Rain Day Project How-To: Silhouette Self Portrait

Just posted this simple DIY art project on the official Fuzzy Grapefruit Blog. Check it out for the how-to and let me know what you think!

Fuzzy Grapefruit on NMTR Artist Spotlight

Check out the awesome spotlight on Fuzzy Grapefruit, put together by the very talented Riaz Khan via Never Mind the RizzRazz:

Happy Lobby Day!

Sorry, but I have a hard time believing that politicians should have any say in what women do with their bodies... especially when some of them don't seem to know what's what:

February Second Saturday Craftacular - Feb. 9th in Houston

Do you have your Valentines all squared away and ready to go? Yeah, me neither. But come to this awesome love-themed show and you won't have to think twice about what to get your sweetie. The Second Saturday Craftacular at Hello-Lucky promises to showcase an eclectic array of loveliness that will have you oohing and ahhing just in time for Valentine's Day. I'll have a bunch of new bookboard jewelry designs, as well as a few new art prints and hand stamped notecards. Don't miss it!!!

February Second Saturday Craftacular
"Hearts Were Sliding Everywhere"

When: Feb 9, 2013

Time: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Location: Hello-Lucky

(1025 Studewood Street, Houston, Texas 77008) 
Cost: Free

For more info:
Official Event Page
Facebook Page

Valentine's 2013

Dear blog, I have been utterly neglectful. Please forgive me :( Well, it's a new year and there's LOTS of room for improvement! Christmas is over, but there's another holiday on the fast-approaching horizon: Valentine's Day.

It might come as no surprise that I'm pretty fond of lovey-dovey imagery, so Valentine's Day is a perfect opportunity for me to create more lovey-dovey artwork. I'm in the midst of multiple creations and am super excited to be participating in the Hello-Lucky February Craftacular on Saturday February 9th, at 1025 Studewood Street, here in Houston (more news to come on that soon!)

My newest lovey-dovey creation? A happy little volcano who is just erupting with love...

A Song-Poem: Harbor Boys

A Song-Poem: Sour

Technically this is older than the last song-poem I posted, but whatevs...

Fox in the Woods Drawing

A Song-Poem: Swollen

Maybe my favorite so far... I guess I need to do more heavy breathing when I sing.

Animals on the Run: Looking more like a real series every day

A Song-Poem: Bumblebee

Another silly little experiment...

A Song-Poem: Love, Apology

Every now and then,  I find myself spending a lot of time concocting little song-poems. I don't really know what to call them -- they're not fully developed enough for me to call them "songs" since they're usually just a repeating theme with lots of harmonizing (my favoritest thing ever.) And they're short, as far as songs go. But anyway, I've always always always kept them to myself, from fear of ridicule. Believe me, I know they're not perfect -- I mean, c'mon, I recorded most of them with my laptop's crappy microphone from the comfort of my echo-y kitchen. And they're all spur-of-the-moment things, a theme I get stuck in my head that I have to do something with.

But anyway, here's the latest one... (cringe!!!)

Never MIND The RIZZRAZZ: Featuring Fuzzy Grapefruit

Recently, I was approached by a photographer/blogger here in Houston named Riaz, who contacted me after seeing some of my work at Space. He was hoping to feature various Lone Star State artists on his blog and wanted to know if I'd be interested in meeting with him to show him my workspace and pose for some casual artist portraits. After the wave of 'oh crap, I really need to clean my apartment' subsided, I of course said yes. I'm so glad I did! Riaz is a super nice guy and a super talented photographer. Check out the feature and his awesome blog.

"Untitled with Foxes #1"

For Christmas, Ben gave me a Wacom drawing tablet. I'd been oohing and ahhing over them for a while, but I seriously did not expect to find one under the tree. It was a nice surprise, to say the least. There may have even been a few happy tears on Christmas morning (well, and guilty tears about the crappy presents I gave to him... I mean, he DID need new pajama pants, but still.)

On account of our dying (now deceased) computer, I didn't get a chance to try the tablet until today. I know it'll take me a while to get used to the thing, but even after one day of drawing I can tell I'm hooked.

New Bookboard Designs Featuring 'Dot' Landscapes

I recently started selling my work at Space and am relieved to find that most of my items were sold before the holidays. There's nothing quite like seeing my sad dwindling stock on display to put a fire under my seat and force me into productivity. Yesterday, I sat at Cafe Brasil for four hours, tediously drawing new designs for my bookboard jewelry. I really have a love-hate relationship with these items -- there's something quite lovely about getting lost in repetitive tiny little drawn details, but by the end of the day I'm pretty convinced that my eye prescription has changed a couple of points. The worst part is the walk home where everything has that weird Alice in Wonderland tunnel vision effect that comes with doing a lot of closeup work. But, I also loooove lining up all my new designs and seeing evidence of progress. It's pretty gratifying.

Also... how cool is it that the 'dot landscapes' sort of fit together to form one horizon!? That was entirely unintentional...

Challenge #2: Anthropomorphic Chinese Food

Challenge #1: Structure with 'Legs'

For the month of January, my sister Erika and I are challenging each other to complete a drawing every day... well, every other day (since we're alternating days). More about the challenge at our joint art blog, Arting Through Limbo

Challenge #1: Structure with 'Legs'

Small Business Saturday

Woah, how is it already Thanksgiving!?? Where did the summer go!? And how did my hair get this long? Sheesh. I need to keep better track of time... and get a haircut.

If you're like me and you've suddenly become aware of the dwindling days before the gift-giving gets real, I'd like to take this moment to encourage you to step away from the big box stores. By visiting your local independently owned boutiques and shops, you're helping small business in a big way. And let's be honest, what really says "happy holidays" to your loved ones -- another generic thingamajig purchased from the cavernous aisles of the soulless super stores we've become accustomed to, or the finely crafted, lovingly handmade work of your local artisans? Do your part this holiday season and pledge your support for Small Business Saturday by shopping local!

In honor of Small Business Saturday, here are some new notebooks I just finished, now available for purchase at the adorable little shop Space, here in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, Texas. Happy Holidays!

Mirepoix Ménage à Trois

I've been talking about adding more art prints to my Etsy shop for aaages. And because I tend to put non-crucial activities (ie: fuzzy grapefruit activities) on the back burner when I have lots going on, by the time I remember to finish a project a whole year has gone by!

Thankfully this little illustration that I started in the early part of this year has finally been edited, tweaked,  and colorized! Now... if I can only prioritize the printing, then it'll really be finished. Blergh.

Ugh, Overambition

Every now and then, I find myself in the midst of a panic attack due to the amount of work I create for myself. It's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, it's only in these moments that I realize what I'm capable of accomplishing. Anyway, enough warm-fuzzy feelings! Here is an overly ambitious stamp I intend to complete before next week (and that's on top of a full work-load). We'll see if I disappoint myself this time around...

P.S. Yes, I intend to carve the center of the leaves as well. Blergh.