Had the pleasure of running into Alex Soto at Stardust last week, and we connected this morning for breakfast. I drew him while we got caught up on the past couple of years. He's one of the many talented/sweet people who eventually left Orlando for grener pastures. He's done illustration/animation work in NYC and now he's living in Savannah, GA. Check out his illo works at his save-life.net website.
We talked about how drawing has a tendency to relieve us of our anxiety...cheaper than pills with almost no side effects:) And Alex issued a loose challenge that I begin to upload a sketch a day as he does on his blog. Sort of a motivating tool to actually put pen to paper. I don't expect I'll be able to do it regularly, but I'll try (will even upload some of my previous sketches when I have time)
Alex has been working with patterns in his art for as long as I've known him. And he's become obsessive about it these days. I was delighted to turn him onto a graphic equation that was "invented" by a distant relative of mine — its called the HEESCH PROBLEM. And no it has nothing to do with the multitude of problems that I or my family has...its purely graphic:) uh, or more specifically geometric/mathematic. Basically, a "Heesch Number" is the maximum number of times that a shape can be completely surrounded by copies of itself.
There's tons of nerdy sites dedicated to the Heesch Problem online, but Wikipedia's got a great background on it if yer interested. Else, for a VERY refreshing look at art that is, unknowingly, based off the Heesch Problem, AND DONE BY HAND...check out Alex's blog where he uploads daily sketches Here's one I lifted from his site (hope its Ok Alex!)
well, ALMOST like Amsterdam :)
Sorry for the blurry iPhone pic. Its afternoon and the light is low...
Looks like the Critical Mass group is gathering for a ride, and its really cool to see so many bikes and peeps gathering for a good time across the street at Stardust. This scene just has me thinking how amazing it'd be if more people rode bikes (or scooters, or Segways even). I oughta get out there with the trusty ole 8-speed folder, myself. But I gotta finish installing the bookshelves here at the studio:(
Anyway, Go Critical Mass!
On Thursday, July 2nd, 2009, Juicy Temples and the Shoot Studio are proud to be hosting an installation by the Orlando artist, Doug Rhodehamel. Many in Central Florida have at some point seen Doug's installation/yard art where he places a multitude of paper-bag mushrooms in the front yards of unexpecting residents—and we're hoping that this little installation will evoke a similar delight in visitors.
The Migration series—installations of hundreds of tiny four-legged creatures made from matchsticks—has been well-received in the past and this time around, Doug is introducing a new concept..."Hammerhead Cows". Now, the artist has taken to utilizing the matchbook itself in an origami-like fashion to craft an entirely new "herd" of interesting creatures.
Along with the Migration, Doug is also hanging a series of paintings called "Fostercows". These adorable cow-mutations are going to also be available on limited edition posters which will be available during the show.
The installation is a one-night-only event. However, you are welcome to stop by afterward to view the Fostercows series—which will continue to hang here at the studio for the following 2 weeks.
Please join us on July 2nd, from 7pm to 11pm, for a casual get-together. We'll be serving beans and weenies (or some variation thereof) and we'll also encourage you to take a stroll across the street to grab a sip o' somethin at Stardust...oh yeah, and you gotta stop in to Bold Hype gallery to check out the freakish art of our good friend Scott Scheidly!)
Well, we had a good 12-year run at our old Robinson Street location...so much sweat and tears went into that space and we entertained many a client and colleague there. With that said, we are so proud to now be located in the Audubon Park Gardens district of beautiful downtown Orlando (right on the edge of Orlando and Winter Park, actually).
We've got some cool neighbors now...there's Stardust Video and Coffee with their great lunch menu and beer selection right across the street. (Oh, and we must note that MANY of our colleagues and friends use Stardust as their office, so if you're here at Juicy, you can always step across the street to grab a good cup-o-joe, take a meeting or soak up some free WiFi). One of the most awesome independent record stores, Park Ave Cd's, is a stones-throw away as are Junior's Diner and an awesome lil' cafe called Bikes Beans and Bordeaux. Oh, and if you love art as we do, then you'll love that one of the freshest art galleries in Central Florida is also right across the street...check out Bold Hype!
What's most exciting is that we are sharing the space with longtime friend and collaborator, fashion photographer Eric Sutton and makeup artist Michelle Sebastian. I won't go into all of the celebrities they've worked with (angelina jolie, anna nicole, etc), but suffice it to say they are a talented team. We've worked together in the past on client projects, and when we took our studio trip to London a few years back, Eric was there to document it with us! So, you can bet that we're excited about the synergy that exists here.
The space itself is built out to be a flex space and everything is on wheels so that we can clear it out for an art show or a workshop. We can hang a 12' backdrop for photo/video shoots. . .in fact, the band "the Postmarks" was the first to grace our space and Eric took some amazing pics!
We're still finishing out the details and starting to add to the decor, but for the most part, its a blank slate. Stop by and visit sometime, eh?
Earlier this year, I was fortunate to attend a presentation by the partners of the design firm, Pentagram. I have studied their business model and followed their design-work/approach for years, and I had seen several of the partners speak on various occasions previously, but this was the first time I saw them appear together to walk through their work. This past April (18th to be exact), while living and working in New York, I went to go see three of the NY Pentagram partners—Michael Bierut, Paula Scher, and Michael Gericke—speak about designing visual identities for some of New York City’s most beloved institutions. What follows is my accounting of the evening (minus the post-event dinner discussions and general good-times with my wonderful colleagues):
Finally, a 100% electric car, smart design begins to look incredibly attractive. Introducing: the 2008 Tesla Roadster. It is encouraging to see that someone in the automotive industry is placing as much emphasis on looks, as they are on performance. Uh, and an emphasis on price, I suppose would be nice:) The Tesla starts at $105k+. But at a calculated TWO CENTS per MILE, it seems like the thing would pay for itself rather quickly. If not in cash, then, in "good times".
The people at Boston Dynamics are doing something awesome (and gotta be having a blast) with this, and a series of other robots. It is FREAKY to watch this apocalyptic beast react to being kicked or shoved. Make it NOT make that horrible weed-wacker sound, please!
I don't know why. . .maybe its because I've sorta developed an affinity for blogging whatever-the-blank I can cram into 140 characters. . .but I was delighted to see that so many other people were doing the same thing. Or is this just a cleverly-written error message that has me smiling instead of getting pissed off?
We've said it before and we'll say it again - it's nice to be surrounded by such talent! Our suite-mate (and mucho talented producer), Chris Bremer, has been published in National Geographic Traveler.
