Guest Post: Rhys Hillman // @rhyshillman

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So, how’s your company's Twitter and Facebook? Yeah, what about their Vine, Tumblr, Pinterest, Myspace or FourSquare? Remember when you set up that Google+... Odds are, if you’re being honest with yourself, a number of them are doing shit... They’ve got a dwindling number of followers, average engagement rates and have either been forgotten about or are so irrelevant by now that they may as well be.

Why is this a recurring trend that almost solely occurs within ‘digital’ - are we greedy? Do we assume that because it’s ‘cheap’ that it therefore equals ‘easy’? Whatever it is, we’ve created this barren landscape of under-loved platforms, detached from the core strategy, badly set objectives all under the guise of a retrofitted approach to justify their existence.

In a world where the client wants everything done now, for cheap and the agency wants to sell everything possible, we need to remember that regardless of platform, “less is always more”.

Try this for a change. Instead of having it all, why not go back to the strategic basics: - What message are you trying to get across? - Who are the key demographic for this message and where do they live online? - How are you going to best address the obstacles required to get this connect message & consumer? Ask these questions often, they should be really simple if your judgement isn’t being clouded... after all, money and time spent on a focused, coherent ‘front’ is much better than a scattered, fragmented ‘multi-channel’ approach.

Guest Post: Jiro Walker // @jirowalker

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This site usually sticks to films, games, comics and the occasional tech temptation, who is to say old fashioned art shouldn't make the cut? Well, old fashioned isn't necessarily the right word as these oil and acrylic composers prove. As exciting and moving as digital images can be, we shouldn't forget about the equally sexy artists who have strayed away from the digital mediums du jour. Take a break from Comic-Con and let your eyes feast on these up-and-comers.

Echo Eggebrecht

Leggo my Echo? Echo's work is hard to look at and feel nothing for. She wraps nostalgia and whimsy in a manner reminiscent of Matisse. She has been featured in multiple shows and is represented by the Horton Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. Her precision and Dutch-esque influence highlights her fascination with objects; she is the Wes Anderson of modern painting.

Stephen Dent

Taking a love of objects even further with pieces like “Cardboard,” Stephen Dent examines the medium in a beautiful depth that could make a “Wall Street” type stop in their tracks. Dent also brings a sort or forlorn, ethereal beauty to all of his works. Pieces like “Aircraft” showcase his obsession with light and ability to make the mundane into the spectacular. His devotion to all things ordinary truly puts them in a spectacular light, forcing your attention.

Ryan Peter Miller

Ryan Peter Miller takes sculpture and painting to new levels. An artist in the true sense of the word, he transcends mediums by stretching his imagination and our expectations. From interactive exhibitions like “Target Audience,” where he satirizes paparazzi and media obsession, to “Excavation,” which features dinosaurs carved into layers of paint in a way that makes the audience want to resurrect the Triassic period. Miller’s series “Mark Making” takes audiences on a layered, visually stunning realm that binds sex to texture and modernity, wrapped up in a double entendre worth listening to and gazing at.

Matthias Dornfeld

Mathias Dornfeld's staccato brush strokes only serve to broaden the eerie lens through which he views the world. Dornfeld's expressionist energy takes center stage — only threatened by the brash layers he forces on each canvas. Dornfeld has said his inspiration is sought in honesty, directness and transparency. He is also noted for the complexity in each of his pieces. Everything he paints seems to have a mask-like quality that shows his highly personal side.

Analia Saban

Analia Saban crosses mediums to make her creations resemble something from the “Portal” universe with post-modern touches that are hard to ignore. Her works are soft and gentle with an edge that can’t be ignored. While Saban's biography reads more like a very long list of accomplishments, a glance at her work speaks for itself.

Guest Post: Ian Fitzpatrick

Guest Post: Ian Fitzpatrick // @ianfitzpatrick

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I find myself increasingly-inspired by the new directions in which people are taking ambient information. The notion of glanceable has enough cultural traction to merit its own tumblr, which is probably a decent indicator that the warm glow of small data has arrived.

Blink(1) by ThingM is a USB-powered light that glows gently when a simple bit of data is triggered on a user's machine or online. It's customizable, such that the meaning of the lit diode is of specific personal import, rather than just a general, non-specific indicator. Also: it's beautiful.

BakerTweet was ambient data at its' finest. Enough has been written about it to fill volumes, but I continue to be drawn to the elegant simplicity of '_____________ is coming out of the oven (so get here before it's gone)' - vitality without urgency or self-importance.

The light atop the Berkeley Building in Boston flashes red when the Red Sox are playing a home game — readily understood and easily accessed, a simple answer to a simple question.

This week, I'm drawn to the soft pulsing white light on my new Little Printer — a reminder that 'you have news' delivered without fanfare, almost imperceptible to the uninitiated.

I wonder frequently, as someone who plays a role in crafting systems that connect people with brands, if there's not a lot more space to explore these kinds of experiences at an enterprise scale: smarter experiences that communicate one simple idea about our relationships to products and services from afar, intuitively, without trumpets.

