Side Project

A little side project that I worked on, at the beginning of the year, was a picture collage. I had the families at my church, with children aged 2-12, send me a family portrait. I then took all of those pictures and worked them into a scene of the St. Louis Temple, using the building itself as a clipping mask. This was no small task considering there were 27 families that sent me pictures. So, when I had completed my task, I suddenly remembered we had a new family move into the area...this of course meant rearranging everything to fit one more picture. This gave me a grand total of 28 families. You will notice that there are 2 blocks of color; one with the year and the other with CTR (choose the right). The year block was to take up space, but the other block was placed as a reminder to make those right choices. 

My result isn't perfect, but, it works and it was a spare-time project that I did for the kids. I did show some my fellow church members 2 different versions—one with the pictures following a more 3 dimensional bottom edge, and this one. Obviously, this is the one that they all preferred. The final image was printed out on photo paper and put on the wall at church where all the kids, and their families, can see it. Measurements are 18"x16".

Epilogue to "Steal Like an Artist" ~ Austin Kleon

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It had a lot of variety to it which helped to keep my interest up. Kleon did a great job in getting quotes from people from all walks of the art world. These quotes then led to a curiosity about the person and my diving into finding out more about them. Kudos to you Austin Kleon for making me learn!

At the end of his book, he has a list of "Recommended Reading." I haven't had much time to spend on this, but, I did purchase one of the books on his list — "Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity" by Hugh MacLeod.

So far this book is also a good read. Parts of it read a lot like Kleon's book.

His big thing is that he started out doodling on the back of his business cards, to pass the time, while in New York at the beginning of his career. Needless to say, those very doodles became his trade mark and that's what he does now. He's been asked "Your business card format is very simple. Aren't you worried about somebody ripping it off?" I love his "Standard Answer: Only if they can draw more of them than me, better than me."

Along with Kleon, he says "don't quit your day job" which I find interesting. I guess they both must have had some bad experiences. Another thing I found interesting is that MacLeod is a blogger. I have to admit, when I first started blogging I wasn't a fan, but, I have really grown to enjoy it.

I found some of his chapter titles to be quite humorous.
"If your business plan depends on suddenly being 'discovered' by some big shot, your plan will probably fail."
 "Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten." — for this one he says something that I don't want to forget "I'd like my crayons back, please." I'm going to include an image of his Table of Contents so that you can see all of the chapter names for yourself.

 
Like I said before, I'm not finished with the book, but, I wanted to share some of it with you. I'll leave you with some of his business card cartoons. Enjoy!

"Creativity is Subtraction" ~ Austin Kleon

In the final chapter of Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon, we are talking about there being so much "stuff" out there. With everything you see out there, it can be creatively overwhelming. So, you should set limits on your designs. Limit the number of images, colors, words, etc. and in doing so your designs will come more easily.

I know it sounds crazy thinking that you'll get more ideas with less "stuff", but, it's true. Without limits you are looking at everything and trying to see how you can just include so much of this "stuff" in a design. But, by limiting yourself, you're able to focus on those one or two perfect things to include; I'm sure you'll make a much better choice. Plus, there's nothing wrong with white space. Some people think that if they have the space, they just have to fill it with something. Wrong!

Since we are talking about putting constraints on our designs, I thought I would limit myself with a quick little project. I limited myself to one image and some typography. It's not much, but I think it might give you a chuckle. Abracadabra, here's my Easter Card!

It's really supposed to be peeps wearing tactical gear, but, I thought of the opportunity of a "dude" talking to his homeys.

I hope you get my sense of humor!










As you know, this book has been full of quotes, and this chapter was no exception. There was a quote by Jack White that was pretty fitting for the chapter.

He gives some good advice here, so I thought I would check out and see just exactly who he was. Boy was I surprised!

Here is some of his bio: "Jack played guitar and sang in the band The White Stripes. They released six albums before breaking up in 2011." He has been in two other bands, too, and won multiple awards for his music. Not only is he in a band, he also writes music for movie soundtracks (62 credits), plus he's an actor (7 credits) and a composer (2 credits). I'd say that he's a pretty creative guy, wouldn't you? I'm including a video of a song that most of you should know, it's from the James Bond move Quantum of Solace - "Another Way to Die."

