reader: lee isherwood

/

We love meeting our readers! Send us your profile and be featured on the blog or in a future issue. >>>

Country: Australia

How are you creative in your daily life? From 9-5, I am a graphic designer. But it doesn't stop there. I am constantly embarking on new creative projects, whether it be designing my own jewellery, experimenting with typography or creating unique knickknacks for my friends. I guess you could say that creativity is my form of escapism.

What are you most curious about? Where amazing ideas come from.

What is your most prized possession? I have a small box which by another standard would be considered full of junk. One item inside this 'junk box' is a ticket my dad gave me from his first train trip to work 40 years ago. It is khaki green and all worn around the edges with a small hole punched out of the corner.

What is your favourite letter of the alphabet and why? A lowercase t in roundhand calligraphy. What is usually two straight lines becomes an elegant beautiful letter.

What is your favourite colour? Gun metal grey.

What is your preferred creative tool? Adobe illustrator (and my mind of course!)

What is your favourite food? Vegemite and beetroot on toast.

LEE'S BLOG >>> 

Lee sent UPPERCASE a love letter >>>

a twitter road trip

/

​Dale and Michelle are Calgary-based photographers Roth & Ramberg (and UPPERCASE subscribers) who have devised quite an interesting photographic road trip concept guided by the Twitter followers. I'm going to paste their project info below so that you can appreciate their language and jargon...

WHAT’S YER 20?



Breaker, breaker. 2012 marks our 20th annual Roth and Ramberg calendar. Can you believe we’ve been on the road this long?

Now if you’re old enough to remember the classic trucking movie Smokey and the Bandit then you’ll know “What’s yer 20?” is CB radio trucker-talk for “What’s your location?”


WHAT'S THE 20 FOR THE 20TH CALENDAR?

Glad you asked, Rubber Ducky. We're going truckin'. And you're at the wheel. Starting on Friday, July 6th we’re headin' on a road trip from Chicago to the world's largest truckstop in Walcott, Iowa for the Trucker's Jamboree on July 12-13th. And you’ll steer us to shoot locations along the way. 

We're calling it #tweettrucking. Just like CB radio, everyone on Twitter has a handle (ours is @rothandramberg), so we'll be asking you for directions on there and on Facebook.


YOU TWEET, WE SHOOT.

Should we go right or left? Do we go through Minooka or Warrenville? How far we drive, where we eat – even random stops – you're guiding us and we follow your advice and find the photos for our Calendar. We'll post our '20' using Instamapper, so you can find us no matter how lost we get. 


NOBODY RIDES FOR FREE.

To thank you for your help, we're trading tweets for treats, including t-shirts, trucker hats, and even our beautiful CB radio.  So "keep your ears on" to twitter, facebook, and our blog for updates, photos, pie, videos, coffee, pie, PRIZES, more pie, and sweet trucker swag.

And if you don’t want to drive, we still hope you’ll come along for the scenery.

See you on the open road.

Dale & Michele

10,000 of anything is a lot of something

/

Earlier this week, our little Twitter feed suddenly lept from 9078 followers to 10,011 (and counting). It seems like just yesterday that I composed my first Tweet, while waiting for the inaugural issue of UPPERCASE to arrive with the delivery truck... Oh Twitter, you grew up so fast. And now, with UPPERCASE at issue 14 (and issue 15 and 16 in the assignment and planning stages), the magazine is firmly in its "teenage"​ issue numbers. 

The pleasure of being 10,000th​ goes to Tiger in a Jar. I've followed their videos through Kinfolk and Design Mom, so I am happy to send them a complimentary subscription and pennant. Welcome, Julie and Matt from Tiger in a Jar. (Below is a lovely video they've created, a visit to the shop March in San Francisco.) I've also drawn a winner from all of our followers on Twitter for a free subscription and pennant and will be introducing that winner soon.

And please know that I value each and every one of your tweets and follows—you've helped the magazine grow! Thank you.

reader pic: marta spendowska

/

Illustrator and pattern designer Marta Spendowska shared this photo with us on Twitter.​ This is the selection of subscription cards included in issue 13 and issue 14. Please check out Marta's portfolio—there's some good work over there. >>>

Here's a closeup of the subscription card artwork for issue 14: I scanned some Victorian calling cards from my collection and added "Subscribe" as well as the message "We make this magazine for you" on the top card. "Ever Thine" is original to the bottom card. Each copy of the magazine includes both of these cards; if you're already a subscriber, please send or give one to a friend​ and help spread the love. Thanks!

place: herber city utah

/

In Issue #13 Jonathan Shipley wrote about how weather influences the artistic community in Seattle. We thought it would be interesting to ask a subscriber how their environment effects art making. Eva Jorgensen of Sycamore Street Press agreed to share her community.

