apt 3

Stay Creative in 2012

2012-01-10T17:40:00.000-08:00

Whoosh! Hear that? It's the time that's flown by since I last posted on this blog. I'm back in school for Winter term 2012. Blowing off the dust from this space, updating info and considering a new look and name soon. For today I'll just say, "hello, again!", and share with you a neat poster I discovered over here and the original is here. Since we bought our first house and my vintage business has been growing, I don't get much creative time in until I am working on assignments for school. That is unless I count photography, which I believe I will since I capture images that inspire me almost every week thanks to my iPhone and some super camera apps. All this is to say, I'm back for a bit, and I hope you're having a happy new year.

Hope you'll stop in and see what I'm up to in 2012!

A mixture of mixed media

2011-03-11T14:27:00.001-08:00

"Border Music" - Original Mixed Media Collage by Tina Pfeiffer of apt3 design

"Steps" - Altered Photography - The Altered Page

Rosehips Assemblage - Crystal Smith of Crayon Monster

Doll House Assemblage - Susanna Scott of Sushi Pot

"Circus" - Eugene Yoon (age 17!) photo source

Edward Hopper's Cape Cod

2011-02-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

All paintings from Edward Hopper's Cape Cod series--click the images for online sources. For articles and info about this series visit here, here, and here.

Maxfield Parrish - Winter

2011-01-25T09:29:00.001-08:00

Winter

Everyone knows Maxfield Parrish for his ethereal, scenic garden and sunset paintings. Most have seen a fantastic blue-rose-gold sunrise and likened it to the work of Parrish--and rightfully so.

Lull Brook in Winter

White Birches in the Snow (1952)

Village Church at Dusk (1941)

One of my illustration heroes, Parrish, although often panned by critics, is an icon in the art world. He called himself the painter of "girls on rocks" and while those are his most famous works, he was prolific in scenery and human studies (beyond girls in togas) as well.

Christmas Morning (1949)

The images in this post feature a handful of his lesser known gems.

Sources: 2, 3, 4, 5

Animation: Walt Disney Live Reference Models

2011-01-21T12:16:00.000-08:00

Rare film footage documenting live reference modeling of classic Walt Disney animated films. Please pause the playlist in my right margin to experience the music that accompanies this delightful collection of clips and photo stills. Best viewed in 480p--just adjust the definition slider on the lower right corner of the video window and enjoy the magic!

Street Art: Miniature Architecture

2011-01-18T10:12:00.000-08:00

photo: EVOL

EVOL is a Berlin based street artist that transforms banal urban surfaces, into miniature architectural surfaces through pasting. Using pasted paper, EVOL transforms electric boxes, small planters and other geometric city forms, into miniature apartment buildings and other structures.

photo: EVOL

photo: EVOL

Each piece of paper is printed with a repetitive pattern of flat gray walls dotted with plain window frames. once applied to a surface, the paper transforms the form into small building that EVOL often adorns with small characters.

photo: EVOL

photo: EVOL

EVOL performs this process within different cities and has even been commissioned to do installations in galleries, where he was created entire blocks of miniature buildings.

Images: EVOL, article via WebDesign.com.

Block Printing

2011-01-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

Viza Arlington of VIZArt - Fishes (4-block print - 9 x 14)

Week two of Winter term 2011 has almost ended for me. My studio art course this term is Printmaking 270 - woodblock printing. Our first project is based on the theme "Observation"--either observing or the idea of observation. Last week McClain's print supply paid a visit to our class and I purchased my supplies from their fine selection of tools and papers.

Hasui Kawase - Clearing after a Snowfall, 1944

Wood blocks have been used for printing for at least two thousand years and their earliest application was most likely as designs for textiles in China, India and Egypt. The art of wood block printing on textiles was also practiced in Europe during the early Middle Ages and reached a climax of perfection in eighteenth century France and England.

Kubo Shunman, Japanese, 1757–1820 (5 ½ x 8 3/8 in.)

One of the first forms of wood block printing done on paper (otherwise known as block book printing) was carried out by Buddhists to transcribe and disseminate the text and images of Buddhist deities. Printing with the same block of wood offered a way to mass-produce, in scroll form, the sacred words and images.

Annette Haines - Peace (Hindi stray dog, 10 x 8¼ in.)

One of the earliest known Chinese woodcuts of text and image is the 17-foot long Diamond Sutra, which was discovered in a walled-up cave in 1907 and dates from 868 A.D. The assured style and beauty of this wood block print suggests that in China wood block printing must have already undergone a long period of maturation, many centuries before western woodcuts developed.

Andy English - Monet's Gardeners (150 x 100 mm)

One of the oldest surviving records of European wood block printing is a fragment of a block depicting a Crucifixion. This block is known as the Bois Protat and is dated to 1380--500 years after the oldest known Chinese wood block print.

Tom Killion - East Pinnacles Creek, 2002

At the beginning of the fifteenth century, woodcuts were commonly used to provide cheap illustrations of religious subjects. Religious texts were also cut into the same block and the resulting prints were hand water colored. Later that century woodcuts were beginning to appear as illustrations alongside type in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria. A number of great artists such as Durer, Holbein and Cranach also created woodcuts with the assistance of professional cutters.

Kirsten Francis - Lead (8-color reductive print, 17½ x 16 in.)

During the eighteenth century boxwood blocks were used for printing with fast running printing presses. This was because the resilience of the material was ideally suited to the printing presses and the fine grain made the wood ideal for fine and detailed work. In the nineteenth century woodblocks were mainly used for cheap commercial illustrations of all kinds, and today is enjoying a resurgence of interest among visual artists and letterpress printers alike.

E. Kato - Street Scene in the Rain at Night (color woodblock print, 1930)

Woodblock printing can technically be divided into woodcut and wood engraving. The woodcut is created on the side grain of the wood while on the other hand wood engraving is worked on the end grain of the wood.

Tea & Ink Studio - Market Day (8¾ x 10½ in.)