Be Boring. (It's the only way to get work done.) ~ Austin Kleon

I'm up to Chapter 9 in my review of Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon. This chapter is called Be Boring. (It's the only way to get work done.) and I will be covering the main points that it is trying to make.

I believe that Austin is basically telling us to take care—take care of yourself, take care of your money (stay out of debt) and take care of your life (through routine, calendaring and scheduling). These are all really good advice and can help with all walks of life.

As most people learn, you have to have a routine when working on a project. I was taught a really good way to start out projects and how to keep track of them, use a process page. I'm including an image of part of my process page as an example of the steps I take when working on a project. This shows that the steps taken for each one can be different depending on what all is involved in the project.

Just remember, even if you have a 9-5 job that doesn't have anything to do with design, make time to be creative and add that time to your routine. 

Austin is adamant about "Get yourself a calendar." I couldn't agree more. I have a calendar and a special app that helps me keep track of when everything is due. The app I use is called iHomework and it can be used not only for homework, but for scheduling projects, in general. It allows you to put in custom "Assignment" types (i.e. proof, brief, blog, sketches, key frames, story board, etc.) along with reminder alarms, who it's for, even partner names with contact information. You are then able to click on them when you have them completed and they go into the "completed" category. I LOVE this app! I'm including a screenshot of it so you can an idea of what it's like. 

 

 

Be Nice. (The world is a small town.) ~ Austin Kleon

Each week I've discussing the book Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon. This week I'll be pointing out some of the more important points from Chapter 8 Be Nice. (The world is a small town.)  

A couple of old phrases popped into my head the minute I read the title - "The world is getting smaller all the time," which in essence means that as electronics get more sophisticated and humanity keeps expanding, there aren't many places that we (people) can't explore. Then the other, "Don't burn your bridges" - which pretty much means that if you're leaving a job (because you're going elsewhere, not being fired), leave on good terms because you may need to go back there to work in the future. Also, you may be working with them at some point on a project and you don't want to ruin that possible opportunity. Each of these do a good job of describing most of the chapter, but it also discusses making sure to keep smart people around you so that you can always be learning and creating.

I saw this quote in the chapter and just had to include it. I just laughed when I read this, because how many times have you been working online and ran across something that just really made you angry! I know I've seen things posted places that make think "How in the world can someone really believe that?" or something similar. So, I can imagine someone touching me on the arm and telling me "Quit picking fights" (as I struggle to keep myself from commenting on a horrible post I read) "and go make something." Anger, as with other emotions, can stir up the creative juices, so use it to your advantage and create a masterpiece!

Austin also suggests for us to surround ourselves with people who are smarter than we are. I also think that this could mean to be around people who are different than you are. We (people) can learn so much from our differences and in this learning we can become so much more creative. Just imagine how creative we could be if we surrounding ourselves by these smarter, different, people. I just knew that being "different" would come in handy some time!

For your enjoyment, I'm including a Far Side cartoon that I remembered when reading this section. Surround yourself with those smart people, please!

 

Geography is No Longer Our Master ~ Austin Kleon

Chapter 7 of Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon, is all about how the internet has allowed us to go places that we would never have been able to previously. It is aptly called Geography is No Longer Our Master. I find this true in so many different ways. With just a few key strokes you can visit far off lands that before you would have just dreamt about. You are able to see an almost endless supply of pictures from exotic lands that you would have had to search out in multiple books in the library before. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE libraries and books (I have a huge library myself) but when the internet is in your house and at your fingertips, the world is now that open book.

Steal Like An Artist

 While reading I came across something the author said about "Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings." At first thought I was thinking "Isn't that what I want? A nice comfortable place to live and work in." But then, on further thinking I realized that the author is talking about when you can get in a rut or your work can become stagnant. That's when you need to mix it up a bit. Go somewhere different. Meet new people and try new foods. Step out of your comfort zone for a while. Austin also thinks that everyone should move to a different place. He says "You can always come back, but you have to leave at least once." I guess I could say that I've done that. I went from living in a small farm town to moving to a bigger college town where multiple cultures abound. The only people I knew here were my husband and son. I felt out-of-place and a bit lonely. But, to be honest, it was the best thing I could have done! I made new friends, I love the area, and I started a new career - Graphic Design.

