Twisted Up
So, I tried as much as possible to relax and just hang out and make some art this weekend, but the wedding is 19 days away! I cannot believe it and the stress is building up like crazy – not because I should be stressed, but because I am a naturally anxiety-riddled person. I am trying to take some new vitamins called SAM-e to help me feel calm, but I’m not sure if its working or not. Hmmmm….I heard it takes almost a month to work, so I’ll probably just have to wait and see. Anyway, I just wanted to show you guys some new artwork I made over the weekend – I’m pretty stoked about it. :) Let me know which ones are your faves…
Lightopia Online – Website Design
The Lightopia Online site is a very modern e-commerce design paired with major focus on search-ability. The idea was to let the user search the large product line by style, type, or brand and follow a preferred path to the perfect lighting piece for their home, office, or venue. Focusing on high-quality materials, great craftsmanship, and honest service – the design decisions came together beautifully.
Features include: Dynamic Flash Animation, e-Commerce Interface + Checkout Process (with product options, user reviews, wish lists, send-to-a-friend feature, featured products), Advanced Filter Search Function, Contact Form with Google Map Integration, & Mighty-Site Content Management Software.
Van Drunen Farms Website Design
Love, love, love the Van Drunen Farms website that we just launched at Orbit. Andy, Liz, Jill and I had a great time touring the 1,200 acres of farm in Momence, IL . We also took a fully decked out tour (hair nets, safety glasses, and lab coats) inside the warehouse to see just how they freeze-dry, drum-dry, quick freeze (IQF), sugar-infuse, and fire-roast all the fruits, herbs, and vegetables that they produce and ship out. It was so cool!
Love the people at VDF and had a great time working on their site design.
HL Sourcing Design
It was great working with Henry-Lee & Company on the HL Sourcing website design at Orbit. We brainstormed for awhile and came up with this great slide show feature on the homepage to showcase all of their services and capabilities in materials. I think everybody was very pleased with the outcome of this site – a successful project in style and function. :)
BareWalls 2009
So yesterday I participated in the 15th annual BareWalls 2009 exhibit – a benefit to support the endowed BareWalls Scholarship Fund for aspiring students at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was a nerve-wracking/crazy/fun experience to make artwork live in front of the audience (on an 8-hour deadline), but I’m really glad I did it. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of new artists and really enjoyed the challenge. I was really timid at first, but finally met some really great people that got me out of my shell. The volunteers were also very helpful in hanging my pieces and bringing me food/water! Kudos to them!
The artwork you see here is my favorite finished piece out of all 5 I ended up completing for the show. Check out some of the other photos on flickr. Enjoy!
Some awesome artists I met at the show:
Lorna Filippini-Mulliken
Kathleen King
Carmel Anderson
Sandra Hart
Virginia O. Roeder
The Real Dirt on Farmer John – Must See!
So, I’ve been meaning to post my review of this movie, The Real Dirt on Farmer John on my site for a week now, but haven’t had a chance. My co-worker Heather told me I had to see it because she had just met the main character in person at her local farmer’s market and actually went out to visit his farm. So needless to say, I chucked it on my netflix queue and waited for it to arrive.
The film is about John, the farmer + artist, who is an outcast in his community and overcomes adverse conditions in overall life and in his farming experience. What I find to be the most amazing thing about the film is the amount of digital footage that had been captured over the last 25 years. From 8 mm home movies shot on the farm in the 50’s and 60’s to modern video – you really get this whole-hearted, humorous, heartbreaking and spirited life drama that feels so personal and intimate. You are basically watching his whole life in video snippets with personal narration.
I really don’t want to give away the end, but he ends up finding his way, transforming his land and building upon Angelic Organics – where people work and flourish providing fresh vegetables and herbs to thousands of people every week. People like my friend Heather get a box of veggies and a newsletter every couple weeks and enjoy the benefits of one of the largest Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in the United States.
You HAVE to watch this movie.