Printing a woodcut is simple. Oil or water based ink is worked on the surface of an ink slab (which is made of Plexiglas, stone, marble or plate glass). A brayer is then used to roll up the wood block, which is usually made of gelatin. The block can also be inked with a dabber, which is a cotton pad covered with leather or silk. Soft, thin, tough paper such as rice paper, Japanese paper or other comparable European or American papers are best for woodcuts. The block is then printed by either rubbing a burnishing tool over the back of the paper as it rests on the inked block, or by printing the block on a press.

Kiran Ravilious of Inkling Prints -Linen Cushion Cover with Green Fern Motif (lino cut, 11½ x 19 in.)

Colored wood block prints can be created by either using a number of separate color blocks, which when printed together create a complete picture.

Information via. Artist and print credits are shared below each image and linked to their sites when available.

Cigar Box Shrines

2010-12-30T10:30:00.000-08:00

Altered art and assemblage can take on many forms. Building an assemblage or shrine box is a creative project that combines infinite images and techniques. Like to try your hand at creating a cigar box assemblage or shrine? My Etsy shop has freshly listed vintage cigar box sets in a variety of shapes and sizes. Come by...come buy...then play!

The items featured in this post are live links - please click the images for artist info and photo sources.

Packing Tape Installation Art

2010-12-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

Viennese/Croatian design collective For Use/Numen uses nothing but packing tape to create huge, self-supporting cocoons that visitors can climb inside and explore. At their last installation inside Odeon, a former stock exchange building in Vienna, the group used nearly 117,000 feet and 100 pounds of tape.

Info and images from Fast Company via Stumble Upon.

Photography: Robert Frank

2010-11-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

This week in Art History 206 we covered Postwar to Postmodern, 1945-1980. Each week we submit our personal response the work we have the strongest reaction to. I chose this photograph by Robert Franks. I feel this excerpt from our textbook lends the image much more depth:

"Frank used his work to reflect his concerns about alienation and lack of spirituality in twentieth-century America. Drug Store, Detroit is characteristic of his national portrait of emptiness, alienation, and despair. Under a barrage of bold advertising, some 15 men order, among other items, artificial orange whips, each patron seemingly unaware of the others. On the other side of the counter dutifully serving the white males are African-American women, undoubtedly working for a minimum wage. Just as the cake is trapped in the airless foreground case, the waitresses seem trapped behind the counter in the drudgery of the menial jobs. The glare of bare florescent bulbs bouncing off linoleum, Formica, and plastic is a reminder of the period's deadening aesthentic of efficiency and modernity, while the monotonous lineup of jukeboxes on the counter opposite the patrons underlines the "sell, sell, sell" mentality of American business. It should come as no surprise that the downtown Detroit where this photograph was taken was largely destroyed during the race riots of the late 1960s." (Janson's History of Art, 8th Ed.)

Image - Drugstore, Detroit, 1955, © Robert Frank, from The Americans
Image Source - DIA (Detroit Institute of Photography) Blog

Synthetic Cubism - Picasso's Collage

2010-11-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

A collage (From the French: coller, to glue) is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

A collage may include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers, portions of other artwork, photographs and other found objects, glued to a piece of paper or canvas. The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.

The term collage derives from the French "coller" meaning "glue". This term was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.

It was the autumn following Picasso’s return from his 1912 summer in Céret that the artist began his collage work – the pinnacle method of merging separate objects together into one. Picasso was the master of Cubism but did you know Picasso also did collage?

Images and info via and Wikipedia.

The Robie House - Frank Lloyd Wright

2010-10-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today for my Art History class, I revisited the Art Nouveau period of art, and as part of it, the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Please scroll halfway down my right margin to pause the playlist and enjoy this neat video.

For more in this series visit the Ask the Decorator series on YouTube.

Faux Sunflower Seeds

2010-10-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

"Chinese conceptual artist Ai Weiwei has filled The Tate Modern art museum's turbine hall with millions of life-sized sunflower seed husks made out of porcelain. The collective effort of a number of specialists from Jingdezhen, China, the hand-crafted seeds were individually formed and painted. The installation encourages visitors to touch and walk on the carpet of tiny replicates."

Images courtesy The Tate Modern © ai weiwei - story via Dude Craft via Design Boom.

The Sleep of Reason

2010-10-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

We're covered the age of Romanticism in ART 206 this week. Of the many dramatic works we studied I chose this as my favorite because of both the powerful imagery and the mastery of the technique.

Title:	El Sueno de la razon produce monstruos (The sleep of reason brings forth monsters)
Artist & Method:	Francisco De Goya y Lucientes, etching/aquatint + pen
Location:	Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Holland

Francisco De Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) - Spanish artist whose paintings, drawings, and engravings reflected contemporary historical upheavals and influenced important 19th and 20th Century painters.

Goya was a Spanish court painter whose best work was done apart from his official duties. He is known for his scenes of violence, especially those prompted by the French invasion of Spain. The series of etchings Los desastres de la guerra ("The Disasters of War", 1810-14) records the horrors of the Napoleonic invasion.

For the bold technique of his paintings, the haunting satire of his etchings, and his belief that the artist's vision is more important than tradition, Goya is often called, "the first of the moderns." His uncompromising portrayal of his times marks the beginning of 19th-century realism.

Info and image credit - visit this site to view the complete works of Goya.

The Art of Quilling

2010-10-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

Quilling has been around for hundreds of years, but it’s still as impressive and popular now as it was during the Renaissance.

The art of quilling first became popular during the Renaissance, when nuns and monks would use it to roll gold-gilded paper and decorate religious objects, as an alternative to the expensive gold filigree. Later, during the 18th and 19th centuries, it became a favorite pass-time of English ladies who created wonderful decorations for their furniture and candles, through quilling.

Basically, the quilling process consists of cutting strips of paper, and rolling them with a special tool. It sounds simple enough, but special skill is required to create more advanced shapes like marquises, arrowheads or holly leaves. All through the years, the art of quilling has remained almost unchanged, but new specialty supplies now allow quilling masters to create anything from detailed 3-D figures to wall-sized museum installations.

Click images for photo and art credits.

An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump

2010-10-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

I studied this fascinating painting in Art History class today. Visit The National Gallery for more information.

Image: Public Domain via Wikipedia.

