designcincinnati

blue wisp

I like this Soapboxmedia.com video about the Blue Wisp:

cincinnati flickr favorites: chrislrmo

I recently came across the Flickr page of user chrislrmo. I was so impressed, I decided to make this edition of Cincinnati Flickr Faves just out of his photos. Enjoy.

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1. Carew Tower Reflection, 2. Waiting for the Next Call, 3. Cincinnati Observatory, 4. Colorful Sunrise, 5. Untitled, 6. Union Terminal 75th Anniversary Fireworks, 7. Fountain Square Panography Daytime, 8. WEBN Fireworks, 9. Cincinnati

For more from Chris, check out his Flickr page.

cincinnati flickr favorites: parks

Since we have such an amazing system of parks, I thought I'd look for some park photos on Flickr to share with you.

click to enlarge | click links below for original photos

1. Cincinnati - Eden Park Overlook Pond "The shimmer of water", 2. Cincinnati, 3. Cincinnati Ohio River - Eden Park Overlook "Morning Glow - 6:15 A.M.", 4. 5 O'clock Shadow, 5. Cincinnati Balloons, 6. Ault Park, 7. Urban Autumn, 8. Cincinnati - Eden Park "Castle Tower - Springtime", 9. Fall Boats

From the Cincinnati Parks website:

The City of Cincinnati parks system has been rated 'excellent' by the Trust for Public Land. USA Today ranked Cincinnati Parks as one of the top three urban park systems in the United States. We have five regional and 70 neighborhood parks and 34 nature preserves, as well as parkways and neighborhood gateways. We maintain Cincinnati's Street Tree program on 1,000 miles of City streets. The parks system operates five nature centers, an arboretum and one of the larger public plant conservatories in the country. Our public art collection is the Midwest’s largest. Add it up, and Cincinnati Parks manages more than 10 percent of city land.

For more information, visit cincinnatiparks.com.

cincinnati flickr favorites: architecture

I am a fairly heavy Flickr user. I usually post around 10 photos a week. I don't really consider myself a photographer, so I mostly use the photo sharing site as a social networking and marketing tool for my business.

I thought since I spend so much time on Flickr, I'd share some of my favorite Cincinnati photos in a regular series of posts. Up first, architecture:

click to enlarge | click links below for original photos

1. Riverfest, 2. Clifton Gaslight, 3. One Way to get a Loan., 4. Union Terminal, 5. morphosis, 6. Red Church, 7. Ceiling Detail, 8. morphosis, 9. Someone Lives Here.

styrofoam

I'm sad I missed an evening out with Blake and some of his friends when they went to see the opening of the Tara Donovan exhibit at the CAC a few weeks ago. Blake and I walked by the CAC last night and the Styrofoam cup installation in the lobby is really cool.

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Tara Donovan at the CAC until May 3, 2009.

surreal

Ok ok, I know I said I was taking a short break from blogging, but I had to pass this along to all of you. The Cincinnati Art Museum is organizing an exhibit called "Surrealism and Beyond in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem." Check out the show between February 15 through May 17, 2009.

images from www.imj.org.il | click to enlarge

According to the CAM website, "Over 200 works in a variety of media are featured, including works by Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and Man Ray." This is the only showing in the US and it's at the CAM, so get yourself and all your friends there!

mural-tastic!

I love the MuralWorks program, which is organized through ArtWorks. If you don't know, MuralWorks pairs professional artists with local teenagers to create large scale art projects through the city's neighborhoods.

images from www.artworkscincinnati.org | click to enlarge

Building Cincinnati is reporting that city council has passed a notwithstanding ordinance which will allow new murals to be painted without going through the permitting process.

