Hey everyone, please join me, my friends Ruffeo Hearts Lil Snotty, and many other talented Brooklyn artists and designers at the MOVES POP-UP SHOP this weekend.  Open from noon to 7pm (and on Saturday waaaay later as we’ll be having a few bands join us.)   I’ll be selling a small line of southwestern-inspired porcelain vases (that’s one of my new ones up there) along with a few other projects I’ve been working on, so come on down and get busy!

Moves Pop-Up Store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

December 11th and 12th (the 11th will be exploding with awesome stuff up and down Franklin Street)

214 Franklin Street

2 blocks from the Greenpoint G Stop

See you there!

Oh lord, I think I’m suffering from a case of blog neglect!  I’m sorry if you’ve been tuning in and reading the same old posts.  This year has been a really mad-cap one, with lots of projects (some finished, others… not so much!), hectic day jobs and a gigantic move in the making.  I’ve been keeping myself calm by trying my hand at making some pottery.

I made some of the molds at a ceramic workshop hosted by Choplet in Williamsburg earlier this year and was hooked.  It was a somewhat daunting process, learning how to create a mold, I’m not sure I’m that good at it yet!  I’m used to thinking about shapes as more two dimensional things, like sketches on paper, but now I see the beauty in creating something you can hold in your hand and use.  It’s a very slow and meditative process for me, pouring the slip, waiting for it to set and then sanding the forms to a satin finish.  I love working with raw porcelain, it looks beautiful just as it is.

The vases you see in the photo are unglazed and are waiting to be fired.  I just got some matte turquoise glaze to try, so we’ll see how it turns out!

To say that I enjoyed this quick glimpse into Heather Moore’s (aka Skinny laMinx) studio and home is an understatement!  I’ve been a big fan of Heather’s work for many years and really enjoyed seeing her talk about her work and inspiration in such a beautiful environment.  If you haven’t discovered Skinny laMinx’s crisp tea towels, check them out here.  Enjoy!

Hi there, hope you had a relaxing weekend.  Wish I did!  I’ve been scrambling around the apartment recently trying to get things ready in order to sell it (part of the Grand Plan).  I stopped in West Elm earlier today frantically trying to find a cool rug to make my place a little more presentable and picked up Lotta Jansdotter’s new book Handmade Living.  I’ve always been a big fan of hers and was delighted to find a sneak peak of her new Brooklyn studio inside.  Even better to hear was that she’ll be partnering with West Elm later this year with her own line of goods.  Can’t wait!

Man oh man, I thought 2008 was the year of change, but 2010 has been giving it a run for it’s money!  Babies, weddings, engagements, elopements, surprise birthdays… I want to pass out on the futon just thinking about it!  This year has been one of change for me as well.  I decided after much thought this year that it was time for me to shake my life up a little.

It started with a trip up the west coast that ended in Portland, Oregon.  I was looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of New York, just a nice, relaxing vacation that would help me unwind.  But something unexpected happened.  Can you fall in love with a city?  I still can’t really explain it, but something in me opened up in Portland.  Out came the need to create with my hands, to draw, to sew marshmallows on a dress and walk down the middle of the street, to take walks in the rain, bike wildly, explore and find a connection between myself and the people around me.

When I got back to Brooklyn I felt… a little lost.  I’m not unhappy with my life here, I love Brooklyn and all the close friends that I’ve made here.  But for the last few months, I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that I need something else in my life.  I haven’t been able to shake Portland.

You know that saying: when you’re searching for something in your life, oftentimes it finds you.  That phone call that you put out into the universe a few months or years ago is finally returned and perhaps it’s not what you expected.  But it makes sense!  In some weird way, your blind searching paid off.  I feel like that’s true in my case.

For the last few months, I’ve been sketching, dreaming and taking classes.  Lots and lots of classes.  Sewing, wood-working, textile making, screen-printing, ceramics, etc.  I felt like, “OK if I’m going to Portland, I have to create something.”  And create something that is useful and well-made.  I’ve been working my butt off trying to find something I can make… and I think I found it.

To be continued….

I’m taking a little detour from the print-making scene today to share a video on Raleigh Denim.  It’s really invigorating to see young American designers making use of the resources around them and getting excited by the history of the industry they’re in.  Sarah and Victor Lytvinenko had a dream to make some awesome jeans and they are definitely succeeding, they just got picked up by Barneys!  Take a look and get inspired.

Found some great mid-century graphic design from Germany this week. Gebrauchsgraphik, Monatschrift zur Förderung künst- lerischer Reklame (aka: Commercial Graphics, Monthly Magazine for Promoting Art in Advertising), was a graphic design journal published in Berlin from 1924 until 1944.  It was one of the first graphic design journals in Europe and featured work influenced by Futurism, Constructivism, DeStijl and the Bauhaus, amongst others.

To see more you can visit these Flickr photostreams:  allerleirau sandiv999

Thought I would share the beautiful craftsmanship of architect Brendon Farrell with you this weekend.   The sparse but thoughtful minimalism of his designs reminds me of the early Shakers.  If you happen to be in Portland, Oregon, make sure so check out the spa he designed:  Loyly.  Enjoy!

I was walking around the botanical gardens yesterday in Brooklyn and could almost smell autumn in the air.  The leaves are starting to fall off the trees, acorns are ripening and flocks of geese are starting to appear along the Hudson parkway.

The delicate nature of these paper cuts by Peter Callesen seemed to be reminding me that summer is fleeting and fall is on it’s way.  Paper cutting seems like such an arduous task, but the results seem so rewarding if you have a good theme or eye.  I really enjoyed the one above.  I love how he puts so much effort into every last detail:

www.petercallesen.com

OK my bad, I just looked up at the clock and it’s actually Tuesday, but let’s just pretend it’s Monday for now.  One of my favorite ways to get over creative blocks and generally waste time on the internet is to check out Printeresting.org.  It’s the Wooster Collective of print-making.  (If you haven’t checked out Wooster Collective, first hide in shame, then rapidly punch it up on your iphone, ipad, igoogletronic or whatever you guys using these days.)

Besides being a great resource for screen-printing events and artists, this blog takes it to a new level by covering all areas of print-making, even ones you didn’t know existed (check out the Nike chalk-bot for an innovative take on the sidewalk scrawl.)

The short interviews and videos with print-makers and screen-printers like Sonnenzimmer can reveal a lot about the process and the thought that goes into making a good print:

In short, check it out.  It has something for everyone, even those who are a little obsessive about their legos.