Making Christmas, Part 2

I don't mean to brag, but we've gotten a zillion Christmas cards this year. I also SENT some Christmas cards this year -- I think that's the key. This is just a sampling:

We get cards!

Next year maybe I'll have to get one of those Christmas card trees!

This Christmas I've gotten loads of Christmas style decoration cheer. Notably in the ornament department.

Sam's mom got us this one:

Old World Pumpkin.

So appropriate! We were married on Halloween, and I love Autumn, so it's only fitting we have a pumpkin ornament on our tree.

My Aunt Laura gave me two new ornaments:

The Horse.

This to commemorate my enduring love of horses. It was also crafted by Wayan, and a portion of the purchase goes to a nonprofit.

The Cat.

This I feel commemorates my cat-centric job. Plus, I love how this cat is painted -- orange with green circles.

I also stole some ornaments from my mother's collection. Okay, so stealing isn't the right word. I got these passed down to me ;)

Star Trek Starcraft. Don't be jealous of my nerdiness.

The Sleeping Squirrel. My favorite ornament as a child.

The Peppermint Unicorn. Adorable!

I was also super excited to recieve TWO nativity sets this year. I have previously had NO nativity scene to display, so this was a real treat.

This set was given to me by Sam's mom:

Fontanini.

The figures are very realistic in the sense that they look like people and animals. Detailed features, clothes, and so on. I got a stable, Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, manager, and two dogs. The dogs are for Locksley :) and the tradition is to keep Jesus hidden and ONLY place him in the manger Christmas Day. Like magic. This set is soft and probably unbreakable! I also hear it has loads of other figures available -- notably, all sorts of animals.

This set was given to me by my mom:

Willow Tree.

It was on my wish list :) They're made of wood, I think, and are far more abstract. It's definitely more arty looking, and even though there aren't any features on these faces they are still very expressive.

I love that both of these nativity scenes are distinct and lovely. I can't wait to display them--and all of my new found Christmas decorations--year after year.

Design Blog

For class we had to create a design blog, so here it is:

http://www.designwithspine.com

Visit it for nerdy art and design oriented posts:



Stay here for personal posts about other junk, and expect some overlap :)

Happy Anniversary!

Hubby and I celebrated our One Year Anniversary at Rosa Mexicano. The decor was excellent and the food was delicious!

My Favorite Creeps

I've been on a bit of a German Expressionism kick lately. It's aesthetically pleasing to me -- something about high contrast black and white, crazy angles, severe brush strokes and over all creepiness of it.

Visually speaking, I'm rather fond of two German actors in particular: Conrad Veidt and Max Schreck.

Conrad Veidt

Aw, handsome right?

young veidt


mature veidt

How about that hair, right? Nothing says sophisticated like white on the sides. And then there's the long nose and those super dark eyes. Angles and contrast, friends! Dear Veidt was in two pretty excellent films:

The Man Who Laughs

That grin! Holy god.

And The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari


Watch the full-length film, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari:


Max Schreck

No, not THIS Max Schreck:


THIS Max Schreck:


He has been described as being "pointy" and "rat-like". And it's true. But it's the best kind of pointy and rat-like. This is my favorite photo of him -- the fixed gaze, dark around the eyes, pencil thin pursed lips, pointy ears, equally pointy eyebrows and... of course... a widow's peak.

You're probably familiar with at least one of his movies: Nosferatu.


Oh hi, Max!

I am so entertained by Max Schreck, that I made some t-shirts. In an era of lame vampires, his seminal depiction of the undead is refreshing.

Watch the full-length film, Nosferatu:

I (heart) Halloween

I'll admit it. It's a little ridiculous that I start thinking about Halloween in July. But to be fair, I have to SUPPRESS thinking about Halloween until then. And to my credit I try not to talk TOO much about Halloween until September.

I love Halloween and that's all there is to it.

One of my favorite games is checking to see who puts their Halloween stuff out first.

The winner since I started playing this game has always been Michael's Arts and Crafts. They usually put their stuff out right after the 4th of July. To tide myself over I get something AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

This year I came out with a grow-a-creature (black cat and ghost).

The runner up this year was Bath and Body Works. They have a whole line of Halloween and Autumn inspired scents. I'm still sad they no longer carry the 3 in 1 Pumpkin Pie product. But their other pumpkin-smelly stuff are pretty good.

To reward them, I had to buy something, of course.

Halloween themed hand sanitizer. Comes in five scents!

Petsmart is pretty prompt with their Halloween items, but it takes a while to get it all out there. Target is the real torture. They almost always have GREAT stuff, and they are almost always the LAST place to put stuff out.

