
I love these photos of my nana (to see some fabulous photography and illustration from the art deco era, check out Art Deco blog).
Doing a personal post diverges from my usually design and art related banterings but I have to today. Last weekend we went up to celebrate my nana’s 93rd b’day. She is the most positive and loving person on the planet. She only sees the good side of people and has nothing but pride and encouragement for her loved ones. So it was our turn to celebrate her.

Dave played clarinet for her and demonstrated his karate moves. My brother played his own music for her at the piano. His old band “lucky Pierre” has disbanded and he’s getting together a new one called “Czar”. He’s very cool and knows everything about underground music. He’s a great drummer and self taught pianist. Plus, he’s a sophmore at Pratt. He’s not a bad painter to boot. Here’s what he made out of a shredded wood fondue skewer on the table:

and here’s what he painted with the chocolate fondue on his plate.
Sunday morning we continued the celebration with my mom’s delicious waffles on the porch:

Here are a few photos from last years celebration. She never changes one bit!
Hope you have a fantastic Monday. I’m going to post a new pattern I made over the weekend tomorrow…

I’m loving Letter Cult. Typography is a whole new world to me, I get so excited when I see it that I think I really need to learn more about it. I’ve been having a ball doing hand lettering projects for myself and freelance work. But it’s important to bone up on who the masters are. Doyald Young is certainly a master. Follow the link above to read Letter Cult’s interview with him.
Here’s where you can purchase his new book Dangerous Curves Mastering Logotype Design and his other books.

Have a truly splendid weekend my wonderful readers! I’m off to celebrate my nana’s 93rd b’day!
Thank you Emily of Goliblogski for interviewing me and posting my work on Josh Spear and on your own wonderful blog here, and here! And Mike, thanks for suggesting my work to begin with!

I came across Meryl Smith’s fantastic artwork on one of my favorite blogs Spagat which means “the splits” in Danish. Smith’s eccentric home is also featured on the Selby. Her garden is pretty wild (I mean that in both senses of the word). In terms of her artwork, I especially love her dog/bag. I think Paris Hilton should get one to kill two birds with one stone.
Check out Meryls blog and Spagat while you’re at it and have an absolutely splendid weekend. I’m in the midst of some pretty exciting projects with the girls at Mankind Magazine and Shiny Squirrel so stay tuned for details next week.
xo,
Sam

I’m beyond thrilled that my work is now for sale in the fabulous Little Paper Planes shop. I got to deliver my prints in person to Kelly this summer in San Fran. I’ve been a long time admirer of her incredible work. It was really great seeing it in person. She was even kind enough to give me her precious artist zine. You can get yours here. The prints of mine for sale in the shop can be seen here (interview with Kelly below):

and these too.
A little interview with Kelly:
Kelly, I know you are an artist. I love your work. Have you always drawn and painted? When and how did you get started?
Thank you, you are so sweet. Making art is just something I need/have to do. I have always done art, it is a part of me. I look at it as a way of life, it is how I view everything in the world.
You’re subject matter is often interesting places and structures. Can you tell us about them?
I am interested in urban sprawl, specifically the American Landscape and even more specifically the California landscape. I am looking at how us as a people affect the environment and what in turn happens as a result of us altering the space we reside in. Many of my concerns with in my work are directly related to my concerns in the world, the idea of sustainability, waste, lack of water, etc.
It’s unusual for an artist to want to promote and feature other artist’s work. Can you tell us what made you decide to start LPP and how you curate it with your artistic vantage point?
I personally am very interested in community and think all artists should support each other in all ways. I started the site 4 years ago just as a place for my friends and I to sell the zines, prints and shirts we were all making to help support our painting careers. This was at a time when there was no etsy, no real online stores (morningcraft is the only one I can think of besides the amazing tinyshowcase) and before blogs were that prominent. When deciding on art for the site, I look for work that aesthetically goes with the other work on the site as well as work that I feel has a strong voice and/or vision. Many times I sell someone’s work because it is my friend or my friend’s friend.
What are your plans for LPP and for yourself as an artist?
Most importantly for me as an artist, I am currently working on my MFA in San Francisco so that is my next two years. As far as LPP goes, I just got the new site up which was a long time coming, as well as Little Paper Press which is my publishing venture. I will be starting off with making prints of artists and slowly get into art books. I also curated my first show that opened at the Tinlark Gallery in Los Angeles. I have another one that I am curating that opens in July here in San Francisco. More to come.
Do you think eventually you’ll have to put more time into one or the other? I hope not. I love your work and see it going extremely far. Selfishly though, I think LPP is an amazing venue and I’m honored to have my work featured in the shop amongst your other amazing artists.
It is hard to say exactly what the future holds, however my work as an artist will always take precedent over everything else. I will not ever sacrifice my work for anything and my growing as an artist with all that it entails. However with that said, I can compromise here and there as I do love having the store and helping out other artists along with doing blog posts about art. Curating the site and giving artists a platform to sell and support themselves makes me really happy so I dont have any plans on ever stopping the site. As it grows I will grow with it which means letting go of responsibility, right now I have three interns who are amazing and have really helped me step down a bit so I can focus on my grad studies.
I am so glad you have joined the LPP team, you are a lovely addition to the work.
Thank you so much Kelly!

I’ve been following Garance Dore’s blog since I first started blogging. I’m struck by the beautiful women she photographs. But at a closer look, it’s not simply beauty, it’s confidence too. She photographs women who exude it. Something to aspire to really.
Obviously beauty is a number of physical factors that vary to the beholders eye. Usually there’s symmetry involved but confidence radiates through these photos regardless of the subject’s physical attributes. As for the photography I find these images really compelling.
I love Garance Dore’s eye. Did I mention, she’s an illustrator too?