Stoney @ Caffe Medici Austin - Glory Days

Stoney @ Cafe Medici Austin - Glory Days from Nina Spink on Vimeo.

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
Great job Stoney!

Mangola taking shape

I would like to share with you some news about an art event/production I am helping to put together – here in Austin, Texas – called "Mangola." Our objective is to create an event that mainly reflects the identity of Austin – through film, fashion, music and visual art. It will encompass several venues and be open to the public.

I am hoping to join others in a chance to explore some topics close to my heart and express it creatively. I know it will take quite a bit of time (outside of my full-time job), but I would like to invest some of my time and energies into this. I think it will be a worth-while production because we have a high-caliber team of creative people –15 artists and creative leaders from America and Europe – with diverse perspectives and experiences in art/event productions.

I'll be working on this for quite a while in my off-time, and I'm taking a trip in a few weeks to Europe for a Mangola planning/production meeting. I'm really looking forward to what transpires at the meeting and the shape of things to come. I'll probably post some photos of the trip within the next month.

{If you enjoy some of the artwork I do and would like to help support us in getting this going, you can visit our fund-raising site: https://www.fundable.org/groupactions/mangola}

a sandcastle on campus / guerrilla art

I was walking home for working out yesterday when I saw this big mound of sand just sitting there beside the sidewalk. I thought "wouldn't it be fun to make a sandcastle?" "I haven't done that in forever." I thought about it for awhile & what people would think of me, but then I just went for it – right in the middle of the University of Texas at Austin campus at 25th & Whitis. The sand was there because they're doing a little construction at the Communications building. They're a dumpster & some fence on the road beside this big pile of sand ... it was really fun.

It took me a few hours to build the castle (a half-castle really - the rest of the sand pile is still raw & natural). I know that it will probably be destroyed soon - either by the construction crew using the sand or some random person going in and squashing it. It'll be neat to see how long it stands there. I made a little flag out of a scrap of paper I found on a poster kiosk. I thought yellow would be good color with some green tacks - to represent joy & playfulness ... bringing that playfulness to a campus that can be pretty serious & adult-like. That's where all the beauty-full artwork comes from - in the architecture, in design, in film, in writing, etc. ... when folks are being playful and experimenting with their medium/environment ... looking at something in new ways with fascination, curiosity and a little creativity.

Maybe I can bring that to the UT campus, if not a few smiles as people walk to class & work.
:)

sxsw07 interactive notes

I finally compiled my list of notes from the South by Southwest 2007 Interactive conference. There were so many great ideas, people & inspiration that it would've taken too long to type out all my ideas/processing. I ended up scanning my notes and just putting in hyperlinks to the various websites & articles. (I hope you can see the green underlines. If not just try clicking on something you find of interest ... The titles are all linked to the SXSW panel pages, for example, among the 346 links within it.)

Hopefully this PDF can serve as a useful reference for the various topics in design, typography, web development, business and the next generation. (I plan on using it that way.) :)

Creative Summit & BBQ

Next weekend (March 30/31) is the 22nd annual Creative Summit in San Marcos, Texas. It's a great conference and student show about graphic design, illustration, photography and creative professionals. I'd like to make the whole show, but I might make only make it for a little bit (silent auction, design show) ... and I plan on making the alumni BBQ shin-dig down in Riley, TX. It should be a good time. Hopefully I can catch up with some alumni design friends and maybe play some horseshoes.

sxsw brain-spinning

I'm back from SXSW ... wow! what an experience - great people, ideas, discussions, etc. It was over-whelming at times - too much information & people, but really good. I got to see a few friends/alumni who had moved away, hang out with my co-workers and listen to some of the most forward-thinking people in creative technology. I took notes on the panels & will try to share them soon ... there was lots of information. I'm trying to bring as much inspiration & ideas back into my workplace, and hopefully make things even more productive & enjoyable. My brain is kinda fried right now. I'll come back later with more. (I think I have enough ideas to keep me busy for the next year at least.)

One thing, yesterday I saw the world premiere of the movie Helvetica ... which was a great documentary film about how helvetica came to be out of the swiss design school and how it has (positively & negatively) shaped our society from different people's perspectives. There was a Q&A at the end with the director Gary Hustwit & designer David Carson. Whether or not you're a designer, I think you'll like it a lot.

2007 SXSW Interactive!

After 3 years of living in the beautiful city of Austin, I'm finally able to attend SXSW Interactive! I'm excited ... it's always been too expensive for a post-college student freelance designer/coffee shop barista to attend ... It's always all the hyped-up out-of-town people flying in from all over the world to "be cool in Austin." In many ways, SXSW has gotten bigger than the city of Austin (maybe not the name of Austin, but the majority of folks who live here). It does bring a lot of business in ... and more people come in to appreciate all that Austin has to offer - creativity, independence, youth, big horizons/opportunity, down-to-earthness of Texas ... a convergence of smart technology and personal uniqueness/creativity ... which is what is pushing a lot of society right now. It's cool to be in the middle of that, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the creative revolutionaries are doing & saying ... to be able to actually take part in this larger-than-Austin-but-herald-of-all-things-Austin event ... to let that new invigorating enthusiasm spur on new ideas for creativity, new projects, new inventions, new ways of solving old problems, and languages to communicate & solve what these common problems are in our society & communities. ... Now I finally have my feet on the ground (since someone finally decided to hire me & train me in business matters & the pratical creative process of a team/business - which differs tremendously from a college individual's creative process). Now I can finally partake of this excitement & party of the present & future of creativity & technology. (Maybe some year I can jump into all the arenas - interactive, film & music.) It's a great place to be ... and it's in my backyard. Pretty cool. ... So that's where I'll be for the next 4 days ... might post a few things that I find interesting.
Peace out, for now.

The Ringer in Theaters

A movie I worked on in the Fall of 2003 is finally out! =)
The Ringer

It stars Johnny Knoxville and was produced by the Farrelly Brothers.

I watched it the other night with my sister & mom. We all thought it was pretty good. Good humor, good story.
I didn't see myself as an extra in the movie, but my name was in the titles under Art Dept interns.

Go check it out. It's in theaters now. Let me know what you think.
Have a Happy New Years!