Kelly Lahl

Studio Shot :: Monday

2012-01-16T16:43:00.002-06:00

Practicing with the stretcher frame (on the right) and the water based gutta resist on a silk wool scarf. I think this silk wool blend needs a much different approach. It soaks up dye and water, and is less "flexible". On the drying rack is an in-progress silk wool scarf with wobbly squares. I thought I would like the squares, but they need something else. Mulling this...

I've been busy with prep for the upcoming semester, and absorbing lots of good information in the Hello Business Hello Soul e-course.

Also, my new friend Cindy Jones Lantier was so kind and wrote a bit about her new scarf. Thanks Cindy for sharing, I'm so happy you enjoy the scarf!

And, don't forget about my (birthday, anniversary, marking of a new fluttering etsy shop) celebration give-away on facebook. Some great examples from Italiano style that is yet to be replicated, to Steven Tyler rock star style. So much fun... thanks to those playing along.

Celebration Give Away :: Silk Scarf

2012-01-13T12:12:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was a real big day to celebrate for me. Birthdays... and a very special anniversary with Mr. Lahl! It just made me feel the need to give, too. Share the love, so to speak. So friends, I finished this new scarf yesterday and would love some special person out in the world to give it a good home.

That's right, it's a good old-fashioned give away! Please hop over to my Facebook page for details, where the whole thing is happening.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

- Kelly

PVC + Fiberboard

2012-01-09T14:40:00.001-06:00

This weekend I purchased PVC piping to make modular silk stretching frames. With such long pieces, 72+ inches, I needed a good storage place. In the masonry section, I found these fiberboard (like really hefty cardboard) tube barrels that they use for forming concrete. Really inexpensive, and perfect for my PVC pieces. For the shorter pieces, I may try cutting one of these in half (okay it will probably be Mr. Lahl) and cluster them together. Then the outsides of the barrels will likely get dressed up with some paint. Orange? Hmmm. More when it's figured out.

The PVC tends to be really static-y. I'm going try and wipe them down with laundry softener and see if that works. Any ideas about that?

Also, I hope you've had a chance to check out the fly tribe's blog hop. Some pretty great people I've connected with through the class I participated in this summer.

New in the shop: Silk Scarf in Lavender and Tangerine with Inky Line Drawing

2012-01-05T15:14:00.003-06:00

My second silk scarf! I really needed to refrain from taking this one myself. The tangerine and lavender are a great combo, but it needed a little something else that brought it from regular boho, to boho arty chic. It was an experiment with drawing line texture and writing in ink over the dye. It's wonderful to play with and create new little silk scarf "compositions". This silky (now sold) in the Etsy shop.

A Peek

2012-01-04T23:11:00.000-06:00

Midway...line drawing on silk...should be in the Etsy shop tomorrow. These silkies are so fun to make!

Long Live the Letter

2012-01-03T10:01:00.000-06:00

I have a deep love for letters, all kinds of letters. The last few months I've spent much of my free time looking at, reading about, and drawing letters. Type design and lettering/calligraphy is such a fascinating topic. Here are just a few nuggets worth your time, if your a letter admirer too.

PBS Off Book: Type: A great little video about typography with Paula Scher, Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones.

Sign Painter Movie: upcoming documentary by Faythe Levine (also: Handmade Nation) & Sam Macon, focused on sign painters. Thanks to my friend Renee for sending this. This reminded me of the wonderful Margaret Kilgallen, who was heavily influenced by sign painters of earlier eras.

IAMPETH: International Association of Master Penman, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting. Their conference is this summer–in Milwaukee! On the long list of things to do someday, is learning to write Copperplate.

TypeCon: The conference all about type, presented by SoTA. Again, it's happening this summer in Milwaukee, the week prior to the IAMPETH conference.

Typeface: A documentary about the Hamilton Wood Type Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. I had a student in my typography class this fall; her grandfather was Norbert, a highlight of the Typeface documentary, one of the few remaining individuals who ran the pantograph router machine (cutting wood type)

Some books I have been reading:
Letter Fountain: The new textbook I'm using in my typography classes. Packed full of good info.

