The Bedlam of Beefy: Art

Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

April 01, 2010

June 15, 2009

April 13, 2009

Okay, Kids... no, today no fancy schmancy font-o-file writing. In the interest of time today I'm just gonna get right to it. So how was the weekend? Was it Spring where you are? Or is Winter still wrestling with its inevitable demise? It did seem like a rather bleak Easter here is the Seattle area. Plenty of indoor egg hunts for certain. Poor kiddies. Like they care...there's still candy.

Cupcake baking went pretty well as far as I could tell. (But Erin would be the one to have the final word on that ultimately.) The favorite flavor that emerged this time 'round was Organic Meyer Lemon Creme. Honestly, I think people were loving it because it gave them hope that the sun was shining somewhere in the world if not here! (No...no photos. 1) I'm guessing you're sick of seeing them. 2) When one rises at 4:30am to bake...photography seems pretty expendable.)

Have a meeting for a possible kitchen rental location this week! This baby may just go legit before long! I am becoming further engrossed in the world of food these days... duh. And, yes, still listening to The Splendid Table obsessively. While looking through rain-soaked ferry windows across Elliot Bay, I had the pleasure of listening to the story of SAME Café in Denver, Colorado. To be succinct, SAME stands for "So All May Eat" and is a restaurant where patrons pay what they can for a meal. No cash register, just an unmanned donation box where folks provide what they're able for a good nutritious meal. Or you can volunteer to work and earn a meal if you like. In short, one of the most inspiring things I've heard about in some time.

More here...

Happy Monday, Kids!

June 18, 2008

A bit o' Beefy.

How do, Kids! So talking to Kristine yesterday and she was like, "Show some of your artwork!" So I thought I'd put together a little compilation of some previous work I've done. These are some examples of silk-screened cards I did a while back. I suppose I should get back into the studio and see what comes out o' my top-hatted head (long artistic gestation periods can do strange & unusual things), but for now this let's you know that I ain't all full of hot air. ;)

Thanks for the nudge Miss Kristine :) (mwah!)

April 21, 2008

Patience IS a virtue.

And Kids....y'all are seriously "virtuous"!!! Love your hearts, I know I have absolutely pushed you to the limits but I am now in the home stretch of my magazine project. Only a couple days left to wrap things up and then it gets shipped off to NYC!

After that, I'll get caught up on rest and posts and you'll have your Uncle Beefy back in business! Maybe it'll be time to do a giveaway? Hmmm? Have you earned it though? Uh, yeah...I think that's been settled.

And I THANK YOU so muchly for all your support! XOXO

March 28, 2008

Seattle Design Meet-up

Many of you may already be well aware of Grace's ingenious Biz-Lady Meet-ups that take place all over the country. Well, after her recent visits to Portland & Seattle, Paola from MirrorMirror took hold of the reins to put together a local Seattle group. And Grace kindly filled me in that this would allow boys in too (hooray!). The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 16th at Velocity Art & Design's new South Lake Union location with the fantastic Matte Stephens presiding as first guest speaker!

If you are a Puget Sound artist, designer, creative, /entrepreneur this should be the perfect means to take hold of your own reins and help guide your career. Let Paola know if you'd like to be added to the address list! (You can click the "email" link below or visit Mirror Mirror.) Hope to see you there!

(This is from Paola's first announcement....)

"After the Biz Lady meet up in Seattle, I left my email addy on Design*Sponge to see if anyone wanted to continue meeting up.

And lo and behold, one of the people who responded was John Tusher of Velocity, who wanted to keep the inspiration going and was offering the new Velocity store as a location!

So on Monday I had tea with John to have a chat about the format such meetings could take.

We thought that it would be good to aim for monthly meetings and we would get a guest speaker or panel of speakers for each one (John's obviously got some great contacts he can tap). We also wanted to set aside a bit more time for socializing and networking afterwards.

We thought it would have more of a general design focus rather than just a business focus, though we might touch on small business-related topics at some point. Oh and given John's involvement, and the general design focus, we thought it would be odd if it were exclusively for women, though it would probably have a preponderance of women attending given what it has sprung from.

