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.

super duper AP artists...

check out the coverage highlighting our awesome webster AP artists on the D&C's webster blog.

big thanks to mrs. rosenberry!

artroom playlist for the week

curious what you heard this week???

'amelie' soundtrack
band of horses - mix
beirut - the rip tide
the black keys - brothers
bob marley & the wailers- catch a fire
danger mouse & daniele luppi - rome
death cab for cutie - codes and keys, transatlanticism
the evens - the evens
jack johnson - mix
jack white - blunderbuss
little roy - battle for seattle
mazzy star - so tonight that i might see
nick drake - bryter layter, pink moon
norah jones - little broken hearts
mozart - violin concertos 1 & 2
real estate - days
the smiths - mix
thievery corporation - the mirror conspiracy
haydn - string quartet in c major, piano concerto in d major
'under the covers' mix
'snow day' mix
'wait, snow?' mix

new painting :: arthur miller

"act two", my new painting of arthur miller, author of death of a salesman and the crucible, and one-time husband of marilyn monroe.

here is the initial collage layout; including a newspaper from 1956, an envelope and letter to my grandmother from 1954, pages from "death of a salesman", and pictures of marilyn.

friday wisdom.

studio in art paintings!

i just received my schedule for next year and im sad to see that i will not be teaching any studio in art. i love the energy that the 9th graders bring to the classroom, and helping to get them excited about art-making is really fun and rewarding.

this year's class is doing really awesome work with their abstract expressive painting project and i thought i'd share their in-progress works with the world, as they are having a mid point crit today in class.

community arts day 2012!

another year, another great display of webster's artistic 1st-12th grade students at community arts day.
it all goes down tomorrow, but i shot pics today as i got set up.
i am constantly amazed by these kids and their work!!!

another great visit from sari

we are blessed to have the wonderful sari gaby join us multiple times each year in the drawing 1 and painting 2 classes here at WTHS. she shares her insights about portraiture as well as bits about her life and experiences.
she finished a portrait from a live model in just over two hours this morning - and it was an invaluable experience for my students.
you should check out her website or see me if you are interested in more information about classes, private lessons, or to have her come to your school.

and finally... a picture of the current project that my drawing 2 class is working on.

artroom playlist

curious what you heard in class this week???

the black keys - brothers, el camino
bob marley & the wailers - catch a fire (jamaican version)
crosby, stills, nash & young - mix
death cab for cutie - mix
gorillaz - demon days
gotye - making mirros
horse feathers - house with no name
iron & wine - mix
jack white - blunderbuss
jakob dylan - women and country
new multitudes - s/t
jonsi - we bought a zoo (score)
m. ward - mix
morphine - the night
nick drake - bryter later, pink moon
norah jones - come away with me, little broken hearts
the notwist - neon golden
mozart - violin concertos #1-5
portishead - dummy, s/t
sam cooke - the rhythm and the blues
'wait, snow?' mix

friday wisdom... and mr. nowak.

this one goes out to mr. nowak... 

as do so many of these friday wisdoms. 

he often put quotes like this on the board in sociology and eastern religion class - and lived them - setting an example for all of us. 

the book SIDDHARTHA made a huge impact on me when i read it in his class, and i have not forgotten its lessons.

if i can make half the impact on the lives of my students that this man has - i'll consider my career a success.

the story behind the name

for many of you, the name of this website means nothing... it's symbol just an abstract shape...

read about "45" records here.

for me, it dates back to listening to my mom's records (both 45s and LPs) when i was growing up. i loved the size and personality of the 45. small record, big hole. we had an old jukebox in our basement.

i began working at Fantastic Records (who's store space is now some ritzy pittsford home furnishings store...) in high school and my love for and appreciation of music only continued to grow during this period, and on into adulthood.

i chose the 45rpm insert (see below, bottom right) as my logo - to represent my deep connection to and passion for music. over time i have stuck with the name in part because of the music connection, but also because i liked the idea of the multiple meanings for the word REVOLUTION.

45 revolutions per minute.

there it is. the story behind the name.

artist of the week :: alyssa monks

want to know how to paint figures in water? 

just check out the paintings of alyssa monk.

large scale paintings of figures floating in or immersed in water, emerging from fog, pressed against shower plate glass, and abstracted against the forms of the moving water.

visit her website for more info and a vast amount of paintings.

artroom playlist for this week

curious what you heard this week in the artroom?

"amélie" soundtrack

birdy - birdy

the civil wars - barton hollow

disable planets - blowout comb

dr. john - locked down

efterklang - magic chairs

iron & wine - our endless numbered days

norah jones - come away with me

mozart - violin sonatas (andrew manze, richard egarr)

the postal service - give up

rubblebucket - mix

sam cooke - the rhythm and the blues

thievery corporation - "babylon central" soundtrack

zero 7 - simple things

zero 7 - when it falls

my 'be present' mix

my 'solitude' mix

my 'focus' mix

my 'wait, snow?' mix

my 'old windows let the cold in' mix

friday wisdom... UBUNTU.