Hectic home life
It’s been a while since I’ve been really excited about a project I worked on, but this is one of them. I did this 11×17 poster for the Mason City Jaycees’ Retro Roller Skating Night. I had a lot of fun with it and tried to emulate my memories at the roller rink as a kid. My favorite was always the moonlight skate, where they would turn off all the lights except for the ones on the giant mirrored ball hanging from the ceiling. It was so pretty…and disorienting. I’m surprised I didn’t fall down more often!
Oh–and I almost forgot…Derek and I were interviewed for a story about how people who rent make their place seem more like home. Here’s the link.
Honk. Honk. Beep. Beep.
My mum and I went to Clear Lake today, looking for a white elephant gift at a couple of antique shops, and we ran into these guys.
Clear Lake was celebrating Christmas by the Lake, with lots of activities outdoors downtown. We didn’t feel like braving the cold, but I had to stop and take a photo of the group of geese walking around. They were hilarious, weaving in and out through the crowds, following their owner around like a mother goose.
Finally thanksgiving
We finished hosting our first thanksgiving just a little while ago. I planned to take a photo of the spread, but I totally forgot. So…I took some post-meal post-cleanup photos.
Our cow terrarium centerpiece, and the fridge crammed with leftovers. I’m fighting the urge to jam another piece of pumpkin pie down my throat. So tempting…
I’m getting a flu shot next year
First off, happy thanksgiving. I was supposed to host it for the very first time this year, but I got the flu for the third time this season. Gah. Looks like we’ll be celebrating on Sunday instead. Whimper. *End whiny transmission*
Good news…Derek and I finished our stained glass windows. We took a class at MacNider, and it was a ton of work, but it was fun. I definitely have a new appreciation for all that goes into making them. Here they are…mine is on the left and Derek’s is on the right.
The edges actually are straight…had a bit of a problem with lens distortion. Once the weatherproofing is dry I’ll take some better photos with light filtering through them.
Redesign
Big thanks to the hubby for working his magic and updating the look of the site for me. You definitely deserve the AWESOME glass I bought you the other day (I need to take a pic and post it–a fantastically hilarious find from the Village Store). It is literally a huge glass with the word AWESOME printed on it in black letters.
You may have noticed a new column at the right. Those are my Tumblr posts…where I post interesting photos, video and other bits of inspiration I find online.
Post-sale analysis
Rundown of my Saturday…
- Woke up
- Fed a bunny
- Fed a Rua
- Finished up the odds and ends for the art sale
- Set up for the art sale
- Finally got around to buying a winter coat
- Fed a Rua
- Checked out a huge house a couple of friends are thinking of buying
- Ran back to the coffee shop just in time to finish setting up for the art sale
- Drank hot cider with whipped cream (it’s pumpkin pie in a mug, I swear!)
- Sold some cards
- Cleaned up after the sale
- Ate amazing home-cooked food at my mum’s house
- Fed a bunny
- Fell asleep before SNL even came on
Conclusions made…
- Small ticket items (under $10) sell much better than big ticket items at art sales. Keep on making those small ticket items.
- I pretty much sold out of the first aid series of cards, while hardly any sold of the block printing or typewriter series. This was really surprising to me. I would have thought that crowd would have been too icked out by cards featuring illustrations of people with injuries. I’ll need to make more of those for next time.
- Profits would have been better had I not bought items from the other people there. Oops. But everything was so pretty and well made!
Democracy, the flu and artsy-fartsy stuff
Rocking the second day of the flu, I’m so glad I opted to vote early. If you haven’t voted yet, get your butt out of the house and vote. Seriously. It’s important.
Unrelated, but I’ve actually got everything ready early for the big art sale this weekend at CoffeeCat. Crazy! Thank goodness it’s not like when I had a photo show at the library and lost extremely valuable mat cutting time due to an epic flu. Super stressful since I was cutting mats up until the time I was supposed to be hanging them.
But this time, all my cards are ready, I’ve got everything together for my display, and Derek and I came up with pricing (always the hardest part for me). Whew. Wish me luck, and stop by and say hi if you’re in the area.
A day of images at home…
Outdated-looking drawer in the kitchen of our rental. I liked the way the morning light was filtering in through the blinds.
I got this great Fiesta ware pitcher as part of a gift from my parents for high school graduation. I now use it to store cooking utensils on the stove.
Part of our vintage ceramic and teak lamp. It still needs a huge vintage shade to match it, but for now we’re using a fairly nondescript one from Target.
There wasn’t room on the book case for some film books I inherited, so they’re on display on the lone open shelf on a vintage cabinet we recently found. Next to them is an old air pressure gauge Derek found at his aunt and uncle’s consignment shop.
And finally: A hint of things to come. Out of difficult times comes creativity. I plan to put it to good use as I prepare for an art sale at my friend’s coffee shop next month.
Getting in the Halloween spirit
Last night I came up with an idea I really wish I would have thought of earlier. A handful of blocks away from our house is a former nursing home that is currently sitting empty. It would have made a great haunted house! Done properly, I think it could have ranked up there with one that is done every year at the Glore Psychiatric Museum (which is housed in an old psychiatric hospital) in St. Joseph, MO. Spooky!
365 days
I can hardly believe it’s been a year already. It has seemed like a long time, yet seems to have passed in a heartbeat. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next year will bring.
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Recent tumblr posts
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brownpau: Illustrated Coffee Guide via woodlandcreature/thedailywhat Very nicely designed diagrams. God, I want a mocha right now. -
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dailybunny: Via That is one intense rabbit. -
cakeface: WWIII Propaganda: Loose Tweets Sink Fleets (via Brian Lane Winfield Moore) -
mutations: magnetical:(via killingbambi // feathers // annarellix // butterflyeffects // mabelmoments) 100% true. -
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cakeface: via dropular.net -
Hidden meanings in popular logos
I love how much thought gets put into them. So wonderful! [via stalk] -
stalk:iartistlondon presents the world’s first affordable DIY high art sets featuring Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Banksy “iartistlondon is the cool new brand that enables you to make real contemporary pieces of art from the comfort of your home. All those pieces that you always wanted to have but couldn´t afford. We believe art should be for everyone. Our boxes contain all the necessary elements so you only have to concentrate on creating. In no time you will have a masterpiece created by yourself. It couldn’t be easier!” via -
robjensen:courtneyc: “The unicorn and narwhal are always bickering so I thought this would help them focus on what brings them together” —Etsy Shop ArgyleWhale -
Happy Father’s Day, Daddo! I love you! -
Fantastic illustration work by Emmanuel Polanco for Nuvo magazine. [via Kitsune Noir] - For followers on tumblr: I’ve changed my posting name from sumisumi to Brain Industries to go along with my freelance company of the same name. New name, same great taste!
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I can’t remember if I posted this before, but the design is too good to take that chance. Designed by Ork Posters. [via Street Anatomy] - Conversation Post
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People often assume the brand is the logo or symbol—and there’s no doubt that if that’s done well, it can give you a flavor for who the company is, whether they’re contemporary or traditional, and so forth. But I really see the brand as more than that logo or mark—it’s the totality of the way in which the company talks to its public.
Kit Hinrichs -
Is it dumb that I really want one of these? It’s a tissue box that won the 2008 Japan Good Design Award. [via MollaSpace] -
Poster design by Tom Eckersley [via grain edit]
