Tag Archives: art

Abundance (Photo Blog)

I have a rare free weekend coming up, and it’s a holiday weekend to boot. I’m still toying with the idea of jetting off to Phoenix for a friend’s huge Valentine’s Day costume party or to Killington to snowboard.

It’s just as likely that I’ll stay in, make desserts from this book and decorate my home for my housewarming party at the end of the month.

I am the worst at getting things up on the walls. This is the first apartment I’ve been in since I got to the city where I truly feel at home and can settle in and breathe. So, it’s time to get some art up.

I have a poster I want matted and framed and some prints I want to order. As a former dancer, I’ve always loved these prints from Bill Brauer.

Where I need help from you is on suggestions for good sites to use for photo printing.

I took the four shots below at a farmers market (one of my favorite things to do), and I’d like to get a couple of them printed and framed. They make me think of abundance and harvesting and generosity. They just make me happy, and I want that feeling of abundance in my home.

What site or store should I use for printing? Which of the shots below do you like best?

French Breakfast Radishes, Evanston Farmer's Market, Illinois

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Meet the Maker: Sullivan Walsh, Maker Of Gorgeous Beds

“Anyone could think up the designs and build these things, but we are the people who actually DID it.
It’s the people who DO things, and MAKE things, and bring their own wacky shit into the world that inspire me.”

Sullivan Walsh, Brooklyn metalworker and artisan

Salvaged gears for lamp and mirror bases

I recently met artisan Sullivan Walsh at a friend’s book signing at a new, cute boutique called Shag (Link NSFW). Walsh told me he was a metalworker who lived in Brooklyn. I love architecture, metalwork and woodwork, so we chatted for a minute and exchanged business cards. The next day he sent me an email and a link to his website. As soon as I clicked it, I was all “Wooooaaaaah, must go visit his studio and check out his stuff!”

I’m going to be highlighting more local businesses and cool people who make stuff on this site. I love Brooklyn and I’m constantly meeting the coolest, most talented people. Hopefully, you’ll dig my interviews with them and support these folks and their work/art. Walsh is someone who exemplifies what Seth Godin is writing about in his new book Linchpin, so I’m really happy he’s the first local artist I have the honor to introduce. Continue reading

Giving Myself a D: Seth Godin’s “Linchpin” Book Launch

I’m taking a mentor’s advice and giving myself a D on life.

Last Friday, he told me a story about a teacher who, on the first day of class, told the students that he was giving them all an A. All they had to do was to write a paper on how they would work to earn the A that semester. By doing so, he believed the students would be freed of worrying about the grade and focus on the actual learning.

But my mentor rebutted that and said I should give myself a D. “A D never killed anybody,” he said. “Expect that people are going to laugh at you. Expect that you’re going to fail. And, once you give yourself a D, you can create your art.”

Seth Godin and me at the launch of his new book, "Linchpin." 1.15.2010

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devoted

I got a tattoo on Friday night. It’s my second one (and my last). I’ve wanted to get this word on my body for over a decade, and I’m still kind of high after going for it.

I only told one person that I was doing it, so most people are just finding out here and now.

My friend John (the one person I told ahead of time) helped me take photos and video. Clink any of the below photos to view the full photoset.

Getting started.

Pleasure & Pain

Finishing touches...

Fresh ink

Finally get to tell a friend!

Showing off my new ink.

The Rule of Thirds/A Memory, Photographic.

I have a photographic memory. It’s flawed, but remarkable nonetheless, at least to me. People ask me several times a week, “How did you know/remember that?” The answer is always because I saw it or read it once, somewhere – scrawled in the borders on the page of a book or driving by a billboard. I can’t remember birthdays unless I write down the date on my agenda or unless someone shows me their license – tying the letters of their name or their likeness to that important string of numbers. Continue reading