Active literature: Jan Tschichold and New Typography: Admittedly only for the truest die hard type nut, this has been a fascinating read about the brilliant work of Jan Tschichold, the son of a signwriter.

Typography Sketchbooks and Printed Matter: super visual brain food.

2012 :: Balance

2012-01-02T14:02:00.003-06:00

2012, here we are. Happy New Year! I've decided to focus on balance, in all things I endeavor to do. That is my resolution and focus this year.

“Your hand opens and closes, opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralysed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds' wings.”
― Rumi, Essential Rumi

Edited to add: One Little Word 2012 was originated by Ali Edwards, who has a class to define your word. Also, I've joined a blog hop with my good friends from Kelly Rae Roberts Flying Lessons. Please check out their art, and words for 2012!

Nutmeg

2011-12-23T12:54:00.000-06:00

Vintage Stitchery.

Silk Painting: The Beginning

2011-12-21T12:44:00.000-06:00

The fall just flew by me! I spent it teaching full-time, (first time), and it was intense but it was really gratifying. Four studio classes; three Introduction to Design and one Introduction to Typography. I'll be focusing exclusively on typography in the spring semester, because I'm a full-on letter/type nerd.

I did get to carve out a few moments for other things, such as a silk painting class with Leslie Perrino at the Racine Art Museum. Leslie was so fun to work with. She's got that happy frenetic intensity that I totally admire and love to be around. So now I'm waiting for supplies from Dharma Trading to do a bit more silk painting over the winter break. Below is my first habotai silk scarf, from the class. It has a washy watercolor feel, and a few mistakes. Gives it that handmade quality. :)

John Randal McDonald

2011-11-04T02:30:00.001-05:00

I've been having a new home love affair for the past week or so. We live in a pretty teeny home, which I don't mind. I like to call it cozy, which it definitely is. But someday we'd like to move to a place with a little more space, so I always keep my eye open for houses. And this one popped up. Mr. Lahl and I were head-over-heels for this mid-century house designed by architect John Randal McDonald. I had never heard of him, but he's known as the poor man's Frank Lloyd Wright. We toured the house last weekend and it was really wonderful. I was inspired by this article about a JRD house in the neighborhood. That's a serious remodel. But in the end unfortunately, as much as we would like to throw caution to the wind, it turns out this isn't the home for us. The commute to Milwaukee would be 45+ minutes, which is not appealing, among a few others. But, I'm glad I learned about McDonald, and happy we got to see the house. It was a real treat.

Since we were so inspired, I got tickets for Mr. Lahl and I to tour the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie house for his upcoming birthday weekend.

Practice

2011-10-01T12:24:00.000-05:00

Just a little painting.

And a new paint box.

A Little Bit About Copyright

2011-09-11T13:06:00.001-05:00

Photo: Horia Varian

Hey dear friends, it's been too long. I hope you brought in the late summer with a deep breath. I had a good first week of teaching typography and design classes at the University, and I'm all ready for week 2. Good fun, but lots of work this first go-around.

So this week I had the opportunity to attend a short brown-bag lunch talk on intellectual property. Always an interesting subject. The speaker was Kenneth Ng, Intellectual Property Counsel for Illinois Tool. His talk was short and packed full of great information, but also re-emphasized to me that this area is always complicated. If you haven't yet looked at http://www.copyright.gov/ I highly suggest this as a valuable resource to any creative person.

Along these lines, I wanted to share with you a way to embed code into your digital files using metadata. This info will "stick" with your file, in the behind the scenes code, when it's being transferred around the digital ethos. Also when embedded in, and extracted from, PDFs etc. While you aren't able to lock the metadata information, (super unfortunate!) so someone can go in and change it, this is still just another tool to protect your creative work.

