ch-ch-ch-changes January 28, 2009

Hello friends,

I've been pretty absent from this here blog lately, for a jumble or reasons. Mostly, I've just been up to my armpits in raccoon sketches, but I'm also in the middle of a redesign for my website that I hope to have up in the next month. It's going to have lots of cool stuff, like a books section (yahoo!) and a projects page, for things that I've been working on that never seem to make it to the light of day. Or, the gray light of the computer screen at least.

So, I was wondering if any of you out there in computer land, have any suggestions or thoughts about what you like in a website? Are there things that really annoy you about sites in general, or this site in particular? (I have a few pet peeves myself..) Is there anything you've been dying to see here? More pictures of monkeys, perhaps? Some dancing, glittering unicorns? If so, I would love to hear about them.

Have a great Wednesday!

ride! January 21, 2009

A little something-something I've been working on for a new story idea, written by the fabulous and fantastico, James Proimos.

Oh lordy, I'm feeling a bit under the weather this morning. This could be because I had a little whiskey last night (gasp!) to toast to our new president (among other things, like playing the fiddle with Axton Kincaid last night.)

I got absolutely no sketching or painting done yesterday. Today is not starting out well, but hopefully after a few things, (water, coffee, breakfast, shower,) it will take a turn for the better. My cork board is laughing at me. Or mocking me, I can't really tell.

not so secret anymore! January 15, 2009

Hello friends,

I'm having my winter art sale! Mini paintings are on sale, and there are plenty of prints available as well. Check them out if you get a chance...

mini paintings

prints

Also, the not so secret news about The Secret Circus, is that it's available for pre-order! It won't ship until March 31st, but I am SUPER CRAZY PANTS excited, and wanted to share this news with you guys. Here are some places where you can get your paws on it.

Powell's Books

Barnes and Noble

Borders

Amazon USA

Amazon Canada

Amazon Japan

Amazon UK

Amazon Germany

Amazon France

Booktopia Australia

Flipkart India

Yippppeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

hark, the arc January 13, 2009

Week two into the new year, and operation cork board is still in full swing. Thanks for all of your nice comments about my last post, especially the mysterious one about red wool socks. I do have a lot of wool socks, but no red ones, and now I'm thinking that they really should be in the game plan.

The big news around here, is that the advanced reader copies for the Clover Twig story by Kaye Umansky have arrived. I am thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to hold them in my hands and thumb through the pages. It's just so nice to see everything divided into chapters..a far cry from the printed pages of writing and scribbled sketches that I had blowing around my studio for so many months.

Now I'm looking forward to the real deal, with the fancy green cover and all that, but these ARCs are very exciting indeed.

happy nude year January 05, 2009

As much as I love the holidays, I can honestly say, that the first few weeks into the new year, make me incredibly happy. I feel like everything ahead is a blank slate, so ripe with possibility, that I can barely contain my enthusiasm and optimism. Make a million dollars this year? Sure! NO problem. Get up at 6am and go to hot yoga every day? Certainly, and why not? Become a good cook, an acrobat, an animal rescuer, a novelist, an animator, and join an orchestra? Of course. Certainly. All possible! Go forth!

Judging by the commercials that ramp up in January, (Quit smoking in three hours! Hula hoop diet! Make more money selling pyramids! Get buns of steel to match your abs of gold!) I'm not the only one who has the fervor of a freed hamster when the new year begins. The trouble is of course, that I burn out rather quickly when the mountains I want to climb are steep (and by steep, I mean razor sharp cliffs lined with ice), and all I've packed is a handful of leftover Christmas chocolate to keep me going.

So this year, I'm doing my best to take my frantic excitement and goal setting and slice them into nice, simple day hikes. I'm planning on packing lots of nourishment ( a little trick that I learned from my friend Felicity) and lots of treats along the way (another trick that I learned from my friend Wendy), and hope that my plodding along, will take me somewhere I could not have even dreamed about during these first few days of post holiday bliss.

This time around, I hope to sit down and actually think about what it would take to get from point a to point b. And I hope to meet some fellow hikers along the way...maybe even around a campfire. Maybe there will even be smores. One can hope....

What say ye, want to come along?

now bring us a figgy January 01, 2009

Happy New Year! Hope you all had a great holiday time. As you can see by this handy montage of pictures, we had a bunch of snow...

Gabe and I were in Portland for part of last week, (along with one of my sisters and her family), and Eugene (where my whole family gathered), for the rest. After a week of sporadic snow, Portland got blasted with a huge storm (the biggest here in my lifetime!) that dumped seventeen inches of the white stuff, and a lot of ice, just a few days before Christmas.

