Northcoast Zeitgeist

From the list: Sticks and stones.

Lately, I've been semi-obsessed with two different artists who both use eco-media and use it well. 

The first is an etsy.com shopkeeper, Anna, who is the artist behind Lila Ruby King. I've been loving her simple, earth-conscious work for a while now, so I was excited to see that she is a featured seller this week on etsy's front page. She says that her stone, wood, and metal jewelry pieces attempt to "bring nature back to the body" and that's the feeling one gets from her work right away. So lovely:

The second is environmental artist Chris Booth. I started looking at his work when I as working on a comparative sculpture project at one of my research sites and I've been revisiting images of his work ever since. I think it's the duality of the work that appeals to me; the sheer size of the installations impart a supernatural vibe to the natural materials. Amazing:

In for a penny, in for a pound

I feel like I need to cleanse my palate after that twee-ness. I agree with Casey - it's not bad. But who can top the Mozzer himself?

I don't know what to think about all of this.

1. It's hovering on the edge of the kind of preciousness that makes me want to choke Zooey Deschanel. In fact Zooey punched herself in the face when she heard this cover because she realized that she missed a huge opportunity.

2. It's almost the kind of sweet, sweet song that some pretty library science major wrote with a broken music box and a waxed paper kazoo.

3. Frankly, I'm a little bored with the "I'm going to take a song that totally evokes (insert feeling X) and perform it in a way that evokes (insert feeling Y)" genre of covers (e.g., Wow, heavy metal band, you totally flipped that Joni Mitchell song on its head!).

4. At least it's a Morrissey cover.

5. It's not that bad.

My Memory game has Nemo on it. How do you think that makes me feel?

I can't even believe this existed under my radar for so long. It blends my love for mid-century modern art, birds, and my needs as a pediatric speech-language therapist so perfectly that I almost can't believe it's real. 

That's right. It's a goddamned CHARLEY HARPER MEMORY GAME. Charles Harper was a Cincinnati-based artist and is responsible for some of the most beautiful illustrations ever created of birds and other wildlife. Look through his entire catalog here. What a great example of how bold design, messages of conservation, and function can easily walk arm-in-arm. I want need this, and NOW. 

From the list: Chartreuse.

Herbal and heady. It's one of my favorite colors and it's everywhere I look lately in both my home and my garden. For example:

By the way, that striped ball is a Lemon Cucumber. Because of the rainy, cooler weather we've been having, our garden is about to explode with them. I'm a huge fan. When they're young and look like this, they have a mild vanilla flavor, thin skin, and crunchy texture that would be perfect in a fruit salad.

The Summertime Rolls (On)

It's a scientific fact that Summer '09 has been the summer that just won't quit. We have been having great weather (according to me and my Northern California-style temperature preferences) and lovely times with even lovelier friends. As the end of July looms, it's starting to sink in that this summer has to be over eventually. Here's a smattering of shots from all the photo assignments, expeditions, and adventures that July has brought us:

Some Thursday inspirado

Thursdays, when I was in college, were a great beginning to a long, long weekend. Strike that, who am I trying to kid? Near the end, Tuesdays were a great beginning to a long, long weekend. These days, though, Thursdays are sort of a tease - near the end of the week, but not quite Friday. You're trying to flex your creative muscles, but you've got some meetings standing in your way. You need something to get your mind in gear. Perhaps some of these can help:

I recently struck gold at a local antique shop, picking up a few vintage and near-vintage type specimens. The above came from the back cover of one. Perhaps you old-timers ordered something from Advertype. Perhaps you passed it headed down Prospect. Either way, I love everything about this - the color, the script typeface, the simple-but-strong address face, the phone. I could stare at that phone for hours.

The above came from a page titled "Monograms" in another of that day's type specimens. Great work in such tight places. There's so much to see in each of these, and every one of them light years ahead of the "monogrammed" towels your neighbor got you for graduation.

There's so much to love about this sticker, purchased at Grandma Faye's Grocery in the Hocking Hills. The colors, the simple illustration, "state bird". Perfect. I wish I had the whole set.

When the metal ones come

We're two things at Northcoast Zeitgeist. One, we're in love our planet, and try to be good stewards. Two, we're in love with the design of the past, especially the posters of the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration. One weekend this winter, trapped inside thanks to another gray, rainy Kent weekend, Casey and I collaborated on these two posters, our tribute to the past:

  

Things that are blowing my mind right now

Let's face facts, the Internet is a strange and amazing place that can at once be rather helpful in the day-to-day function of our lives or work ceaselessly, relentlessly, like a Terminator, to drive us to inspired distraction. This post isn't about using Safari to access your work e-mail. This post is about mind-blowing day-crushers.

For instance, strange|beautiful hits us with this: "Not too many sound projects can claim to simultaneously represent profound instances in the annals of experimental sound, incidental art, governmental secrecy, cold war/present-day espionage, creative obsession and conspiracy theory. The fact that one man’s attentiveness, curiosity and creativity spawned all of the above is a testament and an inspiration." With that, I give you The Conet Project (hat-tip to Coudal Partners).