This will work in most Adobe applications, but I'm showing Photoshop:

1. Open your image file in Photoshop.

2. On the top menu, under the FILE drop down, click on FILE INFO. See image.

3. In the File Info panel on the Description tab you can add your name, image title, search tags, etc.

4. Then move down to the copyright status, and choose copyrighted under the drop down menu. See image.

5. Below that fill in your copyright notice; the copyright symbol © keystroke is option-G on a mac.

6. Add your contact URL. See image.

OPTION-G KEYSTROKE = © SYMBOL

7. Click OK at the bottom right, and you have successfully added copyright info to your file.

Alright friends, I hope this is helpful for you!
Kelly

Sandy & Sue

2011-09-02T15:24:00.000-05:00

It's been a long week, friends. I have been immersed in teaching prep, but received a sweet package from my mom, which contained Sandy & Sue. Paper dolls from 1968... I couldn't think of a better thing to brighten my day. Aren't they wonderful? The smiles on these two girls...it's like the Mona Lisa smile. Slightly mischievous but full of honey. The clothing illustrations are just the sweetest. I thought you would enjoy these.

I just finished hosting a really fun afternoon of fellow creative ladies. We talked about our accomplishments and goals, and shared our work and advice, too. Good stuff. I'll share more soon.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Kelly

Owl and Bell

2011-08-27T15:45:00.000-05:00

Found this cute guy at a yard sale.

Be Audacious Today

2011-08-25T15:39:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading an amazing book. Really good, this one. It's called Secrets of Six-Figure Women by Barbara Stanny. I know...you may be thinking what I was thinking before reading this book; who does she think she is? Just hang in there with me.

I spotted this in the bookstore, and the title caught my attention. Pretty bold, bordering on gauche title. I was only looking for some boring tax book and got sidetracked. After paging through it, and becoming mildly interested, I still wasn't sure it was for me (because, yeah, who do I think I am needing to know the secrets of such high earning women!?) so I put it back. I kept thinking about it... and thinking about it... and I finally decided that I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. It was a completely Audacious thought. So, I checked it out from the library. It's from 2002 so I'm sure it's at your library, too.

I have to honestly tell you my whole mindset has been transformed by this book. It's really not a book about money, it's much more about completely expanding your capacity for success.

It's about identifying your passion, instilling a profit motive alongside it, and not being ashamed of that! We need to feel worthy of letting abundance into our lives. And this book is about utilizing the power of intention to make it happen. It's realistic though, and expects that you'll work hard to make it happen. Encourages you to stretch yourself to make sometimes terrifying decisions, like leaving that job or investing some of your savings, or taking on a project that you feel you have no business taking on, to make your dreams come true. To avoid being a chronic under-earner and giving away, or under selling, your time and talent. To prioritize your goals, and sticking to that prioritization.

It talks about becoming comfortable with risk. Evaluating it and pushing through to achieve what you want, even when you're unsure. To Be Audacious.

And of course it talks about failure, but like a phoenix, it shares the importance of being resilient on all levels. It encourages women to believe in themselves and their potential, no matter age or background, to accomplish something so far beyond their imaginations it really seems impossible, until one day it becomes possible. And then that blue sky thinking is reality.

So, to those still gathering the chutzpah to make Audacious decisions to make your creative biz dreams come to fruition; here's to us letting go of the ledge and being bold, creative women.

Kelly

Sunday Doodle

2011-08-21T16:48:00.000-05:00

Just a Sunday doodle. A thank you card for my aunt- and uncle-in law that will be sent for the great day we had with them at Lake Butte De Mort last weekend. These were vintage fishing lures that were in their garage and they caught my eye. I really like the fish on the far right; the other two are a little flat, but will be sweet enough for a meaningful thank you.

I am closing in on the Present Music Water concert presentation. It's Present Music's 30th anniversary this year! It's great to see an arts organization thrive. I'm excited to see everything come together this Saturday.

And, finally, in between prepping for teaching; the semester is quickly approaching(!), I am reading a fascinating book: Secrets of Six-Figure Women. I wasn't even sure I should even acknowledge I would read a book like this, but the title caught my eye at the bookstore while I was looking for a different book. I thought it would be the typical business-y drivel, but it didn't fall into that category for me. The more I read, the more I am pleasantly surprised at the intelligence and thoughtfulness of the author. Once I finish I'll post a little summary.

I hope you had a relaxing Sunday. It's my favorite day of the week.

Kelly

Vibrant Pink

2011-08-16T23:04:00.001-05:00

Just a little pop of color up there. I walked past these gorgeous flowers a few weeks back. I didn't manipulate this image at all, and look at that vibrant pink! Makes me want to paint something bright, bright pink.

