Sometimes you just need to be inspired....

Sometimes one of the things that really slows me down as a designer is trying to find just the right shade of a color. Or maybe deciding on a combination of colors to use. Sure, I know a lot about color theory and the like, but sometimes you just need a good kick in the butt so the inspiration doesn't wear out while you're daydreaming about the color wheel. Good news! There is hope!

Colour Lovers is a website where people submit multiple color combinations. The best part is that they list the RGB and HTML values for their color pallets. Who knows, maybe you'll even find the color combination you've been searching for to inspire your living room paint!

So, next time you're in a color slump, make sure to give it a quick look. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Nature's Best 2008

Last month we ventured to Washington, DC to check out a number of exhibits, including the Nature's Best Photography 2009. It was amazing: vivid colors, great compositions, amazing subject matter, and incredible sharpness. Its the kind of natural photography that anyone can enjoy with awe...even if you're not a student of photography.


Of course, I picked the beautiful close up of the frog eye, and the dainty green tree frog as two of my favorite images, but the baby penguins were overall my favorite. As the story from the photographer goes: in Antartica, it is law that you can only be so close to the penguins. So, when these curious penguins got "too close" the photographer had to back off. Luckly, as would any good photograher, a second camera was on hand and hence the baby's "self-portrait" was aquired.

The exhibit is on display at the Natural History Museum until May 3rd. If you're going to be in the DC area, or just need a good trip away, make sure to include a stop at Natural History. If you're not going to be in the area, you can see more beautiful photos on the Natural History website.

Check it out: Nature's Best, 2008

Artesian Silver news

I just recieved my first hoodie from Artesian Silver. It's awesome!!! The print quality is great! (and I worked in image printing for 6 years-I'm picky) The product quality is super too. Good stuff!

Here I am with my Frog in My Pocket hoodie:



Also in Artesian Silver news, I added the beginning of a new collection called "Keep Fishin'." Here's a sneek peek:


Last but not least, Artesian Silver is now easier to find at: www.artesiansilver.com :)

Cheeta Art

So it's been awhile since I've posted, mostly due to the fact that we did a computer upgrade and hard drive reformat that's left me quite wounded in the computer department. I'm just about back up and running now.

That being said, its time for a new post:

I've had this site bookmarked for a long time. C.H.E.E.T.A Primate Sanctuary takes retired celebrity chimps and gives them a wonderful home where they are inspired to be creative. The sanctuary has quite the reputation, and has the support of people like Jane Goodall (of Gorilla's in the Mist fame). If you go to the photos page, you can see many images of "Ape-Stract" art painted by the primates. I actually know someone who made a donation and has one of these art pieces. It's great!

Check it out: C.H.E.E.T.A.

Also, just for a related smile, the elephant that paints...

New Product Line!!

A new Artesian Silver Product is up and selling! I am expanding the environmental theme of Artesian Silver to include the new "Being Green" line. Being Green is stocked with originally designed frog themed apparel and gifts for you, your friends, your family, or all of the above! Of course, more new items will be coming soon, but feel free to check out the new line now!

Check it out: Artesian Silver "Being Green" Collection

Living Glass!

I love when you can incorporate nature into your interior space.
Living glass fuses organic material between layers of glass for any application where you'd use glass, including windows, table tops, and even flooring! The designs are rather minimalist, but absolutely beautiful.
Another great way to introduce some subtle art into your space!

Check it out: Living Glass

Robert Frank's-The Americans

Ok, so I know I already posted today, but I didn't want to forget to add this link I just found.

Robert Frank is one of my favorite photographers. An exhibit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his book "The Americans" will run Jan 18-Ap 26 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Slate Magazine published a short slide show about Frank. With a Leica camera he traveled across the country in 1955 and took snapshots of America. The photos serve as a social commentary, but also a reminder of how a photograph can lock in a spontaneous instant.

Check out Slate's slide show: http://www.slate.com/id/2209172/

Functionality of Art

Form follows function...

To follow up on my earlier post about those great glass faucets, this website also sells hand blown glass products. This time hardware (door knobs, cabinet knobs, etc). Not only is each piece of hardware unique, it also makes quite the statement!
Check it out: Out of the Blue Design Studio


I have a huge appreciation for interior design, and I love new innovations in decor.

Fish tanks that hang on your wall!!! The filter, heater, everything is built in, with a control panel on the side. What a great way to showcase your hobby!!
















The company calls it "a living piece of art". Too cool!

Check it out: AquaVista

Poor Artist's Creative Suite, Take 2

My next episode in the quest to find the perfect inexpensive creative suite, brings me to what might possibly the most difficult program to "replace" yet: Flash.

