Hear/Say media store

Almost-final version of the new Hear/Say media store. (client still making a few changes) Great collaboration work with Dave - taking art direction and designing this under a very aggressive time frame. My first website to go live! (sometime around Thanksgiving, will post link)

Curiosity

While in pursuit of finding life's new direction, I have found myself in several different cities- enjoying mountains and valleys alike, finding inspiration and and pondering those *really* big questions.

I also have some really cool new projects I hope to post soon. Till then, I found this quote comforting in my state of wanderlust.

test website - IN PROGRESS

I am getting back into web design and before I tried to tackle my own personal portfolio site, I wanted to refresh myself and work out some HTML kinks. I mostly wanted to build this for the back end aspect (all the code, CSS, images and links technical jargon) and didn't want to get too involved in designing a major site. So I chose to create this mini-site featuring some of my favorite recipes that even I can cook and add a little humor. I'll post more as more progress is made!

Funky yard sale

Just a fun lil poster I put together for a yard sale my girlfriends and I are having. Back on a designing-just-for-fun kick and loving it!

**it was a major success! we all sold so many thing and had a blast. shows that great marketing is key!!**

Heather's Invites

These invites have been a lot of work but so much fun to design and a great learning experience. Wedding invitations and all collateral pieces can be quite the project. It's been time consuming yes, but to see it all come together is a satisfying experience. I really enjoy wedding design-- who knew??

I also have a few projects brewing with one of them being the large undertaking of learning web design and coding. It's exciting to work the brain again and learn new things however, with spring here (finally) it will be much harder to sit inside and concentrate. So after lots of miles on my bike and many web tutorials I will have my own site sometime in the next few months!

crystal's wedding invitations

Crystal's invites. Simple and sophisticated

heather's save the date

my friend from college and i worked together to create her Save the Date postcards. she wanted them to be fun, funky and with cute little cartoon character. she just loved them and nothing could make me more happy. i am finishing up her invitations that are much more formal and elegant but still with a funky twist. i am so excited to see all the pieces printed and assembled.

old banner/new banner

apparently my saturday morning coffee really inspired me. i designed a new blog banner and decided to give it a whirl. thoughts? old one, new one or totally new one?

pop's business card

looking for a great photographer?? jim brettell, at your service.

just a quick business card i created for my dad. working on rounding out my portfolio with some more traditional corporate styles and i am rather *enjoying* it. i also have two great wedding invitations i recently created to post soon. along with some other fun clock projects. gosh, is winter over yet..........

bike clock

i love clocks, i have one in almost every room. i have so many sketches of clocks i want to make and may create an art show around that idea..
somewhere among the holiday craziness i was able to put this together as a christmas gift and really like how it turned out.

new year and new projects. look for more clocks and two new wedding invite designs here soon!

Etsy shop

my Esty shop is now open for business! i'm still in the early stages of listing items, but so far i have sold several calendars and it's been a fun experience. after the holidays, i will be getting back into the studio cranking out art from my looong list of projects.
check it out ~ CosmopolitanHippie.etsy.com

say no to plastic

a co-worker of mine put together a workshop to decorate these eco-friendly shopping bags. it was very nice to get away from my computer and try some new techniques. i transfered the text image onto the canvas with solovent and love the way it turned out with the canvas textrure. and it's a great size too, actually can hold a lot of groceries unlike lots of those ones you purchase at the store. looking to make more of these and sell them in my Etsy shop i am in the process of opening.
stay tuned!

music

finally finished a commissioned illustration for a co-worker who requested this quote. it took me awhile to find the inspiration to get back to traditional media but it was so rewarding to break out the paint and inks. while in my studio, i put on an album i have not listened to in a very long time. Live, Throwing Copper. halfway through my progress enjoyed the coincidence that i inadvertently played an album that was the first to really make me feel connected music and it made finishing this quote even more special. no matter how my taste in music changes, Throwing Copper will always be my favorite album because i can never forget how many memories and emotions are tied it and how my love for music grew from this band.

