Artist statement...

Humans, Join Us!™

By Mindy Barker and Kristin Giordano

Hey you! Yes, you, "driving" by in your car, texting. Notice the air quotes around "driving?" Don’t you know the dangers of texting while driving? I think Werner Herzog just did a documentary about it. You don’t know Werner Herzog? You should really look him up on Netflix™. The Criterion Collection® put out an entire box set of his films. You will not believe the scene with the tiny monkeys in Aguirre, Wrath of God.™ 

Sorry, I lost my train of thought for a sec. I was talking about danger, texting, and driving. Because there are alternatives. Have you ever considered the pleasures of bipedal locomotion? We have! The best way to begin walking is to find yourself an excellent pair of shoes. They should be comfortable, but please--try to be a bit stylish. You’re in public now. It is not okay to wear your pajamas to the store, and slippers are not shoes. You know who you are.

But seriously, have you ever seen a cuter bunch of baby chickens? One of them is wearing a helmet. By this time, you have probably gotten distracted and clicked on the YouTube™ cat video your cousin put on Facebook™. You really need to stop messing with your phone while you drive. You're becoming a menace. And you really shouldn’t hold a No-whip Mocha Frappuccino® and an iPhone™ while operating a motor vehicle, especially a stick shift. That's probably why the baby chicken has to wear a helmet all the time. 

I see that you are now scrolling through the photo gallery on Flickr™ of cute animals in mugs. I mean, a baby hedgehog IN A MUG! That is literally the cutest thing ever. OMG, totes adorbs! Wait, no way, there’s one with two baby bunnies IN THE SAME MUG! WATCH FOR THE PEDESTRIAN!!!!! Jeez, you really need to focus. 

If you take a break from looking at the hilarious thing George “Sulu” Takai just posted to Twitter™, you might notice that there is a large lemur on a skateboard on the side of a building downtown. That is horrendous! Oops, I meant to type “hilarious.” Stupid auto-correct! You know, you really shouldn’t try to post it to Instagram™ while you’re driving. But, oh, wait, never mind, you just did. No worries! But you should really pull over if you want to get the one of the meerkats in sneakers. It could totally go viral. For, like, 2 seconds.

Done!

Here's the final look!!!! 

Humans, Join Us!

Kristin Giordano and I set to finish the project we proposed for Artscapes, in association with SpaceWorks Tacoma and Downtown:On the Go. Here's a continuation of what was accomplished: 

After the "ground" is set we added a skateboarding lemur, a rollerskating dog and a group of baby chickens, some with red converse and one with a red helmet.

Then after painting in shadows...

Mural: 11th and Market

Last June, Tacoma put out a call for artists to submit proposals for the Artscapes Program:

 Spaceworks Tacoma and Downtown On The Go (DOTG) are teaming up to facilitate new Artscapes for the building walls at 11th and Market in downtown Tacoma. We are seeking artist(s), artist teams and/or community groups to transform the current “Chalk Walls” into temporary 2-dimensional, site-specific installations (Artscapes) with a theme of transportation. Artists are asked to submit proposals that will create a space that adds to the livability of downtown and positively reflects living, moving, or being downtown Tacoma.

Here's a photo of the "Chalk Walls" project. The wood panels are the surface to be painted for this call:

Kristin Giordano and I decide to tackle this challenge. Here is our initial proposed idea: 

We are accepted!!! 

The city also accepts Jeremy Gregory's design and decides to have us share the building, giving one side to Kristin and I and the other to Jeremy. We are tickled! Jeremy graciously takes the hilly side of the building. Thank you! 

Here's our new revised design for the Market St. side of the building:

At this point of the design process, the design didn't have the "ground" indicated but on the actual final mural it will be added. 

After our specified basecoat color was painted, this is what the site looked like before we began:

 Time to measure. And measure. The polar bear and the "Humans, Join Us!" became the center to measure from:

                                                                                       

After hours of working with FedEx on 19th (thank you manager Vicky and the super fantastic Jeremiah...thanks for not shouting, "No more! We never EVER want to see you both again!". Kristin even brought them donuts as a peace offering but both Vicky and Jeremiah were not working. Nice thought, though, Kristin!) to produce our images and hours of gluing these images together, here is where the application of our design began:

First to be painted, "Humans, Join Us!" second, the polar bear is adhered.

Next the meerkats...

A high (Hi!) fashion/Tacoma action shot of Kristin!!!!

The team. An attentive passerby noticed I was standing in the middle of the street with my camera and tripod, running back to Kristin to get a photo of us together once they were set. She kindly offered to take over. Phew! She only got one honk of warning from one impatient car driver. 

The cats are added.

 photo: Lisa Kinoshita

Painting in the "ground".

photo: Lisa Kinoshita

The "ground" is now in place.

More to come...

My lanterns are hung!

Come visit the Tacoma Design Collective's showroom! I have just hung some of my handmade lanterns in the window and they are all lit up...come look in the day or come at night. Very festive! 

On each paper lantern I have embedded photos I have personally taken and then added a hand painted design to connect all the photos. Each one is completely different from the other. There are three sizes and also two different paper lantern formations, one a random rib pattern... the other more consistent, to choose between. All reasonably priced for that perfect present for your loved one!

Is there more work to purchase in the showroom from the other Tacoma Design Collective members?

Yes!!! Please visit this website to learn about other artisans represented by the Tacoma Design Collective.

http://www.tacomadesigncollective.com/

What is the Tacoma Design Collective?

Tacoma Design Collective is the premiere North End Design + Build creative team. The brainchild of President Scott Neste, the Tacoma Design Collective was formed in January 2011 to build on the collaborative and creative strengths of its members including Weddermann Architecture, SE Construction, Details BUY Design and Neste’s own Minor Details. 

Where is the showroom?

2603 North Proctor, Tacoma, WA 98407

253.468.4965



 
 

Bright pink wall for the holidays!

Scott Neste, of Minor Details (http://www.minordetailsdesign.com/#home), asked me to add a bit of bold color to his office wall. His choice: Benjamin Moore's Mulberry (2075-20).  After painting this color in a flat finish I used a gloss varnish to freehand a design over the top.

Stenciled "watermark"

Finished this week for The Institute for Functional Medicine's new office space, specifically the front desk area, in Federal Way. The design follows the recent branding this company, including the color and "watermark" image. The first photo is of the large stencil, thanks Fran Biddle (Director of Operations and Finance) for the referral AND extra hand, that was made by Karen Alexander of Sign Language. Karen had to first cut it into long sections (Sign Language's cutter can only handle a certain width of vinyl) and I reassembled it on the wall, carefully placing it so that the outlet cover fit within one of the stenciled areas. 

Stencil set onto wall

I custom mixed the wall's and the image's color, to replicate the company's branding colors, with the base in a flat sheen and the stenciled areas in semi-gloss. 

Finished look

The next step Fran plans for this wall?  The addition of the company's logo, in dimensional letters, with their tag line underneath.