photography & some type

stencil no. 3

Ooops, I did it again... I stenciled a wall!

Stenciling's got me hooked. I love it.
If you asked me, it's a pretty economical way to dress up those white walls that can easily become boring and that horrify me. Love wallpaper? Can't afford it? Stenciling is a pretty good alternative for wallpaper in my opinion.

The process to make your own stencil isn't that complicated (this comes from someone with quite some experience handling the exacto knife).  It took me a few YouTube videos only to get it. Depending on how thick the Acetate is, the paint might cause it to curl up, wich makes this stenciling thing tricky. It's a little time consuming waiting for it to dry completely before re-using it again (what I do) or you could continue stenciling away without waiting for this as long as you are really careful to place the stencil flat on the wall and making sure there are no drippings on the back of it. Quite tricky, I know.

So here it is, my very third stenciled wall. I used a cool color this time just because I want to get me out of my confort zone with warm colors. The only thing is: that bold RED couch in the living room is out of tone now!  But that can easily be fixed with a sofa cover I guess.

Take a look at Stencil No. 2.

Stencil No. 3 A Moroccan pattern with seaport blue paint.

Boring wall before stencil...

This is the type of art...

...that brightens up my day.
I thought I should share. ...After so long of inactivity around here!
You can find out more about Conrad Roset and his amazing work on his website!

An infographic to laugh about.

I had never laughed as hard reading an infographic as I did last night. 

The World Reduced to Infographics is without any doubt a MUST have for a designer.*  Not only the Infographics' design and layout are great, but the subject-matter is hilarious!

I think this can be a good treat for those I'm-tired-of-staring-at-the-screen-get-me-outta-here sort-of-moments. I know it will be for me and it couldn't have come in a better time; the new job office's shelves need some serious TLC.

Did I mention the hubby is the one to thank for such nice gift?

*Disclaimer. The author of this blog is, in no way, compensated by the author or publisher of this book. The opinions expressed in this blog are solely of the blogger and the blogger only. No animals were harmed in the writing of this blog.

Life is simple.

Ever since I came across the Holstee's Manifesto I have striven to live by its words. I do believe that life is simple and one should not complicate it with unnecessary drama, unreasonable expectations, unhealthy feelings or grudges. So, when I learned about Holstee's project: My Life, I wanted to send them my two cents right away. I am glad I did. It feels really good to become part of (even a little tiny part) and to spread the word about this amazing celebration of life.

IU mentions my story

It certainly feels good to have IU mention my success story on their Home Pages.

I have finished college, now what?

{proceed with caution: no design material in this post}

I'm happy and anxious to start a new chapter with Ad Lab, an advertising agency here in town. It is a small firm which, in my opinion provides a great opportunity for me to better show my talents and perhaps even grow. I am nothing but thankful that this opportunity came to me at the right moment -- I certainly didn't want to deal with the joy of being out of the market for a long time.

While I sit here writing, I can't help but thinking about what I heard someone said a few years back -- "I don't think you're advertising-agency material". I guess we'll be finding out...
It is interesting to think about how, for the last 25+ years whenever someone has doubted me, I've taken it to heart. It somehow becomes a challenge that I am always willing to take upon... it's the fuel that keeps me going I guess.

The newspaper coverage about my success story was pretty amazing. It has been so nice to receive e-mails from co-workers and friends letting me know they saw my picture on the paper and expressing how happy they are for me. I am not going to lie... It feels pretty awesome!
If interested in reading the article online here is the link: Ana's success story.
Once someone told me that I was going to be famous. While an article on the paper is far from that thought, I feel in my heart I already am!

I am that immigrant.

Although they don't mention my name, it feels good to be recognized. Now, if only my mom could be with me to celebrate...




You might also like: I have finished college, now what?

falling in love with watercolor

A little bit of inspiration on this beautiful Saturday afternoon...

Conrad Roset is undoubtedly a very talented artist whose work I absolutely adore.
Click here to watch him at work.

watercolor affair

For the last few months I've been going ga-ga for watercolors. It all started in my illustration class when I gave a try to watercolor techniques in Photoshop. The more I saw during my research, the more I liked. I think watercolors and I have finally reconciled and I'm so tempted to get those tubes out of the drawer and paint again... Acrylic paint, don't you feel bad. You are still my number one!

