Must have poster

I found this poster on Parlour and I must have it. It describes perfectly my creative dilemma. I want it as a reminder to stop worrying about what people will say and think and just express myself.

Joseph Chilton Pearce who the quote is by, wrote several books about child development. Check out more here. Amanda Cherie is a photographer and designer. I couldn't find the poster on her blog, at least it was really deep, but found it on her Facebook page and she has it for sale on Etsy.

Ace of Cakes pt. 2

Ta da! I think I have graduated to the 3 of clubs on my journey up the playing card catalog. Though this cake is nothing spectacular, it has most definitely exceeded my own expectations for having taken one class in cake decorating. This cake was made especially to practice my new skills.

In class number one (four classes total for the beginner session) we learned how to bake a good cake and make good icing. Those are two very essential points in good cake decorating. My friend and I also learned that these Wilton cake decorating classes are like a Wilton infomercial. And since I get sucked into infomercials very easily, I now want every bit of cake decorating utensil Wilton has to offer (my birthday is in a couple of months, just a heads up).

Notice the Christmas cookies I chose to bring to decorate

(90% off at Target, couldn’t pass that up)

And then we got to practice making stars on a practice board, and then on a real cookie. This was a very exciting moment in my life.

chocolate star-o-rama

And so, to practice my new skills some more, I made a cake. At first I was worried because the cake did not have a desirable start and I was afraid my old cake decorating luck would stick with me throughout the rest of my life.

oh dear

Fortunately, I was undaunted by the unwillingness of my cake and my stamina proved to make it somewhat decent-looking.

Ace of Cakes pt. 1

Ace of Cakes? More like 2 of clubs of cakes. As you can tell by the photo, I am no professional, so when my friend suggested we take a cake decorating class, I was more than willing. This cake comes because I had signed up for the class and was feeling confident. Apparently just signing up for a class does not actually make you any better than you were before.

Let me show you some favorite components of this cake.
There is lots of room for improvement, so I’m excited for this class. I will also be practicing my new skills often. Anyone want a practice cake?

More Craft Night Photos

Here are some photos of Karen's projects.  Loved that she put them with scarves.  Check out more from the Second Annual Ladies Only Craft Night here.

Second Annual Holiday Craft Party

What do girls like to do besides talk about boys?  Craft.  We unknowingly started a little holiday tradition last year.  What started out as an excuse to have our friends make their own Christmas gifts, has turned into one of my favorite holiday party ideas.
Brunette is our craft goddess around our apartment.  When she is stressed and needs a little detox, she pulls out her craft supplies.  I'm being completely honest here.  I came home one day and found her gluing strips of paper to decorate a box that she uses to store random tools in her room.  Talk about someone who oozes creativity.  Last year she came up with the idea of craft night and we enjoyed it so much we had to do it again this year.
The craft...well I can't say we had an exact plan, because you could really do whatever you wanted.  The plan was to create flower belts and shoe clips.  But what we saw our crafty friends create were headbands, garland, hair bows and pins.
Here are a few of the end results.

Naomi's beautiful purple shoe clips with feather and button embellishments

Erika's clips she can use for either her hair or a belt

Red's over sized flower belt and feathery clips

Brunette's blue shoe clips

I'll share more photos as we get them.

Ornament Swapping and Calendar Exchange

What better way to get into the holiday cheer.  Give a gift.

Calendar Exchange
First I signed up for an annual calendar swap sponsored by Design Crush.  They pair you up and you send a calendar to your exchange buddy.  My calendar buddy was Amy, a art director in NY.  How cool is that?  I was super excited about getting to know her especially because she has one of my dream jobs.  We exchanged some emails, then came the difficult task to pick the perfect calendar perfect for Amy.  Well, who knows if I found the perfect one, because honestly I fell in love with every other calendar.

The calendar I picked for Amy - found here

Amy picked a great one for me.  I really enjoy the illustration.  As soon as I got it, I put it right up in my room.

Amy picked out this calendar for me...
she knows I love the great outdoors

Ornament Swap
At first I wasn't going to sign up for the ornament swap from Freshly Blended, but after exchanging emails with Amy for the calendar swap I decided it would be a lot of fun to get to know more people.  This time I would be put into a group of 9 other fabulously crafty women from all over the country.  We would each have to create a ornament and send one to each person in the group.  At the end of the experience we would all have 10 (including our own) unique homemade ornaments for our Christmas tree.
What my swapping buddies didn't know is that ornament they got I didn't make, nor was it the ornament I intended to send.  I came up with this really cute ornament that looks like a snowball add a carrot nose and coal eyes and mouth (not a real carrot and coal, but clay) and now you have an awesome snowman.  My example was so cute, but when I took it into production things got ugly.  What I thought would take an evening to complete turned into a week.  As I neared completion my ornaments started to fall apart.  I had to abandon the snowman ornament entirely.  I was now over committed with no time to come up with a new idea and get them finished before I needed to mail them.  Luckily, I have great family who came to my rescue.  My mom and sister came up with a snowflake ornament and mass produced them for me.  I hope this wasn't cheating, but there was no way I could have finished the ornaments without losing a little sanity.
I forgot to take a photo of my ornament before it went out, but I took photos of everyone beautiful ornaments.  See for yourself.

