Spawn Till You Die

Today I was searching through my closet for some T-shirts that were 100 percent cotton with NO spandex. All cotton shirts can be difficult to find nowadays with skin-tight fashions that add polyester and spandex for a close fit and easy care. You cannot imagine how hot just a few percent of tight synthetic fibers can make you feel when it is already 103 degrees Fahrenheit and humid outside. Then I found them, the art shirts, the shirts we can't part with.  All designed by Alaskan Artist Ray Troll.

"About “fin” artist Ray Troll:
From his tree lined studio, high on a hill above the Tongass Narrows in rain-swept Ketchikan Alaska, Ray Troll draws & paints fishy images that migrate into museums, books and magazines and onto t-shirts sold around the planet. Basing his quirky, aquatic images on the latest scientific discoveries, Ray brings a street-smart sensibility to the worlds of ichthyology & paleontology.

 Ray moved to Alaska in 1983 to spend a summer helping his big sister Kate start a seafood retail store. The fish store is long gone but Ray is not. There's something about Alaska that has led four of the Troll siblings to call the state ‘home’. . ."

His first T-shirt from handmade silk screens, "Let's Spawn."

Turned into this . . .

To setting up a gallery and selling billions of shirts and art posters. The designs below are my favorite from the early 90's when our friend T.J. Tremmel had a T-shirt Gallery down the street from us and we discovered Troll's beautiful art of nature and humor.

Troll says of his Amazon mural the "Natural History magazine used the mural on its  cover in September of 2001. It was my very first national magazine cover, but as fate would have it the tragedy of 9/11 happened and it got lost in the chaos of those times."

What is cool now? Helicoprion Exhibit this summer in Pocatello, Idaho. Here are a couple of design examples. The others are much more bizarre.

Lastly, I love getting to read the descriptions of how a design came into being.

"HAPPY HOUR IN HELL
100 percent cotton, pre-shrunk, heavyweight T-shirt. Front print.

Shirt color: Black

I’ve had the immense pleasure of playing music with my band in the Voodoo Room down in Astoria, Oregon over the last few years as part of the annual Fisher Poet’s Gathering. A couple of year’s ago I did a poster for one of our gigs there depicting a flaming human skull sporting a top hat.

A couple years before that Tony Martin had come out to give a few lectures at Emory University in Georgia. While I was there Tony and his wife Ruth regaled me with tales of the dark legend of Emory University and Dooley, the Lord of Misrule.

So that’s how this one came to be spawned. I adapted to the poster to fit the mood I’m in when I need that one last drink very badly!"

Good idea.

Cat Breading (?)

Is this better than cat bearding? Another cat fad from Europe. It does frame the face of the feline. These pics are from Portugal (I think). I don't know why, but I really like these.

Here is a tutorial.

Tortillas work, especially when made to look like a hat. You can "bread" any animal I suppose. No one would think twice if you breaded a bird (see below).

To me this looks more natural. My birds receive a piece of 9-grain seed bread, toasted, every morning (or they will remind you all day if you forget). I have seen them chew through the middle of their toast but not stick their heads through. This is a Bourke's parakeet and they have a lovely sound.

Cat beards

I keep trying to ignore them but I can't. Using a cat to look like you have a beard is bothersome to some, but when they work and you know the person and their cat they can be quiet - well an roll-your-eyes moment if nothing else. These are some examples from Hauspanther.com.

It might be that someone saw this photo and it was inspiration for a cat beard.

The beard images keep on going in search, they are much more creative and creepy.

Somewhere in Europe . . .

Okay, I need to stop now.

TED Talk - Creative Inventor Video Heartwarming

There is a TED video, "How to Give a Killer Presentation" on the Harvard Business Review and I found it not so much about giving a Powerpoint presentation, but the story of creativity and invention.

TED video link

Richard Turere

A little more than a year ago, on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, some colleagues and I met a 12-year-old Masai boy named Richard Turere, who told us a fascinating story. His family raises livestock on the edge of a vast national park, and one of the biggest challenges is protecting the animals from lions—especially at night. The whole articles is in the Harvard Business Review or you can view it on TED and read Richard's bio on TED Talks.

I was looking for lightening inspiration and insight through the diagrams search on Google Images.

