Hello? Anyone there?

My efforts at weekly blogging this year, thus far, have been a bit of a flop. One month left to go, and I'm pretty sure there will be little time for blogging in between the complete insanity of the holidays and the mish-mash of work/work/work. But hey, there's always the new year.

Summation of past months? Stressful, but not without benefit. Normally I'd say that the longer one dwells on things, the worse one feels. But the past few months have provided me with all kinds of clarity- what I want out of creating art, for one. At least I think I know, and that alone is worth the stress.

Let's back-track: Pugtoberfest was a huge success. It was so great seeing the Pokey Pugs go home with their new families! I sold out of quite a few things before the day was through, and getting to hand off a portion of this to the incredible people at PRSDC was a real treat. Here's a few photos:

My very first table:


Basket of love. I'd already sold one by the time this was taken, so unfortunately "Pep-Pep" is missing:


Hector. I think he was my favorite of the bunch. He was made from an old Smiths shirt:


Dudley! He's a looker:


Wonderful time. I'll be doing things with PRSDC in the future. Look forward to it!

Everything between now and then? Adventures. Excitement. Disappointment. Exhaustion. Love-filled. Things I learned:

Sometimes the very best thing you can do is just be there:


A full night's sleep is really essential:


Don't stop. Ever. There's always work to be done. If you can call it that:


Celebrate:



That's all for now. Seacrest out.

Quick post!

Hello Everyone!

Alright, tomorrow is the big day! It's Pugtoberfest 2011!



For more info, head over to www.pugbutts.com!

I'll be there all afternoon, selling felt portraits, plush, pins and prints, all of nature's little weirdo: the mighty PUG! 20% of my sales are going right back to the rescue to help these little guys get the medical care and loving homes they deserve. I'll also have a certificate for one custom portrait that will be included in a raffle basket, so don't forget your tickets!

I'm so excited to be part of such a wonderful event.

Here's a sneak peek of my new plush creations, POKEY PUGS!



Each Pokey Pug is made of recycled t-shirts and textiles, and is completely unique! No two Pokey Pugs are alike. After Pugtoberfest, I'll continue to offer Pokey Pugs, with a portion of sales still benefitting the rescue.

That's it for now! Expect a complete recap and photos of the full offering after the show.

In other news, we'll be adding another member to the HelloSamantha clan this weekend. Please say hello to Raddy!



She's come a long way since we first met, when she was suffering from a nasty eye infection and a bad case of mites. She was lovingly nursed back to health by my amazing friend Kristina, and is now a healthy and playful young lady. I can only imagine what Mr. Bela Lugosi will think!

See you soon!

Hi.

Wow. I've been gone quite a while. HI. I'm super behind on posting about events, travels, etc. I'll try to get this thing up to speed shortly.

Quick things:

-Just got back from the south. Loved it. Amazing people, history, views. The food was incredible, even if it was damn near impossible to find stuff that was completely vegetarian and tea that was unsweetened.

-I'll be vending all kinds of magic at PUGTOBERFEST in San Diego! I'm thrilled! Please come say hello, have some amazing craft beers, meet some pugs, and purchase my goods! 20% of all proceeds are going back to Pug Rescue of San Diego County! I'll post some photos of what I'll have available and complete info before the event. At least come out for the beer. Seriously. It's pretty remarkable!

Here is a Twitter icon I created for my boyfriend. He's pretty much the best one:



I'll be back soon!

I'm not dead (I think!)

HI.

Wow, I just can't keep up with you internet. You're so modern and fast-paced.

May went...somewhere. I made a lot of plans for June. I'm not sure how this worked. Maybe my mind stepped back 9 years when summer vacation was still a thing that took place. I've neglected to spend time writing about any of it. So here's a brief rundown:

-Saw two of my all-time favorite bands, The Eels and The Flaming Lips, both in fascinating, mind-blowing venues.

-Participated in another art show, with another fast approaching (less than 2 weeks. Hee hee, I'm sick in the head).

-Ate INCREDIBLE homemade Indian food, compliments of the lovely Heidi, whom also introduced me to one of my NEW favorite flicks, Shock Corridor.

-Went to Disneyland with some of my very favorite people.

-Went to the Magic Castle with my lovely friend Rivas. I'll be going back shortly!

-Watched baby chickens grow into adolescent chickens, whom now have large, painful talons.

-Made a top 20 playlist of comedy music for a 5 minute sequence in which I pretended to be an old man who hates robots.

-Met a variety of new and wonderful people!

