Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Screen Print Show and Beer Tasting Benefit for MS Society


What's better than screen printed posters and beer?
Screen printed posters and beer for a damn good reason.









Screens 'N' Suds began in 2009 as a collaboration between Brian Gearing, Sam Verrill and Ric Hersh. The yearly beer and screen print poster event started out in Richmond, Va and is making it's debut in Chicago with the help of Andrew Lautner and Matt Herakovich. All proceeds from Screens 'N' Suds table along with door donations go to The National MS Society

The timing couldn't be more perfect. Chicago's beer inspired art show and tasting will be on the eve of the infamous Dark Lord Day. Expect to see prints from the likes of Pollock PrintsScrewball Press, and more of your favorite Chi-town poster artists. Sharprint will be printing up some t-shirts designed by Steve Walters. Breweries representing will be Goose IslandLow Dive BrewingMetropolitan, and Breckenridge for starters. 

There's more folks...check this out: 
For the week leading up to the event, stop in Nightwood Restaurant for special plates that will also benefit MS Society. If you haven't been there - now is the perfect opportunity. Soooo delicious.

Here's the skinny on the art show & tasting:
Friday, April 27 from 6-11
@ Pilsen Social Club
1804 South Halsted - 4th Floor
$5 suggested donation

Come on out. Drink some beer. Get some art.

Monday, April 9, 2012

5 Feng Shui Tips For Hanging Art

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

This applies to Feng Shui right along with everything else. Feng Shui should be used as a guide, not a set of strict regulations. This blog post will cover some basic concepts you may want to consider regarding the paintings, photos, and other artwork in your home. Do keep in mind that if there is nothing you want to change, then there is no change to be made. You feel me?

1. Hang people you like in the bedroom. Paintings and pictures in your bedroom and relationship area should reflect the kind of relationships you want. For example, if you are a single guy that would love a special lady in your life, do not have posters of the Rat Pack in your bedroom. If you are a single lady who would like her pick of a handful of artistic dudes, maybe you want a picture of the Rat Pack in your bedroom. Also, be aware of the body language in the pictures you hang. If you would like to draw these people into your life, they should be open, inviting and happy to see you - not looking past you or down on you.




2. No preciousness in the bathroom, k? There's a whole heckuva lot of flushing that goes on in the bathroom. Lots of chi going down the drain in there. Images of people or things you care about tend to connect with the energy of those very people or things. Having such images in the bathroom may be disposing of some valuable energy. If that picture of the Precious Moments kids makes you smile fondly because it reminds you of your kids, you might want to keep it out of the bathroom. If you just think it's cute, cool.



3. Be wary of dark imagery.
Now, I love skulls and darkness as much as the next girl. Just pay attention to where and how much of this imagery you hang, because, guess what? This kind of imagery tends to invite darkness. This one took me a minute to come to terms with. I am a fan of skull art for sure and there's some pretty killer (no pun intended :) pieces out there. Just pay close attention to how it makes you feel. Does it make you happy because it's so awesome? Do you connect with it because it strokes your more brooding side? Then decide if that's how you want to feel.





4. Colors can act as elements.
In general, each room should have a balance of each natural element represented. However, it may not be practical to have fire in every room literally, unless you like a lot of candles. In such a case, you can hang artwork that represents the element in question.




Here's a basic run down of the elements and colors that represent them:
water: black, blue, turquoise
fire: red, orange, yellow, purple, fuschia
earth: yellow, orange, rose, brown, earth red, beige
wood: greens, browns
metal: white, silver, gold, copper, grey

5. You gotta love it. 
Bottom line. For some folks this goes without saying. For the others out there, here it is: don't feel compelled to hang something that was given to you or made by some one you know if you don't absolutely adore it. Being indifferent may be one thing, but definitely don't display art that you don't even like.