Van Gogh + Tilt Shift

2010-09-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

After seeing how tilt-shift photography could make real world scenes appear like miniature models, Serena Malyon, a third-year art student, decided to simulate the effect on Van Gogh's famous paintings. Using Photoshop, she manipulated the light and adjusted the focus to make us see these paintings in ways we could have never imagined.

Amazingly, nothing in these paintings was changed, added or removed. The incredible illusions are all created by the magic of Photoshop.

To view more examples of tilt-shift visit the Flickr group, Tilt-Shift Miniature Fakes - enjoy!

Images and info via My Modern Metropolis via Stumble Upon.

Painting: Hyper Realism

2010-09-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

Roberto Bernardi

Steve Mills

Eric Christensen

Jason Degraaf

Steve Mills

Mark Goings

Tom Martin

Hyperrealism is a genre of painting and sculpture resembling a high-resolution photograph. Hyperrealism is a fully fledged school of art and can be considered an advancement of Photorealism by the methods used to create the resulting paintings or sculptures. The term is primarily applied to an independent art movement and art style in the United States and Europe that has developed since the early 2000s.

The artists names are links to more of their work - enjoy!

Shadow Art

2010-09-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

The art of shadow by Kumi Yamashita. To view more and for info on the artist visit her portfolio HERE.

Paper Art

2010-09-20T10:24:00.001-07:00

All images featured in this post are paper cutting art works by Peter Callesen. To view the gallery and for more information on his work visit his website.

Discovered this morning via Stumble Upon.

Art Dolls

2010-09-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

I've dabbled in many forms of art but haven't tried my hand at art dolls--yet. Patience must be key to execute the detail that makes these creations so unique and special.

All dolls featured in this post were discovered in the magical art doll shops of Etsy. Please click the images to for detailed information on the dolls, and the artists who created them.

Rainbows

2010-09-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

All images were discovered using Stumble Upon → Muticolr Search Lab → Flickr Creative Commons - click each for more info on the artists that created them. Enjoy!

Trash Art: Bernard Pras

2010-08-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

Trash Art by Bernard Pras, French artist and sculptor - view more of his work here.

Photography: Cole Rise

2010-08-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

one would

explorations with space no. 1

in sun

Just stumbled upon the inspring photography of Cole Rise - view more here.

Street Art: Joshua Green

2010-08-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

red

2010-08-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

My favorite color...all artworks featured were discovered on Etsy - click images for more info.

Photography: Álvaro Sánchez-Montañés

2010-08-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

In 1908, the town of Kolmanskop in southern Namibia had become a profitable gold mine. Abandoned in 1954, the homes, hospitals, theaters, and factory buildings were left at the mercy of the Namib desert. The strong desert winds have filled the rooms of these deserted buildings with mountains of sand.

View more from this series by Álvaro Sánchez-Montañés and his fantastic portfolio visit here.

All images © Álvaro Sánchez-Montañés - used with permission.

I ❤ Illustration

2010-07-19T08:57:00.000-07:00

All pieces discovered on Etsy...click images for more information.

Printmaking I - Etching, Aquatint and Collagraph

2010-06-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Tombstone Angel - Aquatint (9" x 12")

Spring term is over for me at PSU. This handful of work is the projects I completed in Printmaking I - Intaglio. I learned Etching, Aquatint and Collagraph techniques. Looking forward to learning wood block printing and possibly screen printing in future courses.

Arcadia Beach - Etching (4.5" x 6")

Textures - Collagraph print (7" x 9")

Thistles (my final) - Etching (6" x 9")

We held a print swap on the last day of class. The prints below were created by a handful of my classmates for their final projects.

Jeffrey Hull Gallery

2010-04-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite places to visit along the Oregon Coast is the artist community of Cannon Beach. One of the most inspiring galleries we visit is that of Jeffrey Hull.

Jeffrey began his painting career over 30 years ago as a resident of the beautiful coastal art community of Cannon Beach, Oregon. Though primarily self taught, he did study under three Northwest Watercolorists in the early 70’s. Known for his ability to capture the beauty and moods of the places where water joins land, Jeffrey controls the difficult medium of watercolor, often in very large paintings.

He is rarely found far from the ocean’s edge, the source of his inspiration. His deep love for the area is clearly seen in his original paintings and prints. In 1987, after many years of displaying his artwork locally, Jeff and his wife Carol opened their own gallery in Sandpiper Square in downtown Cannon Beach.

His work is displayed in the form of Original Watercolors, Oils, and Giclée & Lithograph Prints. Jeffrey is a signature member of the prestigious American Society of Marine Artists.

t 2 b:
Cannon Beach Reds
Wedding Tree
Sunset Cliffs
Heron Bay
Return to Fall
Morning Moonset
Reaching the Sunset

Printmaking: Drive by Press

2010-04-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

I'm back in classes for spring term at PSU. My art class for this season is Intro to Printmaking, and this week we enjoyed a short but invigorating visit from a couple of guys known as Drive by Press. Drive by Press was created in 2005 when two artist and print makers, Greg Nanney and Joseph Velasquez, met in graduate school and made it their mission to share their enthusiasm for printmaking with audiences everywhere.

Before they could start, the two artists sold their art, pawned their guitars, amps, and all else but their souls in order to buy their printing press. They loaded the 600 pound 14th century style machine in the back of their vehicle and took off across the country and have been on the road ever since. The two, dubbed kings of DIY printmaking, have now traveled over 100,000 miles spreading ink and their style of guerrilla art making at events across America.

At each Drive by Press event Greg and Joe show their artistic prowess by drawing and carving several exclusive single color woodblock designs exclusive to Drive by Press. The guests are able to interact with the DBP during the printing process, selecting their own combination of color and placement of the designs. Each guest gets to help create their very own piece of one-of-kind wearable art.

Drive by Press has a schedule of events, and a small inventory of printed shirts for sale online. The info and photos in this post are via the Drive by Press site.

red and orange

2010-03-22T09:42:00.000-07:00

Discoveries from Etsy--click images for more info.

Nude

2010-03-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

nude 45

frail dedications

woman with a sheet

warm rain

there is a light that never goes out

Discovered on Etsy - click images for more info or purchase.

Honey & Jam Photography

2010-03-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

All images by Honey & Jam Photography.

