10studios

Guest Artist

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:35:00 +0000

I have not been creating my own artwork as of late, but I have been working with some very talented youth.

This work is from seven year old Chloe.

For Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 01:26:00 +0000

In an attempt to generate extra income during a struggling economy I have partnered with Society 6.

Artwork on Society6 is created by thousands of artists from around the world. When you buy a product from Society6, they produce it using the highest quality materials, and ship it to you on behalf of the artist.

There is not a large body of my work present yet, but each day I will be adding images and expanding the plethora of options for my loyal supporters. Visit often and contribute to the cause.

Happy shopping!

Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 11:25:00 +0000

My parents, wife, children, and I recently traveled to Chicago by way of Amtrak.

The train was a great experience and I would utilize it for means of transportation again.

We arrived late to our accommodations, an apartment at the Andersonville Guesthouse, and quickly headed to bed. The next morning while waiting for everyone to rise I downloaded two apps to navigate the CTA:

HopStop

TransitGenie

Our first destination was the Navy Pier.

After a fun filled day at the pier we completed the afternoon with an architectural tour from Shoreline Tours.

The next day we explored the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is free.

They had a pond similar to Monet's in the zoo.

Matthew could not resist having his face painted.

The highlight meal of the entire trip was a family style dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant called Reza's.

Goodbye Chicago. Until next time.

Have you ever been to Chicago? If so, what did you do?

Andersonville Guesthouse

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 01:20:00 +0000

Despite the other hundreds of people occupying rooms, hotels can be just like home if one is willing to use their imagination. To avoid the drone of other people and their noises I recommend renting a house or an apartment when visiting somewhere for an extended time. On a recent trip my parents, wife, children and I took to Chicago we rented an apartment at the Andersonville Guesthouse.

Each apartment comes with an assigned garage bay and ours also had a ground floor patio.

Our kitchen and dinning area were more than adequate.

The two bedrooms and two baths were very nice as well.

Location, location, location. We were half a block from a bus stop, half a block from a lovely restaurant, and had very quite neighbors in a cemetery across the street. Walking several blocks north gained us access to more restaurants, cool local shops, and a Starbucks.

Ann Sather's served an excellent breakfast and was very hospitable. Their cinnamon rolls caused us to take an extra trip around the block though. We enjoyed Homemade Pizza Co., a great take and bake place, too. However, our favorite restaurant was Reza's for their family style dinner that satisfied everyone in our group.

Amy and I explored several of the shops on North Clark Street one afternoon while everyone else napped. Sifu was a design studio and yarn store where we snagged some cool yarn for our Aunt Zadie. Continuing up the street we found two awesome, vintage yellow chairs at Urban Mischief. We didn't purchase the chairs, but had a blast trying on all her fedora hats.

We found our favorite shop of the afternoon, Four Sided, on the corner of North Clark and Carmen. This frame shop and art boutique was full of typefaces in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Old maps, letters, buttons, typewriter keys, letters, stickers, prints, and more letters. This store was very aged and eclectic, yet very streamlined and modern at the same time.

The neighborhood Starbucks served us well on several occasions.

Each evening while walking back to the apartment we stopped at a hip grocery store, Urban Orchard, for a couple items. On these nightly excursions we would talk books, blogs, and travel with an employee, Jeremy Glickstein. You can learn more about my new friend Jeremy and his other works at Total Man Design.

Wednesday evenings, during the summer, Andersonville host their farmers market on Berwyn Street. We arrived as most vendors were packing up, but Amy was able to grab some Argentina style sweets called alfjores from Lucila Giagrande.

These local pleasures would have been unknown to us had we stayed at the Ramada Lakeshore Chicago.

Our overall experience of Andersonville Guesthouse and the surrounding neighborhood was excellent.

Five stars!

Working Like a Farmer Needing Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 03:17:00 +0000

Similar to the current weather conditions two farmers were in desperate need of rain. Both farmers prayed for rain, but only one prepared his fields for rain. The farmer who prayed and tended to his fields was blessed with rain producing a bountiful crop while the other farmer maintained a barren field.

