MORE T-SHIRT NEWS

Here's a close-up of the final product...

 ...and an action shot staged in true Pac NW style. (Is that Fred Armisen?)

As you can see, there were changes made to the design to strengthen the branding impact. 8 Limbs also wanted to rework the colors so they could use these wonderfully cut, milky-latte colored t-shirts. (Which are amazing! So soft. And organic! They're made by Groceries out of LA.)

8 Limbs also featured a write up about me and the t-shirt on their blog. (Click above to read it.)http://www.8limbsyoga.com/blog/8-limbs-news/t-shirt-contest-winner-heather-elder/

PLAYING CATCH UP - 8 LIMBS T-SHIRT DESIGN

So a couple of months ago I received word that I won the 8 Limbs Yoga Centers t-shirt design competition. Here is the entry that I sent:

 For a little bit on the inspiration, read here:

While this wasn't the exact version that was finally printed, it's my favorite. I'll reveal the final version in my next post.

Beginnings

This is how I start my day.

Chai. Oatmeal. Inspiration. Today the inspiration comes from this amazing tome of art that I recently picked up from Pegasus Books. (Seattle has so many AMAZING second-hand book stores.)

I heart linework. This Frontispiece to the Diamond Sutra was completed in 868 A.D.--and it's almost halfway through the book. (The 20th century is less than a mere 10th of the total pages.)



This is also how I (re)start my blog. :)

Lucky.

I'm feeling pretty lucky right now. Something kinda ugly (like this lil' guy) became something beautiful.

After a bout with advanced encephalitis from mononeucleosis, my lil' lil' bro, Caleb, is alive and well. We were pretty scared for a while though. The doctors were scared too. The one other patient the neurologist had treated with this condition died. Yikes.

So after this week of long, beep-filled nights, fluorescent lights, long drives, and even longer waits for answers, Caleb is coming home. All the commotion has settled down, bringing the walls to my emotions down with it. Seeing images of him posted on Facebook made my eyes well up. "I almost lost him," I thought. "I could be looking at this image as holding someone who I can no longer physically hold in my arms." More yikes.

The beauty in this fungus of a situation is the renewed appreciation I have for life, the hypersensitivity to just how precious my family is to me, and the heightened awareness of how little time there is to waste (which would be none). I'm also grateful for the stronger bond I've formed with not only my family, but also the people around me who gave so much love and support. And as it relates to my work, I feel more empowered to put my ideas (and ideals) into practice. I feel a manifesto arising...

Hell was good to me...

...and to the gulf oil spill response. At Strange Daze this Sunday I raised $80 for OCEANA through the sales of my art work. Yeah-yers! And that $80 will be matched by a "supporter." Thank you Diesha, Angelyn, and Michelle for taking home my art stuffs and helping me help a cause I'm crazy about.

Boxed Water is...

...ridiculous. And so am I for buying it, for giving into my weakness for good packaging and an environmentally-friendly hook. I think it was the line, "Our boxes are recyclable where facilities exist (recyclecartons.com)..." that made me pull out the 2 bucks to take this carton-o-goodness home. Recyclable cartons were news to me, and I was all about supporting the cause.

Unfortunately, upon returning home I found out that the site was UK-based and carton recycling locations in the states are dispersed at best. In Georgia, there are 4 places to recycle this well-designed con, all of which I'll have to burn fossil fuel to get it there. Sigh.

But all is not for naught. Falling victim to green marketing for the umpteenth time compelled me to make something out of this by recording my exploration in life-after-making-boutique art and figuring out how I can best use my talents and passions to help someone other than myself.

So from ARTlantis (June) until this week, I've taken a hiatus from making art outside of my jobbie job. I've spent QT with friends, family, myself, and nature. I've researched how to make my studio and my entire life less wasteful. I'm not 100% clear on exactly what I'm doing yet, but you can bet this carton will be involved in one sliced-and-adhered way or another.

So close...

These are the poster illustration versions of the patterns that are a part of my thesis. The patterns, and their applications, to come...

TCB

Before and during the holidays I decided that putting myself on a super strict schedule was only way I was going to finish my thesis by the end of March. That meant saying, "no," when I usually would have said, "Yes! Sweet! I'd love to." No freelance. No volunteer work. No blogging. So far it's worked. I'm on schedule. TCB.
I did allow some time for a few new pieces for the BANG! Arts launch party. I think these are a start to a new series...

EOH

...and we're back!































This weekend I had a few prints for sale at the Chomp and Stomp Festival in BeepBeep's tent. 3 of them sold! Weeee!

Wee Thanks

Oui oui! I finished one of my mushroom cards.



















This is the postcard version.


There will be a photo of the Thank You card posted soon.

MyCelium Sketches

French Mushrooms


















Marilyn Mushroom


















Short Stack Shrooms with a Swig of Pop



















Traditional Short Stack Shrooms



















...and Mary Poppins



















Perhaps MySilliness sketches would be more appropriate. I've been playing around with different treatments, trying for something more graphic perhaps. These were all inspired by a recent hike to Blood Mountain and the many wee mushrooms standing guard along the trails edge.

Two Down...Almost

I've finished the coloring. Next step: set it up as a pattern.

Octopods

This is the start of a pattern inspired by images from a TED talk by David Gallo. I TED.org. This talk by Gallo is equally fascinating.

A little like Keith

Blood Mountain

Mountain hiking is my choice remedy for daily stress. The tension starts to release even as your still in the car, winding up the road to the trail head. Then as the car door opens and you take your first breath of fresh mountain air, the black balloon does it's zigzagged wizz away, taking those what-if-gnats along with it, letting you enjoy the moment.


















This week's hike took me to Blood Mountain. According to Wikipedia, and from what I've heard from other, the mountain was named after a Native American battle that gave control to the Cherokee from the Creek. But the namesake may also be attributed to rhododendron growing there. Regardless, it's a great workout with sweet views.















The best views, however, were those I had to bend down to see.

New Website Icons

Can you spot my favorite color?

Sneak Peak

One down...

...3 more to go.

I'm finishing up the final edits to my thesis pieces. Here's the first to go up for final review:



















The actual file is a snibbit of the image that I've cropped to make a continuous pattern when defined as a pattern in Photoshop. That function gets my vote for Most Favorite right now.

Something Old. Something News. No. 1

So I should have posted this long ago, but I was on hiatus, learning to swim amongst the yogini dolphins in the nutrient-rich, Gluten-Free Stream.

I participated in the first ARTlantis festival, put on by Beep Beep Gallery. My 5'4" screen printed scroll, Therapeutic Papers, took the 1st Place Jury Prize.



















Super sweetness.















Even sweeter was the fact that I got to hang out with my friends Lucha and Paco all day. You'd be super smiley if you got to stare at their lovely mugs all day too.















Thanks to Mark, James, and everyone who helped make it happen. And to the fam for coming to show their support.. And to all you lovvies who bought my prints! Muah!

Today at Work - Part 2

fin

















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