Rock, Paper, Show realease party & our first book signing @ The Strand, NYC June 4th.

(click for more info about the Rock Paper Show, Flatstock book)

Next week is going to be a huge, big ridiculous week for us at strawberryluna. And, to boot, it’s in the hugest, biggest, most ridiculous city in the country. So, perfect!

Not only are we doing the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn next weekend, and are participating in the Rock For Kids Poster Artist Interview Series, but, we’ve also amazingly been invited to be a part of the Rock  Paper Show Flatstock book release party on Friday evening, June 4th, 2010. Holy smokes. And to boot, it’s made better by the fact that the release party event is at my absolute favorite bookstore, let alone one of my favorite places on the entire planet. The Strand bookstore in Manhattan! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Can’t even believe it. Any time that I am in NYC, I definitely make sure to get into the hallowed walls and rows of The Strand, but this time, not just as a book nerd, but as an artist in the rock poster movement representing Rock Paper Show & Flatstock.

Someone pinch me, cause I must be dreaming.

The one & only Strand Bookstore at 4th & Broadway in Manhattan.

For the special release party and book signing at The Strand bookstore,  Geoff Peveto, curator of Rock Paper Show, president of the American Poster Institute and partner in The Decoder Ring, an Austin based design collective, will be available to discuss the history of Flatstock and the steady growth of the gig poster community. Featured Rock Paper Show artists Hero, Mat Daly, strawberryluna, Vahalla, and Tara McPheerson will all be available to sign copies, as well as Holly Gressley of Rumors, the book’s designer, and Mike Treff from Soundscreen Design, the book’s publisher and producer.

If you are in the New York City area on Friday evening, June 4th, come check us out and say hello. We’d love to say hi and talk about posters and books. Cause we’re dorks.

Can’t wait to see you again my old friend, The Strand.

Rock Paper Show: New York Release Party info:

Date: Jun 4, 2010

Time: 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Location: The Strand — 828 Broadway, New York (4th & Broadway) (212) 473-1452

For more information about the 18 miles of books at this historic and heavenly bookstore, click here.

For more information about the Rock Paper Show Flatstock book, read my blog post here.

And here is a photo that I took there in my geeky glee on a visit in 2007.

POSTPONED! :( Set your watches! Rock For Kids live strawberryluna interview (date now TBA)

(click for more info)

POSTPONED!!!!! 😦 Due to technical difficulties 😦

We are so sorry to announce that this interview has been postponed due to multiple technical difficulties. We’re super sad, at the same time, we all know that the rescheduled event will be amazing and totally worth the wait.

We promise.

Stayed tuned for the rescheduled date, which will most likely be next week June 10th or 11th.

This is a super fun thing to announce. Ready? OK! We will be teaming up with the fine folks at Rock For Kids & Clay Hayes from Gigposters.com as a part of the Rock For Kids live webcast Poster Artist Interview Series. Our interview will be on Friday, June 4th at 1pm CST (2pm EST)

Here’s the situation: Rock For Kids & Clay Hayes are doing a live interview with us here at strawberryluna and our friends Hero Design Studio, and since we are both going to be in NYC on the 4th for Renegade Craft Fair Brooklyn, we’re going to do this interview Bill O’Reilly-style ( “____ it! We’ll do it live!”)

That’s right! We will be live wifi-broadcasting from our laptops on the fly from a TBA sweet spot in New York City. A hint: it’ll probably be in Manhattan. But we don’t even know where we will be broadcasting our interview from yet. Got any favorite free and awesome wifi-spots in NYC that you love? Give me a holler, we’re on the hunt for one! (No, really…we are…seriously. Send your wifi suggestions.)

Also! In support of the fantastic work that Rock For Kids does, we are proud to announce we’ll be donating 20% of our online sales toRock For Kids from Thursday June 10th to Friday June 18h. Help us help Rock For Kids!

We will be taking questions from anyone & everyone who is participating in the webcast, so log into Vokle.com or watch the interview live via the viewer below, and ask away! strawberryluna will be interviewing Hero Design, and vice versa, as well as answering your questions too. It’s gonna be fun.

So, set your watches, calendars, egg timers and sun dials and tune in for our turn in the Rock For Kids & Gigposters.com organized Poster Artist Interview Series. All of the interviews are being webcast live, via Vokle.com.