Guest Post: Jamey Erickson

Guest Post: Jamey Erickson // @jameyerickson

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Its easy to get caught up in the internet age of gloom and doom. Someone's always trying to fleece your life savings, some TSA agent is strip searching a blind nun, whoever you're voting for is going to make the entire world an economic ruin run by homosexuals giving everyone free birth control, or even how Facebook is auto-liking things for you based on robots reading through your personal messages. You know, the stuff that really bums you out. Its easy to get caught up in that, and I'll be the first to admit I get drug down from time to time, too. But if we take a second and step back, look around us, see what's really happening, we're living in one of the most amazing times the human generation has ever seen. Think about that for a second, because its actually true. While the internet nay-sayers will have us believe the new iPhone is a piece of shit, or that as a society we're in decline, I beg to differ for a million reasons… only one of which I'll rant about right now.

Right now as we piss and moan about how the iPhone 5 isn't everything we'd hoped it'd be, think about the phone you had 4 years ago… not that great, huh? Well think about how that phone you had even 3 years ago was significantly more powerful than the entire NASA Apollo program combined. Yes, I mean combined. Your phone was more powerful than all the computers they had put together, and they landed human beings on the Moon. Well lets fast forward a few years to right now, if you've been living in a cave, you haven't noticed we landed a robot the size of of a small SUV (or maybe CRV sized, since that's a thing), completely automated, with a giant jetpack & crane lowering mechanism that had never been attempted before. We sling shot a 2.5 billion dollar robot 350 million miles through space to another planet, landed within a half mile of our anticipated touchdown location, and did it automatically with systems never used ever before. Think about that for a second.

Now, we started building this robot in 2007, and NASA gets approximately just shy of half a penny of every tax dollar for their budget. That's not a lot of money when you consider how much money is brought in every year, hence the need to take 4 years to build (yes, that math is correct, I know its 2012 and 2007 was 5 years ago, but they launched in 2011 and it took almost a year to get to Mars). Additionally, because their budget is so small, the actual computing power is not all THAT impressive. For example, there are two identical on-board computers that each have 256MB of RAM and 2GB of Flash Memory. Your iPhone has approximately 1GB of RAM and 32GB of Flash Memory. Again, think about that. Your phone is theoretically more powerful than our robot on Mars. Yet, despite hardware and budget limitations, the geniuses at NASA have still created one of the most amazing pieces of equipment humanity has ever seen. Its armed with multiple types of cameras that capture not only beautiful imagery, but also capture heat imagery and infrared imagery. Its got a giant drilling arm for taking actual rock samples that it can then analyze in its on-board chemistry kit. Its got a laser that can heat rock and analyze if the object behaves as an organically compounded object on Earth would behave. Its got a big ol' shovel for digging up dirt and dumping that in the chemistry kit for analysis as well. Oh, and its also got six giant monster-truck style wheels on it so it can't get stuck like rovers in the past (also, nerd fact, the tread of the tires leave a morse code pattern for JPL or Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the partner who helped develop the rover for NASA. They also use this to determine whether the wheels are slipping at all or how the terrain is impacting the movement of the rover). 

All of this is used to beam back via radio signal some of the most breathtaking images we've ever seen of a world very very far away. All this data takes approximately 15 minutes to beam back to us (you know, 350 million miles and all) and with the power of today's internet, NASA posts these images to Twitter approximately 20-30 minutes after they're taken. Again, think about that. A photo is taken 350 million miles away, and within the hour its on Twitter, in between a couple photos of other people's lunch and your mom's adorable cat taking a nap on in the sun.

So what I'm trying to say, is every once in awhile, take a step back from the gloom machine and look at what humanity is actually accomplishing. There's some pretty unbelievable stuff happening out there (like astronauts on the International Space Station using Twitter and checking into "space" via foursquare… no big deal).

Guest Post: Dave Pires

Guest Post: Dave Pires // @davepires  

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​When I was living in Japan, I developed the ritual of burning an incense cone while I wrote. Late one night I was leaning back in my chair, matchbox in hand, when I realized it bore two words of wisdom, a koan hidden in plain sight: Strike Anywhere.

Inspiration is born from friction, the heat and light that make up all life. It strikes anywhere, with anyone, at any time. It is the moment of alchemical completion when our imagination ignites.

Of the handful I brought home with me, this is my last unlit box of ‘Bird’s Eye’ matches. I keep them on my desk as a reminder: The fire may not always be in you, but you are full of potential. I also put the logo on my projects as a greeting: When your mind and this meet, there will be sparks.

Inspiration is connection, and we connect with the tectonic heat of inspired work. When you are inspired, you are illuminated. Whatever your craft, Strike Anywhere. Then cultivate that flame, channel the fire and enlighten the world.

Guest Post: Heidi Liou

Guest Post: Heidi Liou // @number1mitchfan  

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Unique sports. Specifically the sport of synchronized swimming. This past summer Olympics was definitely a special one to focus on synchronized swimming. The costuming/suit designs got better, swimmers got stronger, the teams were more unified. I am part of a synchronized swimming team and have been for the past 12 years. I practice more than 20 hours a week so that in the end, our team can be perfectly synchronized as we can. The physical training is extremely intense, but it feels so good to push myself to the limit. A new person is unleashed when I swim. Connecting to an audience through artistic movements is one of the greatest feelings in the sport of synchronized swimming. I love synchro because it has made me who I am. Without it, I wouldn’t know what it means to overcome an obstacle that I never even believed I could do; what it means to be successful; what it means to become so closely bonded with someone that they become family; what it means to do what I love. It teaches me to cooperate with others under all circumstances and mentally fight through my own struggles. People who are proud of something unique, is what inspires me.

