The Ginger Man and His Art
Mar 18, 2010 - by Dave
I'm a big fan of JP Donleavy and his book 'The Ginger Man'. He was interviewed on Off The Ball on Newstalk recently and there's no doubt that he's some character. He's had a varied and colourful career and seems to have been a boxer of some quality. In his youth he was an undefeated amateur welterweight and met with Joe Frazier among others.
One career that I wasn't aware of was his painting and drawing. As he lives in Ireland he has exhibited here several times and he is currently showing work in The Molesworth Gallery. His work is definitely like his writing - unique and quite offbeat at times! It's very interesting stuff though and if you're in Dublin worth dropping into.
And if you have a thousand euro or so lying around the place why not buy a piece or two!
Posted in The Ginger Man, Painting, JP Donleavy, Illustration, creativity, Artists, artist, Art
Plotting your course
Mar 10, 2010 - by Dawn
You may not have noticed but Monday 8th March was International Women Day. This day celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.
I admit that I may not have been aware of this upcoming day if I had not signed up to attend the March DCEB Network for Women event. The night was a much larger event than expected with 250 in attendance. Speakers for the evening were Mary Anne O’Brien, founder and MD of Lily O’Brien’s and Lucy Gaffney Chairperson of Communicorp Group Ltd. Nicola Byrne, Managing Director of Call 11890 acted as MC on the evening.
The night kicked of with both Mary Anne O'Brien and Lucy Gaffney giving us all 'the story' behind how they got to where they are now. What made their stories interesting were the insights into their personal lives as well as their routes to success.
Both of them had unconventional pathways to their current careers. Mary Anne first realised her passion for chocolate on a trip to Africa for some much needed rest. She happened upon a local who was making chocolates and let Mary Anne try her hand at it. On returning to Ireland the dream developed into her establishing the now internationally successful brand by beginning in her home kitchen.
Lucy Gaffney worked in various jobs after repeating her Leaving Cert. She chopped and changed, realising many of the jobs her parents would like to see her in were not for her. The turning point was getting a secretarial role with Bell Advertising. From here she worked her way up to Account Director.
Lucy Gaffney is now Chairperson of Communicorp Group Limited an expanding communications group whose portfolio includes national radio stations Newstalk 106-108 and Today FM along with Dublin stations Dublin’s 98 and Spin 103.8.
Open networking afterwards was a great opportunity to exchange business cards over a glass of wine. All in all, a great event and thanks to the organisers for the effort involved.
Posted in Networking, Mary Anne O'Brien, Lucy Gaffney, Lily O'Briens, International Womens Day, DCEB Network for Women, Communicorp
Don't believe your eyes...
Mar 3, 2010 - by Dave
Illustrations by Alberto Cerriteno
Feb 24, 2010 - by Dawn
This week I had a lucky internet stumble when I came across Mexican Illustrator and Designer Alberto Cerriteno. I delved deeper and found not only was his illustration work creatively inspiring but he is also a designer. His prints now selling commercially printed as limited editions onto everything from cushions to eye masks.
His work is intricate in its details, his characters are given a kind of 3rd dimension in the use of collage style patterning. At a closer look at Alberto's drawings we see swirling flowers and ornate patterns reminiscent of our grandmother's wallpaper. The reoccurrence of pattern plays homage to his Mexican roots along with his love of colour through play between vivid colours set against raw earthy browns and coffee golds.
Indeed the playful subjects and surreal imaginings could be likened to the doodles of a child being given free reign, the results are outstanding. That's just my take, have a look, and let me know what you see in his creations...
www.albertocerriteno.com
www.etsy.com
www.clickforart.com
Posted in www.albertocerriteno.com, Surrealism, rich textures, Print, Mexican Art, Illustrator, Animated Characters, Alberto Cerriteno
Hi, here's my card...
Feb 10, 2010 - by Dave
What's the first thing you do when you meet someone in a business situation? Say hello? Shake hands? The next thing is most probably going to be the exchange of business cards. I have been going to a lot of networking events lately - they seem to be growing in popularity - and plenty of business cards are always exchanged.
Frequently the standard isn't good at all. You get business cards that are a mess, hard to read contact details, details crossed out and scrawled in with biro. Sometimes the paper stock isn't great and the card is flimsy and crumpled. It doesn't really add up to a great business impression and a lot of the time the suspicion is that these cards go into the pocket and from there to the bin!
Price is obviously a sensitive issue at the moment but a lot of the time the cheapest deal isn't the best one. When shopping around for your business card it is important to make sure that you are comparing like with like. Will the card be printed on good stock? Will it be a quality job? Have you seen a portfolio or any other design work? All points worth bearing in mind if you want a business card that will ensure you make the right impression!
Posted in Scapegoat Design, Printing, print design, Print, Networking, Graphic Design, creativity, Business Card, branding
Believe it or not this image is not a product of Photoshop. It is a four-storey sculpture made of welded steel and created by the New Zealand artist Neil Dawson. While it looks like an optical illusion it is very much the real thing and looks equally convincing from any angle.
