Girlface

Stickers and buttons

2011-03-18T22:25:00.005-06:00

So for the show on Saturday I made a bunch of buttons and stickers to hand out and sell. These are some of the designs I came up. I particularly love the last little guy with his snaggle teeth.

Shameless self promotion and some new characters

2011-03-08T10:29:00.007-06:00

I am gonna be in an art show in a few weeks. Here are the details:

Lion VS Gorilla Presents: Mar(t)ch Madness!

Saturday, March 19 at 8:00pm-12:00am

Fulton Street Collective, 2000 W. Fulton St. Chicago, IL

Mar(t)ch Madness is an art show and event conceived in the spirit of a certain famous collegiate basketball tournament, and presented by Lion VS Gorilla. The show will begin with artwork from 16 established and emerging artists. Over the course of four bracketed rounds, viewers will vote to narrow down the playing field to their two favorite artists, and those artists will then compete for the championship trophy. We believe that art should be rowdy, that people should fight for it, and that viewing should never be passive. In short: this is going to be a fun, high-energy event, and an opportunity for members of Chicago's arts community to come together and celebrate some of the amazing work being produced in this city.

Doors open at 8pm. The first round of voting, along with artists' introductions, will begin at 8:30 sharp.

-Suggested donation: $5 at the door.
-Refreshments will be available.
-Part of the proceeds will go to benefit The Howard Brown Health Center.

Also I have a new breed of creature if you will that I have been drawing for about a month or two now and I thought it was high time these masked guys were formally introduced to the world. So here they are along with a bunch of other random doodles from my sketchbook.

If you ever see some girl madly drawing on the bus whilst listening to her iPod in the mornings, that is probably me.

Part of an Invite

2010-12-02T23:23:00.002-06:00

This is the beginnings of the invite for a holiday party some friends and I are hosting this holiday season. Basically it was an excuse to play around with some new ideas and these awesome opaque pens I have been totally in love with lately. I was trying to go for wintery without being too Christmas-y or anything.

Cultural references

2010-09-14T11:34:00.015-05:00

So I created this series last night. Inspired by a weekend's worth of conversations and the things we talk about at parties or dinner and how absurd some of it is. Oh and of course the wide world of the Internet and commercials too.

sketchbook

2010-09-14T11:25:00.010-05:00

I wanted to post a a few pages from various sketchbooks because I think they are kind of interesting and show how all the different ideas I am working with come together in my sketchbooks. And its been kind of great to look back and watch the development of the characters and ideas as I draw them over and over again.

Conversations

2010-09-14T11:14:00.007-05:00

So, for a while now I have been drawing these conversations between my characters. Usually the rabbit and the skull guy. In most of these the skull guy (I really need to give them names) is trying to convince the rabbit to do something vague like go away with him to see something, but the end isn't normally revealed. I love their exaggerated body movements and how dramatic the skull always looks.

Animal Heads

2010-09-14T10:59:00.008-05:00

So one night I was messing about in my sketchbook and I happened to draw this image of an over-sized dinosaur head on one of the weird lanky bodies all of my characters seem to have. Well, earlier in the week I had read that article about how Triceratops isn't a real dinosaur anymore and had drawn a little Triceratops head. So then I drew it again later, but added the body and from that came this series of sketches. Not sure yet what will become of them just yet, but I know that they make me really happy.

A new character joins the dance party

2010-09-13T11:15:00.002-05:00

So, I am in dire need of updating this thing and posting all the work I have been doing lately. In fact I was sort of yelled at for not being more consistent with my posts, but here at least is a taste. The little guy in the middle has recently joined the cast of characters and is currently king of the dance party. More to come once I get it all scanned in.

Doodles to drawings bursting with color

2010-08-02T18:51:00.007-05:00

So here are some images of the stuff I have been working on lately. As well as a picture of my "helper" Royce.

New Characters: The Skullheads

2010-05-04T22:09:00.004-05:00

These are some new little characters I came up with this past week. They are a combination of many things- the dancing rabbits I have been drawing, memories of the fighting skeletons from the old Jason and the Argonauts, the dollop heads I used to draw, and a handful of other things I have yet to identify. But right now I am loving them and their weird little track suits and dance moves and how they blend that line between creepy and cute.

