I can't wait to unveil this project.

I've been working on this pirate themed site and I'm loving it!

The Great Easter Showdown 2011

click for larger version

As kids growing up we were always told not to eat too much candy and lots of sugar because it was bad for your teeth. We were also told that the tooth fairy loved cavity free teeth, so we should keep them clean.

At the same time we're given tons of candy on Easter...
Watching all my siblings and the neighborhood kids eat lots and lots of candy this week, I couldn't help but wonder if there is an epic throw down on Easter night between the clean, cavity free tooth loving tooth fairy and the sugar induced jelly bean popping Easter Bunny.

My guess is there was no epic throw down, but part of me wishes there was. One can only hope right?

im truckin' along!

I wish I could show you but I recently designed my cousins wedding invitation and basically the whole stationary package. here is a @dribbble-esc preview. I'm really pumped about it! Soon I'll be showing my most recent projects as they come to a close.

Its good to be busy...

One would think after completing, literally five projects in three days, I wouldn't want to look at graphics, but I made this for fun.
(typography is fun?!)

projectLOVE: Kristina

What is projectLOVE: Kristina? Well its fully explained right here; but the quick run down is, Rogie made an awesome site called dribbble.com; which is a place for designers to show little (no bigger than 400x300px) snippets of what they're working on.  But last night his sisters house burned down, completely and now they're homeless, essentially, so in order to raise money, he asked the community to make a little ditty for her and help spread the word about helping out with a little donation, if you can.  If not, go here and look at all the awesome projects (or rebounds, as the site calls them) people have made!

"Lord..." (reposted)

It's amazing how over two years ago I wrote this prayer and it still rings true to this very day. This was originally written (published 10.29.09) for a friend's online magazine, it has since gone under but remains online as to not break links or lose the articles written for it.
(I found my prayer on a community on livejournal, I had no clue that it was found let alone posted. Its amazing how God can use our words to help people that we may never know)

the undead love too!

Each year people give candy, cards and flowers as ways to show that they love their boo (whatever that means) and that they have their "heart" but I think the zombies have it right!

If you're like a great majority of people, you haven't bought your significant others card yet, so print this out and voila! One of a kinda card (unless your s.o. did the same thing! Whoops!)

Oh yeah... if you're single and you don't have a significant other to give one of my epic drawings too tomorrow, just click the link and commiserate with the little fellow (you'll see what I mean!

Remember Missing Baby Jesus?

Remember last year when I wrote about how fitting it was that our baby Jesus went missing? Well I couldn't take it anymore and I decided upon myself to make another one. I was tired of looking at an empty "Jesus-less" manger. I know its simple and silly but I was tired of it! 

I can go into deep thoughts and reflect even more on what that means for me personally, in regards to my last post but I'll spare you that (for now) and just post the pics of the baby Jesus I sculpted.

Sometimes the simplest things say the most.

fly away (WIP)

So I've slowly decided that I will bring this blog back to life, with art, quips, thoughts.  Whatever.  I guess just to let you guys know that I am actually alive and making art haha!

---

   This piece, that i'm currently working on, the inspiration comes from one of my favorite hymns (I'll Fly Away) and the David Crowder Song (Undignified).

As for what was the push to create this piece, a friend of mine sent me an email from a friend of hers asking for artists to create or submit artwork for a show at a church.  So I had been thinking of this idea for a while (i even sketched this out in a sketch book) but I just never got around to creating it and I had also been wanting to create a more "fine arts" type piece. I've been focusing on commercial work so much that my own work is falling behind a lot lately.  So voila!

This is obviously not finished but its a good start and I look forward to finishing and finaly getting this printed and submitted to the show!

Let me know what you guys think.

Forgotten.

I think somewhere between last spring and the middle of fall, I lost my direction. I have wandered around in what feels like a wilderness for a while looking for something to lead me in the direction, never looking in the right places, feeling forgotten. Going through the motions but never changing where I look. I feel like I finally have the scent... but I'm still on the path, this meandering path, called life.

Seasons

     I’m realizing as I get more and more involved in the christian culture that people talk about seasons in more than a simple weather terminology. I had never heard this before. A season of life, of the year. There can be many seasons of... something in one weather season.
     I have always believed in life changes happening around season changes. The end of the summer came and that ended my stint in Philly and i moved back to Jersey. As I moved to the place where everyone vacations too; all those vacationers were making their way back to wherever they lived. Having grown up here I have always seen this. In April we would see businesses start preparing for the onslaught of new people to, sadly, take advantage of with the high prices and cheap products. May would bring the population of my area up 200-300% Then in August a mass exodus would happen. Students leaving for school, vacation families leaving, some businesses closing. Another “season” on the books.
     It’s always easier to see what lead up to the closing of a season when it’s not your own. I’m back home in Jersey. Trying to figure out what my time here is meant to teach me. its showing me a lot of things. Good thing and bad things both about myself and what has become of my family over the past four years. ( when I was in school I didn’t go home very often during school ). This very short time has already shown me the way God has worked within me as I have
     Sitting here and hearing and seeing the suburban antics makes me realize more and more I am an Urban dweller and my heart is in the city; but for this season of my life I, for some reason, I am in a shore suburbanite... I know I’ll learn and be stretched during this season... I just hope that before the next season, I am onto my personal next season.


For now... my only seasonal chore is to... job hunt and get a friggin job! haha

Sabbath Day Humble Pie in my face!

As I was sitting in church yesterday I was just kind of sitting there half thinking half listening to the announcements that were being spoken and its funny, I was complaining; to myself, that I really didn't want to do anything relating to my thesis right now. I was so over it, I felt like I was beating a dead horse, etc etc etc. I kept thinking I just want to get out of school and do missions and ya know do gods work; whatever that will look like come graduation....

here's where I got a nice steaming piece of humble pie...
God reminded me of that verse, that is highlighted and underlined in my bible, in Exodus 35:35

"He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers."

He filled them with the skill to be artists and to do their work to the glory of god. To top it off, my thesis is all about being "created with his hands..." using hands as metaphor for spirituality.

Here I am in church, complaining about NOT wanting to do any work on my thesis, which is smothered in God... and wanting to do Gods work... hrm.. and the pharisees were a little slow... HAH! I think they learned a little something from yours truly.

I wish I could say that I left church pumped about going back to my studio to merrily go on my way working on my thesis. I did go back, I did work on my thesis, I did start something pretty sweet... was I chipped and thankful that I was there...? I'm still workin' on that. Speaking of which, time to get back to work.

Speaking of work... here is a little preview of whats brewing in "la studio de mike". These are all small (less than 3") medallions that are part of my thesis

    

Frustrations...

As artists we're called to create, show and make culture. As Christians we're called to show Gods love, redemption and hope for the world. How does one do that without sticking to fluffy imagery? Think Thomas Kinkade, soothing lighting, pretty calming colors, nothing controversial, nothing that could offend. That's one of the struggles I'm going through right now. How do I continue with the path my art is going on while trying to be some sort of witness (whatever that might look like through the guise of art) to viewers of my art. Sure the easy answer is pray about it, which I do but at the same time God uses our logic and thoughts to answer our prayers... so where does that leave me? My only option is to have faith that the gifts the lord has graciously given to me are being used to give this glory right back to him.
After all is said and done I just have to have faith that what I am doing as both a Christian and an artist, and overall, is worthy and glorifying to God.