Final drawings of 2011!

Here's some more sad artwork! I'm so thankful art helps me work through these things....

After you break up with someone, that connection you have doesn't just severe. Which makes things just more sad and confusing.  Especially if you're still living together.

Another drawing about that lingering connection, about mourning the loss of the other. (Randomly, the colors in this painting were inspired by designs on a couple t-shirts that I just associate with us)

The past couple weeks I've been hiding away a lot, because of a mixture of apathetic sadness and holiday blues and not wanting to talk about things. And this is what it felt like...I imagined I was pulling down the blinds and such around myself, hiding as much as possible in plain sight.

Break-ups make me reevaluate my life, and look for how the relationship fit into my journey.  I guess it makes me feel better to look for its purpose rather than focus just on its failings. And my relationship with Kurt helped me deal with a lot of my personal romantic issues. So this drawing shows my appreciation of that, thanks for helping me hang up more of my hang-ups. (These are a decade's worth of my hang-ups all together chronologically...)

Currently Listening: Gotye...Making Mirrors

Happy holidays!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone!

 

Bushcraft: Homemade wrapping paper!

Let's make wrapping paper!

  This weekend at Bushcraft we made wrapping paper by painting/ stamping/glittering brown kraft paper...using a variety of tools as bubble wrap, block prints, rollers, and cut-out sponges. Thank you Diana for making the glogg, and my apologies to Bishop for being left with such a glittery apartment! (Muah-ha-ha...)

 Here's Bishop...

 

Diana...

 

 Jasmina...

 ...and me!

 This was so much fun that I believe I have found a new holiday tradition! Yay!

Currently Reading: Summer Blonde by Adrian Tomine

6 New Drawings

The first new drawing is simply about my kitty Rory and how darn cute he is...

***

The rest of these drawings are about relationships.

They are in chronological order, a couple drawings down is after when Kurt and I broke up last week...

 

Understanding us is like putting together a puzzle when you don't know what the picture is, or even if the pieces will fit together at all. You wonder why some things are so complicated.

I guess this is my, "I want us to move forward together but I'm tired of waiting for you to catch up to me" drawing.  It's my desire for us to be on the same happy healthy page, and wishing I could help you climb up to me.

This was the first drawing after the break up.  It sucks and it's sad, but thankfully there is no bitterness or anger. The text in the tears says, "I know it's for the best..."

There is no bad guy in this situation. If anything, I am angry with your problems that interfered with you being able to just be happy with me. I love you, but I hate hate hate your depression.

 I should have admitted to you earlier how your suicidal tendencies have taken an emotional toll on me, but I really thought I could handle it. So I'm carrying a speech bubble, but I left your words out since that's private.

***

Soooo, these are all the drawings about this for now. There will be more.

Thank you Kurt for allowing me to share very personal aspects of our romance publicly through my drawings. That takes a lot of trust and courage, so please know how grateful I am. I've been very lucky to have you as a source of love and inspiration.

Misfits Party and Jugs & Capes

Thanks everyone who came this weekend to our 

Misfits party! 

We played the pilot episode and the Christmas special, I gave away some copies of the every excellent Misfits soundtrack, and then Kurt played music videos/ short films until we were booted out. (Thanks, Andy for letting us put this event on!)

 Kurt dressed as a young offender complete with orange jumpsuit, and I was the probation worker who in the show always ends up dead.

On a random nerdy side note...

Last week none other than Doctor Who himself Matt Smith and Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) visited the Way Station because they heard there was a TARDIS in Brooklyn! (The TARDIS is his time-traveling vessel, but here it's the bathroom) They even signed it on the inside. If only they came a few days later, then we would have ran into them...

This weekend I also attended my first meeting of

Jugs & Capes!

It's an all-girl graphic novel book club, and I am thrilled to be a part of it. This month we read and discussed Berlin: City of Stones (Book 1) by Jason Lutes while eating absurd amounts of baked goodies. It was really nice to discuss comics as a literary art form in such a fun, relaxed setting.   Thank you Andrea Sparacio for inviting me!

