Shadow of a streetlamp

Here Comes the... Bridal Shower

There are some really great bridal shower invites out there. So, when my friend asked me to create one for the shower she and her mom are putting on for their future sister/daughter-in-law I wanted to give them something they couldn't get anywhere else. That's why I decided to do an illustration of the Bride-to-be. For this shower they want to just give gifts for the kitchen so that provided a great theme for the invite.

(Personal information on this invite were altered for the web)

Inspired Fashion Sketches

I am working on a Bridal Shower invite (that I hope to share with you tomorrow), and looked at some fashion sketches for inspiration for the project. While looking up different sketches I found some really interesting ones that I wanted to share. I'm a huge lover of Impressionism. Degas, Renoir, Cassatt, Monet, I'm a fan! I enjoy seeing the brush strokes and sense of emotion behind a piece of art; it makes me feel closer to the artist. These fashion sketches had that sense of emotion and movement.

Some more interesting pieces I found:

Now, these are nothing like the illustration I did for the Bridal Shower Invite, so you'll have to stay tuned for that.

Brazing Ballet

THE INSPIRATION?

... these pointe shoes (literally these exact ones, they were my template).

THE TASK?

... to take this raw material, mold it, shape it, and form it into these.

HOW?

... here's how Wikipedia explains it.

TRANSLATION?

Wear some sweet goggles and bulky gloves, bend and shape your metal, get your torch going (yeah, FIRE!), place filler material at the joints you want to connect, and melt the filler material. Keep it going and watch and see what you can create.

HERE'S THE CREATED FRAME

FINAL PRODUCT

I used newspaper to create the "skin" of the slipper (good 'ole paper mache) with one layer of white tissue paper over that to achieve the delicate look. I then took the exact ribbon and string from my inspirational pointe shoes and attached them to the sculpture. I sewed the ribbon on just the way you would on real pointe shoes.

Freedom of choice

Suddenly I feel free. Last week I was feeling horrible, this week the world is full of possibilities.

LIFE IS GREAT!!

Gewandhaus zu Leipzig - Lamp

Took them last Sunday after the Ravel / Debussy concert, which was awesome. And so it this Lamp that lights the staircase over several floors.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

On the Snake trip - Coolest Rubberboots ever

So since PD is on her Leopard Trip, I have to show you my brand new rubberboots with snake print. Normally I don't like snakeskin printed and much worse real snake skin. (I hate snakes, they give me the creeps.) But those rubberboots called my name. And we definitely have the weather to wear them. It rained non stop since Saturday and I've had wet feet more than once, so I've decided today to get rubberboots.

Not that easy to find rubberboots in Leipzig, there was just one shoestore which had several designs for adults in stock and incidentely there was just one pair in my size left (from all the designs). A fluke that I got those lovelies. Somehow rubberboots are kids shoes in Germany. They had really cool biker boots in Edinburgh two years ago, should have bought them then.

My mom hates those boots and she seriously thinks I couldn't wear them at work! LoL Makes me like them even more and I'll definitely wear them, when it's raining threads.

SU2C: Change The Odds PSA

Great design for an even better cause.

I first heard of the Stand Up 2 Cancer benefit from the following Ellen Degeneres on twitter and she had tweeted the video below:



I've always had a heart for others and have tried to be active in the community and give what I can to help. But, I would definitely say that since graduating college and moving back home I have thought a lot more about the impact I want to have on society, what I want my legacy to be. Seeing this PSA was a reminder of the mortality of all of us and at the same time creating a way for us to join together and help one another. I was able to tune in on September 10th and hear more about what SU2C has been able to do with the funds raised so far and donate myself. It feels good to contribute to such a worthy cause. I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't been affected by cancer or knows someone who has.

As a designer I also took notice of the design elements that I think really help draw attention to the cause. Too many times non-profits either look over the importance of a well designed brand or don't feel they can afford it. Whatever the reason these organizations suffer because branding a non-profit is just as important as branding any other business. I think that Stand Up 2 Cancer did a great job and the PSA I saw also did a great job in catching my attention. It really hit home with talking about my generation.

Check out the website at https://www.standup2cancer.org/Default.aspx

Re-Interpretation

A couple weeks ago I was meeting with a friend of mine (who has a growing photography business) to talk about doing some design work for her. She was showing me some stuff that she likes, which helped give me an idea of what she likes, her style sense, and the kinds of things she takes in as visual inspiration. Clearly, this isn't about taking these things and duplicating them exactly but rather filtering them all through and taking them as an inspiration to take off from. She shared with me how a lot of times people will bring with them pictures they have found and say "I want this," and she was curious as to how I deal with that kind of a request. I thought this spurred an interesting conversation on "Originality."

We all want to be the first, the trend setter, the trail blazer, and I think we can be, but I also think that whether directly or indirectly we are inspired by everything around us. Taking things in all the time, even when we may be unaware of it. So, when it comes to people seeking out inspiration for a project I don't think it makes them any less creative. The creativity comes in re-interpretation. So, if someone was to come to me and say I want this exact thing duplicated, my job as a creative problem solver isn't to march of and do it. My job is to "listen" to what they are really saying and ask the "right" questions, to figure out what it is they really want. For example someone brings you an image with a lot of polka-dots and says, "I want this." Instead of giving them exactly that, maybe what their saying is that they want a youthful or playful look or they want to incorporate a lot of color. Dig deeper and find the creativity to re-interpret.

As creatives maybe there are those ideas that come out of thin air, but honestly I think it all stems from something. An inventory of you life (the things you've seen, heard, touched, smelled, and tasted) being pulled from whether conscious or not.

So, here is a commercial for the Samsung 3D LED TV that I absolutely love and continue to watch over and over. When I saw this for the first time I immediately thought of all those 3D chalk drawing I've seen posted on the web over the year. Makes me wonder how direct the reference was supposed to be or really is. When I see these kinds of great commercials I just wish I could have been in all those meetings from inception to completion to hear the train of thought these people had.

Lamp Day - No. 4 - Wohnmacher Store Leipzig

Lamp Day - No. 3 - Wohnmacher Store Leipzig

Lamp Day - No. 2 - Leipzig

Lamp Day - No. 1 - Leipzig

Three other lamps coming up today. Welcome to my new Followers, thanks for stalking. ;-)

Starting out - Fountain at Leuschner Square in Leipzig