The author mentions that he grew up "in the middle of a cornfield in southern Ohio" but now lives in Texas. He thinks that most of the people who grew up where he did, Texas would be as different as Mars. I feel kind of like this when I go back to where I grew up. Everything is so much different than where I live now, and it seems like an entire different lifetime when I lived there. Your life will be so much richer if you add more experiences like these to it. So, I travel and then I go back to where it all began and see the differences. The following quote from the book kind of sums it up nicely.

Steal Like An Artist

I read that it helps to live around interesting people. I also agree with this statement. I love having friends in all different walks of life. I have a lot of friends that are students, but I also have friends that are lawyers, engineers, artists, physical therapists, psychologists, doctors, homemakers, dentists, you get the idea. I can't even list all of the professions! I also have the privilege to have friends of varying nationalities. All of these things help to enrich my life. I learn so much from all of them and hope that they, in turn, learn something from me, too. I volunteer for different things at my church, school, and with Boy Scouts, and get to meet even more people this way. Every new person brings new experiences and these can spark new ideas and creativity. I even find myself bouncing project ideas of different people to get their perspective to see if they might spark an idea that I might not have thought about previously. So, keep meeting new people and making new friends. You never know who might give you that next great idea!

In closing this week, I would like to backtrack to a previous blog entry. This would have been about 6 weeks ago, and the blog entry was "Read, Read, and Read Some More." I posted some books that were on my "to read" list. I'm happy to say that I was able to get one of them last weekend and read it in 2 days. No, it's not a little 30 page thing, it had 322 pages. I just love reading. I devour books, and when I get a book that I am really enjoying, it's hard for me to put it down. This book is part of a series by Karen White - The Tradd Street Series. So far, there are 4 books in the series: 

The one I just finished reading is Return to Tradd Street. I own all of them and have read the first one multiple times and will re-read the others, too. It is a series set in Charleston, SC present day. It does mention some true historic things in it, but is almost completely fiction. It is about a woman, Melanie Middleton who is a real estate agent who happens to also be able to see and hear ghosts. This makes life in a town as old as Charleston quite interesting and sometimes scary. She has some great friends, some antagonists, a romantic lead (or two) and a mother who also has "the gift". Her mother is also able to get complete "stories" from items when she touches them, thus leading her to wear gloves most of the time. In this book, Melanie is pregnant and dealing with her everyday life and some troubles that pop up along the way. There are some people causing trouble along with some dearly departed doing the same. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, so I won't go into any more detail. I had been waiting to get my hands on this one and can't wait for the next book in this series. It was a really good read!

 

The Secret: Do good work and share it with people ~ Austin Kleon

I'm having fun working my way through the book Steal Like an Artist and am now on Chapter 6. The name of this chapter sums the content up pretty well — The Secret: Do good work and share it with people. So, there are two parts to this, "do good work" and "share", both of which are important. 

The first part can be a bit disconcerting. The author puts it in terms that make complete sense; while in school, everyone there, even the teachers, are either paying or being paid to help each other have "good work". But, once you're out of school, there aren't people there every day to tell you that you're doing a good job or to tell you how to improve your design. He even shares a design given to him by one of his friends, and I've included it below.

Then we have the concept of sharing. It sounds pretty simple, but actually doing it can be a little overwhelming. The main advantage of this day–and–age, is that we have the internet. I don't know about everyone else, but, I know that I'm a bit nervous about putting my work out there for "God and everyone" to see. In fact, it kind of terrifies me a bit, but, everyone starts somewhere.

