Parsons Magazine

Here's a piece I just finished for Parsons Magazine. It will accompany an article reviewing various New York CIty and Brooklyn coffee shops.

chicken love

My illustrator profile is up on illustrationmundo.com!

here

Grandpa

My grandpa is a very special man.

I believe a lot of my creativity and love for drawing comes from the genes I inherited from my grandpa. From early memories, I remember my grandpa would spend countless hours tinkering away at his work bench in the basement of his house. He would always equip me with a full stock of chalk. I would make litte drawings on the chalkboard adjacent to his work bench. For hours, I would draw bugs, trees, and ice cream cones. I would then dutifully label underneath each object what it was. Richard Scarry style. It wasn't until recently did I learn that my grandpa was an engineer in his younger years. I could comiserate about my late nights drawing with many of his own experiences.

He recently told me of a story when he was spending countless hours on a drawing for a client when he was a young man. His boss advised him, "Loron, it would be wise to move that bottle of ink to someplace else on your desk." Fully involved his work, my grandpa shrugged off the suggestion and continued working. During the early morning he was finishing putting the final details on the large drawing. And what do you know, he knocked the bottle of ink all over his drawing.

"So then, what did you do grandpa?" I asked.

My grandpa raised his hands in the air with the only answer, "I did it again."

So, these days, I try to keep his creativity, spirit, and perserverance in me when I draw. This helps me feel a little bit closer to him when I feel frustrated. I mean, he did have to redo an entire drawing after doing an all-nighter.

Some fabric inspiration...

I love finding new fabrics to integrate into my illustrations. During my time home, my mom and I went to Jo Ann fabrics and I picked up these fun prints.

Business cards

I got them in the mail on Friday. If anyone would like a business card, please email me at lindseybalbierz@gmail.com and I will make sure I drop one in the mail for you.







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Ta-Da!

It's up! Go check it out

www.lindseybalbierz.com

I'm back in NYC and trying to get back into my routine. I am having the hardest time starting to draw again. I must say, I have developed some good avoidance behaviors....organizing my closet, changing my desk around for the 3rd time, rolling change...ya those are some of them.

22-to-look-forward-to in my 22nd year

Happy New Year!
I am enjoying Cleveland so much. I have been able to go to two thriftstores since I have been home and have scored some fabulous finds. Fun tops with prints and some leather boots that I have been wanting since I had to throw out my old ones.

As much as I love being home, I feel like I can only draw when I am back in New York with all my things around me at my desk. I miss that. I can't wait to start drawing again. In the mean time, I started to code my site which is exciting to see it start to work.

Since I'm 22 I forced myself to think of 22 things that 2008 holds for me:
1. GRADUATION! finally!
2. an unknown future
3. the real world
4. making products that have my illustrations on them
5. hopefully selling those products on www.littlepaperplanes.com
6. interning for Jordin Isip
7. my senior show
8. my family coming to New York
9. seeing the statue of liberty
10. a new apartment
11. moving in with amy in may/june
12. being able to decorate a place
13. learning about michelangelo
14. a new website
15. sending out promotional postcards
16. job interviews (please!)
17. fun nights out with my roommates
18. maybe some out of town guests

this is tough...
19. carrying out a promise to my grandpa by drawing/making something to decorate his walker
20. learning again to silkscreen
21. to try to take more photographs of things that inspire me
22. this one is my secret to keep

I took these pics tonight when my family went out to dinner at Great Lakes Brewery and then had drinks at Bier Markt.

I thought this lamp was really interesting with the translucent leaves



I thought the luminosity of the candle made the bottles look sinister



Until next time...