Assignment: to design a border in Photoshop (i.e., a horizontally repeated pattern printed along the selvage edge of a bolt of fabric) Result: It should have been easy, but nothing worked till I resurrected a 2007 doodle -- five off-balance little pencil figures. I put them on a colorful striped design, but continued to torture… Continue reading Be the wind
If you understand the passion of collecting, if you are fascinated by the perils of the trade at its most extreme, you’ll love this novel. In 2008, with PASSION AND PERIL ON THE SILK ROAD, I joined the ranks of indie publishers using the innovative Print-on-Demand technology. The novel should have been published by a… Continue reading PASSION & PERIL: on sale
I'm focusing on fabric design this winter as a practice. Like some people play games or do sports, I design because it's fun and has beneficial social and psychological side effects. I'm in it for the process, not the product. But, as always, I take myself seriously. Stretching does not mean scrambling to the top of… Continue reading Designing for energy
The New York Times this week published "Dogs Before Instagram: Vintage photos from the New York Times archive show the enduring power of the pooch." I'm not really a dog person, but vintage I got! This photo of a darling young girl and her pup is from our late 19th-century tintype collection. I posted it… Continue reading Dogs: not just for Instagram
... and giveth again. Earlier this week, with warming breezes, our shore was an iced-over wonderland of bridges, cenotes, and fiords. By yesterday, it was all gone. We were back to gray-green open water. But the west wind was blowing, knocking out power here and there across the region. This morning I found the wind… Continue reading The wind giveth and the wind taketh away
My design classes and challenges are very immersive. I'm not too swift coming up with new ideas, so I continue to dig into my old image files. This week took me back elements I made for a 1-minute animation back in 2008: "Be the Change." I had to go look at it again on YouTube.… Continue reading “Be the Change”
My 13th Spoonflower Challenge entry is on the theme of Desert Modernism. The challenge is being held in conjunction with the Modern Phoenix organization. Personally, I was over mid-century modern by 1967, but undoubtedly desert modernism represents a classic era in Arizona architecture and interior design. I thought my best route to success here was… Continue reading “Desert Wanderer”
