A Bit Premature, Perhaps.

All photos by Kevin Cooley, found via Kitsune Noir.

I know...two photography posts in a row. It's like I'm getting lazy or something (thank you for ignoring the fact that my last post was on Friday!). I'm becoming a bit photo obsessed since I've been out and about with my camera so much as of late. I had three different shoots this weekend...one for AT, one for Ohdeedoh and another for the San Francisco Arts Commission. It's fun and I'm learning so much with every shoot (and acquiring more and more camera gear along the way), but then I see stuff like this and, well, le sigh...I'm starting to sound like the Jealous Curator (which you should totally check out if you haven't before). But alas, that's why one of my 2010 resolutions is to take my photography more seriously.

Speaking of resolutions, I'm doing somewhat better than expected thus far. Here's an update (assuming you are even slightly interested):

1. Travel more. - Haven't left the city yet, but planning a trip to NYC in April.
2. Eat with intention. - Um, no.
3. Design and collage more. - Nope.
4. Take my photography to the next level. - Signed up for class, interning with SFAC!
5. Be realistic with expectations of myself and my time. - Working on it.
6. Collaborate with Chris on another project (or two). - Already met with a collaborator!
7. Be more confident in myself and my abilities. - Applied to grad school! Finally!
8. Read more books and watch less tv. - I have two design books I'm reading.
9. Actively pursue my career goals. - Yep, grad school! Yay! MBA in Design Strategy at CCA!
10. Run another marathon. - I guess running would be a good start.
11. Call my mom more often. - Does email count for something?
12. Spend more time in the kitchen. - That might require groceries.
13. Go on more dates with my husband. - We just had a lovely Sunday!
14. Always appreciate my wonderful life. - Definitely!
15. Cultivate my personal style. - That would require more clean clothes...
16. Regularly update my blog. - Crap.
17. Find a good synonym for more. - Additional? Supplementary?

I really shouldn't be patting myself on the back too much. It is only January 12th after all.

Blinded by the Light.

So, getting back into the swing of things was a little harder than I anticipated. My first mistake was adding "finish grad school application" to my already ginormous pile of To Dos (more on that later). In hopes of a quick post, I've been waiting to see something fabulous all week and I finally found it!

Germany's Light Art Performance Photography takes these photos using slow shutter speeds and varying light sources as their paint. Click on each image to see it in its full glory or head over to The Daily Mail to read more about this dynamic duo.

I Resolve to...

Amble by Yelena James, found via The Jealous Curator. I think we are all jealous of this.

(in no particular order..simplicity of list inspired by Rachel of elephantine)

1. Travel more.
2. Eat with intention.
3. Design and collage more.
4. Take my photography to the next level.
5. Be realistic with expectations of myself and my time.
6. Collaborate with Chris on another project (or two).
7. Be more confident in myself and my abilities.
8. Read more books and watch less tv.
9. Actively pursue my career goals.
10. Run another marathon.
11. Call my mom more often.
12. Spend more time in the kitchen.
13. Go on more dates with my husband.
14. Always appreciate my wonderful life.
15. Cultivate my personal style.
16. Regularly update my blog.
17. Find a good synonym for more.

Here's to an exciting 2010!

Checking In.

Cheerio! (My sister is dating a Brit so I feel that I'm allowed to say that...and also add u's where they aren't needed as in colour or flavour.)

Anyway, I just wanted to check in and let you know I'm alive and breathing. I'm not really sleeping much. I took a personal day today to do other work. I love taking vacation time to work. Isn't that grand?

If the lighting was better (and using my flash didn't give me hives), I'd show you what I was up to today. Let's just say I've printed individually numbered, two sided tickets, cut them all out by hand and given each one four nice rounded corners. I know there are some of you that will appreciate the hell this was. For the other ones, it's taken 12 hours to make 90 tickets. 12 hours! It's a pain in the ass (sorry for the language but it's 12:37 and I need to wake up in less than 5 hours). Oh, and I still have 30 to go. Sweet!

But it'll all be worth it, right? It will. I know it will. The tickets look amazing. The vinyl is getting cut right now. Saturday will be glorious!

Thanks for letting me vent. And if you were curious, this is exactly what happens when bloggers have too little sleep and a glass or two of wine.

Forced Smiles.

Left brain Myopia by Kate Banazi.

I am not going to lie or pretend or put on a happy face. This week has been rough, but in that "wow, I really shouldn't be complaining" sort of way. The husband is preparing for this amazing show through the San Francisco Arts Commissions' Art in Storefronts program and I got this great new gig at AT, but um, wow, I'm scared we bit off more than we can chew. I feel so silly complaining about having too much work to do, but I'm tired (and most likely PMSing) and freaking out. Don't worry...I have this process I go through. I only allow myself 1-3 days to freak out and then I'm forced to deal with it. And since this is now day #3 you won't hear much more bitching. In preparation for that forced happy face, I'm positive the work of Kate Banazi is good enough to make you smile even if that's the last thing you want to do (thank you to Sweet Sweet Life for bringing Kate to my attention).

1950000 more virgin airmiles to go by Kate Banazi.

Cheers. It's a new week! Wow, that's the most excited I've ever sounded on Monday.

Balancing Act.

Alili Cha-am Resort via Contemporist.

This will be the imaginary reward to myself when I figure out how to properly balance a full-time job, a blog, writing for AT, being an art assistant/manager to my husband, keeping the house from looking like a total sty, exercising, cooking on occasion, still having dates with the boy and not going absolutely bonkers. Moderation has never been my forte.

Checking Boxes.

I'm at home taking a personal day (or as I like to call it, a mental health day) from the 9-to-5. In reality, it's become a "make a lofty checklist and see how many things I can actually get done" day. So, I'm planning to peel myself away from this device I'm constantly tethered to (aka my MacBook) so I can start checking my little boxes. It's a good day to sit inside and get stuff done since summer went into hiding and it's currently fifty four f-ing degrees outside. If I'm extremely productive, I just might reward myself with a peach caprese salad and a glass of prosecco this evening. Yum!

In the meantime, here's some stuff that's making my head explode:

Modern collage work by Cristiana Couceiro via grain edit.



Business card inspiration via design work life.

Tick Tock Tick Tock.

Hmmm...could my current obsession with clocks have anything to do with the fact that I feel I am constantly losing a race against time? All sources point to yes.

(Click on the image below to go to my flickr favorites or scroll down to see some of my favorite favorites.)



image from amchu.


image from majesticdecadence.


image from scilit.


image from Teeny Tiny Cabin.