Filed under: books
just in case you found us here and there’s no activity.. it’s because we’ve moved!
come visit me at www.asterandsage.com/blog because that’s where the party’s at.
New and improved website going live as soon as tomorrow (friday!) Need to work the kinks out of my blog layout but the website (yea!) is nearly done (yea! Yea!)
Filed under: books
working on our screw-y website/blog mix-up. should be resolved shortly…
thanks for being patient!
Filed under: me
This blog is going to look better soon. And my whole website. Total redo in process, crossing my fingers that I’ll be ready to show you the bright spanking new goodness on Monday, June 1.
Two books I just took out of the library are due already and can’t be renewed, so I can only give you a cursory review. In the short time I’ve looked at them though, they’ve been interesting and insightful, so they both get a thumbs-up.
Amazon.com: Standing at Water’s Edge: Moving Past Fear, Blocks, and Pitfalls to Discover the Power of Creative Immersions
by Anne Paris, PhD.
As a psychologist helping creative people, Dr. Paris has great insight into the creative mind. In her book she systematically breaks down the creative process so that it seems less intimidating. [Skimming] her book I learned that my usual ‘hold my breath’ about waiting for creativity to strike like a thunderbolt isn’t necessary. She gives tips to help foster creativity when it seems there’s not a new idea in sight. Her book is practical, readable, and I think it may be necessary to own. I’m going to have a hard time dropping it in the library book slot and saying goodbye.
I read far less of this book: Amazon.com: Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally by Patti Digh. It’s a kind of workbook, combining stories and activities for you to try. The premise is a little morbid, bear with me– her step-father was given 37 days to live after being diagnosed with lung cancer, and Digh realized the importance of living mindfully and making every day worthwhile.
I like the idea behind the book, but to be honest I am not a big fan of workbooks or books filled with quotes and illustrations and blurbs. In spite of the format I think the content is powerful. Digh tells stories from her life experience and asks questions that engage the reader to probe deeper into what’s important in their own life.
If the format of the book were different I thi
Filed under: me | Tags: art skills, design skills, ice cream, linda yesline, me, opinion, what is a designer, what is an artist
This past week I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do with the artist in me. Or the designer; I’m not sure what the distinction is. I design and make handbags and accessories, but is that using all of my design skills? I’m pretty sure I have more art/design in me that’s trying to get out. Problem is, I’m going to need a plan. Do I want to sew? Or paint? Draw? Make something functional?
I think it’s a little harder than that… I think it’s none of those things. My Industrial Design education was not about creating one-off [that's art lingo for one-of-a-kind, I'm not sure why they don't just call it that] pieces; I learned how to think about designing for production and for multiple users. Solving problems. I need to go find problems to solve. What? I have no idea where these “problems” are or what I’ll need to “solve” them, but I know it involves art and design. And human interface [sorry, not sure how to translate that one into plain English].
Here’s something that drives me crazy and it touches on art/design/human interface. I’m about to say something not very nice but it is such a juicy example: I was recently in an ice cream shop with that served delicious homemade ice cream yet had really ugly decor. I realized they have another location that I’ve been driving by for years. That location is so unattractive I couldn’t imagine anyone buying ice cream there. I can’t believe the disconnect between what I saw [yuck] and what I tasted [yum] You can get a good idea of what their stores are like– go visit their website:
In their defense, every ice cream shop in the area seems to be lacking in decor. If one of these local ice cream shops created a warm and inviting atmosphere I’d bet they’d beat their competition hands down. In Providence there’s a Ben and Jerry’s that has a fireplace, comfy chairs and magazines. It draws in customers all year round. If you can make a ice cream shop popular in the dead of winter, I think you’ve got to offer more than just ice cream.
Ice cream shop people, take my advice while it’s still free.
I’ve been thinking about all the drawing I’ve been doing since May 1 for The Doodle Off [goal: 150 doodles by July 1] and I’m surprised by how much I’ve learned in such little time. Something about being involved in a contest has encouraged me to be so much more creative. It became obvious pretty early on that 150 is not a lot of doodles if you’re not interested in the quality of your work. So that begs the question: what’s going to make 150 drawings important to me? I’ve tried out a bunch of media: colored pencils, fountain pens, pencils, crayons, markers and pens. Even though I’ve used a lot of them before, I’ve used the Doodle Off as an opportunity to be more experimental.
