new work: sneeze on a beat!

This is a logo I did for a music blog my sister is starting. "Sneeze on a Beat" is taken from a Beyoncé song on her new album. Don't ask me which one. It's kind of an interesting phrase on its own though! Both "sneeze" and "beat" are kind of musical, in that they are both noises heard and interpreted by human ears.

The mark is an interpretation of the components that make up music: The "woosh!" and "blam!" marks represent rhythm and percussion, while the colored letterforms stand in for melody and lyricism.

Alternative Lock-up:

Monogram:

Proud of my little sister for starting up something of her own. Stay tuned for more updates!

New Work - Clay Spokes

Clay Spokes is a band that plays country, folk, and old-fashioned tunes. They also happen to be good dudes and my good friends. This self-titled album contains original songs penned by Son House II and Tyler Longest, and though it isn't available just yet, you can follow the band on facebook for updates and information on future shows. Good local music, yeah yeah!

p.s. I'm also playing a show with the Spokes this Saturday, January 4th, at Carytown Bistro. Stop by and say hi!

For those affected by the typhoon

Let's help some brothers and sisters out!

new project alert

American Design Warrior is a challenge that will test the dexterity, strength, and resolve of two world famous designers. Beware.

Click here to find out more.

The City I Live In

I am so honored to be a participant in Affiche #1, the poster show currently up at the mOb + Storefront space.

If you have a chance to mosey on down there, you'll find yourself surrounded by massive, colorful, strange, quiet, loud, funny, and serious posters. All of them deal in some way with the theme of "the city I live in."




















































Here's a little blurb:

An exhibition of very large posters at mOb + Storefront is opening March 1 from 5 to 9 pm. Designers were asked to create a visual interpretation of the city they live in ranging from New York, Gothenburg, past, present, future, dark, green, Richmond, etc. Styles are diverse, the walls are bright and demonstrate the need to respect the poster as a critical component of our city streets.

Let's keep the poster alive! Let's get 'em out in the streets!

Here is a closer look at my contribution:

how to get unstuck

Move. former professor Sandy Wheeler gave me this simple but beautiful piece of advice in her conversation with John Malinoski, and Scout (see my previous post).

Sometimes when you're making something you get stuck in terrible molasses swamps. Somehow, you manage to work yourself into corners from which no escape or forward progess can be made. Most of us have experienced those off-days. Feelings on those days range from mild exasperation to existential despair.

The problem of being stuck has been mulled over and talked about by artists, scientists, teachers, musicians, and probably every human being ever. We refer to it as "writer's block", "hitting a wall", or "the well running dry." 

How do you get the well wet again? What's the solution?

Sandy's answer was so simple it floored me. Move. Engage your body physically. Take a walk, or dance. Body movement takes you out of a mental space and into the physical one. Striking a better balance between physical and mental activity (aka giving your overheated mega brain the occasional rest) could be just what you need to get unstuck.

on wearing rabbit ears

I was lucky to see two of my old professors talk last night about their childhoods, old jobs, families, and design. it was a true gift and i'm going to try and spend a little bit of time reflecting on sharing some of the pearls that were given to me last night. here's one:

John Malinoski spent a little time talking about the small town where he grew up. His father was a coach of all sports, and gave the following advice to his son: don't play the game with rabbit ears. If you think about it, rabbits are always picking up on the slightest vibrations and disturbances around them. While this hyper-attentiveness to one's suroundings has done wonders for the survival of the rabbit species, it does little for atheltes who need focus and resolve in order to play to the best of their abilities.It's amazing how much this advice also applies to people in any sort of creative field. (the parallels between the life of an athlete an the life of a designer are astonishing!) For a creative person looking to flourish and thrive, one has to be able to turn off all the peripheral noise that can surround the work ("What will my colleagues think?", "How will this be received?", or "How does this compare to what has come before?"). Focusing too much on external non-issues is detrimental to quality. Instead one must turn inward, and concentrate on the task at hand. 

