Strawberryluna

Twin Soul Art Studio & Chris Bryant Guitar School opening!

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This is one of those stories about when two souls meet and see their counterparts in one another. It really is.
A couple of months ago I was contacted by a lovely woman & fellow artist named Jeanne on Etsy.com (check out her shop Three Paper Pigs here! and her beautiful collage below) who had some questions about a few of my posters.

"Circus Everywhere" by Jeanne of ThreePaperPigs. (Click for more info!)

After conversing back and forth, she placed a rather large order (to my amazement and delight) of posters and told me that she and her partner were opening up a brand new art & music space in Los Gatos, CA, in the greater San Francisco Bay area, in the form of a new guitar school and art studio. I was thrilled and honored that these two artists chose a bunch of my work, from all of the talent they saw on Etsy to help decorate their new endeavor.
At the time, they were still working furiously to completion, but now, it’s all done, ready, and up and running so I’d like to introduce you all to the Twin Soul Art Studio & Chris Bryant Guitar School.
Twin Soul Art Studio & Chris Bryant Guitar School open & ready for you!

Twin Soul Art Studio & Chris Bryant Guitar School open & ready for you!

Jeanne (an artist and designer) and Chris (a musician, ceramicist and guitar teacher) describe their new venture as a true labor of love here on Three Paper Pigs blog:
Chris and I just had our grand opening last weekend and it was truly a blast. We celebrated the opening of Chris Bryant Guitar School and Twin Soul Art Studio in downtown Los Gatos, CA. We had two weeks to prepare the school and studio before the celebration, so you can imagine how busy we were after Christmas until the day of the event on January 10th. I took care of putting up all the wall decals (Dali Decals on Etsy) and my sister helped me design the Twin Soul Art Studio logo as a main focal point for the back wall. I prepared the appetizers for over 100 people and loved how everything came together. My family was a great support and they flew out from Hawaii just for the event. The weather brought sunshine, lots of traffic, happy hearts and awesome music. Chris put together a five-hour playlist of Indie artists – The Decemberists, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Brett Dennen, Tristan Prettyman, Meiko, Joshua Radin, Belle & Sebastian, Matt Costa, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, The Dandy Warhols, We Are Scientists, Bishop Allen, As Tall As Lions and Ben Harper to name a few! And, I was happy to also put up tons of gig posters by the talented and down-to-earth artist Strawberry Luna on Etsy.

Artists an co-creators, Jeanne & Chris.

Yum! And so much natural California light too.

As you can see from their photos for the opening, they’ve created an incredibly positive and warm space to foster creativity on many levels. We here at strawberryluna wish them the best of luck and are so honored to have  such an array of our work gracing the walls of the Twin Souls Art Studio and the Chris Bryant Guitar School.
If you are in the Bay Area in California, please check them out! Get a guitar lesson, or schedule a time for a fantastic hands-on art learning experience. The new Twin Soul Art Studio & Chris Bryant Guitar School is located at:
644 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Suite #9
Los Gatos, CA 95030
40-354-7400

More details for you and websites about this rad couple that you should check out:
Chris Bryant Guitar School – all information about schedules, hours, Chris, the guitar school, directions and more are here.
Three Paper Pigs – Jeane’s line of custom stationary and her super cool collage pieces in mixed media and more.
Three Paper Pigs on Etsy.com – a good selection of Jeanne’s currently available collage pieces are here.
Three Paper Pigs Blog – you know what a blog is! Lots of great stuff to be found there.
Chris Bryant’s pottery can be found here.
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Stunning animation: Maurice Gee’s “Going West”, by Andersen M Studio

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(click to watch the animation)

So, here is a really cool animation that I found through my friend Standard Design’s Twitter feed today (Tom Pappalardo) and I’m just unable to stop watching it.

It’s from an outfit called The New Zealand Book Council, a not-for-profit organization that serves to promote more reading, foster a love of  books and promote New Zealand authors. I think it’s just completely riveting, beautiful, eerie, and downright superb.

