Twist’n Teal and Olive
07/12/2018
As visual arts professionals, we draw inspiration from the world around us.
Along those lines, I’d like to tell you a little story …
MKE’s Street Art, Gallery Night
07/09/2018
Looking for art inspiration without spending a dime? Brew City holds an incredible art scene on the streets, and the amount of open artwork has been growing within the last few years. Here are some of my favorite MKE Street Art examples:
Black Cat Alley
This gallery walkway is a must-see. Milwaukee’s East Side is home to over 30,000 square feet of large murals in an open walkway located between Kenilworth Place and Ivanhoe Place. Considered one of Milwaukee’s newest tourist destinations, it has already attracted visitors from all over the world.
Favorite Things: Drawing Tablets
06/28/2018
THE BENEFITS OF USING A DRAWING TABLET
Drawing tablets become increasingly more popular as time goes by, especially for those of us in the wonderful world of design. If you are unfamiliar with what a drawing tablet (or graphics tablet) is, have no fear! A drawing tablet is technically a “computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images, animations and graphics, with a special pen-like stylus, similar to the way a person draws images with a pencil and paper.” They are very helpful to designers for many reasons and we will explain them all!
Getting to Know the Locals: Susan Tolonen
06/08/2018
Susan is a local Milwaukee illustrator who works in advertising, editorial, and children’s book publishing. Her bold, bright creations are full of whimsy, using shape in a way that makes her pieces lightly flow together with beautiful movement. Here is what she had to say about her work…
Getting to Know the Locals: Bonnie Leick
04/24/2018
Bonnie Leick is a local children’s book and magazine illustrator. Her illustrations are full of amusing scenes and eccentric characters. Many of her pieces include one-of-a-kind monsters that transport the viewer to a fantastical new world. It was a great pleasure discovering her work and learning about her process.
Favorite Things: MAM Art in Bloom 2018
04/18/2018
Here at Composure, we are always looking for ways to foster creativity, most recently making our yearly pilgrimage to the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Art in Bloom event. The weather may have been icy and cold outside this year, but the event was warm, inviting, and full of foliage!
Learning how to develop plugins for WordPress gives you the ability to simplify many site development and management tasks. These articles provide good insight into the different pieces of plugin development. In order to get the most out of these articles, it is best to have a basic understanding of PHP and HTML. Two good resources for any questions that you may have are WordPress’ Plugin Handbook and StackExchange.
1. https://www.sitepoint.com/an-introduction-to-wordpress-plugin-development/
This article gives a great overview of plugins and plugin development. It explains WordPress’ use of hooks, shortcodes, and widgets to integrate your plugin with WordPress. Be sure to follow the links to the codex for more information.
2. https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/wordpress-plugin-development-guide/
This guide to creating a WordPress plugin that works with Facebook Open Graph shows different techniques used in plugin development. This is a good source to pull pieces from that apply to your plugin. The hooks and functions used for enqueueing scripts and styles can be modified to fit your needs.
3. https://mikejolley.com/2013/08/13/keeping-your-shit-secure-whilst-developing-for-wordpress/
Plugin vulnerabilities were the cause of 22% of WordPress site hacks, as noted in this article. Fortunately, WordPress has many built-in functions to bolster security. Implementing simple measures can ensure that the data your plugin uses is secure.
I’ve known Susan for a number of years and first met her when she was working as a professor at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design teaching a pattern-making class. Beyond being an incredible teacher, she is an extremely talented illustrator who’s work is playful, energetic, and always full of life and action. Her ability to place characters within a scene is sensational, and she has an acute awareness of the way that textures and shapes can work together to make a whole, cohesive, image. It was an abosolute delight to have the opportunity to learn more about her process and work.
About a year ago, I was struggling to stay creative outside of work. I had a million ideas of what I wanted to do but needed to hone it in and get to work. I believe strongly that my maker side contributes to my design skills at work. A co-worker recommended Skillshare. I signed up for free trial. After forgetting to cancel, the trial membership became a year long membership. Skillshare is an amazing creative community. Each class has a project section so you can share your work and see what others are doing. For me, it has become an On Demand binge-worthy hide out. There are three teachers that I follow on Skillshare that are my current favorites.
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Music and Productivity at work
12/19/2017
Harry Campbell – Artist Portfolio
Do you swear by that 90’s R&B Pandora station as your work playlist, or do you prefer silence to hone in on your projects? Whatever your music taste, there are theories that link music with productivity—depending on the task at hand.
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