“Heber City is a small farming community in a mountain valley. It’s grown quite a bit in the past couple of decades, and quite a few “outsiders” have moved in (including us). But there still isn’t much of an art scene. For the most part, people seem to be into things like raising livestock, gardening, rodeoing and camping. They really take advantage of our beautiful surroundings, which is something I’ve been trying to do as well. ”
— Eva Jorgensen
“We live in a high mountain desert. Our winters are long with lots of snow, but we get beautiful sun all year round. And it’s dry...no need to worry about humidity and mold. I love the weather here. I only wish the spring and fall were a bit longer and the winter a bit shorter.”
— Eva
“The bright blue sunny skies motivate me to get outdoors and really appreciate nature, as cliché as that might sound. Every morning I go on a walk with my daughter, and we see all kinds of flora and fauna (juniper trees, wild flowers, mountains, foxes, horses, and more) as well as lots of open space and sweeping views. I can definitely see the influence in my work-bright colors, simple white backgrounds, frequent botanical and animal imagery.”
— Eva

Share your UPPERCASE place! Contact Erin to participate.

​

Inspiration juice

/

We received a lovely email from reader, Maria Carluccio telling us just how much she loves UPPERCASE.

"I always save my mag for late at night, after all is quiet. I get my inspiration juice and then the next day I'm all ready to try and create."


She wasn't shy about sharing her UPPERCASE affection in a recent interview promoting her new project. Wall Stories, a line of repositionable fabric stickers, introduces art and storytelling in ways that encourage kids to be creative. The mural sets come with ideas from Maria to inspire kids to create their own stories.


Subscriber Profile: Amanda Kelshaw

/

How are you creative in your daily life? Being a very project-focussed person by nature, I'm often frustrated by need to really nail any one creative pursuit at a time...so last week seemed to be about learning about letterpress, next week I'm sharpening up my CS5 skills. And it was vintage Vogue reproductions prior to that.


What are you most curious about? What makes people tick.

What is your most prized possession? I recently stumbled across (and promptly grabbed, well, paid for that is) a set of pretty lovely 1960 'Home' Magazines. It boasts brand new types of linoleum, appliances and project homes from the time. An absolute treasure trove.

What is your favourite letter of the alphabet and why? A little biased, but I do find a good serif capital A to be pretty satisfying. It seems quite intent on letting you know that there's only really one for it to be properly formed and therefore legible.

What is your favourite colour? Grey. Yes, gunmetal. Cliched but true.

What is your preferred creative tool? A close call between my hands and my eyes. When limited by time (and/or small people), I sometimes Samantha nose-twitch an idea until I can get my hands on the project in real life!

www.finetoothcomb.net.au

 

Are you a subscriber who would like to share a profile with our readers?
Visit our participate page to find out how.

Structube

/

When Chryssi Tsoupanarias emailed me this week I received a lovely surprise. "I've been an UPPERCASE subscriber since the very first issue, I love it! It's a really beautiful publication," she writes. A graphic designer for the Canadian furniture retailer Structube, Chryssi has made good use of her back issues: as attractive stacks of magazines in the photos for their latest catalogue. "We've used issues of UPPERCASE in some of the images for our Summer campaign—these will be on our website, in our catalogue (online and also printed in-store) as well as in ads featured in home decor magazines (such as House & Home, Style at Home)."

I love how edited the photos are and happy to see the magazine is appreciated in this way. I can see myself at this white desk, below, with my laptop...

 

Structube has stores in Quebec and Ontario and will be making their way into Western Canada later this year with a store in Edmonton.

(The cover of issue #14 would go really nicely with that grey couch and green accent pillow, too!)

Subscriber Profile: Emeli Eva Reiart

/

Available in Emeli's Etsy shop. How are you creative in your daily life? I am creative in everything I do during the day. I was a high school art teacher in my old life but now I am a stay-at-home mom with two cool kids and a giant art studio. I knit, cook, quilt, build, repair, adopt, teach art, sew and create. When I was home with my first child ten years ago I started a silk screening business and now home again I love making wacky art pieces for my etsy shop. I am presently renovating my old barn into a studio to begin a small art school.

