brandi strickland

Brandi Strickland is a super gifted artist. I especially love her mixed media work and illustrations. There is something sweet about many of her pieces, without being too cute or precious. It's colorful sincerity. She also is generous in spotlighting other people's work on her blog. In fact she was nice enough to give me a shout out today which I'm really grateful for... AND is NOT why I'm posting her stuff... she's simply awesome and you'll know to what extent if you visit the links below. Now go on, get.

[ Paper Whistle Flickr ]
[ Paper Whistle Blog & Shop ]
[ Brandistrickland.com ]

alphabets

I'm not sure if there is a better to describe this than to simply say Bela Borsodi's "Alphabets" series is very clever. It's a boring description on my part but my adjective powers are failing today. You can see the other letters here.

need to want less: companionship

This is of course a no-brainer... my dachshunds are WAY better than a gross 'ole wiener, but dang if a hot dog doesn't sound really good sometimes, regardless of the questionable ingredients.

caffeinated penguins

You are probably familiar with the iconic imagery of Penguin book covers, specifically the Edward Young years. Now someone has turned the bold yet basic design into a series of coffee mugs. Not the first to capitalize on what seems like a current wave of vintage literary graphic design re-dos (most of which I'm into), I'd still let them carry my caffeine any day. See your options here.

PENGUINISH POSSIBILITIES:
Album Covers Pelican Style [ Little Pixel's Flickr ]
Video Games as Penguin Classics [ Olly Moss' Flickr ]
Gallery of Penguin Books [ Things Magazine ]
Penguin Deck Chair [ Bloomsbury Store ]

weekly prescription

Let me preface this by saying I had intended to start a weekly feature prescribing a few things to do with your week... a helpful recovery nudge if you will. I'm still going to do it, but in light of Michael Jackson's death I figured I'd change up my list and offer an all-MJ offering. Once I got started I was surprised to find how hard it is to narrow down, but hopefully this will do.


I'll say it again for good measure -- Michael Jackson was mysterious to put it most vaguely, but dang if the guy wasn't full of talent and churned out a bunch of genius in his prime.

HELPFUL WAYS TO GET THERE:
Read -- [ Amazon.com ]
Watch -- [ YouTube Midnight Special ]
Listen -- [ Off the Wall MP3 FREE DOWNLOAD ]
Do -- [ Dance Moves & YouTube Pepsi commercial ]
Austin Event -- [ Alamo Drafthouse ]

BONUS: Just because I STILL adore this song. It's fun, ridiculous, and gets me out of a funk (and it's very golden and satiny and that is never bad).

1 minute photoshop: priority

Michael Jackson most recently has been primarily a favorite pop culture punchline but hearing of his death today, I have to admit, threw me for a loop and saddened me. I never worshiped him but I did enjoy his music when I was little. And to see him in The Jackson 5, how can you not be impressed... that voice, that cute face, that energy. Anyway, it always freaks me out when someone suddenly passes away and is no longer a physical part of this world. I know it happens all the time, in much worse ways, in grittier ways, in anonymous ways (at least away from the spotlight) and in a way it feels silly to devote attention to this considering that, but I am a little rattled none-the-less. If anything it's just another reminder to keep my priorities in order and make sure that the ones I love know how I feel.

abandoned theaters

Photographer Julia Solis showcases a series of abandoned theaters, capturing the gutted, worn down, rotten and forgotten remains of venues in everything from old jails, hospitals, schools, and movie palaces. It's a shame that some of these places have lost their splendor, as I can imagine a few were pretty grand once upon a time, but I'm glad that someone has taken the time to honor them before they are completely gone. You can see more here.

feeling 90's

This weekend I went to my parent's house for Father's Day. During this excursion I decided that cleaning out my old bedroom closet was in order. I moved out over a decade ago and this is the only place that is still cluttered with my past. I sort of relished the opportunity to dig through some old things and see what treasures I could discover but I also wanted to allow my parents some extra space. Being a pack rat runs in the family and they need all the room they can get (sorry Mom and Dad, you know it's true).

