Over and Out.

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

Time flies.  My show (s), Inward and Upward, came and went, and you heard nothing.  Now that April is here, it’s time to change that.  Yes, the last show ended in February, so?  (shhh.)

Below are pictures from the shows I participated in this past December and January.  A few photos are courtesy of my dear friend, Sarah Mohajery.  The others were taken with my Iphone.

Our guests shared their personal memories with us.

Preserves. Construction paper hearts, photographs, and canning jars.
We can always hold a special place in our hearts for the people and things of our past, even if they aren’t in our present.

Unravelling. Many, many, many yards of yarn.
The harder you try to hold onto things, the faster they slip away.

Miniature Memories.  Tilt shifted photographs, music box mechanism (plays Raindrops Keep Falling).
In your head, events of the past seem so vivid, and tiny.

Intertwined. Maple tree, ribbon, string.
It seems like everything is connected, and often we cannot experience the good without the bad.

Pinterest-ing.

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

I was just introduced to a new site that essentially allows you to make an online inspiration board.  And not only can you create your own inspiration boards, you can peek at other people’s as well!

On Pinterest, you can set up several inspiration boards, one for fashion, art, interior design, whatever it is that fluffs your peanutbutter.  After you’ve created these boards, browse the web as usual.  When you see something that strikes your fancy, you can “pin it” by simply clicking on the Pinterest button on your browser, and it adds an image of your item to the appropriate list.

This is brilliant not only for inspiration, but also for cataloging.  Planning a special project, designing a room, and need a place to keep all your sources and images in one place?  Pinterest is perfect for just that.

I like to go poking through other people’s boards.  By doing this, I find new shops I’ve never been to, blogs I’ve never read, photographers I had not yet discovered.  Take a poke through my board here.

You need an invitation to join Pinterest.  If you are seriously interested, I have four remaining invitations.  Pop me an email.  The first four people to request an invitation will get one!

One Person’s Junk…

Monday, July 19th, 2010

I’ve been having a lot of creative adventures this summer, been working on some great projects, and developing some new ideas.  So in the next few posts, I’ll be catching you up.  Some of these things I may have done over a month ago, but I feel that they bear sharing.

Last week, I braved the rain (and unbelievable humidity), along with my friend Lisa, and trekked through the Brimfield Antique Fair, in Brimfield, MA.  This fair is apparently very well known by antiquers across the country, but for me, it’s always been this treasure that’s right in my backyard.  (Well, not literally, but close enough.)  We weren’t really in the market to buy anything per se (although I always feel sad if I don’t bring home something…)  My intention was to take some great photographs, and to be inspired by the beautiful craftsmanship of old things.

Let me share some of the images that I took.  You can see the rest on my Flickr page here.

All images are the property of Allison Biggs, and to be used only with credit and permission.

Photos for Photogs.

Friday, June 18th, 2010

My good friend, and fabulous photographer,  Suzanne Larocque, approached me with an idea for a special project last week.  She explained that she had many vintage cameras, and would love to set up some still lifes with them and some flowers, do a little work in Photoshop, and get some gorgeous antique-ish images.

So, with Suzanne behind the camera, me as the stylist, and both of us begging photoshop to work what we were trying to do, we came up with a set of four images, that in our own humble opinion, will knock your socks off.  There was one point in the photo editing session, where we simultanously jumped up and said “Oh, wow!”  It is so awesome to do work that you’re passionate about, and when you get to do that work with friends, even better.

Suzanne and I plan on offering these images as note cards and art prints in the near future, and hope to collaborate on a similar project in the near future.  The vintage cameras have an appeal for photographers, but how about us graphic designers?  Think type.

The Cost of Abundance.

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

We live in a time of great abundance.  As much as we may focus on the things that we don’t have, and fear and fret on losing things, or worry about not having enough, our standard of living is better than it has been in history.  We have things that just 100 years ago were never even imagined.  We use these items everyday, and most likely take their whole existence for granted.  I’m not just talking Ipods and Tivo– think refrigeration and indoor plumbing.  There is a cost for this abundance though.  We don’t often think of this fact; when we have more, we discard more.

