Thursday, March 24, 2011

new linocut peek

I'm working on a few linocut print for a transportation themed show next Friday, that happens to be taking place in a bus! It is going to be 2 colors and this is just the bottom image- a map of Anchorage. The top image should really make things dynamic.
This turquoise wall is my print-drying spot.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

revamped chairs!

I can't take credit for this awesome upholstery work, but I did pick the fabric! I lived with those orange cushions for 3 years, and I'm quite sure that they were original to the chairs. Through work I have access to every fabric manufacturer known to man, and I felt like I searched through all of them... I narrowed my choices down to 4 and finally decided to go with this one- the brightest and loudest of them all.
I was a little bit afraid to see the finished products because I thought they might be too much. I'm sure they would be too much for some people, but I think they are just perfect! I think the fabric perfectly compliments the chair design.
Something is going to happen to that coffee table, and soon. I'm thinking that I'll paint the base yellow and refinish the top, maybe walnut? Though, I dream of a rustic round coffee table with turned legs, you know, so my house doesn't look exclusively 50s-60s modern.
I designed the X lamp in the background. Can you find the cat butt in this picture?

Thursday, March 17, 2011

from Marilyn Manson to... Iron and Wine?

My musical tastes have certainly toned down and moved to something a little more subtle and my design aesthetic has as well. Take for example this cabinet, which my dad and I made when I was in highschool (before any of those design classes!). While I still just love those X cut-outs and textured acrylic panels inside, that crackle finish was killing me! I had actually never used paint stripper before this project, and boy is it toxic! Anyway, I decided to strip that mess off this cabinet. And duh, change out those overbearing pulls. AND add some casters because I've been thinking this cabinet needed legs for a long time.
(Excuse the top cabinet doors not quite lining up) I love the result! It definitely feels more mellow and understated... And surprise, you actually can appreciate those cool cut-outs now!
After going to design school, now I would never cover my form with something so distracting to it as that crackle finish. I think crackle finish has a place, just maybe not in my house anymore!
I don't know... Maybe this cabinet has become more Wilco?

Thursday, March 10, 2011

paint stripping

I've been working on stripping the paint off of the first piece of furniture I ever made (my dad helped). I made it in highschool when my taste was very black with neon and Marilyn Manson, ha. Black and red crackle paint totally doesn't go with my style anymore! (The above photo shows globs of paint stripper on the side of the cabinet.)

I can't believe that this pretty wood has been under all of that paint all of those years! All of the drawers and doors will be natural, and I think I will paint the cabinet body charcoal gray. And I'll be adding casters to the bottom of the cabinet, and of course new pulls.