First of all, I’m creating sets of matching notecards and envelopes as stationery made from recycled magazine pages, ranging from High Fashion, to Minimalist, to Bold and Busy.

The envelopes pictured here are from high-end watch advertisements with stark, bold solid colors with matching rounded-corner notecards.

One of the other upcycled projects I’m working on is sets of cd/dvd sleeves for your gifted mix-cds and home-movie dvds.

So far they come in themes like Rave, Minimalist Text, and even Articles of Clothing, and I’ve even created a potential playlist listing for each set within the item description. I’ve packaged them together in sets of 8 for plenty of hours of listening.

Once again, these are made from recycled materials/magazines, and I will continue to produce more upcycled items as I continue in my development of The AntFarm! Have a wonderful day, go hug a tree*!

Also upcycled:

- Glass Bobber Fishing Lure Earrings
- The Luna Droplet
(and many more to come!)
* - you hippie. :)

Today is going to be a packaging, shipping weight, and photographing day regarding several new items I have ready to post into my shop, but otherwise I plan on spending some time cleaning, organizing, and then finally working on some new projects this evening. I’ll get that weekly newsletter out for tomorrow. Rumor has it that casual, non-work-related newsletters are best for Wednesdays and Sundays. I can’t remember where I heard that, but I don’t think I’m just making it up… :)

The internet is a very useful place if used efficiently, and solutions to many problems can be found by asking the right questions and subscribing to the right blogs.

Today I found a post on RealSimple that talks about surprising household deodorizers, the last one solving a problem we have in our basement and craft “bunker.”

Apparently that dank basement smell can be removed by placing a halved onion on a plate in the basement overnight! I think I’m going to try that tonight. [Source]

Also, this is completely unrelated, but I remember talking to my cousin about these a few years ago, wishing someone would invent them:

The creative nojenno at Etsy did: Bone Socks (Knee-High).

I bought some Hyacinth Bean Seeds from Etsy-seller PocaTerra the other day, and just received them this past weekend. Sometime this week I’d love to plant them next to the house so the vines can grow and the bright purple seed pods can blossom and add some color to this often-dreary apartment.

Rumor has it that my neighbors upstairs are also moving out. Since my roommates and I moved in last Fall, our upstairs neighbors pretty much took over the yards with their… …stuff. I’ll leave it at that. But when they move out, we’ll have a yard we can enjoy this summer! This calls for gardening and spending more time outside. I’ve been feeling cooped up since the Fall, and it’s time to branch out, pun somewhat intended.

In Etsy news, I’ll be sending out a newsletter tomorrow sometime featuring new products. This past week I posted a series of upcycled fishing lure earrings, two of which are pictured here in this post. You can click the pictures to go to their respective Etsy posts. The other two lure earrings not pictured are:

• 80’s Summertime Lure Earrings (orange/yellow/black)
• Pink Stripe Lure Earrings (pink & white)

Tonight I’ll be posting my original paintings from last year’s art show, and possibly a few other new projects! (I was bummed to find out that tomorrow’s stained glass class was canceled, so I won’t be posting anything from that quite yet!)

Now it’s time for me to get outside for awhile! Enjoy the Springtime weather, friends!

I have many ideas for projects including custom stationery, greeting cards, and bound books, but for now I’m just in the learning stage. I love doing things I’ve never done before.

My first batch of paper is pretty ugly, to be honest. When I was making the pulp, I noticed it had gotten dark grey, so I thought “Oh, I’ll add bits of orange paper Easter grass to make it orange and grey! That’ll look cool.” Well, when the paper dried, it was nearly white, with awkward orange flecks throughout it. And it smelled and looked a bit like [unused!] toilet paper, hahaha.

I may put it in a bag with some incense for a few days and/or tea-dye it to make it look a little better so I can use it for something, but for now it’s pretty blah. Honestly though, I’m really proud of it for a first attempt!

My second attempt last night was made from mostly recycled orange envelopes, post-it notes, and orangey manila folders. I had a novel idea to cut up some text from some Pita Chip bags and incorporate it into the pulp so that the pages would be full of surprises!

The paper actually turned out really great, but I probably won’t be using chip bags in the future because I got a lot more silvery, shiny bits that don’t really incorporate with the paper very well. On the other hand, I learned that using bits of text from other paper-based sources works excellently! I definitely plan on using this paper for something, perhaps a hand-bound inspiration journal.

I definitely learned a lot from working on both attempts.

#1) Wet pulp is usually much darker than the final dried version.
#2) Work out color schemes before creating pieces of paper.
#3) Even though plastic items are incorporated into the pulp, they float to the top when you put them in the tub… which is annoying.
#4) Plastic items fall off or poorly incorporate unless the resulting pages are layered or embedded.

Some of those may be obvious, but they were some oversights that will definitely help me in the future.

Today I’m working with some natural plant pulp to see what I can produce! Stay tuned!

I’m thinking about making a series of pendants featuring my original art, perhaps drilling a hole in the top or attaching a hook… They’ll be signed like any painting, but on the back, and I’ve decided to put a glossy lacquer finish on this as well to protect it since it could be a wearable object. Once I paint a few more and experiment with different functions, I’m sure they’ll be popping up in the store!

