7seventeen Gallery.

2011-10-29T17:19:00.001-05:00

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

2011-03-08T18:15:00.009-05:00

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

2011-03-08T01:14:00.003-05:00

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

2011-03-08T01:03:00.007-05:00

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!

2011-02-17T18:44:00.004-05:00

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.

Process Photos - Binkus.

2011-02-17T00:50:00.011-05:00

So I never really talked about Binkus here.

Long story short, basically, I decided I wanted to design a toy. Initially this was just a character design I came up with for the heck of it. And then I thought about bringing it to 3D, tangible form. My boyfriend and I exhibit at San Diego Comic Con every year with his publishing company Art Squared Publishing, and in addition to his books and caricatures, I also sell original artwork. But I've been wanting to branch out. I can't sculpt, so I enlisted him to sculpt a maquette out of Sculpey.

With the advice and assistance of a friend with knowledge of this stuff, we acquired some poly resin and silicone, and set about pouring a silicone mold around the clay maquette...

...and once that had hardened and cooled, and Binkus was cut from it, we ended up with a two-part mold. In that, we poured the poly resin mixture, and let that cure for a few minutes, then carefully pry it apart.

And voila! A perfectly snow white, virginal Binkus. The weird protrusions on his butt are from the airholes you must cut out of the silicone so when you pour in the resin, any bubbles will rise and not be anywhere visible on your toy. They were a little too-hastily cut, so they look a little weird... those get dremeled off. Then it was time for the paint job.

We tried out a few different shades for his belly before settling on a more grayish yellow. We eventually went to SDCC with 26, I think? We almost sold out of the painted ones, though the unpainted ones were also popular. Sometimes people like to customize their art toys. We've been promising to do a second run of Binkus, with a color variation, but a move and lots of other little blips on the radar have made that difficult. Our studio has finally been cleared out enough of junk though, that he'll be back in production very soon. And just in time too; I have plans for not just those color variations of Binkus, but a new pose, and an all new toy planned to be done by summertime. You can't just show up to these comic cons with nothing up your sleeve.

random photo

2011-02-16T01:46:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-10T18:58:00.006-05:00

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:

2011-02-08T22:22:00.002-05:00

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

2011-02-04T20:01:00.000-05:00

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

2011-02-01T01:56:00.001-05:00

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

My thanks to Etsian moonstr!

The Maker's Fair

2010-11-11T00:52:00.007-05:00

I couldn't believe it approached without my knowing, but Halloween Weekend was the first weekend of the first annual 'Maker's Fair' here in Shreveport! I'd been lamenting the lack of a crafty community and events since moving here, and this just snuck up on me. I found out after reading some tweets by a friend who would be selling gumbo. It was too late to participate that weekend but the lovely Ms Dahm found space for me at the last minute for the second weekend. I borrowed a tiny table from my boyfriend's studio, and set up. I didn't even have time to get any prints; I just had originals! I literally had about 48 minutes to get things together by the time I heard back that there was availability. That sort of last minute panic is.... well, kind of fun. In a sick way.

I didn't get any good shots of the table, because my battery managed to die the moment I whipped it out to take a photo of my handiwork. But I did take a single photo of one of the paintings the day before. Yeah. Seriously, just the one.

what can i say? llamas are the next big animal. move over, owl.

I did pretty well, and from the looks of it, so did most of the other sellers. Shreveport and its outlying areas have more crafters than I would've expected; there were knitters, weavers, screenprinters, toy makers, sculptors... no one did exactly the same thing as anyone else, and that was fun. Now to get this thing to happen on a more regular basis than annually.

Pinklight Revisited

2010-09-14T20:17:00.002-05:00

Old news, but I like this random photo from the Pinklight Bazaar in June-- I think I was contemplating the neon sign overhead crashing down on top of me and the next vendor.

OH. And hey, check out this video that was produced about Round 5... Super cute. Unless you hate Cyndi Lauper.

Pinklight Bazaar from Matt Morris on Vimeo.

Oh, Pinklight!

2010-06-14T15:23:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday was Round 5 of the Pinklight Bazaar in Orlando, and the third one I've participated in.

I quite enjoyed the first two, but was not at all sure how things would go last week. My first stint at the Pinklight, on its inaugural run, was a wild success. I virtually sold out of everything. But, the second one, ehhh. Not so successful. I had a great time at each, and really, what wasn't sold then was sold at conventions or online. Truth is, you may know your audience, but you don't know if they will feel like spending money.

I am happy (and relieved) to report, however, that this third foray was a success! I did quite well, and had some super excellent cupcakes as well. All the vendors were interesting and talented; jewelry, handmade soaps, charms (that looked like cupcakes!), vintage clothing, ceramics, and so on. It was a great variety of stuff. I'm very appreciative to the ladies who run the event for having me.

me and my half-sold-out table

I was chagrined to realize after the fact that my business cards directed people either to my website, which has no splashpage or index at the moment, or to this blog... My real, new business cards are in limbo thanks to a magnificent screw-up by Overnight Prints, and so I had to just grab whatever I had left over from last year's cons. I felt quite annoyed when it dawned on me that people weren't going to the right location on the internet for me or anymore of my artwork. For right this instant, however, I'm updating the etsy, which you can see to your right... and if you've found me here from Pinklight, hey! Hi! Hello! There will be more here, and more on etsy, quite soon. Stay tuned!

2010-04-17T18:56:00.000-05:00

Not hibernating, in a ditch, or in outer space.... I've been working a LOT lately, animating on a project. No time for much else, even the internet....

The Forgotten Brush Giveaway!

2009-11-30T20:39:00.002-05:00

Laura over at the lovely Forgotten Brush is currently running a pretty swell little giveaway on her blog, and one of my mini paintings has been included!

A Little Windy is a 2.5x3 framed watercolor. Laura was looking for donors to her giveaway and I contacted her over the holiday. Definitely go check it--and her blog-- out!

Clicky here!

StudioHaus Blog

2009-11-11T18:35:00.000-05:00

Aha! The lovely StudioHaus has featured my little moth in a "vote for your favorites" entry. As usual, jewelry has the edge over art (it's all very nice jewelry though!) so I won't mind if you vote for me... but regardless I'm pleased to have the mention! Tis an honor to be nominated. ;)

StudioHaus' blog

NaNoDrawMo ?

2009-11-11T00:46:00.002-05:00

So, I'm going to assume you've heard of NaNoWriMo. Wait... you haven't? Oh, okay. So, NaNoWriMo is an annual "event" held every November. The idea is you write a novel in a single month. The goal is 50,000 words in 30 days. Every year I intend on doing it and every year I neglect to do so. I was all set to do it this year and.... pfffft! My computer died (more like is in a coma). I've just gotten access to a computer for the first time in over a week and instead of writing furiously, I've found myself distracted by something else--

NaNoDrawMo.

