Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

[Posters] Stop Monkeying Around

Along with creating a website, I've been trying to design a few posters that can be used as either fliers or for posting on Twitter / Facebook / Google+.

Let be honest -- I'm not a graphic designer, but I find it fun to play around in Adobe Illustrator.  I've put my first 7 designs in order below.  Right now, I think the 3 little monkeys (#3) is my favorite.

I think I'll keep going, but might need to eventually go to a real graphic designer.  

Until then, fun in Adobe Illustrator it is! 

PS - If you're interested in learning Adobe Illustrator basics, try this.











































































































[Tip] Create an Easy Website with Weebly

As previously mentioned, I've developed an app (with an awesome developer, Ahmad, from O-desk), which will be available for beta testing next week on the Android Play store (fingers crossed everything goes well).

Over the weekend, I created a landing page for the app at http://www.time-away.com/ using Weebly in a few hours (screenshots below).  I have very minimal coding experience (mostly SQL, which is unrelated, and some HTML via Code Academy & blogging).

Results: It was easy breazy to create a decent looking website via Weebly.  Plus, it's free until you port over to your own domain (at that point, it's $49 / year).  

Highly recommend, especially once they fix a few bugs!





















































































































Saturday, April 26, 2014

Living Your Subjects



In my photography class today, we reviewed the work of Ed Kashi.

I dare you to watch this video on his aging project and not tear up.  Double dare, actually.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

125 hours later...

Source

Did you know that the famed "10,000" rule that made Bill Gates and Tiger Woods stars is apparently a myth?

Yep.  

Sheer determination and a lot of free time can't make you awesome (thanks for the info, Brain Picker).  Blame it on Malcolm Gladwell for this urban legend (and check out this for a good laugh).

According to Daniel Goleman, best-known from the book Emotional Intelligence: 
The “10,000-hour rule” — that this level of practice holds the secret to great success in any field — has become sacrosanct gospel, echoed on websites and recited as litany in high-performance workshops. The problem: it’s only half true. If you are a duffer at golf, say, and make the same mistakes every time you try a certain swing or putt, 10,000 hours of practicing that error will not improve your game. You’ll still be a duffer, albeit an older one. 
No less an expert than Anders Ericsson, the Florida State University psychologist whose research on expertise spawned the 10,000-hour rule of thumb, told me, “You don’t get benefits from mechanical repetition, but by adjusting your execution over and over to get closer to your goal.” 
“You have to tweak the system by pushing,” he adds, “allowing for more errors at first as you increase your limits.”
Essentially, you need to spend those 10,000 hours focused on improving your weaknesses, rather than repeating the same motor skill over and over again to actually become "great."

You know what's even crazier about this rule...

My New Etsy Shop


























Our apartment has gotten a bit cramped with all my oil paintings, so I've opened up my first etsy shop named Foreign Encounters.

Come check it out here.

PS - From a product standpoint, it was super easy to use and set-up

Wanted: 10 Parents for Android App Beta Test





































As I've previously posted, I've been working on my first Android app with my awesome developer, Ahmad Raza.

We are now looking for 10 Beta Testers if you're interested.  See details below.

++++++

Wanted: 10 Android App Beta Testers

Are you a tech-savvy parent looking for an app to help your kids balance the time they spend on their smartphone vs the real world?

What's required
- Need to have an Android - operated phone (both parent & kids)
- Be willing to give constructive, helpful feedback on app

What's in it for you
- Lifetime access to the app for free once fully-launched
- Small "thank you" gift from me
- Good Karma

Next Steps: Email me at tamara.cristine.sanderson [AT]gmail.com if you're interested.  Use subject: "TimeAway Beta Test"

Awesome Art Blog: The Jealous Curator




























Looking for art inspiration?  Check out The Jealous Curator.

She's an excellent curator of awesome art from around the web.  She's also the author of a new book, Creative Block, which is on my purchase list.