(click to view the animation)

Paper cutting, stop-motion, and plain old lighting are 10,000x more mysterious and lovely looking than computer-generated work. As a fan of very old Disney (just about only the old stuff) and more so Warner Bros. classic Looney Tunes work, I’ve said it a million times before and I’ll probably be saying it in my grave.

(click to view the animation)

This piece, “Going West” is based on a novel by New Zealand author Maurice Gee. Produced for The New Zealand Book Council by the Andersen M Studio in London (a multi-talented brother & sister duo), the aim is clear as the NZBC’s motto at the end of the animation suggestion, to bring books to life. This piece is a stunner in that attempt.

(click to view the animation)

The NZBC’s mission statement reads: “Bringing books and people together. Like no other human activity reading opens up our imagination. It enables us to understand those around us. It allows us to project the future and reach back into the past. Reading can entertain, challenge and educate. We believe that reading can transform people’s lives.”

Having never heard of Maurice Gee, I can assure all that I will be seeking out his work based purely on the animation done here from his novel “Going West”, so it appears that their aims have worked a bit already. And, I’m now a HUGE fan of the Andersen M Studio, who’s range of work runs from animated pieces (as evidenced here) to commercial photography, music-making, and music packaging to book design. Perhaps I’ve found new heroes.

To learn more about the novel “Going West” click here.

To learn more about Maurice Gee, click here.

To learn more about Andersen M Studio, click here.

To learn more about The New Zealand Book Council & it’s projects, click here.

(click to view the animation)

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Criterion Collection films now on Netflix “Watch Instantly”

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Click for more info and full list of available films

And it’s pretty darn exciting. The Criterion Collection of films has been an outstanding aggregator & distributor of excellent movie-making from around the world for over 2 decades. Keeping pace with the advent of DVDs and now more online film viewing, Criterion has released 35 movies for Netflix online streaming tool “Watch Instantly”.

For someone like me, who uses the heck out of the “Watch Instantly” feature on Netflix, often while printing or otherwise working the studio, these releases are a welcome addition.

The list of Criterion releases is impressive and not at all a slacking one. The complete list (with links right to their corresponding Netflix pages) is here at the Criterion Cast podcast site (or by clicking the above & below images). It’s also worth noting that Criterion’s standards include routinely fantastic renderings of poster and cover art for their releases as well. Some of my favorites are below.

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Christmas Vinyl, nifty web radio station

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In keeping with the previous post today, I thought I’d share this quite cool internet radio station that I found today, called Christmas Vinyl, When Music Was Music, where the only music is Christmas related fare recorded on vinyl. I have to say that I sort of love the somewhat cranky implication that music released on vinyl, and in vinyl’s heyday is better than more recent music. There is something to be said for classics and tradition and sticklerhood.

Beyond that, this station, Christmas Vinyl is really cool for mixing all sorts of vinyl recordings of Christmas songs from Burl Ives (!) to jazz artists like Bing Crosby or Ella Fitzgerald to lesser known, session & pop singers, as well as instrumentals and choral works. Basically, if a Christmas song was recorded on vinyl? They’re up for playing it over there. The site itself  Christmas Vinyl is only able to handle 500 listeners at a time, but! Fear not. I actually found the site via Shoutcast.com Radio, and they’re listener capacity is much larger. Just search for “Christmas Vinyl” in Shoutcast.com’s search box when you click here. If you do listen to Christmas Vinyl‘s stream from their website, you get an accurate current and upcoming track listing that’s pretty handy too. Also, it’s really nice when you can hear little noises that you only get with vinyl. Very warm and cozy.

I’m listening to a lovely recording of Louis Armstrong singing “Christmas Night In Harlem” and not only does it give the phrase “all lit up like a Christmas Tree” an added meaning, it’s the jam.

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NPR All Songs Considered Holiday Music Mix ’09

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Click for All Songs Considered

It’s a good time!

If you read my blog even semi-regularly, you know that I am a fan of the NPR music show All Songs Considered. And while I don’t get to listen to every single show, you may consider me curating their offerings for you when I post about a show here on my blog.