The first stop in my quest is Xtivity: http://www.autofx.com/products/xtivity/detail.html
I think its a pretty fluid program, that saves as a .swf flash file. It's a bit overwhelming at first, but it has a good amount of tutorials and support to get you started. If you check out my portfolio (linked in the sidebar), it was created using Xtivity. Free 30 day trial, after that its $80. I think its worth the expense, if you'll utilize it.

So maybe you're not looking to invest in such a program...you're still in luck. Check out Wix: http://www.wix.com Its a free online "flash" web building program (as in it exports an .swf). Its pretty easy to use and much more inclusive than I would have imagined. There are lots of templates to choose from, and a decent selection of behaviors and animations. The best part, you need know nothing about any of these types of programs to easily create a stunning site. My new Shop Artesian Silver box in my sidebar was created using Wix. Even if you don't want to use it to create a website, it does easily export to blogs, facebook, my space, etc very easily.

So, to summarize, we're up to 3 programs. Our total cost: $80 or FREE. You decide...

Fonts anyone??

So you have just downloaded some new creative software and you need some more fonts? Never fear!!! Check out: Dafont

There are thousands of fonts on this site, ready for download. Many of which are public domain or free.

Poor Artist's Creative Suite, Take 1

This is my first official installment of the Poor Artist's Creative Suite. In my quest to begin work on my new website, I realized I was stuck in the midst of a vicious cycle. I wanted to not only upgrade my design software, but to upgrade it legally. The loop begins in that I need the software to create my art, but I can't afford the software until I sell my art...And so the pursuit begins...to "replicate" the Adobe Creative Suite for under $300. I am in no way suggesting that these programs are absolute replacements for Adobe products...industry standard software becomes standard for a reason...but it is a good start to "get by in the meantime." Or maybe you only dabble in these types of programs...or you just want to do some photo editing, or make a flyer.

I began my adventure looking for Open Source Software (OSS). If you've ever used Firefox, you've used OSS before...

So begins my first installment of the Poor Artist's Creative Suite:
I'm going to start with two programs. The first program I recommend is Kompozer: http://kompozer.net/

Kompozer is a "what you'll see is what you'll get" web authoring software. (Think Dreamweaver). I am pretty happy with the software overall. My only disappointment was that it does not support creating image maps...so that's something to work around...All in all, a good fit. Cost: free!

The second program is Inkscape: http://www.inkscape.org/

Inkscape is a vector drawing program similar to Illustrator. I really like this program! If you're used to Illustrator, you do have to get used to new keyboard shortcuts. A great shortcut is that you use your page up and page down buttons to move objects above and below each other. I also like that its very easy to set opacity and blur! It also allows you to save you vector graphic as a .pdf. Cost: free!

So we begin with two programs, and our total investment is $0. Pretty good start?!?

Is your bathroom art?

OK, so I don't care what you're taste is, you can't deny that these aren't really cool! These glass bathroom faucets, handles, and vessles by Jim McKelvey are quite interesting! Also on the site is a video on how the faucets are made. (If you're impatient, at least watch the last few minutes of part 2 for when he swings the glass and when he shows how strong it is) What a great way to make your bathroom a piece of art (assuming money is no object!) Definitely worth a look!

Check it out: Glass Faucets by Jim McKelvey

Welcome to Artesian Silver!

Artesian Silver blog is a space for anything I find interesting and relevant to art, design, and multimedia.

Of course, the most important part of the launch of my blog, is the launch of my new online Artesian Silver cafepress store, where you can buy original home decor. Please check it out, forward it on to your friends, and sign up for my mailing list!

Visit: Artesian Silver

As for the blog, to the right, under "Artesian Silver Network" you can find the link not only for my web store, but also my newly redesigned online portfolio. The "Artist Link" section focuses on other artists that I know. I am only beginning to generate this list, so please help me feature by giving me your information (website, blog, etc). Lastly, the "Related Blogs" list is for other related art, design, or multimedia blogs. My hope is to link other artists, and those with interest in the arts with lots of useful and interesting information.

Again, welcome, thanks for visiting, and don't forget to bookmark and stop back often!

Will-Harris House

I stumbled across this website today and thought its definitely worth sharing. Not only does he have some great designs, but he also houses a lot of good information on his site. My favorite part thus far is the font pair database that helps group fonts that look best together.

Check it out: http://www.will-harris.com/index.html

Videos on video and promoting your art

Click on the link for more: Getting started in Video

These videos is rather entertaining, but it also gives some great information on getting started with video, lighting on the cheap, and also promoting your artwork though video. (Also, don't forget that things like lighting also apply to photography). I think its definitely something worth the viewing, even if you're only interested on improving your home videos!

Also check out: Blip TV

This set of interviews is also very interesting. I confess, I am posting this without watching all of them, but from the little bit I did watch, there is a lot of good information. The interviews report on some really great (and edgy) new media. I think that there is a lot of learn from these interviews about branding yourself as an artist. Also, its worth checking out some of these artist's really cool web and blog sites like Fearlesscooking.TV