Sunset Blvd

Taking my Holga along on a trip last weekend for experimentation stirred my interest in learning photography.  Truly I'm not a photographer; my snaps are usually purely for documentation rather than the art of it. I've really enjoyed the easy access to some surprisingly great pictures from my phone. But I'm learning to take my time and see it as a composition aid for my painting and design work.  Using film has forced me to slow down and take a meaningful shot.  The suspense of film development is killing me!  I'll post the results next week.  Meanwhile, let's talk sunsets.

I'm drawn to sunset photos like a moth to a flame.  I try hard but rarely get good results.  These are two of my best attempts recently.  Budget Travel published this article about how to take better sunset photos.  Give it a shot (ha) this weekend and let me know how it goes for you. - l.o.d.

Apple a Day

Today's post is inspired by one of my all-time favorite blogs Design*Sponge.  I've been meaning to post about the delicious design of the midwest's favorite fruit.  Although technically Washington state is the top producer of apples, it's hard to find anyone more passionate and creative with their apples than folks in Michigan.  Personally I have always favored the Ida Red for its versatility, size, and crispness.  Honeycrisps have sprung into fashion lately because the name is so mouthwatering and they definitely live up to the hype.  Food aside, these small globes of shiny redness are a designers dream.  The primary color is fun and playful, the sphere is easy to recreate in both 2D and 3D designs and people love 'em.  Use the shape in product design for anything from casserole dishes to pencil sharpeners and use the fruit itself in countless still life drawings and paintings (remember Eve?).  What's your favorite apple? -l.o.d.
 

Design*Sponge

Room 137c

Travel is one of my life passions and I'm always on the hunt for small, hip hotels around the globe.  Even if I never get there, I enjoy being an armchair traveler.  The latest issue of Budget Travel magazine has some wanderlust inspiring gems from all over the globe.  One caught my eye: the Pantone Hotel in Brussels, Belgium.  I admit that most of the time a corporate-themed hotel doesn't work for me (Hard Rock hotel, no thanks.)  But this one seems to work.  They did the design right - cool crisp modern white to highlight the Pantone colors.  The hotel is a small boutique not a theme park.  And Brussels is quite possibly the quirkiest, weirdest city I have ever explored.  The city is a perfect fit for a hyper-designed hotel because it balances the city's 17th century architecture and Magritte sensibilities.  So after a long day of walking the cobblestone streets, watching marionette shows, munching on mussles with fries with a Jupiler lager, coming back to your cozy 137c (orange) or 298c (teal) room simply means that the sensory adventure continues. - l.o.d.

Pantone Hotel: Brussels, Belgium

Are we in Kansas?

Today's surreal windstorm has already unleashed itself upon Chicago and is heading to my fair city, Ann Arbor, shortly.  The unusual weather has us all running a little worried today.  To distract myself from thoughts of global climate change and my poor cats at home, I'm remembering the midwestern storm in the Wizard of Oz.  Can you believe that this classic is over 70 years old?  Look at the art deco scenery, a technicolor marvel in its own right.  Imagine what it would've been like to experience color in the movie theater and seeing those bright red ruby slippers for the first time after a world in only black and white.  Or the shimmering green glass of Oz itself.  We've come a long way on the big screen since 1939, wonderment now in 3-D form, but Oz endures like no other. - l.o.d.

Art & Design

This past weekend I traveled up North with my new Holga camera, found some great fall coastal scenes to capture on film.  I'm looking forward to developing the film and posting the results on this blog in the near future.  Meanwhile, to conclude texture week, I'd like to introduce you to an artist who turned the definition of tactile art on its head for me.  Back in 2003, desperate and yet curious for a creative outlet, I registered for a Design class with Washtenaw Community College's art department.  My instructor was Beili Liu, a successful and progressive artist in her own right.  A U-M Art & Design Masters student, on the first day she had us transform a piece of paper into sculpture.  Sounds simple and yet the creative juices immediately flowed.  We followed her gentle study through twine, wire, foam, cardboard, vellum, and basically any other materials we wanted.  To this day, I appreciate the lens through which she trained me to approach materials.  I've never looked at a scrap of paper the same way since.

To my delight, Beili Liu has done well since those days years ago.  She recently won third place in Grand Rapid's publicly-juried ArtPrize contest for her work titled "Lure/Wave, Grand Rapids".  From the picture I immediately I knew it was her artistry.  Look at the intricate hand-woven poppies, the strings, the play on depth and the cast shadows.  Beautiful.  What an honor to have worked with her. - l.o.d.

Artist Beili Liu at Artprize

Cozy

I've got a bad case of the cozies!  You know, the feeling of that first day of fall when you wake up and it's actually cold, there's a hint of frost on the ground and all you want is a sweater and a cup of tea with a book.  That happened to me this morning.  Until now, I've been living in a quasi-dream state that the 60-degree temps were here to stay and that the trees were going to remain full for the duration.  Thanks to last night's storm, a lot of leaves are on the ground and the cold weather is a bit shocking.

