a secret something (part 1)

I started a little project months ago, for one of my fiance’s best friends, Teddy; he wanted to get something meaningful for his daughter Autumn’s second birthday (not just another pile of toys that would eventually get left behind). After seeing my grizzly portrait that hangs in my family’s cabin, he knew he wanted to commission a large graphite drawing from me. The other two points of inspiration, came directly from his daughter: her nickname “squishy squirrel”, and this stern look that she often gives her dad (reminiscent of a very serious owl). We talked a bit about imagery, but Teddy basically left things up to me… Since we were staying with his family for the OOAK show, I decided to double to size of his commissioned drawing, as a thank you for hosting us. Today I am sharing a couple process photos, and tomorrow I will share the finished piece, along with Autumn’s reaction!

wet and fat

My favourite thing to do when visiting the library is to cruise up and down the beloved nature & animal stacks and pick out books with titles that catch my eye. WET and FAT was too good of a tagline to resist, and the illustrations inside are just as fascinating. {ISBN 0-919519-76-8}

ephemera from across the pond

The beautiful Holly Trill was doing a clean-out and was asking on twitter if anyone was interested in a collection of vintage cigarette cards. She was happy to give them away for free to any loving and excited home, and as someone who constantly collects little pieces of paper ephemera (either as wall art inspiration, as collage material or as mail art goodies), I was all over the offer. Inside the fat envelope, all the way from the UK, was over 140 cards in collectible sleeves, and about 30 other unsorted ones. It was such a bonny pile, that I only had room to share some of my absolute favorites. A few will find a place on my inspiration walls in the studio, and the others will most likely find suitable places in future outgoing mail art parcels. Thanks again for your generosity Holly!