Meow

Artist's conception: Bicycle racks for "the world's greenest church"

A story of a church bicycle rack

This is a certain large-sized historic church in the Pacific Northwest, with a building that is over a hundred years old.  The church has recently been working on an initiative to make it the "world's greenest" church (as far as its denomination is concerned) and one of the first ideas that came up was to build bike racks, entirely from salvaged, repurposed and recycled materials.  Here I have made a conception design with used bicycle frames that were turned upside down and welded into a visually pleasing piece of public art that also double as durable bike racks.

Graphic made with Inkscape, converted and slightly edited with GIMP.  The name of the church is blurred out by request.

Thanks to ChurchOutreachMinistry.net for the mention.

Sarah Morrigan, IrisCat Designs

Currently on view

Thank you for all who came for the openings!

"Sometimes a great notion" - Siren Nation juried group show, Albina Press Hawthorne, 5012 SE Hawthorne Blvd., until December 1.
* Cascadia Coming Together, 2d mixed media, $105
* Flores aurees, 2d mixed media, $75

"Facing Fear" - open call group show, Launchpad Gallery, 534 SE Oak St, Portland, until November 27.
* Qian li zhi xing, 2d mixed media, $220

The Portland Tarot Show, a juried group show, Splendorporium, 3421 SE 21st Avenue, Portland, until December 31.
* Seven of Pentacles, 3d mixed media, $300

November: Sarah's art all over Southeast Portland! Come to one or all!

By pure coincidence various opportunities opened up for exhibit opportunities this summer, and they are all opening during the first week of November (coming very soon!).

Thursday, November 4 (One day only, only three hours!), 7-10 p.m.
Sometimes a Great Notion
Siren Nation Women's Arts and Music Festival
at Albina Press on Hawthorne
5012 SE Hawthorne Blvd. 97215
(Event info: http://www.sirennation.com/festival-art/)



Friday, November 5 (the show runs through December 31)
Opening party 7 p.m.-9 p.m.ish
The Portland Tarot Show
at Splendorporium
3421 SE 21st Avenue 97202
(Event info: http://portlandtarot2010.blogspot.com/)



Friday, November 5 (the show runs through the end of the month)
Opening party 6 p.m.-midnight
Facing Fear
at Launchpad Gallery
534 SE Oak Street 97214
(Event info: http://launchpadgallery.org/category/exhibits/

 

More updates follow on Twitter (@SarahMorrigan) or Facebook (search for IrisCat Designs).

Southeast Grind traveller cup is now out!

Only at Southeast Grind, 1223 SE Powell Blvd. Only $14!

Be green, support local business, get a reusable cup.

For those who remember, I have designed this for Southeast Grind back in April 2009. Now you can own this piece of elegance and be green!

It is only $10 a piece and you will get a 25 cents off each time you use it at Southeast Grind (with your first coffee free). It is available only at Southeast Grind, 1223 SE Powell Blvd, Portland, Oregon, just east of Milwaukie Avenue/12th Avenue near the Gideon Street fire station (TriMet lines 9, 17, 19 and 70). It is open 24 hours!

What a busy month!

As many of you already know, I started my post-graduate studies this past spring (majoring in feminist theology -- with a plan to add fine arts major in the near future) and I have fifteen credit hours this fall semester.  Fortunately three of the classes either end early or start in November, so I need to handle only three classes at a given time.

So far I have completed 6 credits

• 02.02.001 - History of Goddess Worship


• 04.01.001 - Ecology and Spirit

and have 15 credits by the end of this term

• 01.01.002 - Anthropology of Shamanism


• 01.01.006 - The Shaman


• 02.02.004 - Introduction to Thealogy


• 03.08.001 - Contextualizing Women in Religion


• 03.08.005 - Feminist Theology 1

(Why are the shamanism courses given 01.01.x prefix?  The college originally was founded as a training centre for shamans, now it is one of very few truly interfaith seminaries that is not tied to any specific religious institution and encompasses many non-mainstream faiths.)

In addition to this, I have two art shows opening in November (coincidence) and potentially one more that I might enter as well:

• Siren Nation group art show: Sometimes a Great Notion (confirmed) Open Thursday, Nov. 4


• Portland Tarot Project group show (confirmed) at Splendorporium Open Friday, Nov. 5


• Facing Fear group show (maybe) at Launch Pad Gallery Open Friday, Nov. 5

And also I have just joined the new curatorial team at the 100th Monkey Studio in Southeast Portland -- this involves the organizing and promotion of the monthly art shows, and gives me a valuable practical experience from the side of those who run a gallery.  (In addition, it gives me a studio membership, which is great, as it is always nice to have a dedicated space to work on art.)