This is a new little endeavor by a group of people on flickr, to try to inspire people to create 50 individual drawings in 30 days. To some people, that's cake. To some, eh, not so much. But I'm intrigued and am aiming to participate. Here's what I've done so far, although in the future I'm going to (a. get more rendered and (b. incorporate some figural stuff and portraiture. The latter two I've not done so much of recently, and it's time to really draw my ass off.

This one, I've actually put on etsy...

Craftastic

2009-11-09T22:15:00.000-05:00

Arg! I just realized I'm missing the Bust Craftacular Holiday show in NYC this year. Last year I missed it due to Day Job but figured, "Oh, it's okay; I'll go next year..."

Ugh.

In time for Halloween, this blog is back from the dead.

2009-10-27T11:25:00.005-05:00

First of all, if you still remember this blog at all, my thanks. I dropped it like a bad habit back in August, mainly due to a 1500 mile move. That was a bit of a pain in the ol' ass.

But, I'm back, as of today. I've got some stuff I'm adding to 7seventeengallery.etsy.com; check it out!

Like I mentioned in my last posting way back when, the tiny food paintings were a hit, and so I've put a few up for sale.

Who doesn't like cupcakes?

Annnddd a tiny cheeseburger. With radioactive beams of light!

Most of the pieces I'm uploading this week are 2x3 or 2.5x3, and all original... though, not all food. :)

I've got the Cintiq, printer AND a phat scanner hooked up and so there should be some prints available either this weekend or next, after a few tweaks on some stuff. So I'm looking forward to that.

back

2009-08-06T23:45:00.002-05:00

So, I've been pretty busy. July was practically nothing but traveling; seeing friends over the 4th of July, visiting parents right after... my birthday came and went, and I had friends visiting, and almost immediately after they left, I went to Comic Con, to promote the book with Art Squared Publishing. I took along some mini paintings and did really well! Now it's August and... well, my summer really just flew past. I'm worn out.

Check out a few of the little things I had at SDCC...

This fox was a favorite of mine, yet he sat ignored for a day or two. Finally a guy came by and declared he'd give him a good home and off they went.

The donut and birdy painting is long gone to a home found off etsy, but I quited liked the donut itself. This is a tiny painting, in a 2x3 frame. I did a few little food paintings, and found them to be quite popular! The cheeseburger was also a fave.

One guy took a look at the donut and the burgers and such and asked me to do a commission! He apparently loves cheesecake, and asked me to paint a tiny cheesecake, so he'd bring it back to show his girlfriend as a gag. I guess she teases him about the cheesecake obsession.

Maybe that's my new niche; making tiny paintings of food.

2009-06-29T23:21:00.004-05:00

I wish I could be buried beneath a mountain of salt and vinegar chips right now, and then just eat my way out of it. I always go through these food phases, where I can't get enough of one thing for a month or so, and then I get tired of it and move on. Although, I haven't been able to kick this chip habit, and it's been about 3 months now.

Like, if it wasn't crazy, I'd go up the street to the convenience store right now at 12:20am just to get a bag. But it is a bit crazy, and so I won't.

2009-06-22T23:54:00.003-05:00

Just added a couple of the originals left over from MoCCA to my etsy.

Meet My Robot Parrot

If you ask her, Victoria is certainly due for her moment to shine amongst her high societal social circles. And now, thanks to a certain mad scientist whose services she sought out, her very own robot parrot will be sure to grab her some attention at the next cotillion. That Margorie and her silly talking dog won't know what hit them.

Bird. Donut. Birdnut.
Few things are grander to a small bluebird than the prospect of devouring an entire strawberry frosted donut. Once the initial confusion wears off.

Bags, bags, where to get bags...

2009-06-17T09:58:00.002-05:00

I need some bags done up before I go out to San Diego for Comic Con.... enough people come to the tables and buy something and then look around haplessly for a bag to put their item in, that I need to do something. I wonder where I can get some with a logo printed, cheap. Or maybe the way to go is just get some plain bags, and then have stickers printed and slap 'em on the bag?

Stuff to ponder.

etsy etsy etsy

2009-06-15T20:20:00.005-05:00

Added this to etsy the other day; all the little robots were popular at TCAF and MoCCA.... these are prints up on etsy; I actually did the original while sitting around at TCAF last month.

Yeti Shirt from Squid Fire

2009-06-12T00:31:00.003-05:00

I got the cutest shirt at MoCCA last weekend....

Agh, so cute. The company is called Squid Fire. Stuff seems to be on sale, so go check it out; I love their designs.

word.

MoCCA

2009-06-09T23:54:00.001-05:00

Well, I officially hate my camera. That's what I learned at MoCCA.

My scanner completely and ultimately pooped out on me, and so I wasn't scanning pieces as they were finished, and being that I have a craptastic little Sony point and shoot, I didn't really get any snaps of them at home. It occurred to me once the pieces actually started selling that I didn't have record of them. Duh.

So, utilizing the awful lighting in the Armory, I took some blurry photos of the table.

Not many really turned out too well. Bah.

In this one, I put little asterisks (...which you can't actually see unless you click on the image. ha.) on the ones that I still have, and didn't sell. I actually brought even more in on Sunday, and sold out of all the new items. So out of the 20 or so that I made, the ones you see with the asterisks are all that's left, and going onto etsy in the next day or so.

And quite frankly? I can't decide whether to be upset or glad that this one didn't sell. It's my favorite one. I did it at TCAF and it didn't sell there either. Seriously, people; it's a bird and a donut. How can you turn your back on a bird and a donut? I will probably make a print of this just to have for myself in the event that the original sells either via the blog or etsy.

This was something else I liked, and it sold pretty much right off the bat. A guy pointed at it, and asked his friend if someone would like it, and the friend was like, "If you don't get it for her, I'm going to get it". So that was pretty cool.

The Armory was hotter Sunday than it was Saturday, I think, and a prolonged lunch up the street was most welcome. I then came back and melted awhile. I didn't really get to walk around like I promised myself, except to buy Meredith Gran's excellent third volume of Octopus Pie.

All in all, MoCCA was a fair success. I am looking forward to Comic Con in San Diego, though I know I'll have the opposite issue with the temperature; I will freeze my butt off and run outside for brief moments where I can sit in the sunshine... and watch dudes joust on the terrace.

Ha, ha.

2009-05-27T09:17:00.003-05:00

Reader AC posted a comment telling me how I've been mistaken for Jan Op De Beeck!

