This goes out for Wutang. Happy Birthday

The year 2010 flew by, I'm now thirty, I got to be a part of a wonderful wedding in Viet Nam and I had a good hair day two Thursdays ago.

Rue McClanahan I can't speak for Rue personally but I can speak for her talented role as Blanche Devereaux. The loss is a sheer fire stinger. Rue played such a vivacious character in Golden Girls. Her role was full of life and flames of southern lust. Blanche had an amazing ability to transform the most dull of situations into a hot and steamy wave of desire from just a simple story over cheesecake. She showed us that women "only add layers with age". Who cares how old you really are as long as you feel like you're 30. She taught us that no matter how many wrinkles you may or may not have, there is still a young girl and young woman living inside you. She taught us to enjoy life in its fullest. Blanche, in my opinion, is the inspiration for all zestful women today. Without Blanche, there would be no Samantha. Without Blanche, Sailors would have no port. Without Blanche, there would be no sheer negligee. Rest in Peace, my beloved Golden Girl. You will forever live in my television.

I've been a little busy lately and haven't had a chance to upload any new projects. After Memorial Day weekend, I'll be sure and share my recent design work.

The vet warned me about henry's extreme weight..... So I printed out flyers for the neighbohood. Will the neighbors think I am crazy? Probably...

Henry just striking a pose in his favorite chair. Does he look debonair or what? It's not really a question. He does.

I was asked to design an victorian era style invitation for a reahearsal dinner.

I guess being too busy to post an update isn't exactly a terrible thing...eh? Well here some pics from my New Years. I've decided crowded bars and terrible service isn't the best way to welcome the new year. Going out into the middle of nowhere was totally awesome.

So I designed various beer labels for a friend. Her beau brews his own beer, and she thought it would be a great gift. I do as well. So I tried to come up with a couple of different styles for her. Some of these are still in rough draft stages. For instance, I think the 3rd down needs a more appropriate font and still lacks oomph. As for the winner, she choose the bottom design.

I'd like to show off my friend, Laurie Fisher. She's an illustrator, muralist, and painter soon to be residing in Chicago. She and I became friends during undergrad at Memphis College of Art. She's extrememly cool and I love her work. She also has this insanely cool Trek Cruiser with kitty horn that I might one day steal.

I'm going to be a crazy cat lady sometime around age 60. I would say it might be a mix between Edith Beales and Eleanor Abernathy. At one time, I posessed 7 cats. Turned out to be a bad idea. I had to give 6 away because my siamese cat bathed himself bald out of sheer stress. The Mr. Bigglesworth look wasn't flattering on him anyway. Weeks later, the cat's fur returned..... Anyway, that's completely off the subject. My point: I just purchased this new iPhone app called Kitty Caller and I think it's "the Cat's Meow". The kittens meow as you dial and erase numbers. It offers 3 themes with cute little animations with hearts, rainbows and stars.

So this holiday season I had a little fun creating some cards and invitations. I wanted to play with the idea of rock posters in hopes of relaying the idea that the party is going to ROCK. I really like the spin-off invitation from the 2005 "The Show Cabernet" label (top right). I really enjoyed creating these, however, I'm embarrassed to say that I never designed a holiday card for myself. Maybe next year.

I'm happy to report that Vintage Magnolia is open for business. There was a slight change in color on my logo, but sometimes that happens. So if you are traveling to Vail, CO anytime soon, stop in and buy something. Best wishes, Mary!

Attending this year's "Make/Think" 2009 AIGA Design Conference. Nice having anything "a hop skip and a jump" away. Top designers from all over as well as great workshops and fairs. I'd say it's pretty much a designer's playground. Learn More

Died Young, Stayed Pretty is a candid look at the underground poster culture in North America. This unique documentary examines the creative spirit that drives these indie graphic artists. They pick through the dregs of America’s schizophrenic culture and piece them back together. What you end up with is a caricature of the black and bloated heart that pulses greed through the US economy. The artists push further into the pulp to grab the attention of passersby, plastering art that’s both vulgar and intensely visceral onto the gnarled surfaces of the urban landscape. The film gives us intimate look at some of the giants of this modern subculture. Outside of their own circle, they’re virtually unknown. But within their ranks they make up an army of bareknuckle brawlers, publicly arguing the aesthetic merits of octopus imagery and hairy 70s porn stars. They’ve created their own visual language for describing the spotty underbelly of western civilization and they're not shy about throwing it in the face of polite society. Along the way, they manage to create posters that are strikingly obscene, unflinchingly blasphemous and often quite beautiful. Yaghoobian shows these artists for what they are: the vivisectionists of America’s morbidly obese consumer culture.

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Showing Saturday, September 5th at The Brooks Museum