ZOËLAB: THE LIFE AS ART BLOG
La Guardia Airport Power Point Presentation
In honor of the holiday traveling that I am not doing, that many other people are doing, I wanted to share my first power point art series I made when I lived in New York, two months after Lucas and I started dating.
ZOELAB DAY 114
Original Date of Post: December 23, 2012
In honor of the holiday traveling that I am not doing, that many other people are doing, I wanted to share my first power point art series I made when I lived in New York, two months after Lucas and I started dating. He had gone to Baja to see his sister for a few weeks, and was returning to New York. We were in the early stages of falling in love, and I decided it was important to pick him up at the airport after his late night flight. I didn’t have a car, so I took a cab to La Guardia Airport. I got there early, and I had some time to kill so I walked around taking photos. About a month or so earlier, I had come into possession of my first digital camera. It wasn’t even mine, it was something I got to use because of my job at a children’s services agency as Publications Coordinator, in house publications designer, and Alumni Relations Coordinator. I needed to take photos at Alumni events, so they got me a digital camera, which I pretended was mine and brought with me everywhere. Until that camera, the only other cameras I had used were 35 mm SLRs, which I had been using since I was fifteen. (As a younger child I had used two cameras given as gifts from my parents--the Nikon Disc camera (remember those? the film looked like little View Master slides) and a Polaroid.) In 2003, having a digital camera changed completely the way I took photographs. I discovered and developed a new style almost instantly.
As I waited for Lucas at La Guardia airport, I wandered around taking photos of things that caught my eye. Later, when I examined the images at work, a universal story emerged, personal only because of the context in which they were taken. I felt the photos had captured the contrast between the visual mundanity of airline travel and the internal feelings of excitement because of who you are traveling to see. For some reason, perhaps because I was at work, I decided the series needed to put together on power point, and hence my first power point art was created.
Tools of the practice: Art Journal Lab
As for me, I am mostly a marker and pen girl. Always have been. I studied oil painting in high school and college. But then decided it wasn't for me. I also have dabbled in watercolor. And find it very fun and playful. But, when it comes to drawing in my journal. I have always been crazy for that more graphic-y, comic-book-y, children's illustration look. I love black pen. I love filling in those lines with markers. My drawings have a naive look to them (sort of on purpose, sort of out laziness). Sometimes I try to make things look more realistic, but I also love the spontaneity of creating a line in ink and committing to its irregularity.
So now, I keep in my zippered pencil case for on the go art journaling:
- 2-5 sharpies in my favorite colors: neon pink, dark blue, black, yellow, gray (fine, ultra fine)
- 2 mechanical pencils (1.3 mm, .5 mm)
- one mechanical eraser
- 1, 2 black Microns (size 01)
- 1-2 Pigma brush tip pens, in black and green or brown
- A yellow-green neon highlighter
- My favorite writing pen is often hard to find here in Baja, the Pilot Precise V7 Rolling Ball, black in ultra fine tip.
In my purse, I keep a 5.5 x 8 spiral bound journal
In my vintage green Samsonite hard briefcase, which I use as my indestructible computer case, I keep my 8.5 x 11 spiral-bound journal
In other words, I am NEVER with out my journal. And almost never with out my computer.
In 2011, getting ready for a two month family trip to Europe, I decided I wanted to draw and write during my travels, so I bought myself a small square spiral pad, a varied selection of markers, pencils and pens and a little zippered pouch to keep it all in. I was so excited by the idea of creating my own travel kit of varied supplies, rather than just bringing one set of the same type of utensil.
My plan for that trip was to create a drawing for each city we visited, something that summed up my experience and impressions of the place. I made about three, but dropped the exercise after that. But, that book and that idea stayed with me, and I used it to create illustrations for my ZOELAB 365 project, when I blogged everyday for a year.
Two years ago, I decided to try to sell art journaling supplies at the local Farmers Market, near where I live in Southern Baja, Mexico. I bought the same zippered cases I had bought myself for my trip, as it turns out the company that makes those cases, Blue Q, has its headquarters in the Berskshires, where my parents live, and they know the owners. I LOVE their products because they are made from 95% post consumer materials, 1% goes to charity, and they are so useful, clever and good-looking. So it felt like a win-win to sell their products as way to promote art journaling and meet new people.
