Great weekend!

It's thunderstorming here, now, here in New York. Kinda a nice way to clean away the weekend and refresh us from the intense mugginess we have been experiencing this past week.

And also a nice time for me to recap the great weekend I had with my sister, Kate + her old friend Sarah, coming to visit from Cleveland.

We had such fabulous weather for all the fun stuff we had planned.

Dinner on our terrace

Yankees vs. A's game

all the NY Yankee legends on one side as you walk in:

Woa! Just noticed the comb-over on that dude!

Sarah and I went into the Yankees museum and they had some really great memorabilia from the 1920's. The design of patches, numbers, posters, and tickets was the most interesting to me.

Really cool patch on their Vintage Centennial uniforms. I had to get this shot to show the guys at work. (they've been doing a lot of patches for summer 2010).

Amy asked to hold the 'How May I Help You?' sign. Of course she would.

Kate took pictures for me at Crumbs for my 'sweet treats' section for flickr. Yum.

Pigeon Lady on e. 9th and 1st

Got a picture infront of my baggie at Dime Bag 3 yo!

Looked at the stores next to Giant Robot.

Group shot w/ Seth and Rachael included

The BEST picture of the entire weekend. Hand's down.

More of the weekend's pics are here.

I ended the weekend with a trip to the Met to look at the Michelangelo painting that I blogged about here. Super amazing upclose. It's kinda got the same affect as the Mona Lisa, you think it's (or rather hope) gunna be huge, but then it's really small and everyone crowds around it to look really close. I was that person. I didn't want to move once I got infront of it.

On another note, whenever I go, I have to say hello to my favorites:

Gauguin, Two Women. 1899.

Gauguin, Ia Orana Maria, 1891.

Phew, that's it. Have a great week. I'm working on some new stuff for 'From Jupiter,' another Tshirt design. SO I hope to have some art to post by Friday. Check back!

These are so gorgeous to me!

Found out about orangepoppy through one of my favorite blogs rockstar diaries

Dime Bag 3 Pics

I went to the show today with Katie and snapped a few pics. Here they are:

the grid

susie ghahremani

melinda beck + jordin isip

Flo Gidez

cat lauigan

me

...And here is the info for the GRNY Dime Bag 3 show:

Opening reception this Saturday (I won't be able to go because I have to work :( ) but you should go!

Reception Saturday Jul 18th 6:30-10pm.
Show up July 18-Aug 12th

Dime Bag Show

My old thesis teacher, Jordin Isip, who I helped as an intern last year, invited me to make a piece for a show he was curating, Dime Bag 3. It is being held at Giant Robot NY, going up sometime in the next few weeks and runs through August. I will have more specific details to follow.

This is a brief synopsis of the show from Jordin Isip and Rodger Stevens:

Each of the more than two hundred invited artists will receive a 3" x 3" clear ziplock-style bag, a "dime bag" of sorts, which is to be used as a container for their piece. The 200 bags will be installed in a grid-like arrangement, each hung with a single nail (unless special measures are required) across two walls of the space...There is no overt conceptual theme to the show beyond the device of the bag itself and each artist is free to interpret the simple parameters we've cooked up as they wish.

And my art that I submitted at itty bitty scale to fit in the 3x3 bag.

Thanks for the invite Jordin!

i love this song. something about these girls, some who can dance and some who seriously are trying really hard, make it hilarious.

please wait for 1:23, it's the funniest part.

Uh oh, Bill Cunningham is now instructing us to Spaahkle this Fouth of July...

spaahkle time

It's been a year since my family lost my Grandpa Kerwin. I still miss what a great man he was. And I try to keep different things that I was able to inherit from him in my room to inspire me. These things are truly what makes my room/studio such a great inspiration to me:

wooden drawer chest that has paint splattered from years worth of projects in his basement.

the drawing I did just over a year ago from his navy picture

his old camera (he loved taking pictures...we couldn't leave Buffalo without taking a family picture on their lawn)

his 'kerwin' stencil he probably used to label trash cans and other stuff that needed marking.

one of his drawing tools (he was an engineer)

There's a lot of my Grandpa's possessions that I was able to inherit that I am so glad I was able to have. I think it may not be much to other people in my family, but I know he worked with these objects that in some sense or another gave him inspiration, and it inturn inspires me to keep doing what I love to do.