The author mentions that the internet is an incubator for ideas. I think that is a great idea! Imagine putting something that you're working on up on your blog. People look at it and comment on it. First of all, people are looking at your work - that's a step in the right direction. Then, they are commenting on it, both good and bad. This is a good thing even if their comments aren't very nice. You can learn from these. By seeing the comments and working off of them, your design might go in a direction that you might not have ever thought about on your own. Even if that direction doesn't work out, you've tried something new and learned from it. 

Austin says that "I've found that having a presence online is a kick in the pants." I find that kind of funny because it can be taken two ways—either as a "kick start" of sorts, or as "I really wish I hadn't posted that." He points out something that some people may not realize, most websites and blogs are set up in reverse chronological order—most recent is first and oldest is last. "So, you're only as good as your last post." That in itself, is enough to make sure that your blog posts are as complete and clear as possible so that you get your point across and draw in viewers for the right reasons.

"Side Projects and Hobbies are Important" ~ Austin Kleon

Chapter 5 of Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon, is what this week's post is all about. I think I could use the old saying "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" to summarize this chapter. For the most part, I must agree! If you continually do nothing but work, your work and ideas can become stale. This can put you in a real rut. Nothing is worse than being stuck without any new ideas and the proverbial "writer's block." So, do things that aren't work or work related, that you simply enjoy doing, and you just might rejuvenate your work and your ideas, too.

There's a quote in the chapter that says "Creative people need time to just sit around and do nothing." Personally, I can't just "do nothing", but I know what they mean. I think they are saying to do something that doesn't take a lot of planning and forethought, something that is definitely not "work." In my case, I am always in the process of reading a book. I LOVE to read! I also watch a lot of movies—old, new, foreign, etc. Then there's always puzzles (on my iPad and "real"), a few games of solitaire and Sudoku to decompress with. I find these are all really good to play when I just need something "mind numbing". The apps I like to play are called Jigsawed, Solitaire and Sudoku, and they're pictured below.

I also enjoy listening to music, drawing floor plans, building with Legos and coloring. Then there is one thing that I do that takes absolutely no heavy brain work—I deal with my puppy. I have a Siberian Husky, named Freya, that is 12 weeks old. I've had her for five weeks now and am in love with her. She is a great distraction from projects, which can be both good and bad. But, just look at that face and tell me that you wouldn't take a break to play with her, too.

Getting back to chapter five, the author says that it's very important to have a hobby. Again, I agree. As for me, my guilty pleasure hobby type thing would probably have to be video games. I am admittedly a nerd! I have a Gameboy Advance, a Gameboy Advance SP, a GameCube, and a Wii. I love almost all things Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda. I've been known to play Guitar Hero and Rock Band (and their various 1, 2, 3's etc.) until my fingers practically fly off. Then there's Red Steel, a sword fighting game, that I play until I can't raise my arms any more. I know, that's pretty pathetic, but, it's fun and I can't help myself. There's also the Just Dance games. These are fun on a different, completely embarrassing level. Try them, before you judge me, you just might have fun, too!

There are multiple quotes in this chapter, as with all of the previous ones, too. One quote was by someone that almost everyone if familiar with, Steve Jobs, but another is a quote by Maira Kalman that says "Avoiding work is the way to focus my mind." I wasn't familiar with her, but, her quote works in perfectly with this chapter. This led me to do a bit of research on her. I found that she was born in Tel Aviv, but has lived in New York since the age of four. Maira is not only an illustrator, but a writer, too. She has done many The New Yorker covers and has done books for children and adults. 

One of the books that she illustrated, which Michael Pollan wrote, is Food Rules an Eater's Manual. This book looks like it's a lot of fun. If you go to her website this book is on her landing page. I started looking at the pictures that she had posted, and reading the captions that went with them, and immediately started laughing. She seems to have such a great sense of humor and her pictures can take a serious topic and make it easier to understand and poke a little fun at it at the same time. I'm definitely going to add it to my library. Below are just a few images from this book. Enjoy!

 
One more thing, she was married to the designer Tibor Kalman until his death in 1999. As some of you may know, he was a graphic designer and was well known for his work as editor–in–chief of Colors magazine. A couple of his pieces were the ones of famous people if they were born of another race. They were published in an Color Magazine's issue #4 on Race, in an article called "What if..?"