It's at this link...

It's just a link back to this blog with the title "Jan Op De Beeck makes the trek from New York with ex-pat Rina Piccolo". It's kinda funny-- Do I look like a Jan? I suppose people are thinking it's a feminine Jan, like, short for Janet. But It's Yahn. Jan is a very well-known male caricarurist and illustrator in Belgium. I'm kinda amused. Maybe I should have my actual name on the blog somewhere, eh?

2009-05-18T22:33:00.001-05:00

I'm perplexed by how chilly it was in New York today. It'll apparently be back up to 80 on Thursday, which is probably exactly what will make me sick in the next few days.

TCAF- a recap

2009-05-14T23:46:00.000-05:00

So this is how it went down: 9am, I piled into a van with fellow artists Joe Bluhm, Brendan Burford, and Rina Piccolo, and we drove a million hours and crossed the border into exotic Canada. I experienced Tim Hortons. I say "experienced" because all of my Canadian friends have waxed poetic about it for so long. My experience was mundane, though tasty.

It occurred to me upon arriving that, oh shit, I didn't have business cards. Cue hurriedly throwing something together on a laptop and then running a thumb drive to the least helpful printers in North America. But whatevs, I ended up with cards.

Essentially, I was there to sign copies of 'Famous Corpses', but I also--at the last minute-- brought some mini pieces of artwork, which sold very well, considering I really didn't bring enough, and particularly didn't bring enough robot pieces, because as we all know: People love robots.

No matter! I'm going to be completely prepared for MoCCA, which is creeping up on me.

At any rate, I had a lot of fun in Toronto, met some fab people, and saw a good number of things. I just wish I'd been able to buy more books-- I did manage to pick up Kate Beaton' book, which I heard sold out. I believe she should have more at MoCCA, for anyone who may be there. It's totally worth getting.

Shock of the Week

2009-05-05T13:13:00.002-05:00

I have watched 'Veronica Mars'. Some of you may have as well.

But no one told me that this guy:

Was this kid!

HE WAS IN KAZAAM THE SHAQUILLE O'NEILL RAPPING GENIE MOVIE WTF

Fun Fact: I used to work out at the same gym in Orlando as Shaq and he talked to me a few times, and (a. I impressed him with my prowess at the arc trainer and the stair mill and (b. he offered to give me a ride on his motorcycle

Lauren Gray's Pyrography

2009-04-29T19:40:00.002-05:00

Um, so... I just came across this blog recently, and took a good look at it just now. Her work is exquisite! I am so impressed by her choice of tool... she's using a woodburner! Look at this! It's so great!

Something up my sleeve!

2009-04-28T00:16:00.002-05:00

...It's my arm.

GET IT?

Ugh, sorry. I'm sleepy, a wee bit warmed by shiraz, and bored. No, what I mean to say is, I'm working on stuff. Diligently. For real. Again. It will BLOW YOUR MIND.

Or not.

Has the weather been amazing for everyone else? It's been glorious here in NYC! And of course, I've had to work, and miss it. I've stared longingly out of windows, but not been able to been in it. Oh bother.

TCAF 2009

2009-04-23T23:30:00.001-05:00

Now that I've remembered there's an internet to be on, let me take a moment to say that the answer to your burning question is that yes, I'm going to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. Art Squared will be at a table (most likely dominated by a banner featuring George Costanza's giant head, as seen on Rachel Maddow (about 18 seconds into this clip) and I'll be sitting there. If someone wants a book, I'm there. If someone wants to steal my chair so they can get drawn by Joe Bluhm, well, I'll be... right over there.

At any rate, WOW! Exotic Canada! I've never been! I one time went to the Canada Pavillion in Epcot. The educational video I watched tried to tell me that everyone in Canada ice skates, and is either a fisherman, a dog sledder, or a cowboy. Scott Pilgrim tells me everyone is a cartoon, and when you fight people, coins appear from the sky. So I don't know who to believe.

Coraline

2009-03-09T15:12:00.004-05:00

I finally saw 'Coraline'! I waited much too long; it's been out for a month already. It was, to put it succinctly: rad. The design was great, the stop motion was great, the voice acting was actually pretty great. The British comedy team French & Saunders, Ian McShane, and John Hodgman did excellent jobs. And freaking Keith David as a cat? I was a bit "meh" when I first saw Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher on the cast list, but to be honest, they each did pretty good jobs. I just don't think of their voices as interesting or distinctive. And I'm coming off the horror of listening to Miley Cyrus' voice in 'Bolt', a perfect example of an actor being cast just because of her contract with a studio, not because of any discernible voice talent. She sounds like a 45 year old smoker.

But Dakota Fanning was engaging and likeable, making her Coraline not at all cloying or awkward sounding. I was impressed, and that had been really my only misgiving. Even if her performance had been lacking, the design and animation would have distracted me.

Now, to see 'Watchmen', which I fear will invariably disappoint. Oh well. Fingers crossed.

roughage

2009-03-08T22:23:00.004-05:00

So, these are just a few roughs from when I was dabbling with some character design for a studio's pitch.

Draw....ing....gg.....

2009-02-14T22:59:00.002-05:00

I'm currently working on a character design project. On spec. What that means is I'm working for free, unless the project gets pitched and bought, and in that case, I get paid. It's okay; I know the people and trust them and they're an actual, reputable studio. Just with this economic freefall, who's got money to pay anyone anything*?

But right now, my hand is just about to fall off. I'm gonna take a break and watch Alec Baldwin on SNL.

*according to all the 'unpaid intern' BS ads on craigslist.... no one....

New York Comic Con '09!

2009-02-11T14:52:00.002-05:00

Funtimes! Here are some pictures from this weekend.

I was there with the Art Squared table to sell 'Famous Corpses', the book I wrote...

See? I'm giving a thumbs-up! Come on by!

And, in terms of "Famous People I geeked out on", I met '30 Rock's Scott Adsit (pete hornberger)

and!

Joss Whedon!

Adsit was super nice and Whedon was being mobbed, being the most conspicuous guy on the convention floor, but he was still accomodating and friendly. So that was fun.

I walked around only a little bit, just enough to stop by my friend Lar's booth where he was selling his books for Blind Ferret Entertainment, and by the OniPress booth to grab the new Scott Pilgrim. It was fun!

New York Comic Con

2009-02-05T22:28:00.004-05:00

SO, that's happening this weekend. I'm gonna be sitting at the Art Squared Publishing table, signing copies of Famous Corpses. You know. Just a lil' book I kinda wrote. Nothin' big.