This November, my husband and I opened Luz Gallery, a photography and graphics gallery in the heart of Todos Santos. I knew I would continue to sell the tools that I love to use for art journaling. Spiral bound notebooks of different sizes, moleskines (which are lightweight and great for travel), Micron pens (brush tip and regular tip), Sharpies of different types, and those same zippered cases from Blue Q.
And now, for this 31 Day Art Journaling/Blogging Challenge, I am motivated again to share my recommendations for the tools of art journaling. Of course, everyone is different. Some people love colored pencils (pencils of color), water colors, photography, collage, or even crayons! I have an amazing artist/illustrator friend who loves to buy herself a full box of 64 Crayola crayons as a treat.
As for me, I am mostly a marker and pen girl. Always have been. I studied oil painting in high school and college. But then decided it wasn't for me. I also have dabbled in watercolor. And find it very fun and playful. But, when it comes to drawing in my journal. I have always been crazy for that more graphic-y, comic-book-y, children's illustration look. I love black pen. I love filling in those lines with markers. My drawings have a naive look to them (sort of on purpose, sort of out laziness). Sometimes I try to make things look more realistic, but I also love the spontaneity of creating a line in ink and committing to its irregularity.
However, one day, I did rediscover the pencil, and things have changed for me. It all started when I decided I really wanted to learn hand-lettering (and eventually sign painting) I bought a book on the topic, which was very inspiring and useful. It's a book by Mary Kate McDevitt called: Hand-Lettering Ledger: A Practical Guide to Creating Serif, Script, Illustrated, Ornate, and Other Totally Original Hand-Drawn Styles. Mary Kate advises in her book to pencil out your hand lettering before you ink it in, and then erase original pencil lines. It makes total sense, right? But I had never before thought of sketching letters first in pencil and then inking them. Using a pencil was one of those obvious revelations. Immediately, I started to get that I was capable of making my lettering and drawing more technically correct, if I just allowed myself to take the time. And used an eraser!
But more recently, I have developed another hand-lettering technique, which is spontaneous and improvisational, which truly is much more my style. It's block letters made with a sharpie, with no sketching involved. I used it for this promo I made for my new song Rock-n-Roll Thing using this technique, which I videos on time-lapse with my iphone. The iphone is another tool that is very new to me. I just received my first smart phone as a gift in May, and it has changed a lot of how I do my blogging and social media creativity.
If you want to jumpstart your creativity, whether you are an artist, writer, performer or just someone who wants to feel more engaged with daily life, I highly recommend that you create a system of capturing that works for you. Keep a notebook by your bedside table. One in your bag or purse. One at your desk. Always travel with something to sketch and take notes with.
This is how we develop ideas, capture insights and engage with our daily life, even the most mundane aspects. Nothing is too shallow nor too deep to capture.
There are so many more tools out there. But I wanted to start with the basics. Those are my basics.
What are yours?
Lower East Side Photo Essay
A photo essay. In search of a cultural experience and evidence of the gritty, arty, old NY, I discover public art on the lower east side.
Last week I went to NYC for my 25th high school reunion. After several intense days of fun reconnecting with friends, I left my last day to walk around NYC with myself on "art date". I didn't want to overplan my day. I wanted to keep a certain degree of spontaneity and discovery. I wanted to do a little shopping, and then take in a little culture-a museum, or some galleries. That is if I could find any with out the help of a smart phone.
I took the train to Prince Street, and after visiting some stores, I decided to walk East to see if I could find some interesting culture.
I walked downSuffolk street looking for galleries or shops. As I walked I found only one tiny gallery. It took a look inside, but it didn't inspire me, so I kept walking.
As I walked it occurred to me that I had never actually walked down that street before. It was a residential neighborhood, and what struck me most was how much it still looked like the NY I remembered from the 80's and 90's (I left new York in 2003). I had been hearing reports from people that NY had gone completely corporate, and no longer had any grit or a vibrant art scene. I had even experienced that myself. But as I walked through the lower east side--I saw more and more evidence of vibrant community.