Post-Its of inspiration

it's been awhile since i have posted anything and i am still working on some actual art to hopefully post soon. but- today i was looking at the side of my computer tower and all around my screen at these post-its i see every day. i enjoy these quotes and thought i would share some of them that inspire me and clutter up my desktop at work. my favorite quote is the last one, by Ralph Waldo Emmerson which i want to eventually make into an illustration.

2009 calendar

Finished! Now all i need to do is get it to the printer...
so, in the next month or two i should have the final prints and will probably have some for sale on Etsy. Anyone interested let me know or check out the link when i get the chance to post it. I am also going to try and format them to different monitor sizes so they can be used as wallpapers. Click on the image to view larger.

Calendar sneak peek

western europe, in 12 months.
here is a preview to a calendar finally using some of the hundreds of photos i took during my tour d'europe. so far i have only picked the photos and the months they will be featured in, thrown the calendar grid and a few design elements into each one. i need to more strategicly place the 'random' elements and include the city and country in there somewhere... and figure out the final product format.
so-- between springtime, freelance and life, a 2009 seemed like a reasonable deadline. right?

my apt

there are so many things i have tried to do to make the boring space of a rented apartment fit my style. i have bought things here and there, restored old furniture pieces and added personal and friend's artwork. all in all i am pretty happy with it and surprised at how my eclectic style manages to still be cohesive. however, too much HGTV makes me crave a place where i can construct more permanent fixtures and style, but that will have to wait. until then, i will make fun projects and pretend i am a famous HGTV design star with my own show (even though some things are still hand me down items that were not part of my master plan- ie, the office room rug.)

today.

i have been a procrastinator all my life, until i realized how easy it is just to do things today, instead of later. it seems like a simple concept but once stopped making excuses for myself and started checking things off my lists so many great things have fallen into place for me. its still a daily stuggle, so from time to time i remind myself by making a little illustration :)

cartoon me

just a fun little project.
special thanks to carlos for the cute rough sketch that allowed me to have the correct form to vector from and also for assisting with the difficult details.

last art piece

finally finished the last piece that never made it into the show, even though it was part of a series. been really busy with work but i hope to start creating some portfolio pieces here soon and some other projects around my house. happy spring!

the gallery

i cant believe how fast the two weeks my show was up passed by, but it was a great experience. it took a lot of work not only to create the pieces but to hang them and spruce up the gallery walls with a cardboard boarder and white circle accents. but overall, i think the show was a succes and i am happy i did it. so many of the pieces found new homes and i am working on getting more prints made of my digital and scanned work for those who ordered them. like and work is exceptionally busy, so i wont be able to get back to creating more until all that slows down. but i definatly would like to challenge myself to have another show and push myself further.

MY FIRST GALLERY SHOW

finally. it's done.

i will post the photos of the actual set up in the gallery later. it turned out well and i am anxious to hear feedback in the next two weeks. hope you enjoy :) you can also see them in more detail on flickr (link is the flashing box on top right)

show poster

one week and counting.

somehow, i have actually managed my time well and kept on top of small details and minimized my stress thus far (quite a novel idea, NOT procrastinating = less stress?!). there is still a lot to be done but things seem to be falling into place. check back with me the day before, my outlook may be different. and until then, enjoy the show's poster and anxiously await the post of all my new pieces.

Emily's Wedding Invitations

my college roomate is getting married this holiday season and i had the oppurtunity to design her invitations, table decorations and programs. it was a really cool experience to start this idea and see how it evolved into all the different pieces we used in the final product. it was a good learning experience to work with a close friend to be able to have creative freedom and time to experiment while learning all the steps in seeing a wedding invitation from start to finish. i am now currently beginning another design for the younger sister of my best friend from high school with a totally different look of black, white, turquoise and damask pattern. i am excited to see the final product of that one as well and really think i could get into wedding invite design.

i will have better photograps later and also include the table pieces and programs.

simply new york

in NYC last year, outside my friend's apartment was this gem, just waiting for the garbage man. it was so lovely how out of context these legs were on this street of run down apartments and shady buildings. i tried to think of all the wonderful scenarios of why one would have these legs and what would make someone want to part them. i wished i could have taken them on the plane home with me as my carry on - to have, for what use i don't know - but if only for the looks i would get and the story to tell of my new york souvenir.

