Recently I was a guest author at Boekday (Dutch for "Book Day") at the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum! I talked about my process, shared my original art, made some new friends (the other authors were great!) and sold some books. And it was a gorgeous day!
The farmhouse and grounds themselves are really lovely, such a nice little historical gem out in Carnasie. It's New York's oldest historic house/ first official landmark, which I found particularly interesting because my parents have been doing a lot of geneological research in recent years and among their discoveries they found a Dutch tangent in the family tree. My 8th great grandmother Sarah Joris De Rapalje was born in New York back in 1625, and lived only a few blocks from where I currently live in Brooklyn! Crazy.
Back there is Melanie Hope Greenberg presenting her book "Mermaids on Parade"....
And here is Hillary Davidson reading from her book "The Next to Fall."
And here's me!
Interior of the house...
**THIS WEEKEND IS BUSHWICK OPEN STUDIOS! Come see art.**
Currently Reading:Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth...by Chris Ware
I'll have a pair of drawings hanging in the floating wall of affordable works along with Michael Blase, Nick
Burgess, Coco Dolle, Aimee Hertog, Alix Maubrey,
Justin Orvis Steimer, Ventiko and Brenton Wolf.
Friday-Sunday June 1st-3rd
Spread Art: 53 Meserole Street
(Broadway G stop, Montrose L, Hewes JM)
I'll have a collection of drawings hanging in the show, which hangs Saturday (12-7pm) and Sunday (12-11pm). Then on Sunday night I'll talk about my work at the super fun SALON!
Sunday June 3rd. Tickets $10.
7:00-11:00pm (presentations @ 8:00) Starr Street Studios: 207 Starr Street, 3rd floor.
(Jefferson St L stop, Knickerbocker Ave M stop)
Artists include myself along with a HUGE long list of folks you can see listed on the site. Performances by Amazing Amy, Ben McKelehan and his army of 20, Sylva Dean and Me, and Heather Weston.
And of course I've gotta pimp out my friends...
1. Bishop 203 will have his studio open and lots of art on display, AND he will be part of the BOS Opening party Friday night! 2. Jasmina Tomic will have an exciting new work in the show at Wayfarers Collective! Opening reception Friday 6-9pm. (I'm also excited to see new work by David McQueen and Jillian Rose!) 3. The Parade of Art! Featuring my friend Ventiko, a gypsty brass band, live performances, and it'll actually be streamed live online!
***In other news*** Recently I had a piece hanging in the Chicken Hut Art Salon!
My piece is the little spattered one on my right. (This one.)
*These first pics taken by Andrea Sparacio
The Audiosmut ladies were also there! They had a sound installation in the bathroom.
And there were also some Jugs & Capes ladies there represent'n!
Ahhh, I love all these salons.
***In other other news***
Couldn't make it to MoCCA Fest?
My friend Reid Harris Cooper gives you a VIDEO TOURhere! (I'm 3 minutes in.)
I've recently done some collaboration with Audiosmut...
*1*
I wrote a segment in the latest episode of their RADIO SHOW!
You can read more and listen to the podcast here.
(But this is for GROWN-UPS to listen to since it features sexual content.) This month's episode is in celebration of Masturbation month (May) so
it's all about self love! The piece I wrote is the one with the violins, by "Red Velvet." You can listen online or thru itunes...I highly recommend checking out their other episodes as well.
*2*
We collaborated on a PHOTO/SOUNDSCAPE which we presented at Animamus Art Salon!
It featured audio from an interview I did with Kaitlin, mixed with images from a series of photos I took that continued on the theme of "Self Love." These are highly personal photos which I would only trust with a live audience, so I'll only share the first photo where was getting ready for bed...
Is it smart for me to write inspiring young adult books AND produce sex positive content for grown-ups? What can I say, I think promoting healthy sexuality is important. It's an envelope I have to push because I ADVOCATE open discussion about such topics. After all, this event was in a church!
There was bingo!
And the salon itself of course, with some really great presenters. Here are Mitra Kaboli and Kaitlin Prest presenting the soundscape and discussing Audiosmut as a whole. I'd like to thank them for letting me get involved, I hope we can do more stuff together in the future!
(Animamus pics by Andrew Bridge)
Currently Reading: Fables: Legends in Exile. Written by Bill Willingham illustrated by Lan Medina.
So last month at Bushcraft we made a giant homemade Twister board. (See those pics here.) And now this month we used it for a TWISTER PICNIC in McCarren Park! We had far too much fun! It was really what I needed since I've been such a hermit lately.
Here are a few of the photos, but there are a TON more in this Flickr Gallery.
My favorite photo was this one...showing Bishop knocking me over. Oh, the injustice!
What a beautiful day for a picnic! Back to my desk I go...
**Reminder: Sunday at Animamus Salon I'm presenting some very intimate work with Audiosmut that will NEVER be shared on the internet. So if you wanna see it at all, come see it live!!**
So here are the recent projects I've made in my year-long
Assignment:Write a secret diary post with thoughts from your week, and sent it to your Artner in the mail! This will NOT be made public, so feel free to spill your guts and share your secrets judgement-free. Document mailing and receiving your letters. (And talk about them afterwards if you feel so compelled!)
