Anticipation.

Anticipating the arrival of my most favorite person always makes the day go by so slowly.

To cover my home in:

Walnut Walpaper

When a men's XL t-shirt becomes a dress...

Excuse the wrinkles.

I was impressed with my ability to take this from start to finish in one night without procrastination.

New frontiers.

My aunt gave me some jewelry making tools for Christmas and today I made my first attempt at earrings with some beads and such I had stashed away. I think they turned out quite nice.

Found art.

I spotted this splatter of aqua paint while I was walking home from the auto repair shop the other morning. I thought the contrast of it against the concrete wall was very lovely. In a way, I think the explosive/uncontrolled nature of it is very reflective of my past week. There are a lot of things happening in my life right now that are hard for me to control and are leaving me feeling slightly helpless. A tiny kitten with a cold and ringworm who has to be confined to my bathroom 24/7. A Volvo who failed E-check once and cost me $709 in repairs only to fail once again. Rumors of possible job loss in my future. Yet all of it is somehow balanced out by a wonderful holiday spent with my family and the anticipation of Andrew's arrival this week.

It's all a matter of prayer and trust.

Lights.

Christmas Eve morning.

I just finished up drawing the last of my gifts. I've slowly been working on a mug of tea. It's cold now, still good though. Listening to the Nutcracker Suite for Guitar by Stevan Pasero. I got the album years ago when my aunt took me downtown to see the Nutcracker play around Christmas time. I remember really loving it. At the time I was still taking piano lessons and was constantly wanting to learn how to play the songs. I played "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" for one of my recitals. Thinking about it now I'm surprised that I enjoyed the music so much. For a middle school aged kid to really be into classical music isn't that normal (not that I wasn't also having my share of Will Smith and the Spice Girls on the side). I can probably attribute that to my mom and her love of it. I did grow up in a victorian home after all. Anyways, the album is now a Christmas listening staple for me along with A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. I've played that album an uncountable number of times this week. But after all of that I still don't feel like it's Christmas time.

I like video games.

MarriedtotheSea.com

My morning drive.

My least favorite things of the week:

- eCheck
- ringworm on kittens
- the lack of time between now and Christmas

Festivity in the workplace.

Among the cubes.

Cut, paste, repeat.

Gifts for my coworkers and a few others. I had intended to send out similar little surprises in all of my Christmas cards this year but I think I was overly ambitious about that and didn't even come close to having the time for it.

Jean Shin.

I just came across the work of Jean Shin and I'm so fond of, and interested in, her use of multiples of found objects. I love when artists are able to transform the everyday object, or trash, into a form of communication beyond it's original purpose. It becomes something completely different on many levels. In a way, it reminds me of when you look at a word for too long, or too many times and it starts to become something else in your mind.

Holiday show, not holiday music.

A poster for my friends at Standard Recording. I wish I could go, it will be a great show.

Comic #4.

New comic post over at The Comic Commitment.

"...don't drink the water..."

There was a water main break downtown today which left many people without water and the rest of us aren't allowed to drink it. I know it's not a laughing matter, but seeing all the water fountains at work like this today made me laugh pretty hard. Oh, and I was drinking my mug full of drinking fountain water while reading the e-mail about how we're not supposed to drink it until after tomorrow. I haven't felt sick yet.

One smart kitty.

I came home to find this:

Obviously Egon knows that fish belong in water.

Cookie bake-a-thon.

Every year some of my family and I get together for a mass cookie baking/chocolate making day. Typically it's just the women and kids that attend, but this year my dad was involved with a cookie trade at work so he came to crank out 8 dozen spritz cookies. Lucky for him, the cookie press cooperated this year.

Shakin' it up with some sprinkles.

Yes, that IS a Christmas witch. When we make sugar cookies, no cookie cutter gets left behind!

A cozy kitten.

Egon is finally home.

Christmas ass.

Because here at work we're do dependant upon candy to get us through the day one of our fearless leaders once gifted us with the Lab Ass who bore a sign stating: In case of emergency, break ass. He was stolen yesterday and returned today with this new festive attire, working lights and all.

Mark Mothersbaugh.

