A few weeks ago I was asked by AD Shane at Go Magazine, AirTran's inflight magazine, to do their feature article's type treatment + 4 spot illos....and here they are in the May issue. Luckily, I flew back to New York on May 2nd on AirTran (I went home to Cleveland for the weekend), so I helped myself to an issue or two. :)
See the illustrated title here on their main page and the article.
Thanks Shane!
85th and Lex
Last weekend I sat at the Little Brown on 85th and Lex and drew.
This is what I saw.
This is what I saw.
PS. did you know that Little Brown Co. is by Oded Brenner, the same man behind Max Brenner?! I just found that out.
Art for Japan
Meg Hunt and her sister have posted the first 2 rounds of 5 total rounds of artwork on eBay.
All artwork is being auctioned off and will benefit the earthquake + tsunami relief effort in Japan.
Please go check out the artwork here, there is some really cool artwork up there now.
Including a print by illustrator Kim Rosen here.
I will let you know when my pillow cases go up for auction.
Thanks again and please repost to spread the word about this!
Crackers
I'm loving this post on Little White Whale earlier this week. Gloria has a recipe by Deb from the Smitten Kitchen for make-at-home cheese crackers, a la pepperidge farm goldfish.
Man, I could put away a whole bag of those goldfish crackers when I was little. I bet my sodium count was through the roof the weeks after!
buy here
I went into the Party supply store on 86th and Lexington after work today, and boy is that a place money trap. I wanted to buy all the sprinkles and cupcake liners and they have tons of cookie cutters that would be good for this recipe!
Anyways, I want to try out this recipe this weekend or in the coming weeks. I'll let you know how they turn out!
Day in the Park
This weekend was looking really dreadful with a relentless rainstorm all day Saturday.
But today, it turned around and was really beautiful.
I drew a little bit at Carl Schurz park and snapped some pictures of awesome things.
100 LAYER CAKE vendor
I am very excited to say that I am a vendor on 100 Layer Cake, a wedding site!
They showcase different vendors, supplies, venues, you name it.
It's a go to place for brides and planners.
You can see my page here.
I am now taking on wedding commissions for:
invitation suites
pamphlets
illustrations of newly engaged couples
envelop liners
banners
Please be in touch if you need any help with the above or any other ideas that you may dream up.
Pretty Scarf
This scarf by Leah Duncan is just oh-so-perfect for spring.
Leah Duncan $32 via etsy
pictures taken from her etsy site.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that New York City will have a spring season and not jump right into oh-so-hot-and-sticky summer.
PS. I've been working on my sister's wedding invitation suite, so not much to actually show right now. Hopefully something to post soon :)
Aerial Traffic pillows
I received my aerial traffic pillows in the mail this weekend all the way from Belgium.
The great people from Envelop have my design in their shop, which can be bought right here. See my introductory post about my pillows here.
I'm forwarding the pillow covers on to the Art for Japan art fundraiser. I will be sure to post a link to it here when it goes live.
What a Guy
I'm going to pause for a mushy post.
It's a few days post due...but I am so proud of the design work + efforts put forth by Tom for the UNITE FOR JAPAN fundraiser put on by the Unite for Japan team.
Tom designed the logo + took pictures of the event this past Saturday. [You'll see me & Amy in there.] They raised $10000 that night and are still accepting donations on their site here. They have currently earned $17K but are looking to make it to $25K. They really have done a phenomenal job with this.
On the same note, it makes me sad that it's been about 2 weeks since the disaster and it seems like the media is making it 'old news.' I hope that people can continue to donate in the coming months and keep saying prayers for all the heartache that will be felt in the coming months and years plus.
Help Japan
Some really great ways the art & design community are pitching in to help Japan in this great time of need:
One of my favorite illustrators, Aaron Meshon, selling this awesome print here for $50. All proceeds go to disaster relief.
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Japanese textile designer and screen printer, PataPri donating $5 for every towel of hers bought.
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Joshua Smith from Hydro74 has designed this shirt. All proceeds go to The Salvation Army's efforts in Japan.
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And I will be donating my 2 illustrated Aerial Traffic Pillow covers to Art for Japan established by illustrator Meg Hunt and her sister. Read more about Art for Japan here. And I will post on my blog when the pillow cases are up online for anyone interested in purchasing.
On a personal side note, a few friends & family have asked me how Tom's family was doing. All of his family that are living in Japan are okay. Thank you very much for your loving interest to make sure all okay.
T.T.M.T.
A new series here on my blog...
So, here it goes.
Things That Mean Things #1
My Grandma's 'Left-Over' Earrings
It was a year this past Jan 12th since my grandma's passing and it was also the same day as the horrible Haitian earthquake that took so many lives. So when the news covered the year mark of Haiti, I had these memories come back....
After my grandma's funeral, my extended family gathered and we were able to pick the items from my grandparents that we each would really enjoy inheriting. We were able to pick 1 at a time. Round and round we went, each picking. My cousin picked a ring of my grandma's that he hoped to give to one of his future girlfriends. My sister picked a pearl bracelet that she will be wearing on her wedding day this September. And after everyone had picked what they really wanted, there were a few things that were left over. And these earrings were the things that were left over. I really didn't think I would wear them, but my sister told me that I could totally pull them off, and nobody else could.