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Guest Post: Ryan Keeton

Guest Post: Ryan Keeton

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Music paints a canvass like no words or pictures can possibly capture. It's the music, coupled with that memorable movie scene, that gives us chills. The music draws us in, and dares us to imagine the possibility. Simply put... we are living vicariously and more importantly we know we deserve our own frozen moment in time.


Music has a way of digging into your core, latching on and cementing itself to the very essence of every moment in our life.  Music locks in that 1st kiss, makes the long car rides bearable, soothes us when we are sad, and make us dance like idiots in front of a mirror. 

Guest Post: Jabari Johnson

Guest Post: Jabari Johnson // @jabari

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​Inspiration is what I capture through film by interviewing some of the most influential people across America. I used to wonder why are these entertainers, athletes, and other celebrities "inspirational"? I asked myself, do they inspire me? I realized that only a handful do, and it's those people on the come up. The artsits and entrepreneurs on the cusp of mainstream success that are so close they can taste it. There is something about talent at the ground level before the tribulations of mainstream success invade that always seems to inspire me. 

I'm inspired when I see a young filmmaker stressed out, complaining about how they don't have enough money but they are spending their last on equipment rental to shoot an independent feature. I'm inspired when I see high school kids in a rap group traveling to different states on the weekend to perform and writing essays on a Greyhound bus on the way back home. I'm inspired when a music video shot in your bedroom gets you a sponsorship opportunity with a major brand.

Have you ever spoken to someone that is really on their grind? They always look tired and disheveled. The thing they don't teach you in school is that it is incredibly easy to be doing good, fine, ok, or any other non-descriptive word that people say when their life is boring as hell. It is damn hard to be living your dreams. 

When people are stressed over the things they love is where I find inspiration because I know that stress will eventually turn into a career, and the life you've always dreamed about. 

The second season of my web-series Jabari Presents will analyze the strategies of the dream-chasers rulebook. I want to inspire others by showing people extraordinary examples of just how much hard work it takes to achieve your dreams. You can find our more about Jabari Presents and donate to our Kickstarter campaign here.

Guest Post: Jordan Mendys

Guest Post: Jordan Mendys // @jpmendys

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I am inspired by taking a closer look. I think we tend to overlook certain things. Delicate things. We are taught to look at the world as a whole, to look at the bigger picture, but in doing so we sometimes take small things for granted. We forget to look at the delicate fabrics of the world that keeps things together.

Of course this can have literal and metaphoric manifestations. Literally, yes, I do like taking a closer look at objects to see the fragile components that give it strength. I think this comes from always looking forward to using microscopes in science class, and seeing all of the independent particles that created the whole. 

On a grander level, I think we function much of the same way. Our world is composed of delicate fibers that make up a whole; us. Each and every one of us has something to contribute and something to say. It has always been important for me to take a closer look to acknowledge and appreciate what each person does to keep the world turning. We have our own purpose in making up the world, the same way every cell and molecule play a role in the make up of a larger body.

It is important to not take for granted the small things in life. When you force yourself to take a closer look at the individuals pieces of this world, you'll have a bigger appreciation of the whole.

Guest Post: John Kochmanski

Guest Post: John Kochmanski // @JohnKochmanski

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Simple is hard, over-thinking is easy.

Simple is useable, complex is not.

Simple is elegant, elaborate is gaudy.

Simple is refined, complicated is naive.

Items that appear to be simple in design and function, in most cases have been labored over more than an item that has all the bells and whistles. They're not trying to be all things to everybody, they need to do one thing well for for as many people as possible. This is no easy task.

Simple inspires me to explore the many options and subtract that which is not needed. It forces me keep the user in mind and make their life as simple as possible.

Simple is hard, useable, elegant, refined, and makes our lives easier by minimizing frustration.

Guest Post: Pete Shelly

Guest Post: Pete Shelly // @peteshelly

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"But what's the story?"

I hated that question. We were ten weeks deep in a documentary film class at Syracuse and the professor had repeated it ad nauseum for every class of the semester.

Each week, we came in with a new reel, a few more scenes that eventually led to our final semester project, a short documentary. After each team finished showing their clip, carefully put together during all-nighters tucked away in the school's crowded edit bays, he would ponder carefully and then give his response: "Maybe I'm just not seeing it. But what's the story?" It was obnoxious and frustrating.

The next time we met, we'd bring a new interview that we swore focused on story and story only.

"But what's the story?" he'd ask.

That. That was our story, we moaned.

That was somebody talking, that wasn't story, he'd say.

It was the hardest class to get out of bed for — and I took an environmental science class once. Eventually, though, as we began to finally bring out the stories in our projects, it started making sense. He was holding our feet to the fire because that was the only way to get us to understand what real story was. Eventually, we bought in. We saw what he meant about capital S Story (the craft) as opposed to little S story (the anecdote). We knew we wanted to create the former and we saw that to do so, we'd have to become passionate about it. We had to devote ourselves to quality and craft.

That's not to say that passion is a flipped switch. It's learned, it's nurtured. Most of all, it's recognized. It's knowing what's crap and what's good, and not wanting to settle for anything less.

We'd tweak and re-edit and still he'd ask the question.

"But what's the story?"

We pushed ourselves to create something that would finally shut him up. But he never relented, always pushing us further.

"But what's the story?"

We didn't realize it until later, but he wasn't teaching us how to make a documentary film, he was teaching us craft. He was teaching us that no matter how much time or energy or coffee or whatever we put into storytelling, we would keep producing crap if we didn't have passion for what we were doing. We started asking ourselves, "But what's the story?" It was relentless, obsessive. Obnoxious, even.