Whew! I think there's other stuff in there I'm forgetting. I'll make a post of the art-end of this soon. For now I've got boring chores to do in preparation for MORE adventures.

In the meantime, enjoy this. Because it is incredible:

Old is New!

Hi there.

I have some things to share. Things that have been done for a while, but were either undocumented, or secrets. Let's get started with this little guy:



Just something simple, sweet and quick. I bought the frame and made the painting specifically for it. Fun!

I finally got some photos of the show paintings, so it's sharing time. The theme of the show, I think I previously mentioned, was love and relationships. I enjoyed doing these so much. They are bits and pieces of ideas, feelings and people stuffed together. Rather than cram them all into one post, I'm going to spread them out a bit. I'll start with these guys:



"Good & Bad"



"For Love"




"No Hero"


All three of these gentleman are sold. While it's always nice to sell something, it's especially nice to sell to someone who makes an emotional connection to the work (as opposed to just a visual one). I really cherished hearing people's reactions to each piece- their own stories about love. To me, that's what made these works successful.

On that note, I'm slowly working out the sketches for my next series of paintings. However, it turns out I'll be part of another show in June, and I'm cooking up. something a bit different for it! I'm very excited. Can't say much, but here's a wee sneak peek:



Back to work!

PHEW!

Are you tired of hearing about robots yet? I could tell you about other things, but really, the robots are cuter. Just trust me.

In my last post, I expressed that I was about 75% percent done with the robots. Well, this morning I packed them up and shipped them off! HOORAY! Beforehand, I had Katie of The Hungry Fruit Bat take some photos of the finished products. They turned out GREAT!







Love em'. I can't resist at least one action shot:



Something else I'm pretty excited about, is the applique tote I made! This is a one-off piece for now, but there will possibly be some for sale in the future...



WOO! So now that I'm done with robots, I can do something besides sewing. As much as I love sewing, I'm giddy.

On an unrelated note, my beloved cat passed away about a year ago on March 30th. He was a huge source of laughs and comfort for many years. He eventually held the distinguished title of, "Tiny Grandpa," for his various expression of displeasure, and his fondness for sitting like a person. He obtained a legendary status in my various social groups, to the point where I was introduced as, "the girl with that ridiculous cat." I miss the gentleman dearly, and I've been trying to develop a proper artistic tribute for some time. I came across this photo in the process, and thought I would share it on the blog:



FRONTIN'.

Robots & robots & robots!

The fruits of several weeks of labor:



WHEW! This photo only accounts for about 75% off the finished product! This is the last batch of hand sewn Boomas for some time. I'm going to miss sewing these little fellows, as it's easily been one of my favorite artistic pursuits. The exciting news is that the Republic of TOOMASOOBA and I will continue to collaborate and bring robo-goods to the masses in other forms. Look forward to it!

Texans will be able to purchase a Boomabot friend at the Third Annual Spring Bash in Dallas, coming up on April 30.

Sewing consumes a lot of time. In the midst of long stretches, I'll usually take "breaks" to work in other mediums. The idea is just to produce something quickly and not worry too much about the results. Sometimes, however, I find the results hilarious:



I look like this. I'm saying "Horse Meat."

I love painting on cardboard. It is cheap, easy to find, and stress-free.

Speaking of, I finally settled on my next series of paintings. I'm looking forward to working on them. They are a secret for the time being, but here's a sneak peek:



That's it for the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to sustain regular updates in the coming weeks. As always, there are lots of secret things in the works too, so keep stopping by!

Where go did?

HI.

I have been absent from the internet. I'm not consistent with blogging. I try to be, but I usually end up getting distracted and forget my blog exists.

The short story is that several weeks ago, after a weekend of fun, I became extremely ill with the flu. Recovered to the stage of "not sweating enough for people to notice" I then had to scramble my way through a backlog of work and was short on time for much else. I've finally caught up a little and made shareable goods, which I will show you here shortly, including comics about my wonderful, fever induced dreams.

BRB GUYS.

Bits and Pieces

Hello!

What's new? Not too much around here. I took the last week off from obligations, and it was lovely. Now it's back to the grind! New things to share very soon. Still waiting on show photos, but in the meantime, here's a photo of some of the pieces on my desk, right after I finished them:




There's also a video:



You can sort of see my work! It's in a long row of black frames. Next to the big pink piece with the flying panties. I'm so happy I got to be next to the panties piece!

