Noodlers Heart of Darkness and Nikita on sketch paper.

My friend Jane and I go on what I term "Art Adventures" every other weekend. This weekend she wanted to see my set up for shooting videos and so she did. She'd also been itching to see the cricut machine in action. We drank tea, talked and drew together. I shot a automatic drawing video with her present (that was a first) and told her what I was doing with the set up, start to finish.

After that we got on the computer and I did a little video editing- sandwich method style (aka using my own template) and we dug out the cricut.

While she was here we talked about the endless possibilities that Makes the Cut gives to the cricut (Don't worry I gave her a primer on the evils of the litigious overlord ProvoCrap) and stuck a RapidoCraft in there. From there it snowballed, more ideas, and more. I'm telling you, it was great, I looked at the cricut and MTC with new ideas.

After that I cut these- gears of my own design, 100%, not Tim Holtz's but mine. Using MTC  I combined basic shapes to get these.

I'm really digging the style in these art journals. Sketches, doodles, experiements, personal ephemera; all the stuff I think belongs in an art journal are there. Check it out:

I"ve posted stuff by woman on fire before but I just found this video and I hadn't seen it. So here it is.

book 21.2 (july 1994 – winter 1994) from womanonfire on Vimeo.

This is how it starts, one day you forget your notebook for class and all you've got is your sketchbook so you take notes in it, you decide you like the look and suddenly an art journal is born.

sketchbook cambiose from raquel pinheiro on Vimeo.

sketchbook dragão da maldade from raquel pinheiro on Vimeo.

sketchbook from raquel pinheiro on Vimeo.

Over the last couple of days I’ve been dealing with very good customer service, the kind of customer service people talk about how good it was. I made an order from one of my favorite companies and it got screwed up. It arrived in the mail, I’d been waiting for it, eagerly. I contacted the company and they took care of the issue in a way that will have me forever telling people about their exceptional customer service and I’ll keep coming back.

I’ve asked myself in the past what is cheaper, not replacing/repairing a book or piece of art and having the customer talk about that forever or is it cheaper to replace/repair the book/ art and have them talk about me in glowing terms forever?

Let’s put it this way, I will forever talk about the company that gave me great customer service and I have customers from over 10 years ago that still come back to me. Why? Great customer service. If anyone who bought a book from me, even 13 years ago tracked me down and asked me to repair it? Guess what, I’d do it,happily.

Oh yeah, the company that gave me exceptional customer service? Gouletpens.com

This video is a little slow and lack music but the art is really wonderful.

Sketchbook #4 from Bryan Michael Meador on Vimeo.

I really enjoy this guy's style. There is something to be said about viewing art from people not from the US and their distinct style. There is definately something cultural about differences in sketching styles.

Moleskine 2 from Carlos Asencio on Vimeo.

These videos of art being made are rad.

"Flat Earth" Time lapse, Vol One from Bryce Wymer on Vimeo.

"Flat Earth" Time lapse, Vol Two from Bryce Wymer on Vimeo.

"Flat Earth" Time lapse, Vol Three from Bryce Wymer on Vimeo.