The boys from Loftis & Ball just wrapped up some beautiful promotional material for Stillwater’s own Liz Tabish and her new film. Projectgallery will be hosting a premiere event on April 2nd, with a silent auction for set photography and a screening at 8:30 and midnight.
Photo by Sarah Warmker
Penny Hill has been getting frighteningly close to infallibility in my book lately. She just released a new cassette tape called Unbutton Your Heart with Shanty Shanty Records and is currently on tour somewhere in New York, apparently gaining quite a little following along the way. Her song Salem might just break your heart.
Penny will be performing a live radio show with the wonderful ex-Normanite Peninsula on Friday at 3:30. You can listen here.
Thanks again to Toddy J for keeping me up to date.
It’s about that time again. The opening reception for this year’s student art show is this Friday at 6 PM in the Lightwell Gallery, with an awards ceremony at 7. The show is already up and will be open until April 9th if you wanna catch it without all the crowds.
Lately, everybody has been talking about how cool it is to stay in Oklahoma and do something awesome, instead of moving away and doing awesome things elsewhere. Lauren took it a step farther. She moved to Oklahoma and decided to make it cooler just by being here. Then she opened Sonder Music, which is pretty cool, too.
Where are you from?
I was born back East in New Jersey and spent my childhood in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Some people think I’m from Boston because I did my undergraduate there.
What do you do?
I run the music/dance/art school Sonder Music, Dance & Art in Norman. We’re on Gray Street, which is a little lonely sometimes, but luckily Gray Owl Coffee just moved in next door!
We opened one year ago as Sonder Music, but the scope quickly expanded to a comprehensive arts school/multipurpose arts space. We’re now offering world dance classes for kids and adults, art classes for kids, as well as music lessons and classes. We have a lot of events too, including concerts and art openings.
Who or what do you use for inspiration?
Other people. I see all the cool things that people around me can do and I try to create programs that support them.
What artists do you respect right now?
I respect lots of artists, but in terms of community arts leadership in Norman, I especially respect Christian Pitt who runs Mainsite Gallery and is a vital force behind the 2nd Friday Circuit of Art, and Marc Jensen, who created the Oklahoma Composer Association (http://oklahomacomposers.org) that has spawned a really cool series of concerts held in our space. They feature different composers and songwriters and the audience gets to ask the composers questions about their music.
What are you sick of?
Negativity. Most people around me are really positive, so negativity catches me by surprise and brings me down.
What music are you listening to recently?
My friend Allie made me a mix of hip-hop tracks that contained piano, keyboard, or organ samples and called it “The Keys of Hip Hop.”
What is your first creative memory?
I think that would be my imaginary friends when I was a kid. There were lots of them!
What is your favorite food/drank spot in Norman?
The Earth Cafe and Deli on campus corner. And Gray Owl Coffee!
Anything else?
I love Norman! It’s the coolest town ever.
The Foundry Collective continues to impress with their newest web project, an interactive site for the Buffalofitz album, Belle of St Louis. Go ahead and click all them links, now.
It took me a while to find out about Olivia’s brilliant creative work, which just added to my amazement when I finally did. Her portfolio site is full of beautiful patterns, textile sculptures, sweaters, crocheted hats, and various other smart, fun things. Plus, apparently she has a pet pig, or maybe just likes taking photos with them. Either way, it’s awesome.
Where are you from?
Norman. OK.
What do you do?
Usually, I like to have multiple projects going at once, because I get bored or frustrated very easily. I have been trying to get back into drawing everyday especially from my head instead of reference. I guess I just make things out of whatever material and technique most accurately fits what I envision. I fund such endeavors by making delicious drinks at Gray Owl and decorating cookies at Cookies by Design.
Who or what do you use for inspiration?
Inspiration isn’t too hard to come by… I usually have an idea festering for a good long while before I ever attempt to execute. I like seeing what other people are doing and try to stay motivated and positive. “arting-around” ie. Making art with friends all night.
Nature is usually a safe bet.
What artists do you respect right now?
Forever the Clayton Brothers.
Jen Stark.
Williams
Mars-1
Albrect Durer.
Egon Schiele.
Frida Kahloe.
At Savannah College of Art and Design I met a lot of really motivated and amazingly talented artists such as: Lionel Williams (llionell.com), Erin Baird (bairdillustration.com), Alex Soto ( ), Daniel Farah, Jen Hallsley ( ), Anna Dewey-Greer ( ),
What are you sick of?
Don’t even get me started…
What music are you listening to recently?
The Dodos, Pixies, M. Ward, Portishead, and Bon Iver are keeping me focused. My lack of wireless internet at home is a mega music-dling buzz-kill. (anyone internet savvy and willing should probably come aid this situation. And yes, you will be compensated with cookies.)
What is your first creative memory?
