Book Launch SUNDAY!

Normally I don't plug the same event more than once, but hey...
this is my FIRST BOOK AND I'M REALLY EXCITED! So here are 8 reasons you should come to my book launch party.

1. The amazing Alyson Greenfield will perform live music, including a NEW SONG inspired by "Page by Paige!" You have to see this girl, seriously.

2. We'll debut a NEW TRAILER made by Portland Filmmaker Nathan Luppino! Even I have not seen it yet.

3. Laura Lee will do her first LIVE READING from her book! There will be blushing.

4. A cigarette girl will be applying BLOCK PRINTS on people!

5. You can have your fill-in-the-voice-bubble COMIC PORTRAIT taken! (It'll make sense when you see it...)

6. FREE GOODIES! Nibbles, surprise-filled easter eggs, fun permission slips, and more.

7. FREE RAFFLE! Prizes include signed copies of "Page by Paige," book soundtrack CDs, zines, and (gasp!) an ORIGINAL DRAWING from the book!

8. The weather looks like it should be nice, so afterwards we can go hang out in BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK! (bring a blanket and discreet refreshments if you wish)

******This Sunday. 4:00 sharp. Powerhouse Arena. DUMBO*****
Check out the event on the Powerhouse website and on Facebook.

JMU Guest Speaker

Last week when I was in Virginia visiting my family, I swung by my alma mater James Madison University where I was a guest speaker in one of Dr. Cole Welter's undergrad art classes! I've come in a few times before to talk about what life is like as a working creative in the "real world" after graduation. Its half pep talk/half reality check.



I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the School of Art & Art History has a new director...Dr. Bill Wightman, who was my thesis adviser in Grad School! Awesome! As you can see, he and Cole have no sense of humor.


Back when I first visited JMU in 1996, they were first talking about this "new art building" since many of the art classes were scattered across random classrooms on campus. But FINALLY this building is going to begin construction within the next couple years. Cole gave me the blueprint virtual tour, and it looks amazing! I'm thrilled for them.



On a random side note....While looking around the JMU website, I was surprised to find my own name in an English department syllabus! It was for Dr. Siân White's Literary Narrative class. (She and I met at my Blue Ridge Community College art show and I gave her a PDF version of my book as a teaching tool.) One of these names sure is not like the others...

"...We will explore the questions raised by these theoretical readings...by writers such as Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, Sandra Cisneros, Alison Bechdel and Laura Lee Gulledge, among others."

Currently Reading: Alec: How to Be an Artist...by Eddie Campbell

Easter Egg Caper

In my graphic novel "Page by Paige" the characters (Together known as the Agents of Whimsy) fill plastic Easter eggs with surprises and leave them around for people to discover.



I thought it would be fun to try this here in New York! So I stuffed over 400 eggs. Half to hide, half to give away at my upcoming book events.


Inside each smiley-face adorned egg is a star sticker, an encouraging fortune, an eraser for making mistakes, a life saver, and a postage-stamp-sized card with my website.



This weekend I hid about 200 eggs just in time for Easter, with my lovely assistants Diana, Daniel, and Anton. (Real life Agents of Whimsy!) The eggs ended up in Bushwick, Williamsburg, Park Slope, SOHO, Chelsea, the Meatpacking District, and a mixture of subway stations such as Rockefeller Center & Bedford/Nostrand. All over the place!







Anton and I put lot in the Highline Park since there were lots of families out enjoying Easter Sunday...


Here are some women finding an egg. I overheard one comment as she walked past me that she thought it was so cynical of her that she immediately thought it was trash at first rather than something nice. I wonder what other people thought when they found them...



Check out this nice email I received:
"I found a blue egg and it certainly made my day! It was sitting on the iron gate that surrounds a subway station entrance/exit on the street level...I’m an anthropologist and just had to pick it up and see what was inside. I’ve always been curious about these kinds of artifacts and hoped it would be something thoughtful in a meaningful way and not chewed gum or something worse. Thank you so much!"
Martha
Nutley, New Jersey

Keeps your eyes peeled for eggs, I'm sure there are still many hidden out there! And if you do find one, I'd love to hear about it.

Kids CC Recap/ Launch Party Next Week!

*KIDS COMIC CON*

This past weekend I trekked up to the Bronx to take part in Kids Comic Con! I did a small workshop, and the fact that everyone left with some new drawing ideas inspired by MY process made me very happy. (Hooray thinking in metaphors!) I also had some great conversations with other comic artists, such as Raina Telgemeier and Yuko Ota.



*PAGE BY PAIGE - BOOK LAUNCH PARTY*

It's time to say THANK YOU for all you folks who have supported/ encouraged/ inspired me while making this book come to life! (If you can't make it, don't fret! I'll be doing a bunch of workshops at different NYC bookstores over the next month.)

Sunday, May 1st
Powerhouse Books
37 Main Street (DUMBO) Brooklyn, NY
Facebook Event

4:00-5:00
There will be a short reading and then a live musical performance by glockenspiel-yielding-quirky-rapper Alyson Greenfield! She's writing an original song just for the occasion. Don’t be late or you won’t receive a raffle ticket for some goodies...including an original DRAWING from the book!