But it was the difference between doing and dabbling. Between asking yourself the hard questions and waiting for someone to ask them for you. It's the difference between good and "good enough."

At the end of the semester, we had a screening to show the short films we labored over. Every single group had found their story. And over beers later, we gushed.

A few weeks ago, a friend sent me an article he was writing. "Is it any good?" he asked. I read through it, pondered carefully, and shot him an email back: "Maybe I'm just not seeing it. But what's the story?"

Guest Post: Anibal Casso

Guest Post: Anibal Casso // @anibalcasso

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My good friend Charles le Brigand took this picture a while ago.

It’s quite a powerful piece.

It used to be up on a wall right next to my desk back in NYC.

Looking at it always reminds me how essential is to get out and just observe.

Live and breathe the data.

Ignore what’s on paper or screen.

Feel the insights.

You know, all that stuff.

It also reminds me that no matter how obsessed I get about the web, I should never
lose sight of the fulfilling value of experiencing the physical world out there.

The girl with the dark red coat trying to pull a cab;
The delivery guy navigating through traffic on his bike;
The couple arguing in front of that neighborhood bar;
The old guy who sits at the same coffee shop every Saturday morning;
The random ways in which people react when suddenly starts to rain.

The seemingly trivial stuff.

That’s what inspires me.

Guest Post: Snorre MartinsenGuest Post: Snorre Martinsen

Guest Post: Snorre Martinsen

Guest Post: Snorre Martinsen // @snorrem

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Nothing is more inspiring than a simple, obvious idea well executed. And one brand that's been a true source of simplistic brilliance for the past couple of decades is certainly Ikea. 
Two of the projects that have caught my eye lately are a little untypical for Ikea. But the way they've captured the spirit of the brand, and indeed simplistic living in general, is just spot on. 

"KNÄPPA"; A cardboard digital camera designed by Jesper Kouthoofd for the launch of PS 2012. Jesper is the force behind Teenageengineering, and moonlights as a brilliant director for various film and advertising projects.

I don't think it's possible to strip digital camera functionality any more down than this, and it's just perfect. It doesn't zoom or flash or stabilize you images. It won't break if you drop it, and it sure as hell won't post your images to Facebook or Instagram. All it'll do is snap your frame and you can transfer it to your laptop. And most of all it's terribly weird how retro this whole thing feels.


Another fantastic project came out of creative agency SMFB in Oslo. 
To launch the iPad version of the IKEA-catalogue in Norway, they created a brand new Ikea product called "BERÖRA". A sewing kit with conductive thread to sew into say the index finger of your favourite pair of mittens or gloves. This little operation makes them work on a touch-screen, so you won't have to freeze your bloody fingers off in the harsh scandinavian winter. 

How cool is that? Ice cold.

I think it's a wonderful thing when the essence and legacy of a brand can give people ideas they otherwise wouldn't have had.

And judging on the success both of these products have had, I'm sure we'll see many more projects like these in the time to come.

Guest Post: Layne Harris

Guest Post: Layne Harris // @hellroy

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Imaginative street art, such as this example, is one of many types of environmental sources that can often inspire me. I believe searching for inspiration, or maybe just looking to solve a difficult creative problem, requires briefly walking away (literally) and taking in stimulus from unexpected sources. Your surroundings are full of potential inspiration. Walking around a city like New York, you are bombarded with content that you could never dream of on your own. It can change your perspective, challenge you, tap you into the zeitgeist, and inspire you to contribute yourself.

Guest Post: Eric Hansen

Guest Post: Eric Hansen // @hansenwithane

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A friend once asked my why I travel so much. This struck me as odd for a couple reasons. For one, I couldn’t fathom why someone would not be compelled to experience new and unknown places. The other part that boggled my mind was I didn’t think I traveled that much. At least in comparison to how much I’d like to.

In my mind, traveling and being a creative soul go hand-in-hand. Creative types are naturally curious, and the world is endless sandbox for those who follow their curiosity. At the same time, travel fuels creativity. Every new experience -- be it a breathtaking architectural marvel, an exotic taste, or an acute cultural observation – is potential inspiration. This inspiration may manifest itself in the form of an idea. Or it may arouse a new passion or pursuit, such as a newfound interest in street art.

I think a lot of people don’t travel often not because they don’t want to, but because they view it as too time-consuming or expensive. But that’s a narrow view. Exploring an unfamiliar place doesn’t have to be some grandiose jetsetter vacation. When I was in college and couldn’t afford to study abroad, I set a life goal for myself to visit one new place each year. On a good year, that may be a highly coveted international destination. In others, it simply means looking at a state map and picking an unexplored corner.

In reality, there are a lot of people that don’t have much interest in traveling. They don’t like leaving the comforts of home or dealing with the hassle. That’s just fine. But for those of us driven to collect experiences, there’s always time and money to do so, as long as a weekend is free and there’s enough cash in your wallet for a tank of gas. And who knows what will be born out of that little trip to Noveltown. 

Guest Post: Madonna Arsan

Guest Post: Madonna Arsan // @madonnaarsan

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One of the things that inspires me is the art of analog. It's not because I'm a hater of digital, because I'm not. Besides messaging I probably use my iPhone camera more than any other app and no surprise Instagram follows close behind. Photography inspires me and I believe that the best camera is the one you always carry with you and so be it the iPhone. The availability of always having my phone with me and being able to capture the everyday moments is great! 

