Stay fit while you sit!

Coming from a university background, one of the most important things we are taught to consider as designers is smart yet practical design. After all, what is the use of creating something that is aesthetically beautiful when it is completely impractical to use?

Whilst it is probably a more common problem for industrial designers, I must admit that I have had issues in the past where garments I've designed haven't been the most practical (I will never forget my tutor blushing madly whilst telling us to leave the fly on men's pants where it is, rather than being 'designerly' and moving it to the side of even to the back, purely for the practicality of going to the bathroom): so now I always think of how easy it would be to get the garment on and off- gorgeous necklines that don't allow for the head to pass through just don't cut it!

One of the things I came across on Oddee (a blog about weird things) today is the Hawaii Chair. How the designers ever thought it could be a worldwide sensation (hey, if Snuggies and Shamwows can break the infomercial barrier to success...) is beyond me. I think I'll let this hilarious video of Ellen DeGeneres trying to use it on her show speak for itself:

Productive procrastination, is that an oxymoron?

My newfound love/admiration/incredible sense of inspiration from illustration is starting to get out of hand. It overwhelms me a little to realise that no matter how fast and how greedily I soak up newly discovered illustrators and their work, this is only the tip of a teeny tiny iceberg floating in a colossal world of amazing illustration. And golly gosh, if it doesn't make me want to just throw all uni assignments to the wind and dive right in!

Today, whilst surfing the net in an attempt to clear my mind and allow me to reorganise dissertation related thoughts, I managed to find a site that keeps calling to me...but I must resist! Productive procrastination is still procrastination, and the knowledge that rewarding myself by going crazy after my dissertation is done and dusted is my only consolation. At least then the shopping-when-I-have-no-money style guilt (i.e. being distracted when I have no time) will cease to exist, and the satisfaction of my lustful eyes will be just that little bit sweeter!

Oh silly me, getting carried away and not even telling you what webpage it is. Drumroll please?

20 Inspiration Illustration from Behance: posted by Vikas Ghodke of, and on, AcrisDesign, "a blog dedicated to web designer,web developers,freelancers,bloggers and internet geeks". Behance itself is a network for people in the creative industries, and a platform for "creative portfolios, projects and collaboration"; similar to The Loop, 2threads, and Carbonmade.

I guess the point of this post is to share some of my random finds and to have a reminder for myself of the awesome sites out there: for inspiration and for self-promotion in this case! I really should get back to work now, before I start gushing about the illustrators that Ghodke has found, and get carried away looking at their portfolios...again.

Daisy Jukebox's Back

Greetings and salutations, and apologies for being awol this past weekend...my bad.

I couldn't help it though, I've been on a big Golden Oldies music kick, and every time I've been on the computer I've had the music going, and I get so distracted bopping and singing along that I forget everything else I'm supposed to do!

One of the songs I'm most addicted to is My Boyfriend's Back by The Angels, though it has been covered zillions of times (I think the original is still the best). It has such fun lyrics and a great foot-tapping/hand-clapping/finger clicking beat that you can't help but sing and dance along! It is one of the songs my mum used to play in the car when I was little, and because I know it so well it is a great song to have in the background when I'm (trying to, or supposed to be) doing work. It inspires me to have more fun and enjoy my work, rather than moaning about approaching due dates- and when I have fun, the work I produce is so much better anyway!

This is a live performance from the 60s- check out the hairstyles! I just wish the quality of the video was better, or that it was in colour so I could see the details of the dresses.



I have a few other Musical Mondays posts up my sleeve, tying into events that are coming up on my calendar (all will be revealed in due time), but hopefully in a few weeks time we'll get to take another trip back to the 60s! or the 70s, or 80s...

She really can be anything...

In the last few days, the remainder of my illustration books have arrived from The Book Depository (hooray!). Since my taste in illustration/art leans towards the lowbrow/neo-pop/graffiti street-styles, it isn't surprising that some of this art can be quite macabre and a bit creepy: I did just share with you Juxtapoz Dark Arts!

All this journey into the illustration fantasy land reminded me of Margaux Lange, an artist/jewellery designer I came across a few years ago. Her work aims at transforming a mass produced product into unique handmade jewellery, using...

