Lost January

I have been working too much! Its true. I do have exciting news, but I do not want to share the full details until I sign something....hint. Anyway, I do not want to jinx myself as I often do or get my hopes up soo high that when they fall they fall hard and break a bone.

So, here are a few things I have had time to do:

1. make this amazing recipe (and then wrap it in a raw collard! amazing. Ps- we are cooking a lot from Thrive and really love it.) Totally new way of cooking for me and I am blown away by some of the recipes and ways of dealing with veggies.

2. A few whale paintings...a few is an understatement, but really I can only scan these two small ones.

3. We finally hung some art on the walls in our new/temporary-for-a-year-apartment

4. I am going to see some amazing shows this year: Richard III (with Kevin Spacey at BAM), Tune Yards (I went to college with her and know her via musical friends...that's right I'm bragging), and Bjork (I cannot believe it, but basically I have the most amazing and generous friends).

5. For my birthday JJ threw me a surprise party, which was hosted by my bff. She moved and is now walking distance, so I wanted to go hang out...so I went over in my jammies....sort of...I was wearing sweat pants. I do not wear such things out of the house, but I was walking over in the evening so I figured, no biggie, and JJ could not tell me not to because it would have given away the surprise...maybe. So, basically, I was surprised by all my friends and I was in jammies. Great. It really was. In fact, JJ got my shift the following day covered so I could stay out late. It was such an amazing birthday. I am now 30. My mother says that I now have credibility with being old or having any money! Yay.

6. The website I made a logo for is up and running! Sadly, none of my insane link icons were used....but that's ok because now I can use them for other projects.

7. I have been listening to nonstop Daniel Pinkwater. I bought The Neddiad audiobook, JJ bought me Chicago Days Hoboken Nights, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Borgel, Looking for Bobowicz, and I have been listening to the Pinkwater Podcast and digital archive which just makes me want more! It is not bad, but its hosted by someone other than Daniel Pinkwater and I do not want him to talk...and he does...he also plays music in between the excerpts from different stories. I just want the whole story. I do not understand why all his books are out of print and if he has done readings of all of them why I cannot get them on disk. I know they exist on tape, but that is not helpful!! Bah. Why do things go out of print if people are obsessed with them. If all of his books became available to buy in audio format I would. Really. I think I need to write him a letter....ok too much ranting.

I am working on a few projects in my brain, but they have not happened or even been started yet. At least one will involve kickstarter, another will be another book idea, and finally one will involve a celebrity chef....and maybe a bunch. If I can rope in one then maybe I can rope in a few more.

Off to maybe do illustration Friday and possibly not think about coffee.

Future stylist

IF: grounded

First belated post of 2012

This holiday and new years has really sucked the creativity right out of me...mainly because I cannot find a pencil or paper under all the boxes. We moved right after xmas and have been living in 3/4 of a set up apartment for a week now. I finally was able to sit down today for what feels like the first time since new years. I have not done illustration friday and it makes me sad...but I will do one tomorrow! New Years was great! I made JJ, my sister, and her boyfriend come on a midnight 4 mile run through central park. It started at midnight new years eve and there were fireworks and lots of drunk people cheering us on or just getting in the way. It was a pretty fun time and then we stumbled home to sleep for 3 hours and then opened the shop the next day.

Since then it has been work, running, seeing friends from Canada, and JJ having a little old time jam session with my cousin.

I have a lot I want to accomplish in the next couple of months, but for now here are some buttons I made for a website that accompany a logo I still need to post!

Playing with Logos

Making a logo for a friend's awesome new website. These are what I am playing with and its really fun. Its basically a site about writers and book related events in New York. Soo I am playing with all sorts of ideas and we will see if any of them are what they are looking for. Either way I am pretty happy with the preliminary logos.

Everything and the Kitchen Sink

I bought a small travel watercolor set to test out. I decided to use it on this illo and it looks ok. I think if I spent more time working with watercolor I might like it better. I am just so used to gouache and it honestly scans better. Anyway, we shall see. I might just give the watercolor set away, but you cannot hate something if you never try it...which isn't true at all so never mind.

Winnie's cake includes: hot dog, banana, jelly beans, spatula, cheese doodles, and potato chips!

IF: Sink

Holiday Slog

I am feeling a little overwhelmed right now. We are supposed to be moving this week...yes, this week, but does our apartment look like we are planning to move? Do the cats seem anxious? No. In fact, we are still waiting to hear that we can move in and we have keys or contract...this is extremely unnerving. Only in New York, really, I think that is the biggest downfall of living here. The insane things that go on in this market where people bring 4000 cash just to secure an apartment to rent, where making a quick decision is almost waiting too long, and where negotiating means you lose the apartment.
We are just moving across the hall, but its still moving. We are going to the yearly tornado of holiday events. We take a bus down to VA to have dinner with JJ's Dad and step mom--->from there go to Oxford, NC for extended fam time---->California, MD to see JJ's mom and step dad----> back to NY and on the same day we get in have dinner and jazz concert with JJ's dad and step mom. This is not a week trip, but 23rd-27th. I cannot tell you how tired it makes me to think about it.
A couple of exciting thing to negate all this negative chatter: I bought all gifts this holiday from Peru or from small vendors in the USA.
I have a meeting with a literary agent in January. This is exciting because I lost my agent recently (who was not a literary agent) and went to see two literary agents who did not really see my books going anywhere. I find it frustrating that my book is less re-readable than a book called "good night ipad." I was showed this book and all I could think was, this is not a children's classic nor will be be relevant in 5 years. Angry birds will not be vogue. I was told that: no one would reread a finding book (that must be why where's waldo never took off), a kid does not want to read a book about getting dressed for school when they are about to go to sleep (no joke, she said that), and there was not enough of a plot. So, it will be nice to meet with someone else. Even if this other person cannot see how to sell this book at least I will feel like I am trying.
I am cleaning house of art, which feels very good. I put tons of prints on etsy because I have too much back stock, I put ceramics on etsy that I painted recently, and I just finished a commission painting of whales.
I am excited to move and next year: get published somehow, do some craft fairs with another great design duo, pay a lot of money for a full website overhaul that will give me a blog-store-pholio all in one place, do a kick starter for tea towels, and last but not least work on a book of illustrated recipes from celebrity chefs...after I pitch it to the chefs in question.

Right now I am in the process of testing out a recipe I invented called Holiday Snog Bread. If it turns out well it will be another illustrated recipe. Fingers crossed.

Now off to get packing and divesting.

Frenchy French

A little something because I should not be sitting around watching netflix and not have something to show for it. I wanted to start drawing something every day, but this seems unrealistic as some days I leave at 5am and get home at 8pm and then have to go to sleep by 9....so

Anyway, this is a little concept for another children's book about a little chef. The idea is that she cooks in other peoples kitchens because her mother does not think she is old enough to be cooking. She has a frenchie and uneven pony tails. She is not good at a lot of other things, but she is a great cook! So, while I have not gotten the other two books off the ground I am starting another one. I know this is silly, but I figure I will work on submitting the other two to a book contest and then self publish if I have to. I think it will be cute because I do love to draw kitchens and I have an entire pinterest dedicated to them.

Hoping I have some time to cram in some drawing tomorrow.