I'm not sure how you follow that up, but Casey brought the pain miscellany-style today by digging up BibliOdyssey, a truly inspiring collection of images. Dig in, folks. And while you're digging, why not try two of my all-time favorites? First, there's the Shorpy Photo Archive, an amazing archive of high-quality vintage photographs. Next, try The Big Picture, a photo blog from the Boston Globe, updated regularly with grouped sets of larger-than-life photos that capture every facet of the world around us. Recent posts include shots from the Tour de France. Each photo is a study in perfect composition. As a consequence of both that and the subject matter, the site's photos are often emotionally gripping.

Finally, here's an informative, yet entertaining, video about a tiny snippet of music that has grown far beyond its original use, the "Amen Break":

Go out there and find some mind-blowers of your own. And while you're at it, send them our way, too. There's just so much out there, and it's all at our fingertips.

From the list: Books.

If one were to scroll down our Top 20 List of Current & Serious Obsessions, Preoccupations, and Inspirations, just before "Squidbillies" and just after "Goat Cheese", one would find "nicely done book covers." In fact, we've started a little set on Flickr to document the loveliness spotted in our local library. Click on any of the images below to take a closer look.

Also, if you're in the mood to have your design mind blown apart, visit the lovely documentation of Penguin covers by letslookupandsmile.

New Developments on the Home Front

A new poster hanging out in the guest room.

And a new rug and recycled bookcase in the living room.

What a beautiful package you have.

I love this little planet, so I try to buy as green as possible. We all know that almost everything we buy from the local mart is way over-packaged. Paper is evil, plastic is evil-er, and polystyrene has reached Pat Robertson levels of world-ending evilness. Packaging = bad. That being said, here at NZ, we're obviously suckers for anything that's nicely designed (e.g., I would consider buying a hole for my head if it was minimally packaged, say in matte paper with a kick-ass combo of fonts). So, what to do when you are an environmentally-conscious, aesthetically-obsessed consumer? I fawn over the package design, but don't actually buy anything in the end. Here are two that I am currently drooling over:

Inspiration: Frank Soltesz

Commercial illustrator Frank Soltesz did some amazing work for the Armstrong Cork Company that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post between 1947 and 1951. To see more of his spectacular cutaways and other illustrations, check out this great Flickr set.

No explanation needed.

A poster for a worthy cause

After all of the work we did during the election, my first return engagement in progressive-minded design came with the opportunity to design the poster promoting a local showing of the FRONTLINE documentary "Sick Around the World". I produced this for the Portage County Democratic Party.

Cajun Dave's: Laissez les bons temps rouler

We first learned of local restaurant Cajun Dave's from the wonderful blog of Kent's ass-kicking go-getter of a city manager, Dave Ruller. Located in the Water Street Tavern, Cajun Dave's is the brainchild of Dave Russo, chef at nearby Russo's Restaurant, which is an amazing place in its own right. Russo, from Cuyahoga Falls, honed his craft over more than 10 years spent in the kitchens of New Orleans. Joining Russo in his latest project is Brian Bower, who manages Cajun Dave's. The product they're delivering, despite the location, is anything but bar food. Consider it quick, convenient Cajun, prepared with a care that's obvious in the final product.

Says Russo, "What we provide at Cajun Dave's is cooking from scratch, there's nothing one dimensional about our food. Our slow cooking method allows you to taste the layers of spices and fresh ingredients in everything we make," adding, "there's a whole lotta love going into every item we prepare from scratch." 

And he's right. Since we first heard about Cajun Dave's, we've been there several times. As far as appetizers go, I'd recommend the Chips and Dips, which comes with homemade guacamole, tomatillo and tomato salsas. I'd also suggest the Southwest Seasoned fresh-cut fries, which come topped with Chihuahua cheese, roasted jalapenos and caramelized onions, as well as sour cream.

We've also had the Crispy Corn-Fried Shrimp Po-Boy, which is amazing, and comes dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayonnaise. The Shrimp Creole - sauteed shrimp prepared with Creole seasonings and tomato sauce served over steamed rice - didn't disappoint, nor does the pizza. Perfectly sized and crispy on the bottom, the pizza may be the best in Kent. We've had it with roasted peppers and caramelized onions, though you can get it with pretty much any of the usual pizza toppings. Casey swears by the Classic Caesar Salad, while I'd go to war with one recent special, the Mexican Style Tacos topped with blackened catfish.

Cajun Dave's offers customers great food at affordable prices, all served in a unique location. If you're in a hurry, there's a carry-out window, too. They stay open late, and the hostess told me that when students return, they'll stay open into the wee hours, as late as 3 a.m., offering Kent residents another reason to venture to a growing downtown, which will soon be home to other new restaurants, including a vegetarian eatery and a sushi joint. Being the vegetarians and sushi fiends that Casey and I are, this is great news.

So if you're in the area, get downtown, and support great, local dining. You'll be happy you didn't go to Applebee's. Your stomach - and soul - will thank you.

Sneak preview

Casey and I are working on an wedding invitation for a friend of ours who has an awesome concept. Consider this a sneak preview of a work-in-progress, much like this site.

Signage done right