Welcome Taiga!

Here's a piece that was backlogged for a little while! It's a gift for my dear friends Bill and Ikumi, who welcomed a healthy baby boy into the world 2 months ago! It was just tonight that they saw the special illustration book that this was part of, along with works from lots of other artists and based on their reaction, I think it was worth the wait!

Welcome, Taiga!

I'm going to be in short supply for a bit, as I am moving this month and tending to a pile of surprise freelance, but the rewards are many and I will finally have a bigger studio space. Time to stock up on caffeine and tissues for the stress-induced crying fits.

Also happy to report that I did not have to resort to violence to secure a place, after 4 months on the rental battlefield. I'm telling you, it's a war zone out there. NEVER MOVE TO THE BAY AREA EVER!!

IT'S GO TIME!

...And now the necklaces are listed in the shop too! Big thanks to everyone who's purchased something thus far, I nearly have enough to cover Smudge's upcoming surgery. Smudge thanks you as well, but not enough to share her strawberries with you. Smudge is kind of a brat.

While I am enjoying the guiltiest pleasures of having minimal work to do this weekend, I did manage to upload listings for the greeting card packs I sold at Maker Faire!  

Head over to the store to see 'em!

Each pack of 10 3.5” x 5” cards and slightly larger envelopes are blank inside and available in cat butt and rat ball flavors. I am running low on cat butts :(

If you can spare the change, pick up a pack and help me save for the next rattie surgery! Smudge is due for her tumor removal next month and every bit helps!

It was a very busy and quite tiring weekend at Maker Faire (why is standing behind a table for 2 days physically draining? GAH!) but it was also a blast! I did well for my first year vending there and I hope they'll let me set up shop again next year. I didn't have a chance to get away from the table much, but I did manage to steal away and snag a Crabby Bear plush! A joint project between Martin Hsu and Lana Crooks, he's a proud addition to my family! Thank you to every one who stopped by my table this weekend and to my booth babe, Rez, shown below :)

I will update shortly with links to the online shop, where I will be adding the necklaces and greeting cards that I made for the Faire. The cards did much better than I expected - who knew that people still sent hand written letters? I'm glad they do!

I am taking some much needed downtime for the next couple of weeks and focusing only on my job and freelance. Once I recharge the batteries I should have some new stuff from my secret project to post! No major conventions or shows on the horizon until the fall, so I will be enjoying this "sleep" and "socialization" stuff I keep hearing about.

See you soon!

A special portrait of my Dad’s border collie mix to give as a gift to him when he visits this week. I am soooo damn excited :3

This will be available as a print in my online shop this week, without the text. I love you guys, but only my Dad gets the print with the special words! ;)

This is a piece for the upcoming Clash of the Classics anthology. Check the Tiki Machine blog to read up! I decided to revisit my Little Red piece from a couple years ago and this time I gave Red a fighting chance. 

Though on second thought, it might have been funnier to give her a smashed wine bottle, since the presence of alcohol in Red's basket of goodies got the book onto the banned books list. Not even kidding you guys, this is the world we live in now. >:(

Anyhoo, back to secret projects and hopefully a couple new prints for Makers Faire! Back in a bit :)

In light of what happened in Boston on Monday, from now until May 15th  I am going to be donating 100% of online sales to the Greg Hill Foundation and to NAMI to help fund research and support for mental illness. I will also be donating 100% of my earnings from the Cherry Blossom Festival this weekend to the same causes.

For those who don’t know me well, I was born and raised on the North Shore, about 30 minutes north of Boston. I have many years of happy memories going to Red Sox games, the Commons, Quincy Market, the Theater District, the Museum of Science, the Aquarium, Chinatown, getting my very first kiss on the T, and visiting Copley Square, of course. Seeing cruelty like this anywhere in the world is inexcusable but it’s rocked me to my core to see it happening in my old home.
So go ahead! Make me weep when I have to lug tons of orders to the post office. It’s all for a good cause! Two, in fact!

 

I'll tell you, it's been a pretty exhausting couple of weeks. Burning lots of midnight oil both at work and on gallery pieces and side projects. But I am happy to say that my felted version of "Raturdae" is done and is ready to be shipped off to the gallery!

 I have to admit, the little white rat has grown on me. I hope they go to a good home, he's hard to part with!

 

The show is at Clutter Magazine's gallery in Beacon, NY and you can sign up for the preview list right here! 

I have some good news about this spring, mostly regarding conventions and upcoming shows in the Bay Area. I will be at the Cherry Blossom Festival April 20 - 21 and at Maker Faire May18 - 19 to sell prints, the last of the books and some brand new stuff! I will keep you posted on here, of course.

This might also be a  good time to direct folks to my art page on facebook; while I have no intentions of abandoning this blog, I tend to be more active and post more works in-progress on FB. Go on over and "like" the page and make sure you have it in your pages feed to see more stuff!