But sometimes, I want that extra, something more than a photoshop filter or Instagram filter to my photos and what I love about analog is that special something you simply can't get with digital. You know a person put time and effort into analog. Analog isn't immediate. When shooting with a film camera - and because it's film you put a little extra thought before hitting the shutter - and you have to wait to finish the roll, developing, printing. Many pieces has to come together and it takes time but you get rewarded with the result. THAT feeling when viewing your photos, at last.

Digital photography allows for no mistakes, you can shoot as much as you want and delete. With film you never really know what's going to happen or how it comes out and maybe it's that uncertainty that gives the great 'analog fix' - it isn't perfect and it isn't immediate and that in it's own way makes it more organic.

Same goes for writing a real handwritten letter. Try writing one and give it to someone and I guarantee they will appreciate it. It takes time and effort is put into it, means more than an email, a chat on IM or a Facebook wall post. It's a special something.

Keep the art of analog alive!

Guest Post: Caroline GiegerichGuest Post: Caroline GiegerichGuest Post: Caroline GiegerichGuest Post: Caroline Giegerich

Guest Post: Caroline Giegerich

Guest Post: Caroline Giegerich // @dailymarauder

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HOPE.  The image above was an ever-present portion of the discourse surrounding the 2008 presidential campaign, an image designed by artist Shepard Fairey.  This poster evoked a direct link to social realism and meant to contrast heavily with the exiting Bush administration.  The night Senator Obama became President Obama, I was in a midtown bar in NYC with friends.  We poured into the streets and gathered in Times Square after he was elected to express our elation.  Surely, our world was immediately going to shift to the betterment of all and we had made the difference.  I attended the inauguration in DC and felt the same elation palpable in the freezing cold Capitol air. 

I had hope in 2008.  In 2012, I have been marred with indifference, transformed by the lack of change evident in our antiquated political system.  The youth of this country were meant to evolve into volunteers of the new economy, a crowd-sourced dream of a system run by an actual democracy.  It appears, however, that a black hole of homeostasis has befallen our country.

This was my emotional state upon entering a high school classroom in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles to conduct college interviews for my alma mater. Brown University, one month ago.  I have been interviewing college candidates for Brown since 2005, beginning when I was living in New York City and continuing during my last two years in Los Angeles.  There’s a marked difference between the interviews I have so far conducted in New York City and Los Angeles, which bears mentioning.  In New York, I predominantly met with private school kids from wealthy backgrounds.  In Los Angeles, I meet children from varied wealth backgrounds and school types from private to public.  I should also note that I only manage three interviews per year so my sample set is quite low.  I mention the difference in wealth and school types simply to demonstrate that I am now meeting with a much more diverse list of high school seniors.

In this particular instance, I met one candidate that day in January who truly brought inspiration my way, re-connecting me with an all-exuberant YES WE CAN.  I hope that sharing this story can highlight something which rarely goes noticed, the amazing lives of certain teenagers in this country, who against all odds, have held on to that hope with both hands blazing into a new tomorrow.

Above is an image of my most beloved slam poet, Saul Williams.  While in college, I dabbled in the slam poetry arts, spending my time working at the local Creperie, scribbling on yellow-ruled paper and practicing in my head.  I performed rarely, afraid that my soul would be laid too bare and my vulnerability would cause internal bleeding.  My writing ignited my passion in all things from art to politics to learning Arabic slang from my Creperie co-horts.  Over 12 years later, my writing has shifted from poetry to journalism, and the fire that was scratchy pencil-markings on ruled paper has dimmed.  Such, is age.

Back to the moment when one inspirational candidate walked through the classroom door for her college interview one morning in January.  To protect her identity, I will refer to her as Sara.  I recognized in Sara immediately, a light from my distant past, a light she did not realize was blinding in its effervescence.  Sara grew up in the Watts section of Los Angeles, a neighborhood historically categorized by the Watts Riots in 1965 and gang violence since then.  In short, it’s a predominantly black neighborhood blemished by more violence than any community should see.  Sara’s mother died of drug-related issues and her father abandoned her.  Thus, she was raised by her mother’s sister and husband, which she re-named ‘grandparents.’  This, is Sara’s starting point.  One troubled neighborhood.  A difficult family background.  A community without diversity.

At the age of 12, Sara decided to start volunteering in a local library, with the instinct that her work and education there would shift her to a new perspective.  This decision demonstrates unbelievably rich character, a personality who would not settle for the challenges before her.  She is a slam poet and rapper, and after a brief search on YouTube, quite talented for her eighteen years.  From listing out Andrea Gibson as her favorite poet to passing on inspired examples of other pieces that she felt drawn to, I was mesmerized.

In a world laced with Tommy Jordan shooting holes in his 15-year old’s laptop for writing obscenities about her parents on Facebook, it is inspirational to meet a teenager like Sara.  Focused, driven, and incredibly talented with only her economic constraints to hinder her.

Knowing that I went to Brown University, most would think, that I had an easy line of ascension, a spoon firmly lodged beneath my tongue.  This was not indeed the case.  At the time of my college acceptance, my mother, recently divorced, was in college herself to become a social worker and my father abandoned ship.  I received my acceptance letter to Brown and responded with the typical overt teenage exuberance exhibited in movies like Clueless.  Teenagers don’t recognize the reality set before them immediately.  We could not afford Brown.  That said, I was not raised to be a quitter. 

