This month's "Orange" advertising contest was an essay competition: How does your craft reflect your personality? Would examining a selection of your creations give someone who doesn't know you a good idea of who you are, or would they get it all wrong? The winning entry was submitted by Can't Forget Cards. The win includes one month of advertising on this blog. Can't Forget Cards is headed up by two UNC graduates. Each card is handmade and one of a kind, and the artists employ a variety of media to create the cards. As Megan states in her essay below, each card's interior message is also a bit of a twist, ensuring that Can't Forget Cards are truly unforgettable. Megan's winning essay: As my main creative outlet, my cards reveal the real me. Because my cards are original, a lot of thought goes into making them; I have to pull from my background and life experiences for ideas (for example, I own a husky. One of the cards includes a drawing of huskies pulling a sled). My attention to detail on the cards also applies to all other aspects of my life; I like to get things done, and well. While working on a card I often use pencil first, which highlights the fact that I don't like to rush into things. Once I have a plan I'm happy with, I commit firmly - in this case with markers (ha ha). This card in particular speaks a lot about me: Checker Cupid Card My favorite color is green and the card uses green in it. Just kidding, it's so much deeper than that. By poking fun not only at the entire Valentine's Day holiday, but also delivering an unexpected message, my sarcasm and wit shine through in this card's overall message. Also what you see on the outside of this card, isn't necessarily what you get on the inside - sort of a creed I live my life by: the good ol' don't judge a book by its cover. Because they cover many topics, and use many different materials, my cards show that I'm fun, interesting and eclectic. They're more a labor of love than anything else, so my soul goes into them. Northern California artist Marianne Bland of Truc d'Art is on a mission; she is creating a new piece of art every day for an entire year. All of this effort is being documented in her blog, Art Project 2010, in which she dishes up "fresh art (& snark) daily!" Since I love me some good art, and some good snark, I decided to check it out. Marianne employs a striking variety of style and texture, and the year is just beginning... Of all the posts so far, my favorite is Day 36. I have spent many days contemplating the twisted, stately eucalyptus trees of Northern California. Each time I return, the smell of "euks" (as I call them in my head) brings me back to memories of warm days surrounded by the trees that seemed always green and always brown at the same time. I find it interesting then, that the opening lines of Marianne's description of the day so closely reflect my own feelings about eucalyptus trees and returning to a place in which I spent so much time. An artist is, of course, entitled to feel anything they wish about their own art, but I think this one is a winner, and not "meh" at all. Here is Marianne's original post: It’s a weird feeling to drive down the streets of your hometown after a long time away. Routes I used to take every day are both familiar and odd at the same time. It’s as if I can feel the space of time, as if it’s palpable. Being here made me think of the things I used to do here. When I was upset or frustrated, I cherished my alone time in my car. I didn’t have to deal with crowds or lines or traffic or anything, it would just be me and my CD player and my sketchbook. I used to drive out to Ohlone, the community college in Fremont, and park in front of a eucalyptus tree for hours. I’d draw and write and sip coffee. I always wanted to do a nice watercolor of the trees, the way the bark falls away in strips and leaves unexpected colors in lines wrapping around the trunk like brushstrokes. But watercolor and I have a rocky relationship. We go through phases. Sometimes it’s all movies-and-dinner and fabulous conversation, and other times it’s walking on eggshells and constant arguments that end in walking away from each other. Yesterday’s painting took so long that I wanted to do something faster today. I drove out to some of the giant eucalyptus trees near the sushi place at 5:30 with about 25 minutes of light left. I did a quick charcoal sketch, then came home and picked a palette of the secondaries and abstracted it a little. I feel “meh” about it, but they can’t all be winners. Smashgirl creates "recycled art for your home" out of - you guessed it - smashed up other things! Sounds strange at first, but the mosaic effect is stunning. Smashgirl also has a blog, titled Pieces of My Life (love the pun). While perusing her blog, I found this excellent post reflecting on what it truly means to take some time away from it all, or to take time away from it all. While I only have 6 clocks in my house, that's one for every room, and they're all positioned strategically so I can see them at all times. Plus I wear a wristwatch, and I have worn one nearly every day for 20 years. Here is Smashgirl's original post: I woke up the first morning of my vacation wondering what time it was... I glanced around the bedroom looking for a clock. I got up, went into the kitchen of my beautiful Costa Rican beach house rental... nothing. I surveyed the entire place, alas not a single thing telling me what time it was. That was the only day I thought about the time... it didn't matter. I awoke when my body naturally felt like it. I ate when I was hungry. I stopped wearing makeup, let my hair go curly, and it was freeing. I read a whole book... swam in the ocean... played solitaire. Watched my kids open coconuts, my husband surf, and the pelicans dive. Then I set my watch to "Tico Time". (Ticos are what the Costa Ricans call themselves). My day was measured by the low and high tide. The man selling fresh, cold coconut milk on his bike. The "Fishman" who came by each day with his fresh catch. The woman with the two small white dogs with their matching green frisbees. Kahlina, the German Shepard who stopped by each day to visit me on my beach towel. The sun setting, and the wine opening. Then I came home and counted the clocks in my house... eleven. Although art is challenging enough in its own right, I love a good art challenge. Rita Squier of Squier Art & Design has created a challenge for herself, and is documenting her progress on her Blog. The challenge is this: paint one new painting every day for the month of February, 2010. February is just getting started, but so far she has painted at least one new one every day. There are even THREE for today, Super Bowl Sunday. Either football is really inspiring to Rita's art, or the Super Bowl gave her a good excuse to go into the other room to paint. My favorite so far is the Forest Gems ACEO (shown above). Julie DeGroot of Jewels in the Garden creates stunning works of glassy dangley sun-catchingly fantastic things-you-don't-need-but-want. Many of them are photographed in front of a backyard that I wish were mine. Go on, peruse her shop... you know you want to! Update: 1000 Markets no longer exists. Find Jewels in the Garden here. This ACEO by Lori Mackay of Little Odd Me is titled "The Mysterious Death of Harry the Gnome." How did he meet his untimely demise? The world may never know. My current collection of ACEOs by others is very small (a grand total of... 1), but as my collection grows, I hope to add this one to the ranks, hence the "bookmark." Update: 1000 Markets no longer exists. Find Little Odd Me on Etsy. I want everything in this shop. InkLore's no-ties apron is amazing and innovative. I love the classic simplicity and earthy textures of these items. I will definitely be back to this shop in the future. Update: 1000 Markets no longer exists. Find InkLore here. In my ongoing quest to blog-as-bookmark, I submit Puppet Pie . What this shop lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in character! Have you ever seen such happy corn? Wait 'til you see the bacon! When you need something to make you smile, just go to this shop and start looking at the pictures. You'll be smiling soon enough... and reaching for the "add to cart" button... Update: 1000 Markets no longer exists. Find Puppet Pie on Etsy. In lieu of being able to easily bookmark my favorite finds on 1KM, I decided to blog about them. I just stumbled upon Frank's states project, and I am truly enamored. I love the varied shapes of the states, already, and I am currently in the middle of creating a giant magnetic map / collage myself. I always find myself desiring a red and blue magnetic election map every four years (sometimes more often than that, just to play), and I just recently purchased a book with detailed state facts and history. I'm kind of a 4th grade U.S. History nerd. Here's a fun (frustrating) game: There are 8 states that begin with the letter M. There are 8 states that begin with the letter N. Can you name them all? Can you name all 50 (without using a song)? Missouri http://www.1000markets.com/products/6134 Frank Chimero's Internet Shoppery http://www.1000markets.com/users/frank Update: 1000 Markets no longer exists. Find Frank Chimero's designs here. |
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