Matte Black

Over the last couple months I've been indulging myself in a new hobby. I just recently started going to ceramics classes at the Northern Clay Center this past January and after my first class I was absolutely smitten! There's something really meditative and incredible about sitting next to a potter's wheel and just moving clay around with your hands. I was talking to a friend the other day and caught myself trying to explain the process --- though it's still a creative endeavor, it's nothing like drawing. It's more like you're there, and just letting the clay make it's own shape. It's nice to be able to pick up a hobby where I don't have to stress about making something super technical with every turn!



I've probably made at least 40 teacups by now and have gone through two five week classes. I am really looking forward to going back and taking another once teaching is over and I've freed up a little more time in my schedule. Though I'm far from being a master, I'm really very proud of the things I've done.

I just re-opened my Etsy shop the other week as well, and today, during the wonderful 70 degree weather, Chris and I opened the windows and did a little photo shoot with my teacups!



Here are the first four in all their glory! If you'd like to see the other photos of them I'll be posting them on my Etsy shop as I go! I can't wait to get to the point where I can paint things on them!
So exciting!

Design School Wisdom! Exciting!

I just got home to a super exciting package in the mail.
Last fall Jennifer Tolo Pierce sent me a super exciting email and asked me to be a part of the new Design School Wisdom book for Chronicle Books.

I am totally flattered and really thrilled about the whole thing... more than you could know.

I have always been a huge fan of teaching -- I even found out that this is my 10th year teaching at MCAD. I've absolutely loved every minute of it and I'm really grateful for the time my students spend with me, the things I've learned, and my chance to give something back.

Here are the quotes that they featured. I stand by every single one of them! So excited!
What a happy day to end a Tuesday!

A cluster of flowers for Natasha!




Here's a great saying courtesy of Nina P. Loved making this one!

Well, I'm back at work! The day after the holidays. Yes, I know there's still a holiday left to celebrate, but for now, It feels good to be cranking away and getting back on track. I had the most wonderful holiday with my family. Between playing board games and eating a very non-traditional meal, it was really a fun experience. It's been quiet at the studio- I imagine that most people are still sitting around in their food comas and catching up on movies / trying out new presents and enjoying the company of family, friends and pets.

I spent the greater half of Christmas Day coding the Great Personality game. (Yeah! I've got this thing DOWN!) And I have to admit that I'm pretty darn proud of myself. It's become easy to add interesting and exciting things -- like animated frames (Non-stop rain was a big one!) and some really fun twists!
Hopefully I'll code up a little teaser so you guys can see what I'm up to.

Happy Holidays, everyone. May your new year be filled with adventure!

Happy Holidays!

I am almost at the end of my commissions for this year! This is one of the last ones and I'm really happy with it. I've had the pleasure of drawing tea plants a couple of times for clients in the last year and this was a nice treat!

Speaking of treats, today was an incredible day. I was really lucky to have spent it in the company of all of my great friends. My friend Ryan just moved back to town and has been spending his afternoons with us at Paper Bicycle. He was able to join us for our end of the year Paper Bicycle / Light Grey holiday party. We were also blessed with Jesse Riggle and Ian Gorton as well, and Francesca, Jenny, Chris and I shared presents and great times with everyone around a tiny silver tinsel tree. I'm quite a sentimental person -- so there were a couple cards, and a couple presents today that made me tear up (with happiness!). I am really happy to say that this year has shaped up to be something incredible. I feel like I've been really lucky to have spent it with great friends, doing so many fun things.

I am planning to finish it off with a bang as my parents and siblings come into town. Happy Holidays to everyone out there! Thanks for watching my blog and saying hello throughout this year. I appreciate every one of you guys. May your holidays be amazing. Hugs to all of you!

Bouquet for Megan C.

I just finished this little illustration for Megan C. -- who is a huge sweetheart and such a generous person. I have been finally getting to the end of my commissions from Oliver's fundraiser and it feels good. My goal is to send out the last ones by the end of the year and I'm almost there!

Over the past couple weeks I've been trying to plow through teaching finals at MCAD, finishing up my postcard for Light Grey Art Lab's 6 Degrees exhibition, doing all of my daily work at Paper Bicycle, and getting ready to code the dating sim for an upcoming Light Grey show. It's been incredible. There are some days I feel more productive than others, but when I actually have time to sit back and reflect on what the last year has been like -- I'm quite proud.