I told you there was a Fledgie on the way! This little blossomed budgie is for the Spring is in the Air show at Tr!ckster on the 30th! I will be at the gallery reception to hang out and snarf down refreshments. stop by and make fun of me!

Sorry for the hand in the second photo, I didn’t have time to mount the perch into the wall before I have to drop off this guy at the gallery! I will try to take a pic of him once he is installed :)

Here is the show flier, for you local folks!

Another drop-in post, so everyone knows I am still alive and trying to do things!

HI!!!

The pooch is my Dad's border collie mix, who does in fact prefer to stick a leg straight up while resting. This is the family's first dog who isn't a cocker spaniel, so I dunno, is the leg silliness a border collie thing?

I think there will be a Fledgie showing up here soon, so keep on the lookout! Lots of shows and things happening for the next month, kind of makes me wish I had an assistant or an intern who accepted pay in the form of cupcakes, hopes and dreams. X_x

Here is the completed piece for my ECCC Exclusive print, “Starbrux” - I am printing an 11'' x 17'' edition of 10 and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

The piece is lovingly dedicated to my sweetest Pork Chop, who passed away without warning on Friday night, while I was working on this, in fact. For those in the know with rats, she was fine the day before and when I found her she was very dehydrated, weak, unable to eat or drink and shaking with a lot of poryphorin. I rushed her to the ER and we determined it was either a stroke or a mild infection that suddenly went systemic, and given her state and age, she wasn't expected to improve, so I chose to let her go gently, instead of languishing in an incubator. This never, ever gets any easier.

My heart aches for her loss, but at least she’s still part of this piece ♥ And with that, I need to go snuggle my ratties and tell them that they're great.

Hello again! I am working out the last few kinks for Emerald City Comic Con next week, mainly figuring out how to pack all of my materials and displays into a single suitcase, since in the past I have always driven to cons rather than flown. I think I have most everything sorted out now... or I hope so, anyway.

So here's the skinny! I will be in Artist's Alley at table K-20. Though I am holding down the fort solo this year, I will be joined by the always awesome Brianne Drouhard on Saturday, so you can pick up some original sketch cards and chat her up then! Here's the map and stuff - this venue looks HUGE!

While I won't have the new book ready in time for ECCC, I will have a new exclusive 11x17 print ready and assuming my week doesn't go from crazy to chaos, a few original paintings of my own. Here is a teaser of the exclusive print... yes, those are what you think they are. When have I ever pulled punches before?

And on that note, I await the call from my vet to find out how Rocket's surgery went. Have you snuggled a tiny critter today?

It is a feltie-tastic post this time around! I was knocked clean on my ass right with the flu after my last post here, so I fell even more behind on these commissions out of fear of contamination and, you know, the fever of 103 and delerium. I am back in the saddle and pleased to announce that I have finished my last two felt commissions!

I will be taking an extended break from commissions while I recenter and get going on a long term personal project with my new mentor. I have been waiting for an opportunity like this forever! I can't wait and you can be sure I will show the fruits of my labor on this blog. I also have a couple of gallery shows to make felt stuff for, as well as conventions to attend, so really this is the calm before the storm.

First drawing of 2013! A typical self-deprecating self portrait. I wore pigtails for the first time in like a decade and then questioned whether a 32 year old looks cute or pathetic in them. Oh dear.

I have some big announcements coming up in a few weeks, mainly in the form of upcoming conventions and a new book project! I need to iron out more details before I can fully spill the beans though. There should be a new feltie coming up in a week though, so in the meantime, here is the chickadee Fledgie I made for my Grandmother over the holiday break. She made me the spiffy red knit hat in the portrait!

I am still making Fledgies! I have 2  more feltie commissions to go for this year and I think I can get them both finished over Holiday break. This little guy is teaming up with the penguin from a few posts back and on his way to meet his new owner :)

This would also be the time to share that you can order a limited edition print of the Rattie Carolers online until December 16th! I only printed 10 of these and won't print any more, so this might be the neato gift for that rattie lover in your life that you've been looking for!

Click here to see my shop and buy prints! 

I hope to be able to finish my official Christmas card this weekend, in addition to the loose ends with homework and whatnot. Busy busy!

Hey thar! Just a quick drop-off of a new facebook cover design I did for my art page.

You didn't know I have an art page? Well, that's OK. All the cool kids have one and we all know where I rank on the Cool-o-Meter. It's somewhere around zero.

Come on over and play with me!

I probably should lighten up with the rats, it's kind of a safe place for me to go with my art, but dammit, I love my little furballs. From back left to front right, we have Aloysius, Duncan, Ronnie, Ivory, Pork Chop, Smudge and Rocket.

