Wow, wow, wow. Check out these book sculptures by artist Brian Dettmer. My Modern Met writes:
Using knives, tweezers and surgical tools, Brian Dettmer carves one page at a time. Nothing inside the out-of-date encyclopedias, medical journals, illustration books, or dictionaries is relocated or implanted, only removed. Dettmer manipulates the pages and spines to form the shape of his sculptures. He also folds, bends, rolls, and stacks multiple books to create completely original sculptural forms.
While in Amsterdam this past summer I went into a little shop that sold black and white sketches of the city. What with it being fleet week and all, I had no time to go about drawing everything I saw. Luckily, Hermen Jan Jansen does it for a living, so I got a 6 for 10euro deal on some postcards that, unlike my personal photos, have no hordes of tourists or sailors in them.
Every time I travel I am reminded about how small our world can be – Hermen had hitchhiked through Portland in his youth. Maybe someday he’ll come back and draw some of our landmarks. (Images from the artist’s site: www.hjdrawings.com)
The three X marks on the posts are Amsterdam's coat of arms.The guard rails next to the canals are about 6" tall. Fine for locals, but more of a tripping hazard for tourists.
The beams at the top of each roof peak are for moving furniture into the house since everything is very narrow, including winding stairs. We actually got to see the moving in process using the outside roof beams and pulleys being used by two moving workers. They moved some chairs, a dresser, and a couch in about 10 minutes.
While in Amsterdam this past summer I went into a little shop that sold black and white sketches of the city. What with it being fleet week and all, I had no time to go about drawing everything I saw. Luckily, Hermen Jan Jansen does it for a living, so I got a 6 for 10euro deal on some postcards that, unlike my personal photos, have no hordes of tourists or sailors in them.
Every time I travel I am reminded about how small our world can be – Hermen had hitchhiked through Portland in his youth. Maybe someday he’ll come back and draw some of our landmarks. (Images from the artist’s site: www.hjdrawings.com)
The three X marks on the posts are Amsterdam's coat of arms.The guard rails next to the canals are about 6" tall. Fine for locals, but more of a tripping hazard for tourists.
The beams at the top of each roof peak are for moving furniture into the house since everything is very narrow, including winding stairs. We actually got to see the moving in process using the outside roof beams and pulleys being used by two moving workers. They moved some chairs, a dresser, and a couch in about 10 minutes.
Late last year I signed up for The Sketchbook Project so that I would have a fun extra-curricular activity to fill my spare hours with. The project is organized by Art House Co-Op, and the basic premise is as follows:
• you buy a blank sketchbook (anybody can participate)
• fill up your sketchbook according to the theme you chose when purchasing
• send the sketchbook back to Art House Co-Op
• all the sketchbooks that are sent in are taken on a national tour, after which…
• sketchbooks are placed in the Brooklyn Art Library where they can be checked out
As these things usually go, my spare hours dwindled and I was soon left with a looming deadline to fill an entire sketchbook in 2 weeks. From the 20 or so pre-set themes, I had chosen “adhere to me”. So I titled my sketchbook “Things That Stick” and got to work.
Sometimes you just feel like a Label Maker Head.Only a $5 ticket to get from Anthropologie to some foreboding mountains? Sign me up!It's the in-betweens that are a stickler.Grandma, get your gun!Kind of Tetris-y, but that's not the song *I'm* thinking about.Peanut butter Rorschach test. Mmmm, sticky.It's true, I hate this page and almost covered it up, but then I didn't.Ratty was followed by Ralph, Rufus, Rocky, and Rascal.There are few things better than leftover campfire smell.Boys and girls: wooden eyes and a fiery tongue. Getting closer to that one song.The guiltiest mosquito I ever did see.I'm more of a mint person, but this will do.Let's make this the new Rick Roll.I knew that cop had somewhere to be.I think this applies to everybody's experience of Junior High.Well, duh.I had to put my hand in traction after this page, and drink a tonic.You know how it feels.Thanks for reading "Things That Stick"!
After working so ardently on my sketchbook I was a little sad to see it go, but it was also a bit of a relief. I showed it to a few people who I thought would enjoy it before putting it in the mail, never to be seen again. It was a good exercise in doing something for the experience rather than the results.
Behind The Scenes & Making Of
Since I had procrastinated, the first order of business was to halve the number of pages in my Moleskin from 80 to 40 by doing a fake french-fold by double stick taping every other page together. After getting some basic pagination down, I had figured out that each left facing page would be found images from catalogs, stockbooks, etc., and the right facing pages would be accompanying text.
Tiny thumbnail pagination - good for helping keep all your thoughts in order.
Since I only had one sketchbook and therefore zero room for error, I sketched out most things before drawing or tracing it directly into the sketchbook. Some of the pages I like best (Grandma’s Gun, Boys & Girls, Dreams, A Good Book) were created on the fly with maybe just an outline of something that I then filled in without a plan. The sticky shadow page was inspired by a stint I spent filing at a previous job. After about 3 weeks, I felt like my own head had turned into the very same label maker I was using so diligently to organize an entire room’s worth of documents. I started drawing this poster in memory of what I called File-a-palooza, but never finished it. Here are few more in-progress sketches: Most of the stock books I had were from Veer or House Industries circa 2003. I used my Whale of a Punch to punch out circles from various pages. The cover circles are from a hand holding a diamond ring, and the back side of the sheet gave me the little pink house on the Dreams page.
Punch, punch, punch.
If you’re interested in checking out the sketchbook project, the tour dates are listed on their website.
I think my pioneer rabbit would be proud of his brethren. This cute short animation was created by Benji Davies & Jim Field of Frater Films with sound design by Zhe Wu and music by Stefan Panczak.
Some people’s joy is effervescent, and John Nese is one of those people. He owns a soda shop that carries over 500 varieties, including cucumber. Boy would I like to try that. This man is soda incarnate, spreading the gospel of REAL soda (not Pepsi or Coke and the like)! Amen.
This summer in Danmark my uncle uncharacteristically pulled out a non-pilsner while we were having happy hour. The moment my eyes spied the bottle the part in my brain devoted to cool design lit up. The whole bottle except for the lip is coated in white and the label has a strange seal/pig/submarine animal wildly catching snowflakes on its tongue.
Catching snowflakes with vigor. Deadly vigor.
My dear old dad saw the halo of design joy surrounding this bottle, and took the bottle home with him so that this Christmas, what was waiting for me under the tree? Gulden Draak Vintage! If any a bottle were to get me to drink beer, this would be it. As the Danes would say: skål!
This just makes me smile. Check out more of their stuff at www.upandoverit.com. Performed and choreographed by Suzanne Cleary & Peter Harding / Film by Jonny Reed / Music: Yolanda Be Cool & D Cup ft. Cleary & Hardin
I went to California recently, and although I visited the area canvassed with strip malls and big box stores, I was able to find a small town general store that had some fun vintage fruit placards. I love pears, so I took this one home with me (and totally got through border control with it!).