The Rock For Kids Poster Artist Interview Series:

Jay Ryan –  on Wednesday, June 2 @ 1PM CST  –  tune in

strawberryluna and Hero Design Studio – date & Time TBA likely 6/10 or 6/11  – tune in

Geoff Peveto / Decoder Ring Design Concern – on Wednesday June 9 @ 1PM CST  – tune in

More about the very rad Rock for Kids: Rock For Kids is a non-profit organization that provides support, hope, inspiration and assistance to underserved children and teens. Realizing that music can be a positive motivator in a young person’s life, Rock For Kids provides free year-round music education for children in need. Rock For Kids positively impacts and celebrates young lives by offering access to safe and constructive learning experiences through which children may challenge themselves, build self-esteem and explore their own creative potential. Realizing that music has the power to transcend challenging situations and transform lives, we envision a community inspired by its youth as they develop self-esteem and confidence through access to music education. We believe children can inspire their own families, become leaders among their peers and take on the world as well-rounded and motivated individuals.

New art print released: Spring Cardinal

New, hand screeprinted, 4-color art print "Spring Cardinal". (Click to purchase or for more info.)

Freshly off the presses and now available: you are looking at my Spring Cardinal, the spring 2010 art print. What a happy little fellow!

Hey hey! Tweet! Tweet! Spring Cardinal is a part of my new Seasons series. This is the sixth print in series of seasonal prints that I’ll be releasing. Ready? Here’s the mind-blowing part = there will be 4 per year.

This year for  the 2010  Seasons series, I am doing things a little differently, rather than making a new image for each season, I’ve decided to follow the same bright red fellow in the same scene, across all 4 seasons. We have lots of Cardinals here all year round. I love looking out of my window and seeing their amazing scarlet red color jumping out from wherever they are, and whatever they are up to.

Although the original “Winter 2009” prints are sold out, I’ve printed a new edition, in a slightly different colorway titled “Winter Cardinal” to round out the first two seasons, (see the below photo), now available at my website here. Summer Cardinal, the summer 2010 print will be available shortly thereafter. Keep a sharp eye out!

Winter Cardinal, 3-color hand screenprinted art print. (click for more info or to purchase.)

Spring Cardinal is my 4-color, all hand screenprinted art print with tender mint green, bark brown, scarlet red, and new-leaf green, hand mixed and non-toxic water based inks. All prints are hand signed and titled. Additionally photos are selections from the hand screenprinting process. Size: 16 x 22 inches (39.4 cm x 55.9 cm.) Paper: archival Cougar, White 100lb cover weight.

This new art print, Spring Cardinal is now available here, at my website.

I design & hand screenprint my prints and posters. If you have any questions, just let me know. Below are a few selections from my photos of the hand screenprinting process for this new art print too. Click any of the below images for more information and / or to visit my Flickr account:

Screens drying for my Spring Cardinal art print.

1st color printed for Spring Cardinal.

2nd color, the crimson Cardinal's body printed in my Spring Cardinal print.

3rd color, bark, beak & wing brown, printed for my Spring Cardinal art print.

All done! 4th color printed and on the press for my Spring Cardinal art print.

Renegade Craft Fair, Brooklyn – come see me June 5th & 6th!

ROMG I’m so excited to announce that I am returning to the fantastic Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, New York this year! I’ve been lucky enough to participate in this exceptional show in 2006, 2007, and 2008, then skipping 2009 in favor of taking my first vacation for my birthday in 5 years (in London, Paris, & Le Mans = the only reason I missed Renegade Craft Brooklyn 2009.)

And now, I’m back baby!

Renegade Craft Fair is one of the premiere independent DIY showcases of all things art, craft, and handmade. Renegade Craft Fairs are held in several cities across the US every year – including Brooklyn, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles & Austin.  The fair is known for being one of the first events of its kind, and for having the top-notch indie-craft artists and designers who travel from all over the map to participate. Renegade got its start in Chicago’s Wicker Park in the fall of 2003, and has spread like wildfire ever since.

With over 300 artists coming together in historic McCarren Park in Brooklyn to sell our handmade work, this year’s Renegade Craft promises to be as amazing as ever, if not more so. There will live music and live craft demonstrations, as well as an hourly raffle of goodies at the Etsy booth too. AND!  Renegade Craft Fair is wide open to the public and 100 % FREE to attend too.

I’m going to have tons of new prints and posters, as well as lots of other new goodies too, from tshirts to tote bags and more. So come say hi!

Check it: strawberryluna, Booth #65. Write it down 😉

click to see a bigger version of this map

The Details:

What: Renegade Craft Fair, Brooklyn

When: June 5th & 6th, 2010

Where: McCarren Park, in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY at Driggs Ave + Lorimer St. + Bayard St. + Union St. (as above)

Cost: FREE!!!