Cutting Doodles

2010-03-25T22:49:00.002-06:00

Some new work in the same vein as the last post. The greenish cloud drawing here will likely be cut up in a similar fashion to the image below. Of course I didn't think to scan in the drawing before I started cutting. I admit that I hadn't intended to cut the whole thing, but once I started i kind of got carried away. I included a detail so that you can better see the remnants of the drawing. I am thinking these cut pieces will find their way into larger collage works.

Doodles and other news

2010-03-24T14:25:00.003-06:00

Here are some fairly recent drawings that I did while I was supposed to be painting. A friend and I decided to work on painting with oils since we were both out of practice. So about once a week we got together to paint and talk about art- which was great. But I found myself getting frustrated and one night decided to take a break and started doodling instead and this is what came out of it. And honestly I was much happier with the results of this simple doodle than I was with any of the paintings I did. So I continued on and I have been playing with textures and color and the effects of different pens, markers and pencils. The top one also has one of my little cut designs on top of it, which is something I want to further explore.

In other news I am finally almost all set up with my Etsy account and am excited to hopefully sell some of my creations and get feedback from people. Once it is up and running I will add a link on this site.

New Poster

2009-12-08T12:59:00.002-06:00

So, I have been working on some artwork for my friend who is in this great band- The Pawns. I am very slowly making progress on the art for their new album- First Line of Defense. This is the poster for their cd party. Gotta love a man with a fish and a flying antelope.

Art Night

2009-08-16T10:22:00.003-05:00

Here is the poster for the next Art Night.

Images for a baby shower

2009-08-07T09:36:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine is having a baby and these are the two little things I made for her in celebration of this joyous event.

Yes, that is a bearded baby. Because how funny is the idea of a baby with a full grown bushy beard? Especially if that baby happens to be a little girl. I mean, the bearded lady had to start out as a baby right?

Book love: an invite

2009-04-10T11:52:00.002-05:00

One of my very good friends of many, many years is getting married and she asked me to help with the invitations. They both love books and so I thought this was a fitting little illustration.

fun with doodles

2009-04-09T11:43:00.005-05:00

Just a few new and old doodles that I decided I liked when I looked back through my current sketchbook the other day. I am determined to be better about posting images. I have a few projects for friends that I have recently completed or are in the works. Need to try and get images of them before they are out in the world.

found octopus

2009-04-08T09:48:00.003-05:00

These are images from my found object creation I made a while back at one of our workshops. I just realized that I never posted images of it, so here are a few. It was fun to have a lot of random materials to play with and think three dimensionally, which I admit I don't really do that often. Of course I saw the octopus and had to use it.

recent doodles

2009-04-08T09:44:00.004-05:00

Who wants to trade?

2008-12-09T09:59:00.013-06:00

So this last weekend we had a fabulous Saturday Short at the museum all about Artist Trading Cards... and naturally I am now totally addicted to ATCs. They are just so much fun. Tiny little canvases with lots of potential. So here are some images of some of the ones I made this weekend. Front and back. I started by making one big collage that I cut up into the 2.5 x 3.5 inch format and then I embellished them further. For the backs I went through my old sketchbooks and pulled out random things I had written down- quotes, bits from books, a few lyrics, recipes, and other notations that I have no idea what or where they came from.

Royce goes to work in my place

2008-11-25T15:50:00.005-06:00

On this blustery November morning I was reminded of a drawing I did a while back, well I guess it's really more of a sketch, but at any rate an idea I had for a little book or zine. I was having this moment (this is where I begin to sound like a crazy cat lady) with my cat Royce when he was whining about something and I asked him if he would have rather gone to work and me stay home and sleep all day. He merely walked away. But I liked the idea of Royce going to work for me- riding the train or the bus in the morning with a cup of coffee in paw, sitting at my cubicle responding to emails and typing up contracts. And thus was born this image.

Naturally he is drawn wearing my clothes and carrying a bag like I do. Though he looks a little to serious here. Royce is not really a very serious cat. Now I just need to do a companion drawing of our other cat Orson going to teach my roommate's English classes.

Cloud of Smoke

2008-11-12T17:44:00.003-06:00

This is a tracing I did in color pencil of this weird smoke cloud from this old wood block print that features two witches burning salamanders and snakes. Not sure if that means that this then is supposed to be some kind of cloud of evil, or what. But I do know that I have been drawn to this for quite some time and using it in my collage/drawings a lot lately. I love the line quality and the little dots. I think the print is from the 16th century originally and I have found a bunch of other great images with similar cloud-like formations and witches.

