yoohooo, is there anyone out there named “shawn” who does screenprinting and would like a barely used squeegee? if so, we’d be more than happy to mail it to you, in exchange for a screenprint you’ve already made.

or, is there anyone out there who wouldn’t mind owning a barely used squeegee with the name “shawn” written on it, who would like to trade for a screenprint?

p.s. the squeegee is 14 inches. i have no idea what durometer(?) measurement it is, but i’ll tell ya if you let me know how to figure it out!

{update, march 23rd: we have a taker! the trade is in process and we are looking forward to showing off our new print when we receive it. we’ll be posting a pic of it here!}

Brilliant Blue Sky. 9″ x 12″, acrylic on canvas, March 2008.

I wanted a particular shade of blue and I just couldn’t seem to get it, no matter how I tried mixing my colors. So I had to cheat a bit and got myself a tube of brilliant blue.

Now, twiddling my fingers and looking for something to paint next.

We’ve sent so many of our journals westward, you’d think we’d get them into some stores there a bit faster. We’ve been working on it and now, finally, we are thrilled to say, they are making their official California debut as part of the spring stationery collection in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Museum Store. Yay!

And in case you’re wondering why we’ve been so quiet over here, we’ve been working hard on some new stuff and we hope to be sharing the results with you really soon.

A drawing a day keeps the doctor away. Drawn on our favorite sugarcane paper, in our favorite journal.

It took longer than expected to write 400 postcards; we just sent out the very last of them today. However, exciting news comes through the airways that some of you have received yours and are getting ready to jump into your task and send us pics. Yay! 

In about a month, say, around April, we’ll be posting the submissions online (quite possibly a separate site devoted to creative thinking and whatnot) so that you can see what others have done, and also follow along as we plan the next round of ”the postcard says” (it probably won’t involve writing another 400 of them though). And we’ll also include instructions for those of you who don’t get a postcard but want to be a part of this too. So stay tuned!

 ~~~

Update, March 1st: We hear that the bulk of the postcards are just arriving! We’ve decided not to show any previews of the submissions we’ve already received because there’s no right or wrong way to do each postcard task. Even if you’re not sure of the instructions, just do whatever you think it says, your way. Remember, the point of all this is for you to be nudged a little out of your comfort zone to think and see the world around you in a different way. Have fun and remember to share with us what you do!

Middle of America, 8″ x 10″, acrylic on canvas, February 2008.

I’m still here! While Shawn has been typing up his thoughts on the things that he’s come across, I’ve been painting (again, finally, after another several-month-long hiatus). Hurray!

P.S. My scanner (I use one of those Epson all-in-one printer/scanner thingies) always over-interprets the colors of my paintings when I scan them in, so the colors come out really far off from the original picture. Any recommendations for a good scanner that captures colors accurately?

I just want to say that the Hoff is back.

Anger, if suppressed, becomes depression. And if you’re a basketball coach, it’s best to let out all your anger on court. Above drawing based on a picture by H. Rumph Jr., of Dawn Staley, Temple U. women basketball coach.

The New York Times reports that the United States Olympic Committee, concerned with the high level of steroids they’ve found in Chinese chicken (they found a 14-in Chinese chicken breast), searched for more trustworthy food suppliers. And who better to provide food for America’s finest athletes than Kellogg’s and Tyson Foods? (Good thing the Olympics sports committee only checks for steroids, and not growth hormones or antibiotics.)

Does it take a 14-inch chicken breast to tell us that there’s something wrong with Chinese produce? Have you not noticed Yao Ming getting bigger each season? And I have always maintained that our honorable, professional athletes would not knowingly take steroids, and now it all makes sense - it’s the fault of Chinese chickens.

This also helps explain a puzzle that has been nagging me lately, regarding Mr. Spielberg’s resignation as an artistic adviser for the 2008 Olympics. There have been reports suggesting that Mr. Spielberg’s withdrawal has to do with China not doing enough to pressure Sudan to end the crisis in Darfur. I’ve always found that a little funny, given that Mr. Spielberg lives in and works for a country that attacked and ruined another nation - he couldn’t have possibly criticized another for, well, not doing enough. In any case, this explains it all: it wasn’t Darfur, it’s the chicken that Mr. Spielberg couldn’t stand.

I like reading old newspapers, it makes me feel prescient. This news, however, I have not heard about, and apparently, the actual event took place more than three months ago.

In last Saturday’s New York Times, there was an article about the J.K. Rowling case (where she and her publishing, Warner Bros. Entertainment, are suing and blocking the publishing of a book about Harry Potter, written by a librarian, fan, and webmaster of a popular Harry Potter website) and how Standard Law School’s Fair Use Project is defending RDR Books.

Fair use, as my limited understanding goes, is what allows my favorites shows, The Daily Show by Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report to take footages from FOX network, make fun of them, and not having to ask for permissions from the network to do so. And if you blog, draw, collage, design, or express yourself publicly in any way - then fair use is probably important to you.

Somewhat related articles: Judy’s take on fair use; The ecstasy of influence: A plagiarism, the infamous article by Jonathan Lethem; and his Promiscuous Materials Project.

Robert Todd Lincoln, the first son of Abraham Lincoln, was present, or nearby three (three!) presidential assassinations: April 14, 1845, he was at the White House while his father was shot at the Ford’s Theatre; on July 2, 1881, he witnessed James Garfield’s being shot at the Sixth Street Train Station in DC; and on September 6, 1901, he was at the Pan-American Exposition when William McKinley was shot (McKinley died about a week later).