That'll be kinda fun; I did some signings at an art convention in the fall, which was.... to be honest, weird! I haven't signed a book since the senior year yearbook. Not that I'm the only one there; I'm gonna slip away and go see potentially awesomer stuff, like um, just the brand new Scott Pilgrim!

Yeaaaaah!

RockLove.etsy.com

2009-02-01T23:22:00.002-05:00

Oh, I never actually mentioned this buttttt for Christmas I received this:

It's a totally adorable necklace from the awesome RockLove's etsy shop! My boyfriend surprised me after spotting it in an earlier post. I hate that I forgot but I wanted to mention it; she's a really nice gal and the shop is great, so be sure to check her out!

2009-01-28T15:12:00.001-05:00

I was pretty excited about all the snow, until I took my dog out and discovered it had all melted already and the sidewalks were rivers.

Happy 2009 or whatever

2009-01-02T16:10:00.004-05:00

I've been away a bit.

I was in Mississippi for Christmas with my family, and then flew back to NYC, and then had to drive to Pennsylvania for a second Christmas. I've been back in New York this week, but I've been in some sort of time warp. I can't account for any single minute of my week outside of the New Year's Eve Party and our viewing of 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' on the 30th (I give it a solid B-- it was neither magnificent nor bland).

I guess this is because I no longer have The Day Job. That was a decision I made myself; I was monumentally unhappy and my boss' boss made some decisions I didn't agree with and that also really cramped my style. Eh, I won't get into it. Really, the issue is that retail is not my calling and I got forced into a corner where I had to make a decision one way or the other. And now I'm here, in my apartment with time passing simultaneously very slow, and very fast.

It's okay, to a point; I am going to make going to the gym my new job. Also, you know, art. And Craigslist searching. No more retail though!

Project Feeling Gross At Christmas

2008-12-24T16:36:00.003-05:00

Ugh. The weather and temperature fluctuations have left me with a cold, or sinus infection. First it was warm and muggy, then freezing, then warm, then cold, and now it's 80* outside. Are you kidding me? No wonder I feel awful. I had a comically horrendous time trying to acquire Claritin D last night at the pharmacy, and that's kinda sorta helped out. But I definitely don't feel up to doing anything but lazing around.

I did stay up last night and attempted to figure out this Project Wonderful thing. I'm several months late to the party, I know, but it's kind of bewildering to me. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it, but at the present, I just don't see exactly how it's going to work for me. Eh. We'll see.

I'm sure to be bored later so I won't wish anyone a Merry Christmas, not yet.

2008-12-22T21:43:00.001-05:00

Gah, what is in the AIR?? I can't stop sneezing...

2008-12-21T21:35:00.002-05:00

Ah.

Well, here's the state of the union.

I'm at home, visiting my parents. My boyfriend tagged along for an early Christmas, and then flew back to NYC this afternoon so that he would have time to head out to Pennsylvania to visit his family for real Christmas.

It's been fun; he's never been to the real, Deep South before. We met in Florida, and though it is well below the Mason-Dixon Line, it is absolutely not the South. Okay, okay; the panhandle... that counts. But we were in Orlando. Not the South.

He enjoyed it though! So that's a relief. We ate far, far too much, of course. Tomorrow I'm gonna hit the local gym up for a guest pass so that maybe I can burn off a slice or two of pie before the Big Show on Christmas Day. And maybe now I can sit down and get some drawing done. I thought to bring supplies and my camera, but I don't know if I have the cord to connect the camera to the computer. Gah. So maybe you have to wait until the 27th or so to see anything.

But here are a few photos of stuff that's not art, but almost as good!

My Christmas tree

My Christmas dog

2008-12-20T18:39:00.001-05:00

Merry Almost Christmas.

Yes.

2008-12-12T14:19:00.002-05:00

Here's a shot or two from a couple of weeks ago, when I went upstate with some friends, to stay at their family's condo.

Pretty different from NYC.

Actually though, it reminded me a tiny bit of Brooklyn! I quipped that Hudson, NY seems to be the place you retreat to when you're tired of dealing with NYC. It was very quaint. The antique stores, however, seemed to still harbor NYC prices...

I got an illustration commission sent to me on myspace. I better hurry on it, before I go out of town on the 17th.

PS: Christmas shopping is 95% complete!

2008-12-12T00:21:00.001-05:00

Today was a rainy mess in New York City.

And of course I had to go run errands in Manhattan, instead of staying cozy at home with my Christmas tree and dog. Gross.

But it's over now! And I am home, cozy, with my Christmas tree and dog.

just fyi:

2008-12-06T15:02:00.002-05:00

Um, also, sort of in the spirit of last night's rant on Sally... I also don't like my ear ache NOR do I like salespeople who walk around their stores singing along with Christmas music. I really, really don't like those things. :P

A not so positive review masquerading as a positive one.

2008-12-06T00:25:00.003-05:00

Don't get me wrong: I like 'When Harry Met Sally'. It is, as a friend described long ago in college, a very "comfortable" movie. You can put it on and either watch it or have it on in the background while you work or clean or whatever.

But seriously? Sally?

Is the most annoying individual ever. I don't know if we were supposed to fall in love with her big dewy eyes or what, but it didn't work. Harry was kind of obnoxious-- perhaps that is why we're supposed to believe they're meant for one another-- but it didn't compare to Sally. She's shrill, somewhat insecure... Hell, I identify more with Harry than I ever could to her. Blah.

Despite that, yeah, I like the movie. Just not Sally. Poor Harry. If they're still married he's probably settled into glum resignation that for the rest of his life he's going to listen to her simpering.

Despair

2008-12-03T13:51:00.003-05:00

I had a depressing encounter with a berry muffin today. Look, I usually opt for oatmeal in the mornings, or something with some form of protein, such as an egg on toast. But I was in a rush to the Day Job, and so while getting coffee I grabbed a berry muffin. I usually don't eat muffins, and while there are many great muffins in the world, I just tend to have bad luck with them. They're either too bland, or too dense, or too dry. I have, on occasion, had magnificent muffins, but they are few and far between. So I knew I was taking my chances with this muffin.

And, sadly, this muffin turned out to be a disappointment-- and deceptive! All the berries were on the top. The rest of it was basically yellow cake mix. I was betrayed, annoyed, and ultimately hungry.

I'm now in the basement at the Day Job unhappily listening to the stock guy's screamo on his ipod speakers. Running through my mind are all of the art supplies I need to pick up, and the annoyance that there's no art supply store around here. At all. In New York City. Where art happens. The Upper East Side, save for the various museums and occasional 'Gossip Girl' is essentially devoid of any type of culture beyond copying your rich neighbor's style, so I guess that makes sense.