Put another way: we need spend less time listening to the commentating and more time in the gym.

new work

This is one of the the thank you cards I mailed out to friends and family after my graduation. That little guy in the middle is yours truly.

new music

It has been a long time coming, but i finally finished up recording some songs i've written recently. behold, my first "album" To Ease My Worried Mind. Please listen to it and download it too if you like! I'm planning on making a bunch of physical copies, so if you're in Richmond and around there's that too.

new music

writing songs has been a really nice break and change of pace for me since school stopped. I recorded this one right before I left Richmond, and I've got a couple more in the works. Thinking about putting out a collection of tunes before summer ends!

download Wants here (for free!)

shooting stars

a silly t-shirt design for a vacation this summer

thoughts

A simple yet incredibly powerful statement. A good one to keep in mind on those lazy summer days too. It's amazing that an entire philosophy and way of living can be distilled into five of the simplest words in the English language. Sartre is believed to have said "To be is to do."  Rousseau is believed to have said "To do is to be." Both of these quotes are from (the awesome) The Art of Looking Sideways by Alan Fletcher.

new work

the semester's over, and i've made a bunch of new things! this is a title sequence i did for The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Check out the rest of my class's (class'? classess?) title sequences here.



- - - - - - - - - -

i also have a whole bunch of screenprints from this semester. take them! they're all signed and numbered and sitting on my shelf. please, email me at mccormickba@vcu.edu. offers, of course, are welcome, but i'm giving them away too!

see the others over on flickr

best,
brent

keep on ramblin'

I think Bob Dylan said in the documentary No Direction Home something to the extent of this: "an artist has to be careful to never feel as though he's arrived at something.  You're in a constant state of becoming."  I always try not to linger for too long before moving on.  Sure, some visual explorations require time and depth before they are completely exhausted, but I also think you have to be careful not to get to the point where you are over-exhausting (if I may invent a word) something. To become an expert at one thing is awesome, but it can also often pigeon-holing (if I may invent another word) if that area of expertise seems to function as a safety net, preventing you from taking bolder risks creatively.  Sometimes it's good to push onward, and don't look back! I guess this kinda goes along with another thought I had.

there's no time like it!

From Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself":

I have heard what the talkers were talking, the talk of the 
beginning and the end, 
But I do not talk of the beginning or the end. 

There was never any more inception than there is now, 
Nor any more youth or age than there is now, 
And will never be any more perfection than there is now, 
Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now. 

Urge and urge and urge, 
Always the procreant urge of the world. 

empty and awake

I think I first came upon the idea of being empty and awake when I was reading the Dharma Bums.  When making stuff, I feel like its always best to have no expectation or assumption about whatever it is that you're making.  Secondly then, it's important to be alert and open to any thought that may strike your fancy for whatever reason.  I think both things are much easier said then done.

cool stuff

maryclaire has be up to a lot of cool things.

Untitled from MaryClaire McHugh on Vimeo.

new work

I remember having a conversation with one of my old professors about Paul Rand's quote "Don't try and be an original, just try and be good." I can't exactly remember my professor's exact words, but he said something to the extent of, "If you think you're a professional at something, than you're looking at it the wrong way."  I really relate to this idea, in that I find that I make work that is more meaningful and when I don't know exactly what it is that I'm doing.  Often, it's the journey of discovery, the experience of not knowing that makes good work.  This is not to say that you shouldn't try to be good at something, but I think there is value in pushing yourself to be eternally uncomfortable and green.

new music

Over the last couple days i've made a couple recordings of songs I've written over the past year. I'm trying to make them available for download, but I don't exactly know how (does anyone???).  But if you would like them, I can certainly email you the files! Just give me an email address and i'll send this batch of songs your way, and for free too. Below is the album art i made for it and the track listing:


you can now download the whole thing for free by clicking here!

1. Love Song for the Statue of Liberty

2. Another Clean Slate Quest

3. Wild Horse

4. Anchor Song

5. From Asbury

6. August

7. Good Things with Wings

8. Mountaintop

best,  Brent

new work

I'm starting another project.  These are just like the make something every day squares, except they are thoughts on life and design.  Here is the first one!

I remember reading Emerson and at one point he compares these three things to the holy trinity.  It's an interesting idea: that they could be three separate entities, yet somehow they are synonyms for each other.  Anyways I think there is importance in all three, and they should be a big part of life.