Showing posts with label art and design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art and design. Show all posts
Artist Spotlight: Wishcandy
Wishcandy aka Sashiko Yuen's style is a blend of kitschy, retro, hypersexual imagery. Most of the illustrations are done in muted pastel colors. I discovered her recently on tumblr and fell head over heels for her illustrations. On her website she describes her work as, "essentially a sassy candy-coated horror show. It's full of compassion, eroticism, violence, and the search for true freedom. Inspired by retro culture, street fashion, kitsch, beauty, and the grotesque."
I also am always really intrigued by artists' processes and it's nice to see other artists showcase how their work comes to fruition. Through her tumblr, you can see how ideas are sparked and where she gets her inspiration. It's really incredible, she's very talented, and seems so sweet!
Where else you can find her:
Website
Shop
Tumblr
Thoughts?
Untitled Mural in Des Moines











what i wore:
Thrifted vintage striped dress (buy similar here)
Emma t-strap flats in black c/o B.A.I.T. Footwear (buy here)
Revlon Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon (buy similar here)
double amethyst necklace from Inanimate Objects (buy similar here)
amethyst triangle ring from Moorea Seal (buy here)
I stumbled across this mural in a photo on instagram, and set out to find it with my friend Alex today. It is located near Mars Cafe in the Drake neighborhood (exact location here). This mural was created by Jordan Weber, a local artist whose work is rooted in social activism that is portrayed through the use of recognizable cartoon characters (read a great article about him on Gestalt Creatives here). Not only is his work aesthetically interesting, but it also opens up discussion.
Once again, I am so excited about the emerging public art lately in Des Moines (1, 2). Although, I read here that the mural is only temporary, I'm happy that it exists right now and I got the chance to experience it. I can't believe I didn't even know about it until recently when it was done in 2011. Isn't that strange? Anyways. I hope to keep up more with public art, and hope to take more photos with everything I can! It's an exciting adventure.
So onto the outfit. I simply adore this vintage striped purple and gray puff sleeved dress. I picked it up thrifting one day and knew right away it would be a perfect light, airy dress for summer. I love the thin stripes and light gray. I've got to say, this lip butter is amazing. I like how it fades evenly and acts like a lip stain. It's perfect.
This day, I taught Alex how to sew a zipper pouch, we went to Drake Diner for dinner, I got the amazing veggie rarebit burger, crinkle-cut fries, and a strawberry milkshake of course. Then, we headed over to the Drake Neighborhood's Farmer's Market where I picked up some delicious cherries. After that we searched for the mural, found it, and spent a while there taking photos. Then we walked to Mars Cafe where I got some iced coffee, and headed to Creative Coldsnow to wrap up our day to look at art supplies where I bought a couple moleskin journals which I will attempt to use daily or at least weekly.
Other sources to check out:
Des Moines Greater Public Art Foundation
Street Art DM Blog
Jordan Weber blog
Gestalt Creatives
Thoughts about this mural? I would love to hear them.
Reunited, With Bees







what i wore:
thrifted blue dress with pleated skirt (buy similar here)
tan faux leather jacket with eyelet detail from Target (buy here)
purple suede heels in Eggplant a Kiss c/o Chromatic Gallerie (buy here)
lipstick in Girl About Town from MAC Cosmetics (buy here)
With a name like that, why wouldn't this be one of my favorite murals in Des Moines? I've been really enjoying all of the colorful murals popping up around downtown Des Moines (like this one) and would love to see this trend continue. I discovered this mural driving one day, and finally had the chance to come back to it and snap some photos.
Reunited, With Bees is a mural by local artist Frank Hansen. I think it's fantastic. With a touch of whimsy and an edge in a naive style, it makes for great public art. Here is a good article written about the artist by Art Beacon.
Before coming to this mural, David and I had just gone to see Jersey Boys with his family at the Civic Center. I don't know much about musicals, so I didn't really know much about this one going it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm glad that we get the opportunity to see productions such as this one.
The weather has been reminiscent of fall as of lately, and I really enjoy it. I even got the change to wear a faux leather jacket, even though as the day went on, it got a little too hot, but that's ok. I love the this blue jewel toned dress. It's so basic and easy to wear!
What are your favorite murals in your area!? I'd like to see/hear about it/them.
Patterns