Of course this first one is Queen Elizabeth. 

The second one is
Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"Use Your Hands" ~ Austin Kleon

"Use Your Hands" is the name of chapter 4 of our book Steal Like An Artist and is appropriately named. This chapter is all about getting away from your computer and using the original "digits", your fingers/hands. All to often, I catch myself wanting to just jump in and do a project from beginning to end on the computer, but, this chapter reminds me to use different mediums. The author even tells about having used newspapers and markers to create a book of poems. He would go through the paper pieces and mark out words, stating that all of his senses were used. He felt the paper and pen in his hands and could smell the marker and newsprint. There was also the "faint squeak" of the marker as it went across the paper. "When I was making the poems, it didn't feel like work. It felt like play." I really like that statement and will try to "play" more when I work.

I've noticed that if I've taken a project from beginning to end only using the computer, it can seem flat and lifeless. But, one that I've done multiple sketches on, or even re-started going in a different direction, have much more life to them and more personality. By using more of your senses, even if it's just sketching out more ideas after you've already started the project, you can end up with a better final product.

I don't think computers can be very good at helping us generate ideas, unless, of course you're looking at Pinterest. Haha! Seriously, they do have some really good ideas about a wide variety of things on there. Personally, I think that the things around us can be so inspirational. I like to use my pets as a humorous reprieve from day to day issues, and they are about as far from a computer as you can get. So, find those things that take you out of that mindset — get away from your computer and do something you enjoy — the ideas will come.

It was suggested that we set up an area, away from our computer, to use as our "analog" office. I don't really have room for that, but, I do have an area I go to when I want some quite time. One of my bookcases is in my son's old room, and it has my oak rocking chair and a reading light next to it. There's a window right next to them, too. So, sometimes I like to just go back there and sit in my rocker and read. It's peaceful and away from most of the electronics (there is a t.v. and a boom box in there, but those are for when my son comes home for visits). This isn't a desk, but it's a good place to relax and think, and it's away from my computer.

There are always some interesting quotes in this book, and in this chapter there were two, one by John Cleese, whom most of us know from his Monty Python days, and one by Edward Tufte, whom I've never heard of before. Therefore, I had to look him up. I found him referred to as "the world's best-known expert in data visualization." That's a pretty big title to stand up for in my book. Upon further research I found that he has written many books, had multiple exhibitions, teaches and gives seminars. He is a professor, statistician, writer and sculptor. The quote that is in our book is "I have stared long enough at the glowing flat rectangles of computer screens. Let us give more time for doing things in the real world . . . plant a plant, walk the dogs, read a real book, go to the opera." This is great advice and goes along with this chapter to "Use Your Hands." I ran across some quotes that are from a one-day course "Presenting Data and Information" taught by Edward Tufte. Here's one that really stood out to me "Can the same image prompt different stories and memories in different people? That's a good test for a 'super graphic'." I have included a couple of his book covers and then just a random image of one of his designs that I found.

 

"Write the book you want to read" ~Austin Kleon

While reading Chapter 3 of Steal Like an Artist, the main point that I gathered would have to be to go ahead and do that one thing that you've always wanted to do. Everyone's seen a movie that they "just want more" when they leave—write out your idea for the sequel. The same thing goes for books—try writing that next book in the series. You see where I'm going here? If there's something that you've always wanted to try to design, just go ahead and try it. If nothing comes of it, it has at least been a learning experience, and who knows, it may turn out great!

We were asked the question "So, what would your life be like if you were to re-write it?" My answer would have to be, that I wouldn't re-write it. I've had some extremely bad experiences in my life, but, I've also had some great ones. All of which have brought me to the point I'm at right now. If I were to re-write some part then I possibly might not have my wonderful son or my house, etc. I don't want to play the "what if" game. I'm almost 50 yrs. old and I'm very happy with my life.

As for another question we were asked "What might the next few years be like in this story?" I'm not quite sure where I'll end up, but I hope to be enjoying life, and hopefully at some point, becoming a grandma. I would really like to find either a really good job doing graphic design at company that is not all about numbers like my previous employer, but, more about creativity. I would also love to be a freelance designer and work from home.