What are you most curious about? What is exactly going on in the minds of my children, how personality develops and how create acceptance and tolerance. No biggies.

What is your most prized possession? My photographs. Also, my daughter's big, grungy teddy bear that was mine when I was little. He comes to life at night to protect against monsters & boogymen. He is very important around here.

What is your favorite letter? M. I love the softness of "M" and I love the way it sounds. MMMMM. It is also the first letter of my daughter's name-Maggie. It feels good to write it too. There was a wonderful Sesame Street segment about Me and my "M" that I still hum daily.  
 
What is your favourite colour? Oatmeal. But I couldn't live without orangy red or industrial yellow.
 
What is your preferred creative tool? I love Sharpies. I was diagnosed with focal dystonia in my hands while in university to become a medical illustrator so that dream was squashed. While I tried to reconcile myself with the fact that I could no longer use my hands for fine motor skills such as detailed drawing or writing I found that I could still use large pens and large sketchbook to sketch and draw so the Sharpie became my tug boat and my work became large and messy and so much better! Also, the computer. I collect images and ideas and have a major addiction to my Pintrest account!
 
What is your favourite food? Baked Oysters. The best is with blue cheese and hot sauce baked till the the cheese bubbles. Or with fresh ginger and lime. Oh my gosh. So good.
 
Links
emelireiart.blogspot.com
etsy/shop/dangercatbyemeli

Drippy babies

/

I hope you are as inspired as I am by all the different perspectives that UPPERCASE exposes us to. I love rubbing virtual shoulders with people and coming away with a new way of looking at things. When I read the information subscriber Dan Barry sent in about his first solo exhibition in Europe the phrase 'drippy babies' stood out. In my world, it often means a mess that I need to clean up, especially since my one-year-old has taken to drinking out of the dog's dish. Fortunately, I have a new frame of reference based on Dan's alluring work.

MondoPOP Gallery (Rome, Italy) presents:
Combinatoria
A solo exhibition of artworks by Dan Barry

Opening Reception: Saturday, May 5th, 2012 from 7-10pm
On View: May 5th, 2012 – June 2nd, 2012

Combinatoria is comprised of several groupings of small mixed media works–ranging from anthropomorphic botanicals to drippy babies.

 

Dispatch from London: Venice

/

Actually, Venice Shone is the lovely name of this lovely person I had the pleasure of meeting at the Ray Stitch Meet and Greet in London a few weeks ago. You may recall a previous post about her work here.

In the photo above, Venice holds up the pretty print of a dress drawing that she gave me. Thank you, Venice! I'm going to hang it in my basement sewing room for some colour and inspiration.

I love drawings and paintings of things. Venice does these so very well:

Excerpts from some children's books illustrated by Venice Shone and some curious candies.

Subscriber Profile: Clare Corfield Carr

/

 

How are you creative in your daily life?
I draw in lines shapes and patterns mainly, with a bit of collage. I've always drawn. It's a relaxing process for me.

What are you most curious about?
How some illustrators become so successful and the different areas you can apply your skills into the industry. How couples interact with each other, and people's mannerisms.

What is your most prized possession?
My perfume-Oriens by Van Cleef & Arpels. A little bit of heaven.

What is your favourite letter of the alphabet and why?
Many satisfying words begin with F.

What is your favourite colour?
Midnight Blue.

What is your preferred creative tool?
Fineliner!

What is your favourite food?
Chicken and leeks with a bit of thick gravy.  

Link
clarecorfieldcarr.blogspot.com/

Are you a subscriber who would like to share a profile with our readers?
Visit our participate page to find out how.

Dispatch from London: Ray Stitch (part 2)

/

I'm home in Calgary again and trying to take it easy since I really pushed myself on this trip and caught a cold at the end of it. Our home's internet, TV and phones were out for the past day so that was actually quite useful in contributing to some down time.

As promised, here are some of the fine folks who attended the Ray Stitch meet and greet.

From top to bottom: Ray Stitch is Rachel Hart's wonderful shop. That's her behind the counter in the teal sweater. / Excellent food for the event. / Lots of people came to say hi! I'm sorry, in my fog I have forgotten some names. Here's Janet Clare with her book, Freya & Fred. / Alex and Pui-Yee browse the latest issues. / That's Francisca Prieto (profiled in issue #12) and me. We look related, I think! / More details of the event and fine folks who supported it by braving traffic and weather.