Pretty Freekin Scary!

In WALMART stores now.

http://walmart.triaddigital.com/enhancedrendercontent_ektid19636.aspx

this project began this past january with the idea of an endcap for the new property 'pretty freekin scary.' from the very first brainstorms to the final execution myself and two other designers (along with help from the rest of my team too) worked every step of the way to creat these products. through all the barriers we had to break to accomplish it in the end it was a frustrating but rewarding project.

i created the plush doll, the beanie hat, wrist cuff bracelt and journal. the endcap shown on the website was the initail mock up for how we wanted the endcap to look. it was created before we even had any actual product. the photo above is the ACTUAL endcap in our local walmart store, which is, well, a little less organized and dramatic as we had hoped. but none the less awesome to see all the hard work you put into a project in a store where you can walk by and say, 'i did that!'

you can also check out the books on amazon that carlos and saxton illustrated!

sketchboook

Unfortunately, I am not able to post pieces from my show yet because it was postponed until January due to scheduling conflicts in the gallery. I have quite a few things done but ultimately it will give me lots more time to complete quality work and also to utilize the things i am learning in my illustration class. its only an evening class one night a week at CIA but it is helping me explore techniques and medium. its also helping my make myself sketch and have a deadline for work.

so, these are some of my extremely NOVICE drawings. I've always shied away from sketching because i am not great and was intimidated by putting it down on paper. i realize sketching is the only way to get better, duh. so, i'm trying. its hard to find the time but it helps that carlos is a great teacher and motivator. my assignment was to illustrate little red riding hood in prismacolors. this was my attempt, along with a little help from photoshop because the paper started to ball up and create a mess. hopefully tonight i will have time to try another one, learning from this first one. i am fully aware that these sketches are far from anything great, but i wanted to post my progress to force myself to get better.

Art Show

Hold tight, i am currently working on my first show. it will hang in the american greetings gallery oct 15th, so stay tuned, there will be lots and lots to post when it is finished. untill then you can find me in my apartment knee-deep in paint, frames and other messy junk.
see you 10.15

geometree

finished, finally, just in time to submit it to AG's annual fine arts show. it still has to go through a juried pannel to see if it gets chosen to be in the actual gallery show. so cross your fingers, hope i make it in. its hard to get a good photograph of these dimentional framed pieces though. the framed photo shows the more accurate colors, kind of. this tree took many nights of lots and lots of circles, stacking and patience like putting together a puzzle. i also customized and repurposed this 12 x 18"-ish frame and made the tree fit within it. i am really quite fond of this piece, it matches nicley with my light blue couch so i have mixed feelings about selling it. but for the right price i will and just have to make another one for myself
also, a thank you to carlos for helping me name this not-so-seriously for the show, since i have a hard time being artsy and naming my artwork

alphabet soup

i like playing with fonts.

never too old for sesame street

The first two photos are little miss Abby Cadabby, sesame street's newest character. I loved her crazy hair in pigtails and I thought using cut/stacked paper would be fun to represent her.

The photo of the giant sesame guitar is of my team at work who all contributed to this design. It was quite the project, but with persistence to make it work (tim gunn style) the end result worth it and the kids loved it. It's a 9ft guitar with working amps playing the sesame theme song. It is displayed in front of the American Greetings store at Tower City in Cleveland. Come check it out!

mickey

finally got a hold of a photo of this piece that i did last year for an art show. it doesn't quite translate as well in the photo, but it is 4 layers of plexiglass spaced evenly in the frame. the first layer is the halftones, second is the scratchy pink outline, third is a layer with a frosted look and last is the solid white fill. the frame was custom built to hold the plexiglass with some help from out media studio guru who kept a close eye over me and the table saw. i loved working with this clear layering effect and i would love to work more with this in the future.

fUNk

this piece was derived from coffee, a few random images, and good loud music. i had no intention when i began and was just playing with photoshop. here's the end result. enjoy.