In this chapter, there's a quote by Brian Eno "My interest in making music has been to create something that does not exist that I would like to listen to. I wanted to hear music that had not yet happened, by putting together things that suggested a new thing which did not yet exist." This quote goes so well with this chapter in that we are told to go write that book, make that music, design that thing, etc. and this is exactly what Brian is saying in this quote. I did some research on his music and it, for the most part, is that very quite, nice relaxing music that just puts you at ease.  They are called things like Wind on Water, Emerald and Stone, The Drop, etc. and places like airports, use his music as their background soundtracks. I am glad I checked him out, because I have a really hard time sleeping and I think that I could use his music to help calm my mind when trying to sleep. Most of his YouTube videos are 45min.—over an hour long, but I found this one that you might enjoy. 

 

"Don't wait until you know who you are to get started." - Austin Kleon

I've been reading the book Steal Like An Artist - 10 things nobody told you about being creative, written by Austin Kleon, and just finished the second chapter. There are quite a few good things to take away from the reading. Here are some quotes that I really liked "Fake it till you make it" and "Copy your heroes" both of which seem to be really good advice to me. The first one pretty much is telling you to just keep trying, work hard at what you want to do and don't stop until you can do it. The second one kind of helps you with the first. There's a quote that sums it up perfectly "Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find yourself." - Yohji Yamamoto

The book then has another quote ( it's full of them) "Don't steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style." Which is also some really good advice. I think that this quote is trying to say that you can copy someone for practice or to hone your skills, but in the end, you want to research why the person designed that way, what made them tick so-to-speak, and then incorporate that into your designs to make them your own.

I've used the word "copy" many times in this review, but I would also like to introduce the words imitate and emulate. Imitate is basically a fancy word for copying something, which as I've stated previously is a good way to practice your drawing and to hone your skill. To emulate someone, is to work in the same style as that person. You have studied them and their process and are working in a similar manner, but putting your own twist on it. That's what I think most designers are going for. 

In this chapter there is also this pretty cool chart - it is "good theft" vs "bad theft". Under "good" it has honor, study, steal from many, credit, transform and remix. Under "bad" it has degrade, skim, steal from one, plagiarize, imitate, rip off. I'm sure we're all in agreement that we would want to be the "good thief". When reading this, I thought about one of the designers that I wrote about in my blog 2 weeks ago - Alphonse Mucha. I love his work, but can honestly say that I've never tried to create anything in his style. So, I tried a sketch based on his "Precious Stones" series. Now remember, I've never tried drawing in this style and I'm a pretty poor sketcher to begin with, but I'm including a scan of my sketch. Please don't be too tough on me!

Here is a picture of "Precious Stones".
I love the organic flow, the detail, colors, etc., it is praising the feminine form and is full of life.

...and, here's my obscene first attempt at something similar. Please note that I didn't spend much time on this, maybe 5-10 minutes, but, now that I've tried it once, I think I will give it some more attempts. I think that I could pretty easily do the flowers and all "non-human" parts, but will have to really work on my form drawing.

This chapter had quite a few good points to remember when starting out in design and I even used my trusty highlighter on a few sections as a reminder for the future. Just keep doing what you want to do and try hard at it, you'll get there eventually. A quote from Finding Nemo comes to mind "Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming, swimming, swimming", but in this case it would be "copying".

Read, Read, and Read Some More

In one of my school books, Steal Like An Artist, the author suggests that you should always be reading. I couldn't agree more! I am one of those people that just devour books! I love so many different kinds of books, that I'm always looking for my next great read. I thought that I would share a brief glimpse into my library (sorry for slightly blurry pictures, I had a puppy trying to help me take them).

These pictures are of just one of my bookcases, please note that it is around 7 feet tall and about 3 feet wide, and that on most shelves, the books are 2 deep. Also, I tend to collect books by authors that I love.

Before you ask, I do read my books more than one time. I'll pick up on some little detail the second, or even third time, that I didn't when reading it originally. Also, I do have my favorites.