Here's a little from the Jealous Curator:
"There is one moment, in the first few seconds, when you look at a piece of art and know that you love it. It’s the moment when, if you’re an artist yourself, you look at it and feel a rush of uplifting inspiration… and total soul-crushing jealousy all at the same time. It’s when you walk away thinking, “Damn, I wish I thought of that.” 
Happy internet-ing! 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

You Are What You Do


























I've been a fan of Jonathan Harris ever since watching his first Ted Talk a few years ago (and blogged about him last year before heading to Bhutan)

He's a true left brain / right brain -- a modern day Da Vinci-type character -- that mixes technology and art together in order to tell beautiful stories.

Today, I listened to his interview with Debbie Millman on Design Matters and discovered his personal essay on "Navigating Stuckness."  In the essay, he documents several transition points along his life journey.

[Collage] An American Dream

























As I've posted before, I have some strong opinions on gun laws in the US (here & here).

In summary, WTF.  China *has* the one child rule.  We have the one gun rule (literally, there are 300M civilian guns in the US).

Decided to harness that thought and put it into a collage today.  End rant :)

Thursday, April 17, 2014

William Glasser's Choice Theory

Aimee Bee Brooks
I read Infinite Jest earlier this year on a 6 day train ride across Russia, Mongolia and China.  On day two, I reached a passage filled with truisms on life, ranging from humorous to profound:
"That trying to dance sober is a whole different kettle of fish... That 'acceptance' is usually more a matter of fatigue than anything else... That different people have radically different ideas of basic personal hygiene...That, perversely, it is often more fun to want something to have it.... That having sex with someone you do not care for feels lonelier than not having sex in the first place, afterward."
 He then states:
"That everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else.  That this isn't necessarily perverse."
Isn't that the truth?  Maybe it's something engrained in our psyche after learning that we're "all unique snowflakes' in kindergarten.

In reality, we are all a lot more similar than that unspoken, deep down belief.

[Collage] Hello There!








































Inspired by Cassia Beck collage, I create the image above tonight (hat tip: jealous curator)

Here's some work by Cassia:

Sunday, April 13, 2014

[Tip] Want to learn Adobe Illustrator? Try Skillshare

Skillshare instructor, Brad Woodard at http://bravethewoods.com/


I love looking at well designed eye-candy on the internet, and I've been wanting to make my own digital illustrations for awhile.

The problem?  
Adobe Illustrator is daunting!  

So MANY unfamiliar buttons.  I felt like every time I clicked on the page I automatically got an "error" button.  I tried learning via the Adobe website tutorials, but it's tough to navigate.  I also looked into signing up for 3-day Adobe Creative Suite workshops, but they are spendy (and non-expensable since my day job is all about spreadsheets). 

Well, last week, my friend Mamie posted that she was learning Adobe Illustrator on Skillshare via the class "The Ins and Outs of Illustrator" by Brad Woodard.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Friday, April 4, 2014

[Pitchfork] Excellent Website Design

In case you haven't noticed, websites are starting to get pretty awesome (goodbye web of the early 2000s).  Personally, I'm loving the 1-page websites, full of high-quality images and just enough playful motion to make your eyes stop for a second to reflect.

[Collage] Lost Horizons


























In attempts to learn more about the Adobe Creative Suite, I made another digital collage today (above) with inspiration from Lisa Congdon's image below.


They say you get better with practice.  

Fingers crossed.

Regardless, I really like the quote I stumbled upon in the making from the book Lost Horizon:
"Age is a limit we impose upon ourselves. You know, each time you Westerners celebrate your birthday, you build another fence around your minds."

A nice little lesson from Shangri-la. 

[A Fun Gift] Foldable.Me






















Looking for a quick, silly gift for a friend?  Alan got me a "foldable me" for Christmas, which sits at my desk.  When Alan's gone, I still got little Alan hanging out with me.  An uncanny resemblance if I do say so myself.


Thursday, April 3, 2014

[Mental Health Break] Generic Brand Video Spoof


Great spoof, especially for anyone with a job that touches advertising

[Collage] Space Odyssey

















My first "digital" collage using Adobe Illustrator (and YouTube instructions).

Welcome to some very strange view of the future...
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