How do I get time for all this?  The fact is I operate almost round-the-clock, except when I am sleeping for about 6 hours.  My biggest challenge is to stay focused on the task at hand and have a determination to get it done.

And yes, I still volunteer as a GED tutor at the Julia West House (4 hours/week).

Fall and rise of empires?

This past week news outlets have reported that now the economy of Japan has been eclipsed by that of the People's Republic of China (not certain if the figure includes Hong Kong and Macau).  It is interesting to see the history make a full circle, with the reemergence of both China and India as the potential next superpowers.  China and India (the other two being Egypt and Mesopotamia/Iraq) were known as the four major ancient civilizations.

On the other hand, Japan as a true empire lasted only from the late 19th century with its defeat of the Russian navy and ended in the 1990s as Japan's economic dominance began to wane.

It appears today that Japan has no future, except through some kind of union with China.  Only a decade ago I could have proposed a union of Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan as a kind of "Oriental Union."  Today it seems that Taiwan's clout is soon about to evaporate, and no such union can possibly counter China's increasing dominance in economy and geopolitics.

As I was thinking over this interesting historical development, I have conceived this proposed design for the new flag and emblem of Japan, if it were to become annexed into China.

By iridiacreative at 2010-08-31

By iridiacreative at 2010-08-31

This was a quick project just to show my conception of the design.  The purple, the colour of Japanese aubergine, is one of the traditional colours of Japanese fabrics.  The design of the emblem reflects common Japanese themes of the ocean waves, Mt. Fuji and a cherry blossom, while also conforming to the design standard of such emblems that include five stars of five points, evoking the national flag of China that features five stars, to symbolize the region's ties to the People's Republic of China.  Overall design of the emblem is also a cross between classical Japanese heraldic design (the mon) and a composition of a typical socialist national emblem.

This is intended to be a parody.  No further political statement is implied.

Re-introducing Art Windows from IrisCat.

Art Windows.  Why get a "window splash" if you can get a real art from a real working artist?  IrisCat is proud to relaunch this after a period of re-evaluation.

This summer, after a period of re-evaluation and hiatus, IrisCat is redefining and relaunching the popular window painting service to do what IrisCat does the best.  It has come to Sarah that even calling it a "window painting" does not do justice.  After three years in business, some people have mistakenly called it a "window treatment", and even more people have mistaken this for a "window splash."  The problem is that they all serve different purposes from different technical approaches. What IrisCat Designs does is a commissioned temporary or semi-permanent works of art reflecting the artist's distinct style informed by various disciplines such as illustration, hand-drawn letterings, and acrylic and watercolor paintings.  Generally, this suits much better for a smaller-sized project.  Unlike other businesses in the area providing window painting or "window splash" services, your project will be done by a real working artist with experiences that include solo and juried shows.

IrisCat Designs is here to provide an elegant, perhaps smaller, and light-hearted (but not grotesque) alternative for businesses that are conscious of the images they project to the community.  With all this, the prices are remarkably affordable (varies by various factors), and whenever feasible environmentally sustainable methods and materials are used.

http://iriscat.info/artwindows-windowpaintingalternatives.html

New original paintings auctioned to benefit Operation Nightwatch Portland

This is a great way to make these sets of new, original paintings (all done this month) while supporting a worthy cause.

The paintings are mixed media, acrylic, paper and ink, and were produced in June 2010 here in the Portland area. Portions (15% of the winning price) of this auction will be donated to the same, to support future art programs and events to make creative arts accessible to those who are low-income, mentally/physically/developmentally challenged, and/or homeless. Operation Nightwatch (ON) is an ecumenical night ministry of friendship and community that has been serving the street population of downtown Portland since 1981. Now with the newly purchased RV unit, ON is soon expanding to the Johnson Creek/Clackamas/Lents area and other locations throughout the metropolitan region.

The Set 1: The Elemental Cats -- Fire, Wind, Water, Earth
Acrylic, ink and paper on four canvas panels, each sized 3" x 5"

The Set 2: A set of two watercolors -- "A Summer Day in a Park" (a scene at Couch Park, Northwest Portland last week), and "Moon Cat"
Watercolor on two canvas panels, each sized 3" x 5"

For links to the eBay listings use: http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=30327 (shows both sets) with the ending number 30327 as part of the address. If it does not work, you can access the page through http://www.operationnightwatch.org/missionfish.html

IrisCat Designs news updates for May-June 2010

It seems like I have gone pretty quiet on the art and art-business fronts, but things are still happening under way.  As you may already know, I have started my post-graduate studies this spring and it has been keeping me busy, but that does not stop me from my creative pursuits -- rather they go hand in hand.  I am still discerning whether I should go double-major in both MDiv and MFA programs as my school will launch a brand new MFA program this fall semester.