Desk buddies

2008-09-19T09:02:00.012-05:00

These guys keep me company whilst I work in my cubicle five days a week. They help give my work space a little quirkiness that I need some days to keep me going.

Of pandas and other creatures

2008-09-19T09:02:00.011-05:00

Here are some more plushies. The panda I made for a friend of mine who loves pandas. He doesn't quite have razor sharp teeth to use for cutting through fences, or candy or even bone. But he could hide in an oreo factory if need be. And he does have snaggle teeth.

The other plushies are in progress. I need to finish stuffing them properly. Some are stuffed with recycled shredded paper, and some with polyfil stuffing stuff. It has been fun to translate the characters from my doodles into these little guys.

Posters and such

2008-09-14T19:36:00.003-05:00

This is a new poster I did for one of my friend Mike's many musical projects. Totally random and silly, but who doesn't love a soldier playing a trumpet whilst riding an anteater! Complete with a chorus of goldfish.

World, I give you Ms. Edith P. Ladypants and her friend Mr. Smooches

2008-09-10T15:09:00.010-05:00

Tah Dah! Here she is...

Ahhh yes.... here she is. I admit I was a bit ambitious for my first real attempt at a plushie. She was inspired by the little old lady who was on the bus with me that morning. At first glance she looked normal but then I realized she was quietly talking to herself. Please note her knickers- which are day of the week (Monday) and her rosey tramp stamp. She was quite the wild child in her younger days.

I'm not dead, I promise

2008-09-10T12:10:00.003-05:00

So.... this blog has kind of gotten away from me for the last few months. But I am alive and working on lots of artsy goodness. Like this little guy here. This is Zoozoo. I think maybe he had too much coffee today. He is my latest felt creation inspired by the recent participation in the Plushies Saturday Short at the museum. It was a lot of fun. I made another, more complicated one too- inspired by the kooky old lady I saw that day who was talking to herself on the bus. I have been doing lots of drawings and doodles and other fun stuff too. Images of those to come soon. Oh and the other little guy to the left is a creature I fashioned out of a scrap of felt, a pompom, and some random bits of plastic coated wire. He keeps me company at my desk at work. Simple, but he makes me smile.

Under the bag

2008-04-22T13:08:00.004-05:00

Here is a sketch I did of what Hem and Haw-the main characters of the book, look like without their bags. We are currently calling them Chris and Emma.

This is Trevor- the neighborhood bully.

The Baghead(s) project!

2008-04-18T14:11:00.005-05:00

Here is the latest version of the bagheads. Funny to watch their evolution over time. Also! I am really excited to announce that I am collaborating with a friend of mine and together we are turning the bagheads into a book! The two main characters are bagheads called Hem and Haw and thus far I am really happy with what we are coming up with. Hem and Haw have some fabulous adventures ahead of them and I will try and keep the blog posted with their progress.

The Bag Heads Continue

2008-03-17T21:25:00.007-06:00

Return of the Bag Heads

2008-03-16T09:35:00.005-06:00

Oh how I love the Bag Heads! So strange, slightly creepy and yet silly too. I really like the way they turned out on the brown paper, it took the color pencil so well. I love how rich and bright the color looks. Hopefully there will be more to come soon.

Michigan Misses You

2008-03-16T09:32:00.003-06:00

My friend Kate moved a month ago or so now- leaving Michigan behind for the sunny state of California. She asked me to draw a little image that she could use on her change of address cards. So, here is poor Michigan reading the Dear John letter that Kate and her husband wrote when they left.

Evidence

2008-03-16T09:27:00.004-06:00

Even though it has been nearly two months since I posted, I have been making and doodling. I just have been a big slacker when it comes to posting proof of the work I have been doing. Here are some older doodles that I really liked. Working with maps and transparency to create more dynamic layering.

Birthdays and more random fun

2008-01-15T09:52:00.001-06:00

It seems that half of my friends were born in the first two weeks of January. Here is a drawing I did for one of them. Hope they don't mind that I am sharing it with everyone- but the bunny was just too cute! So here's to all those with birthdays this month!

Below are two other drawings I recently did for friends. Royce the spaceman now has a rabbit companion... Spacebunny. I need a better name for him, but that will work for now.