Boo!

sssssloow.

2008-12-02T09:32:00.004-05:00

I swear-- the computer at the Day Job is the slowest thing I've ever had the displeasure to use. It's a toss-up what's worst, the decrepit computer itself or the internet connection. I just pop on in the mornings to check emails and the blog and what not, what usually takes 3 or 5 minutes at home, and instead I'm mired down for what feels like hourssssss.

Today's already a long day. I've already been pushed--literally--enough on the subway to start yelling obscenities before 9am. That's just a wee bit early for me.

2008-12-02T00:11:00.003-05:00

I had a lunch date today! My friend recently started working in the Flatiron Building, and so he and I met up for lunch in Madison Square Park. It was neat. I felt like one of the cool movie characters I'd watch as a kid who'd randomly choose relatively iconic Manhattan settings for benign chit-chat or coffee or lunch. The cinematographer would frame everything just so you could see the Chrysler Building/Brooklyn Bridge/Empire State Building, etc. In today's scene, depending on where the camera was, you'd have gotten sweet shots of us framed against either the Empire State Building OR the Flatiron Building. We were eating salads. Very glamorous.

Afterward, I went on a mostly futile trip to seek out Christmas presents. My dad is proving impossible to shop for. The Day Job has afforded me an excellent discount for gifts for my mom and aunt, but that's about it in terms of ease in my Christmas shopping.

I also had hoped to find my power cord for my scanner tonight-- several of the photos I took of stuff I intended to list on etsy came out fuzzy! But I can't find the damn cord. And it doesn't work wirelessly or through the power of my mind, so I'm out of luck for the time being. Bah.

Here's one of the fuzzy photos in question, along with a photo with an unfortunate glare.

^The paint on his tail was acrylic and so it caught a glare from the flash. Lame. Boo. Hiss.

I'll try to correct this after work tomorrow; maybe by then I'll have located that cord!

2008-12-01T11:53:00.001-05:00

It was strangely hard to drag myself to bed last night, and even harder to wake up today.

...At least I did it before afternoon officially settled in.

etsy stuffs

2008-12-01T01:17:00.002-05:00

Just added tonight! More tomorrow. I'm spacing it out. It's, what, 1:18am? Yeah, it's bedtime for Bonzo tonight.

Check out my etsy store here

2008-12-01T00:22:00.002-05:00

Posting new art on etsy didn't happen on Thanksgiving. A lot of pie did instead.

So... that's why I'm posting stuff tonight!

T~Giving

2008-11-26T14:08:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving, I'm adding some stuff to etsy! FOR REAL.

I had some commissions that I got busy on. They came out of nowhere really, so that was a nice surprise, and nice bonus Christmas shopping $$. Ka-ching!

I will offer free gift wrapping and little freebies with prints and originals starting tomorrow, so that will be fun. It's strange to me how I manage to do better business via myspace. My mom has become an ambassador as well-- after I did the caricatures of her boss and his family, all the people in that department have been asking for samples of my work. I've sold a few pieces that were originally intended for etsy to her colleagues.

Soooo... Thanksgiving.

What the hell are people gonna do? I'm not going home... I'm not going to the boyfriend's... I will venture to bake a pie, though my oven has no temperature control! I put a little thermometer in it, but the best way I can figure to decrease temperature is just to open the door. This may mean disaster for any baking endeavours but I'm going to at least try. We'll probably go to a restaurant for dinner or just have something boring. NOT about to attempt a turkey or cornbread dressing (in the south, we don't call it stuffing-- and it doesn't go inside the turkey either!) with the oven being such a reject loser. I will take pictures of our uneventful day and perhaps of the triumph or misery of the pumpkin pie.

Gobble Gobble!

2008-11-25T09:35:00.001-05:00

Go away, rain!

I don't like having to run in my rainboots.

Me.

2008-11-22T13:30:00.003-05:00

Me.

Neighborhood.

PS It's really cold outside.

tsk tsk

2008-11-22T13:26:00.001-05:00

chewww

--

I've lost the Photoshop installation disc that Joe gave me. WTF. How am I so scattered lately? I keep hitting these roadblocks on the way to completing certain things, and those roadblocks are created entirely by my own absent-mindedness! Is it really just all downhill from here? Oy.

I did drink some hot chocolate today though. So that's a positive.

Inspiration Wall, anyone?

2008-11-13T23:44:00.004-05:00

I have a blank space above my desk, where an Inspiration Wall should be.

It is something that is highly touted by artists and illustrators I know, people who really know what they're talking about. I'm so easily scattered and distracted with this recent move that I just haven't gotten around to piecing it together. Let's see.

I do, at least, have an Inspiration Shelf on my bookcase nearby. So maybe it will take a bit of work--let's see, I'd have to turn 90°, roll the chair to the left about... oh... four inches, and extend my arm. Voila, I have a book. That's a minimal amount of effort, luckily.

So this is what I have there:

2 books by Claire Wendling

She's an amazing illustrator from France. Her book Drawers 2.0 is something I have to flip through every few weeks. I snagged Aphrodite off ebay not too long ago for a mere $14 and was thrilled-- it's in French but who cares; I got it for the art.

Belladonne, illustrated by Pierre Alary is another awesome find that I can't read, but will instead look at.

That's a start, mmmm?

Oh, wait. No Inspiration Wall would be complete without animated gifs from my favorite shows. I mean, really. Come on.

Strangers With Candy

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Arrested Development

When I find an animated gif for Night Court, I will be beyond elated.

Treasury!

2008-11-11T18:40:00.003-05:00

Oh snap, I'm in a treasury!

NORMandLOU on etsy included 'Poise' in their gorgeous grey-themed treasury. I'm so psyched; the other stuff in it is so pretty, and so I feel kinda honored. I THINK it's the first one I've been in... although a nagging voice in the back of my head is saying that another piece was in somebody's treasury a couple months back. I am, of course, losing my short-term memory, so who knows. Exciting!

It's one of the original pages out of my Moleskine sketchbook, done in Prismacolor. I don't hate it. :)

YES WE... oh, you know.

2008-11-05T00:55:00.001-05:00

I'd be out partying myself, if I didn't have an early flight in the morning. :)

I'm so proud. And I don't mind waking up at 6am today.

it came!

2008-11-04T09:45:00.002-05:00

Ack!

I was extremely psyched to find a tiny package waiting for me when I got home yesterday! My necklace came!

It is, of course, the necklace I mentioned purchasing before from luxedeluxe.etsy. I was shocked at how fast the post between here and Edinburgh is! It took just a weekend.

