Happy Thanksgiving

Kitty Likes Adobe CS4

I was so excited to install my new Adobe CS4 programs yesterday. Apparently my kitty, Tuna, was just as happy. (or maybe just angry that something had taken my attention away from her)

Charles LeDray; 2000 Pots

Yesterday (11/16/08) I was visiting a friend from college in CT. The plan was to take a train into NYC to visit the MOMA, but because of the rainy weather we decided to stay in CT and visit the Wadsworth Atheneum instead. 

My favorite piece of the entire day was Charles LeDray's '2000 Pots'. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on me to take any photos, but I found this photo of a similar sculpture of his at the MOMA, titled 'Oasis' (image from www.speronewestwater.com):

The small picture does not do the sculpture justice. As soon as I walked through the door I spotted the 80" x 36" x 36" glass and steel case filled with small pots across the room and couldn't help but walk right to it. This glass case was filled with 2000 tiny tiny glazed ceramic pots, I'd say ranging from less than .5" tall to 2" tall. Some looked like cooking pots for a stove, others were mugs with handles, vases, bowls, jugs, etc. They are beautiful, colorful pieces that look like they were thrown on a pottery wheel (which blows my mind because of the size and detail of each pot). I am in love with them and wish it was easier to find information about this piece, and Charles LeDray, online. I will just need to expand my research and see what I come up with after looking into it further. 

There was another fascinating sculpture of his there as well, an untitled tower of small furniture pieces carved out of human bone. I found an image on artnet.com here. Too bad in this image you can't see that the door on the cabinet near the bottom right even has detailed hinges with nail heads and everything carved of bone. 

If you are interested in the work of Charles LeDray, I did find a site that includes images and info on some of his other sculptures.

Recycled Plastic Bottle Earrings

Why recycle (or even worse, throw away!) something when you can repurpose it yourself and create something beautiful for people to enjoy. 

I started making these fun earrings out of plastic water bottles. Some are plain and some get a little fancier with etched designs, cut-outs and eyelets. I think at some point I will try colored plastic bottles (whenever I acquire some) but I actually really love the clear. I also love how these combine the clean and simple look of the clear color with the imperfections that come from hand-making something with recycled materials. The fact that they are clear and shiny makes it seem like they would work everyday or even for special occasions. 

I have started to set up a store at Etsy.com to start selling these while I continue to come up with other fun recycled product and jewelry ideas. Nothing is for sale yet because it is proving very difficult to photograph something so clear and shiny while showing how cool they really look in person! As soon as I successfully photograph and display everything, these will be for sale at www.jessiekatz.etsy.com!

Here are some quick photos of the earrings:

Georgie

I don't know about you, but I'm obsessed with the George Washington Boost Mobile commercial. It is absolutely hilarious. The whole idea is the Georgie, the one dollar bill, is making a comeback because although you can't get anything for a dollar these days, you can get unlimited Boost Mobile for $1 a day. And what better way to make this point then to have a modern day George Washington riding around in a beat up car listening to his own rap music, with the image of a one dollar bill on the window. I must say, my favorite part of the commercial, is when he rolls up the window, and rather than the circle lining right up with his face he needs to lean back into it. Perfect.

November 4th 2008

I am so excited about the outcome of our presidential election last night, 11/4/08. I am a young voter (this was my second election I was able to vote in) and like many young voters, I was extremely passionate about this election. As a designer, I was also excited about the visual appeal of his entire campaign. I believe this certainly helped young voters relate to Obama, especially his understanding of internet communications to start a sort of grass roots following, and of course, his desire for change. If you have yet to take a look at the Obama/Biden campaign site, do so now to read all about his journey to the presidency, and take a look at the way his campaign was marketed toward such a diverse group of people. 

I'm also happy about this election because I am very close to my grandmother, and grew up with her telling stories about being passionate about our country; my grandfather and uncles proud to serve in the US military, and my grandmother equally as proud to take a train with friends from Massachusetts to Michigan to help prepare supplies for the war. I knew I was not likely to ever become such a supporter of any war (which I am not). But it was her other stories about awaiting the outcome of a presidential election, or being excited to hear a president speak and having a heartfelt reaction to what he was saying that I just didn't understand because I hadn't felt passionate towards our country like she did. Now I do, and that makes me very, very happy.

New Vote WordIt

I decided to send in this 'Vote' WordIt on SpeakUp rather than the patriotic colored pattern I had created earlier. A little cliché, but it speaks more about the importance of voting than my pattern did.

Good Things Should Never End

Good Things Should Never End

Someone posted this site on SpeakUp, and I think its great. Scroll through the never-ending site for fun hidden games and info to share. Last night I was in a trance with the word games and the create your own ice cream flavor game. I'm assuming these are little flash videos scattered throughout the scrolling site. I'd love to spend the time on a creative site like this just for fun. Now that my copy of Adobe CS4 is on the way maybe I'll start brainstorming a site...

Vote Word It Idea

This is my idea for a Word It to post on SpeakUp. I submitted one this month already, but will probably submit one more in the next two days before October is up. This month's theme: vote. A subject very important to me, but I have yet to find a way to visually illustrate just how important it is. This idea doesn't illustrate the importance...really all it says is I like patterns and patriotic colors, but I have two days to come up with something that does show importance!

Fancy Shmancy

This is a quick idea I had. Its certainly at the beginning stages, but I think it could turn out to be a cool t-shirt graphic. I'm not sure about the color scheme yet, I'll need to give that more thought. At first I was thinking neon colors, but once I got my idea from sketchbook to computer, I wasn't so sure anymore. 

I also had this fun idea of hand created type, but now I'm not sure how much I like it with the rest of the design. Maybe the lines and shapes of the rest of the design will need to be less smooth to make the typography work.

The First Post

Hi everyone, I'm a graphic designer and I've created this blog to force myself to think more critically about my own design ideas, as well as how I critique the design of others. My goal is to discuss something new through this blog almost daily, forcing myself to create something new, or at least think creatively about something new each day. 

The point is to strengthen my creative process, have my ideas heard, and of course be part of an online design community of inspiration and collaboration. I will post my own works in progress and discuss creative issues, but once in a while I will stray to discuss other things I find interesting and important.

Hopefully this will help me explore my creative opinions, and if other people are able to read, enjoy and comment, all the better! Thanks everyone