Art to Outfit } Tieka of Selective Potential

Art to Outfit } Tieka of Selective Potential

Drawing by Me (Lauren Moyer)

This weekend I was overjoyed to be able to attend the Michigan Blogger Meetup organized by Tieka of Selective Potential and so in honor of that I am posting my third installment of Art to Outfit featuring some graphic design by Tieka. I was able to work in the field of graphic design at internships and part time jobs, and am very appreciative of the work that Graphic Designers, like Tieka, do. It is more of an unsung art in our society yet in the modern age it is seen daily by millions of viewers and consumers.

For those of you who don't know I started this feature a few months ago showcasing the artistic talent in the visual arts that many fashion bloggers have. Please check out my past interviews and now enjoy learning about Tieka's own artistic jouney.


What is your pen name?

I always wanted to be named Autumn because it's such a pretty word - but it's my favorite season and it's just such a gorgeous season and time of year. But to be honest, I'm so glad my name is Tieka now. I didn't enjoy it much as a kid, but now that I'm older and can appreciate it - it suits me so well.

When did you start putting a pencil to paper to create silly images?

Honestly? When I found out I needed to have large-scale drawings to get into my first choice art college. I know.. how could I be interested in going to art college without knowing how to draw? I love art, I love creating - but I'm just such a computer geek! Once I started drawing though, I loved it. It took me a while, but I truly enjoy it now.





Did a fairy godmother give you all your talent, or did you find a magical place that sharpened your mind? 

I definitely went to school for art and design - it's something I never wanted to do on the side. It's challenging having to be creative every day for your job, so it's so worth it - I want to wake up in the mornings and go to work! Art for a career is perfection.

Which artist do you think is dreamy?

Oh gosh, this is tough because I don't know what any artists ever look like. Let's go with Paul Rand in his grandpa years - I love grandpas. How could you resist that face?

What period of art would you set your time machine to?

Baroque. I took an 18th century art history class that I just loved - even though Baroque dates from 16th to early 18th - anywhere in there.





What artist would you go camping with and why?

Georgia O'Keefe. She really appreciated the beauty in nature. We'd stay in a tent - just one zip of a door away from the beauty of the outdoors!

How does your art affect your clothes, and visa-versa?

I definitely feel like my love for art affects my personal style. I think the two go hand-in-hand. In my own design and art, I'm very simple and I truly believe in usability (because I'm an interactive/graphic designer), so I'm very very much the same with style - simple with usability (I want to be able to walk in my shoots for longer than one block!)





Do you plan on wearing a beret daily and becoming a professional artist?

I don't plan on wearing a beret daily, but I am a full-time graphic designer! I can wear cute clothes - no worries about spilling paint. Maybe getting a few spray mount chemicals on my hands, but other than that - I'm glued to my Mac.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three pieces of yours would you take with you to decorate your mud hut?

I love my Vespa information graphic.



My dog paintings motion graphic film


And I'm super proud of the press kit I put together for Selective Potential


As an artist, do you get away with crazy fashion like wearing a swan dress?

No way. Even though I am artist, I am very simple.. and like I said before, I believe in usability - something the real world can relate to. As graphic designers, we have to be able to communicate to more than one type of person - I feel like my style must communicate not only to artists, but to others as well.

Make sure to check out Tieka's website http://www.tiekadierolf.com/
And of course her style blog http://selectivepotential.blogspot.com/ 



Huggles,
Lauren

All images (except first image) are property of Tieka Dierolf and used with permission.

Art to Outfit } Cat from Midwest Mayhem

Art to Outfit } Cat from Midwest Mayhem

IT"S BACK!!!


above drawing by me

For this Art to Outfit I'm featuring fellow Detroiter Cat from Midwest Mayhem!! She's become a great friend and I'm so excited to show you guys her art and film stills!!

What is your pen name? 

My pen name is Cat Bird.  Although it's actually my maiden name, but I decided to keep it as a pen name.  It was too perfect to just get rid of once I got married.  My whole time in college I was known as "CatBird" as if it was one word.  Now I'm just Cat, but at heart I'm still CatBird.

When did you start putting a pencil to paper to create silly images?

I've been drawing ever since I was a kid.  My parents have always been very supportive of my talent.  I would draw pictures of my favorite Disney characters and they'd send them to Walt Disney Studios for me.  I have a letter from the studio saying that I'm talented and to keep on drawing.  Haha, I'm sure the receptionist or whoever wrote the letter just thought it was cute, but when I was a kid I thought it was so cool that they wrote me back!  I'm pretty sure that I thought the letter had come from Walt Disney himself.

Did a fairy godmother give you all your talent, or did you find a magical place that sharpened your mind?

