SuperForest

Gooood Morning SuperForest!

Have you ever had so much to say, that you couldn’t say anything?

That’s how I’ve been feeling lately. I have so much that I want to communicate to you, so much love to share, but I’ve not been able to. I’ve been all sorts of tied-up inside. And the worst part is: I know exactly why.

I am afraid. I am afraid of losing SuperForest.

Isn’t that funny? Lose SuperForest? How could that even happen?

And yet, I’ve been stuck…

When I started SuperForest in 2007, I felt such freedom! I felt totally free to play and explore because I knew that no one was reading the blog. I was sad that no one read it and I desperately wanted more folks to read it, but at the same time I was happy to be doing what I was doing. I was free to play.

Now, a few years later and SuperForest has 17 Team members! We have thousands of posts up, and people are actually reading this blog. Thousands of people read SuperForest every day! The thrill I feel when I think about this is incredible, but it comes with a feeling of responsibility.

I feel like I must bring as much excellence as I can muster to SuperForest. I feel like I must be the best SuperForester Jackson I can be. And truthfully, the fear that I would fail in this and disappoint everyone has sort of paralyzed me.

So I write this to get this off my chest. To deflate the balloon of fear and doubt that has existed solely in my head, and brought me much torment. Now is not the time for torment, now is the time to work and rebuild this amazing planet.

I just love this blog and the people who write for it and read it so much! I feel a great pressure to be great and have great ideas and be a perfect expression of love because the amazing people around me deserve that.

There is a whole new world growing around us, and an old world slowly and painfully peeling away. I see the amazing signs of this all around me and yet I say nothing out of fear of finding out that someone smarter said it better first.

I have been so afraid that I would say something and disappoint y’all that I simply stopped saying anything, and for that I apologize.

You deserve better.

I, SFJ, resolve to bring to SuperForest nothing but my very best. The purest expression of love I can be.

I am imperfect, tired and cranky at times, sad at times, lonely at times, but in my heart I love humans beings and the wonderful things we create more than anything.

I know that I can seem scattered, and my actions random, but know that behind every choice there is a love for my fellow man so great that it hurts. I feel a love so great that if I cannot share it, I feel like I am doing my species a great disservice.

I will not let the fear of you not liking what I’m saying keep me from saying it.

I hope this finds everyone well out in SuperForest.

Thank you for reading this, and thank you for the most fun I’ve ever had.

Love to All,

SFJ

Gooood Morning, SuperForest!

To start out this fresh new week that lies before us, I figured it would be good to take a little break from our busy routines, a nice stretch, and a deep breath to Washed Out’s smooth track off their Life of Leisure album, “Feel it All Around”. (Mental note: I need to try to make my travel vids as artsy as what you are about to see.)

How many months until Summer, again? (hehehe)

Have a fabulous day!

(via it’s nice that, of course)

HiHi SF!

Are you looking for a new font that feels a little more alive than helvetica?  How about this?!

This is a collection of images taken by Dr Ma. Ivy Clemente, using light microscopy, of “glandular structures from Fibroadenoma and Nodular Prostatic Hyperplasia cases” for the Olympus BioScapes International Digital Imaging Competition. Amazing what can be seen down a microscope!

Love

P

(via)

Not new, but new to me, I love this fine woodblock poster by designer Anthony Burrill (available here) – it seems like the perfect reminder, executed with crisp palate-cleansing simplicity, for starting back after a week’s vacation (or long holiday weekend) . And Burrill has a gift for arresting presentation of deceptively simple messages:

And I never realised he was responsible for some of my favourite posters reminding me how to stay safe on the Tube (don’t drink beer and fall off the platform! don’t try to beat the doors! and, of course, Mind The Gap!;)

Love

P

Good Morning, SuperForest!

It was 12:36 AM last night and my thoughts were on time and megaverses (nerd alert). I had just seen this short little video on the big bang(s) theory (as one normally does in the wee hours of the morning) and it was brilliant! Now, no matter what your personal beliefs on the origin of the universe may be, I think it is pretty safe to say that it is always interesting to learn about the theories that are out there, and in this particular example, I found the description so succinct and the animation so well done, I had to share. Here is professor of physics and astronomy, Dr. Jana Levin, with the explanation:

(via.)

Here’s an awesome recording of the Coldplay song, “Lost!”.

Very smooth… very unlike the beat-driven recording they’ve got on the album (which I’ve recently been digging).  And that guitar tone… savory.

Have a great Sunday!

Chris

I’ve been keeping up with the some of the amazing lectures posted on Frank Chimero’s blog, “Via Frank“. He teaches design systems and typography at Missouri State University and recently, he posted his ”10 Principles That May Make Your Work Better Or May Make It Worse”. I found myself agreeing with a lot of his words so I figured now that the end of the year is fast approaching and project deadlines are looming, or new years resolutions are being drafted, it could help…or maybe it won’t. Either way, he gives us a lot to think about. : )

Take it away, Frank!

