logo pogo agogo

Couldn't restrain myself from making bad rhyme above.
I am still carving the logo and design thing.
Its a departure from my normal kind of work...but due to the intelligence of my client, she has given me carte blanche to develop, create and grow something unique. A true bespoke design that does not come ready packed from a font machine. It's difficult but vastly more rewarding to do. I can just feel all the little gray cells applauding the exercise they are getting.
Its a wonderful opportunity to wander into less familiar territory and get to play with things I dont often have the chance to do so.
Hoarknockle is managing to keep the generator going (by pedaling the generator, galley slaves are fun to watch!) ... so my electric equipment all works. I do believe the uncouth oaf is getting rid of his expanding girth. Jolly Good!

time hiccups

Time has not been flowing, rather coming in irregular burps. Which is why my blog has not been regular...all due to the time burps.
I hope time-space continuum has been restored.
Its been busy. Packed my eldest off to Belgium to race with the Fuji Test team at the Cyclingcenter.
Also trying to whip Hoarknockle back into shape by making him ride my indoor bicycle trainer every day. He bleats like a baby.
The wind has been blowing on occasion and that means I am out with my younger boy, holding his equipment while he flies about beneath his large kite with skis on his feet. Exhilaration by proxy... or vicarious prairie skiing.

I have been jerking around rather like a ferret on espresso.
Sometimes everything gets in the way. (its my excuse)
At last have returned to being creative... dusted off my favourite ivory tower and taken refuge in it, making squiggly things on paper and the magical screen connected to the electrical socket. My friend in England likes her logo and now its time to turn it into letterheads and all kinds of things.
This most recent thing is a heading to be on her website.
I just need to lash Hoarknockle again...he is pedalling the generator to produce electricity for my machines. Slacker!
And I want lunch and tea.... NOW!

...I think we've got it!

Sometimes the break through is small yet significant. A subtle movement around a corner gives sudden new perspective and then you see things anew.
After obsessing about aspects of the logo, I sort of lost sight of the goal and ended up trying to force the green marble background to work. Walking away from something is hard, especially when it has presented a challenge. But enough.
I went back to the brief and thought about the function of the logo within the thoughts set out by my client.
One has to think clearly and only focus on the nature of the piece.
This starting to sound terribly zen... maybe it is. Whatever it might seem, it has worked.
Maybe I should approach doing laundry in the same way.
There is beauty in purity.
Now most of the work is done and the client needs to ruminate over the suggestions and examples and make the call. Then the letterhead and other children of the logo icon can be brought forth....I see a procession and pageantry , banners and music... fanfare!
Hmmmm...what is in this tasty herbal tea that Hoarknockle makes?
Which reminds me......

logo developments

The logo continues and has had a few interesting iterations. My friend, the client, loves the lettertype and the design. I am happy!
Its been fun working with this logo/name. I have been tweaking it in al kinds of ways and making it do things for me. When it goes well, its exciting.
The green background in
this image is a photo I took of a bucket of waste paint that was being mixed together before being recycled. The colours and the swirls were enchanting and I took a photo. It rather looks like stone...onyx or green marble.
Back to work!

logo jiggle logic

Some jobs come flying at you out of the blue... this one was one of them...
A dear friend of the family called from London (yes the English city!) and wanted me to redesign her business name and logo.
I don't really do logos, not in the graphic design sense anyway.
After reading her the whole forty page proviso and health warning, she still wanted me to do it, knowing full well that this was not to be anything clean and clinical like any good type software could offer. This would be hand hewn from the finest paper and ink made from 100% natural organic hand grown materials (tended to by children deep in the Abscondian Forests).
She designs fine interiors for refined clients in a rarified atmosphere of elegance and interesting people and also does stupendous floral installations for persons and companies who can afford the last word in excellence. She is to be found at www.cornecopia.com .

There is an elegant atmosphere that oozes down the telephone line from from someone like this, calling from London. I wore my burgundy velvet smoking jacket for the occasion and had Hoarknockle bring me a snifter of Cognac.

The term for this kind of thing is "bespoke". Handcrafted. Original. One of a kind, made to order, only! The logo and lettertype will be entirely, uniquely crafted and not taken from a plastic boil-in-the bag, instant noodle dish.
After some thought and several pencils, I came up with some ideas and started the to and fro which is typical of this bespoke business. I wore a cravat for the occasion and had Hoarknockle smoke a cigarette in a long silver and ivory holder.Outdoors obviously, I cannot abide cigarette smoke!

Tea was Earl Gray and served in the Spode bone china. Was there ever any doubt?

ghost of crutches past

There are a lot of amazing systems built to support cameras...and with the DSLRs that can now shoot video, there is a bigger need than before. The DSLR camera format isnt as ergonomic as the purpose designed camcorders and this causes the DSLR to be less stable when shooting video. They are great when shooting stills...but can become really wobbly when doing video.
The rigs built by mainstream camera equipment companies are very expensive...one can deduce why....its built for an industry that is known to have masses of production money. In my case, not the case.
I thought about this for quite some time and was stumped about possibilities. When trying to find something in a storeroom, I happened upon a set of crutches and they seemed perfect for a basic skeleton. I built and modified and sawed and cut and added bits with cardboard until I had something I thought would work.
A local company welded and fabricated the cardboard into metal and now I have a shoulder rig at a much lower price than anything I could have bought. It works well too.
Briliant!
Oh...the documentary I am making is about the dreams of a young man who is trying to make it as a professional cyclist in europe. It may take a year or two.
Meanwhile...I shoot footage and make art and tea.

the nest that started it...

Thanks to the magic of digital photography, I found an older photo of the plover nest I painted onto the floor at the Deltacrest home of our friends when I was there quite some time ago.(many many beautiful memories!)
Our friends now live in Australia and no longer have a plover nest with two eggs hiding behind their back door...which was why I painted a more portable version for them.