Sideshow

2010-02-20T12:01:00.000-08:00

Discovered on Etsy - click images for artist info.

Grass Valley Chapel

2010-02-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

We discovered this beautiful chapel on a road trip through Central Oregon in summer of 2008. Many times abandoned buildings give off a vibe of sadness or uneasiness but this one was different. I was so captivated by the history and the stillness this place exuded that we wandered in and around it for about two hours.

The only information I have found online regarding this abandoned chapel was a state archive photo from 1961 when it still had glass in its windows. It's obviously been empty for a very long time but is amazingly well preserved.

A work of art becomes a work of art...

Grass Valley Chapel ~ photo series by Tina Pfeiffer. Grass Valley, Oregon USA, 7.08

©2008-2010 Pfeiffer Photos/Apt 3 Photography, all rights reserved.

yellow

2010-01-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

winter: white.black.gray

2010-01-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

party hats: happy new year

2009-12-31T10:56:00.000-08:00

Wonderful hats from the super-creative Etsy shop of madame alyn's bin. Alyn Carlson realizes ingenious thoughts in a range of media. She drinks Vo Vos, makes valentines from Marimekko scraps, herds chickens, and finds silver linings in places where most are too embarrassed to look. She is also an exquisite designer with a serious graphic design business and name cache up the yin yang.

Alyn's Favorite Art Materials

paper, air, moth dust, special magicalness, paint, pigments, figments and twine

Her graphic design and more fine art can be found at alyncarlson.com.

Happy New Year to all of you!!

bokeh

2009-12-27T16:40:00.001-08:00

Bokeh describes the rendition of out-of-focus points of light. Differing amounts of spherical aberration alter how lenses render out-of-focus points of light, and thus their bokeh. The word "bokeh" comes from the Japanese word "boke" (pronounced bo-keh) which literally means fuzziness or dizziness.

Images via Flickr and Etsy {click to enlarge and/or purchase}. Images 5 & 7 are my experiments with this photographic technique. View more of my photography in my Flickr gallery.

new leaf for a new year

2009-12-22T10:57:00.000-08:00

As of today, this blog will no longer be written as a requirement for my art class--hooray!

This being my third blog, it might not be updated as often as the others but my vision for it has always been as a place to simply post when I feel inspired. I'll share my studio art projects and photography. I'll share work from other artists. I may even write a bit now and then. I'd love to build a great blog list to follow so if you know of any really quality art {any medium}, design {ie: of the art sort not the interior or exterior type--visit my other blog for that kind of goodness} or photography blogs do leave me your suggestions!

Let's journey this road together, shall we?

edward cullen: portrait of a {post}modern anti-hero

2009-12-22T10:37:00.001-08:00

Three weeks. One hundred hours {give or take}. One BIG book, papers, paints, and much modge podge later...here's the end result of the Edward Cullen curated exhibit. I presented it in class with music from the Twilight soundtrack playing on my laptop {hidden behind the exhibit}. I also created a mini Zine of the exhibit information--it is not pictured here as I submitted it for my final grading.

The photos in this post are presented in the order you would view the exhibit in reality. Please click on the images to enlarge.

{Disclaimer: The original art in these photographs, and the photographs themselves are copyright Tina Pfeiffer 2009. I do not hold any copyright nor do I claim ownership of any of the images from Twilight used within the project.}

final project aka mess-in-progress

2009-12-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

sneak peek!

Crunch time. Will she finish? Must. Get. It. Done. Ah, winter break is sounding better every day!

Back to my glue-paper-paint-ink-brushes-pens-printer-gesso and mess that is my dining room table...

Wednesday, 12.9, 12 PM, ready or not, here I come.

currency project revisited

2009-11-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

Remember this project? The photos in this post represent the end product. My Edward Cullen exhibit is still in the works...stay tuned.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Exhibition in a Box: Edward Cullen

2009-11-22T20:03:00.000-08:00

The subject of my Exhibition in a Box project is Edward Cullen, the main vampire character in the Twilight novel series by Stephanie Meyer. I chose Edward not because he is a character I particularly like, but because he is such a complex and intriguing character. Because he is a vampire, he is fictitious, and because he is such a major focus in the current phenomenon which Twilight has become, he is undoubtedly a character of popularity in this era.

The character of Edward Cullen has been compared with a number of male protagonists from classic literature, including Mr. Rochester from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Heathcliff from Bronte's Wuthering Heights, The Beast of Beauty and the Beast, and the infamous Stanley Kowalski from A Streetcar Named Desire.

Some items and images I am considering for my exhibit include:

Grand piano - To depict Edward's love of music (he is an accomplished pianist)
Trees - The vampire coven live in Forks, located in the Olympic Peninsula rain forests located in the state of Washington.
Glass - To represent the Cullen's home in the forest, which is largely made of glass.
Books - Edward has been well-educated in the 108 years of his suspended "life".
Images of WWI - The period in which Edward lived as a human prior to his transformation.

I believe a chronological arrangement of items and images may suit this project best. I'm not sure yet as to how I will contain or transport the end result--I am still fleshing things out and considering possibilities for best dimensional arrangement.

Image via Wikipedia.org.

reader response: chapter 6 media & life

2009-11-19T10:06:00.000-08:00

Last week I went off an older copy of our syllabus and as a result, I read the wrong chapter in our text. That being said, I did read chapter 6, and learned a number of things about media in general, the idea and origins of "mass media", and convergence of media forms with the advent of each new technology in the 20th-21st centuries. These, then, are my reflections on chapter 6.

The more technology grows and advances, the more exposure we have to media. This can be both a good thing, and a bad thing. Today's society has a more interactive experience with visual media which involves complex interconnecting networks. A shift has happened from mass-media consumers to niche markets, also known as contemporary media.

The "masses" was the term created in the late-19th century which refers to the structures of society during the industrial revolution, the emergence of the working class, and how that influenced social practices. The term, Mass Media was first used in the post-WWII era. The masses can be taken as a negative connotation equating to a passive audience of non-individualized, uncritical consumers. What was/is considered as mass society reaches into both private and public realms. Large companies with corporate boards versus small, locally owned businesses resulting in less personalized service. Urbanization versus rural towns contributing to population crowding, lack of personalization, alienation, assembly-line work, and boring, repetitive, often physical ("blue collar") type jobs.

