Free First Saturday at the Walker

FRRRRRRRRRREEEEEE FIRST SATURDAY > tomorrow at the Walker Art Center! Join me + Annie Wang in the Art Lab from 10:00–3:00 and print type using found objects and simple shapes.

More info here. I'll post results from the workshop after the event.

little blue books

At the top of my favorite publishing endeavors are Little Blue Books, published by Haldeman-Julius Company out of Girard, Kansas. Over 1900 titles were published between the years of 1923-1978 and the books were affordable to most—as low as 5 cents a book. I particularly enjoy the faded newsprint colors, the uniformity of type as well as the crazy-odd titles intermingled amongst the classics.

The backside of some books has a logo that reads: "Little Blue Books * A University in Print * Read the World Over".

A sampling from my collection can be found on my flickr.

from the MCAD archives

Minneapolis School of Art Letterhead from the 50s and 60s (previously named Minneapolis School of Art, it change it's name to Minneapolis College of Art and Design in the 70s).


MCAD's letterhead from the 70s — the corporate and quirky



MCAD's letterhead from 70s/80s (palette+brush), 90s (Blue M), 00 (Jancourt/Rezac pict system) and now.


Minneapolis College of Art and Design turned 125 this year. Also in 1886: Coca Cola was created, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) is formed and The Statue of Liberty is gifted to the United States from France.

Over the summer, my design partner Annie Wang and I spent countless hours in MCAD's archives searching and researching materials to use in their 125th anniversary book. A wealth of archival photos and ephemera detailing MCAD's legendary visiting artists, milestones and cultural shifts were scanned and photographed. In the end the anniversary book turned out to be an alumni portfolio rather than a comprehensive, MCAD-is-out-of-control-cool-artschool-casestudy. So, on occasion, I'll post some things that didn't make the cut, but things that we really like, beginning with this scanned letterhead ranging from the fifties to present.

Junk Bonanza

Shown are some of the littles that we're selling at Junk Bonanza——Sept. 15, 16 & 17th.

Other vintage/antique goods for sale: Eames tablet chair, vintage toys, antique wooden signs, books and ephemera, Enid Collins box purses and more knickknacks from my mom, sister and me!

from the 80s

bits I have trouble getting rid off.

eggs w/ corks

An amazing windowfront in Rome + a thousand eggs for you all.
The big blue egg measured about a foot or so.


The modern myth of the easter bunny.

deceiving

This 1940s Avon catalog raises a number of questions—was the Avon rep a lover of the ladies, was the husband a pervy scrapbook hound, did it cause a divorce, did the rep gasp when she opened it to show her customers' Avon's latest?

One of my favorite finds—lllllllllllllllooooove it.

roman snippit

Just a quick update and preview of my springbreak in Rome. I had the opportunity to visit my sister + family in Rome while Jay prepared for his exhibition at The Federica Schiavo Gallery. The generous gallery director lent Jen and Jay their home and guesthouse for the last four months—outrageous huh!

Words can't describe the experience—pictures do a better job. For more textures, signs and roman greatness, check out my flickr.

Oh, and The Red Balloon made it from France to Rome and landed in the Colosseum's basement!

best present ever

Lemme spit some rhymes for a favourite professor
always lookin sharp— she gotta fail-proof dresser
but her skill-set full and clothes ONLY the beginning
you should see this kid she made, that'll keep you grinning
but her bagga tricks too big, you can't touch them cases
...it'd take years of rapping, she gots way too much aces
so we won't try to list 'em cause the endeavour futile
just rest assured her prowess beyond clever true style
now I'll finally adress what I came to do
birthday well-wishes & some rhymes for you
I got a little off-track, as I'm often known to tend
hadda work my way back with a little verbal mend
but the thing I meant to say, become my means to an end
no longer my professor, Im honoured to call you a friend

HAPPY BIRFDAY KINJA!!!!


(thank you Colin!)

kombucha time

Kombucha = my recent science experiment and it's as fascinating and fun as this gif! I'm currently in my third brewing and it's not quite right (yet). does anyone have tips or the perfect proportions?

winter recap

We've been buried again.
74.9 inches of snow this winter = a little crazy & slightly beautiful. I surrender.

k records studio tour

From my archives:
K records!

I just uncovered these photos that I shot while traveling with two friends, back in 98. My friend Barb set up a visit to K records in Olympia which was a incredible! The person working at K—unfortunately, I can't remember the name—graciously gave us a grand tour of the storeroom and the huge upstairs recording studio, which I believe used to be an old dancehall?? The walls were covered with these incredible characters and markings from the 40s. I've scoured the internet today trying to find information—I'm unsure if these artifacts still remain? Hopefully they were't painted over.

I wish my photos were better quality, but you get the picture. a few more on my flickr site.