In pre-school and kindergarten I got really into coloring-contests at grocery stores. It was boring just coloring in the lines so I started adding to the pictures with other drawings and collaging. I was ashooing.
I also did an arial perspective of a baby chick when I was three or four but I have only been told of this and do not specifically remember said chick.
What is your favorite food/drank spot in Norman?
food- Taco Stand in Bill’s Used Furniture parking lot. PORK TORTA SO GOOD!
drankin’- Blu…it’s $2.00 and I’m broke as shit.
Anything else?
Come to my group art show during the Norman Art Walk this February at Studio Zen on Asp.
There will be a Live paint (I haven’t painted in years so my apologies ahead of time) which should be really fun and all proceeds during the auction go to help Haiti (holy crap they need it!).
and there has been talk of a cash bar!
Mike is awesome. That’s about all there is to say. His portfolio site is here. It’s pretty cool, too.
Momentum has recently become kind of “the show” to see in Oklahoma. Featuring local artists under the age of thirty, it has provided a popular venue for young creatives to exhibit their work for the better part of a decade. Check it out this Friday and Saturday from eight to midnight at the Goodwill Warehouse in OKC. Ten bucks in advance and fifteen at the door.
I’ve been really diggin’ the fun stuff Bryce Tucker has been printing lately. He updates his Bot Blog pretty regularly. You should check it out.
Ten years ago the design scene in Oklahoma was somewhat bleak. Heck, four years ago, when I was a sophomore beginning my design classes, we were told to look to Dallas and Austin if we wanted to stay close to home and actually get a graphic design job. Want a paid design internship in the city? Nope. Nope.
Today is a different story thanks to fresh creatives who are choosing to stay in Oklahoma and cultivate something great. Foundry Collective gives me hope for the Oklahoma design state of affairs. Please check out their website, blog, and Twitter and marvel at their raw talent and impeccable style.
What is Foundry Collective?
An excuse for neither one of us to have a 9-5…
For the sake of public relations though, Foundry Collective is the collaboration between Scott Hill and Paul Wilkes for making pretty things. We bottom line it at making great and beautiful work that functions well. We’ve worked together on anything from campaigns to print pieces to photographs to events. We have a quite the passion for the film and music industry that shows through in a lot of our portfolio.
How long has Foundry Collective been around?
That’s a tough question…
It probably started in Intro to Ad/Design our sophomore year of college…or in 2007 at the Non’s release of Paper City when we joked about starting a business…or a year ago when we started working together on a bunch of projects…or 2010 when we just up and incorporated because we were working together full time on a number of contracts. We kicked it all off with the release of The Non’s sophomore album, Tadaima in January.
Do you have a favorite project that you have done so far?
It has to be a tie between two projects we’re currently working on, both campaigns. We’re working on an extensive campaign for Buffalofitz’s upcoming EP release of “The Belle of St. Louis” that includes a website, photography, release shows, album artwork, and the whole works to have a great album release. You can see the beginnings of it at www.belleofstlouis.com. The other is a custom campaign for Parsons Construction to help get the word out about the gorgeous work they do. We’re working on a documentary about his work with local cinematographer Andrew Patterson, new site, a line of shirts, and a number of other collateral pieces.
You know you’re in a cool line of work when you get really stoked for meetings because each meeting brings something new and exciting to the table.
What is your take on design in Oklahoma and Oklahoma in general?
We’re really excited about the state of Oklahoma’s creativity. I grew up in Dallas and Scott is from Tulsa. We both made the conscious decision to stay in Oklahoma. In doing so we also made the decision to contribute to the culture and life of Oklahoma by making things happen. At the end of the day it’s a bit of a mantra that we live by – Do. Cool. Stuff. Whether that’s throwing a music event this year or being a part of a festival or just creating things that people want to go to and be a part of. I was talking with another art director the other day and we had the conversation that if (Peter Drucker style) every business did their part to help the community around them then what a cool community we would have.
Oklahoma has a really great community and we’re excited to be a part of it. There’s this amazing feeling here that everyone is rooting for the success of the state and it’s culture. In all of my travels I haven’t seen that anywhere else. (that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist elsewhere but it’s prevalent here)
Dream Client?
Nickelback….a full rebrand. Seriously though, think about it. If we could somehow successfully make Nickelback cool….what couldn’t we do??
Advice for aspiring graphic designers/creatives?
Remember all those cool ideas that college classes cultivated? Find a way to translate those into the ‘real world’ and make them happen. Do whatever it takes. Don’t be afraid to be creative and don’t let anyone take that away from you.
For entrepreneurial creatives that jump off into self employment, don’t let it get you down. When you’re up it feels like you have the whole world and when you’re down it feels like you’ll never be up again. It’s a roller coaster of a ride but it’s worth every single minute of the experience. I’ve been on my own for 5 years now and it’s a killer place to be.