'From Jupiter' illustrated CD packaging

A year ago, I submitted a CD design for a band called, From Jupiter. My design won and I then had to design/illustrate the interior part of the album as well as the actual CD. Well, I kinda forgot about it for a few months and then followed up w/ the label's president. And, what do you know, I got this awesome present in the mail.

I tell ya, it feels good to see an actual product that is actually sold, to have your illustration work on it. It even is shrink-wrapped! Thanks Monica @ Third Eye Records and the guys of From Jupiter!

Settlin' in

It has been about 3 weeks since I moved in and things are starting to feel a little more homey. I am working on making my room a little sanctuary for myself. Being totally me, a total design freak, I made a mood board for what I want my room to look/feel like. If I don't have a set vision, I am soo all over the place and just buy stuff that is cute, but then it doesn't really mesh all together. Anyways...here is my mental work in progress...bigger version on my flickr

I am refurbishing my existing dresser by painting it and replacing the knobs with ones I got from Anthropologie. I especially like the cute yellow bird! :)

I took these shots minutes before the movers arrived w/ all our stuff, so it looks really empty.

Peeking into our kitchen

My lovely large closet

View out of my window

Still gotta get a bookcase, hang art, and paint/put new knobs on my dresser...phew.

Michelangelo's first painting

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this feature article on NYTimes.com tonight. What is thought to be Michelangelo's first ever piece of art, let alone first painting, was recently bought by Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX and is now on view at the Met. This 'resurfaced' painting shows early signs of what Michelangelo developed into his aesthetic language: a distinguished palette and figures in motion showing their anatomy.

This article even stumped me! I took a Michelangelo class my Senior year where we analyzed all his works all the way from one of his known first sculptures, Madonna of the Steps, to his last piece, The Rondanini Pieta. We didn't even know about this piece of artwork when we were studying him! This is all very cool to me. I heart Michelangelo. I think I am going to have to see it before it leaves NYC in September.

Madonna of the Steps (what the world thought to be his 1st piece of artwork. This piece is 1 of 2 low relief sculptures Michelangelo completed during his apprenticeship at the school of Lorenzo de'Medici, the other sculpture is the Battle of the Centaurs).

Rondanini Pieta (the last sculpture that Michelangelo worked on until his death).

Bedroom Dreams

I've got another brand new bedroom to decorate and make my own for at least the next year. I am moving in this weekend! It has a great view of the East River and a huge closet, so of course, I am on the prowl looking for ideas.

2x3 amulet rug. Urban Outfitters. $18

Now I am a big advocate about NOT smoking, so these pretty ashtrays are for candy (Chris I've got you covered). butlerandmaid. $12

graphic style lampshade. via drawflowers. $100.

masseyandrogers. $70.

Massey and rogers are great textile designers from the UK. I liked the bottom lampshade even more because it has a great handmade quality with the weaving. No price listed on their website.

Maybe this one for one day.... $1,280 Chandi Design

Spring Craves

I have an obsession with big floral prints & sweetheart necklines. They are so endearing for the spring/summer and can really punch up your mood with a simple change.
Pair w/ a jean jacket and you're ready to go.

love this minus the side bow, gotta customize it!

via badbabyvintage. $25.

i think the hat is better than the dress even!

via highlandandponce. $15 each dress.

I like the criss-cross empire waist. Very nice detail.

via butler and maid . etsy. $30

This skirt was one that had me at hello and it is already gone.

via whatcirca. already sold :(

This gold top is super cute, but think it would be kinda stuffy to wear on a hot day. Maybe it's more of a top to wear out at night when it cools down.

via CositasSeriasVintage. $23.

Wish me good luck unpacking today! xo

Home Sweet Home

I went home to Cleveland last weekend for my cousin Bridget's bridal shower. My mom has been planning her shower for about 2 months and really outdid herself. It was super nice to have all the ladies from the Kerwin side of the family get together and celebrate Bridget. Here are some highlights. More pictures of the weekend on my flickr.

I updated my flickr illustration page w/ more of my work. Click here to go there.

NYC apartment hunting...

...is totally exhausting. Doorman? laundry? gym included? build a wall? etc.

I think my sister and I are almost there. We are looking on the Upper East Side. I'll keep you posted. Might sign a lease tomorrow.

But here's a break we took after looking at apartments to get a bite to eat at Effy's.

This dog was sniffing my avocado sandwich.