I guess I'm most proud of keeping up a pace that I thought wasn't possible. I'm proud to have spent all this time with ambitious, incredible people. I've been introduced to new friendships and people that really push me to work harder and look for the next challenge. It's been great and as I finish some of my 2013 things, I'm looking forward to a new list, one that makes 2014 as incredible, and exploratory, as this year.

Chinese Bell Flowers

I hope everyone had a really fantastic holiday weekend!
I have been grateful for all of the craziness, the visits from my family, and the projects that I have going on.

In fact, here's one of them.
Here's a little floral study that I did for the wonderful Wendi Chen.
I've had the pleasure of feeling pretty productive over the last several days despite having the holiday-lag following me about!

Besides preparing for the upcoming shows at Light Grey Art Lab and finishing the rest of my commissions (thank you, everyone!) I've been swamped!
MCAD ends in just about two weeks and I'm feeling like, despite how much work this past semester has been, I'm really going to miss it when it's over.
I'm looking forward to sitting down, getting a ton more work done and really cranking out a ton of the stories and code that is for the upcoming Great Personality Exhibition (happening in January!)

Well, wish me luck! Francesca and I had the opportunity to update the website on Friday evening, and we've recently included some projects that I'm really proud to add! Here's a link if you're curious!

Quick Drawing of a man!

Between finishing my commissions for everyone and getting everything done before the Holidays I've barely had a chance to myself!
In a moment in the middle of the night a couple nights ago I started what was, at the time, as sketch of this man and over the last day or so it's turned into this guy. Sometimes you just need to do some self indulgent stuff, right? It's rare that I get the chance to just sit down in Painter and sketch!

Also! I wanted to let everyone know that I also just got a tumblr! I know, right? Late to the party, but very excited to have one.
If you want to follow what I'm up to there, please do! :)

Sketchbook, you are growing on me.

One of my latest sketches

I've made some progress lately. I was paging through my sketchbook and realized the other day that I've had this one for about a year and a half. I've become painfully aware that I am a slow sketcher. I have always had this problem with trying to make everything in my sketchbook perfect rather than just embracing some of the weird, bizarre or spontaneous things that come with just trying things out.

In the last several months, though, I've been sketching regularly - both in my personal sketchbook, for fun, and for the upcoming Sketchbook Project 1703 Miles and Back Tour. Everyone at Light Grey got one and so we decided that we'd be working away at making something fun, while being okay with whatever interesting and crazy things came out of it.

This little bird was a doodle I made while I was playing D&D last Saturday with a group of friends. It had been a really long time since I sketched and hung out, and even longer since I played D&D. Hooray for sketching and hooray for hanging out. Two things I am excited to do more of!

I have a list of commissions (Thank you!) from some amazingly wonderful people that I'll be sharing here as I complete them.
Thanks to everyone that donated or comissioned me to help me pay for Oliver's (my kitty!) treatment.
I'm still taking orders! :) Here's a quick link in case you know anyone who might want a pretty drawing!

He's got those eyebrows I like.

I drew this boy because I saw some great eyebrows today that I was like "YEAH THOSE ARE THE BROWS!"
The bigger the better! That's what I always say. Just a little pencil sketch before bed in my new giant moleskine!

April 22: Sprigs

Longing for a little greenery. It's supposed to snow all week and I am pining for some vegetation! The only greenery I see these days are the greens in my salad.

April 17 : Glacier

I have had an obsession with Iceland ever since my trip there three years ago. It was a magical, wonderful place, filled with lunar landscapes and incredibly incomprehensible changes in terrain. Of course, there are several glaciers in Iceland that took my breath away and I did a tribute to glacial ice for Light Grey Art Lab's upcoming Macro & Micro Exhibition (This Friday from 7 - 10pm at Light Grey Art Lab).

It was a really fun drawing to make and I got a kick out of giving it a warm, dusk-like lighting. It seemed that the sun set for hours while we were there, and that the sun didn't dip down until well after 10pm. I am taking a trip there with Chris Hajny and Francesca Buchko (who are also in the Macro & Micro exhibition) this coming June. I can't wait! It should be a real adventure!

If you are interested, this piece is for sale in the Light Grey Shop as an archival giclee print through the end of the exhibition! You can also take a look at all of the other awesome art by the other 90+ international artists, too!

April 16 : Sleeping birdie

He's worn out from a day of hunting worms and gathering twigs.

April 14: Never-ending moss field!

Never-ending little moss tufts!
It's like a puffy field of dreams!

April 12: A Bird Friend

This little guy looks hungry!