There are some great textures that come with heading into winter.  So bring out your favorite fleecy blanket and fuzzy slippers.  And those knit sweaters that range from fashion to function.  And finally there's an excuse to wear hats.  I found these lovely items for an illustration of the beauty of coziness. Doesn't the bathroom want to make you curl up in a warm bath?  Winter's not gonna be so bad after all.  - l.o.d.

Anthropologie

KnitStorm on Etsy

Shanineal on Etsy

Natural light

I've got a guilty pleasure; lamps.  I love the soft warm glow of an incandescent light in the evening twilight.  I know that I should use CFLs but I have yet to find a suitable replacement to the color of old school bulbs.  (Please share if anyone knows of a nice warm CFL.)  I'm willing to compromise; I would gladly put any type of light in one of these charming and stylish lamps.  These DIY designs come from FreshHome magazine, whose blog is one of my new favorite links on the right.  Unfortunately these designs are only available (for now) in the magazine, so go check it out.  I've found my winter project.

And since it's day 3 of "texture week", a few words on the materials. I love the stitched tree with its smooth, earthy wooden base.  It makes me want to reach out and trace my fingers along the lines of the tree leaves.  The bamboo wrap is a perfect Asian-inspired complement to the adorable monkey base, and who can resist a monkey.  The twiggy lamp would be surprisingly terrific in a modern euro style room.  I'm off to buy a 3-pack of CFLs.  - l.o.d.

Hard vs. Soft

Visual clues about objects carry so much meaning; the tactile senses of fibers, visual patterns on flat planes and dimensional depth of multi-media sculpture. But it comes down to one basic decision; hard versus soft.  This decision helped our ancient ancestors know what materials to use in different situations; like rock for pounding and furs for clothing.  Luckily we are cavemen no longer, most of what we need to know is stamped and labeled or culturally normalized.  (Except that Lady Gaga will surely make a costume of rocks at some point, I'm sure.)  There is a beauty in what we instinctively know about a surface.  For instance, this silk scarf ripples and folds, casting shadows on itself and shimmering in the light.  How do you know that it's soft?  I see the patterns of light as the first clue telling me that there's no grid, no rhythm to its structure, then the curve of the fold indicating there's volume without an edge.  Compare this to the metal frame which also shines, but whose base is flat and whose edge is thin and crisp.  No ripples here.  Nor in the blue tile, whose precisely-lined pattern sets into relief and implies depth with an interesting matte surface that absorbs color.  Three simple objects, one decision; hard or soft.  Take a look around today and really question; how do you know that it's hard or soft? - l.o.d.

Daily Texture

Do you find it hard to see texture in the everyday? I confess, I do. Although there is a lot around to enjoy, it seems so common, so normal, as to not be explored further.  After all, it's just a shoe on a part of industrial carpet after all. But today, I saw more. I saw shimmer, bubbles like champagne, and actual pink fiber in my office's carpet. Pink! No more is texture a undersung element of style. Get ready for texture week! - l.o.d.

Shadow

It's fun to find hidden monsters in everyday things. It makes you look at objects in a different way, see things anew, even childlike. An exploration on the psyche, if you will. I see many things in this sculpture that greets me everyday. But this is the first time that a saw something sinister, something in the shadows. It's a spooky time of year, so enjoy a little chill from this. -l.o.d.

Punctuation Attack!

Punctuation monsters are here!  I'm feeling inspired by all the crazy punctuation cases I've been seeing around lately.  And now that we're getting closer to Halloween, monsters are creeping around corners and behind basement steps with more frequency too.  Just like bad punctuation errors, they sneak up on you when you least expect them.  Happy TGIF and don't forget to use some shouting symbols this weekend!!!  - l.o.d.

Water colors

I've started taking a watercolor class at the Ann Arbor Art Center on Wednesday evenings to help me get back into painting.  Becoming practiced at this medium has been a decade-long endeavor for me.  At my peak, I produced two abstract paintings recently framed and hung in a Faculty and Staff art show on Campus.  Sadly, my skills atrophied.  But no more...

The first night of class I realized that I'm extremely rusty.  The second class things started to click again.  I promise to show my own work in future posts because today, I wanted to show this small detail of a painting by Paul, also taking the class with me.  I especially love three things about this work; the negative space of white to make the details pop, the complementary color usage of orange and blue - both working to make each other more vivid and the feathery details of wet-on-wet and salt techniques.  What do you guess is the subject of this painting?  A butterfly. Thanks Paul! - l.o.d.

Purple

They color of royalty, the color of honor.  Dyes so rare and expensive that only kings and queens wore this color before modern chemicals arrived.  Every time I see a purple plant or flower in nature, it stops me in my tracks.  There's something so painterly about a purple bloom.  My favorite is the cabbage plant below, the crunchy coral reef-like waves of the leaves, the fade to pink in the new growth center.  Or the whisper thin fronds of tall ornamental grasses.  Purple leaves in inky blackness seem so surreal, so unnatural, yet divine.  The kings chose wisely. - l.o.d.