I passed by a giant mural in front of a school, and I started to feel inspired, and I took out my camera and took pictures. I have such a big crush on sign painting. And then it started to occur to me very gradually as I walked. I don't need to go to a museum to see art. There's art here all over the streets.
I decided to let my intuition or guidance from higher self lead the way, and found my body naturally leaning towards certain streets as I walked. Sure enough I would turn the corner and find yet another giant mural. One after the other.
Eventually I walked north of Houston, and then up Saint Mark's Place towards the subway on Broadway. I took all of these photos along the way. Luckily, I had light on my side. That kind of crisp late afternoon sun that I associate with the fall in NYC.
As I headed up Saint Marks' I ran into this guy: a rapper. (I have to look up his name, which I have forgotten.) He asked me if I liked 90's hip hop as I passed him. He must have known from my age. "Yes," I said. "I do." He pitched his new CD to me, and I bought it for $10. Another example of good old fashioned marketing and public art.
I admit it: I do miss the 90's.
Latest Family Drawing
Usually Emilio makes the first quick marks--setting up the overall composition and then I will spend hours, sometimes spread over a few days, filling in all the spaces.
Emilio and I haven't been drawing much this year. He's been busier with school--now that he's in first grade. And I've been busy with work. But I so miss drawing with him. When we collaborate, he adds a certain quality I could never have--a boldness of shape, which is somehow simultaneously careful and carefree. My marks are usually repetitive and obsessive--which makes a nice contrast with Emilio's style. Usually Emilio makes the first quick marks--setting up the overall composition and then I will spend hours, sometimes spread over a few days, filling in all the spaces. This is the process in which we made last weekend's drawing.
Here it is:
Time to Rock!
These photos were taken when I was pregnant with Mio, seven years ago, six months after we moved to Baja. We were camping out in Elias Calles, and one day we got a little dolled up and drove into Todos Santos to watch the Oscars at Buena Vida (my favorite pizza place that is now closed.) I put my camera on the dashboard for this series. We will be making this same drive in a few weeks to perform our first gig at La Esquina, my favorite venue! This is a moment I have been dreaming about for a long time.
These photos were taken when I was pregnant with Mio, seven years ago, six months after we moved to Baja. We were camping out in Elias Calles, and one day we got a little dolled up and drove into Todos Santos to watch the Oscars at Buena Vida (my favorite pizza place that is now closed.) I put my camera on the dashboard for this series. We will be making this same drive in a few weeks to perform our first gig at La Esquina, my favorite venue! This is a moment I have been dreaming about for a long time.
Lucas will be playing drums and keyboard and bass. Yes--he will be playing more than one instrument at a time. And I will be singing and playing guitar. Maybe a little dancing.
Inspired by Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival, we will be playing two sets--a folk set and then a rock-n-roll set. Each set contains my original songs written over the last ten years and one Bob Dylan cover. When Dylan went electric and got booed by his folk fans--he kept playing because he did what he had to do. He wanted to plug in. That moment continues to be so inspiring to me. Plugging in my guitar is so empowering. I even wrote a song about it. It's called Dangerous Instrument and I will playing it on Thursday, February 25th at La Esquina, in the second set, of course.
Long live Rock-n-roll!
Five Weeks of Group Drawing at Baja Beans Market
For the past five weeks, I have been selling art supplies, promoting my creativity classes and events, and inviting people to draw with me at the Baja Beans Farmer's Market in Pescadero. My booth is a magnet for children and artists of all kinds. There are some people in the world who just can't resist color. I know, because I am one of them. Art supplies are more seductive than candy, and much better for you too!
In each 5 hour session, we create one 16 x 20 inch drawing on Bristol smooth paper. The only rule is that you cannot draw over someone else's drawing, but you are welcome to add and connect the various drawings. The goal is to fill up as much space as possible. As you can see, some are more finished than others. Usually the people who come to draw with me are children. But if an adult stops to buy art supplies or to learn about my offerings, I invite (or cajole) them to make their marks. This is the first lesson I can offer anyone who wants to open up to more of their creativity. Start from where you are. Here is a space for you to draw. Here are some markers, now make your marks!
As for our products, for now we are focusing mostly on drawing and journaling supplies. This is to promote my art journaling class and the idea of drawing in general. My hope is that travelers passing through Baja will feel inspired by the natural beauty, and start sketching in their journal or write about their travel experiences.