The idea of mass society can also be thought of as a contribution to the erosion of family life. Again, this started around the era of industrial expansion due to the migration of families from rural areas into the cities. Their pursuit was for better housing, the promise of steady work, and access to modern goods, services and entertainment. Starting in the 1950s, and continuing today, what we know as the American Suburb, can be linked to a social alienation via "cheap" entertainment--films, TV, consumerism, and modernity are all used as replacements for connectivity with other people.

Mass media in the 1920s consisted of regularly scheduled programming, from a one-way (bias) broadcast model, at a central distribution source (newspaper, radio), which fostered a less critical audience. Mass media in the 1980s up to the present decade has increased our options for information with the invention and expansions of TV, cable TV, film, mobile devices, cell phones, Internet and satellite broadcasting. Along with these expansions has come more specific media catering to interests, tastes, and language groups. In addition, today's consumer is not just interacting but also producing much of the media in mainstream, everyday life.

While seeking images to include with this post, I discovered an interesting post on this blog. The author, Anne Helen Peterson of the University of Texas, makes some great observations about the modern equivalent of Mass Society--what she calls the "Minivan Majority".

It’s hard to define the minivan majority in a sentence, so I’ll start with some descriptors. Not all of these are necessary true of everyone in the minivan majority — and if some of them describe you, that does not necessarily mean you’re in the minivan majority (and I want to make it clear that I don’t dislike or disdain the minivan majority — but it’s important to know the identity of those quietly driving taste and entertainment in the country.)

Some traits of the minivan majority:

You probably live in a non-urban space — either suburban or rural, but most likely suburban.
You are probably white.
You have no radical convictions. You are neither an arch conservative nor strong liberal. In other words, you are probably a self-described ‘moderate.’
You love pictures of babies. Especially celebrity babies.
You believe things that appear in print in the gossip magazines.
You are not overtly racist, sexist, or homophobic, but you might subconsciously discriminate against people who are different than you or the people that you know and see on an everyday basis.
You don’t like things that are too much: too gross, too sexual, too outrageously expensive.
You might own something from Ikea. You definitely own things from Target or Wal-Mart.
You style is a combination of Gap, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor Loft, Talbots, Coldwater Creek [and I'm adding Old Navy, Eddie Bauer, and if a Pacific NW dweller, Columbia Sportswear].
You are a parent.
You probably battle your weight, even if it’s just those pesky ten pounds.
You may own a minivan — or if not, a similar SUV type vehicle.
You believe that people of any race, color, creed or background can make something of themselves with hard work.
You believe in a higher power — most likely God — even if you don’t necessarily go to church every week [you are likely to make an appearance at Christmas and Easter].
You are not generally an early adopter — of a technology, a political candidate, a new fad, etc.
You enjoy the reliability of moderately price, moderate quality chain restaurants, [hotels, cars, appliances, housewares, clothing] and all-inclusive vacations.
You have a subscription to Cooking Light and/or may contribute recipes regularly to allrecipes.com

Good clean fun in Gap khakis.

Now, some media products favored by the minivan majority:

Jennifer Aniston
Julia Roberts
Tom Cruise
Michelle Obama
Celebrities who hit their career pinnacle about 10-15 years ago
National Treasure (and other Nicholas Cage movies)
Marley and Me
Reese Witherspoon
Jennifer Garner
Michael Buble/Josh Groban
Norah Jones
Dave Matthews Band
Two and a Half Men
Desperate Housewives
[Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Heroes]
Sex and the City (latecomers — started watching Season 3 or later)
Network television in general
Jay Leno
Martha Stewart and/or Rachel Ray
Oprah, Oprah, Oprah. Oprah’s Bookclub, Oprah’s magazine, things recommended by Oprah.
Entertainment Tonight, [annual music/film/TV celebrity award shows/ceremonies]
People especially, maybe Us magazines.
Nicholas Sparks novels and film adaptations
American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor/Bachelorette -- [Project Runway, America's Next Top Model, The Amazing Race, SURVIVOR, Big Brother, CSI, The Biggest Loser, Wife Swap, Extreme Makeover--any edition.]

[ ] = my additions.

icon tee: Billie Holiday ~ the 09 remix

2009-11-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

Choose a well-known art work (any era) or cultural icon (pop or not)...

to copy (reproduce) and modify as a two-sided T-shirt...

(1) On the front of the shirt, make your copy as faithful to the original as possible, given the limitations of the printing method you choose.

(2) For the back, design some kind of visual "intervention" or alteration that not only changes the image but also changes the meaning.

No words, no text for this one--image only!

Due: Monday, 11.16.09

...See you in class!

camera work magazine (1903-1917)

2009-11-14T11:13:00.000-08:00

"Dawn" by Alice Boughton, photograph circa 1909

"Spider-webs" by Alan Langdon Coburn, photography circa 1908

"Experiment in Three-Color Photography" by Edward Steichen, photograph circa 1906

"Black Bowl" by George Seeley, photograph circa 1907

"York Minster: 'In Sure and Certain Hope" by Frederick H. Evans, photograph circa 1903

Camera Work was a quarterly photographic journal published by Alfred Stieglitz from 1903 to 1917. It is known for its many high-quality photogravures by some of the most important photographers in the world and its editorial purpose to establish photography as a fine art. It has been called "consummately intellectual", "by far the most beautiful of all photographic magazines", and "a portrait of an age in which the artistic sensibility of the nineteenth century was transformed into the artistic awareness of the present day."

A collection of Camera Work was appraised in Philadelphia on a 2007 episode of Antiques Roadshow with an estimated worth of $60,000 to $90,000. As of 2008, individual issues routinely sell for $2,000 to $5,000 depending upon the number and quality of photogravures in the issue.

Images and info via.

project 3: culture of the copy ~ icon tees

2009-11-13T14:29:00.000-08:00

Our current project has finally gelled in my mind. My quandary wasn't so much in finding an iconic image (narrowing it down, now that was a bit more challenging!) but in deciding how to tweak it for the back of the shirt.

