i art a day.

“Someone should write an erudite essay on thr moral, physical, and esthetic effect of the Model T Ford on the American nation. Two generations of Americans knew more about the Ford coil than the clitoris, about the planetary systems of gears than the solar system of stars. With the Model T, part of the concept of private property disappeared. Pliers ceased to be privately owned and a tire pump belonged to the last man who had picked it up. Most of the babies of the period were conceived in the Model T Fords and not a few were born in them. The theory of the Anglo Saxon home became so warped that it never quite recovered.”

John Steinbeck, Cannery Row, 1945

photo via corbisIMAGES

All of the sudden I seem to have my sights set on the new Illustrator CS5…

I’ve been hankering for a Wacom tablet after finding Helen Dardik’s adorable illustration blog a while ago – if you haven’t seen it go there immediately! Seriously, I’ll wait…

…

…Cool, right!? I definitely can’t wait to get my digital art on =)

In honor of Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2010 – I’ve decided to celebrate with some turquoise(ish) design bloggy love. Not only is this a great wall color, but it definitely adds a little something to housewares. “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy, says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. Just incase this little post isn’t enough to satisfy your lust for turquoise, head on over to the House of Turquoise blog for some more!

1. From Flickr – xJavierx 2. 1960s Harem Flats on Etsy 3. 1950s Royal Manual Typewriter on Etsy 4. From Flickr – xJavierx 5. Automatic Electric Rotary Phone on Etsy 6. Screen Printed Bicycle Pint Glasses on Etsy 7. From Flickr – nathy_0308 8. From Flickr – Sean Rogers1 9. Neckwarmer on Etsy 10. Chevy Farm on Etsy 11. 1880s Antique Dresser on Etsy 12. unknown 13. From Flickr – pinprick

~ A pile of Halloween Goodies are in the mail to friends and family ~

~ Halloween decorations are going up in preparation for Saturday ~

~ The simple elegance of a Couplet ~

~ The previews for the Fantastic Mr. Fox look mesmerizing ~

~ Trader Joe’s packaging is as delightful as the pudding inside~

~ The Phillies are back in the World Series, opening tonight! ~

AP Photo

Have a lovely day!

This weekend I decided to take on brownies. I love brownies. Actually, it’s the batter that’s so fantastic to me. There was a point in time where I’d make brownie batter (from the box) and just leave it in the fridge and munch on that for the next couple of days. Sure, it made me sick to my stomach when I ate too much of it – yes, I’m aware eating raw eggs is SUPER unhealthy – as well as eating brownie batter – but whatever, it’s what it was. Needless to say I’ve mended some of those unhealthy habits and was empowered to try making these treats from scratch.

I used the Fudgy Brownies recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook (14th edition – 260th page).  I’m a big fan of fudgy brownies. the ooey gooey-er the better, and in all honesty the recipe BH&G has online looks more appealing with some tastier ingredients. These fell a little short of the fudgy mark with a bit more of a cakey texture than I was expecting, but they’re still totally edible. Next time I’m thinking I’ll:

+ Add semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter before baking for some warm gooey chocolate bites
+ Double the recipe but cut the eggs by 1/4 (I baked this recipe in a 9″ cake pan – enough for a small gathering of people, about 14 bite sized servings)
+ Really try to cut down on the mixing with the flour. I may have mixed it too much.

~ brownie love ~

The highlights of this past week were…

Have a good weekend!

a photographic cooking adventure.

(designed and painted specifically for the occasion, yes that’s supposed to be me, no it doesn’t actually look like me.)

YAY!!! 100th POST!!!

So, I went back and peeled through the blog to post some favorite blogs, and well – I can’t really choose (but I tried). Starting in October of 2007, but not really getting off the ground till September/October 2008, the iartaday blog has been a great platform for me to play with ideas, catalogue some of the work I’ve done outside of the cubicle, and access so many great ideas from other bloggers and online designers & artists.

I think my immediate family, boyfriend, and one or two friends are the only people who actually read my blog – but to all of you that do, thanks so much for all of your encouragement and feedback! Sometimes the ideas and posts just flow out of my fingertips and sometimes they’re a little more hard-pressed to arrive, but knowing someone is reading definitely pushes me to keep coming up with something.

As promised, my top favorite posts are:
About Philadelphia: 39 – Nightscapes
Weekend Update: 47 – Weekend Awesomeness
Most popular with the search engines: Monday Warmth
About my home: Day 12 – Bedroom
About Photography: Instant Spring

I’ve been pushing myself to sketch as much as possible these days, and drawing inspiration from other sketchbooks both in print and online. There are several people out there with the discipline to sketch and even post those sketches online daily, which I may never be capable of doing, but in the mean time I’m pushing myself just to fill up all of the pages of one book. I’ve found that the more I make myself sit down and sketch something the more I want to sit there and draw. So far most of it has been relegated to sketching at home and at the coffee shop, but I have high hopes for making some sketches of the city in the warm weather. I use mostly pencil and pen, and at the moment I’m also experimenting with watercolor and pen & ink in my books. For slow days I’ve got a list of 20 or so ideas to sketch out which I’ve definately used a couple of times.

Lasy week one of my friends sent me the link to Elizabeth Perry’s daily sketchbook site, woolgathering, which shows that a daily sketch doesn’t always have to be extremely detailed to be charming:

While the sketches don’t come rolling in daily, DC Comic’s David Hahn posts some entertaining comic sketches via his blog All Nighter:

Illustrator Daniel Stolle has revived his daily online sketchbook, much to my viewing pleasure:

The biggest hurdle at the moment is trying not to take my sketchbook too seriously. On the one hand, looking at other people’s sketchbooks is always exciting, but just as long as I don’t spend too much time comparing how good theirs look with mine. I’ve finally started using the book as a place to experiment and try out new ideas, and not really worry about if they fail and look terrible or not.

I’ll finally be doing my first Craft Shows this Spring! The first is April 26th (only a month away) and the second is May 24th!

In the mean time I will probably be shutting down the i art a day. etsy shop for a while to start stocking up for these shows! I can hardly wait!!!