Cats that Look Like Hitler
Also known as "Kitlers". Wow. Apparently, people have really mixed feelings about this phenomenon.
These cats don't even have to put on a costume for Halloween...
October 31, 2008
StumbleUpon
October 29, 2008
LOLmeme Continued...
Just had to keep sharing the great coverage of the LOLcat Art Show!
Boing Boing TV! http://www.boingboing.net/
Sean Chapin @ YouTube: "LOL Art Show"
http://www.zimbio.com/LOLCats/articles/2/LOLCat+Artists+Raise+Money+Adult+Literacy (this blog has a really cool pic of my vase with some neon backlighting!)
[Image is of "LOLCat Whiteboard" by Josh Zubkoff, which is completely awesome!]
October 28, 2008
Polish Movie Posters
I was looking for inspiration the other day, and stumbled upon this website for Polish movie posters. The artwork is a little odd to my very American sensibilities, but that's what makes them great! It was fun trying to guess what some of the not-so-obvious movies were, before reading the titles.
Harrison Ford is obviously recognizable, but I still love the rainbow watercolor look of this poster.
October 26, 2008
New Studio!
Last Friday, I got a shipment at my (nearly empty) studio but I didn't realize until Saturday when I came back to unpack it that it was the rest of the equipment I've been waiting for! Sean and I spent the evening assembling all the shiny new stuff while a costume party went on around us in the building.
The party was actually great, since there was live music to rock out to while we worked, and friendly art fans kept wandering over to my open door to say hi and bring us free beer. I never expected to have this much fun while putting together sandblasting equipment!
The cabinet was a bit tricky, and involved some creative removal of silicone with a box cutter, but it was a great experience overall. Afterward, we hung out on a couch by the revelers, finishing our beers, eating cupcakes, and watching the nude jack-o-lantern-head dancers pass by. Did I mention I love my new studio?
(There are a couple photos of the space up on Flickr.)
October 23, 2008
Silver Squirrel
So, before I made etched glass, I started a little business selling beaded jewelry at home parties. It was fun, but not very successful. When I learned about Etsy, I decided to start a shop to sell my jewelry while I put my efforts into the glass thing.
SilverSquirrel was a great "starter" business, and it's sort of fallen to the wayside while I focused on other things. I still have a giant box full of handmade jewelry that I don't know what to do with, so I'm re-photographing all the jewelry I have to update my shop and try to sell some of it over the holidays.
There was a slight setback today when I forgot to set my macro focus, and none of the photos I took are usable! So, it looks like it'll be a little while before I have the whole shop lookin' good, but at least it's being improved. I'd love to hear what you think!
October 22, 2008
Same LOLZ, New Location
The LOL Arts Show has moved to a bigger venue! (Also, check out my vase all big and shiny on their website... *swoon*)
The new location is Coffee Bar, 1890 Bryant St, San Francisco. Tickets are sold out, but you can still see the artwork online (to be posted after the opening, I assume). You can also purchase the I Can Has Cheezburger book, so you can show your favorite LOLZ to people who don't have the internet.
Oh, and sorry this post was late today. I was busy VOTING! Yeah, Oregon voters are lucky enough to all receive mail-in ballots, so we can vote from the comfort and privacy of our own homes, while drinking our morning coffee. I feel like I did something a little bit awesome today.
October 20, 2008
7 Things About Me
I finally got tagged to answer my first blog meme! My good friend Leah tagged me, so I guess I have to answer it. :)
Here's 7 weird things you probably didn't know about me:
- My first kiss occurred while listening to the verdict of the OJ Simpson trial.
- I was mistaken for a man inside a rest area bathroom outside of Phoenix (I had a shaved head) which almost resulted in a scuffle with some angry Spanish-speaking men.
- I'm left-handed, but I'm right-eye-dominant and right-leg-dominant, which means that I'm left-handed due to genetics (my Grandmother was also left-handed until she immigrated to America from Holland and was forced to become right-handed) as opposed to neurological reasons.
- I went to Burning Man when I was 17, where I got my septum pierced in exchange for half a bottle of Kahlua.
- I went to public school until 6th grade, then had a year of homeschooling, then went to an alternative school for 4 years. I got my high school diploma a year earlier than if I'd gone to public school.
- When I was in 4th grade, getting a tour of the middle school I'd be attending the next year, my 8th grader tour guide accidentally locked us in a closet in the gym. He became the organist for my church a few years later.
- I lived in Tucson for 8 months, where I worked as a waitress in a hotel cafe and my best friend mistakenly thought my name was Linette.
Here's the 7 people I'm tagging:
http://poecreate.blogspot.com
http://eyepopart.blogspot.com/
http://passionknitly.blogspot.com/
http://lolly-tots.blogspot.com/
http://stitchanddestroy.blogspot.com/
http://www.neitherhipnorfunky.com/
http://paulheurich.blogspot.com/
Here's how the cyber-version of tag works;
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs. Read more...
October 17, 2008
Joanna Newsom
As usual, I've been a little busy. We're celebrating my husband's birthday today, which means I'll be baking pie and cooking food I've never attempted before. Our cat was sick for a while (possible allergy to plastic) but we think he's better now. I'm preparing for my new studio equipment to arrive, and I'm getting ready to be slaughtered by holiday stress. I've got my first gallery show next week, and my first wholesale show coming up.
So it's no surprise that I've become entranced by Joanna Newsom's second album, Ys. I know she hates her singing being described as "child-like", but I seriously don't know how else to describe it. Okay, perhaps "elfin" is a better term, or "mystical-fairy-folk-like".
The songs are dreamy and emotive, making me feel both carefree and despondent at the same time. They ramble through long stories about talking animals and magical landscapes. Perfect for taking your mind off your mundane life for a little while.
