Process/Review: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Seal is currently reading this book that she borrowed from a friend. Whether as a painter, a writer, or any kind of artist, we are constantly trying to communicate our vision. This book gives easy-to-read insight into why some ideas "stick" better than others and how we can use it to help us be more effective in our art. The two brothers Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the book, have spent many years researching . . . why is it that we remember the latest fashion trend, or the workplace gossip . . . and urban legends, myths, and conspiracy theories spread faster than our memory of an important healthcare bill. This book is for anybody: an artist trying to appeal to a gallery, a parent trying to pass on an anecdote, a nonprofit trying to secure a grant. . .

You can find the book at any bookstore. I recommend used bookstores like Green Apple on Clement & 6th in SF.

Monkey + Seal know that successful branding is one of the most crucial elements of any successful business, so every little hint and trick helps. Especially as a collaborative creative team, Monkey and Seal have been struggling with our brand identity. While we each have our own distinct style (see below), we do try to keep our colors consistent for our promotional stuff, and we stamp our heads on everything and use the same font. However, in the next few months we are going to be developing more collaborative work - so keep your eyes peeled and good luck making things stick!

Rough recipe - Vegan Hamburg Soup

So although the title seems pretty contradictory, Monkey + Seal got creative in the kitchen the other night and came up with this new tasty soup! While perhaps the photo doesn't really capture the full appetizing nature of this, we never cook for presentation, but for taste!

Monkey really missed French Onion Soup (one of his favorites when he ate meat), but after being vegetarian for the past couple of years, he hasn't tasted any in a long, long time. Thus, he figured he might simulate some of the pleasing qualities of the soup with this creation.

Since Monkey was trained in a Co-Op kitchen and learned how to cook by seasoning to taste, he never got the hang of writing down recipes - especially not exact quantities. So please bear with him as he (tries) to teach you how to cook this awesome vegan delight.

Ingredients:
-4-5 cloves of garlic
-oregano
-basil
-salt + pepper
-rosemary (or rosemary salt, yay!)
-vegan soy mozzarella
-1 big leek
-1 vegan beef patty (we used Morningstar Vegan Grillers)
-crap-load of vegetables (note: crapload is the technical term for a whole lot of stuff...we did a celerac root, a handful of chard, 4-5 small radishes, 1 large watermelon daikon, a head of broccoli, some carrots, and a small potato. You can really put whatever you want...think italian soups..)
-1 hamburger bun
-some pasta (1/4 to 1/3 pound of whatevs)

1. So in a soup-pot-thingy, boil some water and cook the pasta al dente (ie..almost cooked, but still pretty tough). Drain in a colander and set aside someplace. I'd also run some cold water on it so they don't all stick together.
2. Dump the water from the pot and dry it. Put some veggie oil in it and loosely chop the garlic cloves and leeks. Throw the garlic in first, let it cook a bit, then add the chopped leek. Stir so they don't burn. Once they're sorta cooked, add about 1/2 pot of water to the pot. Bring to a boil.
3. Chop the veggies (the smaller the quicker your soup will be done) and put them in according to how slowly they cook (the roots went in first, the leafy stuff later).
4. Season. Yes this is oversimplified, but you just take it as it goes. I used dried oregano and basil, and added about physically as much as the pepper and salt.
5. Let the veggies cook til they're as soft as you want them. Add in the pasta and turn down the head to medium (like a 3-4).
6. Tear up the hamburger bun into tiny pieces and mix them into the soup.
7. Slice the soy cheese into strips and lay them down on top of the soup. I kinda pushed them down just under the surface of the soup so they get nice and gooey, cuz I like cheese that way.
8. Once the cheese melts to your desired consistency, remove from heat, spoon into bowls, and serve!

The soup pot we make served two. Note that we ONLY ate soup for dinner (and an olive baguette from La Boulange) and also I am a ravenous beast that tends to have a hearty appetite. So, from what I've seen, if you're serving this as just part of a meal, then it can probably serve 6-8 small-medium eaters, or maybe 4 hungry souls.

Anyhoo, that's enough cooking with Monkey. Stay tuned for more art!

Screenprinting Squeegees!

So after a huge delay (that was unfortunately mostly Monkey's fault) he finally got his squeegees in. Monkey had previously been using the equipment at the Academy of Art, but now that he finished, he was slowly building up his collection of screens. However, he had forgotten that he needs squeegees as well, and the ones they sell at art stores by Speedball really just don't do the job properly.

So, he ordered some from Creative Screen Technologies in San Leandro (where he also got his screens) and due to a hectic work schedule, the squeegees were sent back to the manufacturer, then resent back = double shipping charge and an extra week and a half of delays.

