Dimensional Type

Lately I've been sewing up a lot of these typographic pillows. I first was inspired to create these in my typography class this fall, but since the class has finished I've stitched up a bunch more! The goal of the class project was to use typography in a three dimensional way. We get so accustomed to seeing type on a page, but it is a blast to bring those characters into our environment in a three dimensional way!

Wouldn't these be so cute on your bed as an accent or in a designer's office? Use 'em to add a graphic accent to any spot in your life!

Final Illustration Project, Part 1

A papercut piece to illustrate another Mother Goose Rhyme:
Bow-wow-wow!
Whose dog art thou?
Little Tom Tinker's dog,
Bow-wow-wow!

Illustration Update

To continue my series of papercut illustrations, I am now working on my third piece which features another Mother Goose Rhyme. Here is a sneak peek:

Little Jumping Joan

It is about time for another illustration update, yeah?! Well here it is: Little Jumping Joan. This piece originated as a humble sketch and developed into this layered hand cut paper-cut piece. I'm obsessed with monochromatics right now (should probably branch out) but with enough shadows to add contrast it works! The Mother Goose Rhyme was my inspiration:

Here am I, little jumping Joan;
When nobody's with me,
I'm always alone.

Pepsi-Cola Print

After experimenting with the printing blocks and wood type earlier this week, I chose the Pepsi-Cola symbol to create a new print. Its broad strokes of type fit well with the 96 point wooden type I have access to. I had fun designing and arranging the placement of the symbols, numbers, letters and logo. Woven throughout is the year Pepsi was founded as well as round shapes suggesting carbonation bubbles. Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Just for fun, for now

I had fun playing around tonight with the blocks I mentioned in an earlier post. For now I am testing impressions and experimenting with these logos and seals, but as I worked tonight a few ideas started to sprout. I'm going to pursue them and hope something wonderful comes of it! Here are the "Just for fun" prints I got tonight. Thanks again to my fab dad who supplied the vintage blocks!

 

  

  

  

 

Experimentation Continues

 

  

More letterpress experimentation. Larger impressions this time. Bold typeface.

The Birds by William Blake

 

I am continuing my letterpress experimentation by creating a series of bird themed works. The next piece I hand set is The Birds. Here is a photo of the galley. I found one spelling error (A 'b' instead of a 'd'. It is easy to mix these up since everything is backwards!), but other than that it is ready to be printed. This piece was a great deal easier to set since it did not incorporate a curved margin!

The Wizard Complete

Here is the final version (or at least the version I am turning in for class). I feel like "Asleep in the Poppies" is the more successful piece of the two, but there is strength in numbers! I started with thumbnails, scanned and refined those into large sketches, which were painted with gouache to reach an Art Nouveau, painterly feel. The gouache lines were scanned and used as a basis for my Illustrator drawing. Once the lines were digitized, I sparsely blocked in areas of color. The title was hand drawn and vectorized. I'm especially excited about the "Oz" bit. These two are being printed on Watercolor paper. The End! (Finished size: 16"x30")

 

 

Thread + Ink

After multiple prints, much adjusting and tightening to the type set in the galley and more printing, I got a decent print. From there a bird design was stitched into the print with embroidery floss. I may still add more detail to the bird, but for now, here are up-close views to give you an idea of the materiality.

 

  

 

  

Thank You Gutenberg

 

I think we should all take a moment and thank Mr. Gutenberg for the time and pain he put in to the craft of letterpress. I never knew how much I admired this guy, until I spent 5 hours bent over a case of 10 point Stymie Light and a galley. It wears you down, but it is rewarding to see that you've built a body of text (in reverse) with all your effort. The photo above shows 32 lines of type set against a curved piece of cedar. I am hoping to finish securing the sorts tomorrow and try a print. Stay tuned!

Oz Update

 

  

It is time for an illustration update! Since posting the thumbnails I have been drawing and refining the drawings for these large poster size illustrations. The stage shown above is the basic sketch with lines inked in gouache. I like the contrast of thick and thin supplied by the brush and ink, but need to refine each part so it works nicely with the whole. Next step: Color!

Drawing Dorothy

 

I am enrolled in an illustration class this semester. I was surprised at my own enthusiasm going into my first project! Above are a few inspiration sketches. The project will consist of two illustrations depicting scenes from the Wizard of Oz. I'm looking forward to seeing how the comps and final renderings turn out. Check back for a post of the completed illustration!

Singer

I started, at the end of 2009, an exploration in hand stitched designs. I loved how my Wedding Invitations turned out, but the amount of hours put into stitching each stitch isn't practical for mass production. (Can you imagine a bride ordering 500 of those?! I would curl up and cry.) This year I wanted to continue my exploration into this facet of design, but needed to research alternatives to the embroidery needle and thread (at the very least, for the sake of my poor bruised fingers). I considered creating one piece then scanning the design and producing multiples that way or using a quality varnish or embossing job, but both of those ideas strayed away from the whole point of the piece: that it was Hand Stitched! and had actual threads of colorful embroidery floss worked in! So I went on the hunt for a sewing machine. My mother's machine is dated which does not rule a machine out... but it has 'tension' issues, and those of you who have tension issues of your own understand the machine needs a break. Thankfully my dad came across a 1951 Singer Featherweight in his explorations and graciously allowed me to use it on this project! It still runs like a dream 59 (yes I am shocked too!) years later. (I wonder what wonderful things have been crafted on this sewing table... if needles could talk!) I am thankful beyond words to him for his generosity and cannot wait to experiment and share my findings with you all here.

Creative Mapping

These canvases were designed in 2009 on a flight to and from Santa Ana, California. I used historic maps of neighborhoods, city buildings and coastlines from around the world to get a wide variety of shapes. I can see these hanging on the wall in my sister's home in California. I'm sure the sunny culture of SoCal inspired my bright colors and bold shape choices. In my search for a new approach to maps, I found a helpful episode of This American Life :: 110: Mapping.

Pre-college Exhibit

This piece was created for a graduate class, Principles of Art Composition, as a final project. It is based on the principles of Dynamic Symmetry as taught by Jay Hambidge. Hambidge stressed the importance of dynamic rectangles and their harmonic subdivisions. The color poster and black and white flyer both use a Root 5 rectangle and promote the Pre-college Art Exhibition held by Bob Jones Elementary School, Junior High and Academy. (The exhibition actually begins February 1st despite the dates on the poster.)