New Year, New Work

2008-01-02T21:54:00.003-06:00

Just some newer doodles from my current sketchbook.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

2007-12-21T10:38:00.001-06:00

I thought what better way to celebrate the holidays this year than with a festive woolly mammoth! Here is wishing everyone the best this holiday season. Hopefully with some down time I will finally be able to update with some more recent work. That is my goal for the new year!

Doodles for a Thursday

2007-11-15T17:14:00.002-06:00

Here are some recent doodles from my sketchbook.

so that happened...

2007-11-10T17:47:00.000-06:00

So these are totally not to scale. The one with the pink octopus is quite small- maybe 4 by 6 inches. While the bottom one - called Life During Wartime- is maybe 12 by 16 inches. It is one of my favorite pieces to date. Also I realize theses are far from the greatest pictures of my work. I took them at the ATC show and sold the top two before I could better document them.

And then there was this...

2007-10-22T23:05:00.001-05:00

I did this drawing intending it to be a background for other layers. But I have yet to find something to put on top of it that feels right. So far everything just sort of sits there and I end up taking it off. Maybe this one is meant to be a piece all on its own?

Two more drawings...

2007-10-22T22:59:00.000-05:00

Oops! These somehow missed being a part of the other posting of the work I was doing for Around the Coyote. They are about 4 x 6 inches. I was doing a whole bunch of these little drawings and then putting them in simple clip frames I got from Ikea to hold all the layers together. Most of the work I am doing now is at least two or three layers, but the big one I did that is like 9 x 12 inches, that I have yet to post has at least five or six layers I think. Once I get a good image of it I will post it.

A-Oh-Cake With Us!

2007-10-22T22:54:00.001-05:00

The third issue of Spoke is ready for consumption! Yay!
Check it out here: http://www.spokeisneat.org -it is pretty fabulous and there are tons of goodies in this one. The theme for the next one is "in transit" which should be a lot of fun.

Plethora of new work!

2007-10-22T22:33:00.000-05:00

So its mid October and the Around the Coyote Fall Arts Festival has come and gone. I would say it went really well this time. I sold several pieces and got really good feedback on my current body of work. People really seemed to like all the layering, and they also enjoyed all the squids, octopi and other animals as well as the standard maplike qualities of my work. Here is a bunch of work for your viewing pleasure. I had a great time working on these.

Oh... and my housemate and I are really into unicorns and pegasuses right now- and the notion of a unicorn and pegaus caught in the middle of some kind of battle royale- Highlander style. This here is a drawing I did for an invitation to a party we had this last weekend. I love how tiny and angry he is.

Cake: No longer a figment of our imaginations

2007-10-10T11:01:00.001-05:00

I am proud to announce that the Cake issue of Spoke is finally just about finished! Whoo hoo! All the individual little bits and pieces are complete and now we just have to bundle them all up together and it is done! I know I have been saying we were almost done for a while. But this time it's the real deal! Everything has been printed, folded, stapled, stuck, sorted and stacked. It looks amazing if I do say so myself.

Also this weekend is Around the Coyote's Winter Arts Festival. I will be there with my newest work. I should post an image here of that work, but I have yet to scan or photograph any of it yet. Lots of octopi and salamanders and maps. I am on this strange kick right now where I am midly obsessed with salamanders, octopi and squids. Not sure why. Maybe the absurdity of the pairings of these animals. The strange implied narrative that comes to mind when you see them. Lots of layering and maps and little surprises.

bunny putto

2007-09-26T23:10:00.002-05:00

Putti (or in this case putto) has to be my favorite art history term of all time and ever. It was pretty much the only thing that got me through my Baroque art history class in undergrad. (From Wikipedia: The putto (pl. putti) is a figure of a pudgy baby, almost always male, often naked and having wings, found especially in Italian Renaissance art. The figure derives from Ancient art but was "rediscovered" in the early Quattrocento. These images are frequently, and erroneously, confused with cherubs.)
From time to time I find myself doodling little bunny putto like this guy here. Not sure if it's technically a putto if it's not human. But it still makes me smile.

new characters?

