I usually leave my random link posting to Facebook and the like, but this is just too great and too relevant to the larger, on-going conversation about art in general. I really identify a lot with what he has to say - and I'm so glad that he shared it in such a public and refreshing way. Check it out!! http://www.ted.com/talks/shea_hembrey_how_i_became_100_artists.html Add Comment  So I just finished a whirlwind of a commission: One week to make a piece of artwork that featured 101 Batmen. The most peculiar thing about working on this piece was the fact that I could only work on it during the night time, and I only listened to the soundtrack of the Dark Knight the ENTIRE time I made it. You can imagine how any distinction between New York City and Gotham City began to blur by around Day 3... Anyways, the pictures you see above are the result. Please have a look and enjoy. Also, like always, prints are available, so please e-mail me if you would like to purchase one. Today is the official launch of a new website from the CollegeHumor label. The most concise description that I usually give for the site is that "if CollegeHumor were to graduate, this would be it." Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Jest.com! While the site does join a huge group of comedy websites already on the prowl, it is looking to become a go-to for laughs, the authority on funny. Show some love and check out the site as it develops and gets stronger and stronger content. I was happy to be a part of the process that created the site, as I designed the logo (and the font!). www.jest.com  Hello world! So my sis sat me down one day this summer to interview me about what it has been like evolving into the artist that I am thus far. I talked a whole bunch, kind of free association style. . . and she packaged it up into the lovely little thing you can see now on tofilmishuman.com Her September 5 post shows some of what I had to say. She had asked me, "Do you find that being an artist makes you more emotional?" You'll see a few pages out of my sketchbook too - a preview of a new section on the site that I plan on putting up soon. I figure that process is just as interesting as the finished product, so I'll be posting some stuff from my sketchbooks over the years. Interview: http://tofilmishuman.com/post/9839198797?ref=nf Sooo I'm tickled by the irony that my job keeps me too busy to go out visiting all the galleries that, (oh Fate, you unsavory mistress), are mere BLOCKS from my office building. I work in Chelsea. Artwork is a mere lunch break's walk away in any direction. (Save west, lest I go swimming with the extremely dirty, probably disease-stricken fishies). Anyway, for once, my job required me to go to a gallery for research purposes today. I was so thrilled. While as usual, I can't say much about the project I'm working on, I will say that I've had to research puppets and dolls a lot. I initially started working on this project about 3 years ago, and it was then that I discovered a truly amazing fabric sculpture artist named Lisa Lichtenfels. Lightly put, I'm a bit obsessed with what this artist is up to. I returned to her website today, drooling with every scroll of the mouse, and was delighted to find that she was actually exhibiting... right NOW. I highly recommend this exhibit - it's just so impressive. I've never seen technical skill like this in my life. And while you can find some great photo documentation of her work on her website, seeing it in person, (as I find time and time again of all artists...) is just an entirely different experience unto itself. The show will only be up for another month, so check it out: Lisa Lichtenfels: Realism in Fabric CFM Gallery 236 West 27th Street, Suite 4F West, New York, NY 10001 Website: www.lisalichtenfels.net Hey everybody, A project I worked on a few years ago called Scribblitt.com has finally launched and is starting to create some buzz! Check out the articles below and Scribblitt.com! Westport Patch Susanna Hill It felt so good to be matting and framing a painting again this week - albeit, it's not really "new" and not my usual work per se. But it is a painting I made for my mother. I'm really glad that she has some work from me that wasn't made when I was 5 years old. And it's kind of funny, how in spite of all the art I am constantly making or planning to make, that so few have been dedicated to loved ones. And I do think it is so important for artists to make work for those they love. I imagine very different emotions channel into the work in those very specific circumstances. Anyways, she always wanted me to "paint flowers" and so, here is Gardenias.  Been thinking a lot about whether or not "fear" is such a bad thing in a universe that conducts balance in all things - this being the balance between fear and love. And then I came across this jewel of a quote, which is probably better explained by this quote: "Our charges and hot buttons are the promise that we'll create the relationships that show us which fear is asking to be healed." I think that's amazing. That we need to look for the fear in ourselves in order to unearth the blueprint to our betterment. Fear is so important. Tendencies of fear are literally the markers for potential progress and betterment of ourselves, staring us in the face. We need not blame others for things that "keep going wrong," or even look to others for the answers. They're all in the mirror. The problem, the means to recognize the problem and the tools to fix it. I find such hope in this! So I'm sitting in my office on a Saturday night, waiting for some animations to render. Story of my life? Yes. But don't chastise me too much - I got a glass of some dam good whiskey in my hand. And that party goes with me everywhere. Anyways, I just wanted to report that I went to a really great event at the Society of Illustrators this week - and found out that they have a Sketch Night with nude models twice a week. My joy is incomprehensible over this. The only access I've had to a 'model' over the past two years are the people sleeping / not looking at me on the trains. (I'm actually going to be putting those sketches on the site soon. But that's another post.) The event was a casual open discussion about animation with Chris Wedge and Peter de Seve. They each spoke about their work on projects for Blue Sky Studios (for those of you unfamiliar with the name, this is the studio that brought you the Ice Age films.) It was a really quirky and inviting discussion - they had the typical slide projection of artwork and video clips - but were easily the most entertaining part of the experience. Really funny. I laughed out loud, (probably too loud), multiple times. An interesting reference from Peter was his talk of putting drawings through a "House of Mirrors" when trying to imbue the characters with 'character'. To "find" them. I thought that was such a solid analogy for what it's like to be traveling in the nebulous place that is one's brain when drawing from the imagination. He mentioned a need for 'problem-solving' in order to guide his creative discourse. I could relate to what he meant by that - the need for the "problem." I think a lot of graphic designers have a distinct need for that too. Chris had a great thing to share about the importance of "the doodle" in a process that involves so many people and forms of technology. We see these polished, beautiful products that are the 3D animated films in theaters today - and I think many people forget that so much of this starts out with the pencil and paper. I find this consistency comforting. No matter how far away from the organic pencil-and-paper process our technology takes the finished product - all processes still rely on the doodle as Step 1. Chris had said that when he and his colleagues got lost in their search for and construction of a character in these programs, they would often scrap what they were doing and go back to the first doodle drawing. He had said that he found respect for the doodle. This just in!! I've recently been informed that we raised a total of $27,000 for Emilie Gossiaux last week. Amazing!!! | AuthorNoelle Raffaele - artist ArchivesApril 2012 Categories |
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