Because I love Jazz, these are my final images of choice for this assignment. The amazing Lady Day, Ms. Billie Holiday, and Mr. Louis Armstrong--smokin' hot vintage trumpet man extraordinaire.

Oh, how I am wishing that my skills in Photoshop were much more developed, but so far, so good. Stay tuned to this space for photos of the finished product early next week!

animation: light + movement = magic

2009-11-12T09:03:00.001-08:00

I've always been a fan of animation. I really enjoyed the section in our recent reading about the early studies of locomotion, primitive moving pictures and film animation techniques, including the creations of the Zoetrope, Praxinoscope, Phenakistoscope, and Stereoscope as precursors to the actual film projector.

As per usual, I went hunting for more information on these inventions via the Internet. These are just a few of the fascinating and beautiful examples I found...enjoy!

via YouTube.

research week 7: creative commons

2009-11-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

The Creative Commons project alters the way we understand ownership and copyright because it allows for a more open use of creative works. The copyright is not taken away, but instead refined and focused to the specific needs of each creator, and possibly even for each creation. A more open use of creative works can affect the subject(s) of the original work if the CC user alters (aka: "remixes") the original in any way; this would obviously change the meaning and intent of the original artist.

Creative Commons licensing would definitely have changed the works of Sherrie Levine and Michael Mandiberg in that it would have removed the perception of their works as "stolen" properties, and by that token, the "edgy-boldness" factor would also have been lessened with a permission for use.

Film is mentioned as a CC option for licensing but not the persona and use of persona of an actor/actress starring in a film. In my understanding of the Creative Commons project, the protection to the right of publicity (i.e.: the Bela Lugosi case--see Legacy) would not be within the scope of the license choices offered by the CC project.

movie poster: I am here

2009-11-02T11:49:00.000-08:00

click image to enlarge

My final movie poster for I am here. I compiled a decent stack of images for this project and my original ideas were much more complex. I debated on use of color...or not. Black and white obviously won out. How much imagery to use to convey a message. The message of the film has underlying complexity {visit this post for a synopsis} but I decided to focus on the implied connections between the two main characters. After three designs it came down to, "keep it simple". I am glad I went with my gut on all choices, and I am pleased with the end result.

Leave me a comment, let me know, what do you think?

Looking forward to viewing all of my classmates projects and our discussion today!

reader response: perspective

2009-11-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

Ah, perspective. Most likely the key to art as we know it. Also the always-required-but-ever-dreaded lesson of introductory art courses. Perspective is the technique in art that forces the right brain to wrestle with the left. For art-minded folk that's usually a challenge. Understanding how perspective works (or doesn't) allows all the other techniques to fall into place. Last weeks reading covered much of the basic history of perspective, and provided some good examples of how it works when it's utilized well.

For my response this week I searched for images that I feel make fine use of perspective. Some are favorites from my studies in art history, some I just found while searching for this post.

Enjoy!

Images t 2 b:
School of Athens - Raphael Santi (painting)
Old Shanghai - Photopia (fine art photo)
Untitled - Paul Heaston (watercolor sketch)
Kitchen Servant - Jan Vermeer (painting)
Loop Walk - Brian Bleakley (painting)
I Still See You - My November (fine art photo)
The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci (painting)
Path to the Gothic Choir - Raphael Locoste (digital painting)

project 2: movie synopsis

2009-10-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

I Am Here is a movie which walks in the footsteps of Dziga Vortov's, Man With A Movie Camera. In an quasi-documentary treatment, I Am Here simultaneously follows 12 hours in the lives of two young women as they encounter and interact with 21st century technology in their respective environments. The young women are college students--one attends Portland State University in the USA, the other living and studying in a rural Afghanistan village.

Both young women go about the activities of their daily lives. Tending to personal hygiene, cooking, commuting to and from school as well as work and social activities. Their cultural differences are made clear to the viewer by the multi-viewpoint perspective of the Portland woman navigating her life in a western city, while the Afghan woman traverses through a less developed and war torn plateau. Cultural differences are contrasted as the women interact with their everyday societies and engage in their respective personal norms.

This film is presented without dialogue or narration. The stories are told through use of dual images of each life followed throughout a period of 12 hours. The viewer may form their own understanding of each woman, and the universal connections between them.

Project Group: Kirk Rea, Marissa Lauer and Tina Pfeiffer

spirit of the times: movie posters

2009-10-25T21:41:00.001-07:00

The Wizard of Oz (1937) - The 1930s was the era of The Great Depression. There was much to be sad about, and life in general was not so bright or optimistic. This film brought color not only to the silver screen but also to the drabness of everyday life in this decade. Oz does not bring us the most complex characters in cinematic history but this fantasy endures because of the innocence, hope and positivity of its story.

Casablanca (1942) - Set in the unoccupied African city of Morocco, during the era of World War II, again a backdrop of not the happiest of times in history. The characters are war escapees--most former idealists who have become cynical and bitter as the war progresses. The overall attitude is summed up by Bogart's character, Rick, in his "don't trust anyone" attitude towards life.

Saturday Night Fever (1977) - The 1970s fashion, dance and music time capsule movie! One synopsis I read also mentions the main characters disillusionment with lifestyle. They each want to "move up to better things" in life. In many ways this is evocative of the general atmosphere of the late 70s moving into the 80s decade--also known as the "ME" era.

The Breakfast Club (1985) - I mentioned it in class, and had to include it here. Another classic example of an era time capsule--fashion, music and attitude. The 80s was a very self-serving decade which fits well with the time in life that we all experience--being a teen. The five main characters in The Breakfast Club just highlight the angst of the teen of their era. I was in high school at the time this movie came out and to my friends and I it seemed just about perfect.

gallery visit: human form

2009-10-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

Our class visit to the Cooley gallery inspired me in a quiet way. By that I mean, drawing was my first art form of choice, and still always plucks a resonant chord within me when I view work by others. The variety of the drawings in the Crocker Art Museum collection, and the span of countries and eras represented helped me to appreciate it even more.

If I had to choose one aspect that surprised me it would be the multitude of techniques, and the multiple layers of materials used in many of the pieces in the drawing collection. Chalks over graphite, layered with inks and washes--and yet they all work together in the showing as a harmonious group.