At the Daniel Pink lecture last night, I was introduced to an artist named Chris Jordan.  With his photography, he has put this notion of waste into a form anyone can comprehend.  His photos give us an unsettling view of just how much we waste.  How many cell phones get tossed when the next best thing comes along.  How many cars make it to the junkyard when we trade them in for the newest model.  We have all heard the numbers before, and not even batted an eye.  After viewing these images, no one can argue the gravity of the situation.  This is the power of visual art.

Cell Phones- copyright Chris Jordan.

Oil Filters- copyright Chris Jordan.

Crushed Cars- copyright Chris Jordan.

The Human Clock.

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

The Human Clock shows a photograph of the current time.  These photographs range from naturally occurring representations of the number, or with posed and constructed compositions.  You can always submit your own photographs for this site as well.  Clever!

Unravelling

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

I just signed up for an online course given by Susannah Conway, called Unravelling: Ways of Seeing Myself.  This eight week course starts on September 28th, and during the course we will be using photography, along with guided questions, journaling, and discussion to become more introspective, and gain a greater appreciation of all that’s around us.

From the Unravelling site:

“The Unravelling process is a new way to view your world, taking time to appreciate the beauty around you. And we do this in the simplest way – we stop and look. Beginning with your feet, you’re going to go on a photo safari into your own life to reconnect with who you are, where you’ve been and where you want to go next.

These definitely won’t be self-portraits in the traditional sense – we’ll be using the camera as a tool to unlock how we see not only ourselves but also the world we live in, including the immediate surrounds of our homes, places of work and our friends and family.”

You can learn more about the course, and register here.

Shameless Self Promotion: Flickr

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

I’ve started posting some of my recent photos over on my Flickr site as I don’t want to overwhelm this blog with every picture I’ve taken.  But this is the perfect time to inform you of my Flickr site, and how I would love you forever if you went to take a look at it, and possibly became my friend.

These are a few images I captured the other day (you can see more at my Flickr site, did I mention I had a Flickr site?).  You’ll start to notice that I’ve recently been on a cemetery fix.  Not quite sure what that’s all about.  All I can say is that once magic hour hits, cemeteries become practically etherial.

Scenes from Saturday: Smith College

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Last weekend, I was visited by Alexa, one of my good friends from college. On Saturday we made a trip to Northampton, where we ate at some of my favorite restaurants (Paul and Elizabeth’s for lunch, and Osaka for dinner!), had some ice cream at the famous Harrell’s, spent hours poking through Faces, and walked around the Smith College campus.

Smith College has an absolutely stunning campus, set in downtown Northampton. It is composed of many old Victorian and Georgian style houses and buildings. Toward the back of the campus, there is a pond with a waterfall, as well as botanical gardens. After we walked the campus, we took a walk through the Smith art museum, which is impressive in its own right, dropping names like Monet, Picasso, and Homer.

We caught this sign on the way to the athletic field. Apparently some Smith students had a little creative idea of their own.

Do the Safety Dance!

Don’t Mess With Texas.

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Seriously, don’t. It’s 105 degrees and it will win.

I just returned from the HOW Design Conference, which was held in sunny Austin, Texas (if only the internet could convey the full amount of sarcasm lacing that statement). It was hot outside, cold inside, but it totally rocked my socks.

There were some interesting workshops this year, my favorite including the use of a Ukelele, a Harmonica, and excessive glitter throwing. I met some great designers and fellow creatives, and made a few new friends. And I got to experience Austin itself.

What would Austin be without some live music? Being the self proclaimed “live music capital” and all. On Friday night I was lucky enough to see John Vanderslice along with The Tallest Man on Earth. Both amazing performances.

On Saturday, I took a walk down South Congress Street, or as the locals call it, SoCo. It’s known for it’s independent shops and all around artsy feel. While I was there I picked up some great photography prints by JJWorldStudio.com. You can take a look at their gallery online, I’m really in love with their use of color.

Afterwards, I headed on up to the Austin Art Museum, and viewed their current exhibition. I then swung by the Texas Capital building for a photo op. While walking by, I found this building, with beautiful architecture, and lovely patina coming from the engraved words. Leave it to me to find the one Art Deco building in Austin.