Christmas and holiday music is something so ubiquitous as to almost be a joke. Either the crushingly sweet songs that you come to expect are blaring at you from all directions from retail stores from Thanksgiving (or sooner, ugh) until practically New Year’s, or the “ironic” or what I call trashy Christmas & holiday music is thrust out like some sort of cure to the overly sentimental traditional offerings. (It’s not.)

However, look, the reality is that we all grew up with the experience of music switching from whatever is on the radio to a slew of holiday cheer for a few special weeks a year. I still get nostalgic thinking about that inexplicably special day when the Christmas music vinyl records would come out of the catalogue my parents had and the hours that I would pour over their cover art and listen so closely to each note. From the Harry Simeone Chorale “The Little Drummer Boy” collection, to the slightly weird and awesome Victoriana throwback “A Music Box Christmas” by Rita Ford. Or the parade of hits from the 1940’s – 1980’s that would fill my neighbor’s house for 2 or 3 days at a time, day & night while 3 generations of women made dozens of types of cookies creating a bounty of literally hundreds and hundreds of treats for us all.

Somehow, while being able to laugh at ridiculous songs as well as collecting some really great tunes, the All Songs Considered Holiday Music mix isn’t smarmy or ironic or jackassed. (Have I told you that I am completely sick of and over irony as a statement? I am. It’s boring. Knock it off.) It’s just good, fun, and yes, ready? Jolly.

There. I said it. I’m listening to it right now as I write this, and I’m recommending it to all of you. Enjoy , Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Click here to listen to the All Songs Considered Holiday Music Mix ’09.

My favorite childhood Christmas album cover art.

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Hey Pittsburgh! It’s Handmade Arcade time!

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Woohoo! Did I sign up to do back-toback big giant craft shows? Yes. But happily I’m closing 2009’s craft show season with my hometown favorite, Pittsburgh’s fantastically diverse and popular 6th annual Handmade Arcade at the Hunt Armory in Shadyside.

Over 90 crafters and indie arts DIY masters will be showing and selling their work. Last year over 8,000 people attended and came through the Hunt Armory to see local and nationally recognized artists and do some special holiday shopping. This year, with just one day for the Handmade Arcade on December 12th, 2009 is likely to be as busy and bustling as ever.

Wanna know who will be sending this year? BOOM! <– There you go. (Hint, I will be one of the vendors…) Plus lots of super tasty treats to eat will be available by a host of much loved Pittsburgh  eateries like Franktuary, Dozen, Coca Café and Coco’s Cupcake Café. So much yum! And DJs J. Malls, Pete Spynda, and Tanner will be sending out good music to the huge hall that is the Hunt Armory all day too.

Pop City wrote a cool article about the Handmade Arcade that you can read here. And of course, for more information, or to purchase Early Birdie passes (which get you entry at 10am – one hour before the public and a goodie swag bag) click the images above and below, or click here.

We had a blast last year and things were hoppin’. Hope to see you there this year, and have a fun time!

The important details:

Where: The Hunt Armory in the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh, located at 324 Emerson Street.

When: Saturday December 12th, 11am – 8pm

How much: Admission is FREE!

Why: ‘Cause buying local, supporting artists and handmade is pretty danged awesome. Silly.

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Renegade Craft Fair Chicago Holiday sale! Come see us!

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Hooraaay! It’s winter! And that means all kinds of fun, AND also the holiday craft fair season. Like Winter Markets in Europe, the holiday indie craft fair circuit is a growing and lovely trend here in the US. And we love it around here. Naturally!

So, this weekend is yet another fantastic fair that we’ll be attending, it’s the Renegade Craft Fair’s Holiday Sale in Chicago, IL.

Over 150 of today’s finest indie-craft and contemporary design talents will be setting up shop at the Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale on December 5 + 6 from 11am – 7pm at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse! (click for directions)

Come see us and say hi! Mention that you saw this blog post and get a free gift or $5 off your purchases with us. strawberryluna will be upstairs in Room 207 at Table / Booth 145, no doubt drinking hot chocolate and talking with awesome folks like you. Click here or on the image below for a larger version of the Vendor Map.

Come see strawberryluna at booth #145 in Room 207. We'll be rockin' the hot chocolate! Click for a larger version of this map too.