I have been submerged in the Water concert intro slideshow design. (you have to love the pun, c'mon...) I met with the artistic director of Present Music, Kevin Stalheim today and we went through the 80+ slides. Overall good progress, but I need to find a find balance of using the alarming and depressing statistics about our exploding population and looming water crises, with a happy, celebratory feel... without it feeling disrespectful to the above mentioned reality. Tricky is an understatement.

I've also been getting a bit schooled on this whole social media revolution, thanks to the super great Kelly Rae Roberts' Flying Lessons e-course. My to-do lists are exploding!

I set up a facebook page
and twitter
and pinterest
and I secured my domain

Yeah, it all looks pretty empty right now, but soon... I'll paint them all vibrant pink.

Water

2011-08-15T09:05:00.000-05:00

Saturday was really gorgeous day in my corner of the world. I spent the afternoon and evening with family at a picturesque spot on Lake Butte des Morts in the little town Winneconne, WI. Pronounced "bew da more" bew, like dew. Not like sew. The roads were winding and full of wild turkeys. Kids were smiling and riding their bikes without a care; hardly any cars! It was so heart warming.

There were lawn games, fishing poles, and pontoon rides. It really was a little slice of heaven. I can see why our relatives decided to quit the city and retire there. I didn't even realize how tense I was until I was out on the boat relaxing. I found myself drawn to taking countless images of the light on the water.

Some of these images were used in an intro piece I'm working on for (warning! sound!) Present Music. They are a contemporary music ensemble, putting on a Water concert at the Marcus Center Uihlein Hall. We are really proud of our water resources here in Wisconsin, and there are a bunch of artists from the school I teach at who are contributing work to the concert and river party. I've been combining images and statistics and poetry, to create a visually interesting, entertaining and informative slide show for the concert hall while people make their way in... I've started to become very enamored with water.

Amidst all the fun, I am getting pretty nervous about this (such a fancy venue, and so many people! Eeeks.) But nerves aside, the work is looking great, and I will just honor the process. And breathe.

I'll be back soon. Until then be well!
Kelly

My Studio: A Real Place of Serenity

2011-08-11T14:47:00.000-05:00

My studio has brought me so much serenity. I rented space in an old industrial factory in the Walker's Point neighborhood in Milwaukee, WI. It's just a little bit from the shore of lake Michigan. The lake breeze and sound of seagulls lifts my spirit every time, before I walk in the building. The building was converted into a live/work studio office space. My neighbors are in all different areas of business. There's a florist, yoga studio, judo studio, multiple photographers, a jewelry designer, fine artists, Third Coast Digest, and regular live in tenants (with dogs ♥ ). I love the random mix of activity going on.

I've spent most of my summer moving in getting things set up and organized. It was really intimidating at first; an immense white space. Things are filling in though, deciding where they want to be. All in good time.

I like to be thrifty and find vintage pieces of furniture to use. This is the entry.

For about six years I've been sewing. It was really hard not having much space to do it. Now I can spread out.

I like to make boxes of current projects. You'll see that one there is for the Intro to Typography class I'll be teaching this fall. I picked up this habit from Twyla Tharp's excellent book "The Creative Habit"

Recently, I've started painting. I find that the hours can just melt away when I'm doing this. I am just scratching around with gouache and watercolor right now. Nothing fancy. I'm doing small and quick studies, and literally just random mark making to help rediscover my hand/eye connection.

This comfy chair is where I sit and think. or read. or stare at images on wall.
Like these images below I've been staring at for some time.

I will leave you with the one quote that I wrote down about ten years ago. "Feel pride in how far you've come and confidence in where you are going" Anonymous. This piece of paper has followed me to different cities, and many places, getting stuck on the wall as a sort of marker that it's my creative space. I really take the message to heart, and hope you will too.

Until next time, be well.
Kelly

Hello Blogging World

2011-08-11T09:28:00.000-05:00

It's nice to finally join you. I need to thank Kelly Rae Roberts for her super inspiring Flying Lessons course that changed my perspective on blogging. As she said, you have to open yourself up to let the world come rushing in.

I'll be back with images of my studio. Stay tuned, and be well until then.

Kelly