I went to art school at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (it's the one that's connected to the art museum).  My husband and I always joke that we went to "color school".  (He went to Columbia College just down the street from where I went.)  I started out as a painter, until I discovered film.  I continued taking some painting classes, but my main focus shifted over to filmmaking.  I've made about 8 short films and numerous silly videos.  

Which artist (from anytime) do you think is dreamy?

Hmmm...dreamy...I'm going to have to go with Andre Breton, founder of surrealism and author of my favorite book, Nadja.  Yeah.  He's pretty dreamy.

What period of art would you set your time machine to?

Dada and Surrealist movements of the 1920's.  I love that they both really stretched the limits of what defined art up until that point.  When I was in Zurich I went to the cabaret voltaire where most of the dada artists would meet up...I kind of felt like I was going through an art time machine when I was there...or at least I kind of hoped I was...  

What artist would you go camping with and why?

I'm going to do a cop-out and say my husband.  He's a brilliant writer and a great painter/illustrator.  We've never been camping together because I have a back injury so I have I have to be careful with certain activities.  I'm getting stronger though, so hopefully within the next few years we'll be able to embark on a rustic camping trip with our tents set up under the stars.  How romantic. 

How does your art affect your clothes, and visa-versa?

I did make a skirt out of paper clips when I was in school.  I've always loved Cat Chow's work, so the idea was inspired by her pieces.  Unfortunately the skirt was very difficult to walk in, but I did have a friend who seriously wanted to wear it out and about.  (Once I hung it up in my closet though it got all tangled and was ruined.)  In general I'm really in love with 60's clothing and I love the groovy vibe of op-art dresses.  I also get inspired by different color palettes.  I use to spend my lunch period in the art museum every day, so I spent a lot of time with my favorite pieces.  I don't think it was so much on purpose that I'd match a color scheme to a work of art as the idea of the piece was still lingering in my head the next day.  Now that I'm running my own fashion blog though, I find that I'm more likely to directly incorporate my inspiration into my outfits.  

Do you plan on wearing a beret daily and becoming a professional artist?

Haha, I do wear berets, but not daily.  So I guess I'm not quite fitting the stereotype 100% of the time.  My husband and I are working on starting our own film company called, Let's Make Films.  We plan to start out with making wedding videos and using the money we make to fund our own (and other's) experimental/indie projects.  I've also continued drawing and painting.  At this point I'm not sure where I want to go with that.  I do want to start marketing myself as a freelance artist, but I really need to get my s*** together first.  

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three pieces of yours would you take with you to decorate your mud hut?

(*The real #1 piece that I would have up in my hut would be a drawing that I did of Jon when we were on our honeymoon in Greece.  However, that sketch book is no where to be found, so I can't use that one.)

1) The Void, 2003, acrylic on canvas - This painting stirs up a lot of emotion when I look back on it.  I drew inspiration from elements from my past (good and bad). However, it's not just about looking back.  It's just as much about looking forward, even if the future seems uncertain. 

2) The Queen, 2003, acrylic on canvas -   I'd need something up in my mud hut that would make me laugh, right?  I did a series of paintings where I painted images from my dreams.  This painting is from when I dreamt that I was the queen of England.  It was a pretty sweet dream.

3) Kara, 2002 - oil pastel - I'd need some sort of pet with me, even if she's just a picture.  This is a drawing of one of my cats from when I was a child.  I've always loved the boldness, heavy lines and contrasting colors of this drawing. 

As an artist, do you get away with crazy fashion like wearing a swan dress?

I was an early bloomer when it came to weird outfits.  I was the girl with purple hair and combat boots in middle school.  However, when I reached my first year of art school I started stretching the boundaries of what was creatively acceptable.  The thing no one will ever let me live down is when I started trying to pass off garbage bags as skirts.  I shaped them to look like a skirt, so there was a sculptural element to it, but even so...no one thought it was a good idea.  For awhile I had a kid's batman shirt that I would wear with the cape attached the back.  Everyone thought that was awesome though.  I always loved walking down the streets of the loop in Chicago in the morning on my way to class because there was such an extreme mix of people.  You could always tell just by looking at someone whether of not they went to the Art Institute.  I loved watching the eccentrics, goths, hippies, and artists walking the streets with the black and grey suits.  It was just so normal there, no one ever looked twice if you were wearing lingerie over your jeans and carrying a huge canvas down the street.  There was a certain harmony to it.  I think in general though, regardless of where you live if you're dressed differently than the status quo, once someone finds out you're an artist it's all of the sudden okay.  If you weren't an artist though, you'd just be considered weird. 

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I don't have an art page up yet, although I've been thinking that I should really get started with one.  I've never been good with portfolio stuff and documenting my art.  I've included some pictures of my artwork and some stills from my films though.  The films that I consider my 'art' I haven't put on my computer for fear of copyright issues.  However, you can use my youtube page as my art link: http://www.youtube.com/user/dearbicycle

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Make sure to check out her blog Midwest Mayhem!! And I have another Art to Outfit coming soon!

