Urban Posters for 8 Limbs Yoga

 The poster, on a light pole in the 

Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.

Lately, I’ve been doing some work for 8 Limbs Yoga Centers, with four yoga studios in Seattle. The 8 Limbs, 8 Reasons campaign has been a lot of fun to work on; it’s unique and eye-catching!

 

 The poster, as designed.

I wanted to create something simple, with giant, bold typography that will grab attention in every format.

An advertisement for The Stranger, 

an alternative newspaper in Seattle.

Here, I mixed up the color palette a bit for different media, while keeping the same basic composition and style for brand recognition.

CoCA Art Marathon

 

Last weekend, I participated with 19 other artists, in an Art Marathon hosted by Center on Contemporary Art Seattle (CoCA). We worked around the clock for 24 full hours, and immediately after we finished there was an auction to raise money for CoCA. All four pieces I created during the marathon were sold!

The energy in the gallery was inspiring! Tons of visitors came through to talk to us while we worked. It was both energizing and unsettling having strangers standing around watching me.

I was so delirious from not sleeping that I completely forgot to photograph a couple of the pieces I made!

“Harvest Moon!” at CoCA Ballard

 Flynn Bickley. Home, the Right to Oblivion.

Last night, I went to CoCA Ballard (Center on Contemporary Art) for a reception for a new show called “Harvest Moon!” My friend Flynn Bickley, who I met through Artist Trust’s EDGE Program, had several pieces in the exhibition.

 Flynn Bickley. Home, the Great Provider.

Flynn’s work is an intricate meditation on the idea of Home (or house): it's joys and it’s frustrations. Each painting is done on tar paper, left over from construction — a remnant of what one person might consider a joyful project, but what someone else might associate with annoyance.

 Jody Joldersma. Battle at Deer Creek.

Another artist represented in this show was Jody Joldersma. Her work is unsettling — a collection of nightmarish scenes.

 Jody Joldersma. Battle at Deer Creek.

She also creates a variety of creepy sculptures like this rat popping out of a mailbox like a jack-in-the-box. I’ve always had a fear of opening a mailbox and finding something like this inside! No matter how humanity tries to separate itself from Nature, we are always eventually reminded of its power over us. 

Retreat Posters for 8 Limbs Yoga

I’m working on a new poster design for 8 Limbs Yoga Centers in Seattle, to promote their retreats in 2013. These are two visuals I’m working with at the moment.

Since the posters will be seen inside their yoga studios, I think students don’t need to see images of people doing yoga poses. Instead, I'm focusing on a relaxation & rejuvenation in nature theme, since all the retreats are held in beautiful natural settings.

First Descents: Adventure Camp in Moab, Utah for Young Adult Cancer Survivors

 Looking over the Colorado River from a cliff above the Potash Road.

I spent last week near Moab, Utah with First Descents, a non-profit group that works to give support to young adult cancer survivors. They offer adventure camps in rock climbing, white-water kayaking, or surfing for cancer survivors age 18-40. If you know me at all, you won’t be surprised that I chose to go rock climbing in southern Utah!

With help from my belayer, “Little Bit,” I was able to make it to the top of this crazy crack, about 50-75 feet up a sheer cliff wall near Moab.

Fifteen cancer survivors from as far away as London attended this First Descents retreat, and we each received nicknames upon our arrival at the lodge. My nickname was “Eagle Eye” which I shortened to “Eagle” to make it easier. We laughed at the end when we realized we didn't know each others’ real names!

 Here I am, further up the crack.

The love, strength, and support — in such an awe-inspiring environment — that everyone shared throughout the week was so transformative. After a week of pushing my limits, both physically and emotionally, I felt like I could accomplish anything! And I left with 26 new friends who I can totally count on.
 

 I finally made it to the top — time for a break!

 Canyoneering the Medieval Chamber.

On our last day of camp, we pushed our limits even more, with a hike through the desert, and two big rappels into deep canyons. We were all beginners, so it was pretty overwhelming at first. Everyone came away intact, and we left some nice gifts for geocachers at the bottom of Morning Glory Arch.

 The view from the top of Morning Glory Arch, at the end of Negro Bill Canyon near Moab, Utah.

