New Love

I have some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that I have a new-found love in paper art. I mean, I have always been inspired by awesome folks like Megan Brain, Kevin Kidney, and Ben Butcher, but I haven't actually tried working with scissors and glue and construction paper since...4th grade? It has definitely been a while.

It all started as I was trying to prepare some things for Maker Fair. I had bought a few pretty lanterns and I wanted to make something neat with them. At first I tried painting on the glass, but that didn't work very well at all. Excited by the thought of trying something new, this is what happened:

The birdies from my new banner were good test subjects. And look how they glow in the dark!

So the bad news is this: In my attempt to learn how to create paper sculptures, I didn't leave time to make more than this one lantern before Maker Faire. While it is very tempting to take this one with me tomorrow, I think I will try to make a few more before officially presenting them to the world. I mean, in a "for sale" kinda way. I'm sure I will have more to show soon. And more paintings , too. I promise.

Lastly, I decided to try out this Twitter thing. Its all the rage, ya know? You can follow my adventures here. Have a wonderful weekend!

Up, Up and Away!

So, I saw this:


And then I was tempted to do this:



But then I decided that painting the picture was a safer choice. Much less chance that I would have my eyes clawed out by a certain orange cat who shall remain anonymous.

All joking aside, Up is absolutely wonderful. Congratulations to everyone at Pixar for doing such an amazing job! Go see it on Friday!

I know I have been slacking - I am trying to find the balance between work-work and personal-work (oh, and life, too) and I just haven't gotten it all figured out yet. The good news is that this weekend is all about getting ready for Maker Faire, so I should meet my 2 post quota for the first time in months! If you are in the Bay Area, you should stop by and say hello next weekend! After you go see Up, of course.

Quickie Sketch and Character Design!

A Saturday evening sketch for everyone out there. I saw a woman wearing a similar coat a few months ago, and I loved it because the ruffles in the back reminded me of flower petals.

In other news: Yours truly has an interview up on the Character Design blog! Woohoo! You should go check it out if you have the chance. Be sure to read some of the other incredible interviews as well. I am humbled to be in such good company :)

I will try to get something up tomorrow to make my quota for the week. Ta ta for now!

Busy Busy Bee

Image Copyright Huckleberry Toys

So here's the scoop:
For just over the last month, I have been toiling away on a personal project. I still haven't decided whether or not I will post that artwork on this blog, but for the time being I think I will keep it under wraps. The rest of my time has been spent working on a couple of freelance projects, and the image above is part of one of them. Yay for cherry blossoms!

Now that said personal project is completed, I should have time for more fun blog/Etsy shop artwork! And that is good, because I am going to need new pieces for Maker Faire! Billiam and I will have a table in the Bazaar Bizarre section, and I can't wait! I have never been to Maker Faire before, but I hear it is awesome, and the vendor list for the Bazaar Bizarre is fantastic! If you are in the Bay Area the weekend of May 30th and 31st, I definitely recommend stopping by!

So I am going to try to get back to my 2 posts per week as of today. Hopefully it will work! Have a wonderful Sunday:)

Just a Little Somethin'

I'm really sorry about the lack of anything exciting here for the last few weeks. I'm working really hard on a few projects and just haven't had time to come up for air. The good news is that I should be back to posting regularly very soon. Until then, here is a plain ol' sketch of some crazy birds. Have a great week!

Work In Progress...

Home

This is where I spent my summers growing up, and what I think of as home. That is my sister and me drawing and dreaming on the lawn. Whenever I'm stressed out, I think about being here and it always makes everything better.

The tree that I am leaning against was over 100 years old and had nearly been split in half by lightening before I was born. Cement was poured in the hole for support, but the tree around the cement rotted away long ago. For as long as I can remember there has been a large cement branch jutting out from one side of the tree. I left that part out of the painting for aesthetic reasons :) Anyway, that poor old tree could not make it through another harsh Pennsylvania winter and fell last December. It was truly legendary, and I cannot imagine home without it.

Rain Boots and Best Friends

Inspired by my golden retriever who I miss so much because he is all the way back in PA.

I did this itty-bitty piece as a mini-print for Wondercon and then I forgot to post it. I remembered about it today after watching the new UP trailer. ("SQUIRREL!" - hahahahah, so true and SO funny.) I cannot WAIT for this movie!
I'm working hard and would like to have some new things to show you in the next few days. Until then, have a lovely weekend!

Post Con Post

Wondercon flew by, but an awesome time was had by all. I didn't see nearly as much of the floor as I would have liked to, but I managed to sneak away for a few minutes on Sunday morning to snag these beauties:
Patrick Morgan's latest book. He was our booth neighbor across the aisle, and soo nice and extremely talented to boot.
I picked up both of Donnachada Daly's books. I absolutely love his flowing designs and have oggled his work for years. Such a great guy - he even gave me this print:
Oh, how I love it so.

I met an very nice gentleman named Travis Hanson, and he traded me this print for one of my Kane prints. Such detail! Wow.

!!!

Every since Bill Presing posted this beauty on his blog, I have been pining for it. Ofcourse, everything that comes out of him is magic, but for some reason this piece brings me extra joy. Thank you, Bill, for being awesome and making this a print. Now I just need to find some wall space that is worthy of its presence.

And last but not least, what might be THE find of Wondercon. "Wildsville" by Mr. Derek Yaniger:
If you like retro/tiki art, you need this book. And perhaps 1 or maybe 5 of his serigraphs. Such great color and energy! And he even did this drawing for me on the inside cover of my book:
Nothing brings out the warm fuzzies like my very own hula girl drawing. Derek is one cool cat.

A big thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth - you made my weekend for sure. I am sad that Wondercon only comes once a year, but now I have enough inspiration to last me for the next few months. Also, I should note that I just added LOTS of artwork to the shop, so go check it out. I think I have blabbed enough for now ( I talk too much when I'm excited) but I should have new artwork for the blog sometime in the next few days. Thanks for looking, everybody!

WONDERCON!

The day has arrived! I will be hanging out with Billiam all weekend in the little slice of heaven known as SP13. Come say hello! We each have a bajillion prints, originals, bookmarks, pins, and other goodies to throw your way. I will have all of the pieces I brought with me to APE as well as these newbies:


and possibly a few more. The Sea Dragon piece will be a limited edition of 15, so you might want to show up early if you want one. I will also be listing everything that I have left over in the Etsy shop on Monday, so don't feel bad if you live far, far away and can't make it. I understand how it is :) And now its bedtime - Have a great weekend everybody!