Sunday, February 27, 2011

Generosity & Graditude are two birds of a feather.


This morning, I am feeling incredibly inspired & exceptionally grateful for all the love and support we have in Asheville. I am also inspired daily by Mentorship
. Mentoring Antonio has been the single most rewarding thing I have ever done with my life. It's also the most difficult, but it's so rewarding when he is successful!

We have been mentoring Antonio since 2007. He is in the 8th grade and is planning to go away to boarding school next year. We believe one on one mentoring with a focus on higher level eduction can break the cycle of poverty.

If you live in Asheville, please consider dropping by this event on Thursday evening. If you can't make it, go by Lola Salon and get some raffle tickets. You don't have to be present to win.

For the full story of how we became Antonio's mentors, visit the link below.
http://roostinteriordesign.tumblr.com/post/2581098806/art-for-antonio



ART BENEFIT FOR ANTONIO EVENT DETAILS!

Help Antonio go away to boarding school for a better tomorrow!
Your chance to make a huge difference in the life of an amazing local child.

March, 3rd, 2011 5-9 pm
An evening with hor d'oeuvres + wine tasting + great art to buy + tons of
raffle offerings + proceeds go help Antonio go to boarding school!

71 Starnes Ave, Downtown Asheville (28801)

If you can't make it buy some raffle tickets anyway!
RAFFLE TICKETS FOR SALE NOW @ Lola Salon, 60 Biltmore Ave.
You do not have to be present to win. $1000+ worth of prizes!

VISIT THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE TO RSVP
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177870388918686#!/event.php?eid=177870388918686

Participating Artists:
+ Simone Wilson : http://www.pleasanthughstudio.com/
+ Meg Reilley : www.megreilley.com
+ Molly Sieburg Courcelle : http://www.mollycourcelle.com/
+ Genie Maples : www.geniemaples.com
+ Cheri Brackett : http://www.amerifolk.com/painting/CheriBrackett/index.php
+Nicole McConville
http://sigilation.com/
+ Allie Good
+Jess Kit portrait session
www.photokitt.com
+ Mimi Strang

RAFFLE TICKETS FOR SALE NOW @ Lola Salon, 60 Biltmore Ave.
You do not have to be present to win. $1000+ worth of prizes!
$5 raffle tickets gets you a chance at these offerings :
+ haircut by Rebecca Biggers at Lola Salon (6 stylists, 6 haircuts!)
www.lolamakesmebeautiful.com
+ Limones gift certificate
www.limonesrestaurant.com
+ Early Girl Eatery gift certificate
www.earlygirleatery.com
+ Homegrown gift certificate
www.slowfoodrightquick.com
+ art scarf kit by Stacey Budge Kaimson
www.urbangypz.com
+ Spotted Dog Farm beeswax latern
www.spotteddogasheville.blogspot.com
+ Kate the rolfer session
www.katetherolfer.com
+Haircuts by Frankie Bolt (4 Haircuts!)
www.eclipseasheville.com
+ Neck warmer by Lupe Perez
+ Angelique Tassistro of Fly Coop Studios
a scalloped flower dip platter set
www.flycoopstudios.com
+ Katie and Mike at LADY LUCK FARM
$50 bouquet delivery
www.ladyluckflowerfarm.com
delivered floral arrangement worth $75
Aria Floral
www.blueridgeflowers.com
& the list is growing daily!


We hope to see you there!!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

typography may have peaked in 1897!






This week I am inspired by the 1890's. When I designed the R.O. Frank's Aviation Company logo in 2008, I researched the time period. The 1890's are when hot air balloons were invented. At the time, flying machines were all the rage. The hot air balloon is the only flying machine that is still around today. That tells me, it must have been pretty good design, if it's still in use over 100 years later.

I have actually flown in a hot air balloon. It's one of the most amazing things I ever did in my life. I recommend you get up there and try it! It's so wonderful quiet, (except for the whoosh of fire, every once and a while to keep you floating) and a perspective I have yet to experience before or since.

I am also interested in Wet Plate Collidion Photography. This is the photography process that was invented in the 1850's & peaked in the 1890's. My partner Meg and I took a wet plate collidion class in D.C. back in the fall… and man the camera and lenses we used were incredible examples of good design. We photographed with a big studio camera, called a century camera. I will post some of those images another day.

The way type was handled during the end of the 19th century is my favorite historical use of typography to date. It's like everything that was type set was made to last and the design was well thought out. Not like today, where everything is thrown together by anybody who has photoshop. Not that people who are not trained as graphic designers can't be awesome. Sometimes they are awesome, but becoming a great graphic designer is about practice, practice and more practice.

I read something once, that if you do anything for 10,000 hours or more, you are likely an expert at that 10,000 hour mark. I am definitely past 10,000 hours of graphic design but whether I am an expert is debatable. I still love it, so that must count for something.

I am including the original logo ideas I showed to the client and the gift certificate I designed for R.O. Frank's so you can see the historical reference at work.

image of century camera book cover from : craigcamera.com
image of the clown ad : mechanicalbanks.org

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Year of Inspiration Blogs 2011!


















*Photo from http://heidiwdurrow.com/book


I have been thinking about my blog a lot in the last couple of weeks. (thinking about it, but not actually blogging!) I have decided to blog for one year about my inspirations.

I am feeling very inspired about 2011. There are a lot of big changes in the hopper… Change inspires me, new places inspires me, trying new things inspire me.

So, this will be the first of many posts about inspiration.

Today, I am inspired by literature. I have loved to read since I learned how in the second grade. I have a mild case of dyslexia, so I was slow to read at first, but man… the summer between 2nd and 3rd, I was tearing up the pages. Back then it was mostly books like Ramona the Pest (Beverly Cleary) and Super Fudge (Judy Blume).

These days, my favorite reads are non-fiction books about African American United States poverty, social class, racism and plain old social injustice in the United States. I just finished reading "The girl who fell from the Sky" by Heidi W. Durrow. This was an amazing book about race, class and social injustice. I got the book for Christmas and just recently made time to read it. I don't need much time. I read the entire book in one day. I have to say the cover design is why I got the book. This is the UK cover, but it the most nicely designed (in my humble opinion)!

Other books I have read in the last year that might be of interest if you are curious about the subject matter of poverty in the US.

1. Random Family : Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

2. There are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the other America, by Alex Kotlowitz
Alex has a new film that premired at Sundance and is an official Sundance selection!! The film is about the violence in the poverty world. I say Alex, like I know him as he actually wrote back to me when I wrote to ask how the boys in his book are doing now. He is a really amazing author and man. Can't wait to see the film. Check out the trailer here.
http://interrupters.kartemquin.com/

A must read is "Understanding the Framework of Poverty "by Ruby Payne.

I love to read up on the subject of poverty so I know what Antonio is up against. I would love to hear what books inspire my readers. Please write to me. You can visit my web page at www.luckydesign7.com to get my address.