I think some members of our society forget relationships need both prayer and work to be productive.

My wife, Amy, and I had a fun date night recently.

First, dinner at Turoni's in Evansville where we ordered the Iron Man pizza and added sausage.

Then a trip to Barnes and Noble for gifts. The instructions were simple: find something, anything that reminds us of the other person.

Amy, possesses a unique, recognizable laugh that I love to hear. When all is quite and we are in separate rooms of the house reading I love to be disturbed by her laughter. So I headed to the humor section and quickly found a female, comedic author I thought Amy would enjoy.

While meandering towards the register I grabbed a postcard with John Lennon and Yoko Ono's portrait as well. Despite the adultery which created their relationship they had a strong love for one another that I pray Amy and I possess.

With my two purchases I headed to Starbucks to meet Amy and exchange gifts. I arrived first and settled into a booth. Amy eventually arrived all smiles and giddy.

She was so excited to show me what she got she could not sit still. Drum roll please . . . it was a book for our friend and neighbor Julia. Yeah! But wait, there was more. A book for a former student. Yeah! Another book, for Amy. Yeah!

I began to worry she forgot why we came to this bookstore, but she had saved the best for last. A book on gardening for me to better provide food on the table. Yeah! (This time it is sincere and heart felt). I was stoked!

My head was spinning from so much new and useful information. Date night was declared over, I had work to do back home in the garden.

What are your date nights like?

The Art of Travel

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 19:34:00 +0000

I posses a misunderstanding of how vacation should look.

(A + B = C) Time off is represented by (A), work is represented by (B), and vacation is represented by (C).

My parents are to blame.

My mom, being an educator, always had summers off while my dad was allotted a set number of days. During the summer months my dad spent his vacation days around the house completing major DIY projects around the house.

When we did travel extended jihads to the beach for sun and surf were out of the question. Instead we loaded the car for the weekend, drove winding country roads to an isolated town, and stayed in a bed and breakfast or small inn. Nothing wrong with the beach, but my parents have never been much for sit, relax, and watch.

Missions trips have been utilized as a means of travel too. Four different mission trips have landed me in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Venezuela. These are great opportunities because they allow you to make a difference in someone's life while experiencing selfish travel, but still not a standard vacation.

Even my honeymoon travel could be considered abnormal. While we did pick a romantic city, Savannah, we went during the hottest time of year, walked everywhere, and did not go on a ghost tour.

I am not bitter about my vacation ignorance, but rather appreciative.

Cities and towns are full of local flavor. As tourist we typically miss this delicacy because we are, "just passing through," on our way to bigger, better places. For the best travel experience one must immerse themselves into the local culture.

Golden Rule: do not be a tourist

- Rent an apartment or house instead of hotel

- Walk, ride a bike, or use public transit to get around

- Dine only in local restaurants versus commercial chain operations

- There is an app for that

How do you like to travel? Been anywhere interesting this summer?

For A Good Cause

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:46:00 +0000

Five or six years ago during the early days of 10studios I compiled an eclectic mix of 70 works to demonstrate the seven elements of art. Pieces ranged from drawings and paintings to a small cafe size table and two chairs. Over time many of these works were purchased by family, friends, community members and the occasional stranger. However, some still remain, sealed in the basement archives.

Recently John Cartwright, a member of Thodos Dance Chicago, approached me about donating a piece of art for a silent auction. Humbled, I graciously opened the archives and offered three pieces.

This large still life drawing of apples was created during a demonstration for a small group of high school students in Hancock County.

While eating a gala and granny smith apples I drew the progression of consumption. Each new image overlapped the previous one and created a cubist style. After the real apples were long gone I returned to the piece adding thick amounts of oil pastel breathing new life into the apples.

During my non-objective faze I created these two acrylic paintings: Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Each piece is constructed from multiple layers of color and line.

I now anxiously await the auction and encourage you to check out the other pieces of work available.

Have you ever participated in a silent auction? What did you purchase?

Creative Problem Solving

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 21:21:00 +0000

Looking for a decorating ideas? Budget so small it does not exist? Try placing bright, colorful fruit in a large vase and sit it on a stack of magazines. Works well on coffee tables, sofa tables, and dressers. I chose lemons for this cool vase.