Subscriber Profile: Caitlin Murray

/

Print avaliable in Caitlin's Etsy shop.

How are you creative in your daily life?
In my thoughts. In my blog. In my day job as a graphic designer & designer of kids clothes. In the crazy games I play with my my nephew. In the curious way I look at the things. Oh and I make some pretty creative meals for my cat Bloggie too.

What are you most curious about?
Artistic stuff and what Bloggie gets up to when I’m not around

What is your most prized possession?
It varies, right now it’s my mum’s watch…because she died last month

What is your favourite letter of the alphabet and why?
A. Because it’s the start, and things have to start somewhere.

What is your favourite colour?
Blue to wear. Red to look at.

What is your preferred creative tool?
Pencil. Pen. My computer

What is your favourite food?
Anything seafood...oh and saganaki rocks!

Links
www.peskyenterprises.com
www.etsy.com/shop/peskyenterprises

Are you a subscriber who would like to share a profile with our readers?
Visit our participate page to find out how.

Subscriber Profile: Cheryl Sorg

/

A personalized thumbprint portrait by Cheryl Sorg.

How are you creative in your daily life?  
Well, I am an artist, and I spend much of my free time (that time when the kiddos are at school, that is) in my studio, cutting apart bits of text and creating all manner of forms with the snippets.

What are you most curious about?
I am most curious about the workings of the brain.

What is your favourite letter of the alphabet and why?
That is a tough question! Hmmm....I'm not sure. But I can tell you my least favorite, as someone obsessed with playing Boggle on my iPhone, is Q! That Q always messes up my game! I have to confess that when a Q appears on the board, sometimes I just start a whole new game...lame, I know, but true...

What is your favourite colour?
Grey! I love its neutrality and its infinite variations—not just from light to dark, but how it can be blue-ish, green-ish, purple-ish. My favorite is a grey with a teal cast to it.  

What is your preferred creative tool?
Texts and scissors. I love simple, low-tech materials.

www.cherylsorg.com
www.etsy.com/shop/cherylsorg

See more in Cheryl's Etsy shop.

Are you a subscriber who would like to share a profile with our readers? Visit our participate page to find out how.

Weekend Reading

/

photo by Kristin TheissKristin has fit her vintage cameras into a suitcase. How very UPPERCASE. {You will find an owl t shirt design from Kristin's company KLTworks in issue #11.}

Andrea Jenkins' vintage camera collection

Would you like to start your own collection of vintage photo gear? Hula Seventy's Andrea Jenkins has an excellent article in the current issue #12. These three photos above show a portion of her amazing selection.

Love Letters

/

I had a cold and was feeling run down, so I hadn't been downtown to my studio for a few days. When I opened my mailbox, it was overflowing with an amazing assortment of envelopes and small parcels. I instantly felt better!

Inside this beautifully addressed envelope with Australian postage was an actual love letter from Lee of bluebirdmill.blogspot.com. In addition to a gushing letter, Lee included some ephemera, an old map, and a photo of herself. I'm blushing!

Laura Schwammann decorated her envelope which contained a Valentine (which made me think of issue 11 with its themes of linocut/sharp and labour-intensive art-making and owl motif).

Christina Crook, one of our writers (most recently she wrote the feature about Angela Ritchie Ace Camps and Creative Retreats in the current issue #12) sent one of her simple and lovely greeting cards. Each contains a vintage embroidered patch. (They're available on her Etsy shop here. Please visit her shop to see better quality images—it's a great concept for a unique card.)

Mister Edwards sent a fun bag of candy and stickers. (Check out this Crap Book - that's right, no S on scrap!)

Janae Easton of Platypusfile sent a soft owl paperweight/beanbag and some prints of her artwork. Finley is enjoying playing with the little owl, but our dog Percy is awfully tempted, too!

And that's not all that was in this incredible mailbox haul! There's a new book by Gemma Correll, an activity journal to document What I Wore Today, a postcard from Eight Hour Day, and a letter from Carolee Wheeler with some tiny stamps and beautiful handwriting that needs further investigation. A publication from Grow Books entitled Pushie, Jr. And a postcard from Stephanie Levy.

Really, you've all spoiled me. I don't remember a February 14th when I had better Valentines than these. Thank you!!!