Some photographers have a way of showing the soul of a person in an image. Carey Primeau does it with dilapidated buildings. For the past four years, he’s been working on the Neglected Beauty Project.
“By inspiring dialogue about forgotten historic structures, there is hope that the general public and our politicians will once again learn to appreciate their existence. Historical buildings are crucial for future generations because they not only provide direct connections to our past, but can be focal points for a shared cultural experience in the future,” he says.
School's Out Forever | Jacob Riis Elementary, Chicago
In these buildings covered with dust and grime, he somehow manages to capture every color, each sparkle of sunlight, thereby revealing everything the building ever was to the community. I must agree with him, it would be a terrible shame to let these historic spaces go to waste.
Back Stairs Elegance | Uptown Theater, ChicagoCentrality Amongst Chaos | St. Boniface Church Chicago
Hey kids, I know I’ve been missing in action lately, but my life has been, to say the least, chaotic. I won’t go into all of it, but the highlights (or low-lights as they were) include my press having a major break (fixed now) and the company I worked for ceasing operations (still working on that one — yes, I am accepting freelance work, letterpress or otherwise).
In other news, here are a few pieces I created before the press cracked, and I’ve been working on custom pieces like crazy to catch up, so there will be lots to come! In the mean time, you can always keep up on local happenings on Hold That Thought, an interim publication for a few of us from the old company. (I’ll be posting about Hair Affair in a day or two!)
I don’t have much time today, but I wanted to let you all know about a fabulous show happening this weekend that will feature etsy sellers from the Madison area. Here are just a few of the crafters involved:
Bare Tree Apparel's Tasty Fish T-shirt — Owner and creator Saul's screenprints are the perfect combination of innovative design and superb craftsmanship.
Whimsey House's Sunshine and Blue Skies — Whimsey House is chock full of jewelry made from vintage buttons, beads and findings. Every piece is so intricate, you could get lost!
In an effort to make the second bedroom in our apartment less of a storage facility and more of a usable space, I need to part with some of my stuff. I’m going to start listing myriad handmade items and supplies in my other etsy shop. First up: ceramics from college (click on the image to go directly to the etsy listing).
I created a series of thrown and altered pieces decorated with dipped and dripped underglazes and this was one of the first.Two more pieces from the same series, once I had moved on to using a process of finishing the pieces with layers of different glazes.
In my opinion, the best of the series, this piece has two oversized bottle necks attached and is finished with many different glazes and pure minerals fired directly onto the piece.
Hannah Stouffer is the brilliant hand behind Grand Array (which I posted about back here). I asked her to give us all a little insight into how she does what she does.
Hannah Stouffer's digitally rendered illustration for Wiley Publishing's instructional book on Photoshop
How did you get your start as a professional illustrator? What was your first big job?
One day I told myself that I was going to be an illustrator… then I started telling everyone else… and one day when I was riding the bus I got a call from a big pharmecutial company that wanted to pay me to draw. I don’t even know how they heard that I was gonna be an illustrator, but it was really surreal and it all kind of snowballed from that point. If you believe in something enough and want it, it will all work out. I swear.
What are your inspirations and influences?
There are many. I don’t even know where to start. I’m very easily overwhelmed and I’m attracted to so many things… sometimes I feel like I might explode… in a good way. I was reading this Pictorial Encyclopedia last night from 1990, I tend to do that a lot… I only made it from A-D though . . . but it gives me a bunch of good information and ideas without allowing myself to be influenced by contemporary phases and trends. I’m extremely interested with classifications and sub-cultures . . . both historically and in our current society.
What is your process?
Research then draw, and hope that it all goes away when I close my eyes at night.
Is the work that’s in commercial campaigns and magazines a sketch you did for yourself first that they liked or do you create work with a specific client in mind?
I’ve decided recently that in order to keep the basis of my work as real as possible its important that I create most of what I do for clients on my own terms. I usually create a series of works for a gallery show, or for myself and then incorporate into the work I do for clients, or even license it out for other projects and product. This isn’t always the case as clients do often have something specific in mind- but more often than not I make work for myself first.
Any advice for aspiring illustrators?
Hustle. Everyday.
Anything else we should know about you?
I’m wearing black reptile skin pants and this amazing oversize ‘Party Prowler’ tee right now that I got at the flea market, I just ate some string cheese and I feel like a million bux.
622 press | LETTERPRESS GOODS MADE BY HAND 