Watching my fellow campers rappelling down from the top of Morning Glory Arch, after coming down myself. I’m not gonna lie, dangling 100 feet in the air was a little bit freaky!

Karin Davie at Seattle Art Museum

I visited the Seattle Art Museum yesterday. It was a gorgeous day to hang around in downtown to see some art. One of my favorite pieces from this visit is the one above by Karin Davie. I wish I had remembered to jot down the title... One of my friends commented that it reminds him of the swirly lollipops he used to love as a kid.

 Karin Davie. Lover.

I can totally imagine the artist using her entire body to create these gestural beauties. The swooping colors look like they’re in three-dimensional motion.

Karin Davie. Symptomania 7

Some of her work begins to relate, in my mind, to something akin to Cy Twombly’s work. Swirling reds, maroons, and pinks glow against a green background in this one. When I see the title, Symptomania, I wonder if it’s about the feeling of being lovesick, or maybe just diseased.

Karin Davie. Liquid Life No. 2.

I missed seeing this newer piece at the James Harris Gallery in Seattle earlier this year. These are works on paper, and seem a little more controlled than the earlier works I’ve seen. The monochromatic themes are more subdued as well.

EDGE Professional Development Program for Visual Artists

 Point Wilson Light at Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, Washington

Last week, I attended the EDGE Professional Development Program for Visual Artists in Port Townsend, Washington. Getting an invitation to participate was competitive, and there were sixteen of us chosen to come together for a week of intensive learning at Fort Worden State Park.

What a gorgeous place to stay for a week. I practiced sun salutations on this bluff above the Puget Sound before class started each day.

We had class outside one day to make the legaleze a bit more bearable! I don’t think there’s much a person can do to make contracts interesting, other than sitting outside in the sunshine to talk about it.

We learned a lot about how to run a business as artists... apparently this is something many artists tend to avoid or procrastinate about. We learned about marketing plans, business plans, and legal issues, as well as how to best get the attention of gallery directors, write grant proposals, prepare portfolio packets, develop artist statements, and a lot more... in just eight days. One person compared the experience to sipping water from a fire hose. Hilarious, and true!

The Port Townsend Leader featured our group in the Arts & Entertainment section.

On our last day together, we gave a public presentation of our artwork at the Cotton Building in downtown Port Townsend. Everyone’s presentations improved so much from our rough go-round earlier in the week. It was so inspiring to see all the work together, and to support each other in public.

I’m so inspired by all the people I met this week, and look forward to supporting their creative endeavors for years to come. Thanks Artist Trust!

Wildflowers of the Kootenai National Forest in Northwest Montana

The wildflowers in northwestern Montana are just starting to bloom. These are some of the first few we’ve seen along the trails.

I’ve never seen these pretty red-orange wildflowers before. I forgot to bring my wildflower identification book w

What a pretty bunch of tiny white flowers along the trail to the site of the Pinto Mountain Fire Lookout in Kootenai National Forest!

This is the first warm/hot week in northern Montana this summer, so I hope to see lots more wildflowers popping up before we go home.

I don’t know what this crazy plant is! Maybe a mushroom or something? I love the texture and shape it has. I’m going to have to do some more research on this little guy to find out more about it.

Kootenai National Forest, Montana: Webb Mountain Fire Lookout on the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

Matt and I are spending our summer vacation in northwest Montana’s Kootenai National Forest along the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail.

We spent four nights at Webb Mountain Fire Lookout above Lake Koocanusa. It was stormy and cold when we arrived, and the dramatic scene complete with this huge, vibrant rainbow won us over immediately.

The rest of our time at the Webb Mountain Fire Lookout had spectacular weather. We had 360° views (as you would expect from a fire lookout). We were surprised that the sunrise was around 5:30am and sunset was about 9:45. It stayed light out long past then, only starting to really get dark around 11pm. Then we were graced by a huge full moon that kept the skies lit all night long!

Boulder Mountain and Boulder Lakes are near the lookout. We hiked to a ridge above the lake to get a good view. The photographer is at work in the foreground.

Logo Concepts for a New Yoga Studio

 

I’m excited to be working on a new identity project for a small yoga and wellness studio that is about to open in Mukilteo, Washington, called Nanda (translation: “Joy” in Sanskrit).