In June I will be facilitating another open art studio as part of the annual Operation Nightwatch Portland spiritual retreat.  We are still yet to procure needed art supplies and if you can make a donation toward it I will be very happy.  Also, this year I am taking parts of this art project into the realm of the digital.  If you have extra digital cameras that we can borrow for a few days (caveat: we will be using this in forest settings, so unfortunately you would have to indemnify us in case if someone accidentally drops the camera into mud or creek... so that is why the "extra" camera, not your favourite one.) that would also be great.

[To make a contribution, go to http://www.operationnightwatch.org/donate.html.  This is a 501(c)(3) and donations are tax deductible if itemized correctly.]

May Last Thursday art clearance sale: May 27 at Radio Room, 1101 NE Alberta Street, from 5:30 to 9:45 p.m.  All items must go; they are under $25 until 7:30, then will be "pay what you can and will" thereafter.

May Last Thursday art clearance sale

This coming Thursday, May 27, 2010, I will be offering nearly all available original art for sale in order to clean out the storage space and stale creative energy, and also to raise funds to replace my bicycle that was stolen a few days ago.

I will also be offering (weather permitting) a quick portrait sketch (for a suggested donation of $5).

All items will be under $25 between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., then will be "pay what you can and will" thereafter until closing around 9:45 p.m.  This is a good opportunity to add affordable works of art to your home or office.  All items must go by the end of the day, so no reasonable offer will be declined -- in fact, even a small amount will help me at this point immensely.  The recent theft of the bicycle has caused some unexpected financial strains and loss of productivity.

This will be at the parking lot of Radio Room, 1101 N.E. Alberta St. in Portland, Oregon.  As the Last Thursday is expected to be busy, I recommend using the public transit (it is hard to find a place to park even for a bicycle). TriMet lines 8 and 75 serve the area, and so does the 6 (on MLK at Alberta, about 7 blocks away).

IrisCat Designs news updates for April 2010

I am posting this on March 31 so no one would think it's April Fools! ;-)

This blog has been quiet for some time, but in my little world it's teeming with many activities.  First of all, I would like to express my belated thanks to all who came to my first solo show in February at the Secret Hideout Studio in Portland.  This was a very well attended show.

I will not be showing at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral this year during the first weekend of May. The costs of producing the work to the event's specification, limited audience exposure and potential low sales simply do not make it possible for me at this time.

I will, however, be showing one new and original painting at the upcoming group theme show at Grace Memorial Episcopal Church (NE 16th Avenue & NE Weidler Street) starting this Sunday through end of May.  There will be a little reception and artists' talk on one of the Sundays, but that would not be this coming Sunday (which is Easter in the Western church calendar).  Stay tuned here, on Facebook (look for IrisCat Designs) or on Twitter @sarahmorrigan.

This spring I have become a graduate student -- and I am taking 9 credits -- so I will be doing a lot more things with my life.  This requires some adjustments and modifications.  While I will not scale down my artist activities (in fact I am looking to increase in this area) I will be making a number of changes to the IrisCat Design's commercial client services beginning April 1:

• Window painting services: I will no longer be supplying paints during off-peak seasons due to the inventory and cash-flow issues.  Paints will be the responsibility of the clients (I will bring other tools and materials).  To reflect this change, the service rates will be lowered (exact figures TBA).  Also, my service area will be limited to central parts of Portland, Oregon and select urban cores of surrounding cities, such as downtown Lake Oswego, downtown Milwaukie, Clackamas Town Center (Harmony/Sunnyside), downtown Beaverton, Washington Square (Nimbus/Progress) and downtown Gresham.  I will no longer be servicing outlying suburbs due to time requirements.


• Graphic design and branding development services: I will be offering these services at a much lower rate starting April 1.  Now it will be $55 minimum charge (and first hour) and $40 per hour thereafter.


• Commissioned fine arts: No changes.

Heraldry and ecclesiastical seals: where high-tech contemporary designs meet time-steeped tradition

One of my specialty areas of practice is designs of traditional ecclesiastical (church) seals that both follow the centuries-old traditions of heraldry that are rich in metaphorical and spiritual symbolism, and at the same time stylish and visually pleasing to the contemporary sensibility.



Read the stories behind these seals, including their heraldic symbolism and meanings.

Short updates

Iridia Creative Production is now IrisCat Designs. I was not able to log in to this blog's dashboard for a few months for some unknown reasons, so this hadn't been updated as much as it should have been.

In the mean time, I have started another blog on iriscat.myartplot.com, the downside of it being there is no RSS or permalink. So eventually I will mirror the same contents here as well.

Also now IrisCat Designs has a Facebook fan page. Many updates are done there.