erika

NYPL

I have a project in the works - and it's a really good one.  It has led me down several roads - portholes I should say - of research.  And as of this week, I'm feeling like it's going to come to an end.  The research part that is.  One of my favorite places to visit, The NYPL digital file archives - I get lost there ... but it's a good thing. Seriously, are you working on something that you need visual inspiration (what I like to call fodder) for?  Type it into the search box and just see what comes up!  I won't be sharing what I'm working on until it's all done.  Here's a few unrealted images that I really fell for while browsing their collections.

capes & fans are two things similar in shape - that I currently have a thing for...

I think this one would make a great tattoo.

Seriously?

I've got nothin' to share in the means of photos - my camera died this weekend while in Montpelier, Vt.  On a good note- I've gotten the green light to go pick out a fancy shmancy camera - so excited about that. 

In the meantime, I would like to share one of my ALL TIME favorite SNL skits with whoever comes here to visit.  For those of you who know me - & dont' know me, my sister and I have been die hard SNL fans ever since we were little girls - back in the Tom Hanks days.  And though she's fallen off the wagon (for good reason - lil' snabadoo), I keep her updated w/ the best of the episodes I do get to watch - this one is truly one of the best.


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Inspiration

spring is a season where every time you turn your head something else has pushed it's way out of the ground.  Nature is endlessly inspiring to me - and every pattern in the universe can be found from something that is already here.  I'm thinking of using these patterns on some thing I'm working on currently. 

PMA :: Sundays

from the exhibit shopping in paris - french fashion 1850-1925
a piece inspired by findings from the Tomb of Tutankhamun

At our house, Sunday's we try to reserve for "family day".  This usually involves a trip down to the Art Museum - because it's free - and let's face it, a 5 year old looses interest pretty quickly.  Forking over $20 for what could sometimes result in 20 minutes of looking at Fine Art and Artifacts can be a little hard to swallow.  So, we went and saw some pretty spectacular things.  This trip, I gave Sophia my camera - she's been really into taking pictures lately.  It was a surprisingly brilliant idea and really engaged her in what surrounded her.  It was really cute watching her back up to get something in the frame - and seeing adults wait patiently for her to take the photo to walk past.  People who are 5 are quite nimble with their fingers - and learn so fast!  She can now take the photos - put the camera on re-play to see what she took - and turn off the flash.  She knows more about the camera than some adults I know.  Here is one of her shots:

and another:

This bottom photo is part of an amazing exhibit at the PMA right now called Grand Scale: Monumental Prints in the Age of Dürer and Titian.  For a print maker it's truly worth seeing.  The above photo is a print that is comprised of 170 woodblock's and 18 etchings printed measureing roughly 12' H x 9.5'w on separate pieces of paper all lined up and glued together originally printed by various German artists in 1515.  The exhibit is of mural sized wood cuts and etchings.  My favorite thing about the show is actually the manipulation of the paper in what was such a fine art.  To glue pieces of paper together is not something you expect to see in this day and age- but was common then. 

Ribbon Tins & Thank You

I just died and went to typewriter ribbon heaven after I saw this top one

I mentioned the lovely blog ILT before - well seems like they just started a new blog called We Love Typography a place that has multiple contributors that post daily inspirations from around the world.  The top image was posted - from the Uppercase FLICKR photo set of their collection of typewriter ribbon cases.  They are all worth a look - but the top two are hands down my favorite.

 

Also a huge thanks to Eva for asking me to be a part of her Q & A series over on her blog Sycamore Street Press.  Eva has her own letterpress business where she sells her gorgeous cards, gift tags, prints etc...  You can see the post here if you're so inclined.  Happy weekend everyone!

"The Dragons"

For those of you who don't know this, Pavel works at a bronze foundry in the northeast section of Philadelphia.  He's been there for about a year.  And in that year he has seen lots of projects come and go.  There's always an array of stories to hear each week about the trials and tribulations that come with working in the environment of a foundry.  The people that work there really pour their hearts into each project.  Try new things - do things they've never done before.  Pouring molten metal that is 2700' F. involves a lot of magic, creative problem solving, blood sweat & tears...you get the idea.

So about two weeks ago, we went to the installation of "The Dragons".  A new public art piece commisioned by the Parkway Corporation in conjunction for the 1% for Arts in Philadelphia.  It was great to see everyone at work - watch Pavel in the setting that we don't get to see - but is very much a part of his daily life.  Congratulations Tom, Pavel & everyone who was a part of it.  It truly is magnificent. 