2007-09-26T23:04:00.002-05:00

So today I had this idea for a character wearing a paper bag mask. Essentially a bag head. Something about the monster-ish mask and the striped shirt really appealed to me. Maybe because I've been seeing so much Halloween stuff? Whatever the reason I took my initial sketch and worked on some more finished drawings and here they are for you to see. You can see that I tried to make them a little less creepy than my initial sketch (particularly the one in the dress). I like the weird factor, but not so much the creepy. The pair didn't scan so well for some reason. But you get the idea.

hello fall

2007-09-26T23:03:00.002-05:00

I do believe fall is finally here. This last weekend was the autumnal equinox and today I broke out my puffy vest. Yay for fall!

Falling Slowly

2007-09-13T21:59:00.002-05:00

So it's been a long while since I posted anything. Not to say that I have not been working, but life kind of took over for a while. Anyhoo... this is my latest commissioned piece. It's for a birthday gift for a friend of a friend who apparently loves Glen Hansard (who doesn't?) and so this is what I came up with. It's a pair of drawings that go together. I hope she likes it. I admit it's pretty silly. But I kind of like it all the more because of that.

Fun at the MCA

2007-08-08T13:52:00.000-05:00

New pictures of projects from our fall season of classes at the MCA! Shrinky dinks! Yay for shrinky dinks! My sister and I used to have so much fun with Shrinky dinks. So many possibilities! And Perler beads. I never knew what these were called, but they definitely bring back memories. After doing these samples I am filled with ideas of how to use these old school arts and crafts to make some really cool stuff.

And who doesn't love a tote bag? Come screen print your own at the MCA this fall (Ok so this is a little bit of shameless self promotion, but I am really excited about all the classes we have this fall- check out the full listings here: http://mcachicago.org/)

CAKE!!!!

2007-08-03T18:13:00.000-05:00

We are finally working on Spoke this weekend! Yay for cake! Fingers crossed we will have it done in a couple weeks. It is going to be so awesome there are going to be few words to describe the amazingness. Also I am working on setting up an Etsy account so I can sell my work online.

Does that make me crazy?

2007-08-01T20:48:00.001-05:00

I can usually tell when I am stressed because the characters in my sketchbook and notes from meetings all start to look a little crazy:

This little crazy guy is the result of me trying to draw a monkey for a friend. Apparently I have a really hard time drawing monkeys, because this looks more like a bush baby or maybe a kinkajou. Or a weird bear with a tale. I'm not sure, but I kind of like how he turned out- even if he doesn't really look like a monkey. I realize in my last post there was a drawing of the king of the spider monkeys. I guess he looks vaguely more like a monkey- but I am convinced that doodle was a fluke.

things with crowns

2007-08-01T20:38:00.000-05:00

It seems that I have an affinity for drawing things with hats and crowns. Not sure why, but my doodles definitely reflect this trend. Also this is a new character Hambrosia. She came out of a conversation we were having at work about ham and how the idea of ham salad seems to evoke images of nursing homes- much like ambrosia. So then we thought why not hambrosia? And then it was decided we needed to have a little pig called Hambrosia. One of the my friends has recently written the story of Hambrosia soon to be a book published by Turning Panda Pres. Someday. But in the meantime here is a drawing of the lady in question. Somehow it seems fitting that she would be wearing a crown.

And these little guys are more top hat men dancing with a bear. Don't ask me why they are dancing with a bear... I guess a better question is why not dance with a bear? As long as it is a nice bear. But often there really is no rhyme or reason to my doodles. (Though of course looking at him now I kind of think he needs a hat of some kind. Or maybe a crown?)

Royce the Kitty

2007-07-31T11:29:00.000-05:00

Here are updated pictures of Royce (aka Royce-a-roni). They were taken at the last WaPAA meeting. I was visiting family in Michigan this last weekend and apparently he drove my housemate crazy with his meowing. She said he pined for me all weekend. Which was really endearing to hear, and yet I felt guilty for leaving her with a crazy cat for four days. But he was glad to have me back because yesterday he was super cuddly and didn't let me get very far from his sight.

Ready for the Weekend

2007-07-26T13:25:00.000-05:00

I made this several months ago after finding these dinosaur stickers that I totally forgot that I had. I love the juxtaposition of the dinosaur with the lyrics to definitely one of the worst songs ever written. But it makes for a funny image. Who knew velociraptors were so hip? This is without question a postmodern dinosaur.

Some new and some old stuff

2007-07-25T23:19:00.000-05:00

Here is a load of images. Some new and some older. Its always interesting to go back and look at older sketchbooks. Sometimes I rediscover a note, a doodle, a quote or even a simple line that I really like. Other times I cringe at the really bad stuff.