Anyway, it's super pretty in person. I'm pretty happy because it came just in time to be worn at an awards banquet for the NCN in Raleigh this weekend. I've already gotten compliments, and I've just been up and active for like, 2 hours.

I highly recommend checking her shop out; the stuff is all beautiful. I need to keep her in mind when I'm doing Christmas shopping.

PS go vote! and get your free Starbucks coffee!!

Voting Blues

2008-11-03T13:31:00.001-05:00

The sick realization that I will probably have to wake up before 6am in order to have any time at all to vote tomorrow just dawned on me.

Excuse me please; I believe I may have to go barf.

Seriously, the sun isn't even going to be up. I value my REM cycles, you see.

I need this.

2008-11-01T21:31:00.001-05:00

I need it so bad.

From RockLove's etsy shop.

OF COURSE.

2008-11-01T20:58:00.004-05:00

Big ups to "Natally" at Flickr; after an impassioned plea, she did provide me with the Yahoo ID. It is simply beyond me how I forgot it. Twice.

Man.

Currently, I'm watching Season 3 of 'Scrubs' on DVD... it's a great season of a formerly great show. I just don't know what happened with it, but it definitely went downhill.

Maybe I should be doing something important but... Day Job sorta sucked. Sorta tired. So I'm gonna just sorta sit here.

I lose.

2008-10-30T18:10:00.002-05:00

I have once again forgotten my Yahoo ID and can't log into flickr.

Maybe they'll help me out! Maybe I'll tattoo my ID onto my hand....

Just bought:

2008-10-30T08:20:00.003-05:00

Well, technically I purchased it almost a week ago, but it took Paypal this long for the dang money to come in (forgot i'd emptied the account and had to transfer from my bank...)

Isn't it gorgeous? It's out of luxedeluxe's etsy shop.

I had two of her items favorited for awhile as I debated which to get. I even had to call in the calvary and have people help me decide. Ultimately I may even go back and buy the second one if she doesn't sell out. Way to go, me!

Yawn

2008-10-17T07:16:00.001-05:00

Not sleeping as much as one ought to be lately.

Boo to that, eh?

In other news, fall has arrived. Woo to that.

2008-09-16T21:30:00.003-05:00

I blow myself away, I really do.

For months-- MONTHS!-- I couldn't log into Flickr. I couldn't think of the yahoo ID I had especially created for the etsy/art-related pictures. I tried so many combinations of my names and other usernames.... nothing. Nada. Zilch. I felt like an idiot, and gave up.

Tonight on a whim, I logged into one of my gmail accounts and happened to do a search for "yahoo", and lo and behold, I found the notification from yahoo that I had used this gmail account as a secondary email. In it was the user name, and voila, I could log into Flickr. It was, perhaps, the easiest solution, and I still had a gigantic brain fart and didn't think to do it. All summer.

Oh well.

Anyway, I finally logged in and posted a couple of pics I'd been meaning to get around to posting in there-- stuff I'd added on etsy already.

I'm kind of getting excited about my upcoming projects, and will be adding them to flickr accordingly, at least now that I can log in. Yeesh. And here it is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7seventeengallery/

I'm just suuuuch a doofus.

Detox

2008-09-15T23:12:00.003-05:00

Gah, seriously; I feel like I just need to give myself a good wringing out. Trying to keep up with my friends is tiring. On top of that, I was sick recently, and out of town, and not feeling like hitting the gym. As a result, I just feel like I need to detox, just... just really cleanse the ol' system. Drink lots of water. Wheatgrass. Stuff like that.

Well.

Maybe not the wheatgrass.

I'm getting excited about Halloween looming on the horizon. I'm not really sure what I ought to be though. Never am. It's a major malfunction of mine; I get super psyched up about it and then don't have anything really worthwhile to wear. It's quite the bummer. Maybe I can circumvent the creative block this year and come up with something fabulous.

Although, my Mr. Orange costume of a few years back was quite the hit, to people who had at least seen 'Reservoir Dogs'...

Here's me and some Ghostbusters.

2008-09-14T21:49:00.004-05:00

Phew, I am beat.

One of my BFFs from college came to visit and the whole week's been a whirlwind. Last night he, his girlfriend, and myself just basically crashed after nonstop going-going-going, and got ourselves a bunch of imported beer at the fancy Whole Foods, and got some thai take-out and BAM! We had ourselves a night. We planted ourselves on my futon and just watched 'The Office' for hours. Then she and I forced my friend to watch our "fave rom-com", 'Love Actually'. It appeared he did not share our sentiments.

It was super fun.

Anyway, they flew out today, which means I'm going to get my bedroom/workspace back to myself. Granted, I'm a bit low on ink in the printer, but I'm looking forward to getting some work done this week.

Oh! Um, also, I found this seller on etsy, and I'm in love with her stuff. These things, I must have:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=15108050
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=14868530

I wish I could screenprint; I should look into the classes etsy labs offer...

And now, back to my dvd!

2008-09-09T08:29:00.002-05:00

I hate the post office. I hate flight delays. I hate colds.

Thatisall.

I write this, wearily, from the basement of Day Job, as I was recruited to show up at 8am to let in a maintenance guy to do... some...thing. Some things. I don't know what.

The good news is, I get to leave at 5pm so that I can finish installing Adobe on my laptop, so that I can do some digital tweaks to a couple of inked drawings. Yay, productivity! Although, I feel like I need a vacation. Never mind that I just took one. Kinda.

Yawn.

photo roll-out: San Diego

2008-08-26T08:42:00.005-05:00

I never really posted pics from the Comic Con in San Diego, so here they are. I didn't take enough pictures of the mayhem and geekery, mostly because I was too busy being frustrated by not being able to weave through the hoards of people (over 100,000 people went that weekend). Amazingly, I neglected to take photos of the very reason we were there, to sell Joe's book at his table. D'oh.

Impending Day Off

2008-08-26T08:38:00.003-05:00

I'm psyched.

It's not that I'm extremely overworked, I just find myself lately unable to switch off the ol' brain in order to fully relax when I do have time to myself. I know, I know, right?? The old cliched workaholic lament! But I'm not a workaholic. I just think too much. That can be as tiring as actually working, I find.

Anyways.

I'm off tomorrow! And though I just had a day off the other day, I'm extremely excited about this one. Why, I just recently got health insurance! I booked a doctor's appointment for a check-up, stat (this is perhaps the biggest reason outside of the fact that I have to pay bills and rent that I am suddenly a grown-up; I am supremely interested in medical appointments). Sometime either before or after that, I am going to laze about Gantry Plaza a bit, and then hopefully pick up my computer from the Geek Squad (finally) so that I can hook it up to the printer.

