thewholehalf

day of rebirth?

2009-04-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure I will ever be able to fully enjoy sundays or religious festivals. However many treats there are.

DIY cd covers

2009-04-09T02:40:00.000-07:00

I like to find things to keep me busy, especially in this holiday time. The DIY cd cover is a great 'filler' project and quite fun. The bottom one is mine and the other 2 are others that I liked. Why shouldn't we be able to play at being album cover designers? :)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random... Read More”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together. (It's album art, so make the picture square)

comfort

2009-04-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

We all deserve to be cared for. And if you feel like you aren't? These can be for you.

the great album art week- Joni Mitchell

2009-04-03T02:58:00.000-07:00

Joni Mitchell is not one of my favorite artists, but her cd covers certainly are melodies for my eyes...eye melodies? ahem. the Hissing of Summer lawns was modeled on a photograph in National Geographic. Very simple,nice graphic quality, and a tasteful use of colour.

the great album art week- The Velvet Underground

2009-04-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Oh I'm not in the mood for blogging today...I had a sombre library trip and i borrowed a sombre cd. But I also borrowed a Velvet Underground cd, which reminded me to put up their covers too

the great album art week- Eberhard Weber

2009-04-01T06:59:00.000-07:00

As a child, I remember hearing Eberhard Weber in the background, and later wondering if we were distantly related. I also remember looking at the covers and wondering what they meant. The paintings are done by his wife Maja Weber. I have always liked them- they have a sort of naivety and undemanding yet mystic simplicity that I really like. They are also reminiscent of medieval tapestries, don't you think?

the great album art week- Joy Division

2009-03-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

The first time I heard Joy Division was some years ago when my first love played it for me one lazy afternoon. The songs that stick out there are ones like "love will tear us apart" and "she's lost control again" (a bit morbid) ...Anyway, no matter- my appreciation of their moody melodies remains untouched! I happened to see the Unknown Pleasures cover on a shirt (it was apparently popular enough for shoes, too!) and I have to put it down as one of my favorite graphic design works of all time. If you don't know the band, have a listen and then look at the covers again. The images and music are very similar. I like that.

the great album art week- Vetiver

2009-03-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

Every now and then you might hear something that reduces you to a mellow, swooning sort of soul. Vetiver has such an effect on me. Sad, sweet and with a fantastic choice in album cover art, it would seem. They seem to stick to pictures centered around an old vinyl shape, and astrology features in both these covers. Makes them all the more appealing to a girl such as myself.

marian bantjies

2009-03-02T12:36:00.000-08:00

Whew! aside from being rather neglectful of my blog-child, I have been at the Design Indaba, becoming inspired and re-affirming my bond with design, my lovely. One of the speakers who had the biggest impact on me was one fabulous lady by name of Marian Bantjies (very south african name- but she is actually canadian).

She spoke very much about the importance of loving what you do, and doing what you love. Her work is beautiful and delicate, and reminds me some-what of Art Nouveau style. I have chosen some works from he annual Valentine's card tradition.

The two below are for the Want It! campaign, and are meant to look like what they are

Supermarket Safari

2009-02-22T03:08:00.000-08:00

Grocery shopping certainly can be a dull task- aisle after aisle of offensively luminescent looking juices and instant noodles...But sometimes if you keep a good lookout you see some really quirky packagings that make you smile. These two are packets for maize meal, a South African staple food. They certainly made me smile

The Company of People

2009-02-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

. Dallas Clayton

. Orderly

. Just after the sun burned out

. and all who were left

. realized this was "it"

. things finally got back to normal

. sleeping in the grass

. eating with your hands

. killing your enemies

. and sex at all hours for no damn good reason

. right out in the open.

Today I leave you with a rather interesting poem, which I came across on the marvelous website

that is The Company of People.

I am yet to decide what exactly this website is, but the best way I cold describe it is a surreal

collection of raw, yet somehow poetic photographs, drawings and well, poetry. It hosts a very

impressive collective of artists, and I can guarantee it as an excellent way to pass an afternoon,

evening, and possibly night. Get inspired

a botanical caper

2009-02-18T12:25:00.001-08:00

botanical drawings, especially diagrams and cross-sections that abstract an organism, fascinate me. I think that nature is naturally full of pattern, but it's interesting to 'borrow' sections of these patterns from nature and take them a step or two further, as I did with this one.

Richard Barnes

2009-02-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes in life we come across something which is just infinitely pleasing. Something that speaks to you with all kinds of poetry and feelings. Richard Barnes' s photographic study 'Murmur' does these things. the pictures are all of a flock of birds, far off, and the shapes they make as they twist up from the sky into the earth. Amazing work.

postcard project

2009-02-02T11:06:00.001-08:00

I previously mentioned the Free Encouragement project- and that it was so popular that they extended it to make the postcard project. You could choose any of the quotes to somehow incorporate into a postcard. Here are my two submissions! I was going to put in a third but i ran out of time...

the Saturday Treatment

2009-01-24T03:52:00.000-08:00

There is no better way to start off the weekend than having the Saturday Treatment with the Neighbourgoods market at the Old Biscuit Mill. This excellent initiative was started by our favorite arty collective, Whatiftheworld, and is intended as a community building type effort.