I've always been a big fan of patterns, and I have been practicing by making my own with some of my drawings. The first one is a controlled but chaotic bee pattern. I wanted to add some contrasting colors and create visual balance and movement. I might have it printed on fabric for a scarf. I think the colors turned out beautifully. The second one was created from a drawing of my cat, Louie! I love all over cat patterns and it was inspired by the illustrator, Harriet Gray.
If you are interested in either of these patterns, you can find prints, cell phone cases, and other things on my Society 6.
Thoughts?
Body typography


One of my classmates/friends and I created this message and typeface to display our overexcitement for upcoming graduation. Neither of us are very profane, but this phrase just felt right. Graduating is a huge thing and I really feel like the phrase packs a punch! As you can see in the video above, we created letterforms with our bodies using gestures of positive and happy expression. I think it turned out well. We installed it in our design building so that right when you walk in the front door you see it, so it's an immediate impact. I love it, and I think we are both proud of it. I will show close-ups and more at a later time possibly. This was done in less than 36 hours, by the way. We had a design charrette (intense workshop) in one of our classes with a design professor from CCS. It was a good experience all in all.
Thoughts!?
Why scream?

It's been a while since I've posted any of my own work on here (well I deleted a post that featured my work recently). It's something that I have been thinking about for a long time. I have been wrestling with the idea of either integrating my own art and design work into this current blog or starting a whole new one for that specific topic. It's been an idea I've been contemplating for probably over a year now. I have always wanted this blog to be more of a lifestyle blog any way but I feel like lately it's turned mostly into a style blog that has small spurts of updates from time to time and I'm not sure how I feel about it. So, today I am going to start integrating my art and design work with this blog, just to see how it goes. You will hopefully be seeing more of a variety of posts with now, with some spurts of style posts of course! I just wanted to let you all know, so that there would be no surprise when the content shifts a little bit!
Be sure to follow me along on instagram too, you'll get to see my latest updates on daily life and such that will no longer be published on this blog, for the most part.
On to the works I show above:
I have been looking for ways to bridge my art and design for a really long time. Probably since I started at Drake in 2011. I would finally like to say that I have succeeded. I integrated my love of ice cream (+ girly things) and my fascination with insects into one creation. Using a drawing I created a while back along with manipulating and multiplying the image, I created an ice cream cone. Then, utilizing a variety of two dimensional imagery within three dimensional space, some digitially and some physically, I am able to created a complex sense of spacial relationships. This image is also meant to pose the question, Why do we scream? The idea stemmed from the popular phrase, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream". We all scream either out of delight or fear. This idea in a way explains my own confusion of how I've gone from a terrible fear of insects to a pretty intense fascination of them. I am creating something indulgent to conquer my own fear of insects and turning something normally seen as aggressive into an object of desire, creating a softer re-imagining of these insects. I also love the idea of creating work that is fantastical and imaginative, which comes out in this work, I believe.
Thoughts, ideas, questions, critiques!? I'd love to hear your opinions below.
Proximity Press Release


The Anderson Gallery at Drake University will be hosting an exhibition entitled Proximity, featuring new work by four graduating senior Bachelor of Fine Arts students; Meanz Chan, Aron Johnston, Cecily Pincsak, and Hannah Pink. This exhibit, representing the culmination of these students’ educational experiences at Drake University, will run from April 12th through the 28th. The exhibit will showcase art that reflects each of the four individual artists creative process and how these processes, from beginning to end, have been influenced by the close proximity (nearness in space, time, or relationship) in which they have studied and worked during their enrollment in Drake’s art and design program.
The student artists will show a combination of painting, drawing, printmaking, and graphic design work in this senior thesis exhibit, which is free and open to the public. The exhibit opens Friday, April 12th in the Anderson Gallery, located in the Harmon Fine Arts Center, 2505 Carpenter Ave., with an opening reception that evening from 5 to 7pm. Refreshments will be provided.
The Anderson Gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday 12 to 4pm, with extended hours on Thursdays until 8pm, and by appointment.
Each of the four exhibiting artists takes a different approach to their artist process:

Meanz Chan:
Through the use of fantastical elements and the juxtaposition of two-dimensional elements in three-dimensional space, I exaggerate and invent biological fauna and phenomena to create complex and curious situations. My work relies on the various media, textures and intimate detail to create a perplexing feeling.