Happy holidays and happy shopping with your favorite handmade artisans!

The  Important Details:

Where: Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, in Chicago, IL

When: Saturday & Sunday 12/ 5 + 12/6  from 11am – 7pm

For more information, directions, hours and dates again click here OR click the images above and below.

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New release: Going To See My Baby Sage art print

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6-color, all hand screenprinted "Going To See My Baby Sage" art print. (Click for more info or to purchase!)

Love love love! Everyone falls in love. You included! And you are looking at my hand screenprinted, limited edition art print “Going To See My Baby Sage”.

This screenprinted happy day is a brand new colorway of a very popular print that I did in 2007, but in a super small edition, now returned in sage green & soft lemon, just for you.

Going To See My Baby Sage is my 6-color, all hand screen printed art print with holiday green sage, bright bike red, dark grey, black and soft transparent lemon hand mixed and non-toxic water based inks. And yes! The lemon cloud breaks the margin/border just like a good cloud should, and is partially transparent over the white margin. Tweet! Edition of 95. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: acid free & archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

Click here for more information or to purchase from my website, or visit my Etsy shop or even check out my 1000 Markets shop.

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New release! 2010 “What Day Is It Today?” Calendar

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3-color, hand screenprinted 2010 "What Day Is It Today?" Calendar. (Click for more info or to purchase.)

Yay! Finally! My first calendar. I’ve been really wanting to do one for oh…about 3 years now. Looks like I finally did it friends. This new release is my 2010 ‘What Day Is It Today?’ Calendar, freshly printed and available now on my website, in the Gigposters.com classifeds and at my Etsy shop or in my 1000 Markets shop.

Calendars are very helpful. Especially if you wake up like I do, a little confused and asking the same question every morning. We all have a moment when you can’t always connect up the day of the week with a date and have to ask that same question: ‘What day is it today?’ Well, I’m here to help! Running Sunday – Monday, this traditionally laid out calendar will never leave you guessing. Ahh, if only it could find those missing keys too.

Here is my 3-color, all hand screenprinted calendar with baby blue, sunny orange and black hand mixed and non-toxic water based inks. Edition of only 50 Size: 11 x 19 inches (27.9 cm x 48.3 cm.) Paper: very sturdy French Sno Cone Muscletone 140lb cover weight stock.

I design and print my posters, so let me know if you have any questions! And, here are just a couple of process shots from my Flickr page too:

Films and paper ready to get going to print!

1st & 2nd colors printed of my 2010 Calendar

All done! Just 50 were printed of my 2010 "What Day Is It Today?" Calendars. Available now!

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New poster released: Lotus w/ RJD2 & Junior Boys

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4-color, hand screenprinted gig poster for Lotus, RJd2 & Junior Boys. (Click for more info or to purchase.)

Float on in.

This is my all hand screenprinted, limted edition poster for Lotus‘ show with RJD2 & Junior Boys DJ Set on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at Terminal 5 in NYC, NY.

Mega chillout Lotus psych-style. Reverberation, symmetry and green dreams.

This is my 4-color hand screenprinted poster with light-green, yellow, and black hand-mixed, non-toxic water based acrylic inks.I have a very imited number of this poster for sale, as most of the edition was sold by the band on the night of the show. Size: 16w x 22h inches. Edition of 125. Paper: acid-free & archival Cougar 100 lb White, cover weight.

Click the above image to visit my website and for more information or to purchase. And hey! Below are some process photographs of this poster being hand screenprinted at my Flickr site:

1st color printed here.

3rd color printed!

Registering the 4th & final color.

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Jackson Pearce’s awesome Sisters Red giveaway!

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My ARC jacket design for Jackson Pearce's awesome new book "Sisters Red" (Click for more info.)

Ohhhh dang yinz, this is rad. The lovely and funny Jackson Pearce, the author of the above upcoming book Sisters Red (for which I designed the cover, such a fun gig!), is doing an amazing 6 months of giveaways for you.

