Lisa Mikulski's Living a Life of Art And Design

WORKSHOP : Setting the Job Aside : with Sean Kernan

Lisa — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:08:42 +0000

AIGA Connecticut is doing it again and is presenting what promises to be another extraordinary workshop. On March 10, 2010, award winning photographer and writer, Sean Kernan, will talk about real creativity. This is not the creativity we learned in school or at work, but the stuff we knew from the start. The workshop will [...]

Saying Goodbye to TV

Lisa — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:57:04 +0000

Perhaps I’ve been reading too many business marketing and motivational books. Seth Godin, and The Red Lemon Club have provided me with advice on how to be more productive and extraordinary. Taking them at their word, I’ve decided to conduct an experiment as part of my approach at living a bigger life of art and [...]

Getting to know you

Lisa — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:48:41 +0000

I’d love to get to know you. Please drop me a comment and introduce yourself. Don’t be shy.

Why artists should be using social media…

Lisa — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:24:50 +0000

And writers, photographers, musicians, designers and you, too. Maybe I’m preaching to the choir here, but this morning I attended a social media and power networking breakfast and was surprised at the number of people who weren’t taking advantage of social media to promote their businesses. Social media (blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) is one of [...]

Interview :: Abstract Artist Ted Mikulski

Lisa — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:19:49 +0000

I’m pleased to share with you a recent interview, conducted for Creative Arts Guide, with abstract artist and sculptor Ted Mikulski. Over the past year, I’ve received quite a few requests to interview Ted from readers here at Lisa’s Blog and at my old blog, ArtLOOK. Sooo… being ever so careful not to subscribe to [...]

What Writing Means To Me

Lisa — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:40:22 +0000

I spend a lot of my time driving around. There are meetings with clients, exhibitions, art openings and now additional responsibilities as I assume the role of Public Relations Chair for AIGA CT. It seems I’m always in my car. Once I get home there are my kids, and their friends and their friend’s friends. [...]

NEA Shame On You

Lisa — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:24:30 +0000

I’ll make this brief because this could turn into a real rant. On Feb. 1, 2010, NEA (National Endowment of the Arts) released a ‘logo design contest’ call for proposals. On Spec! You can read their Request for Proposal here. As a board member of AIGA CT and a staunch supporter of the arts for the [...]

Design of Time: Ten Years of Cummings & Good Calendars

Lisa — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:45:30 +0000

Every year for the last 4 years I have looked forward to obtaining the annual calendar from the design team of Cummings & Good in Chester, Connecticut. Artful and unique, these beautiful creations serve first as an embellishment to any office or kitchen, but then packaged in a canister the happy calendar owner can roll [...]

Objectified (2009) at EO Art Lab in Chester, CT

Lisa — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:12:43 +0000

Join me this Thursday January 21, 2010 at 7pm for: OBJECTIFIED (2009), 75 min. Gary Hustwit, director From the director of “helvetica” comes the 2nd documentary in a film trilogy on design. Objectified offers a fascinating look at industrial products and design, the designers and their responsibility in creating them, and our relationship with those objects. “The term objectified [...]

Introducing Artist Daryl Zang – Premiere Opening Jan 19, 2010

Lisa — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:53:23 +0000

CONNECTICUT EMERGING ARTIST WITH A DECIDEDLY FEMININE TOUCH PREMIERES AT MICHELE & DONALD D’AMOUR MUSEUM OF FINE ART Emerging artist Daryl Zang will be exhibiting at the Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA in her premiere show January 19 – April 25, 2010. Zang, whose works portray the beauty and frustrations of [...]

I Hate Who I Am When I’m With You

Lisa — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 20:46:59 +0000

I have an aversion to quitting. Quitting just seems to be an easy way of getting out of a difficult situation. This notion was probably instilled in me by my mother who would advise me when things got tough, “Oh Lisa, stop being such a baby. Think of this as a challenge.” Mom was tough [...]

Eero Saarinen – Retrospective at the Museum of the City Of New York

Lisa — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:24:51 +0000

Eero Saarinen – Shaping the Future, is now showing at the Museum of the City of New York through January 31, 2010. Shaping the Future is the first retrospective of the architect’s career and has been organized by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York, The Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, and the National Building [...]

Things are happening

Lisa — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:43:38 +0000

You might have noticed that it’s been kind of quiet around here lately. The last month has found me with a lot of client work and I’ve been on a mission of updating and redesigning my websites at lisamikulski.com and dragonflyblu.com. You’ll also see that this blog has a whole new look. In order to [...]

Book Review: The Gospel According To Coco Chanel

Lisa — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:25:34 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Chief Operating Officer, Jim Joseph, and Executive Director of Marketing, Publicity and Design, Ingar Forland, at Globe Pequot Press for an upcoming INK article. GPP is the publisher for the imprint skirt! which recently released Karen Karbo’s The Gospel According to Coco Chanel – Life Lessons From the [...]

Pictorial Webster’s: Inspiration to Completion

Lisa — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:58:32 +0000

From the discovery of the 1898 International Dictionary to linotyping the entries to printing the last print on the vandercook to cutting the fingertabs of the deluxe edition, this video gives a quick overview of the process of creating the Pictorial Webster’s fine press edition. It’s pretty amazing to watch. My thanks to Kevin Benisvy [...]

SOUNDWALK launches iPhone app in Paris for Nuit Blanche

Lisa — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:51:03 +0000

Today, October 3, Soundwalk, in joint venture with Clicmobile, will premiere iPhone applications for three Paris audio tours during Nuit Blanche, an annual all-night international arts festival. For this occasion the Soundwalk iPhone app will be available for free, on October 3 only. More info at http://nuitblanche.soundwalk.com Download the different Soundwalk iPhone Paris tours directly on iTunes, [...]

How Slowing Down Made Me More Efficient, Effective and Less Stressed Out

Lisa — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:17:47 +0000

I recently took a three week vacation. I know, right? Intervention was required to save me from myself because I have a bit of a problem being a workaholic. Normally my vacations consist of a long weekend or maybe a 10 day stint where I find myself sleeping for the first 72 hours, then adjusting [...]

Is Art Dead?

Lisa — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:22:46 +0000

That is the question posited by artist and author, Ted Mikulski. Yup he’s my cousin…but that’s beside the point. When I first heard about Ted’s plan to publish an art book and learned it’s title, Art Is Dead, I thought “Ted, are you crazy? Of course art is not dead.” But is it? As a teacher [...]

Art & Copy – I Think Creativity Can Solve Anything

Lisa — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:44:09 +0000

ART & COPY, a new documentary film, has the advertising and design world abuzz! The new film, directed by Doug Pray, is about the creativity and inspiration behind the work and vision of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time. This is not a film about trashing the evil world of advertising. [...]

The Annual Weekend Read-A-Thon

Lisa — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:57:31 +0000

Back in the old days before I had children or a business to run, I would indulge in what I called my “Annual Weekend Read-A-Thon.” Over the course of some weeks (or months) as I went through my life, I would collect books, magazines, brochures, pamphlets etc and stack them in a pile by the [...]