Here's a video of an older song of hers, Sprout and Bean, which I don't think is nearly as good as anything from Ys, but it'll give you a good taste of her style.
October 15, 2008
We're all winners
Thanks to everyone who voted on our poll!! I can't wait to have another one. ;)
As you can see from the poll results on the right sidebar, there were a few clear winners, and a lot of close-calls! To keep things simple, I narrowed it down to the most popular tree, the most popular octopus, and two others (the Seahorse and Nautical Star designs!).
These are being added to the designs I was already planning on using, so you can see the first batch of images above!! So exciting! (Sorry about the watermark text, by the way--I just have to protect my copyrighted designs as much as I can, but I had to show you what I've been working on!)
These will be appearing on fused pendants, earrings, rings, magnets and pins very soon! Runner-up designs may be produced sometime in the future.
I also just got news that I've been accepted into Crafty Wonderland's Super Colossal Holiday Sale, which is fantastic! I'll be doing that show (Dec. 14) in Portland, and Urban Craft Uprising the weekend before (Dec. 6-7) in Seattle. Busy, busy, busy!
October 13, 2008
LOLart: i does it!
I finished my submission for the LOLcats Art Show in San Francisco!
The show is being held at Varnish Gallery (77 Natoma Street at 2nd Street, in downtown San Francisco), and the opening is October 23rd. I'm not planning on going to the opening, since it's a bit of a drive for me, but I really want to!
I'm really nervous because I feel like I interpreted the objective less creatively than most people. A "lolcat" picture is basically a found photo of a cat in a silly pose (not known for its artistic merits as a photo) with some less-than-grammatically-correct-English text over it. So, to bring that to a 3-dimensional level, I took a found vase with little artistic merit of its own, and applied one of my favorite silly cats plus text.
May not be as original an idea as what some other artists are coming up with (although, I haven't seen anyone elses' work yet), I'm hoping it makes at least one person smile. It was really fun to make! And this is what I spend all my days doing anyway: drawing on glass. Very fun! ;)
October 10, 2008
The-Strange-Carafes
I want one!! This is not only a beautiful wine carafe, it's also an amazing glass sculpture. You can purchase one for me here.
Also, please check out my previous post about our new designs, and vote for your top 5 in the poll on the right side-bar!
October 7, 2008
New Design Poll!!
Select your favorite designs on the poll to the right, and try to limit it to about 5-6. You can click the image above to see a larger version of it.
By Wednesday of next week, I'll be able to narrow down the most popular designs, and you'll soon see them on pendants, earrings, rings, magnets and pins! There may even be cuff-links and belt buckles in the works. ;) Read more...
October 5, 2008
ROFLMAO
Okay, I know that's a really dramatic title for a little announcement post, and I'm not actually rolling-on-the-floor-laughing at all. :)
The big news is that I've been accepted into the LOLcats Art Show in San Francisco!! Yay! I don't know how many artists submitted proposals to I Can Has Cheezburger, but I feel really fortunate to be able to participate.
I'm hand-engraving a reclaimed vase with one of my favorite cat macros, the Interpretive Dance kitteh. I hope it turns out well, since it'll be displayed alongside some other amazing artists' work, and then auctioned off for charity.
Here are some progress shots of the vase, since it isn't finished yet, but should be this afternoon. I get to wear that super-chic respirator too, since I'm working with my face a lot closer to the glass dust than usual with this larger piece. Now you know how glamorous my work really is.
Studio Progress: I'm ordering my sandblasting equipment today (or at least, I'm talking to the saleswoman again), and I'm researching cheap glass kilns. My studio is going to need some rewiring for the voltage these big boys are going to need, but it will be totally worth it. The agreement with Urban Outfitters is coming along nicely, and I'll let you know when their glasses hit stores. Right now, I'm just trying to get all my stuff together for holidays, which are coming up like the pavement after a freefall from an airplane when your parachute doesn't open.
October 3, 2008
B&B + Urban Outfitters
So, the big news of the year that I've been dying to announce is that Bread and Badger is collaborating with Urban Outfitters! That's right, the big UO heard about our mustache pint glasses last month, and decided they'd like to carry them in their stores!
I've been scrambling to get things together for this big order, but I'm still way behind on my production capabilities. If I were to hand-etch each of these glasses, they may not be done for many months! I've decided to license my artwork to Urban, so they can produce as many as they'd like, and still be able to get them this fall. They'll be carrying Robot, Mustache and Bicycle pint glasses, made from my designs!
They tested out the robot design with two production methods: one is sandblasted, and the other is a "simulated-etch" permanent decal. (From left to right in the photo above: original hand-etching, sandblasted, sim-etch.) I actually preferred the sim-etch (it'll stand out nicely in their stores and will still be different from my own glasses), so it looks like that's what they're going to produce. It's a little weird to see my design on something I didn't make, but I think they're going to turn out awesome! They also aren't limited by size, so the robots can fill up the front of the glasses nicely.
I'm still trying to outfit my new studio with sandblasting equipment, so I'll be ready for the next big order (cross your fingers!). It's a slow process, learning about all the necessary tools and machinery, so it still might be a ways off in Bread and Badger's future. This has all been a fantastic learning experience for me, and I'm eternally grateful for the opportunity to grow my business, and to grow as a business owner!
October 1, 2008
PDX Indie + The Sampler
I'm a member of a new cooperative for Portland artisans called PDX Indie. We're an Etsy Team that became our own legal entity (the first to do so!) so that we could start collective advertising and a mentor group for ourselves and other local artists.
Our first awesome group activity was to organize a special City Sampler for Portland! We've collected around 1000 sample products from a variety of artists and craftspeople in our wonderful city, which will be available for purchase here, starting today! Get a sampler box of the PDX crafty goodness while it lasts, or visit our members' shops for more amazing handmade products.
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