Future Hits poster

Just realized that I do have one more thing to add to this month’s (or I guess the past two months) theme of CHILDHOOD.

This is a poster I did for local Chicago band Future Hits. They are great!

Future Hits is a band whose songs are steeped in language arts curriculum, Common Core standards and social emotional learning outcomes. The songs, which are written specifically for elementary-aged students but can be enjoyed by folks of all ages, also include differentiated assessments, activities and lesson plans, all of which can be used inside and outside of a school setting.  The songs incorporate various elements of most language arts curricula: vocabulary, spelling words, and other literacy themes, as well as character education.

In summer 2011, Matt Baron, an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher for Chicago Public Schools, teamed up with Emma Hospelhorn (Hollows, New Millennium Orchestra) and Ben Sutherland (associate professor of audio arts at Columbia College) to form Future Hits, a band that developed as an extension of the music Matt started writing for teaching with at two Chicago Public Schools.  The band recorded their debut album, “Songs for Learning,” with Mark Greenberg (Coctails, Wilco, Andrew Bird).

Mary Blair’s inspiration for “It’s a Small World”

From The Invisible Agent:

When Disney’s Mary Blair was working to design “It’s a Small World” for the 1964/1965 World’s Fair in New York City, she was incredibly up to date with art and design of the era.  Below are photographs of the ride’s facade at Disneyland.

pizza pennant

Yes! The Peoples Pennant, Pizza Time. By Mikey Burton.

Tavi Ted Talk on teenage girls

Outer Minds record cover

Woohoo! The record cover I did for Outer Minds is finally out! Not sure if this has a direct link to our month’s theme of childhood, just that when I came up with the concept, I wanted it to be kinda creepy and other-wordly but also child-like and innocent at the same time. Just like their music. It’s pretty dark most of the time but with happy organ and sunshine-y harmonies layered on top.

You can hear Outer Minds here.

while you wait

We are working on posting our childhood-themed projects, but in the meantime, check out these cool anatomical sculptures of some famous childhood characters by Jason Freeny. Check out his anatomical sketches too…I love the gummy bear!

Tops by Charles and Ray Eames

Children’s book blog

Found this great new blog called Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves. Great resource.

my childhood dream house

I was a Waldorf kid. I played outside most of the time. In the woods, a lot. Gnomes, fairies, moss, leaves, dirt, rotting logs…these are the things I most think of when I think of being a kid. And I still love a good day spent in the woods! The builder (and homeowner) must have had some similar joys in mind when he built this house. I would totally live here.

my childhood dream job

If all kids were allowed to make art like this girl’s, the world would be a better place.

More of her awesome art can be seen here.