Some Snippets

For those of you wondering why I have not been posting much lately, it is because I have been taking design courses for the past 5 months. The summer kicked off with a failed attempt at attending RISD (apparently my program didn't have enough enrollees to commence?), which was followed shortly thereafter by my enrollment at a local community college to take my first true design course.

I spent the summer exploring various art-making techniques, such as a hand-gridding technique employed by the likes of Chuck Close (see my recent piece at Curator Magazine for more on his stunning work), color theory, and the principles of design. Since then, I have graduated on to learning Adobe CS5 and am now working on a collage project in my latest class through the Corcoran.

To say the least, the journey has been incredibly worthwhile. It has helped me bring together a set of disparate passions that now seem neatly tied. In the latest project, we've been given an incredible amount of freedom to explore the meaning of various words and develop a representational collage. I've chosen to focus my sights upon the notions of cities, authenticity, and spontaneity. These themes will likely surface in many of my outpourings over the next few months, but as for now some snippets from early on in the project:

A nice-looking vintage license plate ala Roma (flatworldsedge via flickr) 

When I think of cities, I almost immediately think of Rome and its once-global prowess as a hub for trade, as well as its prestigious and indelible cultural image. Just flipping through pictures from the photographer linked above is riling up my longing to travel.

A hint of Parisian charm, from rent a moose via flickr, as inspired by a read-through of Hausmann's renovation of Paris. 

Speaking of city planning, i'm also planning to check out Edmund Bacon's book "Design of Cities." Has anyone read it?

A lovely illustrator, genie espinosa (trouvezlelapin), whom I discovered while searching for source images. 

For one thing, I love bicycles, and for another, I really really really love hand-drawn illustrations. Can I say that enough? Probably not. In an age where so much has gone digital, I have such an appreciation for those capable of crafting visual splendors like this one.