Huggles,
Lauren

Art to Outfit } Meg from Bow Ties Are Cool

Art to Outfit } Meg from Bow Ties Are Cool

I would like to introduce my new feature, Art to Outfit.

As a working artist/illustrator and Gallery Director I love finding new talent. One thing that was surprising to me and also not, was the amount of talented artists in the fashion blogging community. I think fashion and art go hand in hand, and many times at school I was completely jealous of many girl's and boy's clothes. So I want to showcase the art of some of these fashionable people, who you may know through their clothes but maybe not their art. I'm also going to get myself into gear with my own tribute illustration to them.

And now behold. Art to Outfit!

Above artwork by myself

What would be your pen name?

I don't really have one. Just Meg; I like my name. My Deviantart username is "rethe" because that's the name of my fictional elf alter-ego (full name Margarethe). So... I guess I don't really have a pen name!

When did you start putting a pencil to paper to create silly images?

 

Probably when I was old enough to grasp a crayon. I've always drawn pictures, although most kids do. I guess I just kept on doing it. For years I only drew horses and dogs and that sort of thing, but around middle school I moved on to people.

Did a fairy godmother give you all your talent, or did you find a magical place that sharpened your mind? 

 

I don't know how much I believe in "talent," so much as a predisposition for maybe acute observation, spacial awareness, and a desire to create. I just drew what I saw. I only took art classes when they were required of me (middle school and high school), and learned a few basics (like human body proportions) that I kept with me and still use to this day. I didn't pursue art as a career, nor did I want to take any more classes in college because they just make you draw pictures of fruit with charcoal and I hate that stuff. I'd rather just doodle all the time, so that's what I do.

Which artist do you think is dreamy?

 

Oh man, so many. Mucha is by far a favorite, but everyone loves him. I'm really into the Pre-Raphaelites, especially Waterhouse. I have his "Lady of Shalott" painting hanging above me right now, actually. I love the Medieval, fairytale influences from that era, and the very rich, almost sad feel of the pieces.

What period of art would you set your time machine to?

 

Probably sometime during the Renaissance, in Italy. I'd love to watch the David or the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel go from just a block of stone or an empty room to something magnificent. I'd love to see the Duomo in Florence under construction. So many amazing things coming to life at that time!

Some of my favorite outfits from Meg

What artist would you go camping with and why?

 

Probably Leonardo Da Vinci. He'd be good at rigging up some cool contraptions with a tarp if it rained, and he seems like he'd be a lot of fun. Although I may just think that because I've seen Ever After one too many times...

How does your art affect your clothes, and visa-versa?

 

I don't know if my art affects my clothes, but my clothes and sense of style definitely influence my art! I have a sketchbook with pages and pages of girls wearing outfits I wish I could wear. That's about as deep as the influence goes I'm afraid, haha.


Some (rather old) drawings from my gallery that illustrate this:

Do you plan on wearing a beret daily and becoming a professional artist?

 

Not at all. I love to draw for fun, as a hobby. I have nothing against making a little money on the side from commission work, but I have no designs on becoming a professional artist of any sort. I sometimes think about illustrating my own novel in the future, but the focus would be on the writing and not the art.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three pieces of yours would you take with you to decorate your mud hut? 

 

I would probably take this piece, because I'm very proud of the loose style with which I drew it, and it's of myself and my boyfriend very soon after we started dating. It brings happy thoughts and memories.

Then I'd definitely take along this one, because it's Greg with a baby panda. I like the muted look of it, and I'm particularly happy with my linework in this one.

Lastly I'd bring this one, because I love the bright colors and it's based on Greg's and my "song" -- we looove Bon Jovi. I know the anatomy in this is way off, and some of the execution is a bit shoddy and not what I'd imagined, but I spent tons of time on it and it's like Greg's and my dorky mascot picture of love.

As an artist, do you get away with crazy fashion like wearing a swan dress? 

 

I don't think a lot of people know I'm an artist outside of my friends, and I believe they'd love whatever weird outfit I chose to wear, regardless of whether or not I was an artist. So no, I don't think I personally have that life advantage. However I do think that in "society" people can get away with weirder sartorial choices if people around them know they're a crazy "artist" type. Artists are supposed to be eccentric, after all! (And they usually are.)

I'd like to thank Meg for participating, and being my first... featurette :) Make sure to check out her art (http://rethe.deviantart.com), and of course her blog (http://bowtiesare.blogspot.com/).

Huggles,

Lauren

Artwork and images (excluding banner) are copyrighted by Meg, images are used with her permission