Someone told me that successful people are not founded by how quickly they ascend the mountaintop but instead, based on how they maneuver around speed bumps.  My mother and I marched back into the Financial Aid office at Brown, which was not need-blind at the time, and requested more assistance.  Before Kickstarter, there was my telemarketing campaign.  I called every possible family member with one simple request: help me go to my dream school.  Help me ascend.  Turns out, determination wins.  My Brown diploma in hand, the world opened to me in ways I never thought possible.

With Sara’s special brand of enthusiasm and perseverance, she reminded me of how inspired some in this world really are. It is thought that hard work and determination don’t pay off as much as they should.  With Jeremy Lin ransacking wins left and right for the NY Knicks, teenage bloggers like Tavi Gevinson taking the fashion world by storm, and a 15-year old ascending the summit of the highest peaks in all seven continents, young people are bringing hope back into business.  So, to all young and older alike, keep fighting, keep innovating and the world will shift one square peg at a time.

To donate to a college student in need, find your match here.

Guest Post: Susi KennaGuest Post: Susi KennaGuest Post: Susi KennaGuest Post: Susi Kenna

Guest Post: Susi Kenna

Guest Post: Susi Kenna // @susikenna

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At the studio of Richard Phillips, New York, NY (01/11) standing in front of Chase Crawford (2010)

There are four things that truly inspire me:

1.     Meeting artists and visiting their studios.

2.     Building the art collection of my dreams. (Slowly, but surely.)

3.     Being around, seeing and learning about art. (Historical and contemporary.)

4.     Working with artists on projects, collaborations and exhibitions.

The desire to blend what I love, with what I do, is what led me to launch The Creatives Agency in 2010. The company focuses on different areas where artists and art markets intersect, and I concentrate on ways that I can connect the right talents to the right opportunities. I manage artists and their brands, build portfolio websites, teach social media, curate and produce special projects, and advise collectors on artwork that I whole-heartedly believe in. A big part of this means engaging with the artist community and staying up to date with what’s happening in the art world. A necessity that requires me to make time for art fairs, museum shows, gallery exhibitions and my all-time favorite––artist studio visits.

Over the last 8 or so years I’ve visited about 50 studios. Of all the different ways a person can experience art, I feel that spending time with an artist in their studio is by far the most incredible. In 2010, I became inspired to start documenting my all of my studio visits and art-world experiences, with the exception of where cameras weren’t permitted.

Depending on what the visit is like, I take between 30 and 200 photographs and edit them down to a 10, 20 or 30-piece curated set, which is then posted to my blog. A process I am meticulous about, because presenting the artist, their space and their work in a beautiful light is key. It gives other artists the confidence to let me photograph in the future, and other art lovers an interesting way to learn about new art, and the life of an artist at work in their studio.

Below you'll find my musings about the beauty of doing studio visits; a little information about each featured artist; along with a few of my most favorite pictures taken on my visits to the studios of Andrea Mary Marshall, Andrei Petrov, Barnaby Hosking, Carl Eckhoff, Emet Sosna, Jake and Dinos Chapman, JD Walsh, Julio Cesar Gonzalez, Nick Kramer, Michael Alan, Patrick Jackson, Richard Phillips, Ryan Humphrey, Steven Shein and Trong Nguyen.  

 

1. Barnaby Hosking explaining his technique of playing with surfaces, space, and light as well as their absence. The same technique he used to make the BUTTERFLIES 2010 series included in his February 2011 solo show at Charles Bank Gallery in New York. (Taken during the week of Frieze at Barnaby’s studio in East London. November 2010.)

2. Julio Cesar Gonzalez at his studio in Brooklyn, shown with Sharpie marker drawings created in collaboration with Colt Hausman. (Taken in August 2010 on my first visit to Julio’s studio to see his work and to discuss a project, later titled So So, Incredibly Beautiful.)

3. Nick Kramer surrounded by sculptures and drawings at his studio in West Beverly. (Taken on an art trip to Los Angeles in January 2011.)

4. Andrei Petrov in front of the only blank wall in his Lower East Side studio, presenting two drawings used as studies for his large-scale abstract paintings. (Taken on my third visit to Andrei’s studio in the spring of 2011.)

5. Andrea Mary Marshall being photographed in her studio by Elisa Goodkind for her feature on Style Like U. To her left is Dear John (Re-Titled, Refused Gift For A Lover) (Self Portrait), an oil painting from her 2010 nude portrait series. (Taken during her photo shoot in April 2011.)

6. Carl Eckhoff at work in his 'out of this world' studio filled with art, magazine cutouts, photographs, action figures, collectibles, books and more. (Taken on my first visit to Carl’s studio in May 2001, which was also the first time I met him.)

7.  Ryan Humphrey standing next to a custom made candelabra created for the launch of Kyle DeWoody and Manish Vora’s Grey Area. Note: this photo in no way represents the totality of Ryan’s wild Williamsburg studio. (Taken in July 2011, shortly after meeting Ryan at the Whitney Art Party and asking if I could do a visit!)

8. Emet Sosna shown in his studio with his painting, Me You Be, made from oil, ink, acrylic, silk on rice papers glue to canvas. (Taken at Emet’s Lower East Side studio in July 2011, two months before his group show at Spattered Columns in Soho.)

9. Patrick Jackson shown with a scaled model of a large doughnut-shaped sculpture he plans on building from cardboard for this next show. (Taken during my January 2011 art trip to Los Angeles.)