This guy looks hungry, too. For ADVENTURE!
(Found this amazing book at the Half Price Books by my house. I'm not sure if this was the original story for THIS, but you should probably watch it anyway.)

April 11: Never let me go.

It feels like a quiet night. Here's a small, quiet drawing to fit the mood.
Created in photoshop with my tablet, just for fun.


A little detail of the bird

April 10: Script

Sketchbook view

It's getting closer to April 15th and all I can think about is how much I hate doing my taxes. Seriously. It feels like I've been doing them non-stop for the last 9 months. What's up with that? I guess that's the part where I have to thank myself for becoming a self-employed business owner. There are seldom times when I think back fondly about working for someone else's company, and tax time is one of them. Ah, when things were easy. I remember those days.

I guess you trade some perks for other perks, right?


Here's a straight-on view

I got to forget all about my tax woes around 6:30 when I headed to MCAD to teach my Illustration in product design class. Man, I love that class. Let me just tell you (again) how much I love teaching. It's ridiculous. This semester's class is full of geniuses. Every single person in the room is full of amazing ideas and inspires the crap out of me twice a week. I am very lucky that I get to spend time with these guys and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think that. It makes me want to bring them a box of doughnuts every time I come to school. Of course, I can't do that because I'd give them all heart-attacks and I would eventually run out of money, but it's the thought that counts.

Tonight I had just a minute to do something in my sketchbook before I call it a night and I chose to do some hand-type. I have no idea where this came from, but sometimes I just like the feeling of this fancy pen I have. It's called a Kuretake Fudegokochi. It's one of my favorite pens -- it's half brush pen, and half felt pen. I'm not even sure how it's possible that I love this pen so much, but leave it up to Japan to make more amazing things.

My two favorite pieces of script from tonight say "only the lonely" and "nothing matters but you". With a chose third for "Fortune Favors the Brave".

April 9: Big Eyed Dolls

I hear it's snowing outside. It's so black I can't see. I have been absorbed in talking to my parents and looking at celebrity gossip on the internet. (What a way to spend a Tuesday night!) I took a trip down to Half Price books after work and indulged in three new vintage books. You know when they tell you not to judge a book by it's cover? That's all I do. I have a gem from the 50s, and another two from the 60s sitting in front of me. One is called "The Palace of Eternity", and another "The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu" (yes, that is a real book), and the last one is a pulp novel called "The Tattooed Rood".

The other day my pets broke my scanner that I use for posting things from home (which is why you get to see my sketches via photo!) and I'm desperate for my new one to come in the mail. I know it'll arrive any day, and as the forecast predicts, I am sure I'll find it buried on my front porch under a half a food of snow when it finally arrives. Once that scanner arrives I'll be sure to show you these fantastic covers. Oh, how you'll love The Tattoos on that Rood!

Tonight I drew some girls. I have been drawing characters in my sketchbook for a couple weeks now. It's rare that I get to draw people for work, so I figured I'd indulge today. For some reason I was thinking 'big eyed dolls' all night, and this is what came of my inspiration. Just heads for now... but I think I might just color these ladies up and give them some bodies and post them one of these days. The one on the top right looks like my sister, Victoria, a little bit. Not because of the scowl, but there's something about her!

April 8: Night time and fire-flies.

Full repeat

I started creating this pattern last night by playing with watercolors. I had done these guys in greyscale first and then decided to color them in the computer.
I wanted to make something that had a glowing look and that was reminiscent of a field with fireflies, without actually drawing fireflies.


Detail

It's getting closer and closer to spring and I can't wait until it's nice enough to go outside and see some real flowers. It's funny. I draw foliage so frequently, yet it's been a long while since I've gotten to see greenery around my neighborhood! Soon, right?

We're working on a patterns project in the class I'm teaching. I am really excited about it. My students are geniuses and I'm totally looking forward to seeing what they make!
We went through a bunch of different types of patterns today in class and I taught them how to make damask patterns, toiles, radial patterns and chinoiseries! I'll have to try and keep up with them!

April 7: Black watercolor

Tonight I'm working on a couple patterns and I decided to bust out the watercolors. I have a project that I'm doing tomorrow that involves making flowers that need to be able to be shown in various palettes, so I'm doing all of the painting in grey-scale. When creating patterns I usually create assets like this on a page and then toss them in the computer. It's funny to see them all in a blob like this -- there really is no rhyme or reason for where they're placed or why some match and some don't!

April 6: Raspberries!

A quick and loose sketch of some raspberries for the night! Thinking of raspberry jam, smoothies and all things summer. Too bad it's rainy and only just springtime!