The logo I posted way back when...

I’m pleased that my logo has been able to evolve along with my business.  It still suits my product line, as it was never product specific.  I favor logos that don’t cement themselves to a particular product as my work is constantly changing.

Currently, I’m working on designing a logo for a collective of children’s designers that I met through the New New.  We will be working together as the Lil’ New Yorker at the Columbus Circle Holiday Market.  As a group, we have diverse aesthetics and products with our common ground being that we all create pieces for babies and children.  We wanted something that communicated that we were local, designing for children (babies, toddlers and youth), and creating handmade pieces with an urban vibe- a much taller order and more specific design request than my personal business’ logo.

Luckily, I have help!  Collaborating with my friends at Bugged Out has been a fun and fruitful process so far.  Very soon, we will have the final images up on our Lil’New Yorker Facebook and Twitter pages.  Here are some sketches in progress.  As you can see, I still love designing the old-fashioned way- I usually use the computer only for finishing details.

My first rudimentary sketch to flush out some of my ideas for the Lil' New Yorker logo.

A more focused sketch

Scanned and colorized in Photoshop

Looking forward to trying out a few new things at the Antic this weekend- just made two lovely fall/winter bags from upcycled sweaters with hand needle-felted details….  I think that’s all the tag words I need there.  :)  You know I can’t help a little self promotion.  What else are blogs for?  According to the New Yorker cartoon by Roz Chast- Blogs are “1/3 stories about crap somebody cooked, knitted, or sewed, 1/3 self-promotion, 1/3 conspiracy theories.”   Well, I don’t usually write about conspiracy theories… But here’s some crap I sewed just to cover 2 out of 3 blog essentials.  My mom has been thrift store combing the Southeastern US for me, and has gotten some really great wool sweater finds down there.  (Who needs sweaters in Alabama?!!)  Thanks mom.  Check out what I made from your treasures:

And if you’re not my mom, you can buy these things (plus my screen printed apparel) Sunday at Atlantic Antic.  I’ll be there noon-6  Sunday between Smith Street and Boerum Place, along with a ton of other fabulous artists.   My friends from The NewNew will be out in full force.  Check out this google interactive map for a list of NewNew peeps and where you can find us.

Here’s a drawing colored the old fashion way with markers and pencils:

A hand-colored page of my novel

And a teaser piece of my cover, inked in Photoshop:

Two very different looks.  I don’t necessarily think one is better than the other, just that the second one has more punch.  There will definitely be some disadvantages- check out that mango in the first one!  He will lose some pizazz in the computer.  But I think it will be quicker in the end.  And I like the strong contrast.

My studio-what a mess! We definitely had to do some creative cropping to make a video in there!

Yes, I’m still working on a Kickstarter campaign.  I’ve been approved by the forces that be, and now I’m working with the challenge that faces so many of us these days- marketing myself.  You’re basically making a commercial for yourself, and your project.  I read the tips put out there by the gang at Kickstarter- checking out successful projects and watching other peoples’ videos is a great start.  I immediately narrowed my focus to watching videos for projects that were similar to mine, comics and graphic novels.  Not surprisingly, there aren’t that many graphic novels.  (These things are time consuming as all get out; you have to be committed!)  I liked Carter Family Comics:  Don’t Forget This Song.

It looks professional and gets the idea across.  It’s about an interesting subject, well done, and professional.  I noticed that they used a lot of stills and not so much video of them actually talking, which I like for this type of project.  (And, because I hate to see video of myself!)

So, I watched a lot of videos, got some drawings together, semi-cleaned my studio, and my friend Ian came over to help me film.  I’m lucky enough to have a friend who does this kind of stuff for a living, but I think it’s pretty essential that you get someone else to help you with your video.  It’s good to have another eye, if nothing else.  Although I have seen projects that capitalize on this “I do everything myself” thing, and their videos can be quite charming.  (“Allison Weiss makes a full-length record!” caught my eye in this vein.

I was expecting major polish because the still shot that you see before you hit play is very well done, styled and colorful.  But then when you actually watch the video, you get an intimate kitchen table possible filmed using her iPhone kind of thing…which works.)  But I’m not Allison Weiss.  And I think that’s the most essential part of making a promotional video for yourself –  be yourself!

