November 10, 2010 – 3:41 pm
Screenprint - first poster
I’ve been taking a screenprinting class through UW-Continuing Studies. I have learned so much, not least of which is the fact that I have a LOT more to learn. Here is my first poster print, featuring charmingly questionable registration. It is a 19×26″ poster and I had no idea what I was taking on in choosing such a large size. I’m going to need to build up my arm muscles a bit to wield such a squeegee without effort. Might bring it down to 11×17″ for my next in my State Park series. Until my power yoga and free weight effort starts making a difference anyway.
I created and separated the design in Illustrator. It is based on photos I took while camping at this park Memorial Day of this year. Currently looking for studio space and supplies to build a few items I need to set up my own screenprinting space – only two more weeks of school space. Thankfully I have some very handy family members that are willing to help me with power tools!
September 23, 2010 – 10:44 am
Five of my oil paintings are hanging at the Madison Squash Workshop through the end of October. This is the first time I’ve displayed my art since I was a college student. Um, yeah that’s been over 10 years ago now… so I’m overdue! My mother and I have also joined Wisconsin Plein Air Painters Association so I look forward to sharing our work over the year ahead.
Here’s the artist statement that accompanies my painting at the Squash Workshop:
I have been a visual artist as long as I can remember, as a child of a painter I considered it a birthright and eagerly took to the paintbrush. In the past I have been preferred people as a subject but have lately been drawn to include the urban and rural landscapes that we humans inhabit. This is undoubtedly a product of my idyllic country childhood meshing with a decade of urban living.
Lynn Van Airsdale is a Madison area Acupuncturist. I had the pleasure of working with her to create her new logo and website. Lynn felt strongly about having a star in her logo to represent the five elements. I pondered how to make a star, used for varying purposes, specific to acupuncture. I e-mailed Lynn and asked her what she thought on composing the star with the needles themselves. She liked it! She brought some over and I laid them out (very carefully!) and photographed them at my kitchen table. The logo was born. I look forward to seeing her soon for an acupuncture session of my own. I’m going to let her handle the needles this time!
Oh, how I love this image from a German Company that makes logos and interior decor out of grass! I guess Mother Nature already has the exterior part…well, covered. And of course, as a Grunniwaldt, I have an extra affection for it. There was a time I thought of changing my re-interpreted name (via Ellis Island, perhaps?) back to the authentic Grünwald. Then I thought about those occasions in which I’d need to spell my name for people. Likely I’d end up explaining what keys one would have to hold down to produce it on a American keyboard, after determining if they are working on a mac or pc. Nope, I don’t think America is very umlaut-friendly in that respect. Ah, well. Lovely logo!!!
February 4, 2010 – 7:40 pm
Red is both my mom’s and my own signature color. We share that color preference with the American Heart Association. The Madison Heart Ball’s invitations and signage featured LOTS of red. I volunteered my time and design skill to create pieces to aid the American Heart Associations in their efforts to combat childhood obesity.
December 17, 2009 – 11:12 am
Kris & I attended a photography exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum and we came upon this photo, taken in the 1930s.
And I said “If they had facebook back then, that definitely would have been her profile pic.” Lady behind us tells us she was thinking the same thing.
December 14, 2009 – 3:36 pm
Alternate Title: When facebook was the hallway of the family estate/castle
I attended The Louvre and the Masterpiece exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts this past Saturday. I had the BEST company. 3 of my friends and I wandered through the three rooms that made up the exhibit. The second room featured some original art contrasted with fakes and later reproductions. Kris announces her desire to become the next Frederic Spitzer, middleman between fakers and collectors.
I look closely at Vermeer’s “The Astronomer” with interest since we are using many of his techniques in the painting class I am currently enrolled in. 
Then I can’t help but notice he looks a little like Jay of “Jay & Silent Bob” fame.
As I enter the next room, Kris and Laurie refer to the large painting in the center of the room, featuring fire, brimstone and the kingdom of Satan. “That painter has the soul of a commercial artist” they say. “If he were alive today that would definitely be the cover of a metal album.”
I gaze at the beautiful Ingrés portrait of the handsome Duc d’Orleans. He was beloved of his people and I dare say I would have had a crush on this benevelent Duke had I shared the earth with him at the same time.
Kris says muttonchops came into fashion in America about 10 years or so after Ingrés painted this piece, and for this we can thank the French. Perhaps we Americans always looked to France for the latest fashions, far before Fashion Week became an institution. I note that were he wearing different clothes, he’d look sort of indie. Kris says, “yeah, like a fourth Avett Brother.”
Kris and Laurie start laughing at a stone carving of an animal, not being able to tell if it’s a monkey or lion. Monkey-Lion. That’s funny, much like a Liger. They get the stink-eye from one of the security people. They pipe down, but really, isn’t laughter as valid an experience as wandering around attached to headphones? I love art. I make it too and I think perhaps we are just too reverent at times. Let’s enjoy it and poke fun at it as if it’s any other part of our entertainment culture. Okay?
October 18, 2009 – 4:22 pm
In retrospect I should have had the tree to the right in the frame so to see the message: “hI.” Sure, that’s lower-uppercase but I think that was a stylistic choice by the trees. Very creative work, Shawano woodlands.
September 4, 2009 – 10:27 am
Twitter wouldn't use comic sans.
And I doubt twitter is going to hire from a recruiter using comic sans. Comic Sans? The large movement of individuals lambasting this font has grown beyond the design community. Sure, comic sans has it’s place but too few people are clear on what that place is. Are you a comic book artist? Are you making a sign for your day care? Comic sans might be a good choice. Wouldn’t be my choice in the latter but it is at least appropriate. I’ve seen this font used in too many flyers and e-mails where one is trying to convey a professional image. Perhaps they mean to imply that they’re professional yet fun but there are other ways to do this. If you’re not sure how, hire a designer.
Comic sans was designed by Vincent Connare. This article about his oft-villified font details the complicated relationship so many of us have with its usage. Though it is ubiquitous, sadly Vincent sees none of the profit. It belongs to Microsoft. Though misuses abound, I really enjoyed the anecdote about a woman who wrote a break-up note in comic sans to soften the blow. Don’t know how well that worked but I have to give her points for careful font consideration! Hopefully her ex-boyfriend was not a designer…though perhaps if he was, he might have been happy to be rid of a comic sans user!