For the most part I knew what I might find... dolls, old school work, left over clothes, and trinkets. What was a surprise, was happening upon a bunch of old magazines. I remember the act of saving them but figured they made there way to the trash at some point. Oh silly me, current me should know that past me would never let go of any sort of collecting. And it is with this that I realize that I am really an 80 year hoarder living in a decades younger body.

Strangely enough I am tickled to be the owner of a stash of Sassy, YM, Mademoiselle, Spin, Model, TV Guide (I have several early 80's as well), US, and People magazines, all from the late 80's to mostly early 90's. Why I saved them I'm not completely sure. There are a few funny "Best Of The Year" issues and semi-newsworthy examples (1990 Time with Dan Quayle on the cover). I have never felt especially nostalgic about the 90's for whatever reason... until now. So with that I give you a special 90's music mix which you can download (hopefully... maybe... it's large). It consists of mostly early 90's stuff, and it's a bit of a grab bag, but they're some of my favorites. Hope you enjoy. And keep an eye out for some more silly scans from my pointless mess of magazines.

Click here to download mix. Titles are listed below.

FEELING 90'S TRACKS:
1. Ren & Stimpy -- I'm Gonna Be a Monkey
2. Pixies -- Head On
3. Teenage Fanclub -- Alcoholiday
4. Right Said Fred -- I'm Too Sexy
5. My Bloody Valentine -- Soon
6. Black Sheep -- Strobelite Honey
7. Depeche Mode -- Enjoy the Silence
8. Tribe Called Quest -- Excursions
9. Liz Phair -- Flower
10. Nirvana -- Milk It
11. Superchunk -- My Noise
12. The Rentals -- My Summer Girl
13. Afghan Whigs -- Debonair
14. Man or Astroman -- Evil Plans of Planet Spectra
15. Magnapop -- Lay it Down
16. Codeine -- Broken Hearted Wine
17. Butthole Surfers -- The Wooden Song
18. Melvins -- Hooch
19. Hole -- Violet
20. Jane's Addiction -- Stop!

thanks: you're welcome

Mary and Matt have created a wonderful book featuring Thank You bags called You're Welcome. It seems like one of those ideas that has never ending possibilities and isn't terribly hard to do (don't take that as downplaying the terrificness of this), which is the perfect combination.

I put this in the category of I-could-have-done-that-but-didn't-so-they-are-better-than-me. That category is starting to get a bit crowded. Click here for more of their project.

1 minute photoshop: desperation

And clothing... and coffee... and hot water... and hair dye... and movie tickets... and music... and a new phone... and art supplies...

What else is new. Job hunting is humiliating, tiring, depressing, and everything else lame that you can think of.

tanrific

I went tubing (toobing?) this weekend and I look like this now. Ok, not really, but I seem to be sunscreen challenged as I always end up with random bands of burn. This time I have a cool stripe down my arm, burned knees, and a spotty thigh.

The above image is actually by designer Janine Rewell. For this project she combined the wonderful world of tanning beds and body decals.

[ Janine Rewell via How Magazine Blog ]

i place to lay my head

This place is in my hometown. It used to the The Kettle. I'm pretty sure the only thing that has changed is the name. And speaking of names, how can you not love a restaurant that simply refers to itself as Pancake... not some sort of clever kitcheny or diner name, and not even PancakeS. I can appreciate that even if it's not imaginative or accurate.

website update

So it may or may not have been obvious that I took a bit of a break from the internet. I did not have to force myself, I simply had no desire or interest to see what it had to offer me. I occasionally I get into such a funk, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. In my time away I managed to add some more pages to my unsophisticated website.

One addition is the Stuff section. Seemed appropriate since my site says "Photography and Stuff". This is where I have planted the 1 Minute Photoshop, Need to Want Less, downloads of the lists I have made so far, and is the future home to a project I'm pretty excited about... Dos & Don'ts.

The other new feature is Sponsorship. You can read more about it over yonder but to give a quick overview it's a program I have set up to aid Recovering Lazyholics, most notably (and selfishly) me. I'm asking any takers to send me a quick tip for how they fight laziness. In exchange I will create a badge of sorts, adding your name (or I can keep you anonymous if you want) and your suggestion to a Sponsor page. The current layout is more of a place holder; I expect it look a little different as contributors accumulate.