My final piece of advice:  prepare some sort of script.  Even if you don’t follow it, it will give you an edited idea of what you want to say.  If you’ll notice in watching Allison’s video, there are a LOT of cuts.  Probably, she didn’t have a script.  Ian and I shot a lot of film on our first evening, and I sat up until early in the morning afterward thinking of all the things I should have said.  Then, I did what I often do when I have ideas just as I’m going to sleep- hopped out of bed and wrote them down.

So, Ian’s off gallavanting around the globe now.  And when he gets back, we’re going to shoot a little more video.  With some script.  The new information clarifies the plot of my novel, and gives a little background on Kickstarter since I think many of my family and friends are unfamiliar with it.  I’d also like to shoot some video in an alternate location.  (Everything we shot so far was of me sitting at my drafting table.)

So in summary, what I’ve learned so far:

1.  Research by watching other videos that are for similar projects.

2.  Know yourself, be yourself!

3.  Prepare some sort of script/agenda in advance of filming.

That’s all for now!  Hopefully my next post will be a link to my project.  In the meantime, check out my friend Ryan’s project, Flux Work/Shop.  He’s raising money to open a storefront for his designs that doubles as a teaching workshop.  And he has BEAUTIFUL rewards!  (Another essential item for a successful Kickstarter project- for another day.)

The book is what I’m going to call autobiographical fiction, for now.  It’s about a teacher who’s also a new mother working for the New York City public school system.  Those of you who know me know this is no stretch of the imagination.

And now, I’m really going out on a limb- a picture.  Below are a few untouched up preliminary scans from the first chapter.  I’m going to try to post images here that you won’t see in the final book just to keep it interesting.

And why now?  Why when I started writing this book in 2005 am I finally making a post about it?  Well, I’m getting psyched up to start a Kickstarter campaign.  As you may know if you’ve read my blog, I’m on childcare leave from the Board of Ed and pursuing creative endeavors for a little extra cash while I take care of my little munchkins.  This book is something that I’ve invested a lot of time into, but that still needs a LOT of work.  It’s mostly written, but illustrating it is a real time sucker.  I guess this is why there are so few people out there who are writer/illustrators…

It somehow (maybe the fact that it has no income attached to it and doesn’t cry “Mommy!  Mommy!!!”) always gets pushed to the back burner.  I’ve decided it MUST be finished in a timely manner and to make sure that happens, I’m committing to Kickstarter.  I got the go ahead “Your project has been accepted” from them today (YAY!).  So look in the following weeks to start seeing some pledge requests.  I’m working on the cover, some video, and some accompanying graphics to post on Kickstarter soon.  Don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know when my project is live.  In other words, consider yourself warned!

“Bumster” Skirt Highland Rape, autumn/winter 1995–96 (re-edition from original pattern)

The exhibition starts with McQueen’s thesis show from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.  This was one of the most touching parts of the show to me, because it showed some vulnerability.  (The rest of the show was covered in armor, sometimes literally!)  According to Wikipedia McQueen had “a reputation in the fashion world as an expert in creating an impeccably tailored look,” but I noticed some puckered fabric.  I was shocked!  I could imagine McQueen getting torn to bits by his fellow competitors on Project Runway.  Tim Gunn shaking his head:  ”Is this seam going to stay like this?”  This included the now infamous “Bumsters” which I know would have gotten a raised eyebrow from Ms. Klum AND some collegial sneers.

But by the second room the tailoring was impeccable.  I loved the pieces termed “Romantic Gothic” by the curator.

Ensemble Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, autumn/winter 2002–3 Coat of black parachute silk; trouser of black synthetic; hat of black silk satin Hat by Philip Treacy for Alexander McQueen courtesy of Alister Mackie Courtesy of Alexander McQueen Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø / Art + Commerce

There were two beautiful all black ones that come to mind.  The above, and another that I recall had a somewhat mushroom shape- I would love to include a photo as it was probably my favorite piece, but the Met is keeping a tight reign on released images.  (No cameras were allowed inside and it looks like no one has been brave enough to post any on the internet if they did sneak a few…)

I also loved what the curator (Andrew Bolton) termed “Romantic Nationalism.”   Pieces dominated by the red plaid associated with McQueen’s native Scotland.

Ensemble Widows of Culloden, autumn/winter 2006–7 Dress of McQueen wool tartan; top of nude silk net appliquéd with black lace; underskirt of cream silk tulle Courtesy of Alexander McQueen Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø / Art + Commerce

And that brings to mind one surprise of the exhibit- an undeniable fashion genius with a flair for the dramatic who also happens to be pretty literal.  Scotland=plaid.  Rape=dress ripped at the crotch.  Ok.  I’ll give him that.  But I did prefer the more subtle storylines.  The flowing black inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, for instance.