19

happy birthday melissa.
my little sister is growing up. shes not so little any more. she just got her first tattoo, in honor of the memory of tim. i wish her all the best that 19 can offer, even though this year will be more difficult than for most at her age should have to deal with. she's strong and i admire her very much. i made this as the front of her birthday card. a pretty card for a beautiful sister.

yellow pages

been in a slump latley and not getting too much accomplished but i decided to give an old pair shoes a little makeover last night. a little modge pogde and the yellow pages. just a little something fun and funky. they need another coat perhaps and a little touch up here and there though. more stuff to come soon hopefully.

one of many reasons

i can jump out of an airplane but i am petrified of the ocean, or any body of water that is not a pool. i also hate velvet for no rational reason. im weird, i know.

this is my first experience in digital painting. i probably should have chosen something easier but no, i decided to used way too many layers and messed with transparencies and layer modes making it real complicated for myself. guess that sums up learing and experimenting. instead of trashing it completley i made adjustments the best i could and here it is. finished. now i am ready to move onto something a little easier to learn digital painting skills from.

for my imaginary friend

no thing.
no reason.
i was bored and hungry.

TRANSPLANT ART SHOW

This is a promotional piece done in collaboration with Carlos Villagra for his upcoming art show (with fellow artists Jorge Lacera, Saxton Moore and Dave Savage). I designed the graphics and type and Carlos illustrated it. This is just a small sample of the amazing pieces that will be in the show. I've seen the works in progress, they're good. Check out the rest of his work on the link to his blog and be sure to come to the show in march!

a belated valentine

28 ways to say 'i love you'

Paris, France

I had been traveling for over 3 weeks and my enthusiam for this adventure was waning. Italy had takes its toll on me and the overnight train from rome had almost put me over the edge. and then i arrived in paris. it was too early to check into my hostle so i went and sat in a park and began writing in my journal, where in large letters at the top i wrote j'aime paris. i had only been in the city for 2 hours and already i was in love. i was instantly rejuvinated with the most passionate, magical, romantic feelings and did not want to leave. i could go on for days about all the things i saw and experienced. but as anyone who as ever been in love knows, its impossible for words to describe. and for me 'j'aime paris' is all i need to remind me of that magical place.

Paris, je vous rendrai visite une fois de plus,

merry christmas n' happy new year

i am an artist; therefore, i procrastinate and always have more than enough unfinished projects going at one time. in my future i forsee christmas cards will hardly ever make it out on time or if at all. december is just too hectic. so i decided to avoid all that and make it my tradition to send out new years cards. or 'merry new years' cards to still incorporate a little bit of the christmas holiday. my objective is to extened the season just a bit longer. realistically it just gives me at least the first few weeks of january to design and send the cards. enjoy. merry new year, 2007.

florence, italy

one month, 8 countries, 10 cities.
beth and a backpack.

i have over 800 amazing photos from my 'eurotrip' last march/april. there are, however, only a handful of photos that i would need to evoke every feeling and tell the undescribable stories of the experience in each city. this is the first one i finished, though it was the 7th city i had visited. more posts to follow.

florence.
a few too many bottles of wine shared with my new florence friends the night before led a fellow american and i to the 'boboli gardens' to relax and enjoy the nice weather. slightly overcast, it was just warm enough to take off my jacket to use as pillow. i had been traveling for almost 3 weeks and was quite tired. the slight hangover did not help. lying on my back i closed my eyes and just took in the sounds and smells that were all around me. its typically not an easy task for me to fall asleep but here in this park i drifted off quickly. i had some pleasant dreams that i did not recall when i awoke more than 2 hours later. without even opening my eyes i could feel it was a perfectly blue sky and the chill in the air was gone. there were many more people in the park now from all over the world. i could almost claim that most major languages were represented. even the birds had plenty to say. it was surreal. acutally, at first i didnt even know where i was. it took me a few seconds to realize that i was actually in europe. i felt 100% refreshed and excited to continue about my day. i looked around and appreciated everything just a little bit more, as if i really had awoken myself into a dream taking place in italy.

i hate velvet

there are many silly things that i love and hate or have werid quirks about. many. this is the first in the series.
stay tuned.

if...

i was told as a child that money dosen't grow on trees, but maybe somewhere - in a far, far away land shoes do?

