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 Friday, November 02, 2007
More Success for Susie
Posted by Erika
Those of you who have the 2007 AGDM might remember Susie Ghahremani. She was featured in that edition's Success Stories article. (Her portion of the article appears below in purple in case you missed it.)
I'm friends with Susie on MySpace, so I get to keep up with her continuing success, and I thought I'd share this exciting announcement she recently posted:
Giant Robot is proud to present Musical Chairs, an art show featuring the work of Susie Ghahremani.
Ghahremani is a RISD graduate who has contributed work to Nickelodeon, Chronicle Books, and The New York Times, and was featured in the 2006 American Illustration publication. Illustrations by the San Diego artist have a patchwork appearance that is simple in design, complex in execution, and all-around pleasing to the eye. In addition to making two-dimensional art, she crafts tote bags, buttons, wallets, stationery, and other goodies.
Subjects of Musical Chairs include animals in domestic settings with pianos, accordions, guitars, and other instruments. Some of the creatures are indeed seated but others are in boats, on picnics, or other settings in the modestly sized but highly detailed paintings. Ghahremani has created upwards of 200 pieces for previous shows at Giant Robot galleries, and Musical Chairs promises to be bountiful as well.
A reception for Ghahremani will take place from 6:30 to 10:00 on Saturday, November 10.
This will be Susie's second solo show at Giant Robot this year. I really wish I could go, but I'm stuck in Ohio. (Why do all the best events take place in California or New York?!?) I guess I'll just have to settle for looking at photos. I think this one is my favorite:
I love cats, and I really like the way Susie draws them. I also like her owls, and I'm planning to get this necklace for myself when I have some extra money. I'm so happy for Susie, and I wish her lots of continued success!
When Susie Ghahremani first started submitting her work, she learned several lessons the hard way. "I thought if I sent a postcard with my Web site on it to magazines, they would go to the trouble of looking up my full portfolio and contact info." She then proceeded to create "a stack of very amateur promotional postcards, bought about 300 postcard stamps, and just started sending them out. It was disorganized, expensive and ridiculous."
Today, Ghahremani's whimsical illustrations have been published in an impressive list of national publications that includes The New York Times, The Washington Post, Shape, and Child. In addition, she has exhibited her paintings in galleries across the country, including Giant Robot (LA, NYC, San Francisco), The Front Room (Brooklyn) and Motel Gallery (Portland).
From those first tough steps to her now flourishing freelance career, she's learned several valuable lessons that have contributed to her success. First, she found that it's crucial to investigate the markets before she submits to them. When she first started submitting her work, she says, she "contacted magazines without considering their content and if my work was appropriate for them. That was totally a waste of time and money! The response and non-response I received really forced me to learn quickly."
While she recognizes that "getting to know your illustration market is time consuming," this important step "will really help you connect with the right outlets for your work." Taking the time to know the specific tastes of different markets has really paid off for Ghahremani. "I've found 50% of my work through the combination of AGDM and research online and on the magazine stands," she says.
Once she assembled a list of markets that were strong fits for her work, Ghahremani sent out carefully targeted promotional postcards. When it comes to that initial contact with Art Directors, she recommends that "your promo should be the absolute most representative image(s) of your work you can find." In addition to being an example of your own illustration style, a promo card must also honestly represent your illustration skills. Your promo, says Ghahremani, "could be your best painting ever, just make sure you can achieve the same quality of work again and that your work is consistent."
After learning the right way to approach markets, Ghahremani had immediate success. "I got my first call from a prestigious client regarding my first promo the day after I put it in the mail!" While exciting, this call actually provided another important learning opportunity for her. As she explains, "They wanted to review 'my book.' I didn't even know what that meant at the time. Your 'book' is your tangible portfolio. I didn't have one! I was terrified. I stayed up all night professionally printing samples and arranging their presentation and overnighted them the next morning. Miraculously, they hired me, and I had a deadline the following week."
When it comes to putting together your work to send to markets, Ghahremani advises that "your portfolio should be cohesive. I think my first portfolio had about 10 different styles and techniques in it. A disjointed portfolio confuses art directors about what to expect from you." For anyone having trouble assembling a portfolio, she recommends "exercises like www.illustrationfriday.com or taking articles from magazines you already like and re-illustrating the articles as if they had hired you."
