eyeone | seeking heaven

All kinds of cool stuff pops up on slayla.com... Peep game!

James Haunt is killing it with walls, graphics, and the total kill time space out. Peep his work over at jameshaunt.com. (Thanks for the hook up Haunt!)

Nice flip-through of the MONOKROME book. I'm one of the contributing artists along with luminaries such as Kofie, Ben One, Remi/Rough, Hush and Cute. The book is once again available online!

From the book's website: "MONOKROME brings together writers from all four corners of the globe with different styles, different views and different periods of time spent in graffiti. It creates an arena that is compelling for the veteran graffiti writer, the newcomer and the outsider alike... You'll see what you don't normally see; the work that happens before it gets to the wall, the work that builds upon what went before it, the work that bridges the gap between the old and the new. All in black and white..."

• Purchase the MONOKROME book here.

The homies from Streetwise Clothing are straight killin' it with West Coast style for you to rock on your block! Keep an eye on their site for their current line and new releases. (I designed a shirt for their upcoming line -hint, hint!)

•streetwisegear.com

I think something must be wrong with the Googles. To quote the homie Adam: "Whha, Whaaaatt!!!"

The homie Patrick Martinez is releasing a limited-edition neon piece on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at Noon PST. It will be available exclusively at knowngallerystore.com.

Slayer shirts are back at slayla.com

Slanted Magazine No.14
Grotesque 2 : Summer 2011
Published by MAGMA Brand Design
slanted.de

I recently received a nice package from Slanted in the post. Slanted is a super fresh design and typography publication published by MAGMA Brand Design out of Germany. The current issue focuses on grotesque typefaces and features their implementation and history.

Of special note is a razor sharp photographic essay on immigration in Spain as a transit point into Europe by Miguel Hahn and Jan-Christoph Hartung, a type essay featuring book covers designed using grotesque type by Robert Schumann, and an article on Japanese graphic designer Kiyoshi Awazu by the homie Ian Lynam.

A selection of pages from the current issue is viewable online here.

DJ Prolifik Adiktshun just dropped his new mix CD Painted Vinyl. Holler at ib_prolifik [at] yahoo [dot] com for info on how to cop a hard copy, listen to it on Soundcloud, or click the below player, player!


PAINTED VINYL by DJ PROLIFIK ADIKTSHUN by PROLIFIK ADIKTSHUN

Headin' to NYC for an art show associated with the events in this vid... (I think that's all I can say about it at this point. Stay tuned!)

The homie Tanner Goldbeck aka Racecar13 recently released this limited-edition t-shirt for his Cranium Blend line.

Grab one before they're all gone! More info here.

(Last time I was this stoked on a skull shirt graphic was in '88 after coming up (heh heh!) on a button-down Jimmy Z shirt that had some crazy all-over skull motif printed on the back!)

Fuzz & Fur
by Edward & John Harrison
markbattypublisher.com

When I visited Tokyo back in '09, I was way overwhelmed by the incredible abundance of characters of all sorts I encountered just about everywhere I went. I tried to photograph as many of them as I could and posted a selection here. However, I knew very little about the characters, their stories, or their meanings...

Therefore, I was super stoked when I got my hands on Fuzz & Fur, a book about Japan's costumed characters known as kigurumi. The book is a type of catalog/ encyclopedia compiling myriads of Japanese characters and their background stories. Stateside, we are used to seeing these types of creations at theme parks and perhaps schools, but as this book explores, they are widespread and proliferating across Japan. The book showcases costumed characters for everything from buildings and train lines to vegetables and velodromes. Fuzz & Fur is a fun read and a great source of visual inspiration.

From the publisher: "The adoration of mythical creatures and popular anime characters is nothing new in Japan, but kigurumi, roughly translated as “fur suit mascots,” is a growing pastime that is also a marketing tool. An oversized daikon radish, a skiing egg, a bear with an apple for a head, a volcano sticking out its tongue – these furry mascots wander the streets of Japan... Created to promote a prefecture or institution by honoring landmarks, local points of interest, regional produce, historical figures, civic institutions, and traditional folklore, municipalities have taken advantage of their citizens’ willingness to design costumes and dress up as these characters in a strange amalgam of hometown pride and cost-saving measures."

Los Angeles Shave Ice Truck
losangelesshaveice.com

The Los Angeles Shave Ice Truck has been serving up awesome shave ice all over Los Angeles for a hot (cool?) minute. You can follow them on Twitter (@shaveicetruck) to stalk them and score one of the best desserts you've ever tasted. Disclosure: I painted their truck and will post flicks soon. Go!

From their website: "The Los Angeles Shave Ice Truck is here to serve delicious and refreshing Hawaiian style shave ice treats all over the Los Angeles area. Our shave ice is made with fluffy snow, not crunchy snow cone ice. All our syrups are made with real cane sugar and never with high fructose corn syrup. This is a real melt in your mouth, good to the last spoonful dessert. Shave ice is a no guilt treat: vegan, gluten-free, low calorie, lactose free, fat free!"

(Photo by Swank)

Bicycle Bread Company
bicyclebread.com

While painting today, this dude walked by pushing a big ol' cart full of bread. He hit us up about what we were painting, and in turn, we asked him what he was doing. It turned out he worked for the Bicycle Bread Company and was on his way to set up a pop-up bread stand. He kicked down a full loaf of freshly-baked vanilla spice bread, and all in attendance agreed: the bread was bomb! Check 'em out, good stuff!

From their website: "The Bicycle Bread Company was started in 2008 to serve families, faculty and students in the North University Park neighborhood with fresh bread made from fresh ground wheat... We are working hard to perfect [our] family recipes and offer the healthy, fresh foods we grew up with to South LA."