This last image (also...) is the newest. It's still a work in progress. Not sure if I think it's done or if I am happy with the composition. But I do love the salamander and octopus.

Wax On, Wax Off

2007-07-25T23:16:00.000-05:00

So I was going through some of my recent sketchbooks for images to post- proof that even though I am infrequent in my posts, that I am in fact still working. Or at least always doodling and sketching. Sometimes a doodle just makes me really happy- unplanned it just happens and then anytime I look at it I smile. This is one of those doodles.

The Many Faces of Royce the Spaceman

2007-07-25T23:08:00.000-05:00

So it came to my attention a while back that I had yet to post any images of one of my characters that I actually draw most often - Royce the Spaceman. I can't quite recall when I first drew him, it was definitely a few years ago. I think he made his first appearance on a mixed cd that I made for my sister. But since then he has evolved. Here is a look at some of the earliest drawings I have saved and some that are more recent. Basically he looks the same now- boots and gloves, utility belt and helmet complete with antenna. Oh and some random buttons on his space suit. I also included for fun the drawing I did of mod Royce, skinny tie and all.

New work

2007-06-09T18:22:00.000-05:00

Fun with maps and map-like images continues.

Cake is wonderful!

2007-06-05T18:45:00.003-05:00

Just some drawings I did for the Cake issue of Spoke.

Keeping Busy

2007-06-05T18:35:00.002-05:00

This is a drawing that I did for my friend Mike Przygoda's album "Leaving Here." He commissioned me to do the art and design for the whole album. It was an interesting challenge- but I think we were both happy with the results. The cd release party is in July and I will be doing some posters for the event. I believe Mike has more information at this site: http://leavinghere.org. I can't wait to see the finished product.

For some reason the parts of the drawing that should be red show up as blue when I uploaded the picture. Huh? I think I need to find someone who is more internet savy to help me with this.

Kitty!

2007-05-15T11:17:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I had not yet posted a picture of my kitty - which is some sort of crime I think. This is Royce (the tiny little space kitty) He is named after the famous Royce the Spaceman, who I also just realized I have yet to post images of on this site. Anyway, Royce the kitty should be coming to live with me very soon I hope. Right now he is still in Michigan.

But soon he will be living at the Dover and bringing much merriment to all who live there.

Who doesn't love cake?

2007-05-15T11:09:00.000-05:00

The Cake issue of Spoke is coming. Soon. Here is a taste of the wonders contained within this edition. What do you get when you combine dinosaurs and cake? You get a huge plate of awesome! Also if you look in the background of this photo you can just make out another awesome combination:

That's right! Good old Abe Lincoln. I love this picture so much. I love them both actually. They fill me with joy! Stay tuned for more fun with cake and updates about the latest issue of Spoke.

Illuminated Art

2007-04-16T16:08:00.000-05:00

This is my finished product after helping with the Illuminated Art Saturday Short at the MCA this weekend. It's a light box made from an old cigar box. So simple and yet it looks so fantastic if I do say so myself. Lots of potential with this project that I finished in only three hours. Everyone in the class made something that looked remarkably different while using all the same materials. I think a series of these on the wall would look really striking.

Pandas on Parade!

2007-04-08T22:48:00.000-05:00

I did this drawing for a friend of mine who loves pandas. This is the Empanada Panda. He loves empanadas, especially bamboo empanadas. Sometime after this I started drawing Henry the Panda who became Francis the Bunny's best friend.

Little angry girls

2007-04-08T22:44:00.000-05:00

I did some of these drawings last year. I was having a really cranky week and somehow drawing these little girls made me feel a lot better. Since then I draw them quite frequently, maybe as a form of release or maybe just because I think it's sort of funny seeing these little girls with their sweet little dresses, barrettes and mary janes looking so frustrated and angry.

A lot of new work...

2007-04-08T22:42:00.000-05:00

The top two are doodles/sketches from my sketchbook, but I really liked how they happened to turn out. Its funny how much time I sometimes end up spending on what start out as simple doodles. Or how one quick sketch can inspire a plethora of other drawings and projects. The other is a more finished drawing that I did continuing with the theme of map like drawings that I am currently obsessed with. Someone asked me why I draw these map like images and its funny because despite the fact that I have thought a lot about it, I am honestly not entirely sure. They definitely serve many purposes and fit in with my other interests, but I just sort of draw them. Instinctively, habitually... I find drawing them to be relaxing and almost meditative.

