kids' sketchbook project!

After I shared my latest Sketchbook Project with my son's class, his awesome teacher had the class make their own sketchbooks! They were all assigned the same theme, "Family Matters" and created their books entirely on their own ~ choosing the paper, sewing the binding and filling the pages. They plan to make their own classroom sketchbook library so they can check out their classmates' books, just like the Arthouse library in Brooklyn.

The books are absolutely adorable and the kids put a lot of work and care into them. Some glued photos of their family inside, but many of them drew pictures that illustrated the stories they told about their families.

 Some of the stories inside are hilarious. One of my favorites says,

"My grandpa's name was Granpapu. I don't know much about Granpapu, except that his great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather fought in World War II."

There are also stories of a grandpa getting kicked out of a movie theater (for laughing during serious parts), a grandma throwing away a gift of pizza into the hay because it was unfamiliar, mischievous uncles playing pranks, and all kinds of plans for the future, including having a flying house with jets on the bottom so one can go to work and keep the family floating safely nearby at home.

I'm really thrilled by the students' creativity and impressed by what a group of 9-year-olds can do!

fun with type

One of the classes I'm taking is in Typography and we recently completed an assignment that asked us to create mini posters of three different historical styles of type. The text was provided for us; we had to come with the layout, typeface and design. I thought I'd share what I did with you ~ since I haven't had any type to paint or draw lately, at least I can share an assignment! :)

The Classical Era made me think of the beautiful illuminated books I'd seen once in a royal library.

I know the arrows are a bit more modern than industrial, but after getting into the reckless and wild mood of the time period, I got a little rebellious with the style too. Looking at it now, I might change those to heavier, more block-like ends.

Went for a Bauhaus effect with the modern version. Fitting all the text in was a bit of a challenge as I wanted to keep it dynamic and not let the text get too heavy and weigh everything down.

I'd like to take many more classes in Typography. There's so much more to learn and I'm enjoying exploring what can be done with type to enhance the communication of an idea.

liebster award

because I love you! :)

Juriko Kosaka recently honored me with a blog award ~ the Liebster Award ~ which I was very surprised and happy to receive, especially since I admire her blog and her artwork so highly. {Thank you, Juriko!}

Juriko has been doing a drawing each day, which has been centering around food. In Japan, she painted delicious meals that made my mouth water. Now she's on a trip to New York, so she's sharing sketches of the things she's seeing there. It's fun to see the sights through her sketchbook, (though one of my favorite recent drawings was the cake she saw in the bakery right before she left Japan).

I had only recently heard of this Liebster award, which she says is passed on to three to five of one's favorite bloggers that have less than 200 followers. A simple comment on their blog lets them know that they're one of your favorites. I surely have more than five favorites, but will try to stick to the rules. I'd like to recommend Juriko and the bloggers that she chose, as well as the following five blogs. Do check them out!

Seeds of Happiness
is a blog by Yuuco, who lives in Japan where she makes art and teaches art projects to children. I love her art's simple, friendly lines and bright yet soft colors. As the title of her blog suggests, her art is designed to make people happy and I definitely feel that way when I look at it! She is the one who initiated our "Trans-Pacific Art Show" that ended up involving ten artists at our show in January! I'd say she is very talented at being able to make things happen far away from her, to motivate others and organize people and events. She has many good (and happy!) ideas.

Nature's My Friend 
is the blog of Jessica Gowling, who lives in Canada, immersed in nature, where she draws constant inspiration from the wildlife and scenes around her. She is very outgoing and connects artists around the world through mail art. She takes her art out places, setting up booths and selling directly as well as on Etsy. On her blog, she shares her process, art, mail art and activities so there's always a lot to learn from her. I'm amazed at how prolific she is and how she manages to keep producing such a variety of work at high volume while still keeping us all posted! I always enjoy reading up on her latest adventures.

Saylor Made
is by Jeannine Saylor, a talented artist and mother of two young girls. Reading her blog is like having tea with a friend that's showing you her sketchbook or latest crafts. I always look forward to seeing what she's been up to. Like Jessica, she keeps up with many artists through mail art and shares what she sends and what she receives in lovely photos. Jeannine is presently working on her Limited Edition Sketchbook Project, with watercolor and ink drawings on a family theme. She lives in Canada and sometimes draws on aspects of the various places she's lived in Canada in her art. Reading her blog is relaxing and cozy with lots of inspiration.

Good Things
is written and photographed by Emily Orpin, who truly has a knack for finding good things. I love the photos of her home, city, dachsunds and wide travels (she lives in Seoul but seems to regularly hop around the world to all sorts of continents and countries). She hosts a "Colour Lovers" monthly color collection collaboration and it's fun to see the collections her readers gather in the color theme of the month. Emily's collections are beautifully curated, she's a very good writer and she has a lovely sense of design. She has quite a number of followers and when you see the gorgeous photos and conversations on her blog, you might become one too.

Harujion Design
is written by Hiromi Widerquist, who can make just about anything with cloth, thread and yarn. She lives in Indiana and shares projects that she sews for her daughter, home and Etsy shop. Her work is finished so beautifully and she uses pretty fabrics in interesting combinations. I enjoy reading her blog because many of the things she makes remind me of things my mother used to sew, knit or crochet for me when I was small. She also posts some great tutorials that I hope to try one day. Most recently, she's made some crocheted necklaces, embroidered pendants and a stuffed animal, all very cute and unique.

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I was inspired by the idea of the Liebster Award and made the award banner above to acknowledge how I feel about some of my favorite blogs and their authors. I changed it quite a lot from the original that has been going around the web for some time, but felt I absolutely needed to add color and personalize the design in order to express how much I like these blogs. Anyone that would like to use the banner and pass it on to their favorite bloggers is welcome to use it. I look forward to finding some new favorites to follow!