Here’s the deal, she gives away one ARC copy of Sisters Red plus lots of mystery prizes AND previous prizes per month. How does this work? Well, allow Jackson to tell you herself here on her video blog:

So, what are you waiting for? Enter her giveaway of Sisters Red and pass the word around too!

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WYEP’s Holiday Shoppe this Sunday

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Pittsburgh’s independent music station WYEP FM is hosting a great little independent holiday shopping experience hosted at their Community Broadacast Center and featuring the work of local handmade artisans:

Barker’s Herbs & Heirlooms (Steampunk, altered art, vintage image, & upcycled items.)
By Suz (Accessories including handbags, wraps, scarves, and hats.)
Carol H Designs (Personally designed & hand-made jewlery featuring sterling silver & Swarovski crystal beads.)
Charmed By Nature (Handcrafted jewelry with a sense of humor.)
Extra Impressions (Custom gift wrapping featuring handmade, decorative, imported, and recycled papers.)
JOPA (Handcrafted, imported, recycled.)
Lenny Pang Designs (Handmade, one-of-a-kind notecards, itty-bitty books, wisdom magnets and Fancy Shmancy bookmarks.)
On the Rocks Designs (Original, handcrafted jewelry.)
Robyn’s Nest Pottery (Handmade pottery.)
Silent Lotus (Specializing in jewelry and art inspired by the designs of nature and the beauty of simplicity.)
Spooky Kelly (Reconstructed tees, original handmade clothing, patches, bags, and other accessories.)
Strawberry Luna (Hand screenprinted art prints and gig posters.)
Whimsical Wonders (One of a kind windchimes and jewelry made from silverware.)
Wren & Rita (Handmade bags and accessories, and pouches using recycled sweaters.)

And more! (Part of all profits go to support WYEP.)

And, no holiday shoppe is complete without baked goods – good thing The Goodie Truck will be parked in front of the station, selling their delicious desserts!

There is no admission fee, stop by and get a start on your holiday shopping at WYEP this November 29.

The details:

Holiday Shoppe at WYEP
November 29, 2009
10am-2pm
The WYEP Community Broadcast Center

WYEP Community Broadcast Studio is located on Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood at 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, PA 15203.

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Book Light for Book nerds

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Super cool hanging Book Light by Studio MS. (Click for more info.)

Ooooh neato. I love these very cool and yes, clever Book Lights designed by UK design outfit Studio MS. Am I a nerd? Yes, for design and for bookish things, so naturally these lovely lights are right up my alley.

Neat desk or end table Book Light by Studio MS. (click for more info.)

Constructed of leather (just like an old classic hard-bound classic), paper, PVC and cotton, these lights are really appealing and give off a very warm and soft light. There is something very sweet about these lights that feels like curling up with tea and settling in for a good long read. I love it.

So pretty! Book Lights by Studio MS. (click for more info.)

Visit the UK-based Studio MS for ordering and more information. Happy reading!

 

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Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Did I post this same completely perfect and lovely Charles Schulz cel illustration last year for Thanksgiving? Yes. Suck it up, because it’s the best.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving in all of it’s meanings for you.

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New print released: Winter 2009

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Hand screenprinted, 3-color art print 'Winter 2009', part of my seasons series and available now. Click for more info!

Yay for cold weather, hot cocoas, snow and bar branches! Yes, that’s right, I mean it. I am a true Northerner because I love Winter. And my newest print is a love letter to an under-rated season.

I just love that absolute quietness that falls with snow in a forest. We have Cardinals here in the winter, and their brilliant red always darts out from the winter pattern of color behind them like a signal, reinforcing the magic of a winter’s day.

Hey hey! So you looking at my Winter 2009 art print, a part of my new Seasons series. This is the fifth print in series of seasonal, limited edition prints that I’ll be releasing. Ready? Here’s the mind-blowing part = there will be 4 per year.

Winter 2009 is my 3-color, all hand screenprinted art print with icy blue, bark brown and scarlet red hand mixed and non-toxic water based inks. Edition of 119. Size: 16 x22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: acid free & archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

As always, here are a few photos of the print in progress, and you can see more at my Flickr page here too.

3rd & final color ink, ready to go!

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