Barbie! Her Artist Statement explains more clearly and succintly than I could hope to, why she is so fascinated and inspired by Barbie, and what she aims for in the creation of her wearable art.

For me, her jewellery brings up a whole host of emotions and feelings: nostalgia for my childhood- I had at least 20 Barbies/friends/younger sister Kellys; amusement at the statement Margaux is making, and the way that she has very carefully chosen which body parts to use in which piece of jewellery- when you look at all her pieces, many of them are quite ironic, like these earrings made of ears:

and desire for her jewellery- it's just so bold and out there, definitely my style! Some of it is a little bit creepy:

(who doesn't want a whole army of...arms...around their neck?), but some is actually quite sweet:

but most of it is just kitsch and fun:

Who knew that Barbie would still be so fun and desirable when we're adults?

All these lovely photos were taken from Margaux's Portfolio pages on her personal site. I definitely recommend that you check out all her other work- particularly the one off pieces, as they're all very unique. I love them all, and you can buy some of her jewellery on her site... just saying!

I love packages in the mail

The books just keep coming and coming! I'm getting so excited every morning to go check to see whether another package is waiting patiently for me on my front step; it's like I'm a little girl again, waiting for Santa!

The next book that delivered itself into my waiting hands and eager eyes was Juxtapoz Dark Arts, which is another illustrator collection in the Juxtapoz book series. It has a decidedly darker feel (obvious from the title, yes?) to Juxtapoz Illustration, with many of the artists choosing to deal with deeper or more serious topics such as death, prejudice and persecution, and overconsumption (in a consumerist world). The artworks range from bright and bold:

to soft and melancholy (or, as with some of the other artists, almost ethereal):

and all sorts of in between; soft but bright, dark but ethereal...

The editors of this collection have presented a really exciting mix of artwork, with some artists creating work that is so dark and macabre that it can make the viewer uncomfortable or even a bit sick if it is stared at and studied for too long; whilst the work of other illustrators can conjure up so much emotion that the viewer feels as if the artist has seen into their soul and painted their personal sadness, melancholy, despair and loneliness.

I guess I have painted a fairly grim picture of what this book is about, but I promise that it isn't as bad as it sounds. Yes the imagery and subject content can be a bit depressing, but it is still an amazing book with a great wealth of interesting illustrations, so if you ever manage to prise it from my hands you should definitely check it out!

Oh, but before I forget: Juxtapoz Dark Arts was edited by M. Revelli (Project Manager Saelee Oh and Writer Evan Pricco), and was published by Gingko Press in the USA in 2009.

The Internet Is For My Blog

Last year I had the fortune of seeing Avenue Q on stage (it was only in Sydney for 2 weeks), but it was only on Saturday that I managed to track down the soundtrack at JB Hi Fi.

I'm currently listening to it on repeat, and I just have to share it with everyone who will pay attention to me. For those who don't know, Avenue Q is sort of like an adults version of The Muppets- there are puppets: but they are rude, lewd and crude. It is an insanely funny musical with lots of little truths that most people wouldn't admit like Everyone's A Little Bit Racist; mixed with little life lessons like There's a Fine, Fine Line, which deals with the dilemma of just exactly when non-reciprocated love becomes a waste of time.

I think I would have to say that my favourite song from the whole thing is The Internet Is For Porn- I definitely don't agree, but the melody is just so catchy and the lyrics are too amusing!

Just a word of warning- the content of this song is quite lewd and there is a decent amount of swearing, and I understand that not everyone shares my sense of humour. However, that being said, I watched the stage production with my mum and she enjoyed it immensely, so I hope you like it too:

Slowly filling my bookcase...

A couple of Thursdays ago, I was in Newtown with M. We were just doing a bit of window shopping in between class, and I'd been hoping to pick up a tattoo magazine or tattoo art book so we went to Pentimento and Mag Nation. Whilst there, I fell in love with a few books: mostly on illustrators (see my obsession growing? I have so many illustrators that I'm loving and getting all sorts of inspiration from, who I'm going to slowly introduce you to), but I couldn't decide on which books to buy with my limited funds.