Ultimately, Ghahremani believes that the secret to success is to "keep trying! The more work you do, the better and more refined your work will get. The more work you do, the more art directors will see you, too. Don't feel disappointed if you don't achieve what you hoped to right away. Keep up your energy and enthusiasm, and don't let making art stop being fun!"
Ghahremani's final advice is to "love what you do! There are a lot of ups and downs in a career as an illustrator, a lot of hard work, lulls and times when you're completely swamped and overwhelmed, but enjoying your work is the best reward. I wouldn't trade it in for anything." That's a sure sign of success.
Susie Ghahremani may be from the smallest state, Rhode Island,
but she lives life in a big way and her art makes a big impact.
She's a singer with her own one-woman band, Snoozer, and is
a non-stop illustrator with a unique style. The above illustration
is titled Food Fight--more of her work can be viewed on her
Website www.boygirlparty.com, which offers notecards, t-shirts and
more featuring Ghahremani's work. You can also hear her sing!
Artists | Book Contents
11/2/2007 11:15:50 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Monday, October 29, 2007
Fairey again -- he's everywhere!
Posted by Erika
Check out the NOVEMBER 2007 ISSUE of JUXTAPOZ MAGAZINE if you're interested in learning more about Shepard Fairey (the subject of previous posts here and here).
From the Juxtapoz website:
When an already declared legend has a big year, we like to give a little notice, hence Shepard Fairey gracing the cover of the November issue of Juxtapoz. And guess what! We got an exclusive never-before-seen cover and 18 pages of Obey magic. Shepard covers everything from the current state of his artwork to the future at hand for Obey Giant.
I haven't had a chance to purchase my copy yet, but believe me, I plan to get one as soon as possible.
Although Juxtapoz does not have a listing in the 2008 AGDM, the magazine does accept what it calls "Reader Art" -- here are the submission guidelines as posted on the website:
Reader Art is published every Monday. Each week, we select 1-2 pieces from six different artists who submit their work to Reader Art and post it on our website.
Reader Art is simply a forum to show art created by our readers. Mainly, it serves to show the work of students and amateur or emerging artists.
We get a lot of submissions. We cannot publish all of them, and we cannot always personally respond to everyone who submits their work. You'll receive an automated confirmation email from us that we've received your submission. Your work will be seen by someone here at Juxtapoz... but because we have a large pool to choose from, we have to make decisions about who to publish and who to pass on for now. You will receive an email from us if/when we publish your work.
To submit art for the Reader Art section please note following, then send an email to reader_art@juxtapoz.com
Email vs Snailmail: We are now only accepting electronic submissions. Submissions mailed to our office may not be returned. Please use the internet.
Image Specs: Images should be 480px wide. Height may vary, but each image must be less than 100k. Please optimize your images for the web and save them as. jpg (or .gif for vector work), in RGB colors (not CMYK or Index), and at 72dpi. Non-digital artwork should be photographed clear, sharp and head on, and presented without background or white space unless the piece is an unusual shape.
Art Info: Please include the title of each piece as well as medium(s) used. The more information the better.
Your Info: Please include your name as you'd like to be credited, and your website URL...it can be your Myspace page or Livejournal or your fancy Flash-based portfolio, but there should be some way for people to contact you and/or see more of your work. If you do not include a URL, it will be assumed that we may publish your email address as contact info unless you explicitly state otherwise.
Publishing: Currently, we are publishing each artist only once.
Artists | Calls for Entry | Miscellaneous
10/29/2007 5:20:19 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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365 SKULLS
Posted by Erika
I went to a Halloween costume party Saturday night, and now I'm officially in spook mode. I dressed as a pirate, with plenty of skull accessories (hat, earrings, necklace, tights, and even a temporary tattoo). Skulls are always fashionable for artsy/rocker types, but it seems like they become more acceptable in the mainstream during October. So I'm using Halloween as an excuse to share with you one of my favorite blogs -- Skull-A-Day.
Noah Scalin, the blog's administrator, is "making a skull image every day for a year." That's 365 different skull images! He started the project in June, so there are still many days to come, and I'm curious to see if he can pull it off.
