We are so sorry for the loss of Taylor. And while you, his family and friends are hit the hardest, it has deeply hit us fans too. For many of us you have been the soundtrack to our lives. Your songs supported us as we hit the hardest and life-changing moments of our lives. Then your songs cheered us on with bounding rhythms as we moved onto happier lifetime moments. We’ve bought and listened to your CDs on repeat. We’ve attended concerts anxiously awaiting that rhythm that escalates into All My Life , or the slowly building glorious entrance of Everlong into fall out rock song. And if we’re lucky - maybe this show - it will be the return of For All the Cows .  You’ve been our muse at work inspiring our creativity. Our companion on long commutes, and our work safe haven, blocking out the chatter for deep focus. You’ve kept us company in hospital stays, and had preschoolers bouncing to your rhythms for their "F" show and share days. You've signed autographs, taken ph...

Not too long ago driving to run some errands I had to ask myself... "did I just see an albino turkey vulture? While I can only speculate if my unusual glimpse was true, sightings like these are not uncommon if you take the scenic route. I’ve come to realize that taking the scenic route is one of my stress relief mechanisms. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it! Longer, out of the way trips have become even more cathartic as we slowly climb out of pandemic social distancing. And if there's any commonality in how we're all feeling now it's A) more stressed and B) in need of a different view other than our own 4 walls. There are obvious reasons that the scenic route is a good stress reliever - nature. Nature in its beauty, rhythms, and awe can do wonders for the stresses in our modern-day life. Driving down a country road or winding parkway gives you time with nature even when you don't have time to walk in it. You're likely to spot some flowers you ...

While I have always loved to read, and appreciated writing as a creative art, I had not always liked to write for myself as much as I do now.  I'm sure many designers can say the same as we work through editing in the era of "content is king." I started with a love of creativity and typography. My formal design education taught me the beauty in letter forms. There are simple and subtle differences in fonts and letters that is an art in and of itself. I personally love a sans serif with a perfectly round O, but the ability to use Optima as a serif or sans serif font makes that choice pleasing too. The ability to write interesting content didn't come from formal education, but almost from osmosis. I've learned many things by osmosis. I've joked that I've learned liturgy by osmosis while working for a religious organization. I'd even say my parenting skills have come from being immersed in my little one's lives. That's not to say I didn't...

When someone starts to say "I will.." in my household, someone else usually follows with "...eat the ice cream!" We're immersed in a new creative world, children's literature and cartoons. The past few weeks the designer in me is geeking out over Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie series. Our first book, "Should I Share My Ice Cream," was a gift. A well read over and over and over gift! Then Santa brought our household a second Elephant and Piggie book, "Waiting is not Easy." Now I'm hooked! Gerald (Elephant's actual name) and Piggie are funny and cute. But it's not just that, the design elements woven into the book help to tell the story. Storytelling, ahhh, the product of all good design! Gerald and Piggie are very simplified characters, and I've come to appreciate simplified illustrations I had overlooked in the past. The simplification helps focus on the characters' situations and emotions, which the stories re...

Listening to a band's tracks on your device, or watching a recorded performance can not come close to the experience of being present at a concert. When you are at a show, you are immersed in the experience. The music is inspiring, just as it is when you are listening to the tracks, but the energy, ambient noise and cheers from the crowd around you lead to even more excitement with each song the band plays. For me, the combination of uniquely written lyrics, engaging audio and quality visuals lead to an extremely immersed creative experience. As a visual artist, I love the visual effects, and each year it seems that concert visual technology improves. Some bands you expect an incredible stage show from. Rush is the first band that comes to mind with incredible visual effects with each show. The "Holy Triumvirate's" nod to their trio status with onstage props along with their video displays that include an actual fire breathing dragon, really round out the creativi...

Ten to fifteen years ago when I saw an image while looking at a print ad in a magazine or passing a billboard on the street, I most likely recognized the image, and could tell you what Stock Photo CD that image was on. CDs from companies like Comstock and Photodisc were a familiar part of our design resource library. Stock photo services have come a long way since I first started using them. Today, I start with an online search of some of my favorite stock photo services. There are so many places for both hobby and professional photographers to upload their photos, I often find what I'm looking for after a short search, a quick click of a download button, and without having to pay a thing! Plus, it feels good to find unique images and support artists of all experience levels. That is, when I need to use stock photos. With digital cameras, so many clients have their own photos, or I can take photos to fit the project. Of course the quality of the photo needed will depend on th...