The most poignant realization I’ve had is that I’m probably drawing more now than I have in years. Considering I think about drawing all the time, how could I have fallen so short? Now I remember! Silly me, I had a baby. And when she was an infant there wasn’t any time to draw… and now that she’s 2 there’s more time for drawing, even if I’m just sketching cars when I’m stuck in traffic.
I’m hoping my enthusiasm for drawing can stick with me past July 1 because I’ve found my rediscovery of drawing to be so rewarding. Drawing can be meditative and thereputic when I’m absendmindedly doodling with markers and crayons. I could be drawing my design ideas for new products before I commit to making samples with fabric and a sewing machine. The act of capturing my ideas on paper ignites some sort of magic and I want to make that happen over and over again.
Filed under: art book | Tags: drawing, illustration, paris, sketching, sketching book review
Somewhere online I read Danny Gregory’s list of great sketchbooks/journals to look at, and this was on his list: Paris Sketchbook by Ronald Searle and Kaye Webb (Kay was his wife and she wrote all the text; Ronald did all the illustrations).
The book was published in 1958 and the illustrations are most definitely of that era. Searle’s light and scratchy line seems to have been de regeur for illustrators in the 1950’s and it’s not something I particularly like looking at. But once I get past his style I am completely taken by his mastery of drawing. The book cover [above] gives you some idea of his use of perspective and negative space– the full illustration is included in the book. Can you see the banner at the top right of the drawing? I love how it makes me feel like I’m standing right on the edge of this scene, just an arms length or so behind the man sitting in the bottom center of the page.
Searle draws compelling vignettes like this over and over again– a woman in a bar looks directly at you, or a doorway
Filed under: art book | Tags: Agnes Martin, art, art book review, artist, contemporary art, drawing, modern art, painting
A recent trip to MOMA in NYC had me looking more closely at Agnes Martin. Agnes Martin (Dia Foundation) has a great selection of Martin’s paintings and drawings and as well as essays by various authors discussing Martin’s life.
Agnes Martin was originally from Saskatchewan, Canada. She lived mostly in New Mexico but studied at Columbia University and lived for a little while in NYC when her work became popular. Martin was enthralled with nature, especially the landscape of New Mexico, and that’s where she lived an isolated existance for the majority of her life.
I read that Martin sat so still that birds would land on her.
I love the idea that Martin loved the outdoors passionately and yet her paintings seemingly have nothing at all to do with nature. In fact Martin used her art work to explore her theories about reality, beauty and happiness. Isn’t it kind of awesome that Martin could translate nature into drawings and paintings that are defined by grids and lines?
I’m intrigued by artist whose works are straightforward at first glance but are in fact realizations of a personal manefesto. Barnett Newman is another artist that comes to mind– he used solid colored canvases with a single stripe to explore ideas about art as an integral part of our life experience.
I’m now thinking about contemporary artists as philosophers with very specific and self-defined views of the world. It seems to me that we are missing an opportunity to incorporate their insight if we look at contemporary paintings without learning about their historical context.
Filed under: sewing how-to book | Tags: Anna Maria Horner, book review, how-to, sewing, sewing book
I can’t think of a better learn-to-sew book than Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing by Anna Maria Horner. It’s pure delight: hard covered/spiral bound (easy to keep open while sewing!), easy to read instructions with simple clear illustrations, and patterns to make great projects. My favorite project (and it’s no-sew!) is ‘Fabric is Fine Art’– a fabric collage using a still life photo as inspiration.
How-to books frequently offer great photography but fall woefully short in instruction. Horner thoroughly describes all kinds of tools and techniques. She patiently explains types of cutting tools, needles, fabric, and includes her personal opinion about what she does and doesn’t like to use.
The only thing I don’t see in this book is a ‘Where to Buy’ store list, and maybe that’s because the fabrics shown are from her personal collection. And pity if her collection of fabric is vintage and unavailable, because they make her book a visual treat. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough to find the list–but I’m pretty sure it’s the only thing missing from a truly great how-to-sew book.
I rate it a hearty two thimbles up!
