NorthTrain

Nokia Europe - Nokia N8 touch screen smartphone with a 12 MP camera – Specifications

2012-02-24T02:56:00.000-08:00

This phone seems like it does freekin' everything. Its freeky.Nokia Europe - Nokia N8 touch screen smartphone with a 12 MP camera – Specifications

2012-01-28T01:43:00.000-08:00

I've got a yellow and blur parakeet screaming over my shoulder. It reminds me of a previous time in the history of my life owning a yellow and blue parakeet. Ones that had 3 babies, each of them receiving an ill-fated end. Their parents met the same fate. The mama got eaten by a cat, (I am assuming since there were scattered feathers but no bird), the papa flew away in my yard and got killed by Blue Jays in front of my eyes. (I actually didn't see the death go down. He flew high into a tree and all I could hear was a high pitch song while 4 Blue Jays encroached on him. Creepy.) 2 babies got given away, and the third we kept. It flew away too. The back door got pushed open for a split instant while the household cat was coming in from outside. The bird went truckin down the block.

Stop Animation Class

2012-01-27T20:30:00.000-08:00

I finished my last class, teaching middle school this month. The project went really well. I broke the class into 5 groups, and gave them each a job title; director, set designer, camera person, and animator. Overall it went very well. I had a budget of only $75 for 75 students. This had to over their clay as well as a DVD, and a few other items to make their sets. We didn't have a tripod, so the students balanced their cameras on books. We marked out where the books would sit and the set on a large piece of paper. Kind of like making a registration sheet so they could film again with the same dimension of space as the first shoot. We only had 4 classes to start and finish this project. The first class they brainstormed and created their stories and started making the characters and sets. The second two classes they finished their sets and began taking pictures. The last class was in the computer lab, downloading their pictures into iPhoto, and then importing it into iMovie to make a timeline and do any edits. The final step was to export it as a Quicktime movie and burn it on a disc. It was stressful trying to get 20 kids to follow the steps exactly with me. The combination of them having access to the main server where they could download their pictures and broken CD drives made for a few hectic moments. They would grab files they weren't supposed to on the server so things would go missing in the middle of directing the class. All in all, considering the limitations, the class went really well. It was a great way to introduce technology and art through a fun project. I will be posting some of the best movies up soon.

Teaching

2012-01-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I am teaching a class that is going to last for the month of January at a charter school for middle school children. My classes are going to be making a stop animation film (10 sec) with clay and digital cameras. I am a little nervous, as kids can be hard to get to focus. I am dividing the class of 20 into 5 groups, so they have to share clay and the sets within the group. If they get this done, they will learn how to import their pictures onto a Mac and create a video with it. They will then burn it onto a disc to take home. Hopefully this goes well! Lol. I have learned to have the steps carefully outlined so that they don't get distracted or stuck. I have also learned you can't be too rigid, because kids can come up with some unexpected creative ideas you didn't even think of. If I get any good results from this class I will post the video!

christmas

2011-12-26T20:40:00.000-08:00

Long sliver, silver, and sleek;
moving like graceful tides
with a chicken speech.

It all means something if we want
it to be. Sometimes its sinking
black and warm,

its like trying to catch a
bird that thinks you are ugly.
It never wants to be caught.

Winter time again~

2011-12-22T15:28:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post some new sketches up here. But the natural light has been so dim, and my camera I bought last summer was not taking good pictures in this kind of light. But I did a little more research on my camera, and it turns out my settings were wrong, so I am going to be taking some photos really soon.
I have been pretty inspired by photography lately, perhaps ignited by this girl, Alison Scarpulla

Fleet Foxes animated Video! Amazing!!

2011-12-20T21:06:00.000-08:00

The Shrine / An Argument from Sean Pecknold on Vimeo.

the grand scheme of things

2011-12-07T23:48:00.000-08:00

We all do what me must do, whether it was nothing or accounted for something.
It seems we decide individually what to account for in our lives.
Sometimes its easier to take our minds off of matters and think outside those thoughts.
With a little music, some crazy patterns and juice for our eyes.
Here's a sample of some vintage patterns that have caught my eye. Made available via etsy. Vintage wallpaper. Plain....but the possibilities! I am going to start making vinyl wallets soon. Little clear windows to cool patterns, something to put in your pocket and pull out and look at.

