I keep telling myself to pull together a gallery showing. One of these days, probably. Here’s another piece doomed to wait eternally for that show.
Inspired Art
October 14th, 2010Mural Painting
October 4th, 2010A few of us Phinney Bischoff folks took a little time after hours to improve our “Creative Lounge” at the office. That’s our basement, which used to be spider-filled storage, as of a year ago. It has since been finished, white boards added, tables, chairs, a media center, mini fridge (full of beer, of course) and now this: a custom mural, designed by myself, and painted by myself with the very helping hands of a few of our talented designers. I couldn’t have had a more qualified paint crew. I took time lapse of some of the process and put together a quick little behind-the-scenes vid, just for fun. Enjoy:
Amazing Wedding Invitation Design
July 2nd, 2010
I can’t resist sharing this ridiculously cool wedding invitation, designed and created by hand, by my good buddy and fellow designer, Eric Wyttenbach. I was fortunate enough to receive one of these in the mail, and I must say, it really stood out – like a little Christmas treasure, begging to be opened.
What a feast for the senses! Check out his own account of the process on his blog, including lots of photos and a great vid of the final assembly. Very cool.
I was also fortunate to be involved, in some part, by assisting Eric with the creation of a specially-made, matching, sterling silver pendant for his bride to be. Eric approached me with an idea and a cool piece of art, and together we figured out how to make it happen. I enjoyed every step of the process from brainstorming to final polish. Pics of the pendant are included in another post by Eric – you gotta see it. I love collaborating with other creative peeps, especially a guy like Eric. Years ago we discovered screen printing together – I see that is working well for him – and he continues to inspire me to never stop exploring new possibilities.
Now Selling on Etsy!
June 7th, 2010Well, I finally went live with an Etsy store. Go buy some stuff. I’ll be adding new designs, one at a time from now until forever, I’m sure. Next up: a bunch of pendants.
So far the only revenue that I have ever generated via jewelry making has been on custom-commissioned pieces. Selling on Etsy marks the beginning of selling “stock” items of my own design, with nobody else’s input (except that of my lovely wife, of course). I will still custom make each of these pieces to order, in the customer’s size, and with their initials stamped inside if requested. But they are not collaborative pieces. They are more or less sold “as-is” – we’ll see how that goes.
Another Venture
April 9th, 2010I guess I’m going to put up a custom-made jewelry site, see if I can sell some stuff. Of course half the fun is just setting it all up and getting to design myself a logo, site, cards, etc. I’m going to see what it takes to set myself up with a Wordpress CMS – just to gain that skill for other clients. Meanwhile, I’m beginning to explore logo ideas. I like these, as a start.
I feel a bit self conscious saying “jeweler” – makes it sound like I think I know what I’m doing – and I don’t think that at all. Oh well, you have to project confidence!
I guess this qualifies as “kinetic sculpture”
April 3rd, 2010Once again, I am defying my own rule that I will only post graphic design content here, but again, it’s “creative” so I say damn the rules!
I just completed this ridiculous electric motor, made completely from scratch – no kit, no plans no parts or drawings of any kind. It’s a 100% home-engineered, home-built, home-brewed contraption. Admittedly, it is a bit more of a science experiment than it is a sculpture. Call it what you want, I enjoyed designing it and building it. You can read all the sordid details and watch a video here, on this secret page dedicated to documenting the process.
New Jewelry Designs
April 2nd, 2010
This website is a Graphic Design portfolio, and so I have been hesitant to post other projects, but I just have too much to say, and as long as it falls under “creative”, I guess it’s fair game.
I have recently re-kindled my love of making jewelry. This recent renewed interest came about due to a friend requesting a custom-made piece based on some old jewelry photos that I had posted on Facebook – this is a testament to the power/value of social media. Our otherwise lost/hidden/obscure talents and interest are find-able and meaningful connections can be made between people. If he hadn’t asked me to make him a ring, my long-lost hobby would remain sadly dormant.
Since I now have more work to display (and I’m really just getting started), I have started a Flickr account, and uploaded some photos there of both finished designs and a lot of process photos so you can see how they are made.
I was musing about what got me started in this hobby. I think I nailed the very moment of inspiration. It was back in the 1990s, when I was a wee lad. A good friend (and great designer) and I went to see the new movie, Schindler’s List. There is a scene at the end of the film where Mr. Schindler is presented a gold ring, made for him by the employees in his factory. They showed the ring being made. I fell in love. Immediately after the movie, upon returning home, I carved a circular mold out of a piece of wood and filled it with molten, silver-jewelry-repair solder, then formed the primitive casting by hammering it over a steel rod. That particular technique of hammering was one that I saw in the movie. I just found that clip – one of my all time favorites. The first thirty seconds covers it, and is still inspiring. Watch the whole scene if you need something to cry about.