I also whipped up a Daruma last week to help me stay motivated. Basically it's a Japanese doll with blank eyes. You paint in one eye when you set a goal for yourself and display it somewhere that you will look at it a lot and remind you to keep working at it, no matter how slowly. Then, when you reach your goal, you paint in the other eye.


The physical Daruma I have had on my work desk has had one eye for 5 years. However long it takes, it's worth it.

So really I will be working hard at finishing up classwork for the next couple of weeks, then it's back to the east coast for a couple of weeks to visit family and get fat on the couch. There should be a somewhat sizable art dump once my class is over and then some felties once I get that time on the couch!

Oh yeah... CTN was AMAZING this year and I am savoring the inspiration and motivation that came from it all. Big ideas for next year! And with that bit of ambiguity, I leave you with the most recent addition to my playlist. Who doesn't love a nostalgic gaming groove while they draw?

It's that wonderful time of year again - CTN-X!

I will be at table T-81, right next to the demo station. I will be selling books, prints and displaying a collection of felties that I've done (yes, including a Baby Appa! The seated one, even!)

And aside from pulling all of my stock together and making prints, I've been chugging away at homework. Here is one tiny part of it! I will do a major dump of all of my studies in a few weeks, once the class wraps up. We've been cracking at these characters for weeks and I feel like she's finally starting to take shape.

I hope to see you guys in Burbank this weekend! It's like coming home to my SoCal family! Looking forward to a doodle dinner with two of my favorite lady artists and to meeting new faces... and putting faces to the avatars of all the new, talented folks I have been introduced to online this year!

Who needs politics when there are new Fledgies? Here's a fat little penguin for a very, very patient customer :)

Nice to be felting again, but I'm still working through homework and preparations for CTN-X. Plus I have a rattie feltie who desperately needs some finishing touches! More to come on that very soon! How soon? TOO SOON! AAAUUGGHH!

I almost forgot! Today was National Self Portrait Day! It's only 10:30 pm PST, so you might still have time to make one ;)

I ended up doing two today since I just couldn't seem to loosen up. This is me from this morning:

My Grandma knitted me that hat. It's way cooler in real life.

...and here I am this evening, after my class. My fizzy bath bombs from Lush came in the mail and oh man, it's bliss. I may be a friggin' tomboy, but I swear, get me near anything from Lush and I turn into a quivering girly mess.

My favorite one is "Sex Bomb". Aw yeah. 

See you guys soon with more characters and maybe a Fledgie!

Happy Halloween! Admittedly I am sort of a Halloween Grinch this year, despite my lifelong ties to Salem, MA; it's raining here in Berkeley and I am relieved that there haven't been many kids coming by, as I am trying desperately to catch up on homework and decompress a little. The last couple of weeks were HECTIC and my attempt at having a vacation completely backfired.

I was knocked on my arse last week with a sore throat monster and fell behind in both work and homework - not to mention that as soon as I felt better, I had a wedding to attend that was a 7 hour drive away! No regrets honestly, as I got to see one of my closest friends tie the knot with the most loving,  albeit clumsy, sentimental pile of husband I have ever seen ;) I also made them special WEDDING MUPPETS!

Here are pics of them as the glue was drying in the hotel room, minutes before we had to go to the ceremony! Last-Minute-Laberis strikes again!

But in the end they held up and were cherished, just as I wanted them to be, and clearly I earned some karma, as that bouquet just fell right into my hands.

So while I continue to play catch-up, here are some kind of old thumbnails I did for the exclusive alapaca print that we gave away with the book sales at APE. If you're heading to CTN-X in a couple of weeks then you have a chance to grab one, as the final, secret print isn't available for sale by itself. We're sneaky that way ;)

If you can't make it to the Expo, then you can still buy a copy of the book online! I've got some prints up for sale as well. Have a look at the new storefront!

With that, I leave you with a self portrait of me and my fuzzy children. All 7 of them. Rocket is there, she's just tucked away, as she likes to be.

Till next time!

Whew. I am wiped out from this weekend, but it was really great despite the energy drain. Huge thanks to everyone who trekked all the way to the back of the Concourses to come visit us! We sold a lot of books and to those who couldn't make it, we will have some for sale shortly through Stuart Ng Books that even come with the exclusive alpaca print that is only available at conventions. What's not to like? :D I will post the link to the book once it goes live.

I will be disappearing for the rest of the week in a half-assed attempt to recoup from general burnout whilst trying to get those annoying errands of life done; fix the car, wax the eyebrows, get a haircut, teeth fixed, mail a ton of packages, hose down the rat cage... you know, that stuff. I will also be finishing up my last lingering feltie commissions (don't worry, everyone who's been this patient with commissions gets a free book from me!) and turning my focus fully back to my class and work. Still, I have no regrets about marathoning to finish the book, I am really proud of what's in there and it made a lot of folks smile this weekend. You can't ask for better.

Speaking of class, here are some doodles that were part of my homework. Enjoy!