I've also been under the weather for a few days so this can give me a chance to recharge.

I've also got like 4 pages in the Moleskine to upload to etsy.

2008-08-24T22:31:00.002-05:00

I was at a party at a friend's in Brooklyn until 3am today. Then I had the Day Job. I would've done well to gone to bed at like, 8pm, but my neighborhood friends opted to have a bar-be-cue on their balcony! I was invited, and c'mon. You can't say no to a bar-be-cue. Now, as a result, I am damn near unconscious and delirious.

The burgers were good, though.

2008-08-23T15:57:00.002-05:00

Um, so yeah, Gantry Plaza is now my favorite place to go and laze about. To think! I was actually schlepping all the way in to Central Park to read/listen to ipod/lie comatose in the sun. It's a brilliant view of the Manhattan skyline (see the pic down below, framed by the gantries), and it's rather quiet, if not for the water lapping and the occasional helicopter. How awesome is it that I only just discover it a year after moving to Queens and a month before summer is dunzo? Not terribly.

Oh, also un-awesome is this news that New York is actually at a greater risk for a "substantial" earthquake than previously thought. WTF. That does it! Rent prices and now earthquakes!!? I'm going to California...oh, wait.

New. Actually New.

2008-08-23T00:41:00.004-05:00

Easily my most favorite thing I've done in the last little while.

What is it with me and antlers lately?

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14526915

I've also started posting the Moleskine sketchbook. Each page will be $18 or less, and each will be an actual original. I think it's fun. We'll see.

one ACEO left...

2008-08-22T22:10:00.002-05:00

The original sold 2 days ago, and an ACEO went last night.

One left in the etsy shop...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14335006

Artists.

2008-08-22T21:15:00.003-05:00

Artists, Schmartists. I'm not one of those people who's gonna just huff and puff and fill you full of hot air whilst name dropping the most recently hottt+ artist around. Some people feel a bit self-important, as though their blog is all about INFORMING THE PUBLIC. Nah. I won't do that. You've maybe heard of these people already; I'm not on the cutting edge, and I won't pretend to be informing anyone of anything. I'm just sayin'... these artists are dope.

James Jean (lolz of course, right?)
Process Recess 2
This book is fantastic. A friend gave it to me for my birthday-- I'm terrible at buying myself things I ought to have or want to have as an artist or whatever. I'm usually blowing it on sushi and coffee and bills. I was super thrilled to acquire this though, and I recommend it to anyone who happens to really, really enjoy gorgeous illustration. That sounds so lame. Heh.

Claire Wendling
Various books...
I found out about her a couple of years ago at the San Diego Comic Con, when I happened upon Stuart Ng's imported book store (an awesome resource for french artists, btw). Her work is amazing! It's so dynamic and I'm shocked more people don't know her (oh SNAP I just went and informed some of you... hypocrite!).

Jan Op De Beeck
Famous Corpses
This is an amazing caricature artist from Belgium. In 2005, he and some friends published a "celebrity roast", full of amazingly rendered caricatures by Jan along with funny, irreverent blurbs about each one. His website and sketchbook are amazing. This fall/winter, a newer version of 'Famous Corpses' is supposed to be out. Sweet.

Takashi Murakami
Murakami
One of Japan's most celebrated pop artists, you probably are maybe rolling your eyes at me right now ("james jean AND murakami? come oooon!"), because, yeah. Duh. But dude. I went and saw his major exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum last month. That. Is crazy. And it's awesome to see.

Craig Thompson
Blankets
omg. A graphic novel never broke my heart with such sweetness as 'Goodbye Chunky Rice' did in 2000. A friend showed it to me 8 years ago and I haven't stopped loving it. 'Blankets', which I read a few years later, managed to beat my heart back into submission again. Le Sigh.

Ross Campbell
Wet Moon
An amazing comic artist! I went to art school with this guy, and only knew him peripherally at the time... after graduation, friends would say, "You should really check out Ross' website..." and I was so gobsmacked (fun word of the day) over his clean lines and his incredible knack for expression in his girls' faces.

So. That's all I have for now. Just sayin'.

2008-08-22T08:11:00.000-05:00

I am a late adopter to the frozen yogurt fad that's had NYC in a choke hold since last summer but I will say this: Red Mango is pretty damn good. Better than Pinkberry! And granted, good is open to interpretation when we talk about Pinkberry. But it does have oddly and unsettling addictive properties. Last night I elected to try mochi and watermelon on my first Red Mango outing and I quite enjoyed the differing textures.

thatisall.

2008-08-20T22:16:00.004-05:00

Oooh!

2008-08-20T12:43:00.002-05:00

Two sales on etsy. Woot, woot.

FINALLY one of them was the adorable original I did for the Bee's Knees in March (and then left at home when i flew down for the actual event). I couldn't believe no one had grabbed it up before; it's my favorite, to be honest.

So that's exciting.

Also, note to self, never order from Tasty Thai. They are not Tasty, and their ethnicity is questionable.

Oh, honestly, you're gonna be like that?

2008-08-19T14:06:00.000-05:00

So.

My Day Job.

I refer to it, and don't really talk about it. I post here occasionally from there, mostly because my computer was indisposed at home. It's entirely possible that this blog can be monitored by Day Job's Corporate Offices. That's okay; I don't plan on saying anything terrible. And I'm on my lunch break as I type this, so. Yeah.

But really? The customers at Day Job are insufferable. I cannot fathom what these people must do each morning upon waking to put them into such demanding, horrible moods that they must come in here to take it out on us. I work in Manhattan. I work on the Upper East Side. People here, they're not used to being told "no". And let's be clear-- it's not my job to tell people "no". Unless, of course, they come in wanting--nay, demanding--something that either violates the company policy (which is put in place by people above me), or that we just don't have. As polite as one can be, in those cases, I tell them "no". And then! Oh, gosh, you'd think I'd just punched their child in the face and spat on their Fendi bag. All hell breaks loose.

I mean, look. I'm 29. I'm not the most adultest adult. I'm not a kid either. But these broads are pushing 70 a lot of times! You can't tell me they were all born into a life of priviledge; I'm sure some of them really worked hard to get to where they are, sitting on their giant bags of money. But along the way it seemed that they lost the ability or desire to interact with people at the ground level, still making their honest living. I'm just here to do a job. I enjoy it a lot of times, but largely, it's to make money, to pay bills, to eat. I'm just here to work. I want it to be pleasant. Everything would go a lot smoother for everyone, if people would just relax.

I want to shake some of these people and just be like, "YOU ARE AN ADULT". Unfortunately, just like it's not my job to say "no" all the time, it's not my job to help people grow the hell up.

tired, etsy, stuff

2008-08-16T19:28:00.003-05:00

Waking up at 6am for work is not awesome.

