The Red & White Bash

Last week I was a thumbprint-portrait cigarette girl 

at Wine Enthusiast Magazine's Red & White Bash at the Hudson Hotel!

You might remember that I have broken out my cigarette girl tray a few times before....making thumbprint portraits, lipstick kiss portraits, and live block-prints. It's definitely a fun experience to make one-on-one custom artwork for folks on the spot. But this time around I gave my homemade tray a snazzy gilded makeover...

I turned guest's thumbprints into miniature portraits on wine tags, each containing an impromptu quote about their love of wine. Alas, almost all the photos I took of finished portraits didn't turn out! Which is a shame because they had so much personality.  But here are a couple photos just so you get the idea...

In addition to being part of the show, I also got to be involved in the design process behind this event. Here are the production renderings I made months ago, along with the final result. It ended up staying pretty true to the original vision!

1. View from the balcony...

2. Upstairs balcony...

3. Entryway...

 

Thank you, Adam Aleksander for envisioning such a fun event! 

It's always a pleasure to work with a fellow whimsical world builder.

{Event photos by Rebecca Smeyne}

And a final reminder...

*My BOOK LAUNCH PARTY is this Wednesday 7-8:30 at Housing Works!*

Free Comic Book Day & Geek Girls

I took part in Free Comic Book Day this weekend! 

Thank you Jon Gorga for inviting me out to do a signing at Mahnattan Comics & More...

...and to the brand new Carmine Street Comics! Lots of friendly folks came by and squeezed into their modest West Village storefront. And I'd like to give a shout-out to my cartoonist tablemate Nathan Burney, who breaks down criminal law in his Scott McCloud-esque comics.

 

Check out their artist-in-residence space in the front window! 

Having an artist at work sure is my kind of window dressing.

Oh, and I make a cameo in their Free Comic Book Day video...

(screen shot)

In Other News.... 
I'm one of the ladies interviewed in the new book "How Geek Girls Will Rule the World" by Jennifer Thorpe-Moscon! (The title pretty much says it all. Yes, we are taking over.)  I can't wait to read my copy pictured here, so if find geek-world-domination intriguing I recommend you snag one here.

 Currently Reading: When David Lost His Voice...by Judith Vanistendael.

Texas Trip! Recap from TLA Conference

Last week Abrams sent me on my first official book business trip...

to the Texas Library Association Conference in Fort Worth, Texas!

 

I was only there for a day, so it was quite a whirlwind! Let's see...

I was on a panel with other Maverick List comics creators: 

Hope Larson, Gilbert Hernandez, Raina Telgemeier, Jim Ottaviana, and Orpheus Collar.  

I also did a signing in the author area! It amazes me that I can make these very personal books and people out in the world, like, want to buy them...

I took part in the Teen Texas Teens For Libraries event, where these lucky teens got to fill bags upon bags with tons of FREE books. Abrams donated copies of the Will & Whit galley so it was fun to pass them out to hungry readers.

And finally, I was one of the YA authors taking part in Texas Tea-Time, where us authors rotated between tables of librarians sharing our work. (Very speed dating style.)

Everyone was extremely friendly and excited to talk about graphic novels, so it was quite a rewarding trip to interact with such a strong community of librarians and authors. Yee haw indeed!

 

Currently Reading: Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less from Each Other...by Sherry Turkle.

Upcoming: Free Comic Book Day! Red & White Bash!

1. Free Comic Book Day

   Free Comic Book Day is a single day - the first Saturday in May each year - when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE to anyone who comes into their stores. 

 

Since Will & Whit comes out the following week, this year I'll be selling copies of Page by Paige and a selection of prints. I'll also be giving out Artistic Licenses and promoting the upcoming launch party at Housing Works of course! Please swing by if you're going to be out-and-about.

SATURDAY May 4th

12:00-1:00pm

Manhattan Comics & More 

10 E 23rd Street, NYC (Flatiron)

 1:30-3:00pm

Carmine Street Comics 

34 Carmine Street, NYC (West Village)

 
2. The Red and White Bash
 

Wine Enthusiast Magazine is celebrating their 25th anniversary with an event beyond all expectation, designed by one of my favorite collaborators...the incomparable Adam Aleksander! "The Red and White Bash" will bring to life La Belle Époque and old Paris in a resplendent carnival setting. 

 

 Featuring an all-star program of the best wines in the world (over 36 wine producers), immersive set design with carnival tents and water-colored lanterns, Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra, great food, an enchanting aerialist perched in a moon, a boudoir photo booth by my friend (and award-winning photographer) Venitko, and interactive performances to charm guests as they step into our world.

  And what will I be doing there?  I'll be a roaming sketch artist cigarette girl of course!

