Las Vegas 1000 Mile Loop

My wife and I recently flew to Vegas and rented a car for 5 days. We drove to the Hoover dam, stayed in historic Williams, spent a day on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. After a day in beautiful Flagstaff, we drove through the most spectacular autumn scenery in Sedona. We were warmly greeted by the Sedona Art Center staff and enjoyed an inspiring conversation with the very versatile and professional artist, Alex Rupert! He was very gracious to take the time and explain his process and all the creative endeavors he is working on. We wish him continued great success in his career!

Then we went downstairs to view the recently completed Sedona Plein Air Festival results, and were immersed in beautiful and competent paintings. The high-calibre artists produced a stunning array of Sedona landscapes.

Then we drove on to Prescott, Havasu City, Needles California and back to Las Vegas to finish the 1000 mile loop. Our cameras could not adequately capture the spectacular views and environments of this great country. 

Here is a pic I took from a sunrise at the oasis-like city on the edge of the Colorado river and reservoir, Havasu City.  Below is a quick 1-hour acrylic on paper study from Sedona I completed (a little messy and values need to be moderated). We enjoyed our trip immensely and I'm so grateful for my lovely and patient spouse of 30+ years!

Acrylics on Paper over the Years

When my kids were young, I used paint with acrylics on paper since it was nontoxic and an easy to cleanup. They got an introduction to the rewarding activity of painting and I was able to be an "involved" Dad while working on something I enjoyed too.  Sometimes I'd set-up a still life for us all to paint or we'd create a study of another artist's painting that we admired. I've come to realize that those simple choices of acrylics on paper has laid a creative foundation for me and my children. Here are a few successful oldies.

Studies of New Mexico

I've enjoyed reviewing the history of the Taos Society of Artists, like one founder,
Oscar E. Berninghaus and the more recent contributors like Jerry Jordan. Here is an acrylic on paper (11 x 15) study I just completed of one of Jerry's famous oil paintings. I love his bold color pallet and agressive application that captures this high-altitude subject.

Plein air Activities

I've been outside working on some plein air paintings. Dodge Nature center property in Mendota Heights and historic Sibley in Mendota. Acrylic on paper and on 11x14 birch panel.

Itching to creatively remodel our kitchen

Interior design is another area where good design sense and production skills pays dividends.

I had the unique opportunity to remodel my kitchen this year. We welcomed the challenge since for years I was itching to replace the old cabinets and workflow. Launching into several layout sketches with my wife, we settled on a simple solution of solid cherry cabinets over white backgrounds with black accents.

For workflow changes, we chopped down a constricting peninsula and moved the dishwasher from blocking access to the refrigerator. I built a custom cabinet to hold the much better placed dishwasher. BTW, we highly, highly recommend the Bosch SHX3AR75UC dishwasher. There are several models by Bosch that get the top score from Consumer Report. It delivers... and we've run it most every day for 2 years.

All the carpentry, plumbing and electrical work I completed myself, although I was assisted by curated professionals on YouTube. The reward was immense. We saved a bunch of cash, kept the old kitchen functioning as I made the improvements, and solved long-standing workflow issues with an elegant design. This large scale and time-consuming project is not for everybody, but it proves thoughtful designs integrated with practical skills add value.

New workflow, floor, cabinets, outlets, sink and counter-tops, plumbing and still needs a new stove.

Angelic Twaddle™ Comic Book Design

One of the latest creative projects I'm working on is designing my two books of Angelic Twaddle Comics. Amazon and digital sales has impacted book design since often small thumbnails images are what the buying audience see first. So the challenge is to create a book cover that reads well and generates interest both very small and in the full-size printed scale.

There are many good sources available on Google for general guidelines of book design... but what I centered on was a 3-part objective. The three goals I aimed for are... 1) bright complementary colors divided into pleasing % of values/tones; 2) a single readable word "Comic" (even when shrunk down), and 3), presenting an actual comic on the cover so the audience knows that these are hand-rendered comics not computer generated animations.

Angelic Twaddle™ is my niche comic series about guardian angels and life.  Louis is the author, illustrator, and self-publisher of Angelic Twaddle™ Comics.

