Tag Archives: Patrick Hruby

“Bad Weather” T-Shirts Offered This Friday During ArtNight Pasadena

Proceeds from the sale of the "Bad Weather" T-shirt directly benefit Pasadena's Bad Weather Shelter.

In addition to The History of Space Photography, which explores the beauty, mystery, science and meaning of images depicting our planet and worlds beyond, and a free dress rehearsal of John Cage’s 4′33″ (no. 2) (0′00″) in preparation for Saturday’s performance by Grammy Award-winning Southwest Chamber Music, visitors to Art Center’s Hillside Campus during ArtNight Pasadena this Friday, March 9 from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. can support the ”Friends of the Bad Weather Shelter” by purchasing a T-shirt for only $20.00.

Bus shelter poster designed by alumnus Patrick Hruby to create awareness of "Friends of the Bad Weather Shelter."

In the Fall of 2011, due to budget restraints and the recent economic downturn, local and federal funds were cut considerably, negatively impacting the Bad Weather Shelter, which provides numerous services to Pasadena’s homeless during the winter months. In response, Rebecca Huang, a local high school senior, started a creative program that encourages 100 local businesses and/or individuals to become “Friends” of the shelter for only $600 a year, which would offset the funds lost due to budget cuts and enable the shelter to continue to provide this important humanitarian service.

Soon after Rebecca launched her campaign, Art Center’s Designmatters and Illustration Departments partnered with the City of Pasadena to develop an effective campaign to create awareness of the program. In January of this year, the City of Pasadena implemented three posters art directed by Ann Field (Chair, Illustration Department) and illustrated by recent alumnus Patrick Hruby (Illustration, ’10) on 20 bus shelters throughout the city.

As a continuation of that campaign, proceeds from the sale of the “Bad Weather” T-shirt directly benefit the Pasadena Bad Weather Shelter. So far, the entire campaign has raised roughly $15,000 from local businesses and individuals.

Gloria Fowler’s AMMO-nition

The cover of the new Edward Weston monograph, published by AMMO Books.

On campus, Gloria Fowler ‘87 may be best known as a beloved Environmental Design instructor who has taught at the College for the last 20 years, helping students explore their creative potential. But equally impressive is her work off-campus, where she runs the thriving boutique art-house publishing company AMMO Books with her photographer-turned-publisher husband, Steve Crist, and business partner Paul Norton.

Launching a specialty book business is a risky venture, even more so in today’s age of declining book sales. But AMMO, which is based in Pasadena and Santa Barbara, Calif., has succeeded where others haven’t, publishing a number of coveted titles including the limited edition monographs Gonzo and Charley Harper, mid-priced options like Locals Only and Spike Lee: Do the Right Thing and a children’s line of board books, puzzles and more. Enviable press coverage and robust sales have followed.

The Dotted Line recently sat down with Fowler to discuss several new AMMO releases just in time for the holidays, as well as her experience running AMMO and working with emerging talent straight from the studios of Art Center.

Is there a story behind the name, AMMO?

When Steve and I decided to break out on our own and launch a new publishing house [he previously worked as a photo editor at Taschen], we realized that there weren’t that many visual-arts publishers based in the U.S. We also wanted to celebrate American artists and designers. So we came up with AMMO, which is short for American Modern Books. But we do publish international artists/designers as well.

What’s new at AMMO this holiday season?

We recently published a limited edition, coffee-table size monograph on the photographer Edward Weston in celebration of his 125th birthday. Weston is a hero of Steve’s and one of the most important photographers of the 20th century. Steve worked with the Center for Creative Photography in Arizona, which manages Weston’s archive, to choose 125 of Weston’s most iconic photographs. The book was beautifully printed in Italy and comes in an exquisite European gold cloth slipcase. Then we have Alexander Girard, edited by Todd Oldham. Girard was a seminal and prolific midcentury designer who produced work in so many disciplines—textiles, typography, graphics, illustration, furniture and architecture. He was a contemporary of Eames who, for whatever reason, hasn’t received the same recognition. We hope this book will change that. It’s massive—672 pages and 15 lbs(!)—and it’s at the level of Charley Harper in that the book is a very comprehensive overview of Girard.  And in conjunction, we’ve released some children’s products featuring Girard’s designs—a memory game, giant floor puzzles, a board book and more on the way.

