New Things!

Okay folks! The three peeps below are more than welcome to pop me an email (eggmanstudios 'at' hotmail.com) with their Paypal email addy & mailing address and I'll shoot you guys a small invoice for postage on the freebie test prints (each person is getting one test print of a varying size and image) and get those suckers out in the post and into far better homes. :) And, once again, each of these prints isn't 100% perfect color wise (more like 95%), which is why I'm giving 'em away. Thank you so, so much for taking them in!

Rachel

terri

and distinctleigh

And, speaking of prints, I've got a few listed in the shop at last, at last! Feels good. I'm doing more tweaking with a couple more that I'll be listing either today or sometime soon. So keep an eye out, you!

I've also begun listing the first of the neato hand-painted, original mini art brooches that I had shown you guys earlier. Lots to list, lots to do! I wish I had another day off to get everything done and up-to-date.

As far as other news is concerned, not much is goin' on. Today is my first day off from a very, very long 7 day work week. I did, however, paint a couple cutie pie dessert plates for myself at work this past week, as seen in the horrid blurry pic below (the hedgie and squirrel I drew onto the plates with a glaze pencil, which doesn't burn off when fired in a kiln). I'm in love... I've come to the realization that dessert plates are actually more useful than you would think. I always thought they were a useless luxury. But I find myself using them quite frequently for muffins or scones and small things like sliced fruits. Maybe I'll paint a bunch more for myself, in varying themes of course...Happy Friday everyone! The weekend is bursting with possibilities, don't you agree?

Printage, Ahoy!

Yay! The printer arrived yesterday and I've been busy busy busy getting it all set for massive printage. In between working massive 8-9 hour work shifts and getting home at around 10pm every night, I've been tweaking and calibrating and all that not-so-fun printer stuff that just always unfortunately needs to be done.

But I'm diggin' it. And man, this thing is a BEAST! I knew it would be big, as a large-format printer, but whoa. Kinda took me by surprise. Mr. Printer is well over 2 feet long, and while doing computer and low-key printwork on the living room floor has served me fine in the past, I must say that a super large desk is lookin' mighty fine right about now. A trip to Target is in my near future, I do believe...

It's amazing though. The prints on the velvet paper are absolutely breathtaking (and try as I might, I just cannot see a dot pattern--how cool is that?).

On the flip side, during all my tweaking with colors and format adjustments, I made a few prints that, while being lovely on their own, just don't quite meet my extremely high standards for sale. Would anyone be interested in a drawing for a free test print? No charge (except $3 for shipping within the US to cover the envelope and postage--I'll send you a Paypal invoice for it). Their faults are quite minor (a little too red in spots, or a bit too orange on one, etc) and I really don't want to throw 'em out (what a waste of lovely velvet paper and ink). And the prints I'll be selling in ye old shop will be anywhere from $15-$35, so you can't go wrong with a free test print. Anywho, let me know if interested and by Friday I'll go ahead and draw a few names from a hat for free printage.

And, before I go do more print tests, here's a couple views at the new red shoes I got today! I'm so excited about these--been eyeing 'em for a month now. A bit pricey, but I rarely splurge over $50 for a pair of shoes, so I figured I was due.

Take it easy, folks!

Dead Fly

A dead fly on my windowsill. He looks so poetic and, well, dead. I don't know why I took this photo. I liked the lighting this afternoon--not bright, much more still and fading. Very moody.

Moody enough to warrant an arty pic of a dead fly.

I forgot about the photos I took when I went on a thrifting adventure over in Pt. Townsend on my birthday last week. I packed a lunch and ate it up at the Fort Worden bunkers (a maze of vast military bunkers built for WWII--but by the time they were completed, the war was over, so they've never been really used much) which are so fun to get lost hiking around. Anyway, these were my favorite pics from that day (I have a thing with rusty objects--I *love* photographing rusty doors).

And, completely off-topic but worth bringing up, have you guys checked out the Robot Chicken Star Wars special? If not, and you like parodies/Star Wars/cartoons, get yourself over to adultswim and watch it! As you know, I'm a big Star Wars geek, so I practically had milk spilling out my nose while viewing it.

Huh. I took a picture of a dead fly today and spent 30 mins watching a Star Wars parody cartoon. Apparently, I have no life.

Happy trails for all you kiddos this weekend! I hope you all get to do something exciting!

**Printer and print-making update: I got the big box of neato kraftboard envelopes and baggage today to mail out prints in! The printer is nearly here! Weeee! And, I'm pondering the thought of maybe, just maybe, doing a drawing/lottery on my blog for a few freebie 5x7" prints or something--just to get the ball rolling and such. I'll let ya know if that materializes...