Interior Furniture Designs

Over the years I've enjoyed making most of our home furniture. Thankfully my wife gives me plenty of freedom to try some unique designs, although she ultimately holds veto power. Here is an example of a coffee table I made from oak harvested on my child-hood family property in northern MN and presented with all its flaws and natural beauty with a clear matte sealing finish. The black steel legs are USA made from Amazon.

A variety of old drawers and their unique handles serve as pull-out storage areas.

Childhood Art At Home

While cleaning through my basement, I came across some artwork I created as a kid. My parents provided a very creative environment that was conducive for me and my siblings to draw, paint, sculpt, sew clothes, cook, bake, build tree houses. I'm very grateful for those times and tried to impart that atmosphere for my children. 

The first one, from 1979, is an acrylic painting that is based on a National Geographic wildlife photo. Below that is a watercolor I created in 1980 of a grouse, pheasant and turkey. The sketch is from 1978 and I was about 14 years old.

Good design (beauty) is a perpetual motion machine

Here at Ergotron, since unveiling our new brand identity in January, we’ve taken steps to modernize and align the look and tone of all our internal and external assets globally. This includes our website, catalogs, business cards, trade show presence and more. The critical path in this process was a new master logo (designed and guided by the excellent team at F&N), update of sub brand logos, new brand style guides, new photography and video... and the tone of our communications.

In addition, we’ve made a commitment to our visibility here in the Twin Cities, through making our company headquarters building a true representation of our refreshed brand.

Good design has unified and amplified our vision amongst our employees and partners... and helped us increase profits. This sounds like a simple equation, and yes, the hard-work behind the scenes is often less appreciated, but I am a believer more than ever in the power of design. It may be the closest thing to a perpetual motion machine; once good design or beauty is input into a project that is shared with others, over time, usually it outputs more creative energy-power-beauty than was originally input.

Over generations, when we encounter world-class and time-less architecture, beautifully composed music, a well-crafted story or a master painting, it stirs within us an appreciation and creative-inspiration-energy. 

Do I dare say that true beauty, especially when found in monumental art pieces of music and architecture, almost calls humans to transcend base things and create a culture that lifts up the positive and gives hope?

NOTE: Here is an updated article on this topic shared on LinkedIn by Louis in 2025.

Managing Design, Function and Look & Feel

There are few marketing areas that maintain as sophisticated and refined design standards as the contract furniture world. The architects and designers run the show and have proven a successful model with their balance of function and design. At Ergotron, my employer, we have launched a new product line into this space and have sought to not only reach the design standards but also introduce function and benefits unmet in this market with sit-stand movement. Take a peek.

https://www.ergotron.com/contract

Sculptures

Raw wood, finished lumber, wild clay, pottery clay, oil-based clay, tin-foil, paper, you name it I've tried to make something 3-dimensional with it. Below is a pic of a 4-foot tall white oak, Mother and Child sculpture I created back in the early 90s. I used a chain saw to rough it out then chiseled the details. I put a light coat of clear exterior oil on it.

Curiosity and Tools

A foundational element that leads to creativity is good ole curiosity. It is fairly self-explanatory and others write about this topic extensively, http://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-pathways-curiosity-hungry-mind-marilyn-price-mitchell

Ad agencies and creative groups acknowledge this role and often look for signs of this "curiosity" in new hires.

In addition to curiosity, another broad factor for creativity is learning new crafts and tool skills. Today's refreshing emphasis on tinkering with hand-tools, as found in the maker movement, steampunk and the DIY hacker push.... all of which is fueled by youtube videos ... is brilliant. I've always been jealous of the variety of tools the farm kids had access to, like welders, tractors and hydraulic machines and wood and metal shops.

The more we learn and immerse ourselves in new and fresh topics the more we are equipped to ponder and create.

Here is a photo of one of my kids creating electricity.

National Campaign?

In my stream of FaceBook Posts from my goofy friends I came across this hilarious photo. It touched my funny bone by its creativity and narrative. I find it zings the over emphasis on modern-america's perfect bodies... while countering it with the less-stress let-live lifestyle of some folks. I think a variation on this could be a national ad campaign... if it's not already.

