Tuesday, November 25, 2014

CTN Wrap Up 2014

Tis that time of year – the post-CTNX slump/high. It's both because:


  1. Slump – I'm back in the gray cube again, anxious to get home and really dive into those crazy ideas and plans I got from the weekend. Colorado is cold and snowy and miserable as always. My OA friends have dispersed home as well, so I miss them as much as I miss the weather.
  2. High – I made lots of new friends. I learned a few new ways to improve and innovate in my process. :) And OMG those ideas and plans I mentioned earlier are going to be AWESOME...


This year's epic quest began at 4am on Thursday. We got to the airport and flew out at 7am. We had a connection in Las Vegas (Which I was concerned about mainly because I forgot that they are on PST not MST) where we met up with Maria K. from PD1G3. When we got to Burbank we gathered everybody in OA at the hotel and departed for the Getty. I did make a small miscalculation in van capacity, but all considering it was a definite step up from last year. (Everybody got a seat belt this year) After the traditional Getty exploration, we stopped back at the hotel to check in and pick up our exhibitor badges, then went to the Center Stage Gallery for the Lovely Opening, which lived up to it's name for sure. After that I had the best chicken and apple hot dog ever and promptly crashed once I got back to the hotel.


Friday morning started at 8am with table set up, which went smoothly. Oni had broken a tooth in transit, but that was easily glued back in place. Nic and Aimee were one booth up from us. Blythe, Jessie Kate, Keith and Shawn B. were across and two down from us. It was way too much fun to have everybody so close. The Hall opened at 10am for VIPs and 12pm for everyone else. I don't remember eating lunch that day...Raul might have been the only one to leave the booth at all until 7pm when it closed. Raul crashed right away. I stayed out on the Patio with OA until 10-10.30 when I too felt pretty dead and went to sleep.


Saturday morning was up at 9am. This was the day I got a bit of time to walk around. If possible it was packed twice as much as last year. Craziness! Claire sold out of her new art books which bummed me out a bit, but otherwise stayed in budget...for once. So many people came to talk to me about making their own puppets – there was only one other person who had a puppet on display and LAIKA didn't have a booth. It was really great seeing the enthusiasm and swapping techniques with all the insanely talented people. Lunch was at 3pm – I remember because I went to get it. Floor closed at 7pm. Was at the Patio until about 11pm. Crashed.


Sunday was another 9am day. It was slower which was nice. It let me regain my voice a bit from the past two days. Floor closed at 5pm. I passed on the Champagne and went straight to sign up for next year's booth. Ate dinner with Raul and we both watched TV (We don't have it at home...certainly do not miss commercials) and relaxed until we crashed.


Flew home 8am on Monday. Unpacked, picked up Tito, took Raul to his last class at the Science Museum, and napped a bit. (Oni broke his other tooth on the way back, but it was another easy fix) Rather ironically my car decided that it was just as not happy about the weather as I am, so will need to take care of that sometime in the next week. Tonight I will be tweaking a few things in the Plan and helping Raul get set up for all that he has a mind to do for next year. It's going to be BIG. ;)

I brought a camera. But I only took 3 pictures (Of the booth we were in all weekend) and they didn't come out the best...so yeah, at least I didn't forget completely this year. 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Cosmic Jingle Art Newsletter!!



Do you like following your favorite creators on multiple platforms...but feel like you’re missing half the conversation because you don’t have time for platform hopping?

Do you like the feeling of being in the “inner circle” of your favorite creators? Getting exclusive content? Getting updates before the crowd?

I answered yes to all those questions, so it dawned on me that I should extend these perks to those who like my art and follow me all over. Starting January 2015 I am gift wrapping my content just for you, delivering it to your email inbox no more than once monthly.

Announcements? Special content? Social media highlights? Sketchbook snippets? Blog summaries? OniSan updates? All included, so don’t miss out - sign up for my email newsletter and join the adventure! 

Check out the sign up form to the right OR click here

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

The Big Pre CTN Post of 2014!


Nope. Not dead yet. I’ve been a very busy bee for the last few months getting everything ready for...well, everything that needed getting ready. I really appreciate those who've stuck with me!

I saw the Boxtrolls...twice. Believe me if I could afford the time and money to see it again in theaters I would. It was BRILLIANT. I had a few friends who worked on it and I squealed when I saw their names in the credits. Kudos guys!! I am stoked more than ever for it to come out on DVD so I can watch ALL THE SPECIAL FEATURES! (Same goes for Book of Life - though I saw it but once, I was equally squeal-ly through the credits) 



We moved. While I was very much hoping to avoid another winter here, there was a sort of series of events that lead to us opting for one last short lease here. So the Big Move has been postponed - but still very much on the radar. This shorter move allowed us the opportunity to have a little more saved and downsize a bit. (If you or someone you know is interested in a art/craft desk please let me know) It also freed up more time and funds to prepare for CTN. And now with a later departure date, we can have cross-country assistance from my mom - who is much experienced in such things. Love you, Mum.

Tito is doing well. Old as he is, odd as he is. The Vet we took him too recently said he was an adorable geriatric patient and put his image up on their Facebook page. Hearing him referred to that way really drove home the fact that I live with a grandpa dog. (Apart from the lumps he doesn’t really look all that old) As if the snoring and hobbling about and sleeping all the time didn’t already confirm that. lol


Speaking of lumps and moving, I found one unexpectedly during our move. Doctor 1 thought it was either a cyst or a fibroadenoma. Doctor 2 thought it was a fibroadenoma or a malignant tumor. And Doctor 3 confirmed that it was a fibroadenoma - which is good news. The hole in my chest is healing quite nicely and I also discovered they make ice packs designed to fit in your bra. The amount of cool that is cannot be described with words, only silly grinning faces. Truly a lifesaver in this case.

I finished Painting Drama I. Finished as in the class is over and there are no more assignments. Not finished as in it will never really end. Which is immensely cool. Probably in the Spring I will try to take Painting Drama II. It was a great class with amazing students - I’m so proud of everyone and privileged to be a part of the cookie madness. 


I finished the New Julia and the New Oni, both of which will be on display at CTN. I didn’t have much time to document the process unfortunately - much of it was the same as last time, but there was a lot more care in the details now that it’s less an experiment and more of a product mindset, no use of sewing machine and minimal hot glue (Almost everything is hand stitched), and I used furniture foam to have more control in shaping things and keep things light. I tried a few other new materials such as Raffia for Oni’s hair too.

CTN draws ever closer!!! Raul and I will be at T148. We aren’t selling anything this year, but Raul will be gauging interest in an exciting new endeavour and I will be gathering names for an email list as I prepare to take Onisan THE NEXT STEP. (Ooooooh. Ahhhhhh. What could that be I wonder?) There are a few other Oatley Academy fellows exhibiting in the same area with exciting things to see and buy - so I believe we shall hold a special OA rave. lol Both Raul and I are extremely humbled and really excited about being a part of the show this year. It promises to be even bigger and better than the last. AND I WILL BRING MY CAMERA FOR TAKING PICTURES. 





And that’s the update! There’s more to come post-CTN - including information about the new newsletter and ALL the pictures!! Thanks for reading!