Lower Cost

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:28:00 +0000

A rain barrel will provide a simple, inexpensive way to water the garden during a drought. The basic supply list:

- Large plastic trash can

- 6" plastic flower pot

- 2 water valves

- 4" solid corrugated pipe

- 16" concrete slab

- 3' 5/8" water hose

A drill, saw, and water proof sealant will be beneficial too.

Begin by removing the saucer from the 6" flower pot.

Next, place the flower pot upside down on the trash can lid and trace the circumference with a sharpie.

Draw a second circle a quarter to half inch inside the first.

Drill a small hole on the inner circle line.

Cut out the inner circle.

Situate flower pot inside the hole.

Sit trash can lid off to the side.

Now, cut a hole slightly smaller than your water valve at the top and bottom of your trash can. An electric drill with a large bit makes this step much easier.

Check for a snug fit before placing a bead of sealant along the back edge of each valve and insert into the trash can.

If possible, attach valves to trash can with screws for a stronger fit.

Dump gravel or river rocks in the flower pot and place lid on the trash can. Two thirds of the project is complete.

Place the 16" concrete stone in the desired location of rain barrel placement to create a solid, level base.

A raised platform will elevate the barrel enough to provide sufficient gravity fed pressure. Hint: old bricks work great!

Place barrel on the platform, checking for correct height.

Cut off the bottom two thirds of existing gutter.

Attach collar and corrugated pipe.

Attach 3' hose to top water valve. Leave this valve open at all times allowing overflow water to exit the barrel in a controlled manner.

Pray for rain.

The more barrels, the more free water.

Happy rain dancing!

Coffee Shop: Part 5

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:37:00 +0000

Earlier I expressed our appreciation for the experience coffee shops provide. The eclectic warmth of the interior design that engulfs you upon arrival is nice, but the roasted aroma is my favorite. One of our old stomping grounds, Beyond the Brim, put coffee beans in the bottom of their pen cup so when you signed your receipt it smelled like coffee. Awesome! A furniture store I once visited had arrangements of clear vases filled with coffee beans dispersed around the store. An amazing shopping experience!

To replicate some of theses memories we have a centerpiece with coffee beans.

As much as I long for a local coffee shop to call my own, I am very satisfied with the Treehouse Cafe (the nickname for my kitchen). We are Keurig fans. Especially now; they replaced our machine free of charge despite having a warranty expiring two months ago.

Amy recently received the electric froth machine from Keurig as a birthday gift completing our at home coffee shop experience (thank you Aunt Zadie).

Coffee + frothed steam milk = a great cup of joe

Cheers!

Gold Standard

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 May 2012 13:58:00 +0000

As humans we possess unique quirks that make us individuals. We tend to select our friends, lovers, companions, and spouses based on similar quirks or appreciation of these unique quirks.

Over the years I have enjoyed observing the weird, quirky rituals my friends and family go through before leaving the house. I have established that everyone falls into one of four categories. Some are pocket patters - persons who lightly touch their pockets checking for essentials: phone, keys, wallet, etc. Others are scanners - persons who scan their immediate surroundings for items that may serve of importance. Another group are runners - persons who briskly walk throughout the house looking for something that is already in their pocket or purse. The last group are heedless - persons who constantly forget or leave items behind.

My wife is heedless because she always forgets or leaves behind her phone, purse, stack of papers to grade, or lunch box daily. However, she never leaves her lip balm, lipstick, or chap stick. One reason is because she has hundreds of tubes strategically hidden all over the house, both cars, and school.

In honor of her heedless nature I created a painting to show my love and appreciation for all she does for our family despite not knowing where her phone or car keys are.

Gold Standard, acrylic on canvas, 18''x24''

I borrowed the image of Scarlett Johansson from a Dolce and Gabbana ad, but changed the colors to match my desire for symbolism.