Even if you don't necessarily like skulls (or if you could care less about Halloween), you should still check out the blog just to see the creative solutions the artist has come up with so far. You never know -- one of them might be the spark of inspiration you've been searching for to help you complete one of your artistic projects.
Artists | Miscellaneous
10/29/2007 4:34:54 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, October 25, 2007
2 Contests from I.D. Magazine
Posted by erika
Annual Design Review
I.D. is now accepting entries into the 2008 Annual Design Review. Winners will appear in the August 2008 issue of I.D.
Since 1954, the Annual Design Review has recognized the best in product, furniture, graphic and environment design, from the iconic to the obscure. Throughout the years, this annual showcase has chronicled the evolution of design, and highlighted its impact on our material and visual culture.
Each year, the featured work is chosen by a jury of leading practitioners, who, along with I.D.'s editorial team, focus the abundance of submissions into a clear survey of the state of design. The resulting overview is published in the August issue of I.D. Magazine.
Click here to download the guidelines and an entry form.
Deadline is December 1, 2007, so don't delay!
Student Design Review
I.D. is also accepting entries for the 2008 Student Design Review, which is open to any student enrolled in a collegiate-level design program (undergraduate or graduate), anywhere in the world. All projects entered must be the result of a classroom/academic assignment, and must have been designed/completed during the 2006-2007 academic year.
There are 4 categories:
- Industrial Design
- Graphic Design
- Interactive Design
- Miscellaneous
One Best of Show winner will get $1,000 in cold, hard cash. Plus, all winning projects may be posted on the I.D. website with links to winners' online portfolios, and will be featured in the September/October 2008 issue of the magazine.
Click here for guidelines and an entry form.
Deadline is February 1, 2008, so you have plenty of time to create something spectacular!
Design Competition Email Update
Don't miss out on competition news, calls for entry and announcements of winners. Sign up for the I.D., Print and HOW Design Competition Update.
Calls for Entry
10/25/2007 3:29:01 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Obey Fairey
Posted by erika
I just came across a nice article on one of my favorite artists, Shepard Fairey. I think he's one of the most important and inspiring artists of our time, mainly because of his DIY approach that focuses on utility and meaning more than profit. Fairey doesn't conform to traditional standards of "the art world," yet he is indeed a successful practicing artist -- one who has built a positive reputation among other non-traditional artists who are wary of the "old school" standards of salability and esthetic value.
I've copied the article below, originally from The Times Online UK.
(The links were added by me.)
October 20, 2007
Poster boy with a difference
Virginia Blackburn on the irony of an artist whose advertising-style works ‘market nothingness’, but can fetch thousands of pounds
Mention the term “street art” and the practioner most likely to come to mind is the urban graffiti artist Banksy, whose work has leapt in price from an average £500 to £50,000 in the past five years. However, it was another exponent of the artform who inspired Banksy and numerous others.
Shepard Fairey, born in 1970 in South Carolina, and now based in Los Angeles, was one of the first street artists and is about to stage his first exhibition in London for seven years: Nineteeneightyfouria, November 2-18* at the StolenSpace gallery in the Old Truman Brewery in London. With more than 100 pieces on offer, it is Fairey’s biggest exhibition to date, but the prices start at a remarkably affordable £60.
Beth Gregory, assistant director at StolenSpace, says: “Fairey is not quite a graffiti artist, as his work is not letter-based artwork, but he has taken the ethic of graffiti to create visual iconic images that are then propagated over and over again, in the way grafittists do.
“He uses posters, stencils and any number of different media to get the image across to more people. He understands the way our consumer society works: what he is doing is using the power of advertising, except that his is a brand without a product.”
Fairey does this with his posters adorning advertising billboards without actually advertising anything, or as he puts it, “market nothingness”.
Appropriately enough, Fairey’s interest in art originated in the street. In the mid-1980s he became a devotee of skateboarding, which led him to develop a desire to create the paraphernalia that went with it.
“Skateboarding in the Eighties was do-it-yourself,” he says. “That was what got me into making T-shirts and screenprinting. At first I cut stencils and spray-painted shirts. Then I realised my art teacher had a primitive screenprint rig in the back room. I started screenprinting shirts for myself and a couple extra for friends. You could see that in a short time in 1984-85 my whole career was beginning to form, based on that stuff.”
