Friday, April 29, 2011

soothing light DIY

Ever since I moved into my Brooklyn apartment, I have been struggling living without having a reading light. The problem is my stubbornness--I wanted by bed facing the windows and therefore sacrificed space for a bedside table and a close-by outlet. After countless restless nights, laying in bed in the dark, a light bulb went off (haha). Instead of drilling countless holes and spending lots of money on an overhead light fixture, I decided to make something out of cheap and accessible materials--newspaper and flour. That's right folks, the beautiful art of paper mache.
Here's some pictures for a fun and easy DIY..I chose the word "rest" to remind me to turn of my brain, and relax a bit with a book or sketchpad, a way to decompress and shut off my brain for sleepy time. Choose whatever work or object makes  you happy.
Here are some links for "glue" recipes. You can cover balloons or molds, though I just used newspaper and duct tape as my base. I made each letter, let them dry, then attached them together with more paper strips and glue.
Then i took a simple strand of xmas lights, wrapped them around a magazine.

Then I covered the actual lights with painting tape so only the cord would pick up the spray paint.

 I recomend taking both your creations and lights outside to spray paint, and doing a couple layers. Its also nice to blend colors--here I added a bit of metallic gold for some glisten. After both are dry, weave the light strand around the letters....A take off the more intense marquee lights.
 Afterward, I used fishing line to hang it on my wall, so it looks like "rest" floats above me.

Voila!
 **note: sometimes its difficult to find an extension cord with a flip switch.  This is easily amended. Simply buy a switch (like the one shown below)....
 Then divide the cord, slice and strip the smooth cord, and wrap the metal around the  internal screws of the switch. I had a bit of trouble with this but if you ask your local handy person at the hardware store, they do a good job of explaining.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Im in Print!

So, these past three months finally bring satisfaction as I can see the end result of my hours slaving away at InDesign with an incredibly slow computer. Thats right, Resource Magazine's Spring 2011 issue is out! I worked on many different projects for them, but the most interesting for me were the editorial layouts. Take a gander....
p.s. To see the actual magazine in its entirety, check out www.remagonline.com
I couldn't help it...nothing like a little recognition




Monday, March 21, 2011

Inside The Invisible Dog





behind the scenes light installation


installation inspired by the history of the Space: Prior to Invisible Dog, this was an old belt factory
I think my favorite thing about being an intern is the fact that I get to check out cool spaces that I may otherwise ever get the chance to explore in depth. Case in point:  Resource Magazine's launch party for RETV, held at The Invisible Dog in Boerum Hill last week. An ever-evolving interdisciplinary arts center,, The Dog not only has studio spaces, but is also a gallery for shows and art-related events. Here are some pictures of the space and some installations:

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Armory Show

Last week, I was given a few moments to peruse the SCOPE art show held near Pier 39. Though a bit of a hefty cover ($15 dollas for a student) it was wonderful to be introduced to some new international contemporary artists. A few of my faves:
Joshua Hagler, "A Fossilizing Towards, the Name Engorged by a Capillary"

one of Carol Prusa's "canopies"
Julia Kuhl
Jung Yoon Lee, uses ancient paper as the backdrop for whimsical elephants
The artist first crumples the paper, then draws the stories on top.
part of RE-Baroque, a piece done by my friend's man Orlando Reyes
I want to ride this into the sunset

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The Show!

Things have been hectic. For a girl that likes to keep busy, I have recently been feeling I have a bit too much on my plate, so I apologize that I've been MIA. But I'm gonna make it up to you, and update on what I've been doing/seeing/inspired by recently.
just one of my favorites from "coffee and cigarettes"
Last week, mum and pop came into the city and we had a delish lunch at ABC kitchen (crab toast is to die for, so is the morning flatbread, and if I had and more room in my belly I definitely would have shared the sundae (carmel cookies, carmel ice cream, the works) but I had to say "basta". Afterward, we went into BK for the Sketchbook show at Brooklyn Art Library on North 3rd. I tried to go to the opening a few weeks before but the space was packed. How it works: They have over 10,000 sketchbooks archived in the library. You get a library card and pick a theme and they randomly give you three or four to browse through. I recommend giving this a couple hours because it is totally enjoyable to hang out there. part of the allure is also the fact that you feel like you're peeking though a diary. Here are a couple photos from the library, and because the sketchbooks are going on tour, you should check the website and see them when they come into town!
**also I wanted to mention that I think its so cool how the participants are from all over the globe and vary in age from 4-68 years (from what I read)

Friday, February 11, 2011

Musuem of the Moving Image

Yesterday, my dearest friend Chloe and I seized the the afternoon and took an adventure to Queens to check out the Museum Of The Moving Image....this place is awesome. First of all, the architecture is incredible modern, I kinda felt like I was on a space ship. Secondly, there are so many interactive activities, including performing in your own flipbook movie (which we did, but did not purchase), 3D films, doing voice overs for films, and creating animations. Here is the animation I made, which the museum emailed to me.
actual Ms. Doubtfire mask



3D video taken through 3D glasses

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Done and done...

Tuesday afternoon, I felt like I was in college, putting the finishing touches on my sketchbook and running to the post office 5 minutes before it closed. The final product? I think of it as a real sketchbook, some pages more developed and cleaner than others, with changing styles and mediums page to page. I'm excited to see the book digitalized and hope to catch the tour either in NYC or SF.
The explosion all over my workspace for days....




probably my favorite page



Friday, January 14, 2011

more pages, but down to the wire




Ok, so just as I am fretting that I will never finish my sketchbook in time, I get an email from Art House Coop saying they've extended the deadline! Thank you global warming for terrible weather conditions! Anyway, I've been treating this like a school project, i.e. working down to the wire, and have completed a few more pages. Bedtime stories is quickly unraveling to expose my schizophrenic state of mind. On the upside, so nice to finally unpack the old typewriter...

Thursday, January 13, 2011

SLPS

Happy New Year! Perhaps a little behind schedule, this morning I decided to distract myself from drawing to look on Craigslist. As we all know, looking for a new job, internship, opportunity on CL can leave one feeling depleted--like you are alone in this world sending out cover letters to a vast abyss. My advice: simply dwell on the possible opportunities and organizations that exist. Today, while I may not have found work, I did find an incredible organization that combines my favorite things: art, food, new friends. Slideluck Potshow is a NYC non-profit art org, that sets up smorgaborgs (sp?) of culture. In various cities around the world, gatherings are held where artists slideshows are presented, various home-cooked delicacies are shared, and people enjoy the splendors. Afterward, recipes and artwork is showcased on the website, creating an international art network.

I love everything about this! Check out Jonah Samson's work (from Berlin). So delightfully kitsch.