 

INFO:

*Thursday May 9th, 7:00-10:00pm

*Good Units @ the Hudson Hotel: 356 West 58th Street (between 8th & 9th Ave), NYC.

*Tickets (all-inclusive) $65 on Eventbrite.  {100% of ticket sales will go to benefit Wine to Water, a charity bringing clean drinking water to developing countries.} 

*Facebook Event

 

Currently Reading: Los Pirineos by Leila Gomez Woolley & Sara Woolley

"Will & Whit" Countdown Begins!

Will & Whit comes out in just a couple weeks so the
countdown officially begins with some big ANNOUNCEMENTS!

* Book Trailer *

Featuring music by Paper Bird, who's included on the book soundtrack.


* Will & Whit: The Musical *
Yes, I'm working with my Artner Lauren Larken on developing Will & Whit as a musical!! (You might remember that her and I did a 6 month Artnership last year.) I'll be adapting the book as a DIY multi-disciplinary production, Larken will write the music, and we'll tap into our growing network of Artners to bring the project to life. We're still in the initial stages of development, but we're kicking the project off by sharing a couple of the new songs at the book launch party next month!

Want to follow the project as it develops? 
We have a new new Tumblr site which will feature content about the graphic novel, show-and-tell as the musical develops, and lots of stuff that inspires us along the way.
Please follow us on Tumblr if you'd join us on this new journey!

* Book Launch Party *

You might know from all my online whining last year that my new graphic novel was a BEAR to crank out. So now that it's coming out, I'm celebrating with a big honkin' party!

Festivities will include:
**Door prizes! (Including an original drawing from the book)
**Music debut! Songs from the upcoming "Will & Whit" musical performed live by Alyson Greenfield and Juliet Trail!  (songs written by Lauren Larken)
**Motion comic debut! Will-inspired short by filmmaker Nathan Luppino.
**Live reading and behind-the-scenes video shorts!

Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase in the cafe. Copies of "Will & Whit" have been donated by Abrams, so when you buy a copy you're directly supporting Housing Works!

Info:
**Weds. May 15th 7:00-8:30
**Housing Works (SOHO): 130 Crosby Street, NYC
**Housing Works Event Page
**Facebook Event Page

Currently Listening: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds...Push The Sky Away.

Recent Odds and Ends

* I'm supporting Ladypoints and so should you! *

Ladypoints is a web-series focused on celebrating women who have come to define success in their own terms and seeks to find out how they do the awesome things that they do while balancing 'real world' responsibilities like paying the rent.

I've donated copies of Page by Paige for their Kickstarter bundles and they only have a few more days to go! Please check out their Kickstarter or Tumblr learn more about this empowering project.  (And here's their spotlight on me and making comics for girls.)

* My art's on a new book cover! *

 

  When Carol Kelley emailed me about using one of my drawings for the cover of her new book Accidental Immigrants and the Search for Home, I was thrilled! I mean, just read this synopsis and tell me it doesn't sound inspiring:

The effect of immigration on individual lives is not short lived. Those who stay in an adopted country permanently go through a continual process of adjustment and learning both about their new country-and about themselves. The four women profiled in Carol Kelley's poignant Accidental Immigrants and the Search for Home challenge immigrant stereotypes as their lives are transformed by moving to new countries for reasons of marriage, education, or career--not economics or politics.

And this was the original drawing it was based on...

* And a random new drawing! *

At MoCCA Fest I attended the 5th annual Drink and Draw Like a Lady event, where I ended talking (and drinking) the whole time instead of drawing! However, I did do a some drawing at a nearby bar instead. All the light bulbs on the ceiling reminded me of something my character Will would love, so I simply had to draw it!

Currently Reading: Underwire...by Jennifer Hayden.

MoCCA Fest! "Will & Whit" Sneak Peek!

MoCCA Fest this year was great! 

Thank you everyone who came by my table! I sold a bunch of books and sent some original drawings off to new happy homes, so overall it was a success. I was a bit tired from moving the previous week, but still managed to have a blast.

Thankfully I managed to get a few early copies of "Will & Whit" just in time to show off at MoCCA! Feedback about the new book was very encouraging. And I got to sit next to the lovely Sara Woolley, another badass Brooklyn cartoonist.

 In case you couldn't make it to the show, here's a peek inside the finished book!

So...when can YOU get a copy?!

The new book comes out May7th, and I'm pleased to announce that I'll be having the launch party on May 15th 7:00-8:30 at Housing Works in SOHO. More details to come! In the meantime, here's the book on Abrams' website and on Amazon. On Amazon they've posted a slew of interior pages, so enjoy!

Currently Reading: Writing Your First Play...by Roger Hall.