The history of music fascinates me. How one style, movement, instrument, technology, person, historical event etc. influences another and another and another and evolves into something completely different yet somehow stays so connected. Of all the classes I took during the five years of working towards my BFA one of my favorites will always be my media history class. It really opened my mind to a lot concerning the way media effects the world, and in turn, how the world effects media.

This morning I decided to start my work day by listening to a slew of Mark Mothersbaugh compositions from various Wes Anderson films. For me, a Wes Anderson film just wouldn't be right without the touch of Mark Mothersbaugh. I think the only reason the Darjeeling Limited slipped by without him was because of the different cultures and locations calling for a different sound. But anyways, it made me start to think about the vast number of other things that Mark Mothersbaugh has done that I've encountered and enojyed. Going backwards from here, he's done the music for various Mac vs. PC commercials...all of which are impossible not to love (unless you're a die-hard PC fan...ugh). The Sims theme music...I will not elaborate on how addicted I once was to that game. Rugrats theme song...yes, I watched it. Devo...needs no explanation. And finally, with many more not as noteworthy encounters in between, the theme song to Pee Wee's Playhouse. Which leaves me with this thought: had I not been allowed to watch Pee Wee's Playhouse over and over again when I was younger, had my mom not given me the nickname Miss Yvonne, would I still be the avid Mark Mothersbaugh/Wes Anderson enthusiast that I am today? Has that long history of positive interaction with Mark Mothersbaugh compositions somehow brought me to become who I am now and what I appreciate? I'm feeling the need to illustrate a flow chart.

"...we've got a lot, don't you dare forget that..."

Last night I saw Everything, Now! and Margot and the Nuclear So & So's at the Beachland Ballroom. It had been a while since I'd seen either band, about a year since I'd seen Margot and at least two since I saw E,N! play at some outdoor festival in Bloomington. It really made me miss the days when Indianapolis felt like my home away from home. It's been too long since I've been there and, in the meantime, too many people have come and gone.

Dear Mr. Murray,

I will host a party if you will come.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Andrey

(http://www.nypost.com/pagesixmag/issues/20081207/Bill+Murray+NYCs+New+Party+Boy)

So far...

...this week has completely exhausted my brain and emotions.

Despite the cold...

...I'm keeping warm on the couch with Charley Harper, an illustrated life. I'm pretty sure I requested this book from the library even before I graduated this spring. Yesterday I got the notification that it was finally available for me to take home and enjoy. Charley Harper was a big influence on me while I was working on my BFA and continues to be an influence in my current work. I love how his simple, flat illustrations can still convey so much energy and depth.

(I love this image because it reminds me of when Andrew and I visited the redwood forest this summer and the awesome overwhelming size of the trees there.)

"Do whatever work attracts you, do it as well as you can and keep on doing it, and something will happen sooner or later."
-Charley Harper

Christmas time is here.

(Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Time is Here)

The weekend, already?

Missing out on Monday and Tuesday of my work week really made the weekend come much faster. I'm extremely thankful for that because these past 3 days have been tough. It's always hard to come home from a number of lovely days in Florida with Andrew and have to immediately jump back into work at greeting card land. It leaves me with little time to re-adjust to the cold and remember that my favorite person to hang out with is once again 1,208.2 miles away from me. (Thank you Google maps.)

I was supposed to pick up my kitten, Egon, from the shelter on Wednesday...which got pushed back to today...which got pushed back to NEXT Friday. The little guy has a cold so they don't want to send him off to be neutered until he's completely healthy. I was definitely looking forward to a purring ball of fuzz this weekend but I guess I can wait a little longer.

To satisfy my intense need to create I've made a list of several possible activities for the weekend:
- make Christmas ornaments to send to far away friends and family
- work on Christmas cards (too soon?)
- pull out the box of Christmas stuff and decorate my aluminum tree
- start on the Harley Poe/Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band holiday show poster
- work on scarves or drawings for my Etsy shop

...we'll see what actually gets finished.

Comic #3.

Up at The Comic Commitment.

Pixels.

Pixel wrapping paper by Cristian Zuzunaga, the creator of that lovely pixel upholstered couch that makes me swoon every time I see it.


Available here soon.

At the beach.

Yesterday I was at the beach in Florida with my love. Today I am back in cold Cleveland.

A few days here and there.

Happy 200,000 Eugene

Emma didn't like playing reindeer.