BLOG ARCHIVES

2008

December 31st
2008: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
An infographic of what happens to your blog post frequency when life gets crazy…
December 30th
MY READING YEAR, 2008
11 good books I read in 2008.
December 24th
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
“only in the final stages / of delirium / did Mr. S / use the / electronic earpiece … in the christmas quantum transporter / the milk was a dream”
December 22nd
HOW TO PRIME A SNOWBALL
A newspaper blackout poem: “how to prime a snowball.”
December 20th
RESIDUE
When the book has flown, how do you fill the empty nest?
December 19th
MANUSCRIPT = DONE
I finished the first draft of the Newspaper Blackout Poems manuscript, due out from HarperCollins in September, 2009.
December 18th
A MANIFESTO: WRITE THE BOOK YOU WANT TO READ
The manifesto is this: draw the art you want to see, make the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read.
December 10th
BROADSHEETS
Four full-page broadsheet newspaper blackout poems.
December 8th
CAPTAIN’S LOG
“Captain’s log / star date / tuesday / honestly, i don’t recall / what i committed to…”
December 8th
LAY IT ALL OUT WHERE YOU CAN LOOK AT IT
Looking for a book in a stack of blackout poems.
December 3rd
NEWSPAPER BLACKOUT POEMS IN THE CLASSROOM
Are you or do you know of a teacher or student who has used Newspaper Blackout Poems in the classroom? Please share!
December 1st
171 BLACKOUT POEMS
The process of cleaning up and organizing the poems for the book.
November 28th
VACATION
Thoughts on spending time in a different space.
November 26th
WINNERS OF THE NOVEMBER NEWSPAPER BLACKOUT POEMS CONTEST
A lot of good entries this month, but the winner was Erica Westcott of Virginia Beach, VA, for her poem, “Enigma.”
November 16th
TRAILS
When making a blackout poem, sometimes you can get around the Western left-to-right, up-to-down reading problem by using little connecting lines between words.
November 14th
SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY
A blacked-out Lexus Ad from the Wall Street Journal.
November 13th
CAN GHOSTS MAKE ART?
An important question. Your input is needed, dear readers.
November 11th
HOW-TO BOOKS
Books that don’t just show you how to make art, they’re works of art in themselves.
November 10th
PROVIDENCE, BOSTON, CONNECTICUT, & NYC TRIP
We need suggestions for an upcoming New England Trip.
November 9th
THE NEW STUDIO
A new studio is like a blank sheet of paper: there’s a lot of potential, but it can be kind of awkward before you make that first mark.
November 5th
STORYTELLING = WORLD-BUILDING
An excerpt from my undergrad thesis on using visual thinking techniques for prose fiction.
November 5th
OBAMA!
A ripple in the universe / someone named him Obama!
November 1st
NOVEMBER NEWSPAPER BLACKOUT POEMS CONTEST
Enter the contest and you could win a free copy of the book and be published!
October 31st
THE NEW HOUSE
A sketch of our new house, superimposed over a page from William Maxwell’s wonderful short novel, So Long, See You Tomorrow.
October 30th
TV ON THE RADIO @ STUBBS
Sharpie on index card drawings done during a TV On The Radio concert.
October 27th
WINNERS OF THE OCTOBER NEWSPAPER BLACKOUT POEM CONTEST
Lots of dentistry-themed poems this month, but the winner was Marty Smith of Washington, DC, for his poem, “Teeth.”
October 26th
GET YOURSELF A CALENDAR
Creating any long work of art is all about time management.
October 26th
ALLOCATION OF TIME
A blank pie chart is a gag cartoon that needs finished.
October 22nd
MONTREAL SKETCHBOOK AND PHOTOS
Notes on our week-long trip to Montreal.
October 19th
WAYS OF SEEING BY JOHN BERGER
Mindmap of the John Berger’s classic book on the image and art based on his 1972 BBC documentary.
October 19th
MAKER FAIRE 2008
Photos of our trip to Maker Faire in Austin, Texas.
October 15th
OTTO DIX, “PORTRAIT OF THE LAWYER HUGO SIMONS”
This 1929 portrait is the best thing hanging in the Montreal Fine Arts Museum.
October 7th
ART SPIEGELMAN @ BOOKPEOPLE
Sketchbook comics of an Art Spiegelman lecture at BookPeople in Austin, Texas, October 7, 2008.
October 6th
FRIDA KAHLO ON WANNABE ARTISTS
In a 1939 letter to her lover and photographer Nickolas Muray, Frida Kahlo calls the Surrealists a “bunch of coocoo lunatic son of bitches.”
October 4th
TRAVEL NOTEBOOKS AND PLANNING FOR A TRIP TO MONTREAL
When we prepare to travel to a new city, I photocopy maps out of a travel guide and paste them into a Moleskine to make little customized itineraries.
October 3rd
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR MONEY
Napkin cartoon: “More than anything else, money management is about saying no to the culture and establishing your own values.”
October 1st
OCTOBER NEWSPAPER BLACKOUT POEMS CONTEST
Enter the contest and you could win a free copy of the book and be published!
September 29th
WINNERS OF THE SEPTEMBER NEWSPAPER BLACKOUT POEM CONTEST
Announcing Peter Boet’s “Clue”, Stephanie Cheng’s “The Walrus Makes A Toast,” and other runners up.
September 27th
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS ON AUSTIN CITY LIMITS
Sketches of the KLRU studio stage and the Drive-By Truckers.
September 19th
THE LITTLE MAN
A look at the drawings used for the San Francisco Chronicle’s rating system.
September 17th
AIMEE MANN AUSTIN CITY LIMITS TAPING
Sketches from the KLRU studio.
September 12th
WINNERS OF THE AUGUST NEWSPAPER BLACKOUT POEMS CONTEST
Announcing Alison Conlon’s “Roach Stain” and runner-ups.
September 10th
VIZTHINK AUSTIN 9-9-08: GALLERY WALK
Sketchnotes of VizThink Austin’s gallery show, held in the Conjunctured co-working space on September 9, 2008.
September 7th
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME (SO I CAN DOODLE)
Doodling during a Rangers / Red Sox game.
September 1st
THE POWER OF CAPTIONS: WORDS ADDED TO PICTURES
Pictures can say whatever we want them to say, provided we give them the right caption.
September 1st
SEPTEMBER NEWSPAPER BLACKOUT POEMS CONTEST
Enter the contest and you could win a free copy of the book and be published!
August 31st
WORDLESS BOOKS AND WOODCUT NOVELS
A look at the books WORDLESS BOOKS: THE ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVELS and GRAPHIC WITNESS: FOUR WORDLESS GRAPHIC NOVELS.
August 29th
NOT POETRY, PROPAGANDA
A newspaper blackout for Obama.
August 28th
IRON AND WINE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS TAPING
Some sketches I doodled during an amazing full-band performance at the KLRU studios.
August 27th
BROADSHEET
My first blackout poem done on a full page of newsprint.