1. Be honest.

Be honest to your audience. An open path of communication is built upon trust. This idea is relevant to every other form of communication, and I think it applies to visual communication. Honesty isn’t just about audience. Be honest to yourself as well. Do the things you’re passionate about. Avoid the things that you hate, if you can.

2. Consistent voice is more important than consistent style.

Voice is about what you say. It’s content. Style is about what you’re wearing. It’s aesthetics. The prior informs the latter, not the other way around. Clothes don’t make the man. They don’t make your work either.

3. Does it have heart?

If it does, make it. If it doesn’t, why spend the time on something that doesn’t have spirit?

4. Have modest expectations.

Spend a lot of time choosing that one thing that a piece of design or an illustration should try to do. Then, work your ass off trying to figure out the absolute best way to do that one thing.

5. Don’t be scared of your tools.

Use them, don’t fear them. For instance, while sketching, I recommend using cheap paper. If the paper’s cheap, you won’t feel bad documenting your bad ideas. Getting the first, awful ideas out of the way is crucial: very rarely does any one hit it out of the park on the first try. If I had a sketchbook filled with nice, expensive paper, I’d feel obligated to make the first idea I sketched brilliant. That pressure would paralyze me. Tools should be enablers, not disablers. If something is more intrusive or intimidating than it is useful, get rid of it. It’s not a tool, it’s a toy. Or worse, a creative boogie man that you’re inviting through your front door.

6. Embrace the subconscious.

In the studio, I have a sofa for naps with a couple pillows. The pillow is kind of comfortable, but mostly not. Just soft enough to relax you. But, just stiff enough to keep you from falling fully asleep. Right before you fall fully asleep, your brain is making all sorts of connections between all of the unrelated thoughts in your brain. There’s no filter from your conscious mind saying “This makes sense. This other idea doesn’t.” Without that filter, you can consider more possibilities. So, grab something to write with, fill your head to the brim with research and what you already know. Then, take an almost-nap and get ready to document the ideas that find you.

7. Edit.

Delete unimportant things. Even if you love them. If it isn’t spectacular, it gets cut. Kill your darlings. Be a cold-blooded killer. Ruthless. Delete. Refine. Improve.

8. Being too comfortable is dangerous.

Most creatures die in their sleep. Keep moving, or get eaten. The only things you should be absolutely comfortable with in your creative process are your tools.

9. There is nothing keeping you from doing the sort of work that you wish.

What do you want? It’s a hard, yet crucial question. We all do creative work to get happy. It’s why we let it beat us up, and it’s why we keep crawling back to it. Figure out precisely what you want, and realize that if no one will pay you to make it, you can still make it for yourself. And you still win, because you’re happy.

10. Execute.

An idea on the page is worth 100x more than an idea in the mind. You can only judge and be judged by work that’s executed. Eventually, we all realize that most of the ideas that look great in our mind look dumb once they’re real. But, at least you now know.

I understand that this guy is a design systems lecturer but I feel the principles can be applied to any profession or occupation because if you think about it, we’re all designers, we’re all artists, and we are all creators. Be it a thought, an idea, or even a drab homework assignment, our minds are constantly creating. So there you go, the ten principles, add some, remove some, do what you want with them. As principle number nine states, “there is nothing keeping you from doing the sort of work that you wish.” So go for it!

Love to the amazing Frank Chimero for these great words of motivation.

Namaste,

C

After a year of surfing and traveling the world, Kazuyo Shimada designed the biodegradable Strata pot. Made from sand and biomass, this brilliant little pot is first used indoors to plant and raise a sapling in. Once the plant gets strong enough, it is then taken outdoors where both the plant and the pot are buried in the ground.

And as if it wasn’t already brilliant enough, word has it, the strata pot is a metaphor for “children growing up at home, then leaving the house and taking their place in the world.” Awwww!!!

(via the fab core 77)

Goood morning, SuperForest!

Words would never suffice to describe my love for this t-shirt. It reminds me of the awesome discussion SuperForest hosted not too long ago on being human.

(click to make bigger)

Love to all of you organic beautiful beings. SuperForest wishes you a wonderful day.

(via.)

Yesterday, I stumbled on Craftster, who had posted a pictorial tutorial on how to make gift bags out of newspaper. Brilliant idea, particularly with Christmas around the corner. This afternoon, after a tasty dinner of brown rice, tuna and sweet baby corn, I endeavoured to make my own. This did not go brilliantly at first. There were three failed attempts before I got something that resembled a gift bag (see below).

I thought you might enjoy my video tutorial to show you how it was done. I tried to follow the Craftster “how to”, which is totally brilliant, so for further clarification, please refer to it here. The bags are pretty nifty, though, being made of paper, they will not hold the weight of a brick. Maybe you can use them for gifts that are pretty light (ie CDs, chocolates, etc). Experiment and see how you go!

Happy holidays!
April