DHC at the Apple Store!

Tonight I'm giving an artist talk at the Apple Store in Chicago! I would love to see you there :)

Apple Store Lincoln Park

801 W North Ave.

Chicago, IL

More info here

The Crossley Id Guide

 

Since we put in bird feeders in our yard last fall, I've been really getting into some lite birding. Every time  we go to our local birdfeed store to replenish our stock of birdseed, I've been admiring The Crossley Id Guide in their books section.

First of all, its a really great, comprehensive guide to identifying birds unlike any other field guide out there. Usually, these books show an illustrated male and a female, sometimes a juvenile, of each species highlighting identifying marks. With the Crossley guide, each plate is a composite of numerous  photographs  not only showing identifying marks but characteristic behaviors and what birds look like from near and far and in flight. 

But what I like most about the images is how strange they are. I love the cut and paste quality of the collages. Birds in the back of the image are just as in focus as the birds in the front. Not all the lighting matches, the arrangements can sometimes get so crowded that, depending on the bird, it can either feel delightful or like its some kind of bird horror. Sometimes the birds are dropped into scenes like a factory farm, a half sunken cargo ship or what seems to be an industrial age european city. Its sort of both art and utilitarian. 

CRAVINGS

I'm feeling a great shopping-want today but it is the new year and per one of my lamest and most boring resolutions, I need to save some money. Which is funny because I don't really have that much money to save so I guess it just translates to being more frugal.

So in lieu of going to town myself, I put together some things that if I could buy today / right now, I would.  And this is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm not able show these nice people and places love with my money but maybe you can. Happy happy Friday!

1. ODLCO's boater keychain. Actually I lied. I did buy this a few weeks ago only because I have loved it since forever and also because I lost my keychain while in Toronto so, you know, I needed it. No regrets. Best keychain I've ever had.

2. OUI's Brights & Darks Garland at Pour Pourter would look so great in my studio. 

3. Pretzels - Knotted Rope Necklace by blah blah blah. I'm so into big jewelries these days.

4. Marimo Japanese moss ball aquarium. Do I need any more plants? No. But Yes I do.

5. Set of 3 Hanging Lines from Twig. I would totally fill a wall with these. Or maybe cool next to the toilet?

6. Everything everything everything from Shikama jewelry's forthcoming Premier Désirs SS13 collection. Can I just tell you how blown away I am at this lady's talent?

7. Nellie's Sun Socks at Poketo. So kyut! Don't forget to check out all the goodies at her own shop too.

8. Vintage Legardo Cookie Jar. Child Magic!

9. Everything at Samuji. Duh. 

10. Perrette vessels by Y'A PAS LE FEU AU LAC available at Greener Grass Design

11. La Chamba Comal  for toasting tortillas, roasting chiles, and baking pizzas. 

Roses Outtakes

When I was making the Roses poster, it took a lot of tests to arrive at the right flowers and the right shot. I tried pre-dried plants, exotic flowers, common flowers, having them in a vase, holding them, laying them down on different surfaces, figuring out what levels of wilted-ness looked best etc. In the end, I decided that roses were what I was looking for. I really liked how the other shots turned out but didn't think they were right for the posters. Here are some outtakes that I thought were pretty. 

Graceland

Last night DH & I watched an inspiring documentary on the making of Paul Simon's Graceland, an album with a quiet sadness and an effortless, friendly feel . Here is a video of my favorite song off one of my favorite albums.

Studio Tour: Cursive Design + Up In The Air Somewhere

As someone who loves to look at things, and obsessively partakes in internet-window shopping, I subscribe to a lot of blogs, tumblrs, pinterests, and the like. I go through so much visual candy everyday and it gets to a point where you like a lot of whats going on but its also a lot of the same things and its easy to just skim through much of it. But when I discovered Susan's ceramics and Sarah's jewelry, it was a kind of revelation because they showed me something I hadn't seen before, ideas that I haven't thought of before. Airy, dreamy, almost-way-too-delicate, gold accented vessels that straddle the line between art and functionality? Also some of it looked like water towers? Balls-y and playful collage based jewelry in a weird but perfect mix of disparate materials? AWESOME. 

At some point, I realized that the two share a studio together in Chicago's West Town neighborhood (coincidentally, adjacent to Laura Lombardi's space which I shot that same day). They have always been at the top of my list when I started this studio tour series and thought it was a great opportunity to meet and hang out with two people I've always wanted to meet and hang out with! Their studio is, of course, beautiful and dreamy just like their work. As I snooped around with my camera, it was cool to see how two artists working in different areas, that don't really make the same work aesthetically, can also play off each other in small ways. I hope this comes through in the images. 

Enjoy !

See all the images on my site or on Flickr

2013 To Do

A reasonable list of to do's for this year:


1. Get a driver's license. I'm turning 34 this year. Its time.

2. Make a photo zine every month. To be published monthly. Or if not financially possible, whenever financially possible.

3. I don't want to Instagram less, I just want to use my real camera as much as a I Instagram ~ OR MORE .

4. Save some dang money.

5. Go home to the Philippines and to Taiwan. Its almost been five years and I miss my parents.