born in Brooklyn NY and is proud to be an American Company

In addition to seeing your name and design on over a million cans nation wide , the winning designer will receive a $5,000 cash prize plus a year's supply of Arizona Iced Tea!

find out all the details here!

jillian erhardt :: alum :: rockstar designer

Jillian Erhardt is a graphic designer living and working in Baltimore City. A graduate of Webster Thomas High School in 2006 (where she rocked AP Drawing), she went on to get her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art where she studied graphic design and took a particular interest in social design. Her work has been featured in HOW Magazine’s International Design Annual AIGA awards and the Art Directors Club.

While at MICA, Jillian worked to engage the community in Baltimore through her work, creating posters that highlight the cities in which she has lived, a business package and promotional poster for the Baker Artist Awards and an educational campaign to promote Social Design.

Jillian's social design work

Jillian's Baltimore print

Presently she works as an in-house graphic designer for Ayers Saint Gross, a multi-disciplinary design firm where she has continued her social design work on projects such as the Baltimore Design School cafeteria renovation. This project was recently awarded an AIGA 50 award, a juried exhibition that showcases 50 of the strongest examples of design produced in the Baltimore/DC region as well as a the  PRINT + HOW Color in Design Award sponsored by two of the largest graphic design publications, Print Magazine and HOW Magazine. Click the link to find out what the award was all about!

The 1950s cafeteria of the Baltimore Design School now provides sixth- and seventh-graders with plenty of food for thought. The makeover is part of a pro bono overhaul of the public middle school by local Baltimore design firms. With just a few weeks to design and install the solution, Jillian and her team approached the project through low-cost, low-tech enhancements. Typographic statements stenciled onto walls, framed posters and original sumi ink drawings (created by her sister Hannah Erhardt, another Webster Thomas High School and MICA Alumni) on Pantone sheets invite students to learn about typography, color, line and shape.

These girls are awesome, and both of their works blend together perfectly to create an inviting environment to eat and learn. 

Jillian - I am proud of the work you continue to do - using your powers for good!

artist of the week :: caitie thornton

i am so lucky to have so many awesome alumni who leave thomas and go on to bigger and better things. one of these alumns is caitie thornton (class of 2009). she is currently a junior at RIT in their NEW MEDIA STUDIES department. this is a unique and totally awesome program that we are lucky to have so close to us. it is finding connections between graphic design, web design, interactive media, and basically anything else technologically new and advanced. check out some of the student work from this department here.
caitie has been getting into more complex 3d work in her junior year and after seeing some of it, i felt compelled to share it with the world.
check this stuff out - she rocks!
(see more work and info on her website)

artroom playlist.

some AP week artroom music....

beastie boys - mix

bob dylan - blonde on blonde

bob dylan - blood on the tracks

bob dylan - the freewheelin' bob dylan

bob dylan - highway 61 revisited

bob marley & the wailers - burnin'

danger mouse - mix

iron & wine - mix

new multitudes - s/t

michael kiwanuka - home again

norah jones - little broken hearts

rubblebucket - mix

vampire weekend - contra

'songs to stay in' mix

'focus' mix

'some wind' mix

'electronic meets organic' mix

its definitely been a bob dylan kind of week....

friday wisdom.

shepard fairey studio visit video

shepard fairy recently finished a residency at pace prints in NYC, culminating in an exhibition of new works entitled 'Harmony & Discord' (see show card below).

this video is an 8 minute interview/studio visit with shepard where he talks about the new print processes that he has been able to experience while at pace, and about the works that will be featured in the show. get more images and info from the visit here.

pretty awesome.

contemporary narrative artists for drawing 2

we had a great discussion about some contemporary narrative artworks this morning in my drawing 2 class.
here are some of the artists we looked at, with links to find out more about them!
students... dont forget to start brainstorming your bob dylan lyric-inspired ideas for wednesday's class.

lyric choices

clive smith (see more here)

david bowers (see more here)

edgar jerins (see more here)

joan mateu (see more here)

john hardy (see more here)

david kassan (watch an interview here)

istvan sandorfi (see a video montage of his paintings here)

artroom playlist.

curious about this week's music???

'amelie' soundtrack
bob dylan - mix
bob dylan covers mix
bob marley & the wailers - catch a fire (jamaican version)
bon iver - bon iver, for emma for ever
danger mouse - mix
digable planets - blowout comb
the evens - the evens
iron & wine - our endless numbered days
michael kiwanuka - home again
norah jones - little broken hearts
radiohead - king of limbs, mix
ray lamontagne - mix
ryan adams - mix
sam cooke - the rhythm and the blues
thievery corporation - 'babylon central' soundtrack
vampire weekend - contra
zero 7 - simple things, when it falls
'electronic meets organic' mix
'showers flowers lion lamb' mix
&
lee perry - reggae genius: 20 upsetter classics

friday wisdom.