And when conceding genius, I really have to give it to Mr. Bolton.  This is one of the most impressive exhibit set ups I’ve ever seen in my ten years plus of constant Met visits.  Each room conveyed a mood- there was music, there was video, it was theatrical.  And dark.  It was a little too intense (sweaty palms, seriously!) for me with the throngs of people all jammed in spaces which were already curated to encourage claustrophobic nightmare.  And that is my biggest complaint- we went at a time when there was hardly any line- 7pm on a Friday- but still it was entirely too crowded.  Oh to see it alone!  Watching the video walk through might be the only chance you get, unless you know Mr. Bolton.  And if you do, could you hook me up?

Before the rain...

We’ve really been enjoying summer mode here in the BK, doing a lot of work but not skimping on the fun.  Governor’s Island, Manhattan Beach, the Aquarium, Coney Island, Prospect Park… me and the boys have done it all already and the summer isn’t even official yet!  We’ve also been working for the weekend all over the place- Brooklyn Flea in BBurg and Ft Greene, Brooklyn Pride at Prospect Park, and this weekend we’ll be doing the Seventh Heaven street festival.  Meeting a ton of interesting and creative folks.  And learning a lot.  We got pretty soggy at the Brooklyn Pride festival Saturday, and I’ll try to sum up our experience with a short anecdote from an older chap who stopped by our booth during the second or third hour of steady rain.  Here’s about how our conversation went:

Him:  ”You need rain flaps.”

Me:  ”Yeah, I’ve sort of figured that out.”

Uncomfortable pause.

Me:  ”So, you’re an old pro at this?”

Him: “Yes, I did this for many years.  The learning curve can either be very slow (he does an accompanying hand gesture and sound effect) or very steep (another gesture and sound).  You’ve got to be prepared.”

Me:  ”I usually am prepared but today… I’ve only been doing this for a short time…”

Him:  ”Have you heard of Mount Rainier?”

I nod yes.*

Him:  ”Well, there was this group, a hiker died up there.  It was August, and they went up and then the weather changed and they weren’t prepared.  You have to be prepared for anything.  The weather got cold and they hadn’t packed what they needed for cold.”

Me:  ”But this is BROOKLYN!  But, yeah, it’s good advice.  I’m on the steep learning curve.”

He left smiling and nodding.  I got the feeling he thought I might be on the slow learning curve.  :)

*I had to google Mount Rainier to supplement my cursory knowledge.  Here’s what Go Northwest travel site has to say about the death toll:

For unguided climbers, there is no substitute for good judgment and technique developed with climbing experience, as well as proper equipment.

The mountain has claimed an average of more than three lives each year since its designation as a park – a reminder that visitors need to continue to treat Mount Rainier with respect, despite any sense of familiarity. While not all those killed are attempting the summit, it must be noted that fatalities do occur due to unprepared and inexperienced climbers attempting the summit.

Historically, climbing accidents have involved avalanches, icefall, rockfall, and falls down glaciers into crevasses (both individuals and whole rope teams), hypothermia, and mountain sickness. Bodies of at least a dozen fallen climbers remain sealed in glacial ice. The highest death toll in a climbing incident in the U.S. occurred in 1981 when an ice avalanche on Ingraham Glacier killed 11 of a 29-member climbing party.

]]> http://valtline.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/the-mount-rainier-of-summer-vending-venues/feed/ 2 atticuszen L mans the booth http://valtline.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/the-studio-space-as-sacrosanct/ http://valtline.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/the-studio-space-as-sacrosanct/#comments Mon, 30 May 2011 03:18:37 +0000 Viv http://valtline.wordpress.com/?p=249 ]]> So.  My spring cleaning has worked its way into my studio.  I’m a bit on the OCD side and have a hard time doing creative work when things are cluttered.  I often needle away valuable work time cleaning.  Over the past year I’ve made an effort to overcome this compulsive cleaning urge.  Only a half an hour to work?  Both kids are somewhat occupied…should I sweep the cat kibble off the floor for the third time today (Siggy the destroyer likes to “kill” his food before he eats it by smashing it to smithereens and batting it around) or do something in the studio?  The answer is obvious.