A few years after that, in college, I wandered into a jewelry store, Elensburg Agate Co, in Ellensburg, Washington and inquired about the process they use for making jewelry. The shop owner, Walter Tussinger took at least an hour of his time to show me around the back of his studio and explain the process. Walter was an older, white-haired gent with a soft voice and wrinkled hands. His work was beautiful. His lovely wife, Meriam, watched the store front while Walter showed me around the back. I returned a few weeks later with more questions. Meriam explained that Walter had died, and offered me some of his casting equipment. I gladly took the equipment and set out to try using it for myself. The rest is history. I’ve never had a class, but have purchased many books and asked many questions.
Motion Graphics Experiments
March 19th, 2010At work I’ve been taking a lead role in developing our motion graphics capabilities. Everyone has been really supportive, buying me software and encouraging innovation. Thank god. It’s a big task and trying to do it without support could easily turn into frustration. There is plenty of that anyway. In the past six months, we’ve expanded our capabilities and have produced a few short pieces already. The BECU pieces were scripted and illustrated at PBDH and animated at Lustre Communications. Everything else was wholly designed and produced in-house at PBDH.
Here is a recent test of a few little techniques. It doesn’t really tell a story – just a test. This was made with Adobe Illustrator and After Effects.
Here is another recent test…. time lapse!
Project: Light Box
March 18th, 2010Last night I made this little light box for use at the office. Read my PBDH blog post if you want to know why.
Illustrating with Digital Paper and Light
November 25th, 2009
I’ve been working on this style/technique for a while now… gathering inspiration, scanning/hoarding textures, drawing vector plants and rockets. Most of these elements have been in my stash for a year or longer. There has been a vague vision in my head, and I think I’m finally getting it. Layers of textured paper with shadows/depth between them. Lighting applied over the whole thing to saturate the center region, while darkening the edges. Finally a lens blur to the edges to add to that perceived depth.
I love the idea that you are seeing all this inside some kind of old-fashioned Viewmaster, a projector with a thick glass lens or a Magic Lantern. In motion graphics, the layers would move/focus independently – and selectively to nail that depth of field effect – and a hint of flickering light over the whole thing could certainly add to the vintage projector feel. I wish there was a way to add that burning dust smell.
I’m sure this will evolve quickly, now that I’ve finally gained some traction. I hope so.
Screen Printing Again!
October 22nd, 2009
Nikki and I had a good time printing some shirts for ourselves and some friends last weekend. Nikki did the design, which was a big hit at our annual apple-picking/cider-pressing party. We printed them together in the garage. It was quicker and easier than I always remember. I really enjoy the results we get with our screens, which work equally well for posters, greeting cards and other paper materials as they do on fabric. The ink (we often use acrylic house paint on paper) is thick, and when used on paper it has a raised effect which is similar (although opposite in direction) to the feel of letterpress printing – and requires much less equipment. I think I’m going to do a batch for myself with some hobby-related designs – maybe mountain biking or VW bus themes. Maybe you’ll be seeing those on Etsy soon.
Tangent From a Logo
September 22nd, 2009This idea never even made it in front of the client (and it shouldn’t have). Originally these were logo sketches for a client who makes brain implants that improve the function of motor skills in victims of brain trauma. You can see the electrodes, the halves of the brain, the faces to give it a human element – of course these all express the wrong emotions for the original project. Before long, a better idea came to the forefront for the client’s needs, and this one was shelved. But I continued making robots and space cowboys, just for the sheer joy of it. I had fun with the variety of faces that were making themselves possible. These are my favorites.
New Logo For The Bus Company
September 15th, 2009
I have an old VW bus – I have had VWs for years and enjoy getting my hands dirty under the hood. I recently discovered a man in Redmond, WA who has a sort of bus graveyard, with a lot of good salvageable parts. he calls himself  The Bus Company. Ken Madson is not only very knowledgable about VW busses, but very friendly and helpful. I spruced up his logo, on spec – just for fun mostly, because I was inspired by his existing one – and he helped me revive my ailing bus right in his driveway. It’s up to him if he likes it and/or wants to use it for anything. Maybe I can trade for some parts 
.
Website Update… a blog!
September 15th, 2009I’ve just added this blog element to my site, so that I can record updates, inspiration, etc. Twitter is good for that, but sometimes I want a longer form, with pictures, etc, so here we are. Also, getting familiar with this nonsense seems to be the first step in learning how to built proper CMS websites for other people. Here we go…
I’m still de-bugging, so please let me know if you see anything “funny.”