Fairey first made his name in 1989, when he was still at the Rhode Island School of Design, from which he graduated in 1992 with a BA in illustration. He created a sticker campaign called “Andre the Giant Has a Posse”, which in turn evolved into a campaign called “Obey Giant”. The images that he created were replicated across the globe and a selection can be seen on his website (www.obeygiant.com), becoming, in Fairey’s own words, an “experiment in phenomenology”.
Ms. Gregory adds: “Fairey’s work is clearly influenced by Pop Art, Andy Warhol’s production techniques and our throwaway society, in that he creates, for example, fly posters.”
Because he utilises various media the prices for his works vary hugely, from his screenprints, the cheapest of his works, which start at about £60, to large canvasses, which climb to many tens of thousands of pounds. This is a deliberate strategy on Fairey’s part: while he is now an established and influential artist, an effort has been made to stay in touch with people who first bought his work and who would not always be seen as typical art collectors.
There is a huge range of work on offer at the new exhibition, including a screenprint run of his most famous image, Obey. It is an edition of ten and each costs £600. Then there are images that can be bought in several forms: Mujer Fatal is available as a stencil collage/mixed media canvass for £5,070, or as a ruby lithograph for £1,010. The same forms and prices apply to Proud Parents. Alternatively, This Machine Kills Fascists can be bought as a large canvas for £15,000, or as a ruby lithograph for a more affordable £1,010.
Fairey is very much an artist of his time, not confining himself to “traditional” canvases, but also working as a graphic designer and illustrator. In 2003 he founded the Studio Number One design agency, which produced the cover for the albums Elephunk and Monkey Business, by the Black Eyed Peas, as well as the poster for the film Walk the Line.
He also published a book last year, the title of which could be said to sum up what his work is about: Supply and Demand: the Art of Shepard Fairey.
This is an artist who should certainly not be underestimated. Amid all the trendiness and commentary on contemporary society, Fairey’s striking images may well pass the test of time.
*According to the Stolen Space website, Fairey's show is running until November 25.
Here's another good (longer) article on Fairey, which I linked to from here.
Artists
10/23/2007 9:43:11 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, October 22, 2007
EXHIBIT at the WORLD'S LARGEST ART FAIR
Posted by erika
Applications are being accepted for the 30th annual Artexpo New York (February 28-March 3, 2008 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center).
Artexpo New York is the largest gathering of qualified art buyers, offering unparalleled access to the world's most popular art. Each year the show attracts more than 40,000 trade and consumer buyers from 55 countries, all in search of the art and artists that will shape trends in galleries worldwide.
SOLO is a special section of Artexpo New York dedicated to showcasing the work of the world’s emerging, independent artists. Since its debut in 2004, SOLO has become the ultimate venue for artists to be discovered.
If you can't afford the cost of renting a booth (starting at around $3,000), consider entering the Emerging Artist Contest, sponsored by Art Business News. The winner will receive a free SOLO booth as well as two quarter-page ads in Art Business News. Download a PDF application here. Deadline for entry is December 1, 2007, so don't delay -- this is a great chance to have your artwork seen by qualified professionals in the industry!
Calls for Entry | Self-Promotion
10/22/2007 4:51:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
Creativity + Commerce
Posted by erika
Creativity + Commerce, PRINT magazine's International Business Graphics Review, is the newest and fastest-growing of PRINT's design competitions.*
It brings together the full range of work done for corporate clients around the world--from print ads, corporate identities and flyers, to animated short films, websites, interactive games and much more.
PRINT invites you to participate in this important showcase. All winning entries will be featured in the September/October 2008 issue of PRINT, and cash prizes totalling $9,000 will be awarded to the top 3 winners.
Entry Deadline: November 1, 2007
Download an entry form (PDF) here.
*Don't miss out on competition news, calls for entry and announcements of winners. Click here to sign up for the PRINT, I.D. and HOW magazine Design Competition Update, delivered right to your inbox!
