The Grill Part 2 Inspiration

The flat white treatment for the wall mounted Jeep grill was inspired in part by the album cover art of Jay Z's latest release "Blueprint 3" which is the work of artist Dan Tobin Smith.

Off that album is "On to the Next One". This video, directed by Sam Brown, has such a striking visual language I find it truely inspiring. Like them or not, artists such as Jay Z, Kanye West, Rhianna and Lady Gaga have established themselves as products that lead tomorrow's trends.

Grill Part 1

While I would prefer to see this CJ5 Jeep grill actively serving its intended purpose as a functional item, the simple beauty brings it to adorn this wall- at least for the time being.

Traveling

The posts have been less frequent than I would like, but I have been traveling some with my job that pays the bills. Fortunately for me my 9 to 5 is in a creative environment and when we travel it is generally a learning and inspiring adventure.

So here is some color for the blog with more posts soon.

Sneak Peak

The post will be up this coming week, but I wanted to share an image from the project I had going over the weekend.

Split Mirror

The Split Mirror was a weekend project that came together using seconds from the Sanguine project.
I had always wanted to do a "white wash" look and this custom mixed stain achieved the desired look and even gives the Poplar frame a semi transparent skin-like quality; the grain like veins.

Vibrant red strips of high quality vinyl were chosen for the deep texture that when paired with the unique white stain likens to tendons. This is where the "Split" name comes from.

Over all dimensions are approximately 50"x 37"x 1.5".

Nixon the official 7Side French Bulldog checking out the Split Mirror.

North American International Auto Show Part 2

The Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan is a massive produciton. Manufacturers rolling out their latest product spare no expense to provide an environment as inspiring and attention grabbing as their vehicles. For somone like me this is inspiration overload. While this show is noticably scaled back compared to years past, there is still plenty of fodder to keep any creative type occupied.

Volkswagen's immense display at NAIAS.

Interactive display by Volkswagen speaks to all the senses.

Chrysler brought this sleek information desk.

Desk inlay detail.

Smartly furnished private meeting space also in the Chrysler area.

North American International Auto Show Part 1

The stout GMC "Granite" concept.

The NAIAS goes down each year in Detroit's Cobo Hall and I have been fortunate enough to attend four out of the last five years. Each calendar year I manage to attend a handful of events but for me the Detroit Auto Show is like right brain Red Bull. The colors, shapes, materials, technology and textures showcased on the latest production vehicles and concepts keep me going for many months. Here are just a few of the highlights from this year's show.

Exquisite seats in the Hyundai concept vehicle "Blue-Will".

Beautiful combination of textures on a Mercedes CL63 AMG grill.

Lexus' highly anticipated supercar the LF-A.

Plush interior of the Cadillac Escalade EXT.

One of the most exciting vehicles at the show was Tesla's Model S all electic sedan. A four door vehicle who's near perfect perportions slip across 300 plus miles before it needs its next $5 charge. The huge center mounted "Apple approved" touch display garnered a reaction from all that peered through the windows. I was especially excited since I had just (finally) picked up an iPhone myself. More on that in the future you can be sure.