Moody Monday: Indifferent

"Talk to the Hand!"

Call Me a Copycat

Anthropomorphic Salt and Pepper Shakers
Originally uploaded by mbcdesignstudio.

Now I had to go and make a collage with my own vintage fruit and veggie people salt & pepper shakers. Some people call them "anthropomorphic". :-)

Vintage Toy Cars

My creation
Originally uploaded by Canaan Albright Photography.

Saw this post on flickr and couldn't resist blogging this composition. I love grids and all things vintage. Canaan Albright Photography has the copyright.

Inspire Me Thursday: Body Parts

As per Inspire Me Thursday: "This week, your challenge is to create a piece of art that focuses on BODY PARTS (suggested by Jess). Concentrate on one particular body part, or several different parts, the choice is yours, but don’t show the body as a whole. Be as creative as you want in your interpretation of this challenge !"

I sketched some body parts and got interested in my hands. Particularly I was interested in the hand signals for numbers from one to five. Then I realized that those could be ambiguous. The sign for "one" could also be accusing or threatening or simply "pointing" direction. The number "two" could also mean "peace". "Five" could also mean "hello" or "stop". When I added color I simply experimented with layering the oil pastels over each other until I found something I liked. I think it has an alien feel to it which you could also apply to the hand signals which can mean many different things. (This might be my longest post ever :-) )

Illustration Friday: Sticky

Has this ever happened to you? :-)

Photo Friday: "Happiness Is..."

Happiness is...the kind of play that takes all day long and the only reason to stop is because it gets dark.

Moody Monday: False

I had a hard time with "false" until I remembered my shot of these shiny "pearls". :-)

Thursday Challenge: Summer

Lens Day Challenge: Cityscape

Digital Drool: Fluffy

Digital Drool: Vacation

Out of many, many tries to capture a dolphin shot on vacation, I finally did it. This is the only one that came out halfway decent. They liked to ride the waves behind our boat, and followed us off their course for awhile to play. :-)

Photo Friday: Health

Here's to your "health"!

Thursday Challenge: Wet

Thursday Challenge: Bird

Since the Thursday Challenge is "Bird", I thought I'd show a gathering of a bird's best friends.

Digital Drool Challenge: Hobby

Moody Monday: Shady

I love how the blue sky matches the tones in the building. This is a vacant old Kress building in a downtown area that is being rejuvenated. I love this building and hope they don't tear it down.

Photoshop Miniature Technique

Make your photos look like miniature models at Receding Hairline. This is a cool technique to "miniaturize" your landscape photos and make them look like teeny tiny models. Very cool effect.

Illustration Friday: Jungle

Read a new magazine the other day called Mental Floss. It answers questions you might have wondered about like,"Do military personnel actually go commando?" It also gives secrets or "how-tos" including: "How to Walk on Fire" or "How to Catch a Giant Squid". Of course the one that caught my eye was "How to Shrink a Human Head". Thought this idea would fit into the "Jungle" theme in a round about way. :-)

Photo Friday: Poverty

Thursday Challenge: Weather

It's the perfect weather for some cane pole fishing with a bright red and white bobber. My favorite way to fish is baiting a hook with a juicy worm or cricket and watching and waiting for the bobber to go under. Much more suspense than with a rod and reel. In MY opinion. :-)

Illustration Friday: Portrait

When I was young I slept a LOT. Loved naps, still do but no time. I think I loved to sleep so much because my dreams were so vivid. I could also continue a dream if I woke up briefly and went back to sleep. Then there were the dreams that I had over and over and I got to choose a different ending. I still sleep very deeply and dream even though I forget them when I wake up. I always meant to keep a dream journal if I could ever remember them. This takes me back to when sleeping was an art form. :-)

Lens Day Challenge: Childhood

Photo Friday: New

It doesn't have a hole in it yet, and no dirty water...you know it's summer when you see a colorful, shiny NEW plastic pool filled with crystal, clear water. Refreshing.

Thursday Challenge: Transportation

Studio Friday: Aged/Antique

This is a closeup view of an old wooden type tray I found at a flea market. It hangs over my desk. I like to find little toys or items to place in the different compartments. It's kind of like a living composition, it changes daily.