The program will use $120,000 funded by the City funding and over $400,000 in private funding. Apparently, the program will be expanded to Newport and Covington next year.

charlie harper at old navy

I recently came across a series of Charlie Harper products at Old Navy.

images from oldnavy.com | click to enlarge

I know what you are thinking, "CHARLIE HARPER AT OLD NAVY?!" Well, say what you want about their cheap products, at least they have a bit of taste.

downtown images

I am loving the Downtown Cincinnati group on Flickr.

images from flickr user Thadd | click to enlarge

There are lots of wonderful images of architecture, people, festivals... Check it out.

collage love

I have a love affair with collage. I love looking at it and I love creating it. I think because I have always been intrigued with found paper ephemera, especially anything that's vintage.

images from acollageaday.blogspot.com | click to enlarge

Randel Plowman is a great local artist working in the collage medium. I've mentioned his blog, A Collage a Day, before on designcincinnati. It's worth mentioning again with the Holidays coming up. With the economy as it is, this would be a great gift option for anyone who wants inexpensive, original, local art for their walls.

images from acollageaday.blogspot.com | click to enlarge

Check it out... A Collage a Day. Also, swing by his Etsy shop, R. Plowman Studios.

etsycincinnati: andrew neyer

I recently came across local artist Andrew Neyer via Etsy and asked him to be part of the etsycincinnati series.

Andrew prints, package, and design everything himself. Everything is handprinted. Andrew says, "I try to make my work affordable, accessible, and enjoyable." Nothing in his Etsy shop is more than $30.

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Andrew sells mostly prints of original art work in his Etsy shop. He also sells most of his zines in several comic/record stores. "Krafthaus (Cincinnati) is a gallery that stocks my prints and other items. In addition to book fairs in Baltimore & NYC I travel to SPX (Bethesda, MD) & MoCCA (NYC) each year with my friends from Closed Caption Comics." His favorite thing about being an artist in Cincinnati is his proximity to his friends & family.

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Stop by Andrew Neyer's shop on Etsy and support a local artist.

And as always, don't forget Kitsch Café!

bike ride

Yesterday, me, Blake and a friend spent a nice day riding 20 miles on the Loveland Bike Trail. We rode through the Little Miami State Park, over old railroad bridges, past the bubbling Little Miami River...

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Autumn is definitely in the air and I'm excited.

p&g colonial canister

Blake and I spent last Saturday in Columbus looking for new items for my Etsy shop, Kitsch Café. We found a lot of great stuff, including this groovy patriotic colonial canister...

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What's interesting is that "copyright Procter & Gamble" is printed on the side. Perhaps this was a give-away for Folgers, or another brand? I could see this being a free gift to hold coffee, etc. Anyone have any ideas?

etsycincinnati: pivot12

The second featured seller in the Cincinnati Etsy series is artist Tammy Allen-Gambrel.

After working for two local major arts institutions, Tammy begin painting again after about a 10 year hiatus. She was investing so much time in her work that she didn't have time for her own. Tammy recently quit her job and opened her own shop, called Pivot Gallery and Boutique.

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Tammy says, "I have spent time trying to figure out my style recently and currently I'm really into pinup retro type paintings." Her medium of choice is oil paint - "it was a comfortable way for me to ease back into it by painting things I really love."

Tammy's work is a little surreal... "Some would argue creepy" she says. She also describes her work as "a little pop art, and very feminine." Tammy states, "I want my images to jump of the wall and stick with you. I look forward to what I will develop next now that I have the time to really focus."

For Tammy, Etsy is just one of the ways she sells and promotes her artwork. "I do sell at my gallery located in Covington. My sister who is also a local artist and myself co-own it and we currently feature about 50 artists works. I also travel to art fairs around the country and sell my works." She recently traveled to Chicago for the Renegade art fair.

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As for being an artist in Cincinnati, Tammy says she is surprised and excited by the people in the area that are eager to support local artists. She says, "I really had no idea. With the opening of Pivot I've had so many people come in and ask who we carry that are local. There is a real desire by the community to support them, which I find really amazing."

Stop by Tammy Allen-Gambrel's shop called pivot12 on Etsy and support a local artist.

And as always, don't forget Kitsch Café!

etsycincinnati: erin cain

The second featured seller in the Cincinnati Etsy series is artist Erin Cain.

Erin's describes her work as "very fun and light." She says, "it would look great on someone’s wall." I was immediately attracted to her minimal, graphic and colorful paintings of shapes and natural elements.