 

Discovering what the inside of an artist's studio looks like is what fascinates me most about doing visits. Some studios are very minimalistic, free of visual distractions and personal items. Others are wild and highly personal, filled––sometimes packed with––objects and images that represent the artist’s private life and personal style. More so than anything else, the thing that stands out to me the most is that although different artists use studios for the same purposes, I’ve yet to see two of a kind.

 

1. Studio of video and multimedia artist, JD Walsh. (Brooklyn, New York)

2. Studio of painter and photographer. Andrei Petrov. (New York, New York)

3. Studio of painter and photographer, Emet Sosna. (New York, New York)

4. Studio of painter, illustrator, sculptor and installation artist, Carl Eckhoff. (New York, New York)

5. Studio of sculptor and painter, Nick Kramer. (Los Angeles, California)

6. Studio of sculptor, furniture maker, jewelry and fashion designer, Steven Shein. (Los Angeles, California)

7. Studio of sculptor, installation and performance artist, Patrick Jackson. (Los Angeles, California)

8. Studio of painter, illustrator, sculptor and founder / director of The Living Installation, Michael Alan. (New York, New York)

9. Studio of sculptor, painter, printmaker, designer and installation artist, Ryan Humphrey. (Brooklyn, New York)

 

Doing a visit to an artist’s studio is the ideal way to see where and how they make their ideas happen––and at the same time get to know them and their artwork on a personal level. Visits reveal a behind-the-scenes look into their creative zone. A kind of experience that is meaningful on many levels, such as a better understanding of their concepts and intentions, and an awareness of how and why they use certain techniques. Often times a studio visit means ‘anything goes’, which translates to: ask anything that comes to mind. Learning background info like where their inspiration comes from, and how their work relates to where they are in life can turn out to be meaningful knowledge. No matter what, studio visits become memorable experiences that allow you to connect to the work in ways that may never be possible in a commercial, corporate or institutional setting.

 

1. Patrick Jackson holding up a sample of a material, made from actual newspaper, used to construct an earlier work titled, Newspaper Brick Wall. For his newest body of work titled House of Double, Jackson takes on creating almost identical life-size and life-like fictional figures, partially made from casts of his own hands, body and face.

2. Well known for his art-focused furniture, Steven Shein loves to experiment, such as this original concept for a floor light. Shein is also the founder and sole designer of the jewelry line, Neivz (pronounced Knives).

3. Emet Sosna’s work combines old world, high art painting traditions with contemporary subject matter, and techniques to create representational paintings the deal with questioning the meaning of self-expression. (Left: The corner of Around, a painting created from oil, ink, acrylic, palladium leaf on rice papers. Right: A custom-designed paintbrush used to create the brushstrokes found in his painting Coupe, SUV, Sedan.)

4. Pictured is a signature line drawing by Michael Alan that he creates using a mixture of mediums––many of which are featured here. Alan’s work deals in using art to document the intangible realities of our bodies and minds through abstract drawings of figures and spaces that are not meant to conform or define our way of thinking.

5. Andrea Mary Marshall reinvents herself as highly developed characters and creates self-portraits through the use of several mediums including painting, film and photography. These characters are meticulously crafted through the use of fashion, makeup, wigs, prosthetics and props. For example, 'Loretta Minx' smokes Marlboro cigarettes. One of several elements repeated throughout Andrea's paintings, photography and short films that feature the 'Loretta' character.

6. Jake and Dinos Chapman's art became notorious by way of 'Sensation'––the Saatchi sponsored exhibit that Mayor Giuliani tried to shut down at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1999. Over a decade later, The Chapmans continue to make iconic sculptures, prints and installations––namely Hell and Fucking Hell––both of which contain tens of thousands of 2-inch-high figures depicting gruesome scenes. Around 2002 they began portraying McDonald’s characters as a way of examining contemporary culture, a theme that has continued to appear in much of their work since. This image, taken at their studio outside of London, shows figures that combine both themes, which will be used in part to create an upcoming installation.

7. Much like Carl Eckhoff’s artwork, his studio is saturated in neon colors, dazzling patterns and humorous tidbits taken from pop culture. Mixed in with current events, classic books and an overall appreciation for life. The pile in the picture may look random to some, but it is actually a pile of resources, content, materials and information used as inspiration by Eckhoff when working in his studio.

8. Julio Cesar Gonzalez went from studying how to make film and video using ‘machines’, to making machines inspired by the elements of film and video. Gonzalez’s work combines light, color, sound, motion, and moving images to create kinetic sculptures and rotograms (photographs that spin on the wall). For So So, Incredibly Beautiful, an experimental collaboration with artist Carlos Charlie Perez, he created 5 kinetic sculptures using LED neon flex, aluminum, wood and machinery. Above is picture of Liquid Neon (Round & Round 1) while still a work in progress in his studio. It, along with its corresponding photograph Ghost of Liquid Neon, are the largest and most significant pieces from his 2010 body of work.

9. In 2002, Trong Nguyen began a long-term project called Humanitarian Not Heros (HNH). Operating like a consumer brand does, Nguyen takes on a role he describes as “artist-as-company” and creates limited edition consumable objects-as-art, that get branded differently each year under the HNH label. These objects, which range from t-shirts to minimalist graffiti kits, are distributed and made available for purchase at participating locations. The above image shows Nguyen flipping through the 2004 product, 200 Year Calendar, 1986––a paper calendar and flipbook designed to depict a killer asteroid striking the earth.