Summer's First Blooms

My creation
Originally uploaded by mbcdesignstudio.

Inspire Me Thursday

Before you look at my "Inspire Me Thursday", you need to know that it's a typographic representation of the poem, "Images", by Tyrone Green. Tyrone was a fictional character played by Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live a LONG time ago. Tyrone was a prison inmate who won a poem contest. This is his poem that won. :-) You have to hear Eddie Murphy read it as Tyrone. VERY funny. If you have never heard this poem, looking at this version of "Images", imagine that this is how the poem sounded to me relayed back in a visual format. It's kind of hard to read, so here are the words:

"Images", by Tyrone Green

Go to his house in the middle of the night.
Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.
A dog is barking. Do he bite?
Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.
Sneak in his room. Break his neck.
Then his house I start to wreck.
Got no reason. What the heck?
Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.
C-I-L-L MY LANDLORD.

Illustration Friday: Cake

Illustration Friday's theme is "Cake". It took a little brainstorming to come up with an idea that was, "A Piece of Cake". :-)

Photo Friday: Home

Lens Day Challenge: Chaos

After
Before
The original photo was taken on a bright, sunny day. This is a photo of the demolition of an old church. I desaturated the photo, played around with the curves and burnt in the clouds to give it an ominous or "chaotic" look. Totally different interpretation than the original.

Thursday Challenge: Ground

I dislike posting photos out of season but this one fit the theme so nicely that I had to dig it up. You see the most interesting things when you remember to look down.

David's Friends At School

I found this neat little schoolbook from 1936 at the flea market the other day. The title is, "David's Friends At School", illustrated by Nellie Farnam & Clarence Biers. I love these illustrations. The color and detail make them come alive. This is Book One, Social Studies, I'd love to find more of this set.

Studio Friday: Contrast

For Studio Friday the theme is "Contrast". On the top are my robot sketches. On the bottom are a child's robot sketches. I definitely think the child conveyed the subject better and with MUCH more feeling. :-)

Thursday Challenge: Passageway

Lens Day Challenge: Signs

Digital Drool Challenge: Morning

This pig is NOT a morning pig.

Inspiration Challenge: Magic of Toys

I do appreciate updated playgrounds. They are "safer" than the old equipment. But there is something to be said for the old, retro playgrounds with the peeling paint and shiny metal. Much more character, many more memories.

Moody Monday: Boring

The theme at "Moody Monday" is "Boring". This is a hollyhock leaf that has been eaten by some mysterious insect. Pretty boring but kind of interesting when held up to the sky where you see the lacy pattern that was left. My hollyhock leaves look this way every year. Any remedies for the keeping them from being chewed upon?

Photo Friday: Masterpiece

This vintage quilt I consider a masterpiece because of all the work it took and because it is an exceptional design with a wonderful color pallette. I've photographed it many times. I love how something so traditional can take on a contemporary feel when photographed up close. This quilt dates from around the 1930s-1940s.

Illustration Friday: Angels & Devils

Here's my version of a scratch drawing done with metallic black crayon, scratched out with an exacto knife on bristol board. My homage to the Childcraft versions below:


This is my inspiration for my technique for Illustration Friday for this week, a how-to article from a 1964 Childcraft book from the "How and Why Library". This article shows children how to make a scratch drawing using a black crayon, cardboard and a paper-clip or nail. Thought I'd see what I could come up with. I'll add my scratch drawing when I complete it.

Thursday Challenge: Family

Lens Day Challenge: Spring

This is an upclose view of my "kerria japonica 'Pleniflora' or common name: double kerria or wild rose". I have a stand of these bushes in my backyard. They are so pretty in spring.

Studio Friday: Sounds

The sounds in my studio vary on any given day but these are usually my constant audio background: The creak of my chair, the humm of the computer, the ringing of the phone, the click of my mouse and the occasional "Caw-caw" from a crow or two. Sometimes if it's too quiet I have to have the tv on in the background and I listen to Oprah or Spongebob Squarepants. :-)

Illustration Friday: Fat

Typography connotation using a "B" from "BeesKnees".

Photo Friday: Adolescence

Thursday Challenge: Work

Lens Day Challenge: Voluptuous

Digital Drool Challenge: Junk

Moody Monday: Small