Heat Rises

I spent some time over the last few days working on my contribution to the Littlest Print Exchange. First I screen printed a white background onto sheets of yellow paper. Then I ran those sheets though my inkjet printer. I like this combination of digital and traditional techniques. Last night I sprayed the sheets with a plastic paint which soaks into the paper, sealing the layers together. Today I'll trim them down to the proper size and get ready for the prints from the rest of the participants to start coming in.

Itty Bitty

I decided to spend the day working out exposure times for the tiny pinhole cameras my photography class is making. Next week I'll send everyone out around the school to take some pics. I want everything to be as simple for them as possible so the experimenting I did today will help me to make an exposure guide. This system aught to be foolproof, but we'll find out for sure on Tuesday.

Weak End

I spent a few days this week doing some more work for Novelty Closures. If you ever give a bottle of wine as a gift, you should check out their website. They have focused in on basically two good ideas: a gift card which hangs around the neck of a wine bottle, and a unique cork with a compartment for stashing a tiny little gift.

This weekend, I'm going to work on some print exchange business and try to get moving on a short series of photographs for an upcoming show. I'm also trying to make some progress on some logo and business card designs.

A Memory Aid

I spent a bit of time today cutting a stencil and spray painting these Feed cards to pass out on Sunday. I found these paint samples at the hardware store that are almost exactly the same size as a standard business card so I grabbed a bunch of them in nice, autumny colors. After painting, I used the stencil to trace out the letters in black. Whatever. We'll probably run out before the end of the day.

Fall Arts Stroll

It looks like I'll be out this weekend with Michael and, hopefully, Jessica selling artwork at the annual Fall Arts Stroll organized by the Community Arts Council and The Kankakee Events Partnership. Michael and I will probably have the same stuff we've been pushing at other events lately. I think Jessica might have a few new things. I wish we had something to promote, but there aren't any big Feed events planned right now. I'm hoping to get some new cards printed and paint some kind of backdrop for our tent before the event. Maybe if I'm feeling super ambitious, I'll print a few shirts to sell.

The Arts Stroll is this Sunday, September 19th from 11L00 to 4:00. This year it is spread over two blocks of Schulyer Avenue on either side of Court Street.

Boxing Day

Jessica came and spent the day printing box tops for The Littlest Print Exchange. It is really nice to have someone willing to do the work that I don't really want to do. The deadline for finished editions is quickly approaching and I haven't done much thinking about the prints that I want to make for the portfolio this year. I'll probably do some mixture of traditional and digital printing. I have a few other project that I need to finish before October so the rest of the month might be a bit busy.

Closure

It has been a while since I've posted about anything I'm working on. That's because I've been busy working on lesson plans and handouts, and assignments for my new photography class. Also it is because I haven't had any ideas for a while. I did figure out how to print these stoppers for a friend's company that makes wine bottle corks and gift cards. They are having a meeting with some representatives from the Food Network and are hoping these examples can help to sell some products. I hope they can too.

The Unbroken Thread

Stefen over at Just Aesthetics is putting out monthly downloadable mixtapes themed around social issues. Somehow I was given the opportunity to put together one for the month of September. Though I don't have any real science education, I am fascinated by the scientific process. If I had the opportunity or if I had unlimited time and finances, I would go back to school to study evolution. As it is, I just read the occasional book or science journal on the subject. Even this limited amount of research has convinced me that the part of the population (reportedly more than 60%) which doesn't believe in the reality of evolution, probably just hasn't been properly exposed to the theories. Anyway, if you're interested, head over to the Just Aesthetics site and download the mixtape I made which is composed of songs all about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution by natural selection.