the view from here

Sketching

 I'm trying to get into the habit of sketching. I carry a small sketch book and pen with me so I can get some sketching in while waiting for the bus, standing in line at the Post Office -- sitting in the subway in this instance. I drew these two Red Line passengers during the 15-20 minute ride from Downtown Boston to Harvard Square. These guys were such good sports for letting me draw them. I try to be discreet but after a while, my subjects get the feeling they're being watched. 

I'm noticing a lot of hesitation marks when I sketch. Maybe I'm just building up surfaces or maybe I'm just rusty. It will be interesting to see how my drawings change over time -- if they do change, that is. Only time (and drawing) will tell.

 

Steel Ring Cozies

This past weekend I was walking down West Newton Street from the South End to the Prudential Center when these cozies caught me eye.

There were 7 steel rings sticking out of these concrete traffic barriers at the Southwest Corridor. The rings were covered with cozies -- for lack of a better word. It's absurd, impractical, and totally fun. The person who did this had fun going through their stash of yarn and designing each cozy. I like the fact that it is easy to miss if you are not paying attention to your surroundings. I feel like I just got a gold star for for having my wits about me. 

No, this isn't one of my hare-brained schemes. I wish it was, though. 

If you know who did this project -- let them know it brightened my day.

Shy Spring

I wish Spring wasn't so shy about coming to New England. The trees are ready to bud and some flowers are blooming. I guess I shouldn't compare the Northeast to other parts of the country like the Mid-Atlantic and the Northwest where Spring is in full swing come the middle of March.

In the meantime, I'll make do with what we have.

Though meagre, what we do have is lovely in its simplicity.

To call these beauties harbingers seems like an insult.

They are not harbingers of glories yet to come. They are their own glory. 

Many thanks to the Arnold Arboretum -- your efforts are not going unnoticed.

The Soviet Style

I was recently approached to design a poster for the Thayer Street Grand Opening here in the South End of Boston. The client wanted a Soviet-style poster with a fist -- because the event was on May Day (May 1). I also provided an alternative.

Here are the results of my labors:

and

I used my own hand to model the fist -- notice the slender wrist in an otherwise sturdy forearm. It was fun illustrating this poster. I looked at a bunch of Soviet Era posters to figure out how to deal with the type. I decided on something bold and big. I used outlines on the type to make them more defined. 

For the second poster, you can view the Soviet original here. I pulled a Shepard Fairey on this one. 

You know that communism and socialism have been totally de-fanged when you can use the visual language of those ideologies to illustrate a capitalist enterprise. I wonder how many people will pick up on the Soviet influences in these posters. It seems so long ago when Cold War was in full swing, people were getting hauled into HUAC, and someone could get blacklisted for having communist/socialist sympathies. Say what you will about the evils of communism, but those Soviets produced visually striking propaganda -- they were on the cutting edge of photography, typography, and design. There is something sensationally original about the graphics from that era. They really owned their look. It is hard to imagine the people who designed these fantastic posters did so in the midst of Stalin's Purges, famines, forced re-settlements, and mass executions. 

Anyway -- new stores and galleries will be opening on May 1. Only the graphics are communist -- the party is pure free market capitalism.

The Ga Llardo Code

This is a page from my notebook that I carry around in my purse. The numbers look so mysterious, don't they?

If I were the victim in a police procedural drama (God forbid), I hope the detectives who find these numbers on my person would not spend too much time on it because it would turn out to be a red herring. No, these numbers do not correspond to contacts and paymasters in an espionage ring. Nor are the numbers dates, locations and casualties of past and future disasters. These numbers will not lead them through a high-speed chase through the capitals of Europe and the Middle East in search of The Holy Grail. (So the cops can rule out an assassination backed by the Vatican.) Did I become a bookie and are each set of numbers a person who owes me money and I just got "mixed up with the wrong kind of people"? Bernie Madoff's Swiss/Cayman Island bank account numbers? The by-product of late onset schizophrenia?

The truth can be so prosaic. 

These numbers are International Standard Book Numbers -- ISBNs. Starting in February this year I embarked a de-accessioning program with my personal library. I wanted to find good homes for my books so I started listing them on Amazon.com. My problem was, and is, that I have a 10-year-old Mac at home and it takes several hours to upload 20 ISBNs. So I decided to write down the ISBNs of the books I wanted to sell and upload them on my computer in my studio where uploading 75 books can take as little as 15 minutes to do. 

