I received the t-shirt I sent to print with my illustration of a dreamer the other day! I ended up wearing it the same day to Wal-Mart (lol I had to get some groceries). This is just the beginning of designs I will be launching in my online store, so stay tuned!!!

I just finished the senior year of my college career, but I found these pictures from my high school days when our art club had a chalk drawing contest. Above is my group’s Renaissance-inspired drawing dedicated to the Vitruvian Man. Don’t worry he’s holding a bowl of fruit in front of him. Can you tell who added the moon, stars, and bird soaring? Yeah that was me and my obsession with my dream theme.

Below is another groups’ rendition of Janet Jackson, after her “wardrobe malfunction”, but as a mermaid on a seashell! I think they won the contest and I see why, so talented:

Here’s one of our school mascot, the Bull:

It’s nice to remember my high school days at Miami Northwestern (where I went for my last two years of high school). They had great art and medical programs, and a great athletics program to boot (they won the national football championship last year here in Dallas. Go Bulls!)

(A screenshot of a website design I did for MNW

I saw Nathan Sawaya, the Brick Artist, again last night on another episode of “The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch” about childhood passions (one of my favorite shows!). I wrote about him before here, and of how he quit his job as a lawyer to pursue creating amazing LEGO sculptures full-time. His sculptures and story are so inspiring. Check out his site here for more.

I came across this Youtube video of “How to Make a Sculpted Dog Cake” and was so intrigued. It was made by Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes (click here to visit her website) who sculpted her dad’s labradoodle for his birthday. Wow, I wish I could do that! Watch it to see what I mean! Visit the Confetti Cake blog for more pictures of their amazing, creative cake creations.

Here are some more images that I took at the Dallas Arboretum during their Dallas Blooms event. Like I mentioned in the first Arboretum post, I’m obsessed with flowers as you can see, and am so inspired by their beauty and natural brilliance.

I’ve been trying to take more time to make cards for my friends and family for special occasions. I used to love making my own cards but for the longest time school, work and business has been taking up my crafting time. It felt so good to get into making things with my hands again as opposed to doing graphic design all the time.

I bought the paper and dimensional stickers separately, and rolls of ribbon on sale at Michaels. Here are a few cards I made for my mentor’s birthday and a special thank you card.

I’ve been watching so much of the Style Channel, and especially their show “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?” I love what the event planners do with the decor! I’m beginning to have ideas for my own wedding, but I think I should really wait until the groom finds me first :). But a lot of ideas that they have on the show could go into event planning for other types of special events.

For an event in the future, I would love to have Chinese lanterns. I love them because they give such an enchanted feeling. I found the pretty picture below on OurWeddingPlus.com

I’m going to look for some paper lanterns that I can buy to put in my bedroom!

In my sculpture class we made sculptures that were supposed to represent gestures, either abstractly or more literally. We could use any materials we wanted and could build anything we chose. I decided to make a sculpture cast of myself out of duct tape. I got the idea from this artist named Mark Jenkins who has perfected the technique. Check out his Tape Sculpture website for some cool examples of what he and others have done using tape. I love how animated the sculptures are, and how they’re installed in everyday places doing crazy things.

My sculpture was of me flying, and I suspended it from the ceiling of our art building’s gallery. I love how the light hits it and goes through it, and how it seems so weightless. (I do look a little chubby though, :). It took about 6 or 7 rolls of tape to finish it, and some areas are thinner then others because I ran out at the end.

Here’s a video of how Mark Jenkins mades his sculptures, similarlar to how I made mine, except I used my own body instead of a doll:

Below is my friend Brian’s gesture sculpture. This guy is a genius. Can you believe he made this of of cardboard?

I’m in love with the Food Network, especially their cake-making competitions. The cakes their bakers/artists make are so whimsical and detailed. Here’s a video I found of a Dr. Seuss Cake Challenge. I love watching them work, and wonder how all that can be edible?

Syndrome Studio, made up of made up of three artists, Micah Hancock, James Larese, and Mars Sandoval, is one of the design studios whose work really inspires me. Syndrome specializes in motion design for multiple mediums, and their work is amazing to view, raging from directing music videos for Estelle, Danity Kane, Day26, Black Eye Peas, Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco, Wyclef, Jo Jo, Mickey Avalon and many more. They also did motion graphics for the movie ATL, and for networks like Disney, HGTV, and MTV.

Here’s an interview I found with them at Convey Magazine where they described their struggle “to get to the point where we were considered ‘directors’ as opposed to, ‘those graphic guys that also direct.’ Their portfolio shows that you can find a way to create a niche within the entertainment industry, or any industry doing what you love and do best, while working hard to make your way to the top. Their success was only achieved with “tenacity, passion, having a precise game plan and believing 1000000% in ourselves… if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.”

I love how they merge motion and 3D work with video production and directing, and how they work in so many mediums to make a finished product. You can click here to view their website with samples of their incredible work. One of my favorites was Keke Palmer’s “Keep It Movin’” music video, below, which they animated and directed.

“Don’t lose your passion. The second you are chasing a check instead of a vision could be the beginning of the end.” - Syndrome Studio in an April 2008 interview with Convey Magazine

Here’s a recent paper craft project I did in class as part of a larger project, and based on one of my favorite verses.

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

I’ve decided to create this site as a spin-off of my other site to focus on arts and crafts, style and design topics. I’ve imported my past craft, creative inspiration, and design-related posts on my other blog to this one and will continue posting on both, so stay tuned for more…