Detroit Urban Craft Fair

I'll be selling at this weekend's 8th annual Detroit Urban Craft Fair at the Masonic Temple. The show runs 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 7 and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, December 8. Admission is $1. The good times are priceless. Hope to see you there!

Cincinnati Trifecta Weekend

I head south to Cincinnati tomorrow morning for a trio of extreme goodness:

• Friday night DAAP Gallery opening of Indiependent exhibition including a few paintings by me
• Saturday's Crafty Supermarket holiday extravaganza the Music Hall Ballroom
• AND Michelle Taute will be at Crafty Supermarket with copies of Fold Me Up with my Imaginary Animals cootie catcher design (on the cover, too!) and lots of cootie catcher making.

Hooray! Thank you so much to the kind people of Cincinnati for including me in these amazing projects from your stellar creative community.  

Indiependent exhibition at DAAP

I'm so happy to be included in Indiependent, an exhibition at the University of Cincinnati's DAAP Galleries on view now through December 10. Curated by Crafty Supermarket co-organizer and Fabricate store owner, Chris Davis and Aaron Cowen, Director of DAAP Galleries, the show explores the intersection of art, craft and commerce. It features makers and artists who reign from the craft world and embrace the DIY spirit. The show takes a look at how they are giving consumers an alternative to the big box stores while introducing them to the art world. 

There will be an opening reception Friday, November 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. Since this is the evening before Crafty Supermarket, I'm excited to say that I'll be there for it! Below is one of my little friends who is included in the show.

Book Business Tuesday: Cootie Catchers!

It's been awhile since I did a Book Business topic and this is a good one: Fold Me Up is here! I was so excited to be one of ten guest illustrators invited to do a special design for this collection of 100 paper fortune-tellers, aka cootie catchers. I was even more happy to learn that my design made the cover (the little mermaid lady above).

I received an advance copy a couple of weeks ago and it releases today. Author Michelle Taute has a great sense of humor and has created such a fun collection. Here's a peak of my page:

My topic was imaginary creatures with a mermaid, kraken, minotaur and unicorn. 

I continued the theme on the back with a phoenix. Available here and now! 

Winter 2013 Show Schedule

Ridge Fine Art & Handmade Wares Show

Ferndale, MI

Saturday, November 16

Crafty Supermarket

Cincinnati, OH

Saturday, November 23

Detroit Urban Craft Fair

Detroit, MI

Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8

DIYpsi

Ypsilanti, MI

Saturday and Sunday, December 14 and 15

PUPPIES!

So this happened a few weeks back now … we brought home these little puppy munchkins: Stella (left) and Acorn (right). Our household has been turned completely upside down but they are so cute and fun. This explains the long absences here on the blog, but I do have lots of updates for you. More about my class with Lilla Rogers, new prints and holiday goodies, upcoming shows and events and a fun new book that's releasing soon with a couple of my illustrations that I'm really excited about. In the meantime, however … PUPPIES!

Metro Detroit Etsy Pop Up at the Rust Belt

I'll be in Ferndale this Saturday for the Metro Detroit Etsy team's pop up shop at The Rust Belt. Come say hello! 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A2 Art & Brew — Best Original Work of Art

Thank you so much to everyone who voted during the A2 Art & Brew event. I'm so happy to say that thanks to you, my Gulo Gulo painting was voted Best Original Work of Art for the evening. MLive had a nice round up of beer happenings and highlights and included a photograph of the painting with the article. You guys are the best — thank you! 

Ann Arbor Art Center's A2 Art & Brew

This Thursday, September 26 is the Ann Arbor Art Center's A2 Art & Brew Pub Crawl. A fundraiser for the Art Center, participants will sample featured brews at Mash Bar, the Wolverine (hosted at the Ann Arbor Art Center), Jolly Pumpkin, Arbor Brewing Company, the Old German and Bill's Beer Garden.

Six local artists were paired with the breweries to create a piece of art based on their featured brew on tap for the event. Above is the painting I did inspired by the Wolverine's Gulo Gulo India Pale Lager. I think my wolverine has had a few too many—he doesn't quite look fierce?! 

Pub crawl participants will be asked to vote on Best Brew, Best Bite and Best Original Work of Art. The artist whose work receives the most votes will receive $500, so please get out the vote!! The paintings are on display this week in the Ann Arbor Art Center front windows and voting will be done by text. I'll let you know when I have more details. 

The new 2014 illustrated calendar is here!