For the future, I have plans to create some homemade products, as well as offer a Lucy from Peanuts inspired advice booth.
Fun with Design
I LOVE DESIGN. I started playing with graphic design as a teenager. I made a wood cut print for the poster for the school play. In those days I was too shy and quiet to actually get into the plays--but I still tried. Instead I was cast as the dancer, or in this case the graphic designer!
I LOVE DESIGN. I started playing with graphic design as a teenager. I made a wood cut print for the poster for the school play. In those days I was too shy and quiet to actually get into the plays--but I still tried. Instead I was cast as the dancer, or in this case the graphic designer!
Over the years have taught myself graphic design and web design, and have since integrated my photography into my designs. More recently I have been teaching myself hand lettering and improving my hand drawing skills. It turns out that you really need a pencil for hand lettering. Up until then I have always been a pen and maker girl--which gives you a lot less control and a lot more permanence. But last year, I fell in love with pencils, which are great for getting your hand drawn designs perfect, thanks to a nifty little thing called an eraser.
I've always thought it would be fun to work in advertizing, and that I would have a knack for both the copy writing (I love catchy slogans) and for creating eye-catching, psychologically resonant design. The only problem is I have become anti-consumerist, and I could never bring myself to actually work in advertising. So, instead I apply my marketing skills to promote what I believe in. Running my own business/organization, Art For Life, and the blog, my music as well as others' projects I believe in--these are wonderful opportunities to use my design skills everyday to promote creativity, the arts, compassion, consciousness & multiplicity.
Here is a sampling of my latest designs:
The photograph for the Mariposa Night poster (below) was taken by my husband, who is a wonderful photographer, and features the cute little face of our Bear. This poster is a great example of our creative collaborative relationship: featuring: photography, hand drawn art, graphic design, light projection & our child.
I also have designed (and am still working on) several websites. Including, of course zoëlab.
After the Rain: a photo essay
Every summer, a bunch of our stuff gets ruined because we leave it outside before the rains come. This may seem shocking to some people. But we are developing a new philosophy that accepts the fact that we own far too much stuff, and that nature sometimes has to do her thing. I could be more careful, but somehow it hasn't happened yet. And it makes such an interesting art project to capture what nature does to culture. (And vice versa).
Every summer, a bunch of our stuff gets ruined because we leave it outside before the rains come. This may seem shocking to some people. But we are developing a new philosophy that accepts the fact that we own far too much stuff, and that nature sometimes has to do her thing. I could be more careful, but somehow it hasn't happened yet. And it makes such an interesting art project to capture what nature does to culture. (And vice versa).
The artwork was from a series I made in grad school, and the photos were prints I made in the dark room in college. The police car is Emilio's.
Creativity is about creation & destruction.
I think I am going to add some of these to my Culture-n-Nature Gallery.
Latest ZOELAB Album Cover
One of my favorite things to do as a designer is make album covers. Garafön, my band with my husband, will be releasing 15 -20 songs over the next months, or years (we'll see how long it takes me to learn how to a producer/recording engineer on top of a songwriter, singer, guitar player), so I will have a chance to make an album cover at least 15-20 times. But in the meantime, I am making album covers for zoëlab.
I haven't posted in a while due to a series of illnesses in the family. Everyone is on the mend, but it has taken me away from zoelabbing. In addition to parenting, I have also been working on some design projects, recording my songs, securing a new office space for myself in Todos Santos, cleaning up our newly sealedbedroom building (¡Nada mas murciélagos y guano!), which is now its finishing stages (we started construction in 2012), as well us helping out with the construction of our new guest house (photos of that process coming soon).
One of my favorite things to do as a designer is make album covers. Garafön, my band with my husband, will be releasing 15 -20 songs over the next months, or years (we'll see how long it takes me to learn how to a producer/recording engineer on top of a songwriter, singer, guitar player), so I will have a chance to make an album cover at least 15-20 times. But in the meantime, I am making album covers for zoëlab.
