a taste

Just a little taste of the work I'm doing for Paradigm this October.  They are only sketches though...  The second image is just a very rough idea, the first image is more the direction I'm headed in, though like the second image, there will be more ornate details.  I'm working in watercolor, acrylic, fabric and wood...

clever girl

I'm getting sucked back into the world of threads and fabrics!  Sadly I keep shrugging off Sedna... which I NEED to work on...  somebody just kick me.  On the other hand, hurray for Jurassic Park quotes coupled with strange embroidery!  I know, it's weird, right?  Topher, I thought of you while making this :)

hart to heart

Hurray for embroidery!  Hand embroidered with green and fuchsia thread onto a damask print cotton fabric.  The awesome frame came from Goodwill.  I <3 thrift stores...

much ado about something

I am up and running!  A whole week full of inspiration has got me back on track for all my projects, new and old!  I spent an absolutely lovely afternoon with Florence Parry Heide, a well-known children's book author, who also happens to be related to my grandma!  Florence is such an amazing person!  She's so vibrant and full of life despite her 91 years, and just so helpful and encouraging.  I left her fantastic art-laden Kenosha home utterly saturated with inspiration, and she gave me so much hope for my future in illustration.

I also got moving on my Sedna comic after going to hang out with friends at StudioSunday!  Hopefully I can tighten up my thumbnails and starting inking the first 5 pages this month!  So excited to really get going on this project :)

I also got a tentative ok to do a mural for Willow Creek Ranch.  I suggested brightening up the indoor riding arena by painting a large mural that would include all the horses they use in the program.  They were really excited about the idea, as am I, so I'm in the process of drawing up a sketch.

I also have a show set up for October at Paradigm Coffee & Music in Sheboygan!

And, for the finale, I finally got a job!!  It's only a part-time job, so I'll still be looking for a second job, but hopefully it will be a rewarding one...

inspiration for Sedna

The wonderful Jackie at LovesickRobot is doing awesome work on the script for my Sedna book, which has inspired me to start working on it again!  So, I was trying to work on a cover and I came up with the idea of using the dog - which more than likely will not be my cover, but I liked it so much I thought I would post it.  I think I want the cover to be more simple, minimal, with lots of white space...  we shall see.   Also there's just some quick sketches of what her body could look like...

double exposure fun!

Fun pics with my Holga!  It's been awhile since I took these pictures... This roll I wanted to experiment with taking double exposures, so here are my favorites from a set of 10.  The second and third pics were taken at the giant Cabela's in Richfield (it's like a frackin museum up there!) - tons of mounted animals everywhere! It was fun - I just loaded another roll to take more multiple exposures :)

volunteering!

 

I started my volunteer work today!  It's at a therapeutic riding center for children and adults with special needs and I've been super excited to start.  Each session is about 1 hour long which I spend walking next to the rider around an indoor arena, so it's great exercise.  It's been sooo long since I've worked around horses and absolutely I love it :D  I've never worked around individuals with special needs though, so it's a bit of a learning process - but it's a great experience for me (not to mention it can go on my resume).

sedna character design

I started some character design for my graphic novel! Well, I started with some drawings of her face a while ago, but I really need to think about her body... I know this may look weird but I like the idea - just have to figure out how to make it look a bit more... hmmmm... not sure if I can find a good word for what I'm trying to explain. A bit more something... Gotta work on it.

kitty helper

So, I turned on my computer, opened up Photoshop and sat there, forcing myself to be inspired to do something... when, wouldn't ya know, a little black and orange kitty hopped up into my lap (her favorite spot it seems whenever I'm on the computer), and made it nearly impossible for me do anything with my right arm except let it lay there as her pillow.  And she is so cuddly and cute that I can't bring myself to put her down... So inspiration hopped into my lap today.  Hurray for kitty helpers!

adrift

Sometimes Beatrice was tired of seeing the same old trees day after day. On the abandoned boat she found in a stand of birches, sometimes she would pretend she was adrift on Lake Superior - bravely crossing the billowing waves to new lands for exploring and new creatures for finding...

Haven't done IF in a loooong long time.  Word of the week: "adrift."