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Buy "Whatever We Never Had" at the Midnight Brigade CD release show. July 9, 2010. Doors @ 8pm. $6. Nyack Village Theatre.

Colored Pencil Case

My birthday just passed and this hand crafted colored pencil case was one of my gifts!

I have such crafty, talented friends (many of which have not been mentioned on this blog and thats crazy... I need to start writing about them more often)!

My friend, Emily, made this for me... and I love it! I wanted to hang it on the wall in my office because its so colorful and fun, but that defeats the entire purpose of it being a convenient travel case for colored pencils. So now it sits in my backpack waiting to go to an outdoor concert tonight - hooray hand crafted gifts, hooray art, hooray summer :)

Thanks Emily!!

And like I said, all you crafty friends will get recognition soon enough!

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Oh look, another sneak peak at the Midnight Brigade album, Whatever We Never Had.

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The Midnight Brigade CD release show/party is only 11 days away!

Midnight Brigade worked extremely hard on the music, I worked hard on the design, and they are all working to promote & book shows!

It was really exciting to see our hard work in print when the CDs arrived today, all 1,030 of them (contact scott.a.greenberg@gmail.com to purchase). $10 each

I'm keeping the complete CD package a secret until their official release date, but you can see a small thumbnail every day until the release on July 9th! So be excited, check back daily for the new thumbnail, and be there July 9th to make your purchase!

Midnight Brigade release show for the album Whatever We Never Had:

July 9, 2010

Doors 8:00 pm

Performances 8:30 pm

Nyack Village Theatre

Opener: Tom Beddoe

Art on display: Me!

Tie Dye Experiment - Success!

I tried a new tie dye technique for the first time the other day, and was surprisingly happy with the result!

Usually I do the basic tie dye patterns - swirls, circles, etc. Once I tried a peace sign using a sewing method, which turned out fine.

This time I used a method outlined here. This tutorial is specifically for a heart shape, but you can adapt the technique to any shape, like I did with this mandolin t-shirt for my dad's father's day gift!

First tie dyed, then added the black fabric marker details after the shirt was washed.

Experiment with your own shapes! It looks like simple designs will work best, along with contrasting colors for the inside of your shape and the first ring around it. I don't tie dye that often...but I am excited to see what other shapes will work well this way! More instruments? Animals? Typography?? We'll see...

Work of Art: The Next Great Artist

Last night a few friends recommended to me Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, a new reality series on Bravo. I had heard about it, but wasn't too optimistic. Although I admittedly love the Bravo reality format, I was expecting "create a 'work of art' in two hours. k, go" situation... and as a designer/artist, that format wasn't going to sit with me very well.

Obviously I hulu-ed the show this morning, was pleasantly surprised!

As soon as contestant Miles set up a make-shift dark room for silk screening (and called it his fort), I decided he was a favorite. However, everyone thought his process was really bizarre - which I thought was a little weird since silk screening is not out of the ordinary - but I guess when everyone else in the room is painting the guy spraying down his screen with a hose does kind of stand out.

For the first task the contestants were paired up and needed to create a portrait of their partner.

Although I disliked Nao as a contestant (based on her intro), I LOVED her portrait of Miles... but the judges hated it! (And I didn't just like it because Miles is one of my favorites, I promise). Miles has an obsessive compulsive personality, making for a specifically mapped out process. Instead of painting or photographing his face for a literal portrait, Nao mapped out his process on a giant canvas, which was great! It was an interesting graphic made up of lines and circles, and begged the viewer to ponder how it represented the subject. I was extremely surprised when none of the judges appreciated her angle.

Anyway - my point is Work of Art is actually a fun show, and the 1st episode resulted in some pretty cool pieces - so we'll see what the rest of the season brings!

I'm curious to hear what other people think of the show!

CD Release Flyer

Poster/flyer design for Midnight Brigade's CD release show!

July 9

Doors @ 8

Performances start @ 8:30

Nyack Village Theatre

This flyer reflects the CD package I designed for them... but you'll have to wait for the show to see that!

I'll also be displaying art at this show - Hand Drawn Facebook Statuses, possibly the first posters in my new alphabet series, and maybe even some jewelry displayed... epic.

My Studio

Finally took some photos of my studio...

Above is the desk - where I spend most of my time. I'm able to look out the window onto the front porch (with a nice view of some potted petunias, gerber daisies, chives... and a turtle wind chime). :)

Obviously I painted a lime green accent wall!

Curious what the other walls look like? Check out more photos on the Designosaurus Facebook page.

Alphabet Poster Series

Sketches for the first of a new poster series—coming soon!

I'm starting a hand lettered alphabet poster series. Within just over a year I hope to have 26 posters completed, one featuring each letter of the alphabet. The first is inspired by a combination of blackletter and western typefaces. I'm starting with ink and water colors, but we'll see where we end up by poster 26! Each will be 8.5" x 11".

Limited edition digital prints will be available of each poster as they are finished, plus a subscription plan at a discounted price for anyone who wants to purchase the entire series! I'm still working out the details, which will be posted here soon!

Handmade Home Decorating

Pillow covers to brighten up the new apartment! We settled for an inexpensive tan sofa, and needed to improve the boring tan pillows that come with it.

Left is the original pillow, and on the right is one with the new pillow cover I made! Woo-hoo handmade home decorating projects!