Design*Sponge Profile

As the weather in Portland continues to confuse me (sun one minute, snow the next! what gives PDX?)  I can always fall back on the amazing talents of Design*Sponge to make me feel good, no matter how gray it is outside.  The folks over at d*s always pick out the coolest design/decorating products in the latest trends–I'm always browsing the "before and after" shots of home restorations and sorting through "mini-trends" (did I mention that purple is hot right now?)  This website motivates me to seek out tiny but inspirational companies and open up shop myself!  Here are some little things I've picked out as my favorites from d*s.

d*s has a great DIY section, but these inside-out security envelopes are SO cool!

A comment left also pointed me in the direction of Joseph King, who is collecting security

 envelopes from around the world.  The patterns that result are awesome!  

   

d*s also has sneak peeks into beautifully designed homes and offices...heres a sample!

Another great section of the site is devoted to Student Design.  It is truly inspiring and motivating to see people only a few years older than me creating unique products and pieces.  

 A big thank you to Design*Sponge for inspiring me with your finds!  In a way I wish I could be working for them. How cool would that be?  So if anyone reads this, definitely check out their blog and hopefully you'll find it as cool as I do.

www.designspongeonline.com

*for more inspirational, art and design-centered blogs/webpages, check out my "artists designers inspiration" column to the right of this post!

Spiral

I got my first tattoo today!  Very simple, very fast, very happy. I got a SPIRAL. which im very happy with, and have already explained it's meaning on another post. It hurt, but it was cool at the same time...wee!

Spring Showers

It is the official beginning of Spring here in beautiful Portland.  The ground is bursting with daffodils and a frenzy of flowers.  The trees are springing up pink clouds all over the streets–I need to get out and take some pictures, I cannot miss this glorious time of the year!  Along with the gorgeous colors appearing, the skies have definitely clouded over and it rains about every day.  I wish it was still sunny so I could stop and enjoy the flowers...but thats how it goes I guess.  I will make it a goal to take pictures outside during my Spring Break.  

Also...I want to get a tattoo.  I'm pretty sure I know what I want–its something I always try to live by and follow...more details to come.  I hope it can happen!  I get paid friday...haha. 

Work is making me realize how little sleep I will be getting next term.  I wake up at 3:30am for a 4:15 shift, and I end up taking multiple naps when I get back, which leaves me groggy and out of focus for the rest of the day.  I hope I get into the sleep routine, because I hate feeling out of the loop during school.  

Okay...new pictures to come as soon as I can get outside!  

A Rave-for dance!

I found a great dance studio just on the other side of the Hawthorne Bridge!!  Vega Dance+Lab is a cute little studio that offers a range of classes like hip hop cabaret (pussycat doll-sexy-girly dance! awesome!), jazz, lyrical and hip hop.  So far I've taken one hip hop cabaret and a lyrical class.  The cabaret class was lots of fun, super sexy...it was cool.  Last night I took a lyrical class, and all I can say is WOW, I want to take that class all the time!  The choreography was so my style, it was challenging at times but was so much fun to dance.  I love getting back into dance, it is such a big part of my life and not having it since school started has made me super restless and wanting it so bad.  Hopefully I'll be able to go to classes often, my job and schedule would definitely allow for it!  And now I can afford to take classes because I'm getting paid!  SWEET!  If youre in the downtown Portland/ SE area, take a class.  They always start from the top of a routine every class so you don't miss out on anything!  The classes are all adult-age (from what I've seen so far), and include a whole range of dance experience, so there is nothing to be afraid or shy about!   Just wanted to rave about it, since I'm so glad I found this place and get to do what I love again :)

The Final Stages

For all three of my remaining classes that don't require a final exam (curse you, art history!), I'm really enjoying the projects given to us.  In color theory we need to make a "purpose driven room" using a dominant color to evoke a certain feeling, etc.  SO my idea was stemming from "The Devil Wears Prada," and make my room for a CEO of a top magazine.  The room is going to have red walls and a clean white one, complete with table, chairs (a Louis Ghost too!), boards for examining looks for the new spring season...you know, top fashion stuff.  I had a surge of creative energy last night and got to work straight away.  In my freshman inquiry class, we need to create our own city and also make a narrative similar to Marco Polo and Kublai Khan's in Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities.  In drawing I am creating a 4 panel piece based on crystals, gemstones and facets.  Theres something about facets this term that im just obsessed with.  Thanks to design*sponge for inspiring me further :).  I also need to make a couple pages for a group zine based on activities for winter in Portland. fun stuff!  Now I just need to get back to work...

RANT

Sometimes I can't believe how inefficient things can get at school.  Just to print out ONE colored piece of paper from the computer lab, I have to:

1. Fill out a form from a computer in the lab

2. print it out

3. go down to the first floor

4. BUY $0.25 worth of PRINT CREDITS!! I can't just give them a quarter right then and there!

5. go back upstairs

6. show someone totally incapable of understanding me my CLASS SCHEDULE (why?? if i'm paying for this do you really need to know that i'm an art student?! what does it matter??!)

7. print out my picture

8. sign off on how many "credits" I used

and to top this all off, all of the pictures I printed out turned out totally unusable because of the shitty PRINTING job!  And this old man had the nerve to say it was my PICTURE that made it look like that, NOT the printer. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  

I just cannot understand why it takes so many steps to print out a piece of colored paper.  Shitty colored paper at that. Now I have to go back and reprint it, to see if the shitty printer won't make my picture shitty.  Why not just make the printer free for plain colored paper?  I'd pay for a glossy, photo-quality piece of paper, but not just plain, shitty color.  So. effing. ridiculous.  I want my dollar back!

the best part was when I was purchasing my print credits, the guy behind the counter said "isn't this a ridiculous bureaucracy when we have to come down here to pay for paper? Effing ridiculous is the term that first comes to mind."  You got that right!

Check this out

I went to a screening of "Zeitgeist" last night at the local cinema next door.  This documentary attempts to out the truth behind 9-11, the war in Iraq and how the media is just a distraction to the frightening events going on behind our backs.  And apparently there is no law stating that one has to pay a federal income tax!  Who knew?  Watch it for yourself and make a judgment.  It does seem like propaganda against propaganda, but it really helped me realize just whos behind America.  Also go watch the movie "Network," and get mad. Get really, really mad.

Visit their website to see the entire movie for free.  I'm including a clip for convenience.  There are also parts of the movie on youtube.  

WARNING:  Graphic and intense emotional scenes are included, and the video is very anti-religion also.