I nearly rolled over my poor mutt on my way to turn off the alarm. I got a foot to the face as a thank you.

Work kind of blew, but that was largely due to the waking up so early.

Now, I'm at home, and things are looking up, up, up!

I added new ACEOs to etsy. I'm out of Day Job early tomorrow so after my bike ride along the East River, I'm gonna go home and buckle down on some new work. I'm still woefully behind in posting some stuff.

Here's the new ACEOs

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14335006

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=14335276

Oh, so things that happened today...

2008-08-14T17:34:00.002-05:00

I went for a haircut and took a nice stroll up 5th Avenue in Brooklyn. Stopped in to some of my favorite shops. I always consider accosting the lovely proprietors about selling some of my stuff there-- cards, namely-- but always chicken out. It's easier when I know the people who run things.

But anyway, here are the places that I <3

Brooklyn Mercantile
I found an amazing oil diffuser there, in 'wasabi + mint' scent. I didn't purchase it and am kicking myself. After the move next month, maybe that'd be a better time to go grab it.

Scaredy Kat
A fun little store for cards and toys. I'm not a stationary afficianado per se, but it's chock full of pretty paper goodies.

Cog & Pearl
GORGEOUS. GORGEOUS stuff that I can't bring myself to buy. Or rather, I can't bring myself to do without rent or food in order to buy all the stuff I want there. The adorable handcrafted plush deer, for record, make my knees weak.

And then I went to Target. Where someone set off a smoke bomb. I got the best of both worlds.

Well.

2008-08-14T16:44:00.002-05:00

It's raining outside. I had planned on a bike ride, prior to the sun setting. Looks like I'm gonna have to.... take a raincheck. Bwa!

So, here's something that sucks-- I created a flickr account for my art. I then forgot the email address I created on Yahoo especially for it. I don't think there's anyway to recover it, or ha><0r the mainframe. I'm kinda pissed, especially since I saved it with my specific username. Gah.

Here's something that's awesome-- I have a computer! I have it hooked up to a printer! I will have prints made from that printer! Life is not all bad! Although I did lose everything I had worked on before with the old hard drive. But whatever. I'm just glad I'm able to start over, now that I'm given the proper tools.

briefest of all recaps

2008-08-07T07:54:00.001-05:00

Comic Con was great. I picked up some great things. I hung out with great people. Great.

My computer is still not in my possession. Not great.

When it rains..

2008-07-14T22:46:00.000-05:00

Annnnnnnnd my hard drive fails.

Fantastic!

Time, she does fly.

2008-07-03T07:55:00.000-05:00

What the....??

It's July, people.

It hardly seems possible. I think the problem here is my current day job. I changed jobs back in February due to some ridiculousness at my old place, and the new place I fell into... well... I suspect that it's a black hole. Time does funny things. I'm noticing that while I'm in here, it creeps by, slower than a snail. When I'm outside, time has been revving its engine the whole time and takes the break off so it suddenly accelerates and leaves me in the dust. I'm usually asleep or wishing I was asleep.

And suddenly, I find myself in July.

This is a big month-- last night was the opening of the Off-Broadway play I'm participating in (not so much acting as well, standing around).... tomorrow is the Fourth of July, which brings fireworks. Who can argue with fireworks? The 17th is my birthday (yays!), and the following week, I'm jetting off to San Diego for the Comic con! I will be helping man the table of an ~esteemed colleague~ but I will also have a tiny corner all to myself for the purposes of selling.

I'm gonna start posting the Critters finally in a few days, almost a month after they were promised! Dude, life. Oy.

Oh noes!

2008-06-16T08:12:00.000-05:00

The Critter Creation Extravaganza has been put on hold! I didn't anticipate a couple of things--
1. Working 40+ hours a week all of a sudden
2. Being exhausted after said work
3. Freelance pile-up that consumes what little energy and ability I have post-day job

Blah.

It's okay... I expect July to be a bit better. Well. Maybe not. But we'll see!!

Hot. With two T's. Hott.

2008-06-09T17:20:00.001-05:00

Good lord, have you been outside? I feel as though I'm going to melt all over Madison Avenue.

I was happy to have two days off in a row tomorrow, to run errands, but I really don't see myself venturing outside, and therefore away from my air conditioner.

Summer Series Madness!

2008-05-22T12:35:00.002-05:00

So this summer, I'm gonna start debuting a new series. Tis the 50 Days of Critters.

That's 50 brand new, original critters... an unusual little menagerie of suckers. I'm plowing through, and have gotten a good number already, but posted on the etsy forums asking for any suggestions! The deal is they're each unusual, unique... mostly hybrid animals. I asked for 8 suggestions and whoever comes up with something, I'm gonna draw it and post it, then send 'em the original.

June 1 I'm gonna start posting them-- here, and on my myspace, and each one will be up for sale on etsy. I'm selecting a number of them to run prints of, and will also sell the originals. The majority of the ones I've been working on are at least 5x7, so hey! A nice size! Yays!

Rainy Evening.

2008-05-16T21:47:00.000-05:00

In contrast, this was my commute last night. May's been rather rainy.

On the way home Tuesday--

2008-05-07T23:26:00.001-05:00

People used to try to convince me that the sunsets in Florida were unparalleled, but I dunno. There's a lot to be said for a man-made skyline, too.

<3

2008-05-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

Caricature, Schmaricature

2008-04-19T23:10:00.004-05:00

My mom's boss asked her to ask me to draw caricatures of his parents, and him and his wife. It's been almost two solid years since that was actually how I made my living (and honestly, I hated doing it for the most part-- which is due entirely to the work environment itself), so I was skeptical. But I think they turned out okay, and they all loved them. I think I've gotten myself suckered into more work as a caricature artist though!

Excuse the glare-- I didn't think to take pictures myself and had him do it after he'd already received them and had them framed.

Bees' Knees

2008-03-12T16:41:00.001-05:00

Just like last fall, I went down to Florida for another arts & crafty extravaganza at the excellent Redlight Redlight. I had a ton of fun, and saw a bunch of people, but I'm still kicking myself that I left the below picture in my apartment in New York:

Gah, I'm pissed. I feel like I woulda sold her. As it stands, she's available in my etsy shop. I'm gonna offer prints of it in addition to the original. But don't you just hate planning to do something specific and then to realize you forgot! D'oh!

But anyway, it was a good time. Here's the new proud owner of one of my robots:

etsy etsy etsy blog blog blog

2008-03-06T23:38:00.001-05:00

You know, whatever. A reminder, if you will.