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#44 Reuse & Recycle
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AmperArt #44, “Reuse & Recycle,” reminds us to do what’s necessary to save our planet & keep it clean & green for future generations of people, animals & all living creatures–not just on Earth Day, but everyday.
Although this is a relatively new phrase, I’ll consider it an addition to the “Advertising Slogans” series of AmperArt. Most of those are good ol’ sayings of yesteryear, but someday this will be, too. Hopefully, though, we’ll still be heeding the advice decades & centuries from now, & hopefully it will have worked.
Here are some other Earth Day slogans I came across on ThinkSlogans.com:
Modern technology owes ecology an apology.
It’s the only Earth we got
Join the race to make the world a better place
Protect our earth today for our children’s tomorrow
Earth Day everyday
Keep your Earth Clean and Green
A good planet is hard to find
It’s our world, take care of it
What on Earth are you doing for Earth Day?
May the Forest be with you
Nurture Nature
Dare to be a force of Nature
Some are more clever than others, but they’re all wise & important.
I admit that I am less ecologically sensitive about my own future than that of the earth, as I drank way too much Pepsi Max while creating this AmperArt edition. But I did set the bottle aside for the recycle bin.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
Programs: Illustrator, Photoshop
Original dimensions: 20″ x 30″
Fonts:Futura Bold & Light Condensed (ampersand – modified)
Image: iStock Photo, modified
#20 Bunnies & Chicks
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I’d say Peeps are to Easter what Rudolph is to Christmas — not the main attraction (commercially speaking) but very, very important.
The chocolate Easter bunny is still pretty much the chocolate Easter bunny. But not so for Peeps. I remember when they were one color, one species:
Maybe pink also, but most definitely not blue, orange, green and purple as they are today. And there were only the creatures that “peep,” you know, little chickies. No other sounds like rabbits and whatever else the Peeps factory is churning out. Probably even real human Peeps someday.
There’s even Peeps plush, Peeps apparel and all sorts of Peeps collectibles.
And can you believe it? There’s even a Peeps store.
If you want to find out where this is you’ll have to visit this blog, where I borrowed this photo from: http://hippwaters.wordpress.com/page/2/
And the poor chocolate Easter bunny? Just the butt (no pun intended) of a joke.
Happy Easter!
PRODUCTION NOTES:
Programs: Photoshop (image retouching), InDesign (type and dingbats)
Font: Lithos
Images: Stock
Credits:
Peep Store photo:hippwaters.wordpress.com/page/2/
Cartoon images: pencilbugs.com
Easter Sunday used to be my best opportunity for throwing a magnificent, Oscar-worthy tantrum.
If I couldn’t find every single egg and fill my basket to overflowing I would scream and yell and cry until someone would sneak up behind me and magically fill it with eggs, jelly beans and of course Peeps.
Hope you have a very happy Easter. After all, I won’t be there to throw a tantrum and ruin it.
#43 Quick & Easy
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Third in the AmperArt Advertising Slogans series.
No story, just a bullet list says it all:
- Frozen waffles
- Instant oatmeal
- Dishwashers
- Microwaves
- Flavor Straws (remember those?)
- Big Macs
- Instant coffee
- Copy & paste
- Remote controls
- Power windows
- Voice-activated controls
- Icemakers
- Robot vacuum cleaners
- Pet feeders
- Sprinklers
- Audio books
- Auto-pilot
- Home study courses
- Cliff notes
- Mechanical pencils
and of course the ultimate Quick & Easy product of them all, to this day one of my favorite treats, especially when the burnt peas spill over into the plaster of paris mashed potatoes which are somehow mixed with the slimy gravy:
- TV dinners
Production notes:
34 minutes
No story this time–kept it quick & easy.
(I might even have a TV dinner for lunch.)
#42 Corned Beef & Cabbage
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St. Patrick’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. It always meant meeting a pretty Irish lass (or pretending to be Irish) for whom I would buy rounds of Irish whiskey–till her jealous boyfriend showed up. It meant free-flowing green beer which is an insult to a true Irishman (I’m Italian & German so I love the stuff). It meant lilting, tear-jerking Irish ballads, the more heartfelt the better, & the more beer consumed the more heartfelt the ballads.
& it always meant one of my favorite dishes, corned beef & cabbage. With lots of horseradish & mustard. I don’t drink anymore, but I still love my Irish music & corned beef & cabbage every St. Patrick’s Day. & the beautiful women? Everyday! (Till their boyfriends show up.)
I don’t suppose this is going to be my most popular AmperArt edition, certainly not one that will be framed & hung on many living room walls. (It might look nifty in a retro-styled kitchen, though.) But I just had to take that phrase of one of my favorite culinary pairs & stick an ampersand in it. In this case, the ampersand itself is corned with lots of cracked pepper.
Another thing I love about the Irish is their beautiful prose & poetry, such as this Irish blessing:
May there always be work for your hands to do
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
& their wit:
Never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don’t want to press your luck.
As I wish you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll leave you with yet one more Irish saying, which I truly believe:
A best friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find & lucky to have.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
Program: Photoshop
Font: Arnold Boecklin
Colors: Sampled from photo of corned beef & cabbage (pepper: my own blend)
CREDITS:
Quotes: Anonymous
Senor Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day for me is all about Irish Music, Irish Food & Irish Beer. I don’t drink anymore, so 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. I really must have my annual corned beef & cabbage, & I’ll go to any length to get the real, authentic stuff. (Okay, I’ll settle for Denny’s in a pinch.)
Several years ago I went to an Irish pub for live Irish music & real Irish corned beef & cabbage. After a few ballads & a few cups of coffee I got kicked out–sober. Lots of drunks get kicked out of a bar on St. Patricks for their infamous brawls. But me? For not getting drunk! “We don’t like your type in here,” they said.
So I went from Irish bar to Irish bar & Irish restaurant to Irish restaurant (well, one — they’re not on every street corner in Santa Monica) to get my fix of corned beef & cabbage. Either everyone had run out or they didn’t even serve it on its most famous day.
Then I remembered seeing a hand-written sign in the window of my favorite coffee shop, Callahan’s Restaurant. “Irish Dinner & Live Music” it said. Why didn’t I remember that sooner? I rushed over there & got in before they closed. I asked Maria, the hostess/waitress, if they had any corned beef & cabbage left. “Si, Senor Chaz.” (It’s a small place run by a wonderful Mexican family, & they kept the menu, decor & name exactly the same as the original owner, who was obviously Irish. They all knew me, since I went there everyday for breakfast.) I asked if the live music was over with, & she said it hadn’t begun yet. Wow! They were staying open late just for St. Patrick’s Day. (Just for me is more like it — the place was practically empty. I wasn’t the only one who forgot about the little sign in the window.)
I ordered my traditional corned beef & cabbage, & it was fabulously traditional–absolutely delicious! They even had real blow-your-head-off horseradish which I love. I was so engrossed in my dinner I didn’t even notice the much-anticipated band setting up.
Until they played their very first note. Incredible. I’ll never forget that St. Patrick’s Day experience with that live band. I love traditional Irish music, especially the ballads that bring me to tears. There’s something special about Irish music that just gets to me. Is it the instruments? The lyrics? The beautiful tenor voice & charming accent of an Irish balladeer? Probably a combination of all those wonderful qualities. But not that night.
It was a live mariachi band.