Ornaments from my crafty new friends.

Sadly, this one did not survive the trip

I look forward to participating in the swaps again.

Personalized Gift Idea in Stamp Form

A year ago my big brother and his family purchased a beautiful home in Missouri.  As a house warming gift my fabulously crafty sister found these delightful personalized address stamps from Cambria Cove.  I thought it was such a cute gift to welcome them to a new house. 
We also got one for my Mom for Mother's day and now I wish I had a real house (real as in not an apartment) so I could get one too.

For my fellow drifters like me who never have a permanent address for long, check out the "From the kitchen of" or "This book belongs to" or many other stamp designs from Expressionery (find coupons occasionally in Country Living).

Local Artist Spotlight: David Habben from HabbenINK

Welcome to this weeks Local Artist Spotlight.  We are joined today with the extremely talented illustrator David Habben. I have been friends with Dave for quite some time now and am continually blown, I mean really blown, away with the imagination, talent, and hard work that just exudes from his very core. With an eye for symbolism, a flair for the fantastic, and an extremely strong figurative foundation Dave shows that he is an illustrative force to be reckoned with. This man can draw. There is no doubt about that. Most recently David debuted the comic Beloved by Ben Phillipe and Victor Ochoa at the NYC Comic Con. Which I think is a pretty big deal. Read a great review here.

You can find more of David's work at http://habbenink.com/ or his blog http://habbenink.blogspot.com/.

Where do you draw the most inspiration?

I've always said music, but I think my understanding of how that works is evolving. The music brings clarity to my emotions, thoughts, relationships, memories, etc. It allows me an escape from all the distractions that prevent me from creating. 

Tell us about how your illustration work evolves.

I tend to be impatient with just about everything, including my artwork. Typically, I'll rush through an immediate solution and then return to it later to either add the necessary detail or trash it altogether. Over time, I've become more aware of that and try to slow myself down initially. It's taking concerned effort, but I think it's improving the technical quality of my work.

What are your go-to tools? What does an average day in the life of David Habben look like?

The majority of my work is digital now, so Photoshop is always running with the Wacom tablet within reach. I keep the sketchbook handy as well to give my eyes as many breaks as possible from the screen. The usual day involves as scattering of email exchanges between clients and maybe a blog update or two. Toss in a run, some good music and an evening with my ever supportive friends and you've got a pretty solid day. 

How do you keep the creativity flowing?  What happens when you have a block?

I find that most of the time where my creativity is impeded is do to stress or distraction. The best thing for me at that point is to take a break, go for a run, or put on some relaxing music. The variety of clients I have helps to gets me on my toes and also drives me to use my free time with more focus.  

What are some of your favorite projects you've produced?

The comic book ("Beloved") that I just finished is my first attempt at a sequential piece and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. It was a new challenge and it really pushed me to get out of my comfort zone. I've also really enjoyed the opportunity to create several posters for plays recently and I'd love to do more of them.

Who do you look up to most in the creative world?

Wow, that's a long list. I've had the opportunity to work with some truly amazing artists and am fortunate enough to call some of them friends. They've all influenced me in one way or another. I'll always have certain legends in mind that I look up to technically, but the artists I know personally are the ones who I look up to the most. We're all on the same team in a way, working to use our talents and interests to live life in the best way we know how. Anybody that can do that with honesty and integrity tops my list. 

Other than illustration what else would you say defines you?

I'd like to think that my faith defines me. Like anyone who sets a standard for their lives, I fail to reach it consistently, but I think having it there defines my choices and as a result, who I am. 

If you could share a cup of cocoa with any person who would it be?

If its a good cocoa, anyone will do. With a bit of cinnamon in it? You bet. 

Who are your favorite bands?

David Gray, Ben Harper, Depeche Mode, Powderfinger, Ryan Adams, Young Sim, Carrie Scott

Where can we find you?

Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning.

Thanks Dave!  As you can tell I am totally into his work and had to show as much as possible...

Appreciate It

This website made me stop and think about what I appreciate and then of course I came up with something really general, but true.  I added my thoughts.  Add what you apprecaite to the website too. 

Leave a comment on this post with a link

to what you appreciate so we can all check it out.

Thanks to Operation Nice for sharing the link.  Read more here.