I'm not getting rid of my entire library, just paring down. I want the books in my personal library to be there not just because of content but also as an artifact. I think I'm done buying paperbacks. I am hanging on to my art/photo books. As well as reference books. In the meantime, I have been patronizing the Boston Public Library which is a civic treasure. I look up what book I want on their database, request it online and then they send me an email letting me know that my book is waiting for pick-up at the Copley Branch.

(Boston Public Library Inner Courtyard. January of 2008)

In case you were wondering, the letters next to numbers are a personal code that I am happy to share with you:

ULN - Used Like New

VG- Very Good

G - Good

PY - Pages Yellowing (due to age)

WOC - (Some) Wear on Cover

These are shorthand notes to myself regarding the condition of each book. I try to give an accurate description of each book to avoid unpleasant surprises for the buyer later on. Managing expectations, after all, is key to good customer service.

Launching Union Park

Yes, you're all invited to the launch of Union Park -- Invitations, Announcements and Calligraphy with a Personal Touch.

I've been working with a letterpress printer on designing wedding invitation suites, baby announcements and holiday cards all summer. We have been going back and forth on colors, type styles, designs, etc. Now I actually have live samples of my work executed beautifully in letterpress. I'll be putting up a website shortly featuring my samples, but for now you'll have to come by and say hi to see the work.

21 Buttons - 21 Days (DAY 3)

Sometimes the buttons are inspired by the news cycle. Exhibit A: Joe the Plumber. I'm not going to weigh in on whose tax plan benefits said plumber more, but I thought that since the United Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters and Service Mechanics support Barack Obama, it would be fitting to design a button that shows their support. 

As someone whose water heater tank recently gave out, I have enormous respect for the talented tradesmen and women who make civilized life possible. I'm talking to you S & S Plumbing and Heating. I love you guys!

Fall Comes to New England

This past weekend, I went apple-picking with my sister and her family and another family. It's a somewhat loose tradition where fall comes around and we pick apples and take lots of photos of the kids, the landscape, what have you. We've been going to the the same place over the last few years, Honey-Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, Massachusetts. It's about 45 minutes outside of Boston.

There was quite a huge crowd at the orchard. Apparently everybody else in eastern Massachusetts thought it might be a great idea to spend the weekend outdoors picking apples, eating apple donuts, drinking mulled cider, feeding an assortment of farm animals, etc. It took us about 35 minutes just for the privilege of filing into the parking lot. Luckily the weather was spectacular and the scenery was lovely -- hence the image above.

My sister has a fondness for Mutsu apples. My apple-tasting palette is somewhat undifferentiated. Truth be told, I don't even like fresh apples all that much. I like apple pie, apple betty, apple crisp, apple cider, apple juice, apple sauce, apple butter -- but I'd have to be starving to eat a whole apple. Every time I bite into an apple I always feel I might dislocate my jaw.

One thing I won't deny, they are LOVELY.

It's just fun to be out and about with friends and family, enjoying the last of the beautiful weather and landscape.

Illustration Friday: Forgotten

This is Stu Flynn. He is in no way forgotten, but he certainly looks like he is desperately trying to remember something. Stu is, in fact, the unofficial mayor of 46 Waltham Street, a building housing a lot of artists' studios here in the South End. He patrols the first floor when he's not working at M. Flynn, where he's actually got quite the discerning eye for jewelry and handbags -- just one of the many reason the ladies love Stu Flynn.

Holiday Decor

Sometimes the casual approach to holiday decorating is the best. This is a wall at Harry O's, a local sub shop on Washington Street. It's an unassuming little joint that serves a spectacular grilled chicken salad.

I love the use of scotch tape to affix the stocking -- practical and straightforward. Any other place it would smack of thoughtlessness and a shocking lack of aesthetics, but at Harry O's it just works. Maybe I cut them more slack because they call their customers "Honey" or maybe I just like them. But I like the way this wall looks in all its starkness. I think I like the way the tape becomes a part of the whole aesthetic. There's so little going on in this wall that every element makes a statement. The framed picture in the corner is of the folks who run Harry O's and the mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino. I like the expression of civic pride. Nice going, Harry O's!