Aron Johnston:
I explore the relationship between created human environs and the natural environment, with a focus on charismatic mega-fauna and their struggles to exist in a human-dominated world whose technological advances have brought about changes that outpace many of their abilities to adapt. By combining imagery of animals, most of whom are currently endangered, with man-made elements of machinery or electronics I seek to point out the absurdity of our intervention, intentional or otherwise, in a global life system whose complexity and vastness is far greater than our understanding.

Cecily Pincsak:
Informed by my interests in literature and history and anchored by my background in graphic design, my recent work is an investigation of foibles, flaws, and folly. Through the pairing of word and image, I seek to capture the inherent humor and universality of human fallibility.

Hannah Pink:
Drawing has been a passion of mine since childhood, and it has been so rewarding to be able to transfer my love for creatures and critters onto paper," states Hannah Pink, a senior Drawing and Graphic Design double major from Peoria, Illinois. "I create works of art that are compelling and push the viewer into the details, rather than focusing on the bigger concept. I want my artwork to help people grow a deeper appreciation for the wildlife that surrounds our everyday lives.
* This is our official press release for the show! If you are in the Des Moines area, I hope you make it to the opening, and if not I hope you stop by to see the show at some point while it's up. A big thank you to Cecily for designing the postcards and to Aron for writing the press release and getting it out there. Be sure to click through to each artist's website to see more of their work!
** I updated my website last night/this morning with a whole new lot of photos of my design work, be sure to look through! I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished in the past couple of days. Click here to view my website.
Artist Spotlight: Michelle of CreatureType
Hi Koi Story readers! My name is Michelle, blogger at CreatureType, and this is the culmination of my manic, childhood creativity. The Big Book of Cats.
The Big Book of Cats is a sort of encyclopedia of anthropomorphic cat girls. In 1998, I was 11 years old and decided to make a 200 page encyclopedia of anthropomorphic cat girls. I drew each girl and listed a bizarre survey of personal information about them--name, age, eye color, fur and hair color, home state, and even their paw prints. Kids are so weird.
Although I tried to hide the book very deeply in the junk piles of my childhood bedroom, I couldn't bare to actually part with it. I knew one day I would be able to look back and enjoy the hilarity and besides that--I actually finished this thing. All 200 pages! For me, a chronic procrastinator and lazy bum, that is incredible. To this day, The Big Book of Cats is one of the only illustration projects I've ever seen to completion.
The Big Book of Cats is now a weekly illustration project on my blog. In August, I made a vow to honor this horrific piece of literature and redraw every cat girl and post a new drawing along with the original for the internet's amusement!
You can check out all the girls so far here and follow along with each new drawing every Wednesday on CreatureType!
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I think Michelle is a wonderful and talented illustrator and I fell in love with her Big Book of Cats project that she has been working on and I thought you all would enjoy it! Hope you did.
The Big Book of Cats is a sort of encyclopedia of anthropomorphic cat girls. In 1998, I was 11 years old and decided to make a 200 page encyclopedia of anthropomorphic cat girls. I drew each girl and listed a bizarre survey of personal information about them--name, age, eye color, fur and hair color, home state, and even their paw prints. Kids are so weird.
Although I tried to hide the book very deeply in the junk piles of my childhood bedroom, I couldn't bare to actually part with it. I knew one day I would be able to look back and enjoy the hilarity and besides that--I actually finished this thing. All 200 pages! For me, a chronic procrastinator and lazy bum, that is incredible. To this day, The Big Book of Cats is one of the only illustration projects I've ever seen to completion.
The Big Book of Cats is now a weekly illustration project on my blog. In August, I made a vow to honor this horrific piece of literature and redraw every cat girl and post a new drawing along with the original for the internet's amusement!
You can check out all the girls so far here and follow along with each new drawing every Wednesday on CreatureType!
-----------
I think Michelle is a wonderful and talented illustrator and I fell in love with her Big Book of Cats project that she has been working on and I thought you all would enjoy it! Hope you did.
Blog header makeover



I created a blog header makeover for Jillian of Boring Spice! She just started getting back into blogging and wanted a new change! I wish I would have done a before and after. I edited the CSS a little too to give her a pure white background with a pop of color in the links using a mustard yellow. I created the moodboard after Jillian sent me these inspiration photos, and described that she wanted peonies and a vintage, yet girly typeface! The colors are drawn from the photos. I think it turned out pretty well!
Thoughts?
If you are interested in a blog banner makeover or have any other graphic design needs, feel free to e-mail me at meanzchan[at]gmail[dot]com! You can view my full portfolio here.
Flash
I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions!
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