On the good side, now all Monkey needs to do is get some heavy-duty screws for his clamps and he'll be back in action printing from home now!

Monkey is looking at a few options in SF to rent studio space, as having all the fancy equipment is nice, but at least he's made sure he can do it from home!

Process: Designing and Finding Inspiration Everywhere

This is Monkey here, and today I'll be talking about the design of my personal business cards which led to a new diptych of paintings.

So first off, for whatever reason, whether it be the creepiness or the iconography or just weirdness, I've always associated myself with skulls. My old logo was something like this:
So it was natural that when I was designing ties, I came up with this:
So, I ended up designing the front of my business card to look like this:
Using a scan of the original tie design, I changed up the crossbones to be paintbrushes, added a splatter texture that I created a while back by soaking a brush in ink and just going at a large sheet of paper. After scanning and saving it, I now have a really awesome, natural-looking texture that I can whip out whenever I need that grunge look.

So then, I realized that I probably should put a photo of my painting on my business card, since a)that's what most artists do, and b)it makes sense to show off your work. However, I was torn as I really liked the pink and black design with the skulls and the "create or die" underneath it (a motto I plan to live by). Then, inspiration hit. Duh, why don't I just do a painting of the "create or die" dealy? (slaps forehead). Duh.

In my paintings (most of which are not up on my website yet -_- ) I deal with the exploration of the hierarchy between text and image, realism and graphic representation, order of words altering meanings, and the nuances of language. So, it came to me that by having the order of the words be "create" then "die," it gives the reader the idea that I'm advocating the creation over the dying. I thought it would be then interesting to use almost the same image but switching the words around. I also wanted to keep the numbers of letters the same in the first and second word, so then I did another painting that says "death or art."

Believe it or not, these are the same color..stupid weird lighting in my apartment..

The top photo is longer cuz I formatted it for business cards and had to get clever with the stamp tool in photoshop to extend the canvas border.

I then decided to use a contrasting color (well, not a perfect contrast, but you get the point) on the back. I brought in the original grunge text, added some hand-drawn elements, and here you've got the back of my card:
Anyway, I guess what the point of all this was to highlight how what seem like problems or setbacks can be the best (although unlikely) place to find inspiration. I ended up not having to compromise my original design and ended up with not only a business card design but also two new paintings. Often I get the biggest inspiration when I'm frustrated or completely at my wit's end when dealing with a problem.

Instead of trying to bash your way through problems (as tempting as that may be, especially for me), I find that staying fluid and constantly looking for new ways of viewing your problem can lead to unexpected and novel solutions. Also, I like to think across mediums. From what started as a tie design led to a new logo which led to a new business card which led to two new paintings. Think about some cool doodles you already have. Maybe that's your next painting or postcard design. Anyway, I hope this was informative and helpful!

Monkey's Ties are up in the shop!

After only about a month of procrastination/delays/the holiday monster/etc., Monkey has finally gotten all five of his necktie designs up in our shop!

While the designing and printing of the ties are great fun, even more fun was the photoshoot! Monkey had Seal take photos of him doing silly poses, looking all grim and whatnot. We have compiled all of the staged shots here for your viewing pleasure. Which one is your favorite? Also, if any of you are talent scouts looking for male models, Monkey is interested :P

Have a great Friday everyone!

Isn't this ironic?

So while stopping at a Safeway in Stockton (the most miserable city in America and Monkey's birthplace) over the holidays, we snapped this quick photo of two reusable shopping bags being sold next to each other. One features a nice happy cow feeding in a pasture while the other is a "rough and tough" display of different slices of beef (aka different pieces of meat cut from a cow). Perhaps they are doing a "little bit of something for everyone" type of visual merchandising?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

As 2009 went right on by, we want to welcome in 2010 in what we're hoping will be an awesome year!

We hope that everyone out there has already set some goals for the year and we thought we'd share some of our broader goals:

-Curating a successful gallery show
-Commercial success at all craft/anime/comic festivals (especially at APE)
-Being able to live off the money we make from our art
-Drawing/Painting every day
-Posting at least one new item in our Etsy shop per week
-Each of us publishing our own art books
-One new comic each
-Bad Date Zine 3!

We're definitely working (a bit late, however) on our own "annual review" of sorts to really go through and figure out a definite action plan for 2010. Monkey got the idea from Chris Guillerbeau, the man behind the Art of Non-Conformity. You can even download his template that he uses for his Annual Review here.

What goals have you set for 2010?