My new 2014 calendar is now available online in my Etsy shop! Thanks to everyone who picked one up this past weekend at the DIY Street Fair. 

A special thank you to Stephanie from Phantom Limb for that snazzy blue and floral notebook that I received during this summer's Craft-a-way Camp! It makes for the perfect styling prop!

DIY Street Fair

It's this weekend! The DIY Street Fair in Ferndale is one of the highlights of the fall season: Great art, music, beer and community filling the streets. I'll be in Booth #26 in the parking lot behind the WAB. I'll have new 2014 calendars hot off the presses and more … I hope you'll come out and visit a while.

Chicago Renegade Craft Fair

I'm headed to Chicago this weekend for the Chicago Renegade Craft Fair, Saturday and Sunday, September 7 & 8. I'll be in Booth #256 along with Marcy Davy from All Things Grow. The booth is toward the Damen end of the fair on Division, away from Paulina.

It's been two years since I've done this show and I'm looking forward to a weekend in the Windy City. I'll be thinking of my friends at the Kerrytown BookFest. If you come looking for my new calendar there, you can find me next weekend at the DIY Street Fair in Ferndale with 2014 calendars fresh off the presses!

Book Business Tuesday: Memoir Recommendations

I've just passed number 33 34 for my FiftyFifty challenge on the book side and I haven't done a book roundup in a while, so I thought I'd share some of my summertime reading highlights.

I seem to have gone through a slew of memoirs recently without any set intention to do so and have been really enjoying them. I just realized as I added the pictures below that my three favorite reads reflect perfectly my favorite things in life: Art, Food and Books. How perfect!

Bad Boy by Eric Fischl

Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

Let me know if you try any of these — happy reading!

Checking out

I was lucky enough to spend all of last week staring at this view. Magical. There were leisurely mornings over coffee — no email involved. In fact, no email or cell service at all. All week. Bliss. A quaint old house phone would ring every now and then. I'm not sure I even realized how great the disconnect was until I got home and felt it all creep back in. But for that time …

There were long swims in the refreshingly frigid waters of Lake Huron, slip sliding over the rocks.

Hot days picking sweet wild raspberries in old-fashioned baskets made by a grandma, later turned into the most divine cobbler… 

A lucky evening of fishing with the perch Queen … 

There was ice cream cone licking, a game called Frisbeer and leisurely afternoons chatting with neighbors with a cocktail in hand. Aaaah. I'm still savoring it all so much as we go into Labor Day weekend. Hope you capture the taste of summer this weekend! 

Chocolate dreams

My goodness! I failed to come back and let you know the outcome of the Global Talent Search — namely, that I did not make the top 50 list in the first round. Sad face. With over 1,500 entrants and boatloads of talent in the class, I was not expecting to be on that list. It was disappointing nonetheless.

I was buoyed though by thoughts of all the positive comments and enthusiasm when I posted my entry on my Facebook page and here: So a hardy thank you! I will keep plugging along and will surely make a print of the entry piece.

I am leaving you with a photo of this chocolate dream pie I made ages ago. Just cuz.

7th Annual North Fork Foodie Tour

It's that time of year again: The North Fork Foodie Tour is just around the corner. I've been designing the poster for this event for six years now—I can hardly believe it! This year's might just be my favorite design yet, but I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the previous year's designs all together:

Crocheted playgrounds

As I was researching playground themes for the Global Talent Search I wrote about on Friday, I came across these amazing, colorful crocheted playgrounds made by Japanese textile artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam. You can see more of her projects here. So bright and happy! Perfect for a Monday morning. 

Lilla Rogers class and contest

As I mentioned briefly here, I recently took an intensive five-week online course with illustration rep, Lilla Rogers. The course really got my creative engine revving. She challenged us, pushed us, encouraged us and really made us stretch. It was an incredibly talented and supportive group in the class and I'm still reeling from the amount of information conveyed in such a short stretch of time.

Each week was focused on a different segment of the illustration market: Bolt Fabric, Home Decor, Picture Books, Wall Art and Gift. Here's a look at my five weeks worth of assignments:

Immediately after the course, Lilla launched a Global Talent Search. The winner receives a two-year contract with her agency, as well as a slew of other deals and goodies. Below is a look at the journal I created for the first assignment of the GTS.

Though doubtful of my chances given the amazing talent in the class I just completed, fingers crossed that mine is among the fifty to make it through the first round. Announcements on Thursday, August 1!