The Design District
Get Crafty! with Ellen Lupton
Grace at Design Sponge had a great post recently about the modern American Craft movement. Our most-recent Desirables column in Spaces (check out our second issue, on stands now!) is filled with handmade products from Portland and beyond.
Let’s face it: crafting is hot.
If you’re interested in the art of craft, you gotta check out Ellen Lupton’s Excellence in Craft Lecture called “Design-It-Yourself Revolution” at Pacific Northwest College of Art tomorrow at 7pm.
It’s $5 for non-members; free for students and members.
Lupton is a writer and graphic artist, and she authored one of my favorite typography books, Thinking With Type. It was my textbook during graphic design courses in college; my type prof would have my head if I didn’t go to this lecture. Other books of hers include D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself and D.I.Y. Kids. She’ll present ways to use design in everyday life. It’s lectures like these, my friends, which make Portland such a great place to be creative.
By Jen on Monday, March 24, 2008 at 03:59PM PDT
I’m so glad I went to see Ellen Lupton speak over at PNCA last week. She does an excellent job of making design ideas easily digestible to non-designers, and gives people (and kids) concepts of design for everyday use. I found it amusing how well she was able to deflect the student’s claims that more people using design means less designers doing work. She smartly explained how the more people who understand the language and value of design, the more they will appreciate the highest level of that craft. Overall a really inspiring and joyful lecture about the design and craft convergence which has become so prevalent in Portland.
By Rachel DeSchepper on Monday, March 24, 2008 at 04:45PM PDT
She’s a smart lady. You’re right; it fit in very well with the craft scene here in PDX. Glad you went!
By phoebe on Monday, March 24, 2008 at 01:54PM PDT
I went to this after seeing your post. She was very inspiring. You’re right- these are the things that make PDX great. It was so refreshing to see her slough off some of the pretentious aspects of her field and poke fun at the uptight-ness of anxious designers afraid they will lose their jobs because of photoshop and gimp! It was gratifying to hear her speak to the importance of craft and her simple breakdown of craft not art being orderly not mess was so nice. Other highlights of the evening included adorable laughter exchanges between her and her identical twin sister and co-author as well as her super cute kids who are also collaborators with her on new projects.
By Rachel DeSchepper on Monday, March 24, 2008 at 04:44PM PDT
That’s great that you were creatively inspired by her. Sometimes it just takes someone shedding a little light and poking a little fun to realize that design doesn’t have to be so serious!