If you're in Brooklyn Tomorrow Night...

This might be a fun thing to go to!



Recently I discovered Remed's work through the Brooklynite Gallery and I really like it.






Aside from Fafi, Claw Money, and Miss Van, I don't really know much about street art, and I don't pretend to. I'm friends with Gaia , and I have respect for what he does and like a lot of his work. Mostly, I respect his ability to hustle. It's really awesome to see one of your peers get shows in galleries on the other side of the country you know.



It seems that there's this dispute about "street art" being in the gallery, people questioning if it belongs there or whatever, but art is art. If its more accessible to people because they see it every day on their way to work or school, that's awesome! As I designer and fine artist, I know that as a young kid I was influenced by what I saw in my neighborhood and around my city.
Having that work in a gallery setting gives artists an opportunity to be recognized, make some money, and be exposed to a different audience. Max and I went to see Os Gemeos at Deitch gallery and that was a really wonderful experience.

I'm not going to be back in TriState area for another week and a half, but when I get back I'd really like to check out the show.

Wyclef on Bruce

It's going to be nice to go back for a little while.

spectacles

I am so tired of having to wear these glasses everyday.
While the raybans are awesome, they're really heavy.
I hope I can wear contacts again soon. UGH UGH.
Maybe I should get these frames.





Also, I had the best weekend of 2009, thus far!


Are you watching the Oscars? I am, and I really don't think those teeth belong to Anne Hathaway.

big things

I just got a nice check from the MICA Raw Art Sale. This was the first time I'd ever sold any of my work.

It's a kind of wonderfully unusual feeling knowing that people you don't know appreciate your work enough to buy it and have it in his or her possession. The pieces that sold were the ones I was most proud of (not the one pictured in the previous blog)
so that was nice.

Also exciting, I know I'm going to be traveling some where second semester next year, but I don't know just where yet.
Getting Global rules.

www.melissabarat.com

My website finally launched!


Of course I'm still in the process of documenting and uploading, but a few things are up now and they're definitely worth a look. I'm really proud of finally getting stuff together on to the world wide innernetz.

I can't thank Anthony and Bryan enough for all their help. One of the things that I love about being at art school is that you get to meet so may talented kids. It's always really exciting when they end up being awesome friends as well.

Check out this video of Anthony made of particle flow, I'm pretty sure all of this is from a program he wrote. Crazy!


Perlin Flow Field Particle System from anthony mattox on Vimeo.

Parra

Lately, I've been really interested in the idea of integrating hand-lettering into illustrative design, I love how Parra accomplishes this.

I really dig his color pallet and and variation of forms. For whatever reason I find them to be really relatable.
Fecal Face visited his studio awhile back, it's always interesting to see how other designers work, especailly when they're awesome, established, and their work is everywhere.
Rockwell Clothing

This video is interesting.

I should really go to Europe.

I meant to ask this Saturday,

but CHRIS BROWN, WHY!?!?

Feride Uslu

Feride Uslu is really great. I've always coveted her beauty line, Uslu Airlines and lately I've been reading blog on the Colette site. But anyway, I thought these photographs were really beautiful. I love the colors and shapes she uses on the faces of the models, especially in relation to the head coverings and social context.







I think for my birthday I'm going to treat myself to her GLOW IN THE DARK (!) nail polish inspired by Busy P from Ed Banger. It's comes with an *exclusive* mix as well!

Total Win Win.

never not working

I'm selling a few monoprints at the MICA art market this weekend. This is one in a series of five.



They're collagraph prints with a view hand embellishments, including but not limited to "shin-cole" (I am spelling it phonetically but it's when you adhere bits of paper onto your print before applying ink) and sewing.

I'm happy to sell them. If I didn't they'd just be rotting away in a drawer somewhere. They're certainly not an embodiment of my aesthetic by any means, but they were a good means of growth through experimentation.


Mom came down, and we spent the day together which was very nice.
She brought all sorts of treats from home, including but not limited to EMPANADAS (!!!), my nameplate necklace, and assorted bath products.

I spoke about design at department function today and that was a great experience.


I'll be going to Manhattan next weekend (finally), after of course, Treasure Fingers & Blackstarr on Friday.

PSYCHIC FRIENDS UP AND RUNNING!

Finally up! PsychicFriends.org

Work in progress, as I'm sure you would assume.

In the mean time, my type book is finished (and looking RAD). I'm learning about 19 century innovators and writing papers about them. And trying to get my own personal site together.


GETTIN BUSY KEEPIN BUSY

and it rules!

I'm surprised we didn't get phone calls about this

My Mom usually lets me and Nick know when CBS Sunday Morning gets hip.

-->

Lately I've had an insatiable craving for empanadas.

YUM.

Estelle's grammy ensemble was so dope, Ye's haircut is almost Coming To America status.



I don't hate it.


Also, WELCOME BACK BLINK 182.

Mike D, Thanks For Everything.

So I've been working and working and working and working. But it's great.
Today I woke up super early to go to the studio, and some grad student had the best shared iTunes.

I listened to the Beastie Boys for 6 hours straight. Hello Nasty. Win.



In the winter, my lips are constantly inadequately moisturized, as are my hands and everything else exposed to the Baltimore tundra. But lately, I keep biting my lip, because I keep loosing my chapsticks.

Strangers think I am biting my lip at them and the situation just gets very uncomfortable.

No my friend, it is not an innuendo, I just need to step up my Burt's Bees game. Fail.

Clubs in Baltimore are funny, I guess clubs everywhere are funny. I wish Spankrock would just have shows all the time. I went to see Ninjasonik(?) tonight and Japanther. I can't tell if Ninjasonik is serious or not. Japanther (a fave of my crew, I still don't get it), just made me think that's what happens when you're GFA and a grown ass person.


BUT ANYWAY, it was good to get out to a show again, and potentially get my dance on, and finally wear my shiny AA pants that've been hiding in my drawer since October.

working working working

IM BUSY DOING SOMETHING!


Maybe going out tomorrow? Maybe working tomorrow?

It's the weekend y'all, enjoy yourselves!

win

just when you thought chromeo couldn't get any better

BARBARA KRUGER IS FROM NEWARK!

In addition to all sorts of really wonderful conclusions I've come to recently, the most exciting, my realization of how much I love design.

I just want to get better at design. I want to learn more about design. I want to continue making beautiful things, become more innovative, continue to outdo my self with each project, or at least attempt to. What's really exciting about all that, is that I'm making a career out of it. And that rules.

I got this Barbara Kruger book today at the library, I'm really excited to read it.



I've always had an interest in her use of type, but really haven't looked much further into her work. I had more of an appreciation Supreme ads after I first saw her work. Surprisingly enough, homegirl was born in NEWARK!

I'm really hyped on the type II project I've been working on, in addition to this thievery corporation thing, even though it's caused Lebonese Blonde to be stuck in my head (thanks Zach Braff) for the past two weeks.

Jenna just sent me this, I had to LOL.

uncle dave, you're the best

Uncle Dave, Myself, Uncle Bob circa 1990.

3 Months and Counting til seeing Bruce Springsteen. LIVE. !!!

vampire weekend kid sister

Some pictures from Summer Stage at Central Park with Vampire Weekend and Kid Sister. One of my favorite memories of last summer.