Calls for Entry
10/18/2007 3:33:38 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Holiday Promotions
Posted by erika
As a follow-up to yesterday's post, I'm providing some information about Modern Postcard's holiday card packages. (Modern Postcard is a printing company that specializes in direct mail services. Fred Hernandez, Marketing Communications Mangager at Modern Postcard, was interviewed for Maria Piscopo's article on self-promotion in the 2008 AGDM.)
The holiday season is a great time to send promotional postcards to prospective clients. Modern Postcard has holiday card packages starting at $29, with free envelopes and shipping for up to 200 cards. So get to work on creating a fun holiday-themed design or illustration, then select a template and upload your image. Be sure to include your name and contact information, as well as your specialty (e.g., children's illustration, editorial illustration, graphic design), when you personalize the message on your cards.
Here's a generic (fake) card I designed using an illustration by Janet Stever that appears in the 2008 AGDM:
front inside
Self-Promotion
10/18/2007 2:13:18 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, October 17, 2007
2008 Edition is done!
Posted by erika
I just got my advance copies of the 2008 AGDM!!! (And I also realized that today is the 1-year anniversary of my promotion to editor, so I guess October 17 must be a lucky date for me.)
It's so exciting to see the finished product of my hard work. All the art looks great -- I can't wait for you to see it! I'm told the book will be shipping from the warehouse within the next week or two, but you can pre-order it from Amazon. As soon as I get my first shipment, I'll be sending comp copies to all the artists and writers featured in the book.
To peak your interest in the book (and to get you thinking about your marketing plans for the upcoming holiday season -- the perfect time to send promo cards), I'm providing here an excerpt from Maria Piscopo's article Self-Promotion in the Modern World:
Assembling a Mailing List
Successful direct marketing always starts with a targeted list of prospective clients. In addition to creating mailing lists based on researching Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market listings and your own networking, some artists purchase industry-specific mailing lists or labels.
There are many industry-specific sources for your mailing lists. You can just buy the labels or e-mail addresses from these firms, but consider buying the database to use on your computer and make your own labels. Another option is to import the data if you are already using a compatible contact management software program for a database (e.g., Filemaker Pro or Microsoft Access). When buying data, look for individually prepared lists targeted to your marketing message.
Make sure the company updates their database at least two to three times a year. If you are buying the database, make sure you can add your own sales leads, contact names and even mail/merge for printing custom letters and envelopes. Check out the search and sort capabilities of the program before you buy so that you can search the data by company name, city, state, zip code, area code, type of client, contact name or any of the other popular fields of information used for mailing lists databases.
Here is a partial list of companies that sell targeted databases of clients that buy art and graphic design:
*Agency Access is currently offering the following discounts:
Sign up for either a North American or European full membership before October 31st and receive a 10% savings with quarterly part payments. Also, receive $100 off any E-mail bundle!
Full range of self-promotional services available:
- Up-to-date database (99% accuracy)
- Over 40,000 qualified North American and European buyers
- Customized searches and tailored lists
- E-mail and direct mail marketing services
- New high-quality printing service
- Personalized help and marketing consulting
Want to try them out before you activate your subscription?
Call 1-800-704-9817 for a 3-day FREE TRIAL or personal Online Demo.
Book Contents | Miscellaneous | Self-Promotion
10/17/2007 2:02:11 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, October 11, 2007
Rollins and Rose
Posted by Erika
Ohmygod, I'm SO excited! I'm on Cloud 9 right now...
My best friend Lori and I met Henry Rollins last night!!!
This is a dream come true for us -- one we've had for 15 years! That's more than half of our time on this planet, and though we've known each other forever and shared many common interests, our passion for Hank outweighs pretty much everything else.
I guess I should start at the beginning and move forward...
Our dads met in Vietnam, and they kept in touch after returning home. They both lived in Ohio, at opposite ends of the state, and they had become friends with a few other guys who lived in neighboring states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. So these guys and their wives/girlfriends would take turns getting together at one another's homes, and their friendship grew and survived the miles between them.
Through some kind of magical fate, our moms happened to get pregnant around the same time, and in September of 1978, Lori was born exactly one week before me. I guess you could say we became friends simply because our parents were friends, but our friendship has evolved so far beyond that. At first we would only see each other when our parents made plans to spend a weekend together, but as we got older, we were able to take turns spendng entire weeks at each other's houses, during Spring Break or the Christmas holiday.