That night at home I went a little bit crazy on Amazon and The Book Depository- I'm not going to admit how many books I bought! Since then I've been waiting with barely controlled excitement for my books to arrive...when on Thursday, what appeared in my mailbox but Juxtapoz Illustration!Originally, the Juxtapoz name was attached only to the Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine established by Robert Williams in 1994, which is a magazine which aimed at validating the developing lowbrow art movement in an intelligent format. In the last few years, Juxtapoz has expanded its publishing empire to include a series of books, including but not limited to, my new favourite book (until the others arrive, perhaps); Juxtapoz Dark Arts; and Juxtapoz Tattoo.

What I really like about the presentation of these books is the neatness- each artist is given a short profile page, with several following pages dedicated to their work. It is clean, simple and uncluttered, and really allows the reader to appreciate the artwork without getting lost in fancy borders or layouts. By presenting the carefully selected artists in alphabetical order, the turn of a page to a new artist's work can be a total surprise and contradiction to what you have just seen: which makes the whole process so much more fun! Each artist chosen has such a different and distinct style, so that you never think "didn't I just see this a few artists ago?"

Here are just a few examples of the incredible variety of illustrators in Juxtapoz Illustration:

...and I could go on, but then this post would never end. I can't wait to go exploring more of the artwork by each illustrator: if I don't get too lost in this magical world of illustration (I feel a little bit like Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole) I'll come back and share the works and artists that I like best.

Just a few formalities: Juxtapoz Illustration was produced by R. Rock Enterprises with Z. Oxford as the Project Manager, and was published by Gingko Press in the USA (California, to be precise) in 2008.

Time for a mini-rant

When drafting up this mini rant, it was suggested to me by M that I should call it Thunderous Thursdays. Whilst it's silly and amusing, I think its enough of the alliteration and I'll just have my Musical Mondays.

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been studying tattooing for my dissertation, and it is a major influence for my final collection. One of the things that has really irked me however, is that when searching for tattoo magazines, there really isn't a very good selection in Australia. Most of the magazines that I've been able to find focus mainly on artwork by tattooists, with page after page of photos of tattoos by selected tattooists. It gets a bit boring after awhile.

What I'd really like to see are magazines that really capture the lifestyle of the tattooing community- it is so much more than just getting artworks inked onto your body. I cannot claim to be a full member, only a peripheral one, but it is still really interesting to me to see everything involved in it: the clothing and fashion, the music, and their other interests and influences. The problem then is- how does someone even begin to immerse themselves in tattoo culture if there isn't really an access point?

The great thing is that since tattoos are now becoming more socially accepted, there are things like the Sydney Tattoo and Body Art Expo (which I've been to both years now, and I look forward to future ones), but it would be nice to have magazines for when these sorts of events aren't on.

The two magazines that I've found that I think are much better for delving into the tattooing world are Inked, which only just recently launched an Australian version- the US version is pretty awesome with great overall articles and images, but a little bit expensive as it is an imported magazine (so I'm excited to see how the Aussie version grows and develops); and Post Modern Ink, which is based in Bondi but unfortunately is only a quarterly. Both these magazines combine photo collections of tattoos and tattoo art, with other articles like interviews with tattooed celebrities. Post Modern Ink's lastest issue has an article about the tradition of facial tattooing the women of Myanmar- really interesting stuff!

So I really hope Australia gets some more interesting tattoo magazines soon. I think I'll be heading to Kinokuniya in the next few days, and they usually have a big magazine selection so if I find anything interesting there I'll post an update.

To be continued...

My new illustration obsession, courtesy of M

For my dissertation I have been looking at tattooing, concentrating mostly on the semiotics of tattoos and how they help create and are part of an individual's identity.

In the process of then researching visuals to help me translate this into my final collection, my friend M of Megamania introduced me to Audrey Kawasaki, an amazing Los Angeles based artist who paints oil paintings directly onto wood panels (she's just done one named Plucked that incorporates bass strings, and she's even painted a skateboard deck before). Her work has also been translated into tattoos, which is why M thought she would be relevant/interesting to me.