Currently Listening: Misfits season 1 & 2 soundtrack

Mister Handsome

 Nobody probably remembers this....but a couple years ago I was commissioned to paint a 1980s style unicorn poster for the the set of my friend Jason Wishnow's new film. And now the film is finally out!

Mister Handsome

A short film from Jason Wishnow (2011)

A very grown-up love story between a girl and her imaginary friend. 

Starring Heather Burns, Ajay Naidu, Beth Grant, Michael Chieffo, and Miles Fisher.

So here's the poster I painted...

 

And here are some screen grabs from the film with the poster in the background. (I love Heather Burns!)

 

Why was this poster so special? Well, it was to be featured in a pivotal, um, love scene between the main character and her imaginary friend.

You should just watch the film online, it's a fun 14 minutes! And thanks to Jason for giving me this opportunity, and a shout out in the credits. I can't wait to see what film he makes next!

Mister Handsome (2011) a short film from jason wishnow on Vimeo.

New Commissions: Signs & Comics

Last week I made a trio of simple signs for a Prohibition themed party at Employees Only! (special thanks to Adam Aleksander)  Here's a process pic featuring Rory...

Here are the finished signs...

And then here's the party! Photos are from Metromix...

ALSO...last week I was also commissioned to draw a save-the-date postcard featuring an engaged couple where they are dressed up as superheroes.  It was a slightly different style for me to work in, but I really love how it turned out! I simply had to share it. It really makes me want to draw all my friends as superheroes...

Barnes & Noble...and Brian Froud!

This weekend I appeared at the

Barnes & Noble in Manhasset! 

 I talked about my work, answered questions (there was a good little group of teens), and signed copies of Page by Paige. Special thanks to Teresa for making me feel so welcome!

 

 

And in other I-am-such-a-nerd news...

I met Brian Froud!

So my friend Juliet and I were walking around the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and we just ran into Brian Froud!  He's the amazing illustrator behind Labyrinth and Dark Crystal if you don't know his work. (We actually used his work as inspiration while creating the Enchanted Forest installation a year ago for Hendricks...) We got to talk with him for about a half hour (wow!) and I could not resist hugging him. It was such an emotional magical serendipitous experience as an artist to meet someone you admire so much, especially in a museum that already holds deep emotional resonance for me. I am so lucky!

 

 

To make this encounter more bizarre, the night before at the Museum of the Moving Image we saw a screening of Labyrinth where Brian Froud was featured as a special guest along with Brian Henson, Wendy Froud, and Toby Froud.  That made it even stranger to run into him! It was a magical weekend indeed.

Currently Reading: Beg The Question...by Bob Fingerman

3 new drawings! And new mix tape!

New drawings! 

After making them, Kurt pointed out how they all have an underlying theme...Lies.  Huh.  I guess not having an artistic outlet and being more stressed in recent months wasn't the most emotionally healthy thing for me. I get more fractured. (Click to see larger)

Black sheep.

This was inspired by going home for Thanksgiving. Not that I'm the family outcast or anything, I am just... different. And I repress that sometimes to accommodate others when it seems to make gatherings go smoother.

Insecurity.

I spent so many years not feeling like a "real artist" that sometimes when I'm doubty it pops back up, making me feel like I'm a fraud waiting to be exposed. Then I have to remind myself that just like my blonde roots, it's just not who I am anymore.  That I choose confidence just like my red hair.

...FINE!

This is what I've been like in recent months when I didn't have time to draw any of my little metaphorical self-portraits. Pent up. This isn't really the most original visual gag, but I kept visualizing it when talking to people. So I had to draw it out.

***

New Page by Paige Mix Tape!

After teacher/musician/writer Chase March read Page by Paige, he decided to make his own mix tape! It was inspired by the collection of music I included in the book (There is a "mix tape" in the back) as well as a bunch of new songs. It's a unique idea and an awesome compilation, I'm so glad he sent it my way! I really love how music can enrich the meaning of a work of visual art, and I wish more artists mushed the different disciplines together. 

 You can download the mix and see his blog post about it here!

Currently Reading: Chester 5000 (a fun wordless erotic graphic novel!)...by Jess Fink