going for a little bit of pop...

For this year's set and costume designs for The Original Show, I was given the task of creating a work of art on stage that begins in a nearly colorless state and gradually transforms with pops of it as the show develops. Actually, this was just the beginning of the list of criteria that went into this design, and I found myself vacillating between multiple ideas for a while, trying to find the one that best fit the hopes of the director.

The one I ended up going with was this Roy Lichtenstein inspired design. I really liked doing something playful and vivid like this and I think it will work well with the vibe of the show. The central wall is made up of 6 units - each one with three sides. Each side is painted differently, so the units can be spun around to bring in the pops of color. This stage has red curtains, so I tied those into the design, by painting a continuation of the curtains onto the walls in order to bring them into the work of art. The cast will start out in black, and start changing into a more colorful wardrobe (below) as their characters develop.

The title of the show this year, "It's so... original!" came from my word bubble on the right. :)

another papery treat...

This past Sunday I stopped in Fly Bird and decided to "splurge" and get this $2 treat for myself. It's a paper craft nostalgia postcard by monkey design. The front has this image of a general store and the back has guidelines showing you where to cut and fold. You follow the guidelines to turn a 2D postcard into a little 3D pop up vignette. It took me a couple of hours to make it. I lost one of the rear view mirrors on the bike, (should've gotten a fresh exacto blade!) but other than that, it turned out pretty well.

papery treat...

I was perusing the thrift and vintage shops along Milwaukee in Wicker Park last week and found this bit of wallpaper. Tah-Dah! What am I doing with it? Not sure yet, but what I do know is that I would like some more.

diorama...

This is a scene from my kitchen table this afternoon. I have the sniffles (hence the tissue) and I was finishing up my diorama project for MAKE (a little late!). After having some breakfast and some sudafed this morning, I put on a pot of tea, popped in Now Voyager, and set to work. I don't think I've done a diorama since elementary school, so it was kind of fun to do one. I used an old cigar box and modeled the diorama after a Jorge Castillo painting that I like. Now my diorama is hanging above my buzzer in my apartment. Here are a couple more pictures.

I find it hard to resist photographing a really pretty breakfast. Two days ago, when it was four degrees outside, I decided to make breakfast bars. As it turns out, they didn't really want to stay in one piece, so I decided to crumble them up and eat them over yogurt. So, this is how I started out my first Monday of the new year. As of yet, I have no resolutions for 2010, which is unusual for me, but I think I still have a little time to figure it out.

I am doing a new project for M A K E this month, called reMAKE. The idea is to create a new interpretation of someone else's art in a completely different medium. Not necessarily an original project, but I thought it might be a fun way to start the new year. I got the idea to do reMAKE after reading up on Yinka Shonibare's work back in November.

After my breakfast this morning, I went to the art institute to seek out the work that I would choose as my inspiration. I haven't settled on one piece yet, but I'm thinking of doing a photograph by Gary Stochl. I will probably take a trip to the library to dig through some art books before I make my final decision!

sunday...

Sunday began with brunch at Feed. Last time I was there, they had sold out of the fried green tomato benedict, but this time I got one! I don't think I am doing this meal justice with my photograph, but I am doing my best to share the moment. As is becoming ritual, I tried to win a golden egg when the meal was over, but instead won a fortune telling fish - according to which, I was 'jealous' (ouch). If your curious about the science behind those little red "miracle" fish, you can check it out here.

Next on the agenda was Renegade, which was packed, but I managed to find a couple of Christmas presents. Some of my favorite vendors were Cursive Design, oneCANOEtwo, appetite, Sonnenzimmer, and Paper Stories. Spudnik Press was also there with their super enticing art candy machine. For a dollar you could get a small limited edition print from the dispenser. I first discovered this machine at the Spudnik anniversary party two nights before and found myself obsessively feeding it quarters trying to collect all six of the featured prints.

I ended my day with our annual holiday craft night at work. It's when we come together to eat, drink, and make holiday gifts. I mulled some cider and everyone brought great treats... like chocolate chai chex mix which is so delicious and tricky to say five times fast.

awe shucks...

I have to confess, every once in a while, I check my "hearts me" status on etsy... which makes me feel a little bit like a high schooler. Maybe I feel this way because I'm checking in to see how popular I am or maybe it's the term "hearts me" that does it... or maybe a little bit of both. In any case, today I received my 1,000th heart and actually took a picture of it. Yup, that's right.

Now I'm going to go hang it in my locker...