New Addition to Our Home
Bobby and I just got a new plant for our porch at Home Depot! I love it. It’s a winter green boxwood and it stays green in winter and tolerates cold and below freezing temperatures…that’s awesome cause that means I don’t have to have a big green thumb to keep it alive either. Don’t worry I’m going to water it and stuff, but in the past I have had some very sensitive plants that were not making it very far in life due to my lack of proper attention. I’m excited to see something green on our porch, since its so sterile out there at the moment. Hopefully soon we’ll have our chairs and a grill and we’ll be all set.
:) Happy Labor Day weekend my people!
A More Perfect Union
Melissa gave me this book as a gift when I was in Dallas and I just started reading it last night. It’s totally making sigh in relief, since I think I’m reacting to being engaged just like the main character in the book. I don’t have my “perfect” day planned out in my head, I have no idea what to do in terms of flowers, dresses, budget, location and almost find it revolting altogether since I’m so busy with other things in life.
Bobby and I are from opposite sides of the country and don’t have a specific place we REALLY want to get married. We want to do something nice, but not go overboard, we do not want to be stressed but find ourselves totally stressing out when trying to make any major decisions. The wedding industry totally does that to people though – making you think you have to make it perfect and fabulous and over-the-top. I want it to be a day I remember forever, not a stress-filled day of craziness that leaves me wiped out and exhausted.
Anyway – I’m super excited to keep reading this book and find out what she decides to do with her wedding. Maybe it will put things into perspective for me and help me handle it Shellie-style. Thank you Melissa for the wonderful gift. I really needed a new book to read as well. Muah!
Dallas Trip + Stay at Le Meridian Hotel
Besides the fact that I wanted to write a quick post about what a nice and relaxing time Bobby and I had in Dallas….I also wanted to share with you, some pictures I took of the hotel branding from Le Meridian (where we stayed on Sunday night.) Not only was our room excellent and totally stunning, but I couldn’t help but notice the subtle touches they made with the branding, keys, hotel decor…that really brought the whole experience together.
On the bed in the master bedroom laid a felt-constructed folder to hold the dining menu, important info cards, an adorable do-not-disturb hanger, and a complimentary card with envelope to send something out for business. There were also these great little paper coasters around the room that had funny and/or inspiring quotes on them. My favorite quote in the room was the one lying underneath a water glass illuminated by a chandelier in the master bedroom. It read, “Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter, sermons and soda water the day after.” -Lord Byron
Ok so onto our great and relaxing trip to Dallas, in which Bobby refused to make any plans (big thank you to him for that considering how awesome the weekend went!)…we got to see Melissa + Juan, Graeme + Geoff, Kris + Jessica, Jason, Jen + Melissa….not in that order or necessarily denoting couples, but you get my drift. lol. Continue Reading →
Great Visit with Jen + Dave
I know its just a photo of Jen and I, but c’mon it’s a pretty dang good photo and I never get to see my sister so I thought I’d put this one up. :) Bobby and I had a blast this weekend and I know Jen and Dave did too. We did all the touristy stuff and made sure to eat some deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati’s, Chicago style hot dogs at the Pier, Rainbow Cones on the South Side, Smoque BBQ and even a little La Pasadita late last night. I think I’m officially on a diet for the rest of my life after this weekend, but it was totally worth all the yummy tastes and obviously the awesome company + conversation.
Redesign of FBC
Pardon my dust. ;) I’m redesigning.
Apologies for falling behind and skipping an entire month, even my new condo and engagement news have not been added to my site…but I assure you I will be getting back on the ball. summer has been really busy with work, travel, and social life. I’m looking forward to the winter I think, just to get some down time.
Really good news is that I just found out I’m going to be participating in the BareWalls2009 Fundraiser at the Art Institute in October. All the fund raising money goes to scholarships for the school and I’m excited to be a part of it. It is actually a live art-making event, where people will be walking around bidding on work that is in progress. Super nervous, but excited nonetheless!
Motion/Vision/Transition Opening – JUNE 26
It’s just about that time…time for the opening - FRIDAY, JUNE 26. I’m so excited that I can hardly contain myself. This is definitely up there with one of the coolest things I’ve done in life – I can remember wanting this back when I was a kid.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m exhausted from working full time and going to the studio about 20 hours a week for the past few months…but I’ll be smiling big next Friday when everything is in place and looking good. :) Continue Reading →