sights for sore ears

arrgh - work is being done on our house today (hello symphony of drills and saws + unannounced water shut off) and it is driving me nuts. (i am working at home today. of course.) so, i am not feeling very patient/able with uploading images or anything at all techincal today. i also really need to do my postings on the computer with photoshop but sigh that is just not going to happen right now. however, here's some very cool stuff to look at:

*Sara Burgess's (of Central Office of Design) Miniature Cut-Out Books
I saw one of these (the Book of Bugs) on display at the San Francisco Center for the Book this year - they are truly stunning works of art. Be sure to scroll down to the Apple Tree illustrated book. i was reminded of this b/c i went to the Holiday Fair at the SFCB yesterday and saw so much great printwork (Dutch Door Press, Lizard Press, Paperflirt, Aviary Press, Boxer Press and Green Chair Press - just to name a few).

*the relaunch of the magazine Culture & Travel featuring an article called "A Spice Odyssey" with gorgeous (gorgeous!) photos shot by my cousin Kathryn Parker Almanas. she is my cousin, it's true, but i am not just being nice. the lady is super talented. check out the Winter 2007 issue next time you are in a bookstore (her spread starts on page 100).

*and finally, a string of baby onesies we created at the baby shower i gave a few weeks ago. setting a bunch of semi-strangers loose on blank white baby outfits (for a very loved by all parties little baby) with stencils and fabric paint is such a great way for everyone to meet/interact. i loved seeing the different directions everyone took. here's a sampling:

type & tauba auerbach

type and typography fascinate me. together with color, look how tauba auerbach uses it to illustrate a quicksilver flipflop of opinion:

i am really looking forward to exploring type and its power in my letterpress work... speaking of which: printing solo for the first time on the letterpress last night was a thrill. i am so grateful to my kind and helpful fellow printers - betsy and kathleen - and our indefatiguably patient supervisor sabrina.... i had a ton of questions and learned so many tricks to to making more perfect prints.

there's a slippery slope in the possibility for perfection in letterpress and, for my own sanity, i am working hard to concentrate on the potential beauty in (my many printed) imperfections. you can measure so much and expect such exact results that easily, quickly the art and fun of it (for me at least for now) can slide away.

Image courtesy of Tauba Auerbach

redux

finally here's a picture of the baby shower invite i made a few weeks ago for a great friend:

this is by far a better image. phew! that took some work and some lollygagging around on my part. i feel like i've had my head in the sand blog-wise the last few weeks but i've covered some serious ground - sf to nyc and back again and then sf to la and back. all in two weeks. that's far for moi! looking forward to being around for a tiny (literally) bit... (excuse the clunky eraser marks; in the interest of speed, i went with the low budge eraser fix rather than photoshop.)

also, i was really into the flowers behind the card. typically, i've got grand plans for flowers....i can see it all in my head, you know, but then reality and my ineptitude/rushing lets me down. this time, however, i was psyched with the result. here's another pic:



and, in other exciting news, i am on (letter)press this week for another project this. i cut my paper and made plates yesterday and thurs is it. wish me luck.

i think it's ok to brag about my husband on my blog this one time

i am not biased or anything, but i think my husband is a super gifted designer and craftsman. behold the result of his thanksgiving weekend woodshop heroics:


i have all these great ceramics etc from travels that i'd like to display and we have a whole heck of a lot of books to store. the square shelf bookshelf from ikea -that everyone has - was looking like a good option but b persuaded me otherwise and now we have these beauties. at the moment, they have primer + one coat of paint (progress from what's shown) and i am jazzed about putting them to use soon. i've got this feeling they are going to be the warhorses of our bookshelf collection.

ac to the rescue

do you need to buy a gift for a guy? and more specifically, a guy who (however genuinely interested in good design) would not be psyched about a (however so well-intentioned) design-y type gift? perhaps someone who spends a wholesome chunk of his weekend in a certain ahem big blue store whose initials are bb?

if so, look no further than ac's (grace's other half) gift guide for guys on none other than design*sponge today. it is hilarious!