Creativity according to A. Einstein

Not sure who to give credit to for this image, I've seen it
posted all over the internet and I like the message.

FlipStir™ Puzzle in Catalog!

It's always rewarding to see the toy that I invented in magazines, catalogs and websites, but this one was extra special. This magazine shown below, Rainbow Resource Center, Inc 2015 Christmas Catalog, is the catalog my wife and kids use to order fun crafts and toys. They found this page while simply shopping!! My kids then set it out on my dinner plate last night so I could see it and get my reaction, so fun.

The creative process has bursts of excitement but also lots of hard work. I'm deeply appreciative to Suchi Sairam who has worked so diligently over the last couple years to get exposure and market the toy through the toy industry. We are hoping others will continue to see the entertainment, educational and creativity of the FlipStir Puzzle family and sales will continue to grow and offset the investment.

Ergotron WorkFit-T: It’s So Simple!

Enlivenze LLC and Toy Patent

In-Tube Puzzle Toy Patent by Louis Hall

I began the patent work for my toy in 2009, and it was patented May 22, 2012, US8181961

This was like a Masters course in US patent process: I was the Inventor, patent attorney, project manager, technical writer and illustrator for my toy puzzle for both the provisional patent and the full utility patent, US8181961. In 2014 this toy invention became available as "FlipStir Puzzle" from Enlivenze.com. 

Patent Abstract: A self-contained three-dimensional puzzle game that has a plurality of free-floating individual puzzle pieces (6) enclosed within a transparent enclosure (8). Puzzle is solved by using a wand (1) to move the individual puzzle pieces and forming the three dimensional solution. Wand is comprised of a rod, which extends through a small hole (4) in the enclosure. One embodiment has the three-dimensional subject solution covered with image graphics (10) so that when the individual pieces are manipulated into the correct positions they bring about an overall composition.This experience was like a MBA in the USA patent process. Patent summary: A self-contained puzzle comprising a plurality of individual free-floating puzzle pieces contained within a transparent enclosure, a wand which is used to solve said puzzle by reaching through hole in said transparent enclosure and moving said individual free-floating puzzle pieces and forming the three dimensional solution.

Loaded Opportunist Photography?

When I saw this photo this last week I laughed out-loud. My thoughts went to the photographer and wondering if they immediately saw the shadow of his finger dancing on her upper lip like a mustache and then lined up the shot.... or if they were just photographing the event and later saw this crazy juxtaposition. The imagery is loaded with horrific historical reference, explosive current events, gender wars.... you name it. I still have a big smile looking at the pic.




Photo of Netanyahu Shadow Painting Merkel W/ Hitler Stache Goes Viral
Yesterday 11:03 AM by Jacob Kornbluh

During a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accidentally gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel a Hitler mustache, thanks to a confluence of light and shadow as he pointed his finger across the stage.The photo, captured by JPost photographer Marc Israel Sellem, went viral within minutes.

“This is THE picture that all #Israel is talking about right now,” i24 News’ Julien Bahloul tweeted.

New BBC article illustrates need for standing more at work

Here is an excellent new article from BBC about the benefits of standing more during work day, it is a nice dove-tail into our sit-stand WorkFit product launch for Apple. Here is a powerful quote... "If you stand for three hours a day for five days that's around 750 calories burnt. Over the course of a year it would add up to about 30,000 extra calories, or around 8 lb. of fat. "If you want to put that into activity levels," Dr Buckley says, "then that would be the equivalent of running about 10 marathons a year. Just by standing up three or four hours in your day at work."

It reminds me of the illustration I created for an earlier doc on the benefits of standing.

WorkFit designed for iMac and MacBook users

At Ergotron where I work, we just released our new WorkFits that are designed for iMac and MacBook users. These are significant product installments for the creative world, since they let us creative types work or create more naturally. Nobody likes being trapped sitting all day, not to mention the serious health concerns. As I've mentioned in other postings... being able to stand or sit while computing offers so much freedom and it translates into creative energy! See our video we shot in LA.


The products are aluminum construction and designed to seamlessly interface with the Macs. They clamp to the back of your desk or can be mounted through a grommet hole.

One person working on this project said, "People who think different can now work different." I agree!