Random Art

2011-11-26T21:55:00.000-08:00

I found some old pictures from a couple years ago of some clothing and art I did. Posting it now, because I sold this at a festival or outdoor market...forever forgotten about till I saw the picture!

My Flickr

2011-11-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

I got my Flickr page set up! Now I just need to plan my next adventure so I can take some awesome photos!

Click Here to check out NorthTrains Flickr Page!!

Winter 2011

2011-06-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

This is my most recent work completed over the winter. It is a combination of digital prints, and silk-screened prints, with some added hand painting! Visit my shop http://www.northtrain.etsy.com or email me if you are interested in purchasing! The prices range from $20-$250 for the larger pieces.

My new t-shirts

2010-10-19T14:32:00.001-07:00

Summer time

2010-07-13T18:33:00.001-07:00

I've been in Wisconsin for the last month and a half. I happen to be in my hometown. It is a strange visit,very familiar yet very different. I have had a strange twist in life many times, and this may be one of them. The smell of the water and the humid summer nights make me feel kind of safe, like you do when you are a little kid. It is a little wistful though, and I am leaving really soon back to the land of Portland, Oregon. The place I have called home for a long time now. Back to a different life sort of. Wrapping up summer school, and that will be the end of college for a while. I am super happy about it, I need a long vacation. I have been going for six years in a row full time, and have no idea how the heck I pulled that one off, considering all the traveling I did the whole time. All I have to say is, I did piss off a lot of teachers, and I always apologized! I'm not sure that I owe school for being smarter, although it did introduce me to some things. I think ultimatly life picks up where school leaves off.

Well enough of my school ramble.

I recently did a hand-drawn logo for this awesome wedding photographer in Portland. Check out his web-site: http://www.thephotographers.us/

I also have some prints for sale in this local shop that features some other really great Portland artists: http://tolivarportland.com

Whole Earth Festival 2010

2010-05-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

On my way to the Whole Earth Festival, got some new prints all made up... and hopefully I sell some! That would be awesome because I haven't been making very much money since October!! The WEF is in Davis, California at the University, and is a sustainable hand crafters fair! It is really cool, and the weather is usually beautiful!

My new Print !!!!!!!

2010-05-04T20:41:00.001-07:00

This is a silk-screen with some hand painting. It is apart of a series I am working on and plan to finish this summer, in order to line up a show... oh and apply to grad school!

Beltaine Birthday

2010-04-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

So here it is the first day of being 31! It is cloudy, with little birsts of sun. I jumped the hurdles and crossed bridges that needed to be crossed this year. More so than any other year of my life. I have almost accomplished everything on my list of stuff to do in my twenties. I am getting my BA this summer finally, and then getting my MFA will finally be the end of my educational goals. I have seen this country all over, and am content with the amount of traveling I have done. I just need to see Europe. I am slowly building up my small business, and will have a clothing line together in a few weeks. I also have my artwork together for prints, and have been silk-screening some new designs on paper. What can I say? I am happy with the direction my life has taken, the darkest days of this past year are over. I am looking ahead, never behind.

Matters of the heart take their course, and it takes courage to follow your heart. Sometimes we listen to it, other times we try to quiet it. But no matter the situation of my heart, I always look forward to things working out for the best, and never give up that the future will bring amazing things. Sometimes hardships happen, and what we do in those moments will test our character and happiness. You can choose to let these moments be poetry in your mind and heart, everything is a choice.
I always try to turn sadness into inspiration, and seeds of happiness. I hope you can too.

My new Web Site

2010-04-27T19:12:00.001-07:00

Hooray! I finally got my website up and running. I haven't finished my gallery section yet, I will be uploading a lot more to it. But hey, at least it works!!

Art Opening

2009-11-12T16:33:00.000-08:00

I'm going to an art opening on Saturday, I'm excited because it is someone I knew from high school back in the Midwest, and he coincidentally lives in Portland now just like me.
Here's the venue: Disjecta
and here's his art: David Stein

Life

2009-11-10T14:02:00.001-08:00

Sometimes when life throws you curve balls, rather than thinking life is crumbling, think of it as inspiration. Sometimes having a broken heart just means its time to grow and change... and its not that bad. I'm learning to control my thoughts, take the negative thinking patterns and think instead of the exact moment of NOW!! Hope you can do it too friend!