So I really just wanted to open this up to get people's thoughts and ideas on the above. I've sort of ended up doing this by default and am keen to create something that everyone feels a part of and will enjoy.

All ideas, comments and suggestions are hugely welcome - either via email or in the comments below. We'd particularly love to hear from you if you've got good ideas for a great name; know someone who would be a good guest speaker; can point us in the direction of wine/cheese/bakery sponsors; or want to get involved in any way. If you're a Seattle-based blogger and think your readers might be interested it would be immensely helpful if you could point them in this direction.

Most importantly, email me if you would like to attend the first meet-up, which we're aiming to have organised for mid-April."

January 02, 2008

Christmas 2007, New Year 2008, & "naked" pictures on the internet. (Good heavens! Not those kind!)

Well, another holiday season passed off to memory. When I look at the picture above I have to ask myself, "Too much? Or not enough?" We spent the holidays with my parents in my (gulp) hometown. Just for clarity, this means I spent the holidays in a place where the mascot of the high school was a potato. Granted, and angry potato but a potato nonetheless. If this is a reflection on the holidays you can imagine the overall lifetime psychological issues? Oy! At any rate...as I heard at one point..."We waged battle with the holidays and won!"

Truthfully, I am a bit glad that it's over and time to start fresh. I backed away from the whole New Year's resolutions thing some time ago. But as I have perused the blogosphere (here & here & here) it's taking on a new light for me. This may just be the type of accountability I need. I mean writing things down is supposed to be powerful right? But how powerful is anything when it gets put down on a napkin or scrap of paper and placed as a hidden bookmark in a 2006 issue of Domino magazine? So I might just compile a list of resolutions and put them up here...?

For the time being, I thought I'd take the plunge and put what feels like "naked" pictures of myself on the blog. Not to worry...not those kind of naked pictures. Frankly, something much worse. These are photos of my garage. I addressed this some time ago but couldn't bear to display such grievances...now I'm takin' it all off! (I truly feel rather stripped bare at this moment. And a little nauseous.) This poor detached structure has become a dumping ground over the years. It has actually held a car or two (but rarely) and certainly never two at the same time. In mid-Fall I went through a mass restructuring which resulted in a pile of debris just slightly larger than my car. Dr. Phil would have ripped me apart.

(This would lead one to believe that I have
missing teeth and toilets as decorative planters.)

In the back corner is where I will undertake the making of a small studio for myself so that I'll have a bit more creative space. I've used my 2nd bedroom for a few years but working with pigments and carpet is a dangerous proposition that will likely result in an enormous burst of hidden colors should I ever take a steam cleaner to the poor pile. (God help me the day that happens!) Cement floors are an artistic free-for-all and I could use the abandon. So we'll see what comes of things but I am shooting for a January 31st completion date. I will re-post these "before" photos with some type of "after" and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to look you in the eye again. (I kinda feel all Charlie Brown right now. You know, after Lucy pulls the ball away? Ugh.)

Resolution #1 - Clean my room! Wish me luck. (More resolutions to come.)

(This is what shame looks like, folks. I may end up on
Jerry Springer if Oprah doesn't call first.)

December 17, 2007

This egg is ready to hatch.

Today is one of those thoughtful kinda Mondays. I don't know if it's the fact that it's the beginning of the week or the impending holidays or finding one of my old prints (above) or the fact that I'm going down to my parents' place for a few days? But as I got distracted by feverishly looking over less-than-delicate e-cards this morning it got me to thinking.

I do enjoy blogging. It really can be fun and I love coming across neat-o finds or inspiring bits here and there. But the truth is, it has become something of a distraction for me. (I guess I should be glad that I am beginning to realize this earlier on in the process?) It can be very inspiring sourcing out amazing people and places and things...and I'll never stop scouring. But in doing all of that it has prevented me from making my own personal strides with my own work. I doubt I will ever have the deep-seeded desire to be a pro-blogger because the deeper-seeded desire is to be a creator of things more than words.