Audrey's artwork is full of contradictions: soft and elegant but with a hint of darkness and melancholy; a touch of the whimsical but a little bit macabre; sweet and innocent but erotic and sensual, all at the same time. This is what I love about her work: the aesthetics that initially pull you in (the eyes of her girls are mesmerising and so magnetic; I swear I felt my heart skip a beat at how beautiful they are) give way to a head spin of emotion; you just can't help but stare at the paintings.

Here are a few examples (copyrighted to Audrey, and taken from her website) which I've chosen just because they are great examples of this duality:

Superstition

Kokokara Dokoe (Where the Path Leads)

Carry On

Aren't they ridiculously beautiful?

Do the stomp!

It's Musical Mondays Take 2, are you excited? Today it's all about The Snowdroppers, a Sydney based band that I first heard when I was at the 2nd Sydney Tattoo and Body Expo on the 6th March.

Their style of music isn't something that I would normally listen to, but their live performance was just amazingly electric, and I had to really control myself lest I broke out into dance and embarrassed my friends. They describe their style as a dark and thrillingly nostalgic interpretation and bastardisation of the blues, with their own twist. To me, it sounds a lot more edgy and rocker style than you would imagine blues to be, and I just loved it when Johnny Wishbone (the singer) whipped out his harmonica or his banjo, as it just made the performance that much more exciting! Being at the Tattoo Expo surrounded by so many girls dressed up pin-up style, and having vintage cars all around, The Snowdroppers made the atmosphere lift up even higher: I kind of felt like I was at an underground 50s disco, it was so naughty and invigorating!

Unfortunately their recorded tracks (like on myspace) don't do justice to how fun they are live, but I hope you enjoy them anyway!

Here's the official video for their single Do The Stomp from youtube:

Inspiration can strike in the strangest of places

(Photo by moi)


Waiting for the train the other day, I happened to notice these crazy giant wild grasses growing outside the parking lot. Now, it has to be said that on occasion, the craziest whims will come into my head for what I can transform into a print.

Looking at these grasses, I was struck by the idea of using them as a giant paint brush. How much fun would it be to have a giant canvas of watercolour paper, dip the grass head into a bucket of polysol dye, and just go nuts? I could use it to splash the dye; sweep the dye across the paper or even just press it gently to get the rough natural organic shape of the grass head; creating all sorts of crazy patterns and textures.

Then I’d just have to wait for the dye to dry before I can heat press it onto some (shudder- I am a bit biased against synthetics, I must admit) polyester fabric and voila! A one off metreage of fabric, hooray!

Musical Mondays

YAY it's the first Musical Monday!

Musical Mondays will be all about music that I've fallen in love with, or have gotten inspiration from, for one reason or another.

I've decided the first one shall be dedicated to Kurt Elling, a Chicago based Jazz singer who was introduced to me by a jazz-fiend friend one evening last year.

Perhaps the fire in the fireplace had something to do with this, but when his CD Nightmoves started playing, I was totally transported to another place. I wanted to melt into the ground; his voice was speaking to my soul as if I was the only one in the room. I felt like I'd fallen in love; he made me cry from a happiness that I couldn't even explain. He managed to render me speechless: which as my friends will attest, is no easy feat.

His music makes me want to take flight and soar into the night sky. It is so smooth and rich and beautiful. I love it, and there is nothing more to say.

This is one of my favourite songs (and one of the shortest youtube clips I could find). I hope you enjoy it too.

Why I love tattoos

Surfing the net the other day, I came across this gorgeous backpiece:

(from this Photography Community One Eyeland)

To me, it is an amazing piece of artwork and I can't stop staring at it. The colours just seem to jump off her skin: I can almost see the blue ribbons moving; and it feels so alive. I would love to see the rest of the piece, or other works by this tattooist.

This is what I want my designs to be: vibrant and alive and real, not just bits of fabric sewn together.

Hello,

and welcome to Jukebox!

My profile says that I'm a Fashion and Textiles student, and I am! This blog will be about me and my work as a designer: what inspires me; what captures my attention; what makes me want to get up and dance; and tidbits of my own work from time to time.

It will be a mish-mash of gorgeous images, mini-rants and music, so strap yourselves in and enjoy the ride!

Daisy Jukebox