2011 Calendar by Purgatory Pie Press

Such a beautiful idea. I want to make one! These smart book artists took obselete sea charts and bound them into a long stitch book with beautiful leather covers. Then letterpressed numbers and characters on each one to create a calendar called "The Weekly Navigational."

Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design

W A N T. Oh the colors, design, thoughtfulness. Just so beautiful.

Naïve
Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design

Heather Ross

I have been bitten by the pattern bug and am inspired by Heather Ross. Take a look at her work and tell me you're not engaged. Organizational beauty hits me like nothing else. The best patterns do that and they are not thoughtless. They are loaded with interpretive intensity. So, so beautiful.

The Art Gardener

Please take a minute to check out my friend's new beelog: The Art Gardener. Ashlee and I first met (98/99?) when we worked together at The Partnership. We were young, thirsty and dedicated young women just delving into the beginning of our careers. Now we're both experiencing a professional rebirth (personal and spiritual, too) and love sharing the process with each other and you kind readers.

Emilie Friday

Check out her work. A fellow calligrapher found her site and forwarded her to me. LOVE the work and flourishing. It's round and warm and fun. LOVE, love, love it!

Ivy's Shadow

One of my PC students, Ivy McCleod, has a sweet tiny little doggie named Shadow. Ivy brings Shadow to class when she can and we all take turns petting and snuggling with her during class.

Last week Ivy presented some pretty awesome illustrations as part of her Creative Strokes systems book and this witty portrait she did of Shadow caught my eye. Such a fun thing to do - enhance scale in a humorous way - it just stretches the meaning of the portrait.

Ivy's portrait of Shadow is absolutely perfect and a really good example of why I teach (it's fun and inspiring not just for my students, but for me as well.)

Nate Williams

My friend Kevin sent this site my way - the work of Nate Williams is really engaging and fun. It takes a lot of bravery to illustrate the statement "Life Is Beautiful" amongst all the pessimism out there. I love this guy's patterns. SUCH such fun.