This caught my eye in an article about group formations. So I looked for other interesting looking articles.

I found a lovely site called boxesandarrows.com. As a creative person I was caught by this title of an article by Dave Feldman. As a visual person I look for pictures - Dave you need more pictures for us visual communicators.

A Truly Ambitious Product Idea: Making Stuff for People

I am always looking for a tool to organize myself and Dave has an app called "Stky." It looked good, and then came the kicker "It is now available for iPhone or iPod Touch." Okay, that leaves me out even thought I have always wanted an iPhone I can't justify the expense of any smart phone in my life right now. Every time I buy something I have to read a manual and that doesn't happen. I did continue reading the article and found that Dave put down in words something I have been trying to describe for months. "Do we want to add additional management overhead to an app for disorganized people? Probably not." That is me, I am the disorganized people he is talking about in the Product Mantra portion of his article. It takes me more time fussing with the technology of organization and reminders than if I use a Post-It. I enjoyed the blog and I never finish reading anything all the way through.

When Dave wraps up he does say that technology is great as long as it is made so people can use it.

"It’s important to make stuff. But it only matters if we make stuff, for people."

My collies are smart, they would probably use an app that dispensed dog biscuits.

(Excuse for another picture)

Maggie & Gracie

I get it now, Stky (Sticky). Ugh.

Sunlight, Natural Antidepressant

I work in the yard for enjoyment, exercise and in hopes it will make me feel less tired and more up beat. Getting outside, getting out of town, just getting out and in a new state of mind. I have a friend visiting his home in Alaska and he says they have about 19 hours of daylight now. I can't help but think what dark winter days would be like and that there must be a great demand for full spectrum lighting.

Favorite color = yellow and favorite artist who used a lot of yellow,

Vincent van Gogh.

Yellow has always been my favorite color and now I find that it increases serotonin to lift my spirits as a natural selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Besides it is the color of soft baby ducks and baby chicks.

Sunshine and a calming blue sky is a great combination. I have always loved to get my hands in the soil. However, because of the clay in Dallas I got a fungal infection in the bed of my fingernails called Paronychia. Left untreated it can really cause problems and lead to surgery if it spreads to the bones of the hand. It is painful and takes forever to heal, five months on medication alone and still not completely healed. All this surprises me, it is suppose to be good to put your hands in the dirt.

From Medical News Today

Soil Bacteria Work In Similar Way To Antidepressants

UK scientists suggest that a type of friendly bacteria found in soil may affect the brain in a similar way to antidepressants.Their findings are published in the early online edition of the journal Neuroscience.

Researchers from Bristol University and University College London discovered using laboratory mice, that a "friendly" bacteria commonly found in soil activated brain cells to produce the brain chemical serotonin and altered the mice's behaviour in a similar way to antidepressants.

They are suggesting this could explain why immune system imbalance could make some people vulnerable to mood disorders like depression.

Lead author, Dr Chris Lowry from Bristol University said, "These studies help us understand how the body communicates with the brain and why a healthy immune system is important for maintaining mental health".

"They also leave us wondering if we shouldn't all be spending more time playing in the dirt," he added.

Dr Lowry and colleagues became interested in the project when they heard that cancer patients treated with the bacterium Mycobacterium vaccae reported increases in their quality of life. They speculated this could be because the bacteria were activating brain cells to release more serotonin.

When they treated mice with Mycobacterium vaccae they found that it did indeed activate a particular group of brain neurons that produce serotonin - in the interfascicular part of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRI) of the mice, to be precise. They established this by measuring the amount of c-Fos in the area, a biochemical marker whose presence indicates that serotonin releasing neurons have fired.

Serotonin, also known as 5-HT (short for 5-hydroxytryptamine), is found in the gut, brain, nerves and blood of humans and other animals. There are 14 different receptors that bind to serotonin each working a different property of this highly multi-functional chemical messenger.

Apart from having a range of pharmacological actions, serotonin constricts blood vessels, sends messages between cells in the brain and within the central nervous system, regulates secretion of digestive juices, and helps to control the passage of food through the gut.

Different parts of the brain and the body need different levels of serotonin. In the brain for example, the hypothalamus (involved in mood regulation) needs a lot of serotonin while the cortex (involved in many complex processes like thinking, memory, attention, awareness and consciousness) only needs a little.