So, I took the earrings + necklace set in their velvet case and added them to my small set of the items I picked from my late grandparents. Fast forward to coming back to New York, and as time went on, I grew to wear the earrings more and more. And now, when I am looking for a really nice piece to wear, I throw on these 'left over' pair of earrings andfeel like I am channeling my glam grandmother.
Night on the town w/ Katie wearing my grandma's earrings.
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Photographer Jessica Peterson's photos of sentimental items inspired me to take on this project by illustrating my own.
So, here it goes.
Things That Mean Things #1
My Grandma's 'Left-Over' Earrings
It was a year this past Jan 12th since my grandma's passing and it was also the same day as the horrible Haitian earthquake that took so many lives. So when the news covered the year mark of Haiti, I had these memories come back....
After my grandma's funeral, my extended family gathered and we were able to pick the items from my grandparents that we each would really enjoy inheriting. We were able to pick 1 at a time. Round and round we went, each picking. My cousin picked a ring of my grandma's that he hoped to give to one of his future girlfriends. My sister picked a pearl bracelet that she will be wearing on her wedding day this September. And after everyone had picked what they really wanted, there were a few things that were left over. And these earrings were the things that were left over. I really didn't think I would wear them, but my sister told me that I could totally pull them off, and nobody else could.
So, I took the earrings + necklace set in their velvet case and added them to my small set of the items I picked from my late grandparents. Fast forward to coming back to New York, and as time went on, I grew to wear the earrings more and more. And now, when I am looking for a really nice piece to wear, I throw on these 'left over' pair of earrings andfeel like I am channeling my glam grandmother.
Night on the town w/ Katie wearing my grandma's earrings.
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Photographer Jessica Peterson's photos of sentimental items inspired me to take on this project by illustrating my own.
Cute Hats
This is my awesome hat for winter 2010-11.
from All Knitwear $40.
Photo is taken from All Knitwear site.
I already found another awesome hat to debut in winter 2011-12. Get ready.
from Lazy Oaf 15 pounds.
Photo is taken from Lazy Oaf site.
Moi as Illustrator
Tom took pictures of me a few weeks ago with one of my little illustrated characters.
I have been looking at this awkward, clawed guy hanging on my wall since I painted him my senior year of college. And now he is not a wallflower anymore.
And really, he's quite the conversationalist.
Photo Credit: all taken by Tom Takigayama
(and no, we didn't purposely plan matching outfits! ha)
Cupcakes
I was going through old work of mine and felt like posting some designs that I still like. These are prints I helped design with the print stylist when I was at GapKids. 
Something about these cupcakes makes me want the spring to come a bit sooner so I can pick up a pretty floral frosted cupcake from Cupcake Cafe on 18th street.
I should be posting more regularly after this week...I am in the final week of a big freelance project that I will be able to share come this July. Le sigh...you will have to wait a bit to see it.
Something Sweet
I'm actually really looking forward to Valentine's Day this year.
Last year, we went to a nice dinner that was accompanied by a froux-froux pink drink. It was really nice dinner, don't get me wrong, but don't you feel that there is all this pressure to be romantic and gaze romantically at each other on this one specific day of the year when it is freezing cold and you have to hold hands, not only because you like the person, but because you don't want to wipe out on the ice?
Anyways...
This year, we are taking a baking class together on Valentine's day. I am really looking forward to learning how to make macaroons together. Not only is it a fun activity to do together, but something we can (hopefully) remake and perfect in the future.
More pictures of Heart stuff I have from this year and past years of cooking...
Dog Fever
I have a new-found obsession with french bulldogs, especially white ones, after seeing the movie, Due Date. I saw a white frenchie walking around LaGuardia airport when I was flying home to Cleveland during Christmas. The little guy was such a cutie w/ his owner.
So, when I saw this print I had a meltdown.
buy this print by SiblingRivalrie here and see other Dog Portraits by Winnie here
as posted by Decor8 here
I'm also quite fond of great danes (but those dudes are huge!), sheep dogs (like the one from Babe), and pugs (see the video I posted a while ago here) or I would love to save a dog from the ASPCA some day.
What kind of dog do you have or have now? I'd be curious to hear.
Mr. Takigayama
Bling
Let's start the week on a good note, okay? So let's take a look at some shiny pretty stuff...
Some old sketches...but still would like a real pair for myself :)
Some old sketches...but still would like a real pair for myself :)
Mid-week Magic
(I wish my drawing skills would translate to being able to sew such an awesome cape!)
How's your week going?
I went to the Edel Rodriguez lecture at the SOI in NYC tonight.
It was really great to go and get some good advice from him.
I went to the Edel Rodriguez lecture at the SOI in NYC tonight.
It was really great to go and get some good advice from him.
Some key notes that I jotted down...
-if your work ever becomes too pigeon-holed, it's your job to 'open' your work up again to a new market
-you've got to be obsessed with your work and always making new art all the time (something that I can relate to)
-using your own photos that you snap as 'quick ideas' rather than photo reference
-if your work ever becomes too pigeon-holed, it's your job to 'open' your work up again to a new market
-you've got to be obsessed with your work and always making new art all the time (something that I can relate to)
-using your own photos that you snap as 'quick ideas' rather than photo reference
What advice would you give someone? I'd love to hear!