Shinichi Maruyama

Pieces of work like this reminds me that there's always a new angle to be found when you are trying to look for a new creative point-of-view in your own work. This is probably the best water photography I have seen to date. Shinichi Maruyama's approach is extremely inventive, but most of all, it seems that he has a love-connection to this natural element and the art of: finding the beauty of imperfection (Wabi-sabi). He exploits all his views and does a good job to present it in a beautiful manner.

Just the simple addition of black dyes to the water creates an amazing contrast I would've never thought about doing. Shinichi can afford to do without additional colors, keep it in a black & white format, and still hydrate our perception one-picture-at-a-time.

The rest at: http://shinichimaruyama.com/

Rice Candy Magazine UPDATE#2

It has been a while since I talked about the magazine and everything else related to the magazine.

I will tell you in this post everything that is going on with the magazine. Also fill-you-in with information about my other projects that have taken me aside from Rice Candy.

Okay first... when I initially had decided to start the magazine I was getting help from a couple of people but that is no longer a fact. Later through the waiting period of collecting the content, I started to loose interest. Everything was taking too long and I wanted it done right there-and- then, I also felt I did not have enough content, and that was adding to it. Another thing that was floating in my mind alot was the thoughts about the economy and how I kept seeing magazines drop like flies left-and-right.

When it came around to getting all the content gathered-up I had already spent part of the money that was set aside for printing and other expenses the magazine could have.

Through the constant doubts about Rice Candy... I decided to take a break and focus on my other project that's been going on for some time as well. This other project is about a small line of eco-friendly designs, ranging from: shirts, bags, accessories etc, etc. (still in on the works and line slowly growing).

Through that period of time, I started to get a lot of recognition about my work /designs and started to get a lot of buzz from design websites left-and-right and then followed by a feature in world report design review (a European publication of innovation design from around the world) then days later another article in a design magazine in Istanbul, and then another magazine... and another.

Basically it took a design curator to show it to a few design websites and then it spread out. Also... I almost entered an international design contest, but I was honestly afraid of loosing and not getting any recognition for it, I did not want to feel that let-down (especially now since I was feeling justified for the work I was currently doing, plus all the positive attention). I spent a good time working on the competition but at the last minute decided not to go through with it. Everything was going good and I did not want to get distracted or feel down about my work (there is always next year) .

Overall... my website from my personal designs went that month from about 50 hits a month to 4,000 to 5,000 hits a month and people were actually buying my designs and for about a week I couldn't keep up with the production and decided to raise the price... but that only slowed-it-down, it never stopped it, It was crazy... ( it has slow down now).

Then I remembered how long I had been trying to get my designs viewed by others and how I had doubts about my ideas and concepts and thought maybe they where not as-good-as I had believed the whole time. This leads me to a similar role to the whole current phase of Rice Candy Magazine.

My line of designs was just like the making of Rice Candy Magazine: It had a couple of people or more involved at the beginning but later on that all fell apart, a lot of doubts in my designs and ideas, The money saved was somehow spent, It had gone through many changes and through 2 names and websites. A lot of times I lost interest and was just about to close it all down.

NOW... due to the personal and recent experience (mentioned above) I am more comfortable with the ups-and-downs and the rejections life will give you through these realms, along with the doubts and uncertainties. Plus the recent video of Jacek Putko (3 posts earlier) opened my eyes and refreshed my ideas behind this project (it was very much needed).

The magazine will get done but it will be done when I feel that is good enough to print. It is another task that will be done all by my self again... but I have no problem with that now.

If you want to know about my other work you can email me and I will give you the link along with all the information and names of the magazines and publications I purposely did not mention. I never wanted to mention my work/designs here on Rice Candy because I did not want to mix the 2 at all... (and in case someone types it in a search engine) one project has nothing to do with the other.

Why I'm I telling you all this? I felt I needed to be honest and inform you what was going on. And also in case some of you thought I did not want to make the magazine now.

My main idea and concept for Rice Candy still stands... I want this to be a very positive magazine... I don't want it to be about pretentious artists or designers; I don't want it to be about promoting non-sense or products for the sake of making a company rich, I want this to be AD-FREE. Also I don't want to present crazy, bold, visual content that some photographers do just to get attention to their work,its absurd (I don't care how "trendy" or popular it is). You can be creative without the need of gimmicks or controversial art.

If only 12 people will subscribe and/or buy the magazine, then I will only print that small amount. I am not afraid of the popularity so much now... just concerned that the actual final work comes out to my expectation and I am satisfied with it. If the first issue falls short... then I will work harder for the next issue and so on. I am not worried about selling a large amount of copies. I just want to continue making more issues because my mind and efforts is in the right place and this should be a fun experience. I can't go wrong if I have good intentions behind-it- all.

