Big Shots

Check out these McKinneites at the reception for Big Shots: Andy Warhol Polaroids at The Nasher Museum of Art. Enjoy and prolong our 15 minutes of Polaroid fame. See other shots on the Nasher’s flickr.
Sponsored by McKinney!
November 12, 2009
Durham, North Carolina

Karla Mickens & her sister
Studio Artist

John Hagerty
Art Director

Ellen Steinberg
Group Creative Director

Bliss Alexander-Smith
Studio Artist

Lizzie Ruiz
Project Coordinator

Kelly Quinn
Account Supervisor

Lindsay Parina
Project Leader

Melati Crook & Lindsley Baker-Baum
Project Leaders


Helen Hsu
Project Leader

Jenny Nicholson
Copywriter

Jonathan Cude
Chief Creative Officer

Brad Brinegar
Chairman & CEO

Janet Northen
Dir, Agency Communications

Philip Marchington
Group Creative Director

Able and I are on the same page.

And that page has been carved down to reveal beautiful artwork. Check out these dollar bill cut paper works from tattoo artist Scott Campbell.

Postcrossing

I recently joined postcrossing which is a wonderful 21st century postcard exchange. My friend Steph signed up a while back and she has received very cool postcards and stamps from other countries that I was instantly envious of. Actually I was instantly envious of all the fun mail she was receiving. I haven't received any yet, but I've sent nine. Four of those have reached their destination so I should be receiving some any day now. Once a postcard is received the recipient registers it with the site, posts a picture, and usually sends a thank you message/post to the sender via the postcrossing site. So far I've sent postcards to Finland (3), Germany, China, the US (2), the Netherlands and Canada.
I love the site, not that its design blows me away but there's so much information. And that information is laid out in a way that's easy to navigate, interesting and simple. If you thoroughly read the Please buy me these art books post, then you'll know that isotypes are my pillow talk. Take these statistics for instants:
(click for larger view)


Simple, interesting, pretty.
And now my favorite part. There's a constant stream of uploaded postcards in the gallery and you can go through and favorite the ones you like (like flickr). These are some of my recent faves.
(click on any postcard to see where it's traveled)













I encourage you to join. It's a fun way experience different places while you're *uhm* stuck at work.

Please buy me these art books.

I'm surrounded by readers. My husband Thurston falls asleep every night with a book on his chest. My friend May went and got a library card as soon as she unpacked her car when she moved here. My friend Steph is a professional book lover. My friend SarahRice reads for pleasure and has a job archiving things other people want to read. And even my desk neighbor Matt Wood carries a book in his pocket at all times.
Me? I read Harry Potter and Twilight. When I do read a book one of the above mentioned recommends to me, I really enjoy it, but it's like pulling teeth to get me started. I also read Readymade and Real Simple cover to cover, and I absolutely love looking through art books. (which Steph keeps me abreast of the best)
The following are the ones I want to call my own:

Fingerprint: The Art of Using Hand-Made Elements in Graphic Design
This is my #1 pick. It's exactly what I'm interested in. The title may as well be, "How Bliss Can Use Hand-Made Elements in Graphic Design".


New Vintage Type: Classic Fonts for the Digital Age
I really love typography. It's funny how in college, I didn't care for typography or textiles and now that's what I'm most interested in. I have Mike Perry's book, Hand Job: A Catalog of Type, Over and Over: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Patterns and they're both really amazing.


Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life
A classic. One day it will be mine. One day.


Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens
This is my porn.


Maps: Finding Our Place in the World
My friend Smitty and I had an on-going joke that maps and puzzles were one in the same. If you like maps, you like puzzles. Like puzzles? Must love maps. At my old job, I ended up drawing/designing a few maps for some residential developments and it was really a lot of fun. I think Smitty was jealous.


Otto Neurath
This book could be the book that Thurston and I read together to reinstate family time. Otto Neurath is an Austrian sociologist who made major achievements in graphic design and philosophy. You know isotypes? Yeah, he made those.