Beyond that I have created a donate option. I know most folks out there are struggling with money so I don't expect to see much, if any, gifted my way. But if you have a spare dime to help me fund some of my projects I would be MOST APPRECIATIVE. Follow the donate link and Paypal will walk you through the rest (there is a link on the left sidebar as well). Donating sponsors will receive a small token of appreciation from me and I will also add a web link to their site (if there is one) in a special Sponsors section here on this blog.

This explanation turned out longer than I intended so I expect everyone got my drift here. Thank you SO MUCH for any interest you may have in my site or this blog or my photography or any other nonsense I come up with. Regardless of Sponsorship I appreciate the support.

Love,
Erin

enjoy your weekend

In case I end up doing all of the things I mean to do this weekend, enjoy yourselves and see you soon.

website update

I added a new Polaroid section to my website. It's not terribly exciting but you can check out the Spring section here.

li wei

Photography by Li Wei.

paramount summer movies

One of the things I look forward to each summer in Austin is the Paramount Theater's Summer Film Series. I generally end up seeing only a fraction of the movies I want to see however I'm going to try to change that trend this go 'round. There are so many to choose from though. I have narrowed down my wish list to this...

6/20 -- North by Northwest
7/3 -- To Kill a Mockingbird
7/7 -- Cool Hand Luke
7/9 -- The Hustler*
7/11 -- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid*
7/16 -- Marathon Man
7/17 -- The Parallax View
7/18 -- Nashville
7/21 -- MASH
7/24 -- Jaws
7/28 -- Nine to Five
7/30 -- The Wild One
8/5 -- Aliens*

* = new print
bold = free admission with Newman's Own food donation

Tickets are $7 in advance, $8 the day of; $45 pass for 10 films. On-line tickets and full schedule is here.

need to want less: incompetence

I really would like to have some sort of garden and could live with just grass in my yard. I am terrible at keeping plants alive though. So I will continue to have one of the more shameful looking houses on the block and I guess a little less oxygen.


SEEDLINGS:
Best Garden Tips [ Apartment Therapy ]
Lynn Anderson [ I Never Promised You a Rose Garden ]
Watering Cans [ Real Simple ]
The Great Outdoors Trailer [ YouTube ]

year of the venn

I guess I'm not the only one that has noticed it's been a very venny year.

[ Mark Leggett via BuzzFeed ]

stare down

This is a fun idea for a get together, but I know I would fail miserably as a participant. Enter me in an eye rolling showdown and then maybe we'd have a contest going. For more of this staring show down go here.

life with maggie

This series called Life with Maggie by photographer Ofer Wolberger is pretty great. Pretty odd, but pretty great. Maggie is "no-one" traveling the globe and finding where she can fit in along the way. I think. Regardless of the intended story I like the juxtaposition of her frozen face with the varying environment/people encountered.







Go to this Flickr set for more. And also be sure to check out Ofer Wolberger's portfolio for additional images from the series as well as other projects.

need to want less and to stop making these

Since making the "Dilemma" design it occurred to me that there is basically a never ending list of things that I want, most of which I definitely don't need. And since I can not totally turn off the want, can not afford to get most of what I want, and end up realizing life is fine without getting what I want, I still have to channel my desires into something.

Furthermore 1 ounce of encouragement has created a bad Photoshop monster so of course all thoughts are now on an Adobe collision course. I'd love to say this is the last you will see of this "project" but that would probably be a lie. I really have to run something into the ground to finally move on. Behold Need to Want Less, or what could be called "How I Got Lost in Nonsense and Abandoned My Camera". Less catchy, more accurate.

1 minute photoshop: sybolism

In its simplistic form this is my struggle. This week I vow to make, take, and do all of the things that have been building up on my lists.

pretty much everything

Draplin Design Co. just issued this snazzy poster which you can buy on their site. An explanation of the thought process behind the design is best put through Draplin's own words...

I’ve wanted to make a so-called “career-spanning” poster for some time now, showing every little logo, wordmark and whatever else I could fit into it. It’s been on the project list going on four years now. And each year, the jobs would starting lining up and I’d say, “Oh shit, just wait a month, and you can put this/that into it…” And the years went by.