Here is my latest, and therefore, favorite one:
I took this photo of this moth after I discovered it convulsing half stuck under a cement paver stone in front of our house. It was fluttering its wings in a manic way. I rescued it from under the cement (but not before I took a video--sorry moth, but sometimes art must come first). And laid on the ground. It fluttered a little longer, and then it was still. And then I took this photo.
I must say finding the moth in the state it was in--felt like a message from the universe. A direct mirror of the feeling I've been going through lately. Impatiently trying to flutter my wings and fly, but realizing I am not quite ready yet, and therefore, still need to be on the ground. Once I freed this moth, it wasn't ready to fly yet either, and was still for a long while. I tried the same thing, and it worked. I started resting more. Slowing down. And then I got sick! Ha! My body and my psyche knows what's up. And so does the moth.
Zoë in a hole
I like this photo. Don't ask me the story. Make up your own!
I like this photo. Don't ask me the story. Make up your own!
Lego Photo Essay
I am obsessive about photographing life. Sometimes it's a way of making contact with the world. Sometimes it's about accepting what is. And sometimes it's a way of keeping what is so meant to be transitory.
Emilio went through a phase (age 4-5) where we was in love with Legos. Especially Star Wars Legos. He would make ever more complex pieces, spending hours making them just to his liking. He would save them for a few days, and then destroy them happily. I am obsessive about photographing life. Sometimes it's a way of making contact with the world. Sometimes it's about accepting what is. And sometimes it's a way of keeping what is so meant to be transitory. I have hundreds of photos of Emilio's wonderful Lego creations, as well as some of mine and Lucas'.
Here is a series from a particularly elaborate creation of Emilio's. I lent him my camera (Canon G12), and he took a few photos himself. I can't seem to find those photos right now, but I will post them here when I find them. The photos below are special because I took them with Lucas' Fuji 100S, which has such a great look.
another museum adventure
The museum allows photography, the general admission is free, and it also offers many interactive resources as a way to engage in the art. Though out the time I was in the museum, I periodically welled up with emotion because I was so inspired by the space and the art, and after two years of motherhood, it felt like the beginning of my return to art.
To continue on the theme of photographing museums, I want to share some images that I took last August in my new favorite museum, The Tate Modern in London. Lucas, Emilio and I took a grand European tour that summer and when were in London visiting our friends, I got to spend a very happy dayalone, wandering around the museum, which shows exciting and eclectic contemporary and modern art collections, in a very impressive industrial space. The museum allows photography, the general admission is free, and it also offers many interactive resources as a way to engage in the art. Though out the time I was in the museum, I periodically welled up with emotion because I was so inspired by the space and the art, and after two years of motherhood, it felt like the beginning of my return to art. I had forgotten to bring my journal with me, but I had my ipod, which has a voice recorder. Here is an excerpt from what I said:
“I also realized that being at this museum alone is what I really needed because I have been depressed and lost and disconnected.... this happens to me in life and it makes sense but, it’s been hard being a mom and being a wife because I feel like I have no core and I’ve sort of lost track of the other things I care about, my passions. I realize that... I unconsciously think: ‘my life is over, now that I’m a mom that’s all I’m ever gonna be and I won’t ever have time to do any of the other things that I love to do.’ And whenever I have a few minutes or hours it’s not so easy to reconnect with who I was, or who I would like to be... Believing in art as a religion, not just something to do, but it being a deepest expression, not being lost in the world of practicality.”
Here are some photos I took that day of people entering the museum in its great hall--the last one is a video.
museum adventures
To continue with my insider/outsider perspective of the art world theme, and to honor the photo from yesterday’s post, (which was taken at Mass MoCA) I want to share some photographs that I have taken in some of my favorite places to photograph: museums. There are not very many museums in the world that will let you take photographs inside them. But there are a few. Taking pictures is is a way to have a more interactive experience when I go into a museum. Instead of just being an observer, I become participant. I go from outsider to insider. But, in the end, I feel even more like an outsider.
De Young in San Francisco
ZOELAB DAY 71
To continue with my insider/outsider perspective of the art world theme, and to honor the photo from yesterday’s post, (which was taken at Mass MoCA) I want to share some photographs that I have taken in some of my favorite places to photograph: museums. There are not very many museums in the world that will let you take photographs inside them. But there are a few. Taking pictures is is a way to have a more interactive experience when I go into a museum. Instead of just being an observer, I become participant. I go from outsider to insider. But, in the end, I feel even more like an outsider.
