3 + 1 = 4

Five things from the past two weeks

Five things from the past two weeks . . .

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1:

Carly is pregnant!

A little girl will be joining our family in August.

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2:

I’m going to start posting every week instead of every other week. I want to share more and curate less.

I’m sprouting new roots, hoping to make connections.

Committing to a weekly rhythm makes me a little uneasy (What if I don’t have enough stuff?! Everyone’s gonna know I’m a fraud!!) but I think that’s good.

I intentionally set up my design classes to move through projects pretty quickly. I tell my students this will probably make them uncomfortable but a certain amount of speed helps the creative process. There’s not enough time to overthink or second-guess yourself. In class I say things like, “Done is better than perfect,” and, “Quantity helps produce quality.”

I’m going to start taking my own advice.

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3:

The biggest thing I’ve missed from not being on social media is watching other artists work. I forgot how motivating and encouraging it can be to watch other people make stuff.

Kent Peterson

has been making incredible stamps and inspired me to make some of my own.

I carved these stamps out of “Speedy-Carve” linoleum. It’s easy to carve, but it’s a little hard to get small details because the material is so soft. I stamped the top of each wood piece before I glued the linoleum on so I can tell them apart and make sure they are the correct orientation while stamping.

I’m eyeing some larger traditional linoleum I have that’s already glued to wood but I’ll need a table saw to make pieces small enough for a stamp pad.

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4:

I made this using the Construct theme

The Space Type Generator by Kiel Danger Mutschelknaus is one of the coolest things I’ve found on the internet. Make sure to press “Select” in the top right to see all the different themes (note: works better on desktop than mobile).

I found this a couple years ago but Kiel keeps adding options and themes and somehow making an incredible tool even better.

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5:

House plants are a little bit strange. I’m containing and controlling nature in aesthetic pots.

I’ve been thinking about our plants as I water them and snow falls outside the window next to them. They sit and look out at an environment that would kill them without flinching.

So where are they from?

Mostly the opposite side of the planet.

A part of me loves having a little international collection in my living room. Another part of me feels weird about it. How did these things even get here? Are these the floral spoils of colonialism? Do these plants have passports?

I got my first house plant in 2016. It was a rubber tree plant lying around after my grandpa’s funeral so I took it home. I felt compelled to keep it alive and I’ve had it for almost eight years. It has survived six moves to three different states, but that’s nothing compared to traveling across the globe.

Even though I feel slightly weird about these plants I’m glad they’re here. They supply color during the desaturated winter and remind me of the things that are essential for my own life: light, water and small but consistent growth.

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ALSO:

Ice Merchants by João Gonzalez is beautiful and redemptive. Crank the volume up and watch on the biggest screen you have.

This is from last year but the ice (or lack thereof) and the new kid reminded me of it.

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(about to meet new people) “I’ll introduce myself and say, ‘Hi! I’m Jon!’”

Thanks for reading! See you next week 👋