By the time we were 14, we had discovered "real music" -- we said goodbye to bands like New Kids on the Block and Bell Biv DeVoe, and we started listening to Nirvana, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, The Pixies, and so on and so on. We started wearing flannel shirts and combat boots, and we thought we knew everything. Together we were invincible. We watched 120 Minutes on MTV religiously (I still have about 20 VHS tapes with recorded episodes), and we discovered more and more "alternative" music that wasn't being played on the radio.
One of the bands we were introduced to on the show was the Rollins Band (before "Liar"). This Henry Rollins guy blew us away, and we had to find out more about him. Through our punk rock research, we found that he had been in a band called Black Flag. We immediately bought some of the band's albums, and we were hooked -- particularly on one album that included some spoken word tracks. Through further searching, we found that Henry had quite a few albums that were entirely spoken word. We found them all and devoured them.
The very first spoken word album we bought (and I don't know how we bought it when it had the "Parental Advisory Explicit Lyrics" warning on it) was The Boxed Life. It was a 2-cassette combo, and we each had our own copy. We listened to it voraciously, constantly quoting lines to each other and feeling as if we'd discovered the meaning of life. We went on vacation with my parents that summer, and to keep them from hearing what we were listening to, we each put our copy of Tape 1 into our individual walkmen and listened simultaneously through separate headphones. Those original cassettes are what we took to the spoken word show last night for Henry to sign.
Something else that happened that summer is that we went to our first Lollapalooza ('93) -- without our parents' permission. They told us we were too young to go to an all-day concert like that, and of course we thought that was the lamest thing we'd ever heard. So we went anyway. We contrived some weak cover story and took off to Indianapolis (nearly 3 hours away, across the state line) with Lori's older friend Becky and Becky's much older (21) friend Erik Rose.
We sat quietly in the backseat and thought that Erik Rose had to be the coolest guy in the world (next to Henry Rollins, of course). He was an artist and a musician, and he had long, dark hair and wore a Cure t-shirt with the sleeves cut off (The Cure is one of our all-time favorite bands, but that's a whole other story). Anyway, we went to the concert and had an amazing time, despite the blistering sunburn and sprained ankle I acquired...and despite the fact that we inevitably got caught in our lie.
Part of Lori's punishment was that her dad took most, if not all, of her CDs and cassettes, including some Rollins spoken word albums, and threw them away! She told Henry about this last night, and he said, with an appalled look on his face, "Is he still alive?!" Ha! Believe me, we did want to kill our parents after that. Like, why couldn't they just understand and leave us alone?!? Ah, teen angst.
To make a long story short (too late), Lori has since obtained new copies of Hank's spoken word CDs, and we are just as enthralled with him now, at age 29, as we were at 14. We've seen him perform with the Rollins Band twice, and we've been to at least 3 of his spoken word shows together. Those have been some of the best nights of our lives, but last night definitely ranks at #1.
And now we come back to Erik Rose...
About a year ago, as I was planning the 2008 edition of AGDM, I came across him on the Internet. I was reading up on the case developments of the West Memphis Three (in which Henry has been very supportive and instrumental), and I discovered that Damien Echols had been interviewed by a magazine called Tastes Like Chicken. I went to the website to check out the article, and I was immediately drawn to the illustration of Damien that appeared with the interview -- an illustration by Erik Rose!
My heart skipped a beat. Could it really be the Erik Rose from 14 years ago?!? I clicked on the link to his bio, and as soon as I read "originally hailing from a small town in Ohio that is filled with Etch-a-Sketches and Dum-Dum suckers," I knew it was him. I explored the site further and discovered that he's the art editor and a contributing writer for the magazine, and that he had interviewed none other than Henry Rollins for a previous issue (which included a kick-ass illustration of the man and his well-known tattoos).
I was so excited at this point, I didn't know what to do with myself. So I did what fate must have intended: I sent an e-mail to Erik Rose asking if I could interview him for my first edition of AGDM. I could tell from his website that he had turned out to be an amazing artist, and it seemed like he'd had some success as a freelance illustrator and would make a great interview subject. Boy, was I right!