It was surprisingly cathartic to write a long rambling uncensored diary entry! And reading my Artner's letter made me feel a lot closer to her, especially finding we share a lot of similar insecurities.
Week 15:
Biology
Assignment: We can get so caught up in our heads that sometimes it's nice to listen to your body instead! Pay attention to your biology and how you're feeling physically. Which area is calling your attention and what can you do to help it? Listen to what your body is telling you and make a creative response.
Call me morbid, but I found my inspiration in...a bloody nose! The final painting is below, and this short video documents the whole process, from the bloody nose itself to making the painting. I like how the finished product reminds me of flowers.
Week 16:
Censorship of the Body
Assignment:How do we censor ourselves physically, verbally, and emotionally? How are our boundaries defined? Make or document something (using your words or body is a good medium) exploring your current thoughts on your freedom to explore/ express sexuality, body, power, and control.
I originally thought of doing some sort of body art, but didn't have the time! (I've been struggling to keep my head above water lately...) So I decided to just jot down some sketches of IDEAS that would be interesting to make, these sort of body art pieces that express my recent thoughts.
Week 17:
Life Outtake
Assignment:Having a super busy week? Too swamped to explore a thought-provoking Artner theme? Simply document a scene, an outtake from your super busy hectic week. Celebrate one small moment of the whole blurry process that is your life.
I was super busy this week because of MoCCA Fest and editing my book dummy, so my outtake features Rory laying on my laptop. And yawning in my face. The nerve!!
Week 18:
Bike Scene
Assignment: We love bikes! They make the journey so much more fun. This week, make some sort of scene or spectacle on your bike, or simply use your bike to take you on an adventure. Make something new that involves and celebrates your bike.
This little illustration shows me taking balloons to Alyson's birthday party. I was quite the spectacle biking through Bed-Stuy! It was nice to see how it made people smile.
Plus one more fun thing to share...
*Exquisite Corpse Sketch Collection*
Reid Harris Cooper collected these sketches from 20
different artists at MoCCA Fest, and together it makes for an amusing collaborative work! And the first drawing is mine, which I'll admit was quite intimidating. (See this giant sized on Reid's site)
This year we will have a book swap, where participants who bring a
book can freely exchange it for another. Brooklyn based children's
author and illustrator, Melanie Hope Greenberg will read her latest book
"Mermaids on Parade." Graphic novelist, artist and educator Laura Lee
Gulledge will talk about her young adult graphic novel "Page by Paige"
which follows her own journey to as an artist and writer moving to New
York City. Eliot Glazer,
blogger, comedian and author of "My Parents Were Awesome" and crime
novelist Hilary Davidson will address the adult audience. Make a mini
book or mermaid tail at the craft table, snap a photo at the book cover
inspired photo booth or grab some tacos and sliders from Mike &
Willie's food truck.
* Self Love with Audiosmut @ Animamus Art Salon *
I'll be presenting some, ehem, more personal work with the lovely ladies of Audiosmut (Sex positive radio) at the next Animamus Art Salon! It's adult-only content, so we'll be presenting later in the evening.
BINGO with Animamus Salon
Sunday May 13th 7:00-11:00pm
St. John's Lutheran Church: 155 Milton Street (Greenpoint) Facebook Event $10
Celebrate Mother's Day by dressing as your
favorite elderly relative (living or dead) and playing BINGO! This month's salon will feature the work
of artists, Laura Bernstein, Ari Dallas, Shir Lieberman, Ben McKelahan,
The Desktop Project, Taylor Spong, and Yoshiaki Takao. Mixing up the
mediums will be Marcy Arlin of The Immigrant Theater Project reading new
works, performance by contortionist The Amazing Amy, a preview of
couture men's wears by Ferris Clothiers, a talk on self love by Laura
Lee Gulledge and Audiosmut, a special delicacy prepared by Chef Anne
Apparu, AND a
tour the church's sanctuary!
* T W I S T E R * P I C N I C *
So last month at Bushcraft we made a GIANT Twister board, and now we're gonna play on it! The more the merrier, new faces are very much welcome. Bring something edible to share, something to sit on, something for show and tell, and of course be dressed for TWISTER.
Twister Picnic!
Sunday May 20th
4:00-7:00pm-ish
McCarren Park in Williamsburg (West side)
I started out at the Drink & Draw Like a Lady event at 192 Books, hosted byRaina Telgemeier. It was GIRLS ONLY! I feel lucky to go to events like this, where you see so much female comic talent in one room, because they make you forget that women creators are such a minority in comics as a whole. (Women such as Jennifer Hayden, with me below.)
*Pic by Marion Vitus
Page by Paige debuted last year at MoCCA, but this year was my first time behind my very own table. I had a bunch of new awesome folks and sent lots of books and ART to good new homes. (including my editor Maggie Lehrman) Thank you, everyone who came by my table, I felt so very loved!
I was also super excited about having stuff to trade with other exhibitors, like Shannon Wheeler and Casey Girard...
The afterparty (featuring a performance by Daniel Johnston and launch of the Harvey Pekar's Cleveland) was utterly PACKED. So many fun nerds in one room! I had fun getting into trouble with the Trip City kids.
*Photo by Jeff Newelt
Currently Listening: The Civil Wars...Barton Hollow