5:00-6:00
We'll finish the formal stuff and hang out....You can have a Paige-inspired block print stamped on you by a cigarette girl, nibble on light refreshments, snag freebies, and have your fill-in-the-voice-bubble cartoon portrait taken! And of course I'll be signing copies of the book.

After 6:00ish
We'll either head across the street into Brooklyn Bridge Park for the best waterside view of Manhattan OR we'll head over to Rebar for drinks. (Depending on the weather and what folks are in the mood for.)



Currently Reading: Peanut Butter & Jeremy's Best Book Ever! by James Kochalka

Recent Freelancing

I recently was freelancing at Largent Studios, a lovely scenic shop that's literally at the end of a pier in Red Hook!

Normally I'm a scenic painter, but here I got the chance to earn my prop shop chops (groan) working on these slick sculpted signs for Say Media. These took patience.


We made nine sets going to their different offices, so I also got to illustrate some fun installation instructions.


I also helped with this towering sign/sculpture for a fancy-pants bat mitzvah! The initials are those of the birthday boy, and bricks are all white so guests could write messages and such.



Currently Reading: 32 Stories: The Complete Optic Nerve Mini-Comics by Adrian Tomine

Kids Comic Con tomorrow

Tomorrow I'll be promoting Page by Paige at Kids Comic Con!


TOMORROW Saturday April 15th!
I'll be at the Abrams table 12-5:00.(And doing a short workshop sometime in there...)
At Bronx Community College: Colston Hall, 181st Street & University
Closest subway is 4 Train: 181st Street
Under 18: free, Over 18: $5

Report from MOCCA

"Page by Paige" premiered at the MOCCA Fest this past weekend here in New York!

The Abrams table was in a prime location right by the front entrance.

While signing the books I doodled picture frames, birds, and tulips inside the front cover. Everyone who came by was super kind and complimentary!

A couple of the Abrams folks would be holding up my book to get the attention of the passing people. (Doesn't he look thrilled?! Haha...)

I got to sign books next to the legendary Jerry Robinson, who was the creator of the Joker! He was there promoting his new book, "Jerry Robinson: Ambassador of Comics."

I also got to sit with Michael Uslan who is known for producing the Batman films. He also writes Archie, so was there promoting his new book "Archie Marries..."

We sold all the copies of "Page by Paige" but ONE! Hooray! The Abrams team really did a great job.

And I just had to share this photo of Kurt and I taken by Andrea Sparacio. Because comics couples are cute.

My first fan art: Doctor Who

My first piece of FAN ART!

In anticipation of the new season of DOCTOR WHO, I wondered...what would the recent companions do if they all got together? Girl's night out! Doing caricatures is NOT my strength, so this was definitely a fun challenge for me. (click to see larger)


If you don't know Doctor Who, these are the companions:

My first wheat paste

A couple years ago I hung up some street art under the name Karat (brass etchings!) and I've been meaning to get back into it. I thought I'd start by hanging up drawings with wheat paste, especially since the main character in my book Paige embarks on doing wheat pastes herself!

I made an altered vision chart which is actually to scale so you CAN use it to check your vision. I made it for Kurt, it reads: "I do see you love adore cherish I'm sorry the fears sometimes interfere Remember our hears unwavering I trust you to see me too."

I hung it directly across the street from our stoop so we could see it when we're coming and going.


Unfortunately I made the paste in a rather slap-dash fashion, so it ended up not taking to the wall. Ack! Now I'm remaking the paste (more attentively this time) and I'll be testing it out some more.


I have a bunch of other wheat pastes and etchings ready to hang, so there will be lots of pics of street art coming!

Currently Listening: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions...Bruce Springsteen

MOCCA Fest

This weekend is MOCCA FEST, and on SUNDAY I'll be at the Abrams table signing copies of Page by Paige!

And yes, there will be copies of my book there for people to PURCHASE. Hot off the presses! Come watch me awkwardly turn red and not know how to deal with attention.

Info:
The Lexington Avenue Armory: 28 Lexington Avenue (btwn 25th & 26th)
April 9th & 10th (Saturday & Sunday) Starts at 11:00. I'll be around 12ish-6:00.
Abrams table: B1 & C1
$10 one day pass, $15 for both days. Facebook Event.

Currently Watching: The X-Files...Season 1

You've got mail!

Five and a half years ago while living in an old motel room in Virginia, I decided that my art needed to be published somehow as a book. But I thought it would resemble something like Sabrina Ward Harrison or Maira Kalman's illustrative books...the term graphic novel was not even in my vocabulary.

Flash forward to now, where I am living in Brooklyn and receiving two boxes in the mail from the printer with copies of Page by Paige. MY BOOK.

These are the paperbacks...

And the hardcover version...

When I picked up the first one and opened it up, I just started to cry. Because it finally sunk in that this was for-real-no-joke-actually happening. This was my book!

I love how it looks without the dust jacket...

And how can YOU get your hands on a copy? Well, it comes out on MAY 1st so you can either preorder it on a site like Amazon or come to one of my upcoming events. Details to come!

Currently reading: Potential by Ariel Schrag

Best Events Magazine

The HENDRICK'S ENCHANTED FOREST project I worked on back in December was just featured in Best Events Magazine! (If you don't know the scoop, you can see pics here) Photos by A. Jesse Jiryu Davis.

And look, there's me!


Currently Reading: Daisy Kutter: The Last Train...by Kazu Kibuishi