 

I love the luminescence in this logo. The layering gives a sense of depth and vitality. I love the way the words radiate out from the center, as if coming straight from the heart.

My client gave me some images that inspire her, including the Fibionacci spiral, which fed several of these logo ideas. This one is youthful and fun!

This logo is simple, again reflecting the warmth and radiance of connection and community. I think warm colors are especially inviting here in the Pacific Northwest, where so many days are grey and cool.

This is another design derived from the Fibionacci curve, cultivating a sense of nature and personal exploration.

 

The studio’s owner wants the logo to express the radiance, joy, and peacefulness that comes from natural healing modalities like yoga, massage, and acupuncture. Her favorite yoga pose, “wild thing” is pictured in these two concepts (above and below). These can be used whole, or broken up into pieces for different effects.

I love different aspects of all of these concepts. I’m eager to find out which one inspires my client the most.

Preview of a New FIDM Poster

I’m designing this year’s new FIDM poster now... I’m really excited about the concept I created with my colleague Kimberley Askew. We plan to develop an entire integrated campaign in print and online. The posters will be seen in high schools around the country.

Four real FIDM students will be featured throughout the campaign, which will drive our audience to a blog where the students will chronicle their experiences as part of the creative community at FIDM. Our audience wants to be able to imagine themselves at FIDM before they apply for admission, and this is the perfect way for them to see what campus life is like from their own peers.

Campfire Series 2012: Three Nights in Okanogan National Forest, Washington

Campfire Series: May 25, 2012, Okanogan National Forest, First Butte Fire Lookout, North 48.61934 West 120.10805

Matt and I spent the holiday weekend camping in Okanogan National Forest on the east side of the North Cascades in Washington State.

I’ve always loved campfires. Watching a campfire is a great meditation that blurs boundaries, releases old mental patterns, and opens the mind to new ways of seeing.

 We camped at the bottom of First Butte Fire Lookout.

Campfire Series: May 26, 2012, Okanogan National Forest, 8 Mile Creek, North 48.73785 West 120.28925

Each night, we camped at different sites, and I became enamored with the different characteristics of each fire, the placement of the wood, the sparks, the glow... the dance.

Campfire Series: May 27, 2012, Okanogan National Forest, Andrews Creek Trailhead, North 48.78430 West 120.10781

Our third night out, we stayed in the Chewuch River Canyon. My heart was nearly ripped out when we read the interpretive signage describing the Thirtymile Fire that occurred in July 2001. The fire started in a campsite; a camper left his fire unattended and it spread, went out of control, and killed four firefighters within 24 hours. Eleven years later, we could still see evidence of the fire's devastation throughout the canyon, and we plan to hike up the river canyon into the Pasayten Wilderness on our next trip there. Needless to say, we made sure our fires were dead-out before we went to sleep.

Helen Frankenthaler: Favorite Famous Artists / Part 9

Island. 1965.

As seen at Portland Art Museum.

I went to the Portland Art Museum yesterday, and found two Helen Frankenthaler pieces that remind me just how much I love her work. The spontaneity in her mark-making inspires me to my bones!

Spaced Out Orbit. 1973.

As seen at Portland Art Museum.

“A really good picture looks as if it’s happened at once. It's an immediate image. For my own work, when a picture looks labored and overworked, and you can read in it—well, she did this and then she did that, and then she did that—there is something in it that has not got to do with beautiful art to me. And I usually throw these out, though I think very often it takes ten of those over-labored efforts to produce one really beautiful wrist motion that is synchronized with your head and heart, and you have it, and therefore it looks as if it were born in a minute.” —Helen Frankenthaler

I love this quote, because I struggle with the same things in my own work. How much do I try to control the media, and how much do I allow it to control me? When is a piece finished, and when is it overworked? Mmm... Good questions!

Spontaneous: A New Series

 Spontaneous: Jump. Ink on paper. 8x8 inches. 2012.

The amazing spring weather and subsequent abundant flowers blooming all over town inspired this brightly-colored series. The rhododendrons are especially beautiful and vibrant right now, and I’m inspired!

 Spontaeous Series. Ink on paper. 8x8 inches (each piece). 2012.

 Spontaneous: Courage. Ink on paper. 8x8 inches. 2012.