ok, i’m sure excited for this years ByDesign Event at the Northwest Film Forum. This is my favorite event in Seattle and I’ve been attending since 2007, but I missed last year. I love motion designers and titling sequence - if I weren’t a graphic designer, I’d be a motion designer. I love stop-motion, classic film titles from Saul Bass, tv intros like Six Feet Under, old Comedy Central and MTV intros, fresh work from the local shop Digital Kitchen…

So this year’s line-up is amazing! Check out some of the reels and work of some of the featured screens and panels this year:

Danny Yount REEL 2009

UK based art collective, The Light Surgeons

The Light Surgeons Show Reel 2008 from THE LIGHT SURGEONS on Vimeo.

Saul Bass - The Man With The Golden Arm

Charles and Ray Eames - The Powers of Ten

I worked on this logo and brand treatment for Nimmy, Saustra & Tallie Designs in exchange for a wonderful one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry! Ms.DaNelle “Nikki” Jenkins makes jewelry that is know for it’s uniqueness. Speaking of which, the unique name of her jewelry design studio came to her in a dream. Nimmy is an Indian word for smiling eyes and from the dirt (creation) and happiness. Saustra reminds her of sister and sisterhood and dance. And Tallie is like little one or tag-along and stands for her more playful, childlike side.

Cranberry Brooch, Elephants on Safari necklace & earrings

Her jewelry is very organic and flowing as is she, a Women’s Health Administrator by day and mixed media jewlry artist, Bali dancer, and model by… whenever she has time. Nikki’s work is very unique and inspiring! Check out her esty site for more of her wares

Happy new year 2010, originally uploaded by Selva Ganapathy.

Yes!! The new year is upon us and I’m pretty excited to say good-bye to 2009 and hello to 2010!! 2009 was full of personal growth and many learnings for me… I realized my creative talents are not limited to visual design but I also enjoy and am capable in code and technical creative problem solving as well and I love it! I also learned how to better work with other creatives, follow a lead for deeper understanding of a creative project, and test ideas more deeply to find the best solution to visual and technical projects. I also enjoyed reaching out to other talented creatives across the board in photography, design, programming, idea generation, and the written word. Really creating a closeness that results in the exchange of wisdom and even more creativeness!

There are so many artist in the world, exploring their talents, sharing their gifts, and discovering new pathways of self expression. I love getting together with other artists and hearing their journeys and lessons, failures and successes. And the beauty of this town I live… Seattle… is that it’s chock-full of creatives honing their crafts and forming communities of creativity and unity. Perhaps this is why I heart Seattle so!

(2+0+1+0 = 3 Awesome Months On Flickr, Sept-Dec ‘09), originally uploaded by potophlayer.

And I have started journey in personal health; in my mindset, eating habits, and physical strength. For years I have practiced mediation and being on a spiritual journey for understanding of my spiritual truth… and towards the end of 2009 I attended a yoga class with a friend. I always expected yoga to be a missing piece of my journey but, I honestly fallen in love with yoga. I am so much more connected to it than I expected… it’s such a beautiful method of self-control, meditation, connection to God, connection to the others, it’s a wonderful discovery for me. And my eating habits and daily routines have also be touched by this awareness and discipline I have taken on. Not to mention I want to run a triathlon in 2010! Not totally random, I’ve been a runner most of my life (did take a bit of a break in the past few years, just getting back into it this year) but I have been challenged with swimming in lakes… so much harder than the traditional pool swimming of my youth in Ohio. So I wanted to push myself and take swimming lessons and put for the effort to become a better, stronger swimmer. Then in my mind, I keep hearing a voice saying, “Run a triathlon, Amy Lee!” So there it is… gonna get right on that for 2010.

Well, thanks for reading and can’t wait to post more artwork and get right back into Seattle inspired art and artists in 2010. Bring it on!!!

PiG PaRaDe FoR a HaPPY NeW YeaR, originally uploaded by insashi.

Our first Seattle mural hostel, the City Hostel is alive and well! They had an awesome opening, that I sadly could not attend, on August 14th @ the Belltown Art Walk. I hear it was madness! Luckily the wonderful Bedlam Coffee took some yummy photos of the rooms for us to enjoy!

So you want more?!? You can find videos of the rooms being creatively mastered by the 47 AMAZING Seattle Artists and more juicy goodness on the Hostel Art Collective blog site. Find out more about the City Hostel like rates, reservations, and how to get your hands on some of this amazing original art too! I can’t wait to go pick out my room for my next in-city vacation!

City Hostel Opening (photos via BedlamCoffee's Flickr)

I’m locked up at Ace Hotel in Portland OR having a creative retreat of sorts. My iMac, printer, scanner, all the goods are here and I’m working on my blog. All day Monday has been busy and we even got out to see the Pearl District and stroll Burnside… Portland is pretty cool and this hotel is right in the in the heart of downtown.

I’ll post some pics later

So the past few weeks have been awesome for me. I’ve spend some wonderful quality time with some very cool Seattliettes at some pretty exclusive functions. On Tuesday May 20th, heard Dr.Iyanla (pronounce I-Ya-Ha-la) Vanzant speak at Benaroya Hall. She’s the author of One Day My Soul Just Opened Up and In the Meantime, among other books, those were the two I bought after the event.

Her speech was titled, The Ways We Love, she was very open, super-down-to-earth, “chile let me tell you” in the sweetest spiritual sort of way. Every story, every example, it all came back to you. Her story about her sister dying awhile ago and her not haven’t spoken to her for 3 years. She honored her by remembering what she had taught her. She taught her how to tie her headwrap and her skirt her native African culture. She spoke about forgiveness, unconditional love, and loving yourself, taking care of yourself. Integrity. Principles.

This is a calm video of Iyanla, but it really does sum up her beauty and raw essence. I’m really on this journey too and it’s so exciting to get to know yourself. And art is such a big part of that for me. I sometime feel like a dweeb because when people ask me what I’m doing on the weekend or what I do for fun… it’s pretty much always art. It’s fun actually. It’s all good.

After the event, a group of us went to Wild Ginger right across the street. We had wonderful satays and great conversations about our life experiences and journeys in spirituality and christianity. Very empowering and balancing to think about your spirit.