The behind the scenes process that goes into the creation of visual art of any kind is interesting and exciting to me. I'll never forget the slow, loud clicking sound that traveled through the Akron Beacon Journal as the printing presses were started. The smell of the ink and the sight of the web of paper woven in and out of the cylinders was fun to watch everytime. What started as an idea translated into a design on my computer screen, went through many hands before ending with the final project in print. It seems, very much the same in the production of a movie, except in a larger and lengthier scale. We've been very lucky in the Cleveland area to see that production, as major motion picture companies come here to film on location. The newest one in town is Marvel Comic's Captain America: Winter Soldier. The amount of work that went into one 34 second scene was incredible. A whole day of preparation the day before included cranes, tons of weight hov...

Even if you're not a sports fan, it's hard to not get caught up in Olympic fever, or at least it's hard to avoid seeing Olympic coverage. I enjoy watching some sports more than others, but my creative side has enjoyed this year's Olympics for another reason, the excellent visual design. The Olympic committee and many of the sponsor companies and broadcast companies of the world have adapted the Olympic emblem into their own design elements. It is great to know so many graphic artists were active in creatively incorporating the spirit of the Olympics. The most obvious design element, is the Olympic rings emblem with its symbolic forms and color. It doesn't take an interpretation to see that the circles represent unity and the colors are representation of all the participating countries' flags. But this year in particular, NBC's London Olympic logo is a favorite logo of mine. This shield pulls your eye from top to bottom. Even with the heavier graphics and col...

While the heat has been unbearable to some, I've been enjoying getting outside for art breaks. There have been so many collage ideas and photo and drawing opportunities.  Brushing up on hand skills, after so many years focused on computer related design, continues to be refreshing. I'll have plenty of material to inspire and work with when we're all stuck back inside. Here's one of my recent drawing breaks, Cleveland's Fountain of Eternal Life on the Mall. It's a nice refreshing spot in the summer.

Spring became Summer too quick. With the weather being so nice this year, there's been little time for being on the computer. BUT, it's a good time for drawing and photos. Here's a familiar sight in Cleveland.

The downside of caring deeply about something is that there are no guarantees it will last. It could be a month, or it could be thirty-seven years. It doesn’t matter how long, when it’s gone all the positive feelings you felt will spill down around you in a crippling darkness that only hope and faith can remove. We’ve all been in the dumps over something so deeply that it’s stifling and all we feel is surrounded by our own negative thoughts. The key to growing out of that darkness and feeling warmth again is staying focused on positive things, reaching for lighter and brighter thoughts. It’s easier said than done, and sometimes we reach the bottom, before we can even see the light. Our heart, our spirit feels bound up. It’s complicated, but working off of those negative thoughts, we can dig ourselves out of the deepest depths and feel free and warm again. My thoughts go out to anyone that’s reached that heart crippling and stifling bottom. I hope you can take all the negative thoughts ...

Today in the United States we recognized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He is unquestionably one of the greatest individuals from our nation. He took a stand not only for what was right and just, but stood by his beliefs. As the pastor in my church touched upon this weekend, Dr. King was a man in his twenties when he started on his publicized path for equality. Surely there were men, other pastors with more experience in life, that could have taken a stand. But Dr. King's calling, what was in his heart perhaps from his relationship with God, was to be a leader in our nation promoting equality for all mankind. Many artists to this day create art based on exposing inequality. I'm sure many of them, even in nations beyond ours, have Dr. King to thank for his inspiration and outspokenness towards social inequality. Dr. King's own words from his " I Have a Dream Speech " touch on his choice to creatively solve the issues we faced. "We must forever conduct our struggle...

"Everywhere I look a highlight in my view. I always seem to see the number 22." For this week's Illustration Friday's topic, "Highlight" I chose to represent something that seems to be highlighted in my vision. It's true, the number 22 seems to be highlighted wherever I look. I don't know what to make of this phenomena, but it helped to expand my collage projects. *Art Work: Highlight 22 by Janet Pahlau

For my second entry on Illustration Friday, I continued exploring words, in this case a literal musical narrative of a round. I am still playing with adding writing to collages, I want to hop into InDesign so badly and type this text on a spiral! But that would defeat my attempt at exploring and expanding, so this felt like a good exercise for me in practicing a collage/writing technique.

