While on the move in and around Peru I managed to draw a smidge. I wish that I had drawn lots more, but the views are soo distracting, in a good way that is, haha. Thank goodness I live in the digital era, so I can revisit the adventure in pictures. I'm thinking of doing a series based on street meat and food...I'm just really fascinated with the open markets and the hustle that goes down. My buddy Dru Markle-Bloom is an amazing artist and did some quick train sketches of me and fellow passengers...I really love the looseness of the lines in her doodles. Enjoy!

My Home Sweet Home Tennessee, glad you didn't melt while I was away!

WHEW! What an amazing holiday! I had the best time ever and I've got, literally, thousands of pictures from my adventures...slide show anyone? haha. Well, I'm back in the saddle again and I am finally somewhat caught up with the two weeks of emails, phone calls, work and whatnot that occurred in my absence. It has been a really strange climate transition though...coming from 70 degrees of delight and chilly evenings to melt your face off 100+ degree Tennessee Sweat Fest 2010. It got down to about 20 degrees one night while we were camping! Needless to say I froze my tail off, but the views...OH! the views!! Peru is one giant postcard and you can't help but want to write a letter home filled with polaroids to friends and the folks about every 10 yards. The scenery was just breathtaking! The locals were lively and courteous to boot, even despite my southern accent butchering their beloved Spanish. I'm really looking forward to spending more time exploring South America in the future. Me and my friend Dru met lots of people spending months at a time just globe-trotting down there and my envy was probably evident by the green of my face! I really just can't get over what a fantastic time I had, so if their board of tourism needs an American spokeswoman, I'm all over it!! Here are some snapshots from the trip! Even though it pains me to say it...guinea pig does in fact, taste like chicken. haha. Enjoy!

ADIOS AMIGOS!

The time has finally come...I am leaving for my Peru expedition! I'm so overwhelmingly excited I can hardly stand it! So, starting this Saturday I will be M.I.A. exploring the mountain trails of the Andes and chillin' in lovely Cusco and surrounding villages. I'll be back in a solid two weeks with lots of handicrafts, alpaca sweaters, pottery and hopefully an alpaca to call my own, haha. I have a not so secret LOVE of alpaca and I fully intend on befriending all that I encounter. I'm no sci-fi junkie, far from it, but apparently UFO sightings are prevalent in the Andes as well...so who knows, maybe some starry night while I'm camping I'll see a strange floating object...spooky/rad! I'll be sure to post some of my drawings and pictures from my adventure once I'm settled down again in August. This is going to be EPIC...

So, while fanning the pages of Details magazine I read a tiny blurb about Oregon based company Grove. They make iPhone covers from bamboo. They offer three shades to choose from, I might add. But that isn't what makes them so awesome...THIS does...it is a small five man team that will laser engrave any custom design you want (set up in black & white that is) onto the bamboo shell that is the cover. My mind has been all over the place thinking of killer buck-related designs, haha. The only kicker for me is that...I don't have an iPhone. Not from my lack of wanting one, that is for sure, but AT&T doesn't hardly get reception where I'm at and dropped calls frankly aren't good for business. So, i'm sharing this so I can live vicariously through other's iPhones, haha. If you like to keep it simple, you can buy one plain or spice it up with a pick from their artist series. These are my favorite artist series designs.

www.grovemade.com

I stumbled across this gem the other day and had a good belly laugh. At first I thought it was Burt Reynolds...but my eyes deceived me! It was good ole Tom Selleck! It is a blog/photo journal? dedicated to Selleck / Waterfall / Sandwich....there are some really creative gems on here...I'm partial to the waffle sandwich... 

http://selleckwaterfallsandwich.tumblr.com/

I keep an extensive log of the interesting/strange/totally rad/silly sites i find....allow me to share a few....

1. www.jamienelson.com - amazingly ethereal and enticing photography, love it!

2. http://color-collective.blogspot.com - fun and useful source for color palettes and gathering inspiration

3. www.pantonehotel.com - exactly what it sounds like, haha. this is just a neat and quirky idea.

4. www.paperrep.com - if you don't have a clue or need a refresher on the printing process check this out. there are even free template downloads. 

5. http://selectivepotential.blogspot.com/ - this girl Tieka is just precious! I enjoy following her blog, you might too! 

6. http://www.design-police.org/ - you see offenders everyday, i know it. now go forth and police that crap! haha

7. http://www.omfgco.com/ - if it's wrong to love the ace hotel as much as these dudes, i don't wanna be right. haha. 

8. http://spiekermann.com/en/ - man. myth. legend. erik spiekermann speaks...so listen. i love officina and his blog. 

9. http://www.modcloth.com/ - shop til you drop. modcloth has vintage & inspired items, as well as, a  fun variety of ways to interact with the company and an interesting blog. attention other online vendors, please take note.

10. http://www.learnsomethingeveryday.co.uk/ - be the center of attention at your next party with all the useless facts you can learn here. haha.

If you find yourself in the Big Apple this Thursday, June 24th you should definitely mosey over to the Rooftop Films summer series! Rooftop Films shows underground films in outdoor settings. 

Tomorrow is the Rural Life & Spirit short film program. It's only $10 bucks and you're supporting a talented group of independent artists! Doors open at 8 p.m. and there is even an after party (which i'm sure will be raucously fun!). Visit their site for all the details http://www.rooftopfilms.com/2010/schedule/18-the-rural-life-and-spirit. The talented Tennessean Stewart Copeland will be showing his fantastic "Let Your Feet Do the Talkin'"....

I mean how cool is this?! Hope you can make it out for a fun night in the city!

Here is what's showing this Thursday:

Here is another fabulous website to follow and support www.arthousecoop.com. The Art House Co-op is an organization and site that links art projects with communities all over the world. I just signed up to participate in The Sketchbook Project: 2011. It is an art tour of sketchbooks submitted by patrons from all over the world. It will be touring the U.S. in 2011. There are fun sketchbook themes to choose from.... I went with the sketch theme of "(your name here)". Not only will all these books tour the country, but you get a tracking barcode and notifications every time someone views your book! How RAD is that?! It's a small fee of $25 to participate and I hope you can join the fun by making a submission or coming to a show in 2011! My mind is already itching with ideas.....

I'm diggin' the look of faux-bois, so I took my hand at making my own. Here is a quick snapshot of what I have been up to... more work to come, stay tuned! Ciao! 

I often find myself wandering into bookstores and buying books not based on story line, but by how well the book cover is designed. If they value design surely the story has to be compelling, right? Well, my eyes get the best of me sometimes I suppose, but at least the dud plot lines look good on my bookshelves! haha. Now I can get my visual fix for free and save my pocket some dough...just skip over to http://bookcoverarchive.com and see what I'm talking about. Fantastic database of book covers with helpful credit info like, designer/art director/fonts/photography and other tid-bits here and there.