Of course, hundreds of people make the pilgrimage here every weekend for the vast array of tasty food and spectacular design goods. Today me and my dear sister ate like queens and came away with many-a mouth watering treat!

pixel portraits

2009-01-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

Today Booooooom! Inspired me to haul out not only two of my all-time favorite movies, but also to look at them in a new light through use of my trusty Canon. This project challenges designers, photographers- what have you- to take portrait shots of movies ' in all their pixelated glory' for others to try and guess. The top picture was my submission, the other two didn't make the cut ...any guesses on the movies? I challenge you to try it

cat lady for a day

2009-01-06T06:34:00.000-08:00

ah 'tis far too warm today. I would dearly love to say that I'm feeling inspired enough to post something spectacular and designy and creative but instead I will be one of those people who blogs pictures of their pets. Just for today, promise!

It's a disaster!

2008-12-31T00:56:00.000-08:00

Disasters. Events that have potentially drastically re-routed history, and yet have sunk into the mists of time, to be forgotten by all but a select few. Today I pay homage to disasters, old and new alike . Chaos is always a certainty

I'm so 'board' these days

2008-12-28T23:40:00.000-08:00

Don't you find yourself constantly collecting snippets of pictures or notes and stashing them away for 'inspiration'? Only to leave them lurking forever more in some dark drawer? Well that's a habit of mine. At least it was until I discovered THE NOTICE BOARD !

It's my new favorite thing. Sometimes it's as simple as having something like this to look at to remind you where you are headed and who you are. Get one!

a happy...ancient pagan celebration

2008-12-26T15:18:00.000-08:00

well, it would seem the festive season was apon me before I could blink, and I , being a rather staunch atheist was not keen to fork out hundreds of monies for presents. I also am a strong believer in that it is the thought and care that counts over how much you spend on something fancy!

so I cooked up a batch of tasty biscuits as can be sen above! my friend janet had similar culinary notions and had baked an inordinate amount of mince pies!

the last best thing i did

2008-12-22T01:04:00.000-08:00

I came across Booooooom awhile ago, and my love of their site grew further when they released the Free Encouragement Project. what a sweet idea! a collection of uplifting snippets that are really for anybody who needs to hear them

cat 2

2008-09-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

Here is the next little cat...she is running. But from what, she does not know

cat

2008-09-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

This is a little sketch of a kitty with some writing... I feel very much like drawing kitties lately, as I have been feeling cat-type feelings of wanting to sleep and be looked after etc

2008-08-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

well this week is not a terribly inspired poster, but I would still have this...

I was just messing about with rhyme and such, I may make it better with a picture or something later

I am photographing some textiles now though so I can display some of my proper work!

Josh Keyes

2008-08-22T06:54:00.000-07:00

I'm always on the hunt for new and interesting ideas, but in terms of new and interesting, I have to say that Josh Keyes takes the cake.

His painting and drawings are surrealistic/magic realism-ish and are reminiscent of cross sections of landscapes. I love the nature/urban theme in his work - its an interesting take on an almost tired theme

please, PLEASE go and look at his work (http://www.joshkeyes.net/)

book of bosh

2008-08-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

I have such a fetish for books and book covers, and I recently rediscovered this 'Book of Bosh'.

If I'm not mistaken, this was printed in 1975, and yet the graphics are very current looking.

I love the way the text has been used, and the colour combinations are definitely something I will take inspiration from. This is a good example of incorporating text and graphics!

you know...you haven't seen the last of this book! It would be a sin not to post some of these illustrations and prose :)

whimsical poster

2008-08-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well it is a new week, I think I can post my next poster...

I didn't want to use the same 'kitch' picture for the unicorn, so i managed to find a woodcut called 'the unicorn and the pope'

whimsical :)

arty day...sigh...

2008-08-16T01:01:00.000-07:00

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, what better way to spend the day than squirreled away in a few galleries? Its been so long since I went to any type of exhibition, and I was pining for some art!!

I started off the day with a trip to the Bell Roberts gallery in Woodstock (http://bell-roberts.com/?exhibition=175) to see Print '08, an exhibition of the everchanging art of print making. I have to say, although I can be quite a critic, that on the whole, the work was very impressive. It was gentle, subtle and mature. I am really big on art that experiments with paper, and was blown away by the work of Lyndi Sales(http://www.lyndisales.com/ ) I posted one of her pieces above.

I always hope when I visit an exhibition that I will leave feeling different, better, or at least, more the same. the art yesterday made me feel a certain tenderness towards the world. I like that.

first weekly poster-OH DEER!

2008-08-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

well here is my first ever poster...I think it is pretty cool! well...yes, it is a kind of bad pun type thing...but that's what is edgy about it, non?

posters

2008-08-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

I am surely not the only one who finds posters enigmatic , obscure and exciting. In fact, I know I'm not! Lately I have been noticing more and more of them around. And thus, I have come to the conclusion that no designer should be without a poster. Why not make a few of my own? For now though, I have published 2 pretty cool ones, the first one is from http://ffffound.com/ and the 2nd one from http://www.stephd.biz/ (boy, is this guy good!)

I'll post one of mine next, and I will probably try and get one up every week, then you can help me decide which ones to get printed?