The brain keeps serotonin levels in balance using at least three mechanisms. One way is by releasing it, a second way is by inactivating it once it is released into the synaptic space between the nerve endings, and the third way is by absorbing it, a process known as "reuptake".

Low levels of serotonin are linked with a number of disorders including aggression, anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar disorder, irritable bowel and fibromyalgia.

Antidepressants work by increasing serotonin levels in particular areas of the brain. One type, known as monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors reduce the brain's ability to inactivate the free serotonin. Another type, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) work by slowing down the reuptake process.

The friendly bacteria in this study appear to be having an antidepressant effect in a third way, by increasing the release of serotonin.

"Identification of an immune-responsive mesolimbocortical serotonergic system: Potential role in regulation of emotional behavior."
C.A. Lowry, J.H. Hollisa, A. de Vriesa, B. Pana, L.R. Brunetb, J.R.F. Huntb, J.F.R. Patonc, E. van Kampena, D.M. Knighta, A.K. Evansa, G.A.W. Rookb and S.L. Lightmana.
Neuroscience Available online 28 March 2007
doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2007.01.067

LED lighting

I met some great people at the Dallas Mid-Century Modern Expo last month. The exhibit of the iLumni LED light bulb really stood out for me. Not because I was drawn visually to their booth (they could have used an artist to help them design their exhibit to hit a real home run) but as an artist I am always concerned about light and on the lookout for the best LED bulb. Well I found it in the iLumni bulb, an app-programable light bulb. "iLumi Solutions is a passionate team of designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs based out of the Gravity Center in Dallas, Texas and India." Just the idea of the Gravity Center is so cool as well as the site for fundraising for startups, indegogo.com where anyone can "Fund what matters to you," the iLumni people have a page for donations.

One possible display for an exhibit booth is to reproduce their ads in a larger banner and build a display with the actual light bulbs like one of iLumni's photo ads. Possibly a second display to show Bluetooth control and app, which brings me to imagining small diorama's of rooms or doll house to demonstrate how the bulb can be synchronized to music or mimic the sun rising in the mornings.

 I think the most desirable draw iLumni has is that "this is fun" and "I want to play too." The most dramatic would be a display of a mid-century modern home. 

I have always hated fluorescent lighting and the mercury was always a concern for me so I looked up the contents of a compact fluorescent bulb. The "EPA estimates the U.S. is responsible for the release of 103 metric tons1 of mercury emissions each year. More than half of these emissions come from coal-fired electrical power. Mercury released into the air is the main way that mercury gets into water and bio-accumulates in fish." But most of all I hate fluorescent lighting because I am a migraine sufferer and the flicker is impossible to ignore. I have Irlen lenses to help me cope with too much light. This explanation will have to wait for another blog.

Inhabitat has a competition called "Lighten Up! An LED lighting design competition."

One more thing I have to mention, a "Star Trek" -like bulb that uses algae. Gyula Bodonyi's Algae Powered LED really is green. Who hasn't been intrigued by Phosphorescence.

Now painting with light is even more desirable with so much technology.

Wrecking Bar or Spud Bar

Up until this week I only knew the "Wrecking Bar" as the name of the architectural salvage building before the Hard Rock Cafe moved into its space. But I learned how to use an actual wrecking bar this weekend. Two days of working in the yard, digging, and coming across chunks of concrete from days gone by that were buried by soil. What fun, you will need eye protection for flying debris and gloves with a good grip to lift and drop the bar.

Wrecking bars are often referred to as pry bars. I have used pry bars so naturally when looking up wrecking bars I got lots of pictures of crow bars that did not look like the bar I used. Wikipedia has a better definition and photos that describe my wrecking bar. The British call  the five to six foot bar with pointed end a spud bar. "In North America a spud bar is often sold as a digging bar, slate bar, shale bar or pinch point." I did use it for digging to break up some of this awful black gumbo clay that has to pass for soil in my area. The weight of the bar does most of the work if you let it. Hold the point above the object to break and guide it to drop. It breaks up chunks of concrete great, but it does take a while for the thicker, heavier pieces. The pointy end is for breaking and the flat turned-up end is for prying. Below is a picture of the one I use.

Oh! and you can rent them.