Wednesday 30 April 2014

Myki Makeover Moving Melburnians


myki card by Adam Grant


myki card by Adam Grant


myki card by Adam Grant


Wouldn't you know, mate?

Melburnians are being moved to send their their myki cards to tech geek by day,  guerilla artist by night Adam Grant, to be Madeover.


Why carry this:



When you could have this:

myki card by Adam Grant


Check this guy and his "silly, whimsical, middle-shelf idea" out.

What's not to love about the guy, mate?


Wonder if he does Snapper?

Wonder what you think about being "silly and         whimsical?"

Wonder what "middle shelf ideas" you got?


Wednesday 23 April 2014

Guerilla Art Cards # 49 - 53. My Most Emojinal Post Ever.



Today I'm feeling emojinative.




Instead of photographing these
Guerilla Art Cards
after I leave them somewhere,
I'm switching it up.




And am going to just tell you,
before.




Leaving these at a library near me. 
Tomorrow.
Because it's closed right now.































Has anything caught your emojination this week or are you feeling a bit emojacked because what is the world coming to; you thought you were emojucated, and now, this.





Friday 18 April 2014

The Scientific Article That Blows My Blog.



image credit: triloks


A friend sent me an article today.

Apparently artists have structurally different brains.

It's been messing with my head.


image credit: lauralani


And messing with what my blog is about.

You see I think you're an artist if you make stuff.

I have had all the conversations with myself about it.  N vs. N.

But I'm interested in your thoughts.

What thinks you?

Are artists born?  Or made?


Friday 11 April 2014

How To Be A Creative Bastard When Work Is Sucking Your All






You know, it could be as simple as this.

Steal Photo's Of Other People's Creative Juices.




Or:





I know you, and you know me.

We're tired.

All that mismanaging our Inboxes sucks. the life.

After work, you got nothing.

So how do you be creative?  

You know you want it.  (And you don't have to be a Big. Ponce.)

I'm glad you're here; I got this.

11 ways to be creative when your 'Productivity Ninja' course crashes & burns:

1.   Drink more.

2.   Drink more, after work.

3.   Put an Out Of Office on that says: I'm not in.  Email again when I'm back.  (An old boss did this.)

4.   Wear socks that don't match.  Walk like you're making love to the camera.

5.   Sign up to some swag sites.  RT that shit.

6.   Watch Gary Vaynerchuk.

7.   Get depressed about your childhood.  How Schools Kill Creativity.

8.   Drink even more.  After work, too.

9.   Email people you hate at work, after drinking. at work.

10. Download Photoshop Express and give yourself a makeover.  Post everywhere.

11. Did I mention drinking?





Way too much about my twisted view of the world.

The gloves are off.

When are you most creative?  Does it kick in after 5 drinks or more like 10?



Sunday 6 April 2014

10 Reasons Why You Should IGNORE Guerilla Art


Ignore Guerilla Art.

I beg you.



You are schlepping through your day when, on the street, you see a candle in a bottle and a note. 

Art.

Hellew! says the note. 

You were meant to find me, it says. 

Right?

Wrong.  

Don't Do It.

Put it down, don't look back, you saw nothing.

Why?

1.  It just encourages them.  If it was anything decent, why didn't they just keep it.

2.  You could Catch Something.  These people have more time than the long-term unemployed but they're not spending it showering.  

Dreads and musky in a bad way, they think deodorant will kill them.

3.  You're busy.

4.  You don't want to get caught up in all that. If you 'interact' with it, it's just another obligation. You're over-committed already.

5.  You can't draw but that's cool so just drop it OK?!?

6.  You'll get burned.  The whack job who left it will be hiding somewhere with a camera.

7.  You're busy.

8.  You know who Banksy is and these people are Wannabe's.

9.  And hippies with Future Shock.

10.  They SAY they don't care if it gets run over by a train but YOU know they DO.  

You're not responsible for their feelings.  

Engage Bystander Effect.  And just. keep. walking.

Now let's light that candle.
Who's been burned before?
Who's had a near miss?  
You found something at Pak n Save or 
the airport but you managed to ignore it and carry on schlepping.




artshecried takes no responsibility for the feelings of the people who read this or get involved in this fringe scene.  You haven't come this far to get tripped up by this.

Stick with taking your chances texting while crossing roads, washing your dryclean-only clothes and drinking milk that expired yesterday.


Wednesday 2 April 2014

Irreverent And Un Frou-Frou? Meet Art Journalling Artist Leslie Herger






Excited today to introduce Leslie Herger.  