The gold lipstick tube represents the most important in Amy's arsenal of makeup: lip gloss. She will not leave the house without applying a layer of balm or gloss to her lips. If time allows she will fix her hair so silver and metallic black were used there. The skin tones and background are flat colors allowing the gold and silver to shine brighter. The red nails represent Amy's heedless desire to paint her nails two minutes before we are to walk out the door.

Collaborative Project

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:44:00 +0000

I have been reluctant to share my newest, artistic adventure. Everything needed to be a certain way before I felt like I could divulge my work. Mother Nature and I have been collaborating on a box garden at Ace Acers.

The boxes, soil, and potential have been present for three years, but no one has taken the initiative to move forward. After countless hours of pulling weeds, adding organic material to the soil, watering in a time of drought followed up with lots of prayer, I want to show off my accomplishments.

We have many more hours, days, and weeks of work, but I wanted to share the project. I will keep you posted.

Do you grow your own food? What is in your garden?

New fence

Existing boxes

Red Leaf Lettuce

Rosemary

Mint

Basil

Oregano

Cabbage

Red Cabbage

Flower on blackberry bush

Better Boy Tomato

Purple Cherokee Tomato

3222012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 02:52:00 +0000

Bookshelf above TV

I wanted to share a colored drawing from my sketchbook app.

Public Art

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:35:00 +0000

Art located in an open space for all to see and experience presents great interactive moments during the everyday grind. Madisonville currently has three sculptures on display in the city, but they lack the "it" factor necessary to create a true public art experience.

The RedBall Project defines the perfect example of public art.

"I always wondered why somebody doesn't do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.”

- Lily Tomlin

I wish somebody would bring the red ball to "The Best Town on Earth." I am somebody and I will see what I can do.

Be vigilant.

Be on the look out.

Keep your eyes peeled.

3102012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 18:10:00 +0000

Morning television.

392012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:48:00 +0000

Everything, but the kitchen sink

372012

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:03:00 +0000

In an attempt to draw more each day I am creating one minute contour drawings of my surroundings, what I am doing, etc. The new series is called "Daily Grind." Check back often to see what I have been doing.

The house will smell good! Going to fry real bacon on this stove.

Contributing Artist

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:01:00 +0000

One of our finest contributing artist, Matthew, made a sculpture today using tiles from a word game.

Survey Monkey

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:19:00 +0000

We are concerned with your artistic experience at 10studios. Please take the time to complete a short survey.

Click here to take survey

Thank you.

Start Something That Matters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:11:00 +0000

To say the staff at 10studios are huge fans of TOMS shoes is an understatement. We snagged our first two pair on a whim in spring of 2009. As we added staff members we made sure each of them were outfitted with TOMS, too. At Christmas eight pairs were given as gifts among the staff here, which translates to eight people somewhere else in the world were given the gift of new shoes, too. Cool!

This past fall 10studios entered and won a blogger contest at TOMS Shoes where we were awarded two copies of, chief shoe giver, Blake Mycoskie's book. As a recipient of this awesome prize we have some stipulations and expectations now placed on us. We are to:

1. Read the book

2. Write a review on Amazon

3. Host a contest on our blog

4. Provide the winner of contest with our second copy of the book

Slowly, but surely, the book has been read and the review has been written. Here is our contest:

Start Something That Matters with 10studios:

Provided majority of our readers/followers are Western Kentuckians, we would like you to submit a solution to a community problem. Littering, recycling, art projects, community service, etc. are all possible topics of interest.

We want to know what we can do to make our community a better place. We need your help.

The top ten ideas will be placed into a drawing, with the winner receiving a copy of Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie.

Please email your ideas to etcrabtree@gmail.com.

Carpe diem.

Mexican for Breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:34:00 +0000

The next time you are hungry for Mexican flavors try this for breakfast:

Ingredients

Eggs

Milk

Red Onion

EVOO

Avocado

Cilantro

Lime

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Guacamole

1. Chop cilantro, dice avocado, chop red onion (sit half aside), and mince garlic.

2. Mash ingredients together in a bowl with lime juice, salt, and pepper

3. Sit aside

Eggs

1. Heat two skillets with EVOO

2. Crack eggs into bowl

2. Add small amount of milk

3. Whisk

4. Add eggs to one skillet and remaining red onion to other

5. Mix scrambled eggs and cook onion

Serve

1. Plate egg and onion mixture

2. Top with a generous helping of guacamole

3. Pair with favorite chips and salsa

DIY: Deck the Walls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:58:00 +0000

Many possess a desire for unique artwork to decorate their homes, but lack the financial resources to acquire such treasures. There are several solutions available for this common problem.

