So, recently, I've gotten into needle felting.

I personally cannot sculpt, which is why I had to have someone else sculpt Binkus from my design when we were working on the resin toys. I'm somewhat clumsy and apply too much pressure and I have slight hand tremors when I try to apply gentle pressure, so needless to say, all my efforts with clay come out total messes. I'd seen pictures of people's felted sculptures on Etsy though, and it seemed like something I could try to pull off. Now, what it is, is you're taking wool and a barbed needle, and you are poking, poking, poking that wool and manipulating the fibers until you come up with a shape. It's essentially sculpting with wool. So here are a few things I did recently:

It's really kind of fun to zone out in front of the tv and just needle away at some wool and a few hours later, voila, you have a little soft creature in your hand. But, mind you don't zone out too much, or else you stab yourself with the needle. And those things hurt.

Here's my Etsy shop for my needle felted work: TerribleFantastic.etsy.com
Maybe check it out!

Robots and Foxes

A pretty winning combination, yeah? Maybe I ought to do a robot-fox next. Hm....



Snazzy Happening Robot on Etsy


Sly Fox on Etsy

I went to bed exceptionally late (for normal people anyway), 3am, and was unceremoniously awoken by a text message at 7:45. Who sends a text message at 7:45?? I'd think someone who knows me would know better, but... well, apparently not. I was pretty sulky about this for awhile, and lay around, trying to wake up, and eventually just got on out of bed, turning off the alarm I'd set for 10am. I had some tea and oatmeal, watched approximately 5 minutes of one of those underage mother shows on MTV, and then set to work painting. Productivity wins again.

Mixing it up

While I was away, I also happened to sell this watercolor mini I'd done of a Kitchenaid stand mixer. Because my kitchen is so darn small, I've had to relocate a number of things from there to my dining room's butcher block, like my stacks of cookbooks (that i don't use enough), and my own stand mixer. I couldn't think of what to draw one day and then realized it was right in front of me.

The Kitchenaid mixers are so iconic, and in such a variety of eye-catching colors, I sort of want to do a series of them. Perhaps I ought to get on that this week; I am telling myself after all, that I want to be ultra productive this week. Of course, in the end, it really just makes me want to bake.

The Brooklyn Flea

Well, I'm back. I spent 8 days in New York, and it was very much hard to leave. Since moving away, I've visited 3 times and each time this odd feeling of displacement comes over me. Nothing is any different, and I feel at home... it's just.... there's no home. It's weird.

Sunday, the second day I was there, I went to the Williamsburg Bank, which is the wintertime site of the Brooklyn Flea. I busted out my new Canon Rebel to take photos. I don't like to take direct photos of artists' tables. There's something that sort of irks me when I'm selling at an event, and instead of buying anything, people take photos of individual art. I also hate getting caught unawares in the middle of a wide shot. I have found myself on Flickr in other people's photos, which were most unflattering of me. I turned my camera on the extraordinary interior of the building instead, which I'd never been inside before.







^I couldn't resist taking a photo of the above 3D image, though my writing up above is whistling a different tune. I am actually kicking myself now though, for not purchasing this thing. I mean... it's.... it's just amazing. What on earth is going on?? Who is that kid? Who are those pervy rabbits??

Impending Vacation!

It's not really a secret: I miss New York. That's why this weekend I'm going back for a third time since moving to NW Louisiana. I'm super psyched.... even if it's wintertime. I survived winters up there! I can make it! And as long as there's no gross, brown slush on the ground, my shoes will make it too.

I'm quickly unloading a few things into my etsy shop that I've been meaning to get to, before I got busy with commissions. I'm only taking the time just now to type this up because my head is covered in red dye and I'm trying to be as still as possible.

Oh! Right, and speaking of New York-- I'm going to go to the Brooklyn Flea! Twice, if I can help it, as I'm going to be there two weekends. I'd kill to have a table there. In a figurative sense, at least. Prior to leaving the city, I never could, because I had a day job that would interfere with weekends. It also prevented me from visiting. But I'm gonna hit it hard on this trip! I'm psyched.

I'm a fan of Claudia Pearson's blog, so it'd be neat to see if she happens to be there any of the days I go.

I quite like her tea towels.

random photo

About 3 years ago, I was in an off-off-Broadway play (envision any old female prisoner exploitation movie. now replace the women with witches.), and we had signed up to march in the Mermaid Parade on Coney Island. Absolutely none of us had any idea of what to wear. We had no theme. Hence my origami cranes.

Another Treasury

So this is neat; I ended up in a second treasury... this time with two pieces. They included my current favorite watercolor mini I have, my little barn owl in a fez...



I really like the rest of the items they picked too. My owl and chipmunk are in great company... I freaking love this plate:

Aha! That cute lil' taco I'd put up on Etsy--that subsequently was inserted into a treasury-- just sold! Coincidence? Or is it just a case of someone plainly and purely loving the hell out of some tacos?

SUPER

So, depending on your sensibilities, you may or may not share my excitement over the upcoming film release 'SUPER', by the amazing James Gunn. Do you cover your eyes when something icky is on the screen? Do you plug your ears, screaming "la la la" when somebody drops an F-bomb? You may not want to watch the following clip.

No, seriously, it's NSFW:

FUN FACT: that girl standing behind Rainn Wilson at :09? That's ME!

Okay, so anyway, that's a clip of 'SUPER'. It's the tale of Frank D'Arbo, a sadsack short order cook whose wife leaves him for a drug dealer. In Frank's warped, skewed sense of reality, a Christian comic book hero appears to him and convinces him to become a superhero himself, in order to win her back. And a LOT of violence ensues. And NO. It is NOTHING like 'Kick-Ass'.

In late 2009, James Gunn and his crew came to town to film this. And I sort of fell in with them, getting my artwork into the film. Frank likes to busy himself doodling important events in his life, and I managed to pick up a gig creating these drawings. I had to force myself to draw badly, which was sort of inexplicably exhausting. But the pay-off is going to be huge, when I can go sit down in a theater and watch the film. There's at least one scene where most of my drawings are on display, and I had the privilege of going to set and watching them film that day. Before settling in to draw over 200 or so of these pictures, I read the script. I said at the end, that I would preemptively just call 'SUPER' my favorite film of "whatever year this comes out". The script is F'ed up. But it has heart-- it's moving. And I can attest to watching Rainn Wilson act in a certain scene that he's really just great.

The movie isn't for everyone. I'm not gonna let my mom see it. Hell, even the clip above is almost too risque for some, but this is something I'm eager to see, and proud of. I didn't get a lot accomplished in 2009, or even 2010, but this kind of is my crowning achievement for that time. Even if it is a little bloody.

Etsy Treasury Time

It turns out I've been featured in a cute little watercolor treasury.... My 'Taco = Love' mini was included.

My thanks to Etsian moonstr!