LIFESTYLES RAW MIX

In my graphic design 2 class during the 2012 fall semester at WSU, I was tasked with creating two playlists consisting of twelve tracks that related to each other. One playlist had songs that were based around photography and the other around sex, two of my all time favorite things! After which we were told to choose one of those playlists and create a full on CD. So I went with the one that I thought might stir up the most commotion and that would most definitely be the most fun to create, sex.

My first idea was to get really dirty and risque. I made over forty concept sketches ranging from the abstract to close up images of a throbbing member. I have had one that was a close up drawing of a bunghole. Yep, I went there. When I presented all my sketches to the class everyone freaked out and went silent! The girls blushed and the guys fidgeted in their seats all while the teacher crapped on the entire idea. What the hell is wrong with these people? I thought I was in college, the land of open-minds and unadulterated fun. But alas, I forget that I'm currently residing in boring, religious and uber conservative Kansas all during an era of gutless emo weenies.

Eventually I toned it way down and themed the project as if I had been contracted by the condom manufacturer, Lifestyles. I used self shot images of a flavored condom and my wife Nicky's sexy panty line. I hand cut, glued and folded the CD container instead of standard old boring CD jewel case. I always though the paper CD's were more interesting and artsy feeling anyways. Since it was all hand made, I was able to make a spot to slide in an actual condom into the inside flap of the CD holder. This, I felt, pushed the contraception brand promotion even further. This can be seen in the second and third detail images on the left hand side of the picture below.

Anyways, I love how it turned out. Maybe I should pitch it to Lifestyles for some extra dough or maybe a years worth of free condoms. Giggity!

Here's a listing of the tracks. It's a nice mix of Punk, Hip-hop, Alternative, Classic Rock with hints of Techno, Pop and Funk.

1. Sex and Violence - The Exploited 
2. Sex And More - Atmosphere 
3. Sex Bomb - Spinnerette 
4. Sex Is Violent - Jane's Addiction 
5. Hot Sex - A Tribe Called Quest 
6. Sex Type Thing - Stone Temple Pilots 
7. Prison Sex - Tool 
8. Sex, Drogen Und Industrial - Combichrist 
9. No Sex - Mad Caddies 
10. Worked Up So Sexual - The Faint 
11. Tired of Sex - Weezer 
12. Sex Machine - James Brown

For shits and giggles, Here's the track listing of the photo soundtack for those that might be interested. I just love making and sharing themed playlists.

1. I Turn My Camera On - Spoon 
2. Polaroid - Shwayze 
3. Pictures - Sneaky Sound System 
4. Pictures - The Postal Service 
5. Photograph - Weezer 
6. Photograph - Shiny Toy Guns 
7. Pictures to Prove It - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones 
8. Kodachrome - Paul Simon 
9. Picture Book - The Kinks 
10. Photograph - The Verve Pipe 
11. Girls On Film - Duran Duran 
12. Take A Picture - Filter

MANISH LAW: SHINDIGS AND SHENANIGANS

I recently did the CD and poster artwork for Shindigs and Shenanigans, the newest mix tape by Wichita based hip hop artist Manish Law. Law namely wanted the style to be heavily circus/freak show influenced but also involve acts of drinking, partying and random chaos, otherwise known as shenanigans! That was something that I had zero problems coming up with and creating. There's usually a freak show dancing around inside my head on a regular basis anyways. The first image is the CD cover and the second is... well you guessed it, the poster!

The poster uses more realistic images and the CD has a heavier illustration look to it. I really wanted them to have the same feel and use a lot of the same images as continuity is a must for an albums associated art. So for the viewers (that would be you) it's a game of which image is not like the other. For instance, the clown head is front and center for both but one is a cyclops and one is not. Technically since the two eyed clown has a squid arm coming out of one eye, he might be considered a cyclops now too but you catch my drift. It's fairly obvious but I figured giving away the easy difference might spur you on to take a closer and more in-depth look. There are actually quite a few different images slipped in there that have hidden meanings. See if you can find the Kansas reference in the poster, I dare you.

On that note, I am especially proud of the poster and how it came together. I always find it fun researching and digging up weird images for projects such as this. There are old medical diagrams, Taiwanese public heath posters, creepy old newspaper advertisements and even nursery rhyme images all mingling together with monkeys, clowns, floozies and liquor. That's a party I would kill to go to. This was definitely a project that I could sink my twisted teeth into.

CD Cover

Poster

Check out Manish Law and help support the music and art scene!

JANET HIMEBAUGH

My grandmother, Janet Himebaugh, passed away this Thursday at the age of 81 after a more than 10 year battle with Alzheimer's. I'm saddened more than I can ever express but I'm glad that she's no longer struggling. Now she's with my lineage and is at peace.

There are a ton of things I could say about my grandmother but I'll stick with what rings out the loudest for me personally. Janet was meticulous and organized like no one I have ever known. Her party planning and homemaking skills were unmatched. Simply put, she made June Cleaver look like a slacker. She was an extremely well known person in Wichita and abroad and class was her middle name. That never stopped her from rolling up her sleeves though and getting dirty when needed. But you better believe that she looked good doing it. Grandma was always there for every single one of our family, no matter what. She was the rock for us all and the strongest woman I have ever known or probably ever will.

Janet and my grandfather William, better known as Bill, met at North High. They had a relationship that complimented each other perfectly for over 60 years. The following is an exert from an article in the Wichita Eagle that was written about my grandparents loving relationship.

"One night they drove past one another at 29th and Arkansas in north Wichita. Bill honked to get Janet to pull over. “I asked her if she wanted to go to the midnight show at the old Palace Theater, which was at Douglas and Broadway then,’’ Himebaugh said. “They were showing some horror movie, ‘Frankenstein Did This’ or ‘Werewolf Does That.’ ” The movie didn’t matter. Getting Janet to agree to go to the movie was what it was all about. She did and their romance took off from there."

Thus my grandparents first date was a horror movie. How awesome is that. Today was the funeral so it's hard for me to even write this as the tears are welling up. So I'll end it like this; Janet Himebaugh was a teacher, doting wife and loving mother, but to me she was grandma. I love you and I will always miss you.

The Himebaughs

Top: William (Grandpa), Right: Karen (Mom)

Left: Jerry (Uncle). Bottom: Janet (Grandma)

POLAR: POLAR SHIFT

I recently had the privilege of working with a Wichita based hip-hop artist that goes by the name Polar. We collaborated on his CD project entitled Polar Shift and he was pretty open to suggestion on what direction to take the artwork. Polar shift is in relation to the pole shift hypothesis. This is an actual scientific theory that suggests rapid shifts in the location of Earth's poles and it's axis of rotation will create massive calamities such as earthquakes and floods. With that in mind, I went with something that had a "science" feel, hence the graph and subtle axis overlays. Polar knew he wanted the CD to look clean and he liked the illustration style that I do so I wanted to work that in on his actual photo. Then to run with the epic earthquake and polar "icy" feel, I incorporated the massive ice crack running through the front of the CD. I didn't want it to be overly campy and have something lame like ice cubes floating around or something corny like him dressed as Sub-Zero. I felt that the overall blue color scheme was more than enough to feel chilly. I did all the photography, album design and logo creation, as you might have guessed.

CD Front

CD Back

Check out Polar and help support the music and art scene!