Erik gave such excellent answers to my questions, I couldn't have hoped for a better interview. I think he'll be a great inspiration to many of AGDM's readers, and I'm so excited to share his work with all of you. I plan to post an excerpt from his interview in a later blog entry, but you'll have to get your own copy of the 2008 AGDM to read the whole thing, which I strongly encourage!
Isn't it funny how life works? We're all connected in so many small ways, and it seems those are the things that make it all worthwhile. Just think, if my dad or Lori's dad had never fought in that crazy war, they wouldn't know each other, and therefore Lori & I wouldn't know each other, and maybe neither of us would care about Henry Rollins or even know who he is. I certainly wouldn't know Erik Rose, and even if I had discovered him in searching for artists to feature in the book, he wouldn't have the same significance.
So I'm thankful for who I am, and for the people who've come into my life...for whatever reason, because it's the connections we make with people that give such value to life on this strange planet.
Now excuse me while I go back to floating on that cloud...
Peace,
Erika
Artists | Miscellaneous
10/11/2007 11:16:11 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Family Talent
Posted by Erika
I just found out that my husband's Irish cousin is Artist of the Month at Galway City's Bold Art Gallery. Her name is Mary Dillon, and I absolutely love her and her work. Though I've only met her a few times, she made a great impression on me with her bohemian style and upbeat attitude. She is a true inspiration.
Biography from Bold Art Gallery:
A full-time professional artist since 1999, Mary enjoys spending her time working from her studio at home in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. Originally from Kilkenny, she first exhibited her work during Kilkenny Arts Week at the age of 13.
Mary has a keen interest in botany and gardening and takes inspiration from her garden, local hedgerows, woodlands and the bogs in the midlands of Ireland.
Mary’s unique style reveals the power and vibrancy of watercolours at their best. Gradually building up washes of paint to create intense yet delicately subtle layers of colour, her paintings encourage and challenge us to look again.
Her work has been critically acclaimed on television and in national print media, and she has undertaken commissions for corporate and private collections around the world.
To submit artwork to Bold Art Gallery, mail a CD of images to the gallery at Merchants Rd. & Augustine St., Galway City, Ireland. Include a self-addressed envelope for return. You may also e-mail sample images to info@boldartgallery.com. Be sure to include a biography in your application. The biography should consist of information about you as an artist, your education (if relevant) and your influences.
Artists
10/10/2007 11:48:19 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, October 09, 2007
A chance to collaborate
Posted by Erika
Born Magazine is seeking artists interested in collaborating with writers to create experimental, interactive projects for two sections of the magazine:
- Just Born features cinematic and interactive interpretations of short genres such as poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. For this section of the magazine, designers collaborate with writers to create an original media-rich project that interprets the writer's original work.
Design guidelines: Artists interested in creating interpretations of short literary works may send design portfolio samples (2MB maximum) and/or URLs via email to the online curator.
- The Birthing Room features media-rich art that explores storytelling using interactive media, animation, design, and other approaches. Collaborative teams create an original concept and work from scratch. Teams can include writers, artists, musicians, programmers, and others. Projects can range from interpretations of classic literature to experiments in narrative or visual storytelling.
Popular approaches to Birthing Room collaboration include:
- Designer-created team
Artists can collaborate with programmer(s) and/or writer(s) of their choosing. All participants should submit portfolios of their work and a brief proposal (1-2 paragraphs) outlining their concept.
- Matchmaking
Born matches artists and writers who are interested in collaborating to create an original work. The team then develops the concept together and submits a brief proposal to Born.
- Interpretation
Artist(s) submit a proposal to interpret a work of their choice. All stories will be reviewed by the editors to consider literary excellence and copyright permissions. If the work is covered by copyright, Born can contact the publisher/writer on behalf of the designer to obtain permission.
- Wild Card
Artists and writers suggest new and unique collaborations that Born has not yet thought up.
Design guidelines: Artists interested in The Birthing Room may send design portfolio samples (2MB maximum) and/or URLs via email to the online curator. You may send proposals at the same time, unless requesting matchmaking.
Calls for Entry
10/9/2007 12:25:52 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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