Catch a glimpse of the new Girard book here:


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Imagining New Worlds with Patrick Hruby

Last year we told you about the amazing collaboration between Venice-based Blik and Art Center Illustration alumnus Patrick Hruby.

We’re excited to announce that Blik has just launched a new wall graphic designed by Hruby. The graphic, Imaginary Castle, is the same design that Hruby created for his final project at Art Center, on display in the Student Gallery last year.

Hruby first paired up with Blik in 2010 when he was a graduating student and Art Center’s Spring 2010 valedictorian. Earlier in the year, Blik had mentored Hruby’s fellow Art Center peers in the Advanced Illustration Studio class. 

This serendipitous connection led Hruby to turn to Blik to manufacture his final project, Imagine Something Beautiful.

Each year, the Art Center gives the wall in the main school entranceway to one star student to display their final project during Graduation Show. Hruby’s project was selected for the space in spring 2010, and he approached Blik to help execute his vision and overcome the challenge of placing the design on the school’s grad wall. The transformation of Hruby’s illustration into a wall graphic was easy as Imaginary Castle was always conceived as a wall decal.

“I wanted to create a magical place that was large enough to make you feel as if you were there,” Hruby says. “Imaginary Castle pays respects to my Eastern European heritage and grandparents. I’ve always been fascinated with that design aesthetic and wanted to try my hand at it.”

The punchy colors add dimension to the large-scale design, making the decal “pop-off” the wall and appeal to children’s vivid imaginations and fairy tale sensibilities.

“We were captivated by Patrick’s style,” says Blik co-founder Scott Flora. “Imaginary Castle is a vibrant cityscape reminiscent of Mary Blair’s It’s a Small World. With its interesting shapes and modern aesthetic, we envision Imaginary Castle transporting kids into a color-filled playground. Keep your eye on Patrick, he is definitely an illustrator to watch.” 

Imaginary Castle is available in two sizes: a 36-inch wide wall decal and a 6-foot wide wall decal at Blik.

Emerging Talents From the World of New Illustration

Join us March 31 for an exciting panel with Art Center alumni Sarah Awad, Patrick Hruby and Andrew Hem exploring the diverse paths in Illustration today.

The panel and reception is hosted by Alumni Relations and the Illustration Department in conjunction with BLUECANVAS and Scion.

The event is free and open to the public. RSVP today to alumni@artcenter.edu or 626.396.2305.

Wunderkind:
Emerging Talents From the World of New Illustration
Thursday, March 31, 7-10 p.m.
Art Center Hillside Campus
Ahmanson Auditorium

Blik and Illustration Create Alternatives to Print

Guest post by Heather Koopman of Blik

Last spring, Blik participated in the Art Center’s Advanced Illustration Studio class. Fourteen students at the Pasadena campus enrolled in the course, which is part of the Illustration Department curriculum that focuses on design beyond the printed page. Led by the chair of the illustration department, Ann Field, the upper-term class taught applications for illustration including wall graphics, fabric, ceramic plates and interior design.

According to Field, part of the magic was how quickly the project with Blik was pulled together. Each student created one design and submitted it to Blik to be turned into a printed wall graphic. During the process, Blik tutored the students in how to create and set up their illustrations as files for print production. The final designs were presented and installed in the classroom.

“One of the great things about this class is the opportunity to work with companies, like Blik, who have a high-design aesthetic and impeccable attention to detail,” says Field. “These qualities combined with Blik’s contemporary products and history of working with established artists makes for a good working partnership.”

Blik also worked with one of Art Center’s star graduating students and Spring 2010 valedictorian, Patrick Hruby, to manufacture his final project, Imagine Something Beautiful. Each year, the Art Center faculty gives a wall in the main school entrance way to one student to display their final project. Patrick’s project was selected for the space and he approached Blik to help execute his vision.

Blik is proud of the students’ work and looks forward to continuing our relationship with Art Center again in the future.

For more on Blik: Blik’s Blog, Blik Custom: Art Center, Blik Custom: Patrick Hruby