Artists of the 2011 Gold Coast Art Fair

I just got back from this year's Gold Coast Art Fair in Grant Park.  It was great to see some old favorites, like Case Island Glass, as well as some new favorites, like Dovile Riebschlager.  Here are some new additions to my list of artists I think you should know about:

Mark Gleberzon

 Makeshift Accessories

Teresa Magel

Stuart Yankell

Sharon Spillar

Robin Kittleson

These artists all have great websites, but the festival is definitely worth seeing in person.  If you're in the Chicago area, you have one more day to see it, tomorrow, July 10th from 9 a.m. til 7 p.m.  If you missed this year's Taste of Chicago, going to the Gold Coast Art Fair will also give you a second chance to feast in Grant Park, as there is a plentiful assortment of food vendors this year.  For more information, visit the fair's official site here.

Introducing Cerulean Rhapsody

At long last, a photo of my latest Post-Consumerist piece, Cerulean Rhapsody. 

Cerulean Rhapsody, 2011
Acrylic, ink, watercolor, and latex on paper and cardboard
38” x 46”
$1000
It will debut at my solo show tomorrow night in the Second Floor Gallery of the Fine Arts Building.   This piece is the first one I've used latex paint in.  I used it only as a base coat and went over it numerous times with acrylics, as well as latex and ink.  When I fall in love with a color, I use it in every level of transparency and opacity.  You'll never guess what inspired me:

That's right, my new laptop was my inspiration.  What a magical shade of blue.

If you happen upon this post after it's been sold, don't despair. I can make a similar custom painting for you. Click here to learn more about my commissioned art process.

My thoughts on NeoCon 2011

It's hard to believe that two years have passed since I wrote about the great three day contract furnishing extravaganza that is NeoCon.  This year I am not writing as anyone's citizen blogger.  I'm writing this for myself.  I'm writing because this year's trade show really inspired me.

Commercial design, particularly that of office spaces, could be about so much more than just arranging grid after grid of cubicles.  It's about changing the way that people work.  It's about work being more than just busywork, but something meaningful and worthy of a sense of pride and ownership, employment that speaks to a greater sense of worth and personal fulfillment.  It is certainly an idea whose time has come as more US jobs get outsourced and automated.  What are the jobs of the future?  What will they look like?  And wouldn't it be wonderful if these future workplaces could look as beautiful as these showrooms?

I never thought about commercial design in this way before.  I always thought it would be kind of boring.  But now that I work in an office myself, I can appreciate good office design.  It can make all the difference in making workers' jobs easier or more difficult.  I think I'd like to design some offices one day.  And I don't think I'd be bored with it at all.

Here are some more pictures I took this year at NeoCon:

Read more at: http://360.steelcase.com/