Musician & Artist Spotlight: Matt McMurray - The Heavens and the Earth

Today we have a double dose of awesome for our weekly artist or musician spotlight.  A few days ago I got to spend the morning with the clever and charming, musician and printmaker Matt McMurray and converse regarding all things creative. His pictorial apartment located in the depths of a haunted SLC avenues mansion is just where I imagined a smooth synthesized master would abide and I am grateful to have a fellow demiurgic soul around to expand my mind and lighten my mood on a measly cold Tuesday morning.  He so graciously explained his process, played me a song, and then let me oogle over the latest prints coming out of his studies at the U.  Prepare to be impressed, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

You can find Matt McMurray's latest album here: http://theheavensandtheearth.com/ and see him live this Friday 7 PM at Kilby Court with Small Black and Class Actress.  Don't miss it.  I know I won't.

1. Where do you draw the most inspiration?

EPCOT Center. Ridley Scott. Carl Sagan. America in the 60s, Germany in the 70s and England in the 80s. I also get a lot of ideas while sitting through good and bad shows and good and bad lectures (particularly in art history classes).

Mix Master Matt

2. Tell us about your writing and producing process.

I come up with ideas best once I'm sitting down with an instrument and playing without thinking ahead of time what I'm going to do. In terms of recording I usually work in frantic bursts, so I'll sit down and work out most of a track basically in one sitting then come back later to do editing and refining. Most of the time I play and record best on the first take when it's unrehearsed and on the spot, so it becomes a continual process of creating just enough structure to have order, and then spontaneously organizing the chaos in between. 

3. What are your go-to tools? What does an average day in the life of Matt McMurray look like?

Wake up. Go running. Rehearse and work on new material in the morning. Go to school, work on art in the afternoon. Go to work in the evening. Come home late, work on music and listen to records until I pass out on some surface in my house.

Self Portrait of sorts

4. How do you keep the creativity juices flowing? What happens when you have a block?

I like to have multiple projects going simultaneously in multiple disciplines and styles. Between working on music at home and art at school I bounce around a lot, which has been an interesting way of working because I find how much the two really play off each other. This also helps because when I feel like I'm having block in one area I can move to another until I'm ready to go back to whatever project I'm feeling burned out on. But even with that I'll still get block so I just consider it a subconscious self imposed vacation and find other things to do.

Matt with one of his latest prints

5. What are some of your favorite songs you've produced?

Since The Heavens and The Earth is a new project there is not a lot of released material as of yet, but I'm quite proud of everything that's come along so far. That being said, the tracks Kosmichete and Silver Space from the new EP are probably my favorites so far. In addition to those two tracks I've really liked working on a sound installation piece which was displayed earlier this year. It used six different pre-recorded tape loops set to different partials of the overtone series and arranged in the gallery space to create a back and forth musical dialogue in six part stereo.

6. Who do you look up to most in the music world?

Brian Eno. Herbie Hancock. Andrew W.K.

7. Other than producing music what else would you say defines you?

Hard to say, I usually feel like a walking oxymoron.

8. If you could share a cup of cocoa with any person who would it be?

Iggy Pop, somewhere in California.

9. Who are your favorite bands?

That's a broad question. Bowie. Sly and the Family Stone. Parliament/Funkadelic. Kraftwerk. New Order. Though it seems those are kind of ubiquitous influences. John Medeski has had a strong influence on my approach to playing, and I really like a lot of the cosmic/disco/punk stuff coming out on DFA and similar labels.

10. Where can we find you?

This friday night (11/12) you can find me at Kilby Court playing with Small Black and Class Actress starting at 7:00. Find me online at http://theheavensandtheearth.com or feel free to email me at theheavensandtheearthmusic@gmail.com.

In the Kitchen with Found on Etsy

Growing up my mom always had the latest Country Living or Better Homes & Gardens on the coffee table. We had drawers and drawers of the old editions in an antique dresser (a perfect item for the pages of either magazine btw). So when I wanted some new ideas for just about everything, I signed up for the Country Living and BH&G online daily newsletter. Stay with me, I promise this has to do with Etsy. Now every day I get these lovely newsletters bulging with links to a bazillion holiday ideas, decorating tips, craft projects and delicious RECIPES. Come in Etsy and this week's theme "In the Kitchen." I haven't had a lot of time to cook because I have school every night. So I am dedicating my weekend (OK well not all of it) to trying out all the great recipes (OK not all of them) I have been putting on my list over the last few weeks. And I'm dedicating this Found on Etsy to all the wonderful tools, gadgets and just cute stuff for the kitchen.

