Category Archives: graphic art

The Jakes @ eVocal in Costa Mesa, or: An excuse to get an Alejandros breakfast burrito

So, across the street from the home of my favorite breakfast burrito of all time is a place I’ve never been to before called eVocal. I’ve always admired the neat signage from afar, and today I guess I will finally be checking it out. KROQ is hosting a free show at eVocal with The Jakes as the headlining act. Stay tuned for photos and my oh so important thoughts. (Ha!) Right now I’m mostly excited about that breakfast burrito…

jakes-poster

Here’s looking at you, kids

In honor of Mr. and Ms. Guava’s wedding today. May it be the most beautiful and perfect day, with lots of crazy and kooky things to look back and remember. This is the first time I think I’ve ever said “I can’t wait for line dancing!

kissykissy
Photo taken in San Francisco’s Mission District with my dear iPhone

What the f*** is a Narwhal?

My dear coworker kept bugging me to make him a narwhal desktop wallpaper, so this is what I came up with.

Narwhal

Also, (shameless plug time!) I slapped the design on some items in Cafepress, if you are so inclined.

Oh man. 10 more minutes until my cake is finished baking. Mmmm. Thank god for Betty Crocker, otherwise I would not be able to make delicious chocolate cake! :)

Ode to a 90 Degree November

So the other day I felt the need to Spring Clean. Then, another other day I felt the need to go tan outside. My mind and body have been so confused by the wackadoodle weather lately. Why is it still 90 degrees in the afternoon? Why am I still sweaty? Oh me, oh my.

Anyway, like I was saying, I was Spring Cleaning the other day and realized I had a bunch of half-completed projects laying around. I hate it when that happens. I feel guilt for neglecting projects that should be loved. One of which was completed but forgotten about, so here’s that one. (The bag, not the dress).

Now listed over on etsy…

And then one that was half finished and then put aside while I worked on something else. This one was a custom order from my cousin. But good news for her! Her birthday is this Saturday, so her custom order has turned into her birthday present! Voila!

Shot #1

Shot #2

In other news, I’ve been really motivated to make some new clothes. Currently I’m working on a sleeveless variation of this pattern (the blouse on the right):

Built by Wendy Simplicity #4111

…. and a really cool (hopefully) lined vest that I started a year ago. I’ll post photos when finished.

Oh yeah! KUCI is having a Program Design Contest, so I’ll be working out a couple of design ideas in the next week or so to submit. How fun. I’ll be sure to post those as well. OH RAIN! OH COLD WEATHER! Where the heck are you?

Say Your Piece

In keeping updated with the web world, I have a handful of credible, wonderful sites/blogs I read on a daily basis. One of which is Best Web Gallery. Maintained by the same guy who writes Web Designer Wall, this is a great way to see the latest and greatest in web design. Today, my attention was brought to this site:
poster.gif
Power to the Poster
which, obviously, is a well designed site, BUT it’s the mission of the site that pulled me in. Anyone can download their political posters for FREE, and utilize them to make the members of their communities think about the issues we are facing as a nation. I love it.

THEN I stumbled upon Smashing Magazine’s feature for today, which ties into this whole concept of sharing our thoughts or showcasing ideas in a public space.
cloud.jpg

Although, sometimes grafitti is not always 100% political, I think that the simple act of reaching outside of social norms and utilizing space that is not meant to be utilized for expression is in and of itself making a bold statement. A very brave one, at that.

This idea of rebellion got me thinking of one of my favorite anarchist collectives, Crimethinc Ex-Workers Collective. Although I cannot forsee ever not having a job and being content with that (unless the U.S. decides to provide Universal Healthcare, which it should), I really respect Crimethinc and admire what they do. They’re such a giving group of people. I’ve probably written about them before. They don’t care about profits, or publicity, all they want to do is spread their message of ultimate autonomy. One of my favorite books Off the Map was purchased from their website (for a measly $2, seriously! seriously awesome), and not only did I get a handful of free posters, stickers and zines, someone from Crimethinc wrote me a handwritten message thanking me for my purchase. I can’t say enough good things about them and the work that they do for no money. Again, love it.

Lastly, going with my theme of bad-ass-ness, I think more people should know about the SPRFKR line of apparel. Why more people aren’t as crazy about them as I am is a mystery to me. I am a plain kind of girl, but the only graphic apparel I seem to like and want to support is SPRFKR.
SPRFKR - “Because you can’t be naked all the time”
Their illustrations are amazing, and I love that they don’t put their label name all over their clothing. I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy paying money to be a walking billboard for clothing companies. And that is why I like SPRFKR. Good design. Smart design. Great conversation starters.