And now since I have giving you all this info about what happened in-BETWEEN- it-all I shall now show you the cover for the first issue. I wanted everyone to see the cover ONLY when the magazine was actually completed, but now I want some input about the lay out of the cover. The actual graphic design will stay the same but the titles of the articles and content can be moved around. I also want to start a short story right on the very COVER (per say a paragraph) and then continue it inside. I already have amazing ideas for the cover of the second issue... but I really can't change this one since the graphics have already been done. Any other inventive ideas for the cover are welcome if its amazing enough I will apply it and you will definitely get credits in the magazine.

Also I am looking for anyone who is good using Adobe in Design to help me out on a few pages of the magazine and possibly lend their ideas about the overall inside layout. Email me if you have any other ideas.

The last and final thing I would like to take a note from you is just get a general idea of how many of you would be interested in buying the magazine. If I know ahead of time it would be easier for me to crunch the numbers. I know there's quite a few of you already who have emailed me asked me to save a copy and I have a mailing list for those (but that list was from about 2 months ago). Therefore when you leave a comment on this post please place a "+1" if you are interested in possible getting a copy. The magazine right now as it stands will be $12.95 ( yes I know the image it states $13.95 but that's incorrect). The price could possibly change because I might LOWER it, but it wont be any higher.

Thank you for your time in reading this long BORING post... I look forward to your comments.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE!

PS. any of you hear the new remake of "Marjor Tom"from Shiny Toy Guns?... I can't get the song out of my head.

earth below us -

drifting falling

floating weightless

coming coming ... home

( click here to download it)

Simon Priestly

3 wonderful shots from photographer Simon Priestly based out of the U.K.

I enjoy the calm that's being translated in his pictures along with a good-enough-touch of shadows that absorbs some of the edge and creates slight mystery to-it-all. Just the addition of a chair in large empty room with high ceilings sprouts a whole different feeling to the shot (that wouldn't have been there without it). This also amplifies the emptiness.

Also in the first picture you have the product of an experiment using several coloured torches fixed to a pin wheel (which reminds me of those old-school multi-colored lollipops) that sum up to compose a pleasant colorful shot.

More at: http://www.simonpriestleyphotography.co.uk/

Is "PRINT" dead?

Once again I ask myself the question about the death of: printed printed publications. I am glad I came across this short symposium on the subject.

Here Jacek Utko talks about the death of newspaper but at the same time talks about strategies that can definitely be applied in many areas of design and art when it comes to deliver a product or final finished piece. It is very uplifting and motivating to listen someone talk about different solutions in a logical method. It's also reinforces ideas I've had about my personal work when it comes to pushing my own abilities.

I think a lot of times we lower the bar for ourselves and never really get to taste our potential AT ALL, a lot of times we think we are going to walk right into a launching pad rather then work-to actually create it and construct it ourselves. I am extremely critical about my designs and art, but a lot of times I feel I bit odd about having such a strict discipline when it comes to my work and designs.

I think he said it best in his closing sentence "good is not enough"( now I don't feel that bad or odd).

PS. printed publications would not be an endangered species if more people approached things like Jacek.

Hawaii

I recently found this graphic art piece by design group Hawaii which immediately reminds me of liquid glass... If you can picture it- when it's in that toffee-like-state, a little after they have placed the dyes, and right before they stop for cooling.

The second one looks like to be an aerial view of a terrain shaped in a form of a rose. Very well done as an advertisement poster for Land Rover. And the in the last one I can't seem to make out what's going on in there, but it is interesting enough to mention. I do like the linear graph and the sense of a carbonated-wavelength in the frequency.

If you look at Hawaii's folio you will see they have so much more to offer. Not only are they good with graphic design but they are excellent in other areas of design including interior and identity design.

More at: http://www.hawaiidesign.co.uk/main.html

Heist-Pfeiffer

Pfeiffer- Is just one of the many pieces to summarize the work from Phil Dunne. This is from his latest series titled "Heist". I see the style of this particular piece as a character I would've seen if someone ever produced a BLADE RUNNER Anime movie. I also have respect for Phil's work ethics behind his art, because not only does he create computer graphics but he also takes it back-to-basics with a direct approach of a pencil & paper to illustrate. And this is something I very much criticize in new era of artist who are slaved to just using the power of a computer graphic software.

Since I have not posted here on on Rice Candy for about a month or so I will just start with quick posts here-and-there of a few things that captured my attention amidst all the madness that I was busy with in the last 2 months or so. I will also share with you some of the work I have been occupied with the whole time I was M.I.A . I also want to thank you all for your kind comments and emails. I will check my email box soon to repond to as many as I can asap.

click picture to enlarge!

More of Phil at: http://www.lovetherobot.com/