So yeah, with my very first solo art show approaching at Office PDX, thit was time to shit or get off the pot. So I started going through the files. And I mean EVERYTHING, all the way back to the dawn of the DDC back in 1993. So gross.

plush motivation

I like felt and I like clever motivational signs so this pillow by Alexandra Ferguson is a win/win. I am worried however that I might be tempted to lay down on it, and then game over. If you have more will power you can purchase it on her Etsy site.

[ via Miss Moss ]

handmade sunday

Today Share Some Candy has launched a new feature which is called "Handmade Sunday". So if you like crafty things]I urge you to check it out. And subscribe to the feed here for regular updates... like say, me. Bam! That was my self-serving deed for the day.

nooooooooo

I tried my best to use restraint but I have officially exhausted the last of my Polaroid 600 film. This makes me sad.

lazyish?

I can't take real naps most of the time... they turn into hours in bed and while I'm not sure how long equals a nap I'm pretty sure I go way past the definition. And "power naps", forget about it. Sometimes when I do sleep all day I tell myself that my long rest included my naps, then I don't feel so bad. Are naps an acceptable way to be lazy without being considered lazy by others? Or are naps a necessity to humans (not restricted to only little kids)? I have not quite figured this one out.


SNOOZY SITES:
Thrush (shirt above) [ via Like Cool ]
19 Reason to Take a Nap [ Neatorama ]
???Weirdness??? [ Naptime.com ]

1 minute photoshop: dilemma

After posting on Flickr I have been brought back down to Earth, as the consensus is that this is not much of a dilemma after all. Apparently waffles are not that bad for you. This 1 Minute actually started as something else altogether and then I stripped it down to this nonsense. Anyway, whatever... I just really want some waffles and a bunch of other stuff I don't really need. This was a way to get it out of my system without spending the money.

what josh found: do gooder art

Once again I have to thank my good friend Josh for turning my attention to a great website. For this installment of what I am now going to start calling "what Josh found" I/we bring you Wants For Sale, which is the joint project of artists Justin Gignac and Christine Santora. Here they present their wants depicted as paintings. As they say...

At Wants For Sale we make paintings of things that we want and then sell them for the price of the real item. So a painting of "A Slice of Pepperoni" costs you $3.00 while "Dinner at Nobu" costs $152.00. After the painting sells we go out and buy the item.

The artwork does not end there as you can take a quick click over to the sister site Needs for Sale. Here similar paintings are created however in this instance represent items for charity groups, and all profits go to the correlating cause.

And if you haven't quite satiated your desire for offbeat art you can journey over to New York City Garbage where you can buy a little piece of NYC's best trash, bundled up in an attractive clear cube.

Last, if you would like a glimpse of works that have sold you can go to their Flickr site.

en espanol

Look what I found today. In backtracking link references I came upon this blog which posted a translated version of my Unemployment design. I wonder if it's the same person that wrote me asking what font I use. At any rate it was a funny surprise.

1 minute photoshop: correlation

Nothing fits but I'm happy. And I look sort of like silly putty, but less stretchy and I can't pick up news print.

KEEPING IT DORKY:
The Stills [ Still in Love Song ]
Silly Putty Commercial [ YouTube ]
Love Overload [ Le Love ]
Big Fat Asses [ 1000 Awesome Things ]

paint by number paper

Maybe by Christmas I will have the money to buy wrapping paper this cool. And also be able to buy something to wrap.

[ Something's Hiding in There ]

blake wright

Dear Blake Wright,

You make me laugh. You make great things using not much. I'm jealous of you a little bit but mostly think you are the bees knees. Please let's be friends. I think we might get along.

Love,
Erin

[ Blake Wright Blog ]

pulp art

At this point this series for the book Pulp Art has sufficiently made the rounds on blogs but I can't help but post anyway. I really love what Neil Krug has done with these Polaroids... the colors, the styling, the story. Here is just another drool inducing set of photos for me to get all gaga over. I need a bib.

For links to his work and the book check after the images below.





[ Flickr ]
[ Pulp Art Book ]
[ Neil Krug website ]