The drawing I chose to compare with a current piece(s) was in a back corner of the exhibit. The placard read: "Standing Man, black and white chalks on brown paper, German, 19th century, 1856." The Standing Man is, of course, a nude male, half draped with a sheet in the loin-cloth style. The pose is classic. Medium-well toned build. One leg slightly bent at the knee, mid-body depicted as slightly leaning against an object behind (unseen in the drawing but inferable due to the body placement), hard chin, head turned slightly, determined gaze.

One image from a more modern era immediately came into my mind to compare with Standing Man--also a classic, of the actor, James Dean (see image above). While looking up this image online, I used the search term, "standing man", and added a few alternates, each from their own decade in modern cinematic history.

Charlton Heston as Taylor in Planet of the Apes, 1968.

Harrison Ford as Dr. Walter "Henry" Indiana Jones, Jr. in Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981.

Brad Pitt as 1st Lieutenant Aldo Raine, aka "Aldo the Apache" in Inglourious Bastards, 2009.

week 3: image/text hunt

2009-10-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

This version of image with text is the "obvious" connection. The image of Sophia Loren (chosen with assistance from my husband), conveys the meaning of the sentence as the beauty of a woman as a contribution to the peril of the beholder. Damnation of a heart, of a life, of wise choices, of rational thoughts and the actions that may follow.

This pairing is my emphasis on a not-so-obvious meaning for the image with the text. After choosing Sophia for the first image pairing, Mother Teresa seemed the opposite for the choice of a beautiful woman. The beauty in this woman is seen from the inside versus the surface. Respect, admiration, love and awe are the "damnation" factor expressed by the beautiful life she lives for others. People the world over esteem her despite cultural, political or religious differences.

My final pairing approaches an unexpected context for the image with the text. The Mother Earth has beauty that has led to mans wasting, wantonness, destruction and finally the scramble to try to preserve and protect what may easily be lost forever without care.

Choice of layout, font, black and white or color images, border shapes and text placement were all considered to create the differences between each pairing.

Please click each image to view in a larger size.

The phrase: "We were damned the minute God decided to make women beautiful."

The sentence is thought by a young man watching a beautiful woman bathe herself in a pond in the moonlight after they experience a chance liaison in the night.

From the book: Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell, Signet/Penguin Publishers, 2000, page 173.

bits and pieces

2009-10-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

mood via color

2009-10-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

t2b:

Run with Fire, Correfoc Festival, Spain

Sri Lankan fishermen

Chinese Turandot (dance interpretation)

Breast Cancer Awareness display, Seoul, South Korea

Images via.

persepolis: icons & ideology

2009-10-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own. When she is ten years old, her world changes overnight. Girls and boys have to use different doors to enter the school. She has to cover herself with a long dark veil. Grownups around her began to disappear. Marjane had several close encounters with the country's morality police and her teachers at school. Iraqi bombs fell on the street where she lived. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study for a better life. However, this change proves an equally difficult trial with the young woman finding herself in a different culture loaded with abrasive characters and profound disappointments that deeply trouble her. Even when she returns home, Marji finds that both she and homeland have changed too much and the young woman and her loving family must decide where she truly belongs.[1]

My observations of the use of icons to convey ideology in the film:

As mentioned in our text, the women and girls wearing traditional veils throughout the film underscores the idea "sameness" among the females in general. Iranian women, outside of Marjane's family, are shown as objects more than individuals, and are not respected by the Iranian men. An example, below, shows a mother traveling on the rear of a scooter behind her husband and three children. The Iranian men are almost all drawn with beards and many have sideburns.

Throughout the film a number of buildings blazoned with political propaganda murals with negative messages using icons symbolic of The United States. One shows the American flag behind a stylized Statue of Liberty, wearing the face of a skeleton. Another depicts the US flag with a giant skull and crossbones across its center in a sketchy graffiti-style.

The schoolgirls share images of The Bee Gees and ABBA, and, as a pre-teen, Marjane becomes enamoured with the band, Iron Maiden. These music groups were and are iconic of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Marjane also wears Adidas sneakers, an icon brand representative of America, and popular in the 80s era.

When Marjane flees to Vienna as a teen, she is befriended by a group of Austrian nihilists, all wear only black, smoke home-rolled cigarettes and their "leader" sports the iconic hair style of the 1980s punk youth--the Mohawk.

This story is semi-autobiographical, and at the same time it has been deemed as a historical piece. Persepolis was not favorably accepted by the Iranian government, and deemed to be a inappropriate due to parts which they felt misrepresented certain achievements that resulted from the Revolution.

The art of this film makes it well worth watching even for those not as interested in the religious or political themes. I watched the full version from which we viewed a clip in class--subscribers can watch instantly Online via Netflix. The dialogue is in French with English subtitles; it has been translated to English since the release to DVD.

Images - various sources, via Google search.

[1] "Persepolis." IDMB. 2009. IDMB.com. 11 Oct, 2009.

what are you selling?

2009-10-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

"Nations represent themselves through their currency design, using symbols, colors, textures, portraits of leaders, typefaces, decorative embellishments, mottos and phrases."

Our assignment last week was to create a new version of currency. We started with a mind-map--a kind of charting--of words and ideas for our design based on the "signs of our times". My interests do not lie in politics so I knew that was not the best option for me to use in my design. I also considered that while we are certainly a major player, The United States is not the only politically, socially or environmentally conscious country, and our concerns are not entirely shared by every other group of peoples on the planet--this despite attempts by many Americans to be the prominent influence.

That being said, my mind-map started with the word COMMUNICATION. It branched into many more words that related to that subject. I was thinking of all the ways we have and are communicating in the latter part of the last, and into the current century. Technology. Computers. Internet. Mobile telephones and devices. Electronic mail. Text messaging. Media, media, media--in newer, faster, smaller, quicker forms. It's all about connectivity, convenience, networking and instantaneous communication.

My project pared down the many ways into the prevalent methods of 21st century communication. The final product was not what I expected when I set out to create but I am pleased with the result. In viewing all the incarnations of this project as produced by everyone in the class, I was surprised to see so many similarities! Many didn't stray too far from the original United States dollar design, and/or kept a number of the original features--text, type, symbols. Overall, however, creativity abounds!