This post concludes my color in nature series and I hope you've enjoyed the boundless artistic inspiration that nature provides as much as I have.  I have always had such a profound respect for the earth's fearless design and color palate.  Going through this past week has made me think about what I see around me in a new, contextualized way.  Picking examples each day has made me uber-aware of the autumn season and the rarity (or propensity) of certain colors.  This is the time of year to celebrate the immortal words of Robert Frost:

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only for an hour. 

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Blue

It is irrevocably human to associate blue with water and to love it because of this bond.  After all, our survival depends on water, and to a subtler extent, so does our psychological sanity. In this respect, blue is the color at the core of our being, our sky, our oceans.  Blue can be playful; edging towards green in aquamarine, like the turquoise sea of the Caribbean.  Or melancholy, an emotion just as complicated as the many undertones of gray in a winter lake.  Blue is compelling, soulful and so inseparable from our world and ourselves that should all other colors disappear, blue would remain. True Blue. - l.o.d.

Green

Green.  The color of nature and, ironically, the color of greed and jealousy.  Such a contradiction.  I wasn't sure which direction to take this post today.  I couldn't get away from the nature theme, so I thought I'd celebrate natural sculptures that happen to center around lush green grass and sinuous curves.  Click through the caption links to read all about them, the mystery, the statements about man vs. nature, in all three.  The Great Serpent Mound is ancient, the Wave Field contemporary, the Wall a solid boundary.  Are they signs to the gods or a calming presence for those of us here on earth?  Must we design sculptures like these to truly appreciate the ground?  Must we make stone walls to ensure our control over nature, or is it in fact a celebration of nature?  Whatever the reason, there's childlike bliss in climbing on the mounds of grass on the Wave Field.  A calmness of the stones leading to water.  A reverence for ancient hallowed ground.  Enjoy your own altar of green today.  - l.o.d.

Maya Lin, Wave Field

Andy Goldsworthy, Storm King Wall

Great Serpent Mound, Ohio

Yellow

Yellow.  A brilliant statement from the sun, a smile of happiness, a bulb of caution.  I admit that yellow is not a color that I'm usually drawn to by itself.  It is the color that appears least in my closet and it's the color I go to least often in my graphic design.  Perhaps it's because too often it has no depth for me, no underlying notes of complexity.  I love it as a complement to other colors; blue and maize for my school, black and yellow for a honeybee, green and gold for nature.  I've worked to find shades that appeal to me but they're often tinged with green or orange and therefore not entirely yellow, like this changing tree.  But even so, I do appreciate the golden glory of such a beautiful sight. - l.o.d.

Orange

TGIF everyone!  Today I'm going to continue the color trend from yesterday's Red to Orange, of course my favorite color.  I'm really happy to see that Orange has become much more celebrated in the past few years as I feel it was vastly underrated.  Much anger was thrown at Orange thanks to construction barrels, prisoners and terrorism alerts.  Yikes!  There is so much more to this beautiful color, seen by these examples of the power of Orange.  Plus, it's a fruit.  What's better than that?

Color is a very powerful tool to inject emotion into our surroundings.  Orange can be cool and subdued or hot and fiery.  Less aggressive than red, it stirs a warmth of emotions, sort of like comfort food for the soul, as in a firey sunset. A perfect complement to sky and water blue, the Golden Gate bridge shimmers and can be seen for miles.  And what better to complement the cool, grey winter than bright, summery orange flags in Central Park.  What's your favorite Orange? - l.o.d.

P.S. Here's mine!

Red

Mother nature never ceases to amaze me at this time of year. I know, I keep saying this but it's true. Look at the color, a beautiful representation of a gradient red, perfectly highlighted by the morning sun and complemented by the sculpture.  I'm very lucky to see this out my window each day; very, very lucky.  I'll keep posting "tree updates" as this tree gets ready for winter.  For now, enjoy this October 7 snap. - l.o.d.

Catalog

I love it when I get an Anthropologie catalog in the mail. The photography is so lush, inspiring and on trend. Of course the clothes are delightfully unaffordable but a girl can look, right? Tonight I couldn't help myself, my sharpie came out and I drew some doodles to play creative director. It's the only retailer that overcomes me like this. I've used their catalogs for painting scenes, sketches, color palates and textile ideas. I still can't believe they don't charge for a mailer. Perhaps it explains their markup. What catalog inspires you? - l.o.d.

Little Monsters

I've been dying to doodle something related to animals since my earlier post about the deer at the gym.  At first, the sketches in my mind were of docile deer, cute cats and fuzzy bunnies.  Then my mind wandered to the dark side, thanks to my friend's comment about her son's art project for tonight: Draw a shape, then make a monster out of it.  Fabulous and fun!  In the spirit of helping a boy with his homework, I present to you my monster doodle for today.  Grrrr!  - l.o.d.

Small Pleasures

More Art in Interesting Places

Funny, I think I've found a theme about art in unusual places. On the start of a road trip today, I saw this highway mural along the side of the road. What a treat to see on an otherwise plain concrete wall. Let's see what else I can find this weekend. - l.o.d.