An unfortunate side effect of my purposeful pshaw to compulsive cleaning is that my studio has become completely unmanageable.  There are piles.  Everywhere.  Piles of fabric (from the $20 well spent on two giant bags of “vintage” fabric bought from a 98-year-old woman at her yard sale last summer).  Piles of silkscreen ink.  Piles of rejected t-shirt prints.  Stacks of paintings in varying states of completion.  And these are just the piles that are current.  The main reason for these piles is that my studio is very, very, very small.  A secondary reason is that my studio is housing creative yesteryears.

I am not a sentimental person when it comes to “keepsakes”.  I’ve moved a lot.  I’ve lived in NYC a long while.  There just isn’t room to hold on to every wedding invitation.  I read somewhere that one should scan these things before they trash them, but mostly I just trash them.  (I did save this year’s mother’s day card because it made me cry!)  But when it comes to my studio, I’ve got some serious relics:

1) Giant Rubbermaid containers of negatives and photographs are the biggest culprit leftover from a BFA in Photography and the years that followed until digital swallowed the image.  I keep telling myself I’m going to scan them, but there are just too many!  And, of course, many of the prints were made in a darkroom.  By me.  A dying art.  2) Then there’s my easel.  I haven’t used it regularly in over ten years.  Still…  It’s got a little cutout of a picture of a paper mache Paul McCartney head that I made in college that weirdly resembles Paul McCartney.  It’s covered in layers of paint that represent many years of work.  And it reminds me of the trouble I went to find it.  (Pre-internet I actually had to drive a great distance and shop many art supply stores before I found a suitable painting companion.)  I felt enormously happy to have found it.  Now, it takes up an ungodly amount of space in my tiny studio, but I haven’t been able to part with it.  (I did have to cut off the top so that it would fit under the low ceilings!)  3) Oil painting supplies that are dried out and/or super old since I quit painting in oil when my son was born three years ago due to toxicity issues.  4) And I’m not sure I should call books relics, but… Books.  I have oodles of books in my studio.  Taking up and entire wall!!!  Shouldn’t I get rid of these?  Buy a kindle or something?  I hardly ever reference them.  I could cut them down to less than twenty, if it weren’t for my partner.  Books are his weakness.  (See his daily posts about the world of publishing on MobyLives.) 5) Stretchers.  Lots of them.  6) Old paintings.  Why am I saving them?  For art historians to rummage through in case I get famous?  For me to look at once in a blue moon for a good laugh?  I wish I had the balls of Jasper Johns to destroy everything.  Of course, he was only 24 when he did that.  I’m pretty sure most of my pre-24 stuff is long gone.  :)

Former Oil Paint Tube Home

“Before, whenever anybody asked me what I did, I said I was going to become an artist. Finally, I decided to stop becoming an artist and to be an artist.” -Jasper Johns

This quote reminds me of an encounter I had buying fabric in the Fabric District in Manhattan a while back.  I picked out some different patterns, and when the guy cutting the cloth called me a designer I said “Oh, no.  I’m not a designer.  I’m just making some clothes.”  ”Then you’re a designer!” He said.  True enough.  It’s very intimidating for me to shop in the fabric stores where so many fabulous designers go to make their creations.  But he’s right, you can just BE a designer.  And lately I’ve started to think of myself more as a designer than an artist.  (Next post!)

So, I’m slowly rearranging my studio to suit my current creative self.  Old oil paint used to fill this beautiful old Coke crate.  I’ve cleaned it out and replaced it with the acrylics that I’m actually using.  I’m cleaning out crates of unused art supplies and filling them with rolls of fabric and wool batting.  Notions and needles.  Most importantly, I’m getting rid of the mental clutter that’s keeping me from being whatever it is that I already am.  :)  I hope you guys are all way ahead of me on this one!