After grading, I will photograph and share my project here.

reader response: chapter 2 (pg 69-89)

2009-10-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

bri⋅co⋅lage /ˌbrikəˈlɑʒ, ˌbrɪkə-/[bree-kuh-lahzh, brik-uh-] –noun, plural bri⋅co⋅la⋅ges /ˌbrikəˈlɑʒɪz, ‑ˈlɑʒ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [bree-kuh-lah-zhiz, ‑lahzh]
1. a construction made of whatever materials are at hand; something created from a variety of available things. 2. (in literature) a piece created from diverse resources. 3. (in art) a piece of makeshift handiwork. 4. the use of multiple, diverse research methods.

The part of our reading this week that stuck with me the most was the section on bricolage. Partly because I am a collage artist, a bit because I remember the punk styles during the 1980s, and mostly because I admire the creativity and innovative quality of what our text refers to as, "the art of making do".

I decided to Google the word bricolage and see what I could find. This post contains images and explanations of a variety of associations with the word, idea and practice of bricolage. Some touch closer than others to the definition as it pertains to our study.

Culture

In cultural studies bricolage is used to mean the processes by which people acquire objects from across social divisions to create new cultural identities. In particular, it is a feature of subcultures such as, for example, the punk movement. Here, objects that possess one meaning (or no meaning) in the dominant culture are acquired and given a new, often subversive meaning. For example, the safety pin became a form of decoration in punk culture.

Fashion

The fashion industry uses bricolage-like styles by incorporating items typically utilized for other purposes. For example, candy wrappers are woven together to produce a purse.

The movie Zoolander parodies this concept with Mugatu's Derelicte, a line of "high fashion" clothing made entirely from trash.

In reality, the current fall 2009 collection from Alexander McQueen makes use of items we would normally discard or recycle, including saran and bubble wrap, manhole covers, garbage bags and wheel hub covers.

Television

MacGyver was a tv series in which the hero is the ultimate example of a bricoleur, creating solutions for the problem at hand out of immediately available found objects.

The A-Team is another example of bricoleur. When the team found themselves in a situation which required creativity for defense or escape, they put together weapons out of any objects available.

Life itself is a bricolage of bricolages, meaning you never know what you are going to get the next day. A reminder of the quote about the box of chocolates made famous in the movie, Forrest Gump. We tend to use whatever resources are available to us in order to survive, which essentially defines the idea of bricolage.

Household Items

A paperclip is a common office item. Used to hold papers together, it can also be turned into a sculpture, a tool for carving/etching into things or even an elaborate light fixture.

Cooking and Food

Cooking is an example of bricolage in everyday life. Cooks often improvise new recipes when key ingredients are not at hand. A well known example of bricolage is the banana. Not only a source of nutrition, it can also calm stomach aches, or help to moisturize the face when made into a mask. A banana peel can be used to buff shoes, polish silverware, and promote the healing of warts, scratches, and minor cuts.

Everyday Life

The lime is a super example of bricolage. A common ingredient used for cooking and adding flavor, it's also used for cleaning. Lime juice can clean pots and pans, bathroom surfaces and glass. Many people use it as a substitute for hair gel and hair spray.

Most info via Wikipedia, images - various Internet sources.

photography: the lonely pixel

2009-10-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

photography: erin tyner

2009-10-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

These photos are from the Half Awake series, an ongoing series featuring miniature figures.

View more of Erin's work here and on her Flickr stream.

reader response: representation and truth

2009-10-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Weegee and Emmett Till

The image by Weegee, The First Murder {of which the actual title is Their First Murder} is more powerful to me than viewing the murder victim. Note in the version I have posted that there are two people shown on the right that were cropped from the version in our book.

As we discussed in class, the Punctum is strong and the different faces and emotions within do grab my attention. That he chose to render his subject in the high contrasts of black and white lends an even stronger atmosphere to this photograph. I found it interesting that I feel more emotion when I view this photograph than the infamous shot of Emmett Till in his casket. As a side note, I was impressed with Weegee's innovative mobile darkroom in the trunk of his Chevy!

Henri-Horace Roland de la Porte: more still life works

As an Art History major I've studied the works of the 17-18th century Dutch realism painters. The layers of symbolism are part of the cultural context and the artists version of "snapshots" from their period in time. Because of my former studies, the original Still Life by Henri-Horace holds as much meaning for me as the modern take-off by Marion Peck.

Robert Frank: The Americans

We spent a fair amount of time discussing the truthfulness of photography. I struggle with this kind of discussion. I understand the point that a photo can be altered both before and after it is produced but I don't look at photographs as something of solidity.

To me, a photograph is just as fleeting as the moment that is captured within it. The truth of a photograph is no different than the truth of a drawing, painting or sculpture. Each contains an element of the human who created it--whether added before or after the creation. Images are powerful. They do wield an influence but since we all filter any form of communication through our own values and experiences, I don't believe that an image can hold sway on the ultimate decisions we choose to make on any given subject.

Images from The Americans by Robert Frank.

View more info and images here.

about me & apt3

2009-10-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

Hello ~

thanks for visiting my blog and for taking the time to find out a little bit more about me. I'm Tina Pfeiffer...wife, artist, student, photographer, writer, traveler, adventurer, researcher, entrepreneur, creator, closet techie, wannabe Parisian, historian, explorer, shopper, decorator, foodie, reader and blog author.

I have so many interests that my blogs have become my places to explore and share. My cyber-explosions of ideas and inspiration. Photography, travel, art, history, paper crafts, writing, music, food, books, films, shopping, antiquing, thrifting, vintage, Etsy, small business talk, gardening, decorating, learning and generally just soaking up life.

Many thanks to all of you who follow my musings...I truly appreciate and enjoy your comments and participation.

This particular blog (my third, yikes!) will be my bulletin board for Art 112, fall term at PSU. Posts will include my thoughts on our readings, class discussions and projects in motion. It will be my repository for images and photographs--mine and others I discover to share.

To view my photography please visit:

My Flickr Gallery.

If you're curious take a peek at...

My photography/design/travel Blog.

My Etsy Vintage Shop and my vintage Blog.

If you social network...

follow me on Twitter and Facebook.