Finished up this logo where for the first time I drew text inspired by a Dard Hunter typeface. Vickie was wonderful to work with because she let me talk to her about typography and what I believe in when it comes to identity systems. She has even taken an interest in letterpress printing her business cards! Wish my Kelsey was in working order so I could print them myself. After August 14th I can start focusing on other things than products for Craft Lake City so maybe then!
A couple months ago, Intrepid Agency, a local and prestigious PR firm contacted me to do some freelance design work. Emphasis on free. The project consisted of a logo, website, and various items (buttons, shirts, banners, etc.) to help Save the Sugar House Fireworks for the 4th of July. A long standing tradition went away last year due to budget cuts and one man, Scott Workman, wanted to bring it back. When I was called into this project, only $20,000 had been raised out of the $75,000 needed to prove he can put on the show. I have to be honest, I wasn’t very optimistic. But after I handed off the files, Intrepid went to intense work. A lot of big name companies located in the Sugar House district supported the cause and with the community donating and purchasing buttons, lets just say, on with the show! And there are already funds saved and ready for the 2011 show!
It was a really neat experience to run into my logo around town and see it on the news. And it was amazing to see all the support throughout the community. Wish I was there to see the turn out of the largely attended event of the 4th of July holiday, but I hear it was fantastic!
Oh and I can’t forget a huge shout out to Ryan Gregson for his time to help code the website. Really couldn’t have done it without you!
Check out the video from FOX13 News. The logo is placed in the corner (what is that called?) with the anchorman and you can see it in front of the cash registers at Whole Foods one minute in.
A few weeks ago I attended the Mountain Brewer’s 16th Annual Beer Fest in Idaho Falls. I was happy to run into some familiar packaging:
And can you believe it, I didn’t try any of them! I thought it wasn’t right to try it without the artists themselves. By now I have tried “Tilted Smile,” the Imperial Pilsner by my new boss at Signed & Numbered, Leia Bell (she designed two out of the 4 in the Crooked Line brewed by Uinta Brewery Co.). Funny how when I first blogged about these, she didn’t know who I was! And not too long ago she poured me a cup! And it was delicious! I am not a beer lover. I only dare drink it if I can see through it. Thankfully this one was very light and had a hint of sweetness. Highly recommended. I was told I will hate the rest of them. But I still need the collection in my kitchen. I thought I’d start today.
I can’t drink “Cockeyed Cooper” the Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine Ale without my friend Travis Bone and I couldn’t even find “Labryinth” the Black Ale by Trent Call. I don’t know him, well not personally, but I need it to complete this limited edition! And when I do, bottoms up.
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I’d also like to announce that the new Signed & Numbered Gallery, located next to Kilby Court music venue, has passed inspection! And thank the lord too because last Sunday when I was painting, I near fell off the ladder from a combination of not eating for 12 hours and locking knees. A lot of hard work went into restoring this space by the crew and Wednesday June 30th from 6pm-10pm is the “soft” opening of the “mini” print show by artists nationwide. Steel Train will be having their show that night at Kilby Court as well! The official grand opening is Sunday July 11th from 6pm-10pm as Maps & Atlases plays next door. Hope to see many friends there! My latest print will be displayed for the first time as well!
Tomorrow is my first day teaching, ever. Through the University of Utah’s Lifelong Learning program, I am putting on a 6 week workshop on toy cameras, focusing on Holgas. It will be taught every Tuesday from 6:30-8:30pm. I have a few seats left so if you’re in the area and can hold off watching the last 2 episodes of LOST to online the next day, it should be a lot of fun! My flickr account shows all of what I’ve done personally so far. The above photo is from 2 Saturdays ago at the Salt Lake Temple. This was my first experience at the temple and I could not believe how many brides and grooms were popping out the door every 5 minutes. There were people every where, so it was hard to get a shot with just these two and it was overwhelming. But I love how most of them turned out.
Teaching, although temporary, is currently my 5th job right now. I am still at Fluid Studio designing, I recently started at Signed & Numbered underneath the oh so talented Leia Bell (her partner Phil Sherburne is an excellent woods craftsman as well) working in their shop full of fantastic limited edition prints, building frames and soon working in the gallery which will be located at music venue, Kilby Court. I’ve been modeling for various artists and university classes and I didn’t want to say anything yet but I can’t contain it any longer: I blog for Boxcar Press as well. I get to interview letterpress artists and companies from all over and help create a resource center of all things letterpress on their website. How stinkin cool is that? Pretty stinky stinkin, if you ask me. I have been waiting to post my first interview, however Boxcar Press is super busy with the National Stationery Show currently going on. I am there in spirit. Sigh. But once their blog becomes more ritual, I’ll be sure to post here too.