1. Pink Pots
2. Vintage Kitchen Scale
3. Kitchen Measurement Conversion Chart
4. Colorful Apron
5. Hand Mixer Tea Towels
6. Wood Magnet Knife Holder Thingy
7. Vintage Mixing Bowls
8. Lace Cake Plates
9. Painted Plate Set
10. Oak Salt Shaker & Pepper Mill

Local Artist: Jared Lindsay Clark

We here at BBR are fascinated with all things Art and Music and thought it a good idea to interview the local talent around these parts, because frankly... we have some freakishly talented people around here.  To start us off we asked our friend, sculpture, and installation artist (also the man we call whenever we need anything off a ridiculously high shelf) Jared Lindsay Clark if he would answer a few questions and get the ball rolling...

You can find Jared's work at

www.jaredlindsayclark.com and www.jaredlindsayclark.blogspot.com

Where do you draw the most inspiration?

A. my inspiration really thrives when i'm trapped. like a math class - forced to sit in a room with people listening to a speaker and the subject repells me. my brain, frightened, runs to the back of my inner skull and yells back to the front of the cranium for my eyes to look down, he then reroutes the stuff hitting his left side through the ears and focuses his right side through my hand onto paper. doodling now begun (and without the option of getting distracted by the internet or project runway) i start to draw nonsense. but, sometimes, it is a fertile situation to develop ideas and dreams. now that i'm out of school i need defensive driving classes and airplane window seats to get my fix.

B. airplane rides also inspire me with the way our 3D planet flattens into geometric abstraction from above.

C. going to artshows inspires me. great artshows (like the ones i just saw in new york last week) really get my ideas flowing. bad artshows also inspire me.

D. Thriftstores, dollar stores, the toy/stationary aisle in the grocery store, and plastic stores.

E. "Forget yourself and go to work". Just working in the studio generates inspiration. Solutions and new ideas start to the flow when i'm involved in actually getting my hands dirty past the dreaming stage.

Tell us about how your installation work evolves.

Natural Selection

What are your go-to tools? What does an average day
in the life of Jared Lindsey Clark look like?

please, its lindsAy   (Whoops, my bad..)

How do you keep the creativity flowing?
What happens when you have a block?

I don't have many blocks on creativity - my problem is usually that i interrupt the flow of creativity by sporadic effort in carrying out my ideas...aka Laziness. 

Jared's studio space

but i did have a recent sort of block for my last show that i just came back from in new york. the problem was that it was a group show with the theme of Dungeons & Dragons (yes, believe it), so i had to bend my ideas and work to fit the subject. the thing that finally worked was just assigning myself to go to the studio twice a day and i started playing with the objects i had collected instead of trying to figure it out at home in the doodling and dreaming stage. that's where the 'inspiration born of working' came in. i also went out to thrift stores, found a key piece in Ogden Savers and on a trip to new york found some plastic diamonds that added the pieces i was missing to make some sculptures i was satisfied with. it was my "make it work" moment. i wish Tim could have shared it with me.

What are some of your favorite projects you've produced?

My favorite project is the project that is still in the realm of fantasy.

once its made and/or shown it is no longer a favorite.

Who do you look up to most in the creative world?

I would say that my artist mentors in school - both BYU and VCU - i look up to.

I've also noticed that when it comes to famous artists who inspire me i've been really drawn to some amazing female artists. i think in an artworld historically dominated by male art, women have brought really mind blowing solutions and sensibilities to the arena of installation. its sexist to say, but i think there has been something to the gender point of view in abstract sculpture and installation - with art you wouldn't really call feminist at all. Jessica Stockholder, Tara Donovan, Sarah Sze, Polly Apfelbaum, Eva Hesse, Judy Pfaff, Anne Hamilton, Margret Blondall.

Other than art and sculpture what else would you say defines you?

My faith. My relationships. My mom.

If you could share a cup of cocoa with any person who would it be?

TIM GUNN

Who are your favorite bands?

i collect cassette tapes so i'm usually listening to older music. this year in the studio so far i've listened to over and over Hall & Oates, New Order, and OMD - and i declared my summer band 2010 to be Rush. i did branch out recently and buy a couple CDs too (even buying CDs sounds old now - i've never owned an ipod or other mp3 player) for the studio while working on the New York show: the Black Keys, "Brothers" and the Arcade Fire, "Funeral". Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Jets to Brazil, Ben Kweller, Explosions in the Sky, the Weakerthans, Television, Neil Young, Run DMC, Jackson 5, Depeche Mode, Dan Bern, Bob Dylan and J5 have been important in my studio.

Where can we find you?

the rest of this year and into January i will be a studio hermit in sugarhouse working on four more shows. three of those will be here in Utah so you can come find me at those too, or look at them while i'm not there - that's also allowed. I will also be DJ-ing with cassette tapes for the November show that is taking place in my studio building.

Nov - GARFO (sugarhouse), "Oh Nancy"

Dec- CUAC (in Ephraim)

Jan- Rio Gallery (in salt lake - the old Rio Grande train station)

Thanks Jared, keep up the good work!