This is some recent work!

2009-10-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Alaska!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

These are some photo's of beautiful big Alaska on a trip I took recently.

New Ideas

2009-05-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

I know I am blogging excessively today, but I am going to be leaving to go to Davis, CA to sell silk-screened t-shirts this coming weekend. I have been working on a new line of clothes. I have been sewing and silk-screening pockets and patches. They will be for sale up at the Gorge for the Dead shows May 15. I wanted to put up my latest development. As you may or may not know, I have been using 100 year old paper for my series of prints with hand painting. Although I love them for originality sake, and won't be discontinuing the idea, I wanted to also have an edition that was archival. They are going to be a lot more money, in the $50-$80 range. The old book pages will still be $25-$30. So I made photo-lithography's of original book pages onto acid free, cream paper, silkscreened them, and will be painting on them. I came across some fluorescent enamel paints at the thrift store and can't wait to use them! So check these out, the cream paper makes them seem like a real book page, but they aren't. And I reproduced it by soaking the paper and running it through a press. I can't wait!!!

Needle Art Magazine

2009-05-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

I came across this needle art magazine from 1983, for 50 cents! It has some really amazing embroidery in it, and it is interesting to see the influence of post modernism from the 70's still present. For example someone embroidered a sampler of an ariel view of an island, looks kind of like a map. It was obviously influenced by land art I posted the cover, and a page with some really interesting bead work and design sampler.

Last Thursday ArtWalk on ALBERTA!!!

2009-05-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was a great time! Thanks to everyone who stopped by and checked out my work! Any many more thanks to those of you that bought something! Come back next month for some new work. I have been hard at work, heavy with ideas and so little time! Summer is almost upon us, and the festival season is beginning... I will be pulling more prints this month. I am concentrating on getting as many prints in a series printed using photo lithography and silkscreen. I am working at going back into them with a brush before they appear in my trunks for sale.

It is my dream to get a "Duchampian" suitcase to fit all my art. I am selling originals for really cheap, as a way to make art that everyone can afford. The dilemma is for me as the maker to get what they are worth, without spending too much time on any one piece to make it worth too much. But how do you do this without sacrificing quality? That is my job. To make truly unique prints that are beautiful, creative, and original, reproduced by hand through a press. During times of Recession, art should be cheaper, enabling everyone to look at original artworks for creative and intellectual stimulation. And hopefully when the Recession is over there will be many works of art acquired inexpensively that will be worth quite a bit more.

New Work

2009-04-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

I have been steadily printing my drawings that were new in January. I have almost sold out of my original silk-screened octopus design on music paper! Thank you to all my customers!! So I am now starting a new series of silk screens on dictionary pages. The designs are the octopus, deer, and bear. I will continue to hand paint around them, because it adds such a lovely touch. Check out my items for sale in my etsy store to buy one of these!

Hand Embroidery

2009-04-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

Anyone interested in embroidery that was done by hand?
Jessie Newberry was an amazing artist from the turn of the last century. She was educated at the Glasgow school of art in Scotland. At that time, there was almost nowhere in the world where women were taken serious as artists. Scotland was an exception. Here she excelled in making amazing designs by hand.

Embroidery has often times been associated as a womens craft. However men embroider as well. Check out the work of Orly Cogan. He has been really successful as an artist, embroidering pieces that are really interesting as you can tell. His contemporary, thoughtful designs have influenced a roster of young emerging artists.

What about embroidery artists no one has heard of? If you have been to Eugene Oregon, perhaps to a show at the MacDonald Theater or the Wow Hall, perhaps you have seen Cameron Greer. He embroiders constantly, and sells his works for pennies an hour, as you will hear if you were to meet him. Cameron is a character, no formal art training but dedicated. He is a true folk artist, and if you look closely at his stitches, perhaps the best embroiderer you will meet. You can buy his work online, although he stays away from computers. His friends market his stuff, because as he says it, "I touch a computer, the lights go off."

Book Page Art

2009-04-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

I recently came across this blog:
Dark Roasted Blend that features altered book art. Aren't these amazing?