Everybody meet Leslie, Leslie meet Everybody ...

I've cut back on my social media a lot since starting school.  You'll notice I haven't loaded up a new video since last year.  

I'm a lot quieter on Twitter and Facebook than before.  I also update my blog less.  I used to update 5 days a week but lately it's been 2 or 3.  

More when I'm on school break.

I've been blogging for a long long time.  

I think I started back in 1999 on a now defunct and gone "diary" website.  I map my ideas out in a Field Notes notebook I take everywhere with me.  








Usually I scrawl out an outline while I'm on the go.  Once I have an idea down I am able to type it out pretty quickly.  One of the many positive things about doing this for so long is that I type very fast.

As for the blog being content crammed, I lose interest in stuff if it lacks content.  I decided that comfortableshoesstudio.com was going to be content crammed with the stuff I like and find relevant.  

So the content of my blog is very personal to me.

I review the pens, pencils, brushes, paper, stuff I am using right now.  I know that it doesn't appeal to everyone, but I figure that if it appeals to me, it will appeal to at least one other person out there.



  • I started Art Journalling after watching your videos.  You say things like "Here's the deal. The Secret.  All you need to art journal is a pen and a journal."  You don't do B.S. Video's Without Too Much Bullshit.  Why not?

Ugh.  B.S. is the bane of the art journalling world.  It waters down the actual usefulness of what an art journal is and can be.  When we interject a lot of B.S. laced jargon into the conversation it obscures the very usefulness of the tool which we proclaim to hold on high.  And frankly, I don't worship my art journal.

My art journal is a tool for me to explore myself and engage my brain.  Yes, I like all the pretty things.  I think they can add to an established practice, but they can also allow the user to avoid doing the important work in a journal.

If we're always creating cathartically we're not exploring why we're creating.
I think we have to put out there that first and foremost, art journalling is only as complicated as the user makes it, and it really doesn't have to be complicated.

It's a tool and we need to use it see Art Habit.



  • People like your videos.  I have watched most of yours.  Some of my favourites are -

Art Journalling Technique Preparing a Junk Journal:




How I Use Shiny Duct Tape In My Art Journal:





Art Bull Sheet Validation I Am An Artist Because I Say So:



Art Journal Idea: Personal Ephemera And Other Stuff:




  • Are you sometimes surprised which one's are most popular? 



Honestly, I don't pay attention to how popular my videos are.  

I answer questions as they come up but I stopped tracking their popularity after a year or so.  

I enjoy that people enjoy them.  I enjoy answering art questions for people.  I like to demystify art. The actual popularity or lack of isn't something I worry about.


I think your style is content-driven, honest, irreverent and un-Frou Frou.  Which makes you stand out from the crowd.  Have I got you sussed or have I had too much coffee?

That's pretty much it.  I came to art journalling as a former art teacher stuck in a corporate job.  I'm not in this to make a buck.  If people buy my zines or my handmade books that's great.  It helps me pay for school.

I have no interest in creating a mixed media art journalling mega class empire.

I run a class every now and then at an affordable rate because I enjoy doing it not so I can take a month long vacation or move to Central America.


  • Highlights

I've met (Online and Off) some really amazing people.  Men and women who have used the power of their art journal in general to heal and take their lives to the next level.  People really amaze me.

  • Lowlights?

I've gotten a little harassment on my blog and YT for being out, my weight, having short hair, and crooked teeth.

The comment on my teeth actually got me to go and see an Orthodontist.  I've been putting it off for years because the last time I saw one I was told I needed surgery on my jaw.  

However dental tech. has come so far I've been able to get the work done with retainers and braces.  That isn't to suggest it didn't suck, because it did.

  • Plug for current projects:

Buy my zines!  I have a third issue coming out soon here and here

I put up a lot of art on my etsy shop as well Etsy Shop here

If you haven't seen my art journalling site check it out art journaling ning

As always people can find my blog at comfortable shoes studio 

Or find me on Facebook Comfortable Shoes Studio Facebook


If you are interested in gardening, coffee, EDC and other non-art journalling related stuff, you can check out my other blog "The Other Stuff" about all that other stuff here



artshecried thanks Leslie Herger for answering the best questions I could come up with.  

Thanks also for providing the international 
halo-effect for people writing a blog at their kitchen table in Johnsonville Wellington New Zealand.

artshecried is a big fan.  Check out Leslie's sites. 
You will want to quit your job and make journals every day.  Or at least ring in sick a bit more often..