I also usually buy in hardback - I prefer the feel of them as opposed to softcover. I do read some on my iPad, but it's usually something that I can't seem to find in print yet, or if it is an up-and-coming new author that only uses e-books.

Believe it or not, I also have multiple boxes of books that I simply don't have room to put on shelves. I go through them all about once a year and try to rotate some of the boxed ones out and put others away. It's like seeing an old friend again.

Even though most of my books are fiction, I can use them for inspiration. I love to imagine that I'm in these wondrous places and can envision my surroundings as though I'm there. Imagination is an important part of creativity and I believe that if you can spark your imagination through reading some of that creativity is bound to come through. 

In the last picture, at right, are some antique books that I have stored in a closet - I won't ever get rid of these, but I also won't handle them very much because they are getting a bit brittle. Some are from the early 1900's.

I've also been thinking about books that I would like to read and thought I would share them with you. Pictured at left, are the cover images of 10 of the books that I want to read in the next few months. Three of these I've already purchased and am just waiting on them to arrive.

So, if you take anything away from reading my blog this week, let it be this, "There's no such thing as reading too much!" I truly believe this and will continue to read as long as I'm able. Now, go read a book! 

Influences and Inspirations

While studying the book "Steal Like an Artist - 10 things nobody told you about being creative" by Austin Kleon, this quote was pointed out to me. "You are, in fact, a mash up of what you choose to let in your life. You are the sum of your influences." This quote got me thinking about the things and people that have influenced my life over the years. 

The first major influences on my life would have been my grandparents. They were wonderful people and taught me to work hard, be respectful, do your best, and to trust in the Lord. I could always depend on them to be there and to help me in whatever way they could. I couldn't have asked for better role models. 

Grandpa was a very hard worker and had a workshop in the basement where he tinkered around on whatever project he could find (that was his hobby). So, I tinkered with him and came to love all things old and all things mechanical.

This helped me to realize that I love old houses, and the more decorative, the better. Be it the old Victorians with their "gingerbread" trim, or the stately brick homes with their large double columns out front, to the extremely ornate Art Nouveau style of Tassel House by Victor Horta. I love drawing floor plans, and even coming up with some furniture ideas. Although I was interested greatly in architecture, I had family members that were engineers and went that route the first time I went to college.

While working in the engineering field, I didn't feel all that fulfilled in what I was doing. I did get to work outside, but, I always felt that I could do something more creative than roads, bridges, water ways and sewers. I know, yuck!

I think that when I was basically forced to change my career many years ago (1993), it was a good thing. I have become much more creative and I really enjoy what I do. I am always gathering ideas and strength from those people and things around me, and hope to be doing so for many years to come. I don't know that I will ever be able to say that I'm satisfied with "the sum of my influences", simply because I hope to continue having things influence me for the rest of my life.

I find a great deal of inspiration in two different individuals from the Art Nouveau period. These people are Victor Horta and Alphonse Mucha. Their work just leaves me in awe! Art Nouveau is so organic and it just flows. It is very provocative and romantic looking without being tacky or crude. I would love to be able to do something in a similar style as theirs. 

These are pictures of Tassel House. Horta not only designed the building, but he also did the murals the flooring the stairs, furniture, doors, latches, etc. He practically designed everything that was inside it. It would be a dream come true if I could ever go and see it in person.
 

I love the stained glass mural that he designed here. Look at the the flowing lines in it and then look at the lines of the railings, lights, sculpture, etc. 

This is one of the balconies - again, the curves and designs are just gorgeous!

I love it!

 
The set of images at right are called "The Seasons" (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter), and it is by Alphonse Mucha. Just look at the details and all of the flowing lines. Very provocative and feminine, but definitely not crude or offensive.

The next set of images are called "The Precious Stones" (Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst, Topaz)(1900). Then, the set after is called "The Moon & Stars" (1902). I'm showing it larger than the others so that you can see the details. Note the ornate "framing" designs he gave these. He did most of his works with and without the ornate edges.

The last images are of some of his poster designs. Look closely at what product the one is advertising - it might surprise you.

