please tell us a little about yourself:over the past 5 years, i have considered myself mainly a poet. recently, i started making visual poems with large fonts and images. with some of my most recent projects, i realized they were quite a bit more "visual" than "poem," so now i consider myself a poet and a designer. also i have considered myself vegan since 2007 and have worked on different activism projects, including the video at youcanhelpstopthis.com (warning, graphic footage). and i consider myself a buddhist, or very influenced by buddhism. and i am your boyfriend. :) and we live with a dangerous mountain lion in chicago.
please tell us a little about your etsy shop:
right now i am selling minimalist ironic greeting cards, so they are white with black text in bold helvetica, and it says "card," "birthday card," "thank you card," and so on. the cards are letter-sized card stock folded in half, blank on the inside. i have around 10 different card designs and some packs of 3 or 5 cards. i just launched it, but i'll be expanding with more ideas in the upcoming months, including some stickers, wall prints, and t-shirts. http://www.etsy.com/shop/steveroggenbuck.
right now i am selling minimalist ironic greeting cards, so they are white with black text in bold helvetica, and it says "card," "birthday card," "thank you card," and so on. the cards are letter-sized card stock folded in half, blank on the inside. i have around 10 different card designs and some packs of 3 or 5 cards. i just launched it, but i'll be expanding with more ideas in the upcoming months, including some stickers, wall prints, and t-shirts. http://www.etsy.com/shop/steveroggenbuck.
where do you get your design inspiration?
i like a lot of the minimalist design on aisleone.net. for other visual art, i really like the painters mark rothko and franz kline. i like art, design, and writing that is simple and feels good to me immediately when i see it. i think my art taste has been influenced a lot by zen buddhism and reading shunryu suzuki.
i like a lot of the minimalist design on aisleone.net. for other visual art, i really like the painters mark rothko and franz kline. i like art, design, and writing that is simple and feels good to me immediately when i see it. i think my art taste has been influenced a lot by zen buddhism and reading shunryu suzuki.
what direction do you hope to move in the future? do you have any big plans?
you know my plans, i think. :) i am in an mfa program for poetry right now. i am using my program as a time to focus very hard on my writing and art, as well as promoting my writing and art. i have a lot of ideas for poetry (e-)books, more etsy items, and touring and other things. i would like to make an income from my writing and design eventually so i can spend even more time on them. in general, i will keep making things i like and trying to share them with as many people as possible.
what is the best perk of being a designer?
my favorite thing is that i think i'm creating culture for like-minded people. as a vegan who grew up in a rural area, i sometimes felt like all the cultural options i had were for mainstream america but not for me. i got annoyed or bored with most movies and tv, and there weren't many stores or restaurants i felt like supporting. when i eventually found some writers and artists that presented alternative ways of doing things, it was very inspiring to me. with my writing and art, i would like to create something fun and sustaining for other young(-at-heart) people who are questioning mainstream values.
thank you very much for interviewing me jess, and thanks to everybody for reading it. you are all wonderful and cool.
you know my plans, i think. :) i am in an mfa program for poetry right now. i am using my program as a time to focus very hard on my writing and art, as well as promoting my writing and art. i have a lot of ideas for poetry (e-)books, more etsy items, and touring and other things. i would like to make an income from my writing and design eventually so i can spend even more time on them. in general, i will keep making things i like and trying to share them with as many people as possible.
what is the best perk of being a designer?
my favorite thing is that i think i'm creating culture for like-minded people. as a vegan who grew up in a rural area, i sometimes felt like all the cultural options i had were for mainstream america but not for me. i got annoyed or bored with most movies and tv, and there weren't many stores or restaurants i felt like supporting. when i eventually found some writers and artists that presented alternative ways of doing things, it was very inspiring to me. with my writing and art, i would like to create something fun and sustaining for other young(-at-heart) people who are questioning mainstream values.
thank you very much for interviewing me jess, and thanks to everybody for reading it. you are all wonderful and cool.
sounds like a cool dude! thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletexx raez
sounds great:)
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