For those of you in Philadelphia, the piece is located on Arch St. between 8th and 9th on the North side of the street -set to welome you into China Town.  There are four 20' long dragons - each weighing about 1600 lbs. that are perched atop stainless steel polls.  I would say they are about 20' off the ground.  The dragon kings  are depicting the  Chinese story of the four dragons that represent the four seas in China - each sea corresponding to he cardinal directions.  Here's a link to the WHYY online post.
The top two photos are the dragons at the foundry still, the 3rd photo is the crew trying to line to poles up to their respective mounts and the last two are the dragons placed and being welded.

A Philadelphia Wedding

This wedding invitation was a custom design for a bride and groom getting married here in Philadelphia.  The couple loves Philadelphia - the history, architecture & all of it's attractions and wanted to incorporate these elements into their design.  This style is not my typical style - as she was looking for something that resembled a formal document & Colonial - so I got to try my hand at something new - which is always a lot of fun for me as I love to do research and expand my portfolio.

I also think that it's fitting for there to be a letterpress wedding invitation that resembles an old document.  My thought is that the people who are drawn to letterpress have an appreciation for history - perhaps like the look of old documents - something formal and "official" looking.    There are destination letterpress wedding invites out there - but a lot of what's being done right now is modern design, clean lines and whimsical.  I'm also finding that this design and format is resonating well with men. 

Projects within projects :: extensions of yourself

I love it when a sheer interest in something turns into its very own project.  A something that could happen over the span of 10 years - that accumulates and grows without much intention other than your interest in it - suddenly presents itself as a well rounded & intentional project.  Such is the case with the 100 Abandoned Houses project found via Fine Little Day - Elizabeth Dunker's blog - a designer - artist- mother - photographer etc...living in Sweden and part of the duo behind Studio Violet
 Philadelphia is just as vulnerable as Detroit in the case of the abandoned home.  I have witnessed in my time living in Philadelphia some of the most unbelievable buildings - neighborhoods - leveled by demolition crews.  I actually did an entire series of photographs - and a subsequent painting - about this during my days at the Academy.  I think this project above is a beautiful way to pay homage to these homes - places with so much personality - they are like portraits of people to me.  What I love most about abandoned homes is seeing trees that were obviously planted when the homes were still lived in - standing with their abandoned home like an old couple.

Graphic Design :: adventures in

 

 
 

An excellent blog that I am really enjoying right now is iLT (I love typography).  The pureist in me that was nurtured at school finds herself drawn to coming up with your own - everything.  Something that I have a total internal struggle with.  As everyone who's a letterpress printer knows, the world is full of sources to work off of and with, but to me there's something lacking in that.  But the collage artist in me disagrees.  It's a push and pull - a constant struggle.  One where I see myself in 5 years - with a little more time ( and a 10 year old) on my hands - hopefully finding time to really work out completely original work. 
So I now stock up on plenty of inspiration - here - on this blog. Because I have a hard time remembering what I did last week, I use this blog as a way to gather inspiration so that I can look at what really moves me.  These images were taken from another new to me blog - the Cooper Union Typography blog.  I don't know where they sourced these images from, but this is the work of Alfred Mahlau - a graphic deisnger from Berlin born in the late 1800's doing a lot of work in the 1950's etc...  I love it - this is totally my taste - though oddly enough I would say that my work mostly resembles the Victorian era - and not this modern minimalist w/ a little bit of the victorian.  The second image down - that looks like an organ - is my #1 favorite.  

 

Well, it's raining...

rain boots from Enfant Terrible - a beautiful children's store in Canada (no these are not kid's rain boot's) These boots are made by hand in Châtellerault, France of vulcanized natural African and Asian rubber.  And I want them.

I wouldn't mind this writing desk either...made by Pineider a stationer in Italy.  The outside is calf skin, the inside is cherry wood.  pricey?  affirmative.  I think I'll do a post on that company next week.  These two together make me want to start dressing in all black and become very Euro-chic.   Also, make sure to click on the link to Enfant terrible -  the site was made by  Also Design - a graphic design web trio that makes beautiful websites and design.  I would love to have a website as creative as theirs.  Maybe someday, a girl can dream, no?