I'm researching who these two men looked to for inspiration and hope to find more people to add to my list of people who inspire me. I'll continue to dig deeper into their styles and will ad more information as I find it. 

 

"Steal Like An Artist..." by Austin Kleon

I really like our book, Steal Like An Artist - 10 things nobody told you about being creative, for Graphic Design III. The size, layout, and even the way it is written appeals to me. I especially like the way that it has quotes from such a variety of people that are in so many diverse careers. Plus, I LOVE the stock used for the cover - it's sweet!

When asked "How do you feel about stealing other people's ideas?" I believe that the way they mean to steal in this instance, isn't the literal sense of stealing. Because, if you give 10 people the same idea and tell them to come up with a design for it, no 2 designs will be the same. So, as long as you aren't copying somebody's design exactly, without permission, it's perfectly legal. Therefore, I don't feel that there's anything immoral about it at all.

Originality is valued in art, but, it comes in many different forms. You can be original in the way you convey your ideas and designs. For example, our Typography posters, some people did the same font as previous years, but the design was completely different.

To be a better collector you need to keep your eyes open and always a pencil and paper handy to jot notes or ideas down. Don't be afraid to tear things out of magazines (hopefully your own magazines) or to take pictures of things you see. I have a home office where I keep most of my reference material. I'm also an avid reader and have a huge number of books, in bookcases and closets throughout my house. I have also added to my art/design type of books by going to garage sales and even getting from friends that are moving or downsizing. You never know where you might find something useful.

I keep folders, in my bookmark menu, for different things like fonts, web design, clip-art, etc. I am also a big Pinterest user - Check out my boards.

Before I can pick someone to use as a mentor I'm going to have to do some more research. Once I've decided on someone, I'll come back here and add their name and a sample of their work.

There were a couple of quotes that really stood out for me in the first chapter.

"The only art I'll ever study is stuff I can steal from."

 ~ David Bowie 

"It is better to take what does not belong to

you than to let it lie around neglected."

 ~ Mark Twain

Introducing - Lisa Williamson

Hi one and all! My name is Lisa Kalani Williamson. I'm in my 4th, and final, semester at Parkland College and will be graduating in the spring. I decided to go back to school, after being a graphic designer for 19+ years, because the company I worked for "downsized". It was a blessing in disguise! I love school and learning new things, and know that a degree does make a difference when it comes to pay in the design industry.

My creative process might be different than others my age, but, it seems to work for me. My creativity does vary depending on what kind of project I'm working on. If the project is text intensive, then I go to my huge collection of books (I'm an avid reader & have a very large collection of hard back books) and magazines (I subscribe to multiple design magazines & others). But, if the project is illustration heavy I reference anything from video games (yes, I'm a gamer & proud of it!) to children's books, and online, too! I'm finally using my sketch books more. I had gotten out of the habit of using them when I worked because I simply didn't have the time to sketch anything (it was all about producing, not sketching). I also try to pull some inspiration from my experiences. Being older can have a few advantages in that respect. Ha ha! I have the most difficult time being creative if it is something that I really know absolutely nothing about, or aren't really a fan of.

I think that it is very important to have creative people out there in the world. Think of how boring it would be if everyone used the same layout for an advertisement and only changed the name of the company or the item being advertised. Imagine everyone using the same logo and only changing out the initials in the logo and the name.  It would be a very bland and overbearing place to live in. Creativity adds "life" to things. It gives things personality and can be fun and uplifting. I don't know a lot of "big named" people out there in the world, but, I have worked some individuals before that I really admire their work and am a bit envious of their talents. However, everyone has their own strengths, and if I'm not as good as someone else at one particular thing, I'm sure there's something I can do that they aren't quite as good at, too. It all works out in the end. 

I'm including a packaging design, that I did here at Parkland for one of my classes, for Carrington Farms Organic Flax Paks.

Here is a design I did for a double sided postcard. This is for a Dentist's office that was now offering customized tooth guards for athletes. I was given the brand of tooth guards and a his print information and was told to come up with a few design. The pictures are stock clip-art, but they were used in a non-standard way & the client loved it.