In other news, I did a little logo for a friend's blog that has finally launched:

www.thehungryfruitbat.com

Say hello to Katie's blog, The Hungry Fruit Bat! It's filled with delicious recipes, several of which I have eaten. Katie is the culinary goddess in my life, and I'm so happy she's taken her recipes to the web! Katie is also a photographer of sorts, and has taken several of the photos on my website, and ALL the delicious food ones on her blog. I drew the little fruit bat for her some time ago, so it's nice to see him in his proper home :)

Anyhow, that's all for now. Enjoy the upcoming weekend!

Success!

Hi!

Just a brief follow up: the show went great! I'm in the process of gathering photos for all to see, which I'll post in the next few weeks. I sold 4 out of 6 pieces, so I'll be offering the other two on the blog for anyone interested.

The whole thing was an amazing experience and I'm very thankful for the opportunity. I'm looking forward to more of these in the near future ;)

Here's a photo of the after-party victory beverages:



ON FIRE!

As always there is more work to be done. Updates for you shortly!

Show-time!

Hello citizens!

I've been a busy insect of sorts preparing for my upcoming show this Saturday! Paintings are being placed into frames as we speak, and the results so far are delightful. I will happily post the finished pieces here once the madness is over. In the meantime, here's a terrible iphone close-up of one of my paintings for your oogling pleasure:



If you are interested in checking them out in person, drop me a line over at my site and I'll give you the full details.

I've been a little bit tied up with these paintings, so there isn't too much else to share at the moment. In the meantime, please enjoy this photo from good friends Micah and Katie. Micah spotted this gentleman on the road. They believe this renegade is my future husband, although obviously the age difference may be an issue. Clearly the man is young at heart, however. His helmet is a top hat, for cry-eye!



Do you think he'd settle for "Bad-Ass Grandpa"?

Happenings.

Hello!

I'm excited to announce that I finally have an art space! I mean, technically speaking, I've had one for a while. However, it is now functional and not littered with trinkets and papers from a long winter. It does however, have Gregg Turkington's script from the reading of "A Bicycle Built For Two" on it, which is acceptable and awesome.



It even has a view, evidently the most treasured one in the apartment, if Bela's fascination is accurate. This little area is so perfect and cozy, I've been enjoying it immensely.

I'm also very excited to announce that I'll have some work in a show this February. More details soon!

In the meantime, here's a little side-pursuit that I've worked on in between things. My brother has long requested that I paint something on his guitar, the thought of which horrifies me (I won't want to look at it in about a year). Instead, I've opted to paint a guitar strap, which is in its beginning stages:





This fine gentleman represents his beloved cat Edgar, whom is sometimes referred to as "Bitey Face" I have a long way to go, but I think the end result will be quite grand.

I'll leave you with the band/song/album that's been haunting my mind for a few weeks:



More soon!

Felt Party.

Hello again-

I promised some photos of some things, and here they are. They are a little frustrating to look at, as all of my time in the past few weeks has been devoted to non-creative things, such as housework and driving. My art space taunts me: "Put down that Clorox and come over here, baby. I won't tell no one." Siren calls. I won't last much longer. Soon I'll have to make something.

Anyhow, more ornaments. It's become a yearly tradition to make them for friends and family. I quite enjoy it. Here's the first batch:

Craft-o-Pus!



For a seriously crafty lady I know, who loves octopi.


Pit-Pat!



The pan-sexual spokesthing! If that made any sense to you, then you are probably a Mr. Show fan. Pit Pat was well received, and requests for more Pit Pats have been made. Hmmm...

And finally, the one most dear to my heart: Bojangles' First Christmas!



Bojangles is a friend's pug, and the most handsome pug I've ever met. I have asked him on several occasions if he would go to the prom with me. He has not said yes just yet, but he will usually lick my hands and stare at me, so I think we're getting somewhere. Anyhow, this was his first Christmas with my friends, so an ornament was in order. Little did I know Bojangles would arrive to the party and later don antlers, causing the whole thing to come full circle:



Please excuse the poor quality of the photo. He looks a little intoxicated here...I like his style.

More ornaments will be shared shortly. Let's take a break for now, shall we?

Now, I'd like to leave you with something a little different. A little special.

Please enjoy this photo of the Critters cake I made this weekend. "Critters? What? Huh?" Let's see if this jogs your memory:



The VHS box for this film was horrifying to me as a child. I was amused to find that several friends were just as terrified of it as I was. We decided recently to try and watch the films and see if they lived up to the horrific box art. Not surprisingly, they did not. They were unbearable. Awful even. I'm happy to say the cake was the complete opposite. It was well received and delicious. Vegan too! Please enjoy this photo of magical friend Steve holding the cake. Priceless:



That's it for now, friends. Stay tuned!