Everyone Loves A Top Hat!

2007-04-08T22:39:00.000-05:00

So these are a few sketches of the top hat men I have been drawing as of late. I love how simple they are and yet how different they can look depending on a number of small details.

New Old Pictures

2007-04-07T14:02:00.000-05:00

I finally got some images from the Around the Coyote show from my parents. Here are images of some of my work that was in the show. The top one is called Looking for Robert, and yes the little orange dinosaur in the upper right hand corner is in fact part of the piece. It was interesting how many people seemed to gravitate towards this piece, but I am not yet ready to part with it so it was not for sale. I want to further explore the idea of little figures sitting on the upper edge of the canvas, I like the playful quality that it adds to the work. Before I added the little dinosaur I felt like the painting was missing something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Then on a whim I added it and was really happy with the results. The title for this one came after I had finished it. I was looking at it with the dinosaur and it reminded me of the film for Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty. The idea of layers and time and the combination of natural, geological, organic shapes/lines with those suggesting man made cities.

The other two were done at the same time and I really like them as a set, even though I didn't intend them to be a set as I often do when I am working. But there was something about the different blues and the gold and silver combination that just fit when the are displayed together. These now live at my friend Sadie's house.

Look what I made!

2007-03-29T13:34:00.000-06:00

So it's a little hard to read in this picture, but this is my finished project after participating in the Glass Etching Saturday Short at the MCA a few weekends ago. The image is this die-cut yak shape (that I first got when I worked at a media center a long time ago) that I named Chitty Chitty Shackleton the Wonder Yak. He is a wonder and so I decided that he would be the perfect subject for a glass etching experiment- which I think turned out really well. We etched the glass from one of those clip frame kits you get at Ikea. And then we cut paper to go behind the glass. I think this has real potential for some of my other map like drawings and I can't wait to play with this idea some more.

Spoke is Neat!

2007-03-16T08:57:00.000-06:00

So the winter issue of Spoke is finally done! Yay! It is pretty much awesome. The top image is a drawing that I did specifically for the issue, it's called Snow Queen. I was pretty pleased with how it scanned and printed out. The other image (below) is a photograph that my sister Rachael took of my dad standing in the backyard, her contribution to the issue. The website for Spoke is finally up and running now and soon you will be able to buy a copy of your very own via the website. Because it is much cooler in person. The next issue of Spoke is about Cake and I can't wait to get started on it.

Also I have a new little arsenal of characters that I have been working on. I hope to scan them in this weekend and post them. They are little men in top hats, because doesn't everyone love a top hat? I think so. Anyway they are keeping me occupied right now and make me smile and for that reason I will continue to draw them.

And... I think spring is finally on its way! Yay for Spring! Actually I think next Wednesday is the official start of spring. Which is good cause I am totally over winter at this point.

Really... Isn't it time for winter to be over yet?

2007-03-08T00:08:00.000-06:00

I could maybe handle the snow- because it is kind of pretty on the trees and how it blankets everything. But the wind. It's the wind that gets you. It blows right through you and makes you cold down to your very core. That is what I am tired of. But it did inspire this little drawing which I ended up using for Spoke. Note the V shaped eyebrows which my housemate explained is the universal angry/evil face.

Three Little Bunnies

2007-03-08T00:02:00.000-06:00

This is a piece that I donated to a silent auction for my co worker's daughter's school. I love these little guys. I imagine they are all in a beginning dance class and about to learn jazz hands. They all want to dance better at parties.

More Fun with Pirates

2007-03-06T23:13:00.001-06:00

This is the finished drawing. You can see that I made subtle changes, and obviously put more time into the background. I love the little parrot and his little round belly. I am really really happy with how it turned out and so is my friend who commissioned the drawing- which in turn makes me even happier.

Pirattitude!

2007-03-04T23:14:00.000-06:00

Wow! How is it already March? That is totally crazy.

This little drawing was a sketch I did while working on a commission to draw my little characters as pirates, which is what has been occupying my time lately. I was pretty happy with the results and may post the actual finished drawing here as well. I think that I may do a whole series as pirates. Because who doesn't love pirates?