I knew I was up against a large machine when I started this process, but I was undaunted.  I worked for the Board of Ed for the past six years, so… I figure no bureaucracy is too big for me to handle.  I’ve heard things about vending in this fair city that I do not have the time to substantiate via google search, but the hearsay is that you cannot get a permanent license to vend on the street unless you’re a veteran?!  I’m serious.  This is what I’ve heard.  Maybe there’s an exception for artists, I seem to recall?  But I’m not trying to set up shop on the street unaided just yet…

Lately I’ve been applying to a few local shows to vend my wares (so you don’t have to go to war/defend your country to qualify) and have been swept up in the process.  When you say “local” in NYC, you’re still dealing with giganticum.  There are online forms, things that need to be mailed, things that have to be handled in person, fees, etc… and there is a sequence that must be followed.  First, you definitely need a NY State Sales Tax ID.  Done.  Next, you need a temporary vendor permit issued by the city (color passport type photo required- I took mine using my computer’s camera and came up with this lovely).  Check.  Then you fill out applications, send in pictures, work out shares with other people, and hope that it doesn’t rain after you’ve paid your non-refundable vendor fee.  It would be almost enough to take me away from my actual studio time, except for as part of the process, I have to PROVE that I’m actually in my studio for Clearview, one of the event corporations.

Me proving that I'm actually printing my shirts, except that you cant really tell its me because of my Cousin It hair.

They charge less if you are an artist, but according to a fellow Etsyian, you have to prove that you are actually making your items in order for them to be considered art.  I kind of got a chuckle out of having to prove that silkscreening is an art form.  I bet my friends at Pratt would be surprised to learn that it is in question.  (Usually we only debated whether or not painting was dead, screen printing was allowed to exist peacefully in a dark corner basement.)

Here I am holding one of my screens.  Yep, actually printing my own designs.

Which, by the way, I’ve updated for the tourist/proud New Yorker who would like to show their affiliation with the best of the boroughs, Brooklyn.  All of my animales kids’ designs are now updated to say Brooklyn and are available in adult sizes/styles.  I broke down and had someone else burn the larger size screens for me, the super cool cats over on Franklin Avenue at About Time.  They have a lot of cool designs of their own as well.

One more note on screen burning:  it sucks.  Ok, it doesn’t suck, but it is frustrating me at this point.  I’m trying to redo the smaller screens to have some BK shirts for kids as well, and the exposure times which I thought I had down to a science no longer seem to be working.  It may be that my emulsion is too old.  I had stored it in the fridge and it says it keeps up to four months, but it is slightly past the four month mark.  The images are burning, but then just as they’re almost finished washing out, the rest of the emulsion starts washing off as well.  Time to go to Dick Blickin SoHo, my new favorite haunt for art supplies.

My poor six week old son sits on the edge of my studio chaos as I print for upcoming events.

I feel like I always write way too long of a blog post, probably because so much happens and I don’t post often enough.  So I’m going to do a quick wrap up here on things that I’d really like to expound on later:  1) I met (two kids in tow!  Thanks Gaia for your patience!) with the owner of a new shop opening on Smith Street called “By Brooklyn” and she’s going to carry my shirts at the store!  (Thanks NewNew friends for the heads up on this.) So go show some love when they open up at the end of the month.  2) I’m vending at the NewNew booth at the Brooklyn Flea in Williamsburg this Sunday (Easter)!  Wow!  I hope it doesn’t rain because I am super excited about this!  Come see me if you’re around!

Maybe it will be like the new food movements.  A back to the simplicity of the farm kind of thing.  Local is better.  I preferred it when social networking literally involved going out for drinks.  No tweeting about it later, or even worse, while you’re doing it.  Seriously, I’m concerned for us as humans.  Why am I even on my computer right now!?  Breathe.  Ok.

I think just clearing my yahoo account of all the Park Slope Parent and New New emails would be enough to release me from overkill.  But I have to admit, these are my guilty pleasures.  Especially the Park Slope Parents listserv.  I mean, I really learn a lot by reading that thing.  Who can I get to fix my refrigerator?  How will I get my son into a decent PreK?  These are important questions.  Of course, there is a LOT of extraneous info on there too that I just can’t help but read.  (Threads about bedbugs in the local theater, how dirty the sand is at Prospect Park, or what to do when your nanny eats too much greasy food in front of your kids all come to mind.)  It really is an excellent resource for NYC parents though.  And I would not want to give that up.

Guess I should just learn to budget my time better.  So let’s make this quick so I can get back to real life.  :)  The real New New in my life?

A three-week old baby boy.  Yes, thanks.  He’s awesome.  It’s definitely challenging enough just to navigate the waters of motherhood with baby boy + three-year old big brother, but I like to keep it interesting.  So, I’m also really hunkering down on this graphic novel.  Do you think I should post something here soon?  Ehhh… maybe.  I’m feeling very protective.  Give me a few more pages.