7.28.2011

More Stepped Exposures




More of this. You should really look at these up close. The image above is from Ventura, CA. Accidentally, the compositions here do wonderful things: look at the shape of the dock across the photograph. That lone surfer kills me. Those are our shadows waving at the beach.



These two are from inside my apartment. That's my brother's silhouette in the second set. Nice colors, yeah?


To take the cake, as they say: Ross, Sara, Bowen and I on the roof. There are plenty of beautiful things to identify here. Primarily, I'm a fan of the way the two-point perspective of the buildings in the landscape combine with the vertical breaks in differing exposures to create a really confusing medley of dimensions. Also, everybody looks so happy.

7.17.2011

Brain Frame


I am organizing a comix reading event at the end of this month. There will be slideshows, soundtracks, and a spaceship. I am reading along with four dear friends.

BRAIN FRAME: A PERFORMATIVE COMIX READING
THURSDAY, JULY 28TH, 8PM
AT THE GALLERY FORMERLY KNOWN AS HAPPY DOG
1542 N MILWAUKEE AVE, 2ND FLOOR

Sara Drake
Lyra Hill
Nick Jackson
Ian McDuffie
Otto Splotch

Otto and I drew this flier this weekend, and printed it using color copier color separation. We brainstormed (pun intended) the image and then took turns drawing it, first penciling and then inking. I'm totally flattered that you can't tell it was drawn by two people, because I think Otto is so good at comics. It's also great that Nick let us put his number on the flier, because he doesn't have a website for us to link to.

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My friend Sara Drake, who will also be reading at Brain Frame, is currently trying to raise money to travel to Cambodia this fall, and teach comics to young women. Sara is a dedicated, intelligent, warm and talented person and is the best candidate I know for this job. Please help her out:



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Josh Mabe and Jason Halprin, more friends, are also preparing an important, exciting venture: Chicago 8: A Small Gauge Film Festival. I'm planning on submitting to this festival along with several fantastic filmmakers I know. Josh and Jason are talented, tasteful individuals and master film technicians. Help initiate a hopefully annual cultural event:

7.08.2011

Matchbook Business Cards



Back in offset printing class (these entries are just a post-graduation clearing house, aren't they?) I had some space left on the side of a print, so I thought I might as well make the most of it.

I had been wanting to make some business cards for myself. Predictably, the thought of just making regular business cards never occurred to me. Instead, I got excited about the possibilities of matchbooks.



I liked the thought of matchbooks with real matches in them. Because I didn't have the capacity to offset print that sandpaper strip that helps you light the paper matches in regular matchbooks, I had to use strike anywhere matches. For this version, I created a design with a stove on the front and a campfire on the back (two ways you can use the contents!) and 'STRIKE ANYWHERE' printed on the spine.

The reason I was able to fit these two pattens on the scrap edge of a larger print is because I made them very narrow (and, by virtue of the mechanics of matchbooks, the unfolded print is also very long). They are narrower than regular matchbooks, being 1" wide as opposed to the more standard 1.5".

The second pattern pushes the boundaries of matchbooks even further. I thought long and hard, trying to come up with another small, thin, disposable object that would be useful and pleasant to dispense in small portable batches. Toothpicks!



This toothpickbook unfolds to show a stretched out, weird face. The upper lip tucks into a reproduction of itself. The toothpicks are lightly glued to each other and then stapled inside, and easy enough to pull out one at a time (like the matches in the previous design).



I know they're decadent for business cards, but I'm also immensely pleased with them as mini art objects. The informative part of the card is stamped on the inside of the front flap. This stamp is one of those design-it-yourself types that come with lots of little rubber letters and symbols which you can then arrange to your liking. They're easy to buy at Staples or Office Depot, and not too expensive.

7.03.2011

Stepped Exposures



Last summer Andrew and I drove across the southern United States to move him to Los Angeles. I brought my Holga, which is broken more than Holgas are usually broken (primarily, the flash doesn't work, but other things are wrong too). I really appreciate my Holga for this reason. It's not a reflex camera, which means my framing will always be inexact at best. There's no way to tell if the light will be right, and the process of scrolling to the next spot in your negative can be completely arbitrary.

This is what I explored briefly during that road trip. The two exposures above are of my father and my grandfather walking the goats, and the one below is of Andrew at the Grand Canyon. It's the best one.