My interest in this activity started when I was nineteen years old and visited the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The Musée d’Orsay was a railway station (built at the turn of the 20th century) that opened as a museum in 1986. It is a beautiful space, and when I first visited there, they allowed photography. In those days, I used a 35 mm Nikon FG. I have since lost all those photos (they were actually stollen from my darkroom drawer in college). I loved photographing the art, with the light glowing down from the magnificent dome glass ceiling. I returned to the museum last year with my French aunt, (twenty years later) excited to re-experience the museum with my digital camera, and found out that they no longer allowed photography. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. Since then, one of my other favorite museums to take photos in is Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.) My parents live an hour away, and every year when I visit them, we make a family pilgrimage. Taking photos there has become a big part of the ritual, especially between me and my brother.
You may ask: is this intellectual property infringement? And the honest answer is: I don’t know. But I do find it interesting to think about: seeing art, and the space that contains it, from a different person’s perspective. Not necessarily as the artist, or the museum, intended. Does that photograph of art become art or is it a sneaky reproduction?
Dia de los Muertos
It’s the first day of November. It’s also Dia de los Muertos. A day whereMexicans honor the dead. The two most recently deceased beings I know are Bashi, our friend Bruce’s white german shepard, and Da Sol, our friend Omar’s blue healer.
ZOELAB DAY 62
It’s the first day of November. It’s also Dia de los Muertos. A day whereMexicans honor the dead. The two most recently deceased beings I know are Bashi, our friend Bruce’s white german shepard, and Da Sol, our friend Omar’s blue healer. Bashi died on Tuesday, October 23rd of old age, and complications arising from that old age. In the last year of her life, Bashi’s two hind legs no longer worked, but she was still able, miraculously, to swim and walk around by dragging her legs behind her. Da Sol, who was also quite old, died a few weeks ago shortly after receiving a hard kick from the neighborhood donkey, Einstein. Lucas and his sister, Emilia buried Bashi in the dark, on our land. Her owner was in Vera Cruz making his yearly pilgrimage to traditional parts of mainland Mexico to capture the enigmatically beautiful Dia de Los Muertos festivities. He owns the plot of land next to us, but the land was undiggable there, so she is resting very close to her home.
Because he is respectful, and speaks excellent spanish, Bruce has been given access to the some intimate moments of the reverent and ancient practices of honoring the dead. Some day, I would like to go with Bruce to witness the traditional Dia de Los Muertos celebrations. In the meantime, I can look at his vast collection of colorful and solemnly dignified images, which I had the privilege of working with closely when I designed his website. For our wedding present, Bruce gave us a large photo depicting hundreds of observers of the holiday in Chiapas. See below.
Day of the Dead, San Juan Camula, Chiapas by Bruce Herman
Links to Poetic Truths of Animals, Communication & Health
In writing classes that I’ve taught and taken, we have sometimes used prompts, small pieces of writing by others to get the juices flowing. In this case, I am offering pieces of random news as possible prompts for ideas and for interest. Many of these were found on a blog called shines like gold by Imp Kerr, “an insightful fiend living in New York City” that compiles interesting news on the new inquiry.
ZOELAB DAY 60
In writing classes that I’ve taught and taken, we have sometimes used prompts, small pieces of writing by others to get the juices flowing. In this case, I am offering pieces of random news as possible prompts for ideas and for interest. Many of these were found on a blog called shines like gold by Imp Kerr, “an insightful fiend living in New York City” that compiles interesting news on the new inquiry.
Research shows that secrets can be beneficial
A small collection of items about dropped and bounced cats
A Whale learns to speak English and an elephant learns to speak Korean
As we watched tiny yellow butterflies gathering pollen around the yard, Emilio exclaimed, as if offended: “Mamma, they’re not talking!” At first I told him that butterflies don’t talk, and then after a moment of consideration I said, “well maybe they do, they just talk to each other in a language we don’t understand.” Of course he expect animals to talk because they do in his books and movies.
I will end with some beautiful words from the writer and naturalist, Henry Beston:
“For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.”