I am an artist despite the lack of evidence shown here. It's never been unusual for me to have long gestational periods between bodies of work but this has been one of the longest. And blogging, I believe, is not necessarily a good midwife. There is no question that I have reached that indescribable itch to get going again. However, something is preventing me from the scratch. Maybe it's fear, self-doubt, or the overwhelming swirl of ideas in my head? Maybe it's the thought of having to put a space together to be fully prepared to work? Maybe it's something best discussed with a "professional"? And maybe, just maybe, it's a heaping pile of excuses?

At any rate, I do believe it is of the utmost importance to surrender to that creative need and, thus, I am going to start backing away from daily posts. Maybe two or three times a week, who knows? The reality is that in the future, when I talk about amazing and inspiring people, I'd like to think of myself as becoming one as opposed to merely talking about one.

Omg...SEE? I told you!

The fabulous Victoria over at sfgirlbybay posted this to her blog on Saturday via her friend Leigh. A fun little 7 minute discussion about what is art...very appropriate.

December 05, 2007

Star light, star bright...

If you've been following along, you'll know that I signed up to participate in a handmade pay-it-forward gift exchange. Well, Anjie from Studio Wellspring delivered her end of the bargain to me yesterday! Oy...the photo is atrocious (no time for photo styling today) but it's really beautiful. A handmade origami star ornament all bejeweled and dusted with gold and a beaded hanging string. Anjie it's fantastic...THANK YOU SO MUCH!

December 01, 2007

Indie Shopping Weekend

Just a reminder that this weekend is a great weekend for indie shopping in the Seattle area! There's Urban Craft Uprising at the Seattle Center (read my previous post here).

Also, on Bainbridge Island, is Christmas in the Country. A vast number of independent merchants that collect themselves in various locations around the island (including some beautiful private homes) and show off some amazing handiwork.

(The Fortner House - my favorite stop during Christmas in the Country!)

I know, it's not as delightful as the mall. And, granted, I doubt either location will have been thoughtful enough to have set up a Hot Dog On A Stick franchise...but these are the sacrifices we sometimes have to make people!

(Sidenote: It's supposed to snow here later today!!! I mean, what could make it any more atmospheric?!)

November 28, 2007

Misfit?

When I was a kid I felt like a misfit a good deal of the time. Sometimes I still do but I have more appreciation for it as an adult. If you've ever felt misunderstood or misunderstood someone else this should resonate. It's all about perspective. Wonderful.

November 19, 2007

Inka, binka, bottle o'ink...

These are some ink sketches that I did. Gee, wonder what I had on the brain? Must be Thanksgiving on my mind. I love the unpredictable line quality that using a brush over a pen gives. That and the richness of the black ink on coffee-stained paper makes me swoon.

Pay It Forward

So here's the 411...I was invited by Anjie at Studio Wellspring to participate in a pay-it-forward exchange project. I will receive some wonderfully handmade gift in the mail with the understanding that I would do the same in return. Seems simple and kind enough, right? So this is what to do...as per the rules that I have agreed to, I will send something handmade in the mail to the first three people who leave a comment on the blog (...keep reading). You must agree, then, to do the same with at least three people in return...pay-it-forward by sending them something that you've made. Now, I was told that you should have a blog to do this but as long as it's all getting paid forward I'm all good. You don't have to copy and forward this to 400 people or risk receiving bad luck for life, no money need be wired to some remote location in Africa to free an unjustly imprisoned prince who's assets have been frozen...all you have to do is leave a comment indicating that you'd like to participate. I will let you know via the "comments" if you've made the cut and then ask you to send an email to unclebeefy@gmail.com with your mailing address. (I wouldn't leave your address in the comment section.) Then, get busy gettin' your craft on while waitin' for Mr. Postman. That's it! What could be a nicer way to get the holidays going?

November 18, 2007

Best Picture 2007, and then some.

Came from seeing Lars & The Real Girl. Beyond any of my expectations. One of my all time favorite films. Oscar, Oscar, Oscar. If you don't ever see it...you're extremely unfortunate. That's about it really.