Megan McDonald Art & Design

Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur

Saturday · January 19, 2013 · Spaces

Freunden von Freunden is starting a new series with Be Berlin / Berlin Partner that features creatives and entrepreneurs’ workplaces. Their first post introduces Jörg Woltmann, the owner of the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur (Royal Porcelain Factory) in Berlin.

“I didn’t know how tedious porcelain production would be until I bought KPM.” To this day, about eighty percent of the products are crafted by hand. “Of course we would profit with the digitization of things like 3D scanners. However, the final production is only possible by hand. No machine could ever produce the same quality. I have always been fascinated by the fact that even to this day some things are just better done by human hands than by a machine…”

Photography by Anna Rose

View the full post at Freunden von Freunden.

posted in Spaces · Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Matt Wisniewski

Sunday · January 13, 2013 · Photography

Matt Wisniewski is an artist who makes surreal collages by combining appropriated fashion photography and portraits with nature and architectural photos. I love how the landscapes and cityscapes interact with the figures’ different surfaces. It’s fun to explore each photo and try to find where one image ends and another begins.

Prints with collage by Matt Wisniewski and photography by Derrick Leung can be purchased here.

posted in Photography · Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Thank You and Happy New Year!

Monday · December 31, 2012 · Personal

As 2012 comes to a close, I want to thank everyone for their support this year as I launched my sole proprietorship and started my first blog outside of Blogger and LiveJournal. I greatly appreciate every one of you who visited my website and blog, became a fan on Facebook, followed me on COLOURlovers, or connected with me on LinkedIn. I am also incredibly grateful for my friends and coworkers at Generac who continuously give me so much advice on life and business, which allows me to be an even better small business owner.

There will be some new changes and accomplishments in 2013 I’m excited to share, including:

A new responsive website design for Megan McDonald Art & Design coming soon
Two of my pattern designs, Mango Lemonade and Starlight, getting published in Sendpoints Books’ Classical Patterns and Modern Patterns
Joining and participating in a local art-affiliated group
Posting new designs and photos I made this year
Creating new work in a variety of mediums
(You can check out my latest pattern design, Black Celebration, available in several different products on Society6.)
Design tutorials and freebies

I hope you have a happy and healthy start to the New Year!

posted in Personal · Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Winter in the Floating World

Sunday · December 23, 2012 · Art

Winter scenes are by far my favorite when it comes to Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints. The tactile weight of the snow on the trees, ground, and buildings contrasts so beautifully with the delicate falling snowflakes. The prints with people bracing themselves against the wind give the composition a sense of movement, despite the lack of wind lines. Most of all, I love how the landscapes’ cool tones complement the warm colors of the architecture and clothing.

On the eve of the solstice, we had our first heavy snowfall of the season in Wisconsin just in time for the holidays. Even if the weather near you doesn’t feel much like winter, I hope these gorgeous woodblock prints will give you some inspiration for the season. Happy Holidays!

Find out more about each ukiyo-e print below:

Continue Reading →

posted in Art · Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Frank Frazetta’s Tolkien Illustrations

Saturday · December 15, 2012 · Art

In celebration of this weekend’s premier of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, I want to share some of my favorite J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired illustrations by the late fantasy and sci-fi artist Frank Frazetta. Each illustration has such a great sense of movement, tension, and composition. Enjoy!

For a better view of Frazetta’s line detail, click on each image to enlarge.