Why: For cream of the crop handmade awesomeness.

* About Renegade: In the summer of 2007, Renegade opened the doors to a cute little storefront shop in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL called Renegade Handmade. Located  on 1924 W. Division St. in Chicago, Renegade Handmade sells the work of Renegade crafters year ’round.  They carry the work of over 400 independent artists from around the globe, many of whom participate in our fairs.  When in Chicago, visit the brick + mortar or online at RenegadeHandmade.com.

Rock Show: iPad app for Rock Posters

Rock Show, view and buy posters from your iPad. (Click for more info or to download Rock Show from the iTunes store for FREE!)

Dangit! I’ve been meaning to post about this for a little bit now.

Right before SXSW & Flatstock in Austin, TX this year, I was approached by a software development team from Neutrinos in Portland, OR. They were getting ready to release a pretty cool (and FREE!) new app for the (then) upcoming iPad called Rock Show. The new app Rock Show was being debuted at the Interactive portion of SXSW, just a few days before the Music segment of this huge Festival begins.

Examples of posters on Rock Show to view & purchase. (Click for more info or to download Rock Show from the iTunes store for FREE!)

After talking with Rob from Neutrinos, we signed on as one of the first wave of artists submitting posters to be shown and sold via the Rock Show app for the iPad. It seemed like a big step, but we could tell that the team behind Rock Show was committed to making a great app for music, poster and art fans that would also support rock posters artists like us, and help gain more exposure for the artists involved and the resurgence of rock posters in general.

So what is Rock Show? They describe it best:

“Exclusive to the iPad, Rock Show is an awesome way to view, share and purchase concert posters. Rock Show is the best way to view, share, and buy concert posters. All the posters featured in Rock Show are available for sale directly through the iPad. Posters are often signed, numbered, and shipped by the original poster artist. All of the concert posters in Rock Show are available for purchase securely from the app.

Hold your iPad however you want to get the best view of high resolution, full screen artwork. Learn more about a band using the app’s quick Wikipedia link.

I naturally got on board being A) A rock poster artist B) An Apple and Mac person and C) Wildly excited about the iPad and the new horizons it’s opening and D) Impressed with Neutrinos approach for Rock Show. I’m proud to say that we were among the very first poster artists to sign on and start working with Rock Show and uploading posters.

Currently, we here at strawberryluna have about 15 titles listed under ‘strawberryluna’ in the Rock Show app, and there are tons more poster artists partnering with Rock Show and adding their work up for viewing and purchase as well. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Using your iPad, you can search Rock Show posters by poster artist and also by band names, as seen below:

Rock Show is an amazing way to explore the variety of art and design in the current rock poster movement with the large and frankly beautiful resolution and clarity of the iPad screen, as well as being a great new way to connect artists and fans, be they musicians or artists, or best, all of the above.

There are complete descriptions for each poster, such as the band name, date & location of the show, the medium of the poster, and more. Rock Show‘s payment gateway is secure, so it’s a seamless process, with posters shipping directly to the customer from the artists’ themselves, often within a day or so of order receipt.

It’s pretty sweet! We’re having fun with it, and if you own an iPad or know someone who does, check out the FREE app Rock Show and have some pretty fun too.

Rock Show is always looking for new poster artists and designers too. If you are interested, drop them a line here.

The Sketchbook Project 2011, open call to artists.

click for more information

It’s like a concert tour but with sketchbooks.

We’re not even halfway through 2010, but you might want to start thinking about 2011 a bit. At least, if you are interested in participating in The Sketchbook Project, 2011.

Organized by Art House Co-op, a group that seeks to create large art projects that tie hundreds to thousands of artists together, the newest incarnation of their Sketchbook Project for 2011 is possibly the most ambitious attempt yet. Unlike other sketchbook sharing and interactive projects, this one gives each artist their own book to work with, rather than depending on artists to share and ship books amoung themselves.

Which, honestly? Is probably a good thing. Each person is responsible for their own destiny and whatnot. It’s pretty sensible.

Sketchbooks ready to be displayed and read. (click for more information.)