So for the last project in my Graphic Design class, I used a watercolor technique to illustrate a clothing line for girls. I chose to design dresses inspired by my favorite fruits and their blossoms. Now, if I could only know how to sew...

fruttibloom. where flavor meets fashion. tag.

fruttibloom. strawberry.

fruttibloom. plum.

fruttibloom. kiwi.

fruttibloom. blueberry.

   

wrapped up

I've been struggling with the design of my future portfolio-website for the last couple of months... Sometimes I get so wrapped up in an idea that I forget the most basic principle....

l e s s    i s    m  o r e 

[ period ]

back to the basics...

Illustration can be quite frustrating for me. It's been twelve weeks since the semester started and sometimes I wish Photoshop was as 'easy' as it appears...

Bento what?

I just discovered the "Bentoing" thing... While I go nuts about the idea, I wonder where have I been???
Whoever came up with this idea is a genius. I can see my kiddos having a blast eating their lunches while mommy has a blast putting them together.
It is time to find out more about the whole concept!

Making of a sketchbook

Something that one should know about a creative mind is that there are always several projects going on around us and a million more going on in our head.

I want to make my own sketch book this time -- the ones I've had in the past are plain, dull, empty, prosaic...
I want to build a more efficient sketchbook. One that will dare me to open it and once it's open, will inspire me and get me going. Is this expectation for a sketchbook too high?

So far, I have the color palette I'd like to incorporate within this sketchbook. I know that once started, it will continue to change...

Lazy summer

I started to feel bad about the lazy summer I am having (in terms of design creation), so I opted for updating this almost-forgotten blog. I think the new look is fresh, I'm pretty happy with the change. I plan on keeping it up to date from now on; no matter how insignificant the event might seem, it will be recorded here.

We'll be having the last FPU meeting on Tuesday. I am bringing some chocolate flan and the following two-sided cards along with it -- who knows, if the flan gets to be a hit, I might get some business going! Click on the pictures to see them bigger.

. . . After working on this post for a while and as I was doing my regular search for inspiration, I came across this 101 Cookbooks site that I found absolutely inspiring... I really think this is something I would love to do one day! 

i feel like poetry tonight...

... Me gusta cuando callas...

I like for you to be still: it is as though you were absent,

and you hear me from far away and my voice does not touch you.

It seems as though your eyes had flown away

and it seems that a kiss had sealed your mouth.

As all things are filled with my soul

you emerge from the things, filled with my soul.

You are like my soul, a butterfly of dream,

and you are like the word Melancholy.

I like for you to be still, and you seem far away.

It sounds as though you were lamenting, a butterfly cooing like a dove.

And you hear me from far away, and my voice does not reach you:

Let me come to be still in your silence.

And let me talk to you with your silence

that is bright as a lamp, simple as a ring.

You are like the night, with its stillness and constellations.

Your silence is that of a star, as remote and candid.

I like for you to be still: it is as though you were absent,

distant and full of sorrow as though you had died.

One word then, one smile, is enough.

And I am happy, happy that it's not true.

... I Like for You to be Still,  Pablo Neruda...

Covering up an empty wall...

Some time ago I read an article about how popular wall decals (shapes of vinyl applied to a wall) were becoming. I visited the website that this article referred to, and found out how easy was to decorate an empty wall -- and how pricy it could also be.

I thought about it for a while -- how nice it would be to do something similar. One day, as I looked at one of my empty walls I thought about it again, so I ran to the basement, grabbed the left over paint from a few months ago when I decided to get rid of the icky-yucky green color on my dining room, mixed it up, and started to paint.

It's been about two weeks now and I haven't touched the project since then... 

I got a message in my inbox today as if it was reminding me... I need to go back and work on it. 

Vinilismo

Super Charged...

There are  instances when the super me wants to jump out and reach for the sky... With so many ideas, cool projects, deep thoughts and lots of scribbles ready to be released, I don't know where to start!
Illustration is starting to take a complete different direction within me, the more I see, the more I get interested, curious, fired-up. Very nice inspiration was sent to my Inbox this evening... I feel the calling... I'm super charged!