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"I think the unique thing about my shop is that it’s very contemporary work that is accessible to a lot of different people." Much of Erin's work is affordable, usually around $20-$30. She says, "I think it’s a great way for people to get work being done now and since it’s student work it is well informed and affordable!"

Erin has participated in small shows in the area with other local artists and a few group shows in small galleries downtown including a joint show of the Pendleton and Taft Museum, Know Theater, Chidlaw Gallery and Knowledge Works. You can also see her work on a few fliers and event posters, including the 2009 CJK Calendar that is floating around the city.

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Erin takes some of her inspiration from living in Cincinnati. She says, "It's very exciting being at the heart of the new development of OTR. Everyday there is something new moving in. Also the community of artists in Cincinnati is great, and there are a lot of opportunities to get involved from things like Final Friday and new CAC exhibits."

Stop by Erin Cain's shop on Etsy and support a local artist.

And as always, don't forget Kitsch Café!

cincinnati: a thought

I just read this quote on Design*Sponge from a designer living in Brisbane, Australia that really struck a chord and got me thinking about living in Cincinnati...

"For a long time Brisbane was a politically oppressive and culturally conservative place you needed to escape. So it bred a resilient underground oppositional culture that continues to influence the city."

I've always said that Cincinnati isn't necessarily conservative, but rather provincial (e.g. Where did you go to [high] school?). A Soapbox post from this week further explores the idea that this conservative label is perhaps unwarranted...

"Anyone who has logged even a modicum of time in the city’s art galleries and performance spaces knows the wealth and breadth of talent and cutting edge vision on the ground, and under the ground, but, for better or worse, a lot of ignorant outside observers reduce the city to a simple equation that goes something like (Mapplethorpe + Larry Flynt) ÷ Morality Police = Mainstream Midwestern Scene. In disabusing an outsider of such a notion, a simple trip to the CAC, plus a side trip to Northside coupled with a few art galleries/theaters in Over the Rhine and Brighton will do wonders to loosen up the corset. "

Do you think something like an "underground oppositional culture" exists in Cincinnati? Do you think it's developing or has developed?

it's campy!

Thanks to Maya for posting images of the new Camp(y) Washington mural by MuralWorks. I absolutely love it. It's so wonderful that this was actually produced in an area that needs some light-heartedness and wasn't stopped by people that like to stop this sort of thing.

image from visualingual | click to enlarge

I love the obvious references to the city, such as the flying pigs and to the not so obvious neighborhood quirks, such as the purple gorilla and the robot. As Maya says on her blog, "I’m so proud to live in a city with such a strong public art presence..." Amen.

fashiony

The current issue of Cincinnati Magazine has a fun article about the process that the fashion design students go through before the annual spring DAAP Fashion Show. Starting with the "final crit" senior students present a collection of 4-5 garments based on a theme, and idea, literature, event, etc. Once that is complete, students show their creations at the DAAP Fashion Show, usually held in June.

images from cincinnati magazine | click to enlarge

I've always been interested in fashion. I had even planned on studying it in college, until someone at my parents' church, who was a high school art teacher, said to me, "Well, you'll end up designing socks for J.C. Penny, so I wouldn't waste your time." That pretty much killed that dream.

images from cincinnati magazine | click to enlarge

Anyway, the DAAP Fashion Show is one of those "I can't believe I am in Cincinnati" events that everybody should go to at least once. Tickets are hard to get, so get them early through the School of Design at DAAP.

yard sale

A long time thrifter, I'd never been to the World's Longest Yard Sale, which passes through Cincinnati. I've never really been in to garage and yard sales. They are sort of hit or miss. Actually, they are more miss than hit, in my experience.

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However, since it was such a nice day, Blake and I decided to head down to Mainstrasse to check it out. Fueled by a large latte, we had a good time. My attention span didn't last that long, however, and after about two hours we left. (Unlike some other people that are turning it into a huge multiple day event.)

I did find some cool stuff for my Etsy shop...

rainbow

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I've always loved the signage at Rainbow car wash in Oakley. Very kitschy and fun!