Other early ideas I’ve had for these mini paintings are coasters (though larger), magnets, pins, etc…

Let me ask first, though, would you rather they remain as tiny artworks for sale, or should they be functional pendants instead?

and also: (though I’d imagine it’s not strictly associated, haha.) 

I’ve always considered myself a creative person, and it’s my dream to make a living creating, be it art, crafts, design, products, etc. I went to design school because it was the most directly applicable way to make a living with my creative talents. Art school had been a thought, but the consideration that I’d be “competing” with my fellow classmates while creating art seemed like it would be a contradictory effort against what I believe to be the spirit of art. It was easy to go to school for something technical like graphic design where everyone brought their own personal style and talents to the table, but relied on the “science” of putting it together in a way that had more to do with learning and listening than it did “talent.” The logical need to pursue a career that would offer me many career opportunities and a consistent salary after graduation took over.

In some ways, it sounds like I’m putting myself or graphic design down. I’m not really trying to do that, but one thing that has stayed consistent in my life is my somewhat obsessive need to create and be a creative person, to live the artist’s life in some facet or another. My biggest problem, it seemed, was that as I would tell people how important creativity was to me, I never seemed to have much to show for it outside of design projects, bits of art, or mashup albums. Most of all, my dream of making a living out of my creativity, an artist’s life, was starting to get squashed into the background. I wasn’t living my dreams, I wasn’t living in the moment. It only takes so long before a denied motive rears its ugly head. Now, I can’t deny it, I’ve had to do something with it, immediately. My loads of idea books piled up and broke the camel’s back.

But now that I’m 25 (a quarter-century old, as I’ve been melodramatically telling people lately, haha.) things are going to change around here. I’ve been working really hard on taking my numerous idea books and scribbles and converting them to tangible projects and pieces of art, and as of yesterday, I launched The Antfarm to showcase and sell my creations on Etsy.com. I am now entering the life of an artist and crafter, pursuing it as my primary focus with my graphic design in the background as my secondary focus.

Etsy.com is a popular art/craft marketplace that makes it easy for creative people to open their own store online, within a really terrific community of like-minded individuals. As of this post, The Antfarm (http://antfarm.etsy.com/) features four pieces of my repurposed vintage fishing lure jewelry, and many of my design posters. (I’ve already sold two items!) My intention is to consistently work on new projects and consistently update the site as an extension of this one here on Antaesthetic.com.

In the coming weeks, I will create a page on this site featuring a more in-depth explanation of The Antfarm, which is to be a collective/collaborative project with my fellow crafty close friends, and feature a more detailed look at individual projects. Here on this blog, I will begin posting current projects, things I’m working on, and news about The Antfarm. I’ll also be getting a mailing list together for a weekly email newsletter, so if you’d like to be added, contact me and I’ll be happy to add you! Be sure to pass on the link to your friends if you think it’s something they would enjoy!

One way or another, I’ll keep you updated via this blog! Now I have something to talk about consistently! With this shift in focus, I intend on realizing a lot of forgotten intentions and become the consistent artist I’ve always been inside. Life is certainly a journey. Stay tuned!

Last year at this time I had my first art show. This year at this time, I turn a quarter-century old.

I’ll get back to you in a few days.

))<peace>((

The first was/is a commission from a few months ago that I had tentatively titled “Treble” and it is a woman in profile merged with various musical symbols. I rarely paint women, but I probably should more often, even if it’s because it seems like portraits of women have (perhaps out of cultural habit) are much more often featured in peoples’ homes and in elegant settings.

The second is a painting that I began last year which emerged from a merging of multiple styles, taking my near-obsession with faces and layering it with nature, like a spirit of autumn. It wasn’t long after I began painting this that many people started telling me about the “Green Man” in folklore. I had never heard of the Green Man, but I found it extremely appropriate and very interesting. I guess he’s more of a Blue/Red Man than anything though. I could call him Aqua Man, but I think that’s taken.

Lately I’ve been more inspired by the glimmers of Spring, so I hope that means I’ll be creating more art soon!

I listen to music of all types, but there’s usually a large slant towards independent and foreign artists. This is what I’ve been listening to lately, and I’ve fallen in love with each song at different moments for different reasons. The following song titles are actually also links to their YouTube music videos, and you can mouse-over them to actually have the corresponding video pop up and play (if you’re viewing this on my actual blog and not an RSS feed, that is…)

Think of it as a mix-tape to my mind for the last few weeks of February 2008.

Rock-Out-Stuff:

The Shins - “Australia”

The Whip - “Sister Siam”

Blood Red Shoes - “ADHD”

The Sounds - “Tony the Beat” (vid is a bit R-rated in one spot)

The Fratellis - “Creeping up the Backstairs”

M.I.A. - “Paper Planes” (must click to view)

The Presets - “My People”

The Wombats - “Kill the Director”

Happy/Sappy/Sad/&/Slow Stuff:

Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton - “Our Hell” (amazing vid shot with a thermal camera, one of my absolute current favorites.)

Stars - “The Night Starts Here”

Jon McLaughlin - “Industry” (must click to view)

I have no doubt that I’ll be doing more of these posts in the future, so I hope you find some new favorites in these selections like I did! :) Enjoy!