i miss my college roomate emily. i miss trading clothes, jewlery and shoes before we went out at night. even more so i miss the stories that were told the morning after. it's her birthday next week, and this is for her. i know it's wishful thinking to hope shoes grow on trees, however, i know best friends don't. those are far too precious.

funky diva purse auction

my latest fashion piece. i created this for a charity auction for the cleveland rape crisis center a few co-workers and i are participating in. don't really know how i pulled the mechanics of this off from just a vague idea but i like how it turned out and think i may try this again for myself.

basically i took a thick book, used mod pogdge to seal the pgs together. after many rounds, cutting out pages, inserting fabric ect, i put the details on the outside and constructed the handles.

little nervous though because there will be many big names from cleveland there judging and bidding so i hope it does well.

lady blaaaaaa

one of the few 6x10 canvas pieces i am working on, trying to keep each piece to only a weeks worth of time

computer doodles

just a few pieces i created in testing some new ideas and techniques in photoshop

grumpy freak show

this is the cuztom vinyl bear i did for the grumpy freak show held at amerian greetings. the bears were auctioned off to benifit harvest for hunger and raised a lot of money. working with acrylics on this vinyl material was harder than i though but it turned out ok and it was fun to try something new

check out the amazing other pieces the artists created. http://grumpyfreakshow.blogspot.com/

muppets

i did these for AG. these are just two of the items that were just on an endcap in target. miss piggy journal and kermit's "little green address book" more to come later.

my recycled apartment

my grandpa's garage was always filled with so many interesting things i had had my eye on since i was a kid. about a year ago when i moved into my first apartment alone there were so many things i needed to fill the space. so began my furniture restoration. they took a lot of tlc but i was very happy with how things turned out. now that my grandpa is gone, being surrouned buy these things brings an even closer meaning to me and make me glad i spent the hard work to keep them around.
wish i had 'before' photos.

cabinet- old, cheap-ish fake particle board wood. used a crackle paint medium then coated with a robins egg blue.

locker (or where i keep all my misc art crap)- gray, rusty and needed cleaned. used a high-gloss paint. would like to paint vines or some design running up the side of it, eventually.

chairs- quite the project. there are 4. they were rusted badly and took many sheets of sandpaper and 2 cans of metallic spraypaint. then for each one i cut appropriate foam cushioning then upholstered the fabric with a staple gun and an undoubtedly excessive amount of staples. then i stretched a medium clear vinyl and again stapled. they match (or clash rather) with this 50-style red marble top table with crome trim. i had to restore the legs to that and they still need attached so i will post the full table set later

columbus dispatch -flip side

my first real published work. this was done my last quarter of college in collaboration with the columbus dispatch. a few from my class were chosen to be published and mine was one of them! it was very exciting to open up the newspaper and see my name under this article that took up 3/4 of the back page of the life/arts section.

i would like to take the time thank my mom and dad (both lefties) for passing the left-handed gene on to me.
left handed, right brained.

animal

this piece was created for a charity auction at american greetings. representatives of disney were coming so we put on an art show for them and sold the pieces for harvest for hunger. i hadn't painted in so long and had been working on the computer so much that this was a great relief from that. it was painted in acryllics and is about 17x9. i took sheet metal and tore it all apart and distroyed it (and also my hands, of course) and tacked it to the frame which was also custom made. i got so many positive responses and compliments on this piece that it really helped me become more confident and try new things. i ended up buying it for my dad becuase he was so proud of me and for whatever it's worth its still one of my favorite pieces.

guess you have to start somewhere

on june 14, 2005 these were 3 (of the best) pieces in my portfolio. admitedly, this is nothing to brag about. infographics and newspaper/magazine latouts were not quite my thing. i have had amazing experiences and learned so much since being at american greetings for a year and a half. probablly more than i did in my 4 years at OU.

so this is where i began, with scuba steve and friends. i am going to begin posting things ive done since college to the most recent. quite the ecelectic mix of genres... now that i have bigger apt/studio space there should be much more to come and scuba steve will be even further in my already distant past.

(and for the record the cranium piece was for a class not for the acutal game cover. however, i did draw and digitaly render them and lay out the piece.)