We need some of these!

If you've visited Philly, or live here, you may already be familiar with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, which is responsible for helping Philly be the city with the most murals in the USA - we have more than 2,700!
The festive trucks shown above are part of one of the Mural Arts Program's latest projects. Partnering with Philadelphia University's Design Center, together they wrapped 10 of the city's garbage & recycling trucks in these funky all-over prints! They've been doing the rounds with the rest of the trucks since Earth Day, and the other day I saw one on my street! It sounds silly but I was excited! I think next they should wrap all the rest of the trucks...

For a little more...

via...freepeople

How to be an explorer of the world

from the barstool romantic

via freepeople

Really cool public art

Their latest project, Oakland Fusion, is finished and available for all to see at Jack London Square in Oakland, Calif. It's an installation of lenticular murals consisting of more than 4,500 hand-painted tiles. Painting the tiles took about 8 months, and everyone they knew was invited to help. I like how this project mixes a "traditional" craft, tile work, with a simple animation process. Here are some more details about the project from their website:

Each mural functions like a two-cell animation; the image morphs as the viewer changes position. The eight images are based upon the textile patterns of Oakland's major ethnic demographics. Mounted to the exterior wall of a new parking garage immediately opposite Oakland's main train station, the murals are intended to viscerally orient new arrivals to Oakland's cultural geography.

Recently, their Oakland Fusion project has had lots of media interest, with NBC and the Oakland Tribune running stories about the project. Ene says she thinks this installation has struck a nerve because people really need this type of arts and crafts right now. "The timing's just really good for something like this," she adds.

As a team, they've also built treehouses, art studios, and set up miniature golf and audio tour installations in San Francisco. Besides these high impact projects, Scott also makes skateboards, chairs, tables, and writes thoughtful prose about the world we live in on their Deep Craft and WOWhaus websites. They have a large, thriving garden and orchard, write poetry, throw great parties, are raising a lovely daughter, and come up with clever inventions such as the bicycle composter ( I LOVE THIS IDEA--WORKOUT AND COMPOST!) and a mobile biodiesel processor.

Thank you for the lovely feature Brett! Everyone check out Brett's new site called The Brettorium Creativity Emporium. He travels the internet trying to find artists and designers whose work he love, love, loves but who may have not received a ton of recognition for their work. He also takes really wonderful photos.

lunule

check out this vinyl decal from lunule designed by the talented susan rowe harrison:

i think wall decals are a great way to decorate a child’s room. these are maroon and come in a set of 3. the elephant stands proudly at 5 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches high. put them on a wall, or to customize furniture, trash can, book jacket, or on mat board to frame. what a great idea. when you get a chance, make sure to travel through susan’s collection. isn’t she amazing?

So, thank you Brett.

Paul Auster on writing

via Flavorwire, from the latest Granta:

"You work hard to make it look easy...this is what I am striving for all of the time...'cuz clarity, finally, I think is the most unsettling thing possible and ummm it allows the reader in some sense, if you can do it well, ideally to forget that the medium of expression is language...that you are just somehow 'in' what the words are saying but you are not even thinking about the words anymore. This is what I have always aspired to."

This would be fun to win!

What about...

Another one...

What I am working on now...

Love, love, love this poem

From As Is by James Galvin. Copyright © 2009 by James Galvin. Used by permission of Copper Canyon Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.


I read this poem in my inbox courtesy of Poetry.org and it just hit me in the head. I just love it. It is from the book by poet rancher James Galvin, As Is (also love, love, love the title!) from Copper Canyon Press

Says Galvin to Rachel Lander in an interview in the Daily Iowan (when Galvin is not on his ranch he is teaching in the Iowa Writers Program) about As Is

“In a way I think the major anxiety that drives that particular book is the anxiety of trying to live fully and productively and gracefully during a catastrophe,” Galvin said.

About poetry and teaching poetry, Galvin says in the same article:

“I think that a lot of times the way poetry is taught in school is as if it were not art but philosophy in a can, and the teacher has the can opener — and that’s no fun for anyone,” he said. “The ideas in it are pleasure, and the sensations in it, the images and the sounds and the textures, are all there for pleasure. It’s not that it can’t be analyzed like painting or music, but one’s first experience of it should be some kind of conversation between the body and the mind that feels good.”

Free Music Archive

via Flavorpill...

For your listening and reading pleasure...something fun and something free

WEB:
Free Music Archive
Just like it sounds, only better
The Free Music Archive is an expertly curated virtual library of legal music downloads. The site is directed by WFMU, New Jersey's beloved, listener-supported, freeform radio station.

FMA picks up the copyright slack. Inspired by Creative Commons, the Archive strives to provide its users with royalty-free, pre-cleared tracks for noncommercial projects, including podcasts, soundtracks, radio, and remixes.

It's curated by the pros. Explore eclectic selections from legendary Seattle station KEXP, Los Angeles-based nonprofit upstart Dublab, and New York City's Issue Project Room, among many others.

The music is yours. Stream your favorite tracks from the Web, or download high-quality MP3s; if you love what you hear, the site makes it easy to give back by either buying the albums or donating directly to an artist's "tip jar."

Explore the Archive, check out WFMU's playlists, and read an interview with FMA managing director Jason Sigal.

– Eli Dvorkin