Installation

2009-03-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

This is a bunch of pictures, of my suspended photographs, with my new lithography prints behind them. The wall in the background wasn't ideal, but it wasn't installed in a gallery! We had our final critic this week in school, I have been busy...

Featured Artist

2009-03-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

This artist, Samonberry, has beautiful, original designs that he silk-screens himself, and sells on his Etsy Store, and other festivals around the west coast. You can check out his store and buy these fabulous t-shirts here: Samonberry's Etsy Store or you may run into him selling his wares in your city...you might even catch a glimpse of his much loved bus Amethyst streaking by!

Check out these shirts!

New Drawings

2009-03-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am going to post my progress. These here are my drawings I have been working on. These were done by hand, but I digitally arranged my compositions. I have been doing photolitho prints of them, and plan on doing a series of silkscreens of them, before I begin another series of drawings.

Winter World

2009-02-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

As many in this world knows,
winter is cold. It is grey, and the light
in the NorthWest is bluish white.
I was in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago,
where it is much warmer, and the light is orange
and red.

Getting through winter can be interesting.
It calls for more visits to thrift shops,
and nights spent around my desk creating new things
the world hasn't seen yet.

I found a Time Life magazine yesterday
at the bins. It was from 1969, and it it had the
faces of about 100 boys that had died that week
in the Vietnam War. It was strange to see faces
that had died 40 some years ago. Forever 20,24,25,
you get the point. It may be depressing, morbid, I don't know.
I thought it was interesting. I felt like...
all those boys had to have come back to live life again.
It can't just end that abruptely.

Enough of that.
Time is just wierd you know?

I am working on a new series of works.
Mostly using Photo Lithography. I am using
my original drawings of myself and various animals,
and then hand painting on the print.
I may take these drawings and do some screen printing
on paper for my etsy shop when I have some extra time.
I am really excited about my new ideas, and getting them actualized.
I want to have a cohesive body of work that represents
where I am at today as an artist, in hopes of going to grad school one day.
Earlier this week, I was feeling really wintery and sick, and starting to think of giving up on school, and wondering if it was worth all this extra time and money. But that was yesterday, and I came away realizing I am so close to something,
and I may never get it, but one can't give up. My drawings that I am making are the best things I have done in my life. My visions are exciting to me.
Check back every so often to see progress on my new series of work.
I am giving myself a year, starting from last week, to really give a series of work my all. To explore a theme to the end. I have to do it!

NYE San Fransisco! Countdown to 2009!

2009-01-11T17:15:00.000-08:00

Phil and and Rat Dog, SF, New Years 2009!

2009-01-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

Archive of Artwork

2008-12-17T16:45:00.000-08:00

Last year I began digitally archiving my work, including all the things I would normally pass up as nothing. For a more complete look, check out my
digital archive!

Blitzen Trapper @ the Wonder Ballroom PDX

2008-12-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

Blitzen Trapper @ the Wonder Ballroom PDX

2008-12-16T21:19:00.000-08:00

Fabric Pins

2008-12-16T21:14:00.000-08:00

I recently started making these pins from silk screened drawings on fabric. They make really cute gifts!

Vintage Paper Series

2008-11-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

These are some new ideas I have been working out involving old paper. These designs were hand drawn, and then silk-screened on paper from an old dictionary and music book. I then found the image got a little lost so I painted around it to make it pop out more. I love things that show signs of wear, that show age and time. Maybe it has something to do with a memory of myself at age five. There was this really old lady born in 1901, and she had the most amazing photo collection ever. I would sit in her room decorated like the 1920's, in her apartment in the 1980's, just staring at these old pictures. Old books and photo's aren't worth very much usually. I can't figure out why. But at least it fits into my budget. If you happen to stumble upon this blog, you can buy these pictures through my etsy store! I am really looking forward to the start of something great!

NorthTrain Designs

2008-02-15T01:08:00.001-08:00

NorthTrain is a misty morning in the Pacific Northwest. It is the longing to be under the stars. It is the artwork created in the damp rain, the contemplation it ensues. It is the great North by Midwest, its the winding roads of Canada, the slopes of Alaska. It is the first train north from the deep South, and all the roads that will lead you there.