This storm made for such a mixed up holiday, where lots of sledding shenanigans and snowy drives of hilarity and terror ensued. Throw in the stomach flu, and you have Christmas Crazy Pants 2008. But despite all of the mix-ups, canceled plans, vomiting, and lack of present buying, I would have to say that it was one of the most special, meaningful, wonderful Christmas weeks that I can recall.

So, now..bare with me and my math brain. (Nerd alert!) I tried to quantify the joy, below.

Number of holiday movies watched?

7.45

It's A Wonderful Life, Scrooged, Muppet Christmas Carol, Love Actually, Prancer and several made for tv holiday movies on Lifetime which are too embarrassing to recount..

Amount of chocolate eaten by me, and me alone?

239982384723984723987193847 lbs.

Roughly three thousand tons. Maybe more, if chocolate covered cherries are considered chocolate, which I think they are.

Number of Clementines consumed by me, and me alone?

57645358767697897

Let's just say that some think that my skin has a bit of an orangish tint to it now.

Total number of hours we spent inching along I-5 last week? (the freeway that runs from Eugene to Portland, normally a two hour drive)

16!!!! I did the math, truly it was 16.

Number of family members who had the stomach flu?

5, including yours truly.

Number of times sledded down the hill by my sister's house in the dead of night?

**??@@@@

The sum above is a number you get when you evade death, repeatedly.

Number of tiny snow forts created to put candles in?

15.

Number of over sized snowmen Gabe and I muscled together in the backyard?

ONE, ENORMOUS SNOW PERSON!!! Most definitely a giant.

Number of hugs and kisses from sisters and brothers and parents and husband and wee ones once we all managed to be together at last?

Many, many, many...but never enough!

Peace and health and high fives in the New Year, to you and your kin.

snow December 16, 2008

It was a snowy and chilly day on Sunday here in Portland land...(it still is, actually.) and I want to thank everyone who came out to support us at Crafty Wonderland!

Portland generally doesn't get a lot of snow, so when it happens, the roads are really treacherous (they don't salt them, or plow them here.) Mix in a few hills, and you have some wacky times out there. Gabe and I had to chain up just to get to Crafty Wonderland in the morning, and we saw some very sad cars on our way there. Plenty of sliding and spinning. So again, thanks to everyone who made it!

This was the last event for me for the season, and I must say, I'm feeling really relaxed and happy. I've been in a pretty constant state of action for the last six weeks, and it feels strangely wonderful to have the arty business stuff slowing down.

I have plenty of paintings that I'm inching into my etsy store (prints too) but other than that, I think I'm ready to kick back with some eggnog.

Yup...maybe even THAT kind of eggnog.

Sunday, December 14th December 08, 2008

Crafty Wonderland, bigger than ever! I'll be there on Sunday, booth 54. Come by and say hello!

Renegade! December 08, 2008

As usual, I didn't really get any photos of this Renegade until the last minute, so what you see here is a blurry half photo of my booth, and some folks setting up on the main floor.

I didn't capture the huge crowds of humans that turned out for this, or the beautiful space that we were in... (Pulaski Park Fieldhouse is gorgeous!) Or the big fat flakes that were drifting down outside, or Mucca Pazza marching around the place (not to mention their awesome show with Icy Demons at the Renegade after party on Saturday.)

Thanks to everyone for making this such a great Renegade!

elf workshop December 04, 2008

The ground is covered with a nice layer of snow here in Chicago land, and I'm feeling quite cozy with my big mug of tea and bowl of oatmeal this morning. I'm staying here in Chicago through the week, and on into the Holiday Renegade Craft Fair this weekend, the 6th and 7th.

I shipped 100 blank mini canvases here to Chicago for Holiday Renegade, and I'm not sure if that's something to be proud of, or embarrassed about. Either way, I've spent the last few days in my in-laws basement, painting away. They were kind of enough to let me set up a little make-shift studio down there after Thanksgiving, and so far so good. I think I've made my way through about fifty of the minis. Or 47 or something, but who's counting? (Me, that's who.)

But really, I love my make-shift studio, and I've been having the best time this week..splitting my time between hanging out with friends and family, and painting. It's the best of both worlds. Cozy hanging out time, and diligent elf-workshop time.

Also did I mention that I shipped 100 unpackaged prints to Chicago as well? 100 prints that are ready to be put into their little plastic envelopes and need to be folded and taped and all that? Why yes, yes I did. Figured I would do that in my spare time here in Chicago I suppose...(insert nervous laughter.)

If you're hoping to find me this weekend at Holiday Renegade, look for me upstairs. Booth 121. Mucca Pazza is playing on Saturday at 3:30. Can't wait!

Also, if you've been checking out my etsy store lately, you can probably see that it's pretty dang empty at the moment. It will be filling up again, starting on the 8th. I plan on setting up a make-shift studio in terminal three at O'Hare airport on Monday while I wait for my flight back to Portland. Just kidding! Sort of.

Have a great Thursday!