Most people have a passion in life, something that they react to or interact with exuberantly. Some may call it their calling, others their gift. My passion is creativity. It is my favorite activity or topic, and I find it in most parts of life. So, when this year's "Out of the Box" call for artists went out (a benefit for the Akron Area Arts Alliance ,) I wanted my piece to be about my creative passion. Creativity for me is something that definitely cannot be boxed in, and because it is all around, my creative muse would definitely be bursting "out of the box." Many visual artists go through phases in their careers as new inspirations or techniques are experienced and learned. The majority of my career has been as a graphic designer exploring and working in the fields of print and web design. In my daily work, creativity is what drives me, however process management and technical production often replace hands-on creativity. My goal to be working on a creative...

As a person who's intrigued by the "Occupy" protests, I was surprised by how much the passing of Steve Jobs saddened me. Why don't I lump Apple into one of those corporations extracting too much from the public and giving little back? As a graphic artist and fine art enthusiast, Apple embodies the spirit of design in every aspect of its products and promotions. Beautiful lines, simplistic design and functionality, and above all white space! The shell of every Apple product is a designer's dream. But not simply judging a book by its cover; every product also functions with such ease, the way a design tool should. I work on PC's, as I tell people "begrudgingly." Working on a Mac prior to every touching a PC, leads to many frustrations for me. Quick keys that are all but non existent on a PC, poor ability to properly name files, and functions that assume what you intend to do, only to be wrong. These errors in PC judgement cause the operator to go back ...

Creativity and Inspiration in Good Times and Bad During a recent afternoon drive radio show; the hosts discussed their most annoying phrases possibly inspired by a past list presented by Oxford University . Trendy phrases such as "At the end of the day," "It's not rocket science," and "F.Y.I." were all considered overused and without meaning by the hosts and call in guests alike. As a fan of creativity and innovation I have also cringed at hearing these sayings plagiarized and repeated sometimes in place of original thought. A few other phrases came up that bother me in a deeper sense: "It is what it is" and "All things happen for a reason." To me these sayings touch on a lack of faith and creativity, and their overuse by a large segment of society is simply a sad statement of our times. Whether you believe in a higher power or simply in the good will of mankind, do you really want to believe that all of nature and man made decision...

Bringing Out the Best Practical Applications for Creativity I constantly preach how creativity is important to innovation and I stress the importance of seeing life through someone else's eyes. Never has that been more obvious to me than after accidentally breaking my wrist. I've wondered how do people with arthritis button pants or put on a watch? Simple things have become more challenging, and in the process of performing life's functions I've thought this may be how inventors of gadgets and medical devices come up with their ideas? Did the person that invented a button aid face the same situation as the arthritic person trying to be independent? While phone apps are trendy and convenient has the creative energy that went into their development improved anyone's life, or rather filled a marketing program? Truly innovative ideas come out when a company or individual is inspired to improve the human existence. What company has contributed to society more, the so...

The importance of photojournalism to art, history and society. Narrative art is often overlooked. Commonly found in photographs, artists throughout history in all mediums have told a story by capturing subtle nuances of a moment in time. Norman Rockwell images, especially the painting The Problem We All Live With , is an excellent example of a picture that tells a story. Painted in 1963 it tells a story of the Civil Rights movement by the postures, emotion and details of the painting which help to give clues to what was happening in the instance that image was recorded. What a great way to teach about history, sociology or basic understanding and appreciation for what shapes the people around us. Dorthea Lange's Migrant Mother , Alfred Eisenstaedt's V-J Day in Times Square and Eddie Adam's Nguyễn Ngọc are all familiar images that tell a story of a moment in time. I think the Situation Room photo by the White House Photographer will become a famous image for that same s...

We are in what seems to me a very gray period. No I don't mean the Northeast Ohio weather. I feel right now in society throughout the world we are seeing that the world is not black and white, rather shades of gray. It seems for some gray is very disturbing and they are struggling to put things back into the black and white categories they feel they belong. The bickering in several states over union versus non-union a conflict between the way things "used to be" and a new way to operate. The turmoil in Middle Eastern countries where technology has created a voice for those that have embraced it versus those wanting things to stay as they've historically been. In the entertainment world we're witnessing a split between reality TV and creative programming, forcing many to seek out entertainment on their own terms through online programming not found on network or cable. For many creatives, gray is beautiful. A black and white photo is not truly only black and whit...