In other news, I am pleased to say that the newest edition of Spoke is only days away from being sent out. It's all about winter and it's pretty awesome. For more information about how you can get your hands on a copy go to www.spokeisneat.org and I am very excited to say that I was very recently named a tri-editor and art director for Spoke! So look forward to even more work related to Spoke. The spring issue will be about cake and already I can't wait. But that could also have something to do with me being really done with winter and anxious for it to be spring.

snow days

2007-02-13T10:25:00.001-06:00

So today I am really wishing it could be a snow day. Stay inside, warm and all bundled up on the couch drinking hot chocolate and watching my favorite snow day movies. Princess Bride, The Gangs All Here, Amelie, Vibes, and so on. But alas I journeyed out into the snow to go to work. My overactive imagination can't help but wonder what would happen if we got snowed in at work. Trapped in the museum overnight, it wouldn't be all that bad in reality. But as much as I love the MCA I think I would much rather be trapped at the Field Museum (due largely to that Sesame Street movie where the whole gang is trapped in the Met in NY overnight and Big Bird befriends the ghost of a young ancient Egyptian prince, whom he naturally helps get to the afterlife.) On that note I think I will take a survey of everyone here and ask if they had to be snowed in somewhere overnight what would be their ideal location.

So the impromptu survey results are in: I picked the Field Museum. Others were somewhat more practical and said a shopping mall because it had lots of different stuff to do, eat, wear, and whatnot. One of my friends was tempted by several different options- the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Field Museum, the planetarium, a movie theater. Someone said a library if they could order take out and be in their pjs. One said the Art Institute. Several people said their friends' houses. What I found most interesting was the questions people asked before they answered. How many days were they trapped? Were they trapped alone, with friends or with a huge group of people? And how my question was intended to be fun, but people took it really seriously and thought about what kind of food and supplies a place had. Interesting how a sort of simple question could provoke such different answers.

Tired of Winter

2007-02-06T12:14:00.000-06:00

I am seriously done with winter. Done. This little angry girl is an illustration I did for Spoke. I think she pretty much sums up how I am feeling today about the weather. Because frankly, winter isn't so much fun now that I have stopped getting snow days. No matter how pretty the snow looked today as it was falling.

Around the Coyote Winter Art Festival

2007-02-05T18:52:00.001-06:00

These are two works that are going to be at the Around the Coyote Winter Art Festival (http://www.aroundthecoyote.org/festivals/2007_winter/) happening this coming weekend (Feb 8-11th). The top is a painting called Angry Red Planet and the bottom is a drawing I did after sketches I did sitting in the park one day. All the work I did for the show deals with these map-like landscapes. I will post more images when I have them.

I am fascinated by our need to organize information and label in order to comprehend the world. The paintings and drawings I am currently working on play with ambiguity and explores that fascination. The map-like images depict an unidentified place, an imaginary landscape that is known only to me. It is not clear what the viewer is looking at specifically, yet the maze of lines and color evoke definite map-like qualities. Because they are not real geographies, these fabricated environments—which are informed by maps and topographical images—invite viewers to make their own assumptions and attach their own classifications. Often my images overlay the organic maps with more geometrical city skylines that are in turn suggestive of this conflict. It is my hope that in questioning the authenticity of my images as actual maps, one becomes more mindful of the power we give other maps and the labels we attach to such images.

(I am not sure what happened to the images for this post. I will try to repost them this weekend. Weird!)

Winter

2007-02-05T13:29:00.000-06:00

This winter I discovered the wonder that is felt and embroidery on felt. I love the way it looks. So I had lots of fun experimenting with felt- as it was so cheap at Michael's. Everyone got something made out of felt for Christmas. Once I get a good picture of the anatomical heart I made for my sister I will be sure to post it. But my friends Elizabeth and Annette have this great little arts mailer called Spoke. Check it out at www.spokeisneat.org. I did this little felt piece for the issue that they are currently working on.

Yay!

2007-02-05T12:05:00.000-06:00

Francis the Tiny Ninja Bunny is here to greet you and welcome you all to my blog!

My plan is to use this spot to promote my art and other creative endeavors. My sister and I created girlface many years ago with the idea that it could encompass all our various projects. So maybe in the future you will see her work here as well. I am constantly coming up with new art projects, materials to explore and being inspired by random things I see every day.

Anyhoo... I was getting tired of being asked when I would have some kind of site where people could see my work- I hope this is the answer.