 

ANDREA MARY MARSHALL -- New York, NY -- http://www.andreamarymarshall.com

ANDREI PETROV -- New York, NY (Lower East Side) -- http://www.andreipetrov.com/

BARNABY HOSKING -- London, England -- www.barnabyhosking.com

CARL ECKHOFF -- New York, NY (Inwood) -- http://www.elwaproductions.com/carl-eckhoff/

CARLOS CHARLIE PEREZ -- Brooklyn, NY (Greenpoint) -- http://www.carloscharlieperez.com

EMET SOSNA -- New York, NY (Lower East Side) -- http://www.emetsosna.com/

JAKE AND DINOS CHAPMAN -- London, England -- http://www.jakeanddinoschapman.com/

JD WALSH -- Brooklyn, NY (Williamsburg) -- http://jdwalsh.com/

JULIO CESAR GONZALEZ -- Brooklyn, NY (Greenpoint) -- http://creat.rs/gqB7Jn

NICK KRAMER -- Los Angeles, CA (West Beverly) -- http://nickkramer.blogspot.com/

MICHAEL ALAN -- New York, NY (TriBeCa) -- http://www.michaelalanart.com/art/

PATRICK JACKSON -- Los Angeles, CA (Boyle Heights) -- http://patrickjacksonblog.blogspot.com/

RICHARD PHILLIPS -- New York, NY (Chelsea) -- http://www.gagosian.com/artists/richard-phillips

RYAN HUMPHREY -- Brooklyn, NY (Williamsburg) -- http://humphreyindustries.com/

STEVEN SHEIN -- Los Angeles, CA (West Beverly) -- http://www.stevenshein.net and http://www.neivz.com/

TRONG NGUYEN -- Brooklyn, NY (Greenpoint) -- http://www.cameandwent.com/tgnprojects.html [His upcoming solo show: Domestic God____ opens Friday, September 9 at Coleman Burke Gallery in NYC.]

Guest Post: Seth Werkheiser

Guest Post: Seth Werkheiser // @sethw

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What inspires me.

Seeing friends who picked up a camera years ago, just as a hobby, but are now professional photographers. Or pro photographers who were out of work, but instead of whining, they filled their lives with other things, took up manual labor, menial jobs, and did what they had to do to feed their family. That's inspiring.

I find much inspiration from photographers, namely James Allen Walker and Bradley Spitzer. Not just from the images they create that make for easy reblogging on Tumblr, but the conversations. I've had solid conversations with these people, and I'm always left inspired. 

Friends who've hit rock bottom but refuse to quit. I find inspiration in their resolve, in refusing to be a victim, and getting on with it. Doing work that has to be done. The sewage and waste at the bottom, it's easy to wallow there in self-pity, lord knows I've wanted to on occasion, but seeing friends go through the fire. That inspires me.

I find the following lyrics inspiring:
"I will rise again" from Love as Arson, by Converge.
"You're not getting under my skin," from The Anthem of Angry Brides, by Norma Jean.

Ev Bouge was a big inspiration to me, in getting rid of all my stuff and working remotely. Seth Godin inspires me, in that he posts something everyday that knocks my socks off. John Gruber of Daring Fireball inspires me, and Jason Kottke, two blog pioneers who do what they do online, without tricks and gimmicks. They just write darn well.

The video 'Dark side of the lens' inspires me. The line, "if there's no future in it, at least it's a present worth remembering" kills me every time.

During my travels, I always make a point to get next to large bodies of water. When I stood next to Lake Pontchartrain, in New Orleans, LA, it humbled me. All that space, all that water, nothing on the horizon, the breeze... it froze me in my tracks. The enormity of that scene, what it took to get there, in quitting my dream job at AOL Music, leaving the city I loved, giving up owning a bed. Those bodies of water inspire me. 

Massive amounts of water, which reminds me of how small I am in this world. On this planet. In this country. On the internet. And not to be discouraged by it, but to work within those limitations. I am inspired anytime I get asked to do an interview, or write a guest post. I am blown away that any of my travel adventures have inspired anyone to take risks and start their own adventures. I can be going through some heavy stuff, but then an email shows up, from someone I don't know, but they tell me they've read my stuff for years, and they decided to up and move across the country. Or quit their job. Or take a chance. That. That inspires me. That keeps me going.

Everyday presents another chance to be inspired, and even when I'm not inspired, I get to put on some music, play air-drums, give myself chills, take a walk, grin like an idiot and get on with life.

That is what inspires me.

Guest Post: Craig Elimeliah

Guest Post: Craig Elimeliah // @craigelimeliah

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I am not a fitness enthusiast nor am I even remotely aware of what I should be doing physically to not die at 65 but what I do love about the Nike Fuel Band is the awareness of hitting my goal and wanting to remain somewhat more active than I would normally be. 

 On an average day, without thinking about it I rack up approximately 2000 Fuel points (steps, calories, distance) however I have raised my goal to 3000 and make sure I hit that and when I do it makes me feel better and since I started doing so I can definitely feel a difference. What is great is that you can just get up and walk around the block, use the stairs or whatever to get you to that goal. It is a small step but a significant step in getting normal folks like me to pay a bit more attention to physical activity and reaching daily goals that will probably pay off in the long run.

Wearable computing passively collecting valuable data to positively motivate, that inspires me.