Of course watching the influx of items is pretty fun, too. Visiting CVS and Rite Aide and other convenience-type stores and watching their seasonal aisle grow is a treat. This weekend I HAD to snag these:

Whitman's Chocolate Sampler - Halloween Cat.

Pez's Glow-In-The-Dark Halloween Bat Dispenser

I love the the Cat design on the chocolate assortment. There were other packaging designs, but the black cat in the witches's hat and the skull collar was too cute.

The Pez dispenser was a must have. I'm a sucker for anything glow-in-the-dark and I'm a big fan of bats. I was especially delighted by the detail of the bat head.

I can't wait for more things to hit the shelves.

Cemeteries: Salem

Part three! A few photos I took while on the second half of our Honeymoon in Salem. The cemeteries are all lovely here, you basically can't visit a bad one. I remember this cemetery specifically from when I visited Salem the first time ever as a school girl. I found a lone tombstone and adopted it as my favorite. It belongs to Moses W. Lawrence (a name I emblazoned on my memory) who was 19 years-old when he died. On this visit I remember exactly where his grave was, and of course I had to say hi. While there are certainly some great designs on the tombstones here, I think the best part about this cemetery is its ambiance as a whole.

Art in Nature: Bower Birds

I love bower birds. They truly have a sense of aesthetic - they know what they like and they go for it. The above is an image of a bower bird nest, who clearly likes the color gray. The nests are meant to attract a mate: if I was a female bower bird I'd be all about this guy.

The nests are all individualistic. One bird might decorate his bower in blue, another red. They decorate their nests according to taste, finding just the right items for their bower. They arrange all of their items just so.

Here's my favorite naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, hanging out with bower birds:


Kudos to Sub-Studio for their bower bird post.
Also, kudos to me, back in the day.

Also, this is the funniest thing I have ever seen. Naturalist Nerd Humor!

Aesthetics: Dark and Shiny

Aesthetic inspirations, thanks to Cabinet of Curiosities.

Buy this stuff at: Catbird, Nervous System, Bona Drag, Etsy, and Bjorg Jewelry.

Rad Animal Rights Design

I love nonprofits. Thanks to my parents I always had a strong sense of community service. But it wasn't until I fell in with the nonprofit crowd that I realized I could make a living supporting my passions.

Nonprofits are great to work for. There are few opportunities in the corporate realm to produce great work that is both personally and professionally satisfying. As an art nerd, I've found that producing work for a nonprofit offers this most excellent blend. A nonprofit without much cash to spend is often more willing to take design chances, and pro-bono work can be a fantastic way to build your portfolio and get your work noticed. A nonprofit with a healthy budget can provide you consistent, gratifying work for years.

I recently attended the Animal Rights 2010 Conference and was reminded of how rad animal rights organizations can be with their designs. A few favorites below!

Alley Cat Allies
In the interest of full disclosure I have to say: I work here. Of COURSE I like our publications. As an organization that advocates for the humane treatment of stray and feral cats it's important to come off as looking professional, organized, and consistent. I love our colors (bold! poppy! contrasting!) and our clean design.

We've also got t-shirts and other products to raise awareness for our cause.

The Classics
These examples aren't of great design per se, but I think they capture the climate of Animal Rights design in general. It's an odd blend of old conventions: ribbon magnets, bumper stickers, familiar themes; and new perspectives: snappy, sassier phrases and images.

Herbivore Clothing
So, they're not a nonprofit but they do extol the virtues of "cruelty free culture." It's for a decidedly younger generation, loaded with curse words! clever and catchy phrases! and trendy design!

Compassion, and specifically not eating meat, can sometimes be seen as an un-masculine. With designs like these the wearer can assert otherwise.

Calico Dragon Bags
These bags are similarly tough and trendy. Their subject areas are broader: vegetarianism, anti-fur, ant-animal exploitation, and so on. They all communicate a similar theme, though—I'm young, I'm cool, and I care.

Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe
This company not only sells well designed products, but they also have a host of vegan foods, cosmetics, and other stuff. My favorite category is their jewelry. They're made of recycled material, and communicate cruelty-free ideals with simple design.


Animal Art
Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary was selling art created BY animals. Issues of animal exploitation aside, having art created by a nonhuman is certainly something that would appeal to those who communicate about animal issues. This isn't design, really, but it does reinforce a desire to express the animal's perspective.

The painting I bought, created by Joey.

Thanks to some marketing savvy leaders in the animal rights world, key concepts are being communicated with bold, trend-embracing design. Appropriate for a movement known for its revolutionary concepts.