I suddenly have become swamped and I love it.
Last Friday night was my first experience at the AIGA 100 Show Gala held at the Salt Lake City Public Library. I had a lot of fun looking at such great design work, the compliments on my Tea For Printmakers, talking to and getting to know more people in the design field and I couldn’t help but peek and see that people were actually bidding on the deer head I donated. In fact, the owner of Mandate Press walked away with it, putting $175 (retail value $200) towards supporting the AIGA Salt Lake Chapter and their hard work to bring the graphic design community together. I felt great that I could help keep AIGA going and I am stunned to know how much people are willing to spend on one of my pieces. It was the first one officially sold and I am officially encouraged to keep going.
I have some goals. I am reluctant to publicly say them but only doing so will motivate me to complete them. I want to keep making these animal heads – finish the editions from the wood blocks I already have and carve some new ones – and try selling them to boutiques around the city, online, and get into some local craft fairs by the end of the summer. Eek. I can’t believe I am saying this aloud. This may sound pretty easy, but I have no access to a large rolling press to print and having studio space in the city rather than in my parents garage 30 minutes north from me would be helpful too. There’s a lot to get my goals in order, but they are goals for a reason. I guess we’ll have to refer to this post at the end of summer and see how I did! Fingers crossed!
As I was doing research for a poster I am currently working on for the Davis County Children’s Justice Center, I came across these very interesting street art/Stop Child Abuse Now campaign for the Australian Childhood Foundation:
When the child-like mannequin is removed, it says, “Thank you for seeing me.”
Makes me wish my poster could be out on the street rather than in doctor’s offices.
I have been anxiously waiting for this book to “re-stock.” Every online book shop I come across says they are sold out. Little did I know, they were selling to the Europeans before us over in North America. I know this now, because little did I know Sycamore Street Press, a studio in Heber, UT, has work featured in the book, which they announced today. They amaze me more and more every time I look at their blog or when Eva has the chance to chat with me.
Inspired by the challenge of hands-on tweaks and unpredictable results as well as the tactile qualities of different inks, papers, and binding techniques, today’s creatives are rediscovering old-fashioned printing methods and crafts. Impressive is a topical exploration of the interplay between current trends in graphic design and traditional handiwork such as letterpress printing, hand-cut linotype, chiselled woodblocks, and embossing. In addition to a rich selection of invitations, business cards, stationery, posters, and other material printed by hand, it offers personal insights from designers who are using old-fashioned techniques to create cutting-edge work.
Too bad Christmas and my birthday have already passed. And too bad I don’t have any babies to give me stuff on Mother’s Day. Sigh.
This book will be available in the U.S. and Canada within a few weeks.
Are you sick of seeing these? I hope not because right now you can vote for the AIGA 100 Show People’s Choice Award. Tea for Printmakers is on page 3 (I conveniently linked it to that page), bottom row. All work is from every submission: selected and rejected. So you can also vote for Love is Blind-desbossed, which wasn’t accepted in the show. It’s up to you! There’s a lot of great work and you can rate each one as you please.
The above design is simply, hilarious. And how perfect I come across it the same day I go to Travis Bone’s (whom saved the day by letting me expose a screen because everything else I tried failed) who showed me something amazing, beautiful, fascinating, and tasty. I got an unofficial ok to blog about this, and that’s good enough for me! Uinta Brewery Co. is coming out with a limited edition line of beer called “Crooked,” and the packaging is another reason you want get your hands on these babies. Each one has artwork by local artists: Travis Bone (Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine Ale), Trent Call (Black Ale) and Leia Bell (Double India Pale Ale). Say whaaaaaaat? My thoughts exactly. All I had was my camera phone, so sorry for the quality. You have to see them in person anyways. Not sure when these will be in stores, but as soon as I hear, I’ll be sure to let you all know!
One of my dreams is to design packaging for a beer. Yeah, a beer. If I just did one, I’d be a happy lady.
And for those who don’t know how I met Travis Bone, read on here. It’s one of my favorite stories and a prime example of how persistent/annoying I am.
I have a love-hate relationship with the state of Minnesota. Hate from the handful of times I’ve been there to be with a guy I am no longer with and those damn mosquitos. Love because Studio On Fire is located in North East Minneapolis and after reading this post, I can’t take it anymore! I want to work for them. I want to be eaten alive by mosquitos just to be near them. I just want to watch them. And as creepy as that sounds, it’s all very true. They are that amazing.
Having studied both graphic design and printmaking, I can argue that a good design is nothing without being printed well. And this beautiful identity system makes me want to cry.
It should be illegal to print identity systems without a letterpress.