However, it’s also super cool, because additionally, by having one identically sized Moleskine sketchbook for each individual artist or studio participating, The Sketchbook Project 2011 will do the following amazing stuff:

1. Tour the country to at least 6 particpating galleries across the US as a sort of . Currently set are:

Brooklyn, NY Austin, TX San Francisco, CA Portland, ME, Atlanta, GA Chicago, IL

2. Each returned Sketchbook will be assigned a unique bar code which will enable the curators and artists alike to:

• See where each book is along the touring show.
• See how many times it was viewed as artists will be able to receive viewing notifications each time their Sketchbook is viewed and checked out via the Library Card system.
• Allow the book to be catalogued and become a part of the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Art Library system.

3. Digitize the Sketchbooks for artists who wish to participate in that additional aspect of the Sketchbook Project (for an additional small $20 fee) so that their Sketchbook is available for viewing online as well after the Tour ends.

Sketchbook browsers at The Brooklyn Art Library. (click for more information.)

Rather than a random hodgepodge of sketchbooks filled with unrelated material, The Sketchbook Project 2011 has outlined 31 themes for participants to choose from, to align the material inside to whatever degree the artists’ see fit. Themes like “Sleepless”, “This will be fun I swear”, “I’m sorry I forgot you”, “This is not a sketchbook” and “A record year for rainfall” are among the open and/or suggestive themes.

Participation is open for those interested at a starting cost of $25, which covers your individual Sketchbook (with optional cover colors), shipping to the artists, individual bar code, and (hopefully) first choice on a theme, as they are expected to fill up quickly. For an additional fee, artists can opt for the digitizing of their Sketchbooks for online use (covered above), and/or have an 11×17 poster made as well.

Completed Sketchbooks being scanned before lending. (click for more information.)

Interested in learning more or becoming a participating artist in The Sketchbook Project 2011? (I did! Can’t wait for my Sketchbook to arrive.)

If you haven’t clicked any of the above images or previous links, click here forThe Sketchbook Project 2011. Silly goose.

2010 Sketchbook Project books arriving in the mail to Art House. (click for more information.)

Sweet new Sisters Red news & fun stuff!

Are you afraid?

We’re not. With the impending release date of the new Jackson Pearce novel Sisters Red creeping slowly closer (the official release date is June 7th, 2010), we’re getting pretty excited around here. The buzz about Pearce’s 2nd Young Adult novel is really good, and moreover, the cover art illustration and jacket design that we did for Jackson Pearce and her publisher Little, Brown & Co. has also been getting attention as well.

That’s just rad. I won’t lie. It’s not just gratifying as a lowly, often practically anonymous book jacket illustrator and designer, (I mean, I know that I look to see who designed covers I like, but really, I know that’s also an art nerd thing too).

Here’s the thing: The main challenge we were given when first approached for this book jacket design by Little, Brown & Co. was to create a cover illustration and design that would fully pull people across a crowded book store just to find out more about Sisters Red, based purely on the cover art. Awesome! That’s the sort of challenge every designer and illustrator wants, and, it’s also the kind of challenge is, well, frankly a heck of a challenge. However, working on this project was not only that, but super fun and one of the most rewarding creative experiences strawberryluna, as a firm, has had to date. It’s not surprising really, as Little Brown, & Co. is also the publisher for the Twilight Series as well, also with a stunningly notable cover art. We’re so thankful and excited about the whole shebang we wanted to share a little more with you.

Coupled with the coolness and a well-written upcoming new book like Sisters Red, you can imagine it’s been a dream project already. And the publication date is just over a month away!

To that end, there’s a bunch of fun goodies over at the Sisters Red website here. Like what? Alright, hold on a sec, I’ll ya. Dang!

There are beautiful Wallpapers for your Mobile Phones (the iPhone sized one is below as an example) and for your Computer Desktops here, all perfectly sized and ready to go for you.

Click to view all Wallpapers, sized & ready to download.

And, there are some neat E-Cards, as shown below. Send them and spook your friends into Believing.

Click to view & send all E-Cards.

Click to view & send all E-Cards.

Also, the lovely Jackson Pearce is not only an author, but a really great video-blogger. She’s always up to new and fun posts at her Live Journal site, and via her YouTube site as well. She posts about what she’s writing, the creative process, and speaks directly with her fans as well as other authors weekly. In a word? She’s rad!

If you are more interested in what Sisters Red is about, (and of course you are), you can click here to read an excerpt and definitely check out this promo video Pearce posted recently about Sisters Red here:

And finally, (wowzers!) a review of Sisters Red’s cover art from Barnes & Noble.com by Melissa-Walker, with Pearce’s perspective as well. We’re just tickled! Click here to read it.

Thanks so much again Jackson & Little, Brown, xo.