Here is one:

Tools:

- 8X10 picture frame with matte

- Decorative folder

- Scissors

- Tape

Instructions:

1. Cut folder in half

2. Tape one halve to matte

3. Place in frame

4. Hang art

Tip:

Hang three, five, or seven framed folders together for a dynamic grouping.

The Art of the Brick

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:49:00 +0000

Growing up in the country as an only child I had plenty of free time. Typically I explored the great outdoors, but on rainy days I retreated to the basement to play. Once downstairs I pulled out the boxes of G.I. Joes, Hot Wheels, and Lincoln Logs. However, the real fun began when I opened my enormous box of Legos. They provided countless hours of entertainment, developed my critical thinking skills, and allowed me to escape into my own little world.

I truly believed I was a skilled Lego craftsman until I discovered Nathan Sawaya's sculptures.

Journalist Scott Jones said, “Sawaya is a surrealist mash-up of forms and artists. Imagine Frank Lloyd Wright crossed with Ray Harryhausen, or Auguste Rodin crossed with Shigeru Miyamoto, and you start to get a sense of where Sawaya is coming from.”

What Do I See?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:11:00 +0000

He is overwhelmed,

But so are we.

We are exposed to an insane amount of visual stimulants on a daily basis. In 2010 research showed that 2 billion videos were watched per day on YouTube, 35 hours of video got uploaded to YouTube every minute and the average American watched 186 online videos in a month. Facebook served as a gateway drug for online videos. In one month 2 billion videos were watched via Facebook while 20 million videos were uploaded to the site. Researchers also discovered photographs receive numerous internet hits. Flickr hosted 5 billion photos in September of 2010. That means 130 million photos a month, 3000 photos a minute were uploaded to Flickr. On the other hand, Facebook received 3 billion photo uploads a month translating to 36 billion photos in one year.

I checked the numbers for 2011 and they are even more astounding. Last year YouTube dominated 76% of the U.S. video market with 1 trillion videos played while Vimeo picked up 4,189,214 new users. On average 201 billion videos were watched per month on the world wide web. The data suggest Instagram may be taking over the internet photo market. During 2011 Instagram acquired 14 million new users and witnessed 60 photos per second upload to their site. Other sites served as large photo galleries too. Facebook had received 100 billion photos by mid year, Flickr had 51 million registered users, and 4.5 million photos were uploaded to the site each day. Also, the Apple iPhone 4 became the most popular camera used by photographers on Flickr.

(Source: Royal Pingdom)

Through numerous blogs, Facebook posts, and tweets I am inundated with a pleathora of images and video clips daily. With so many sources of media available I utilize Google Reader, Flipboard, and Pulse News to organize and streamline my exposure to visual media. I would like to share some of my favorite images/videos from th

Borrowing from Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? I see...

...Here are some of my visual finds:

A cool zipper pouch from Needles, Pins, and Baking Tins

Jay Z's 99 Problems in Film (Parental Advisory: uncouth language)

Ed Droste's picture of his door rig

The Walker Family photos

Presidents and Art

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:53:00 +0000

American history is full of numerous pieces of art created in honor or memory of presidents:

Grant Wood painted George Washington cutting down the cherry tree,

Mount Rushmore is possibly the most famous presidential sculpture,

And Shepard Fairey created an iconic poster for Barack Obama's presidential candidacy.

Throughout American history, presidents have also used their position of power to amass extensive art collections. FDR began collecting at an early age, and visitors now experience his large collection at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.

The White House also contains about 450 pieces of art in a permanent collection. President Obama and the first lady began seeking new, more modern pieces created by a wider, more diverse population of artists soon after winning the election.

Happy Presidents Day!