Pinnage

Hmmmm...Did I say I was creating hair pins the other day? I really meant brooches. Yeah.... Brooches. That's what I meant...

Little mini painted brooches, all set for a jacket or summer dress. I'm gonna make up a bunch more of these--they were so fun and relatively quick to make and they look awesome (I had to test one out on my jacket earlier...). Within the next couple of days I'll do up some product shots and get 'em listed in the store for greedy hands.

I did end up seeing Ocean's 13 last night with my mumsy. A good romp of a flick (no Ocean's 11, but I wasn't expecting that anyway). It was so so better than Ocean's 12 (god, that is one bad film). My theater is now charging over $9 for an evening movie ticket. Ugh. I know this is cheap beans for those of you livin' it up in the city with your ridiculous $12 movie tickets, but this is teeny little suburban Poulsbo we're talking about here. Hardly a blip on the map. And so, expensive movie theaters, I say phooey to you and your overpriced tickets and $6 small popcorn and $5 small soda! I love going to the movies but it's beginning to get to the point where I'll be doing Netflix much more predominately. End of rant.

A lovely day here, indeed. And so, I'm off to grab a coffee and do yet more painting. Take it easy, folks!

Mail Art & Mr. Printer

For Father's Day, I thought it would be fun to do a mail art project to my dad (I'm really into mail art and while my artistic outlet has become more focused on painting and sculpture, mail art still holds a dear spot in my heart). He never gets any mail, yet still checks his mailbox constantly in hopes of getting something good. So, this is the first object out of four that are making their way to his mailbox. This one he received yesterday (to much praise and bouts of laughter) and the others will be spaced out to arrive each week for the next month.

Here's what the back looks like:

I'm pretty proud of the idea--it's a large laminate sample from Home Depot (measures about 3.5x5") that I painted on one side and slapped a tiny folded envelope to the back, which houses a sappy little note telling my dad how much I love him. With his address slapped on along with a couple stamps, out it went. I can't wait to do another! Oh, the "Slug Assassin" is Maxwell, my dad's adorable cat, who used to actually hunt slugs (he eventually stopped after realizing that slugs have a tendency to glue one's mouth shut with slime). Silly kitty...

In other grand news, Mr. Printer has been ordered and is hurriedly heading my way, along with plenty of wonderfully archival, smooth velvet paper! Yay! Vast mountains of neato prints are on the nearest horizon, my friends.

I also shelled out about $100 on shipping/packaging supplies today online, which makes my stomach hurt. It's actually incredibly cheap for all the rigid envelopes and cellophane bags I'm getting, but it's always so painful to spend an amount like that on...envelopes. Such is life, though.

Also, lets talk movies.

For my birthday my dad bought me the 2-disc version of Pan's Labyrinth (which is well worth the extra moohlah, if you're debating between the standard vs deluxe versions, by the way). Love love love. Mom bought me the Planet Earth tv series (for a sea & odd critter lover like myself, this is gold), which I've already seen on tv but is millions better with David Attenborough narrating.

And then today I snagged "A Fistful of Dollars", "For A Few Dollars More", and "The Magnificent Seven" (which I haven't ever seen and now I'm horribly embarrassed--I had no idea Yul Brynner is in that one, and he is *by far* one of my all-time favorite actors). I love good westerns, esp. the Sergio Leone classics. There's something so...comforting about them. The crackly sound and music combined with the simplistic story-structure makes these flicks perfect films to watch while creating stuff.

Alrighty folks! I'm off to paint some miniature paintings that I'll be turning into awesome hair pins (at least, that's the plan--we'll see if it all works out) for the shop. Tonight I'll also be seeing Ocean's 13 (with low expectations, might I add). I love Stephen Mirrione--the editor who has done all 3 of the Ocean's series. Between him and Soderbergh, the films have a perfectly cool, experimental and sharp look (while usually lacking in the plot structure side of things, but oh well).

Here's to a great week for you guys!

Cuckoo Birds

It's listed for grabs in ye old shope! Hoozah!

The other day at work I saved a little sparrow that flew into the studio. I have no idea what possessed it to come in there. We only have one window, and to a bird, the space can't look all that inviting. Nevertheless, he did want to check it out. A youngin' too, by the looks of it. He was a bit off-kilter and confused when he landed on the floor (as I would be too, if I were a bird). Seeing a poor critter in distress, I immediately jumped the counter and gently grabbed him so he couldn't fly into a wall or customer piece or something. After letting him go outside, I came in to help the customer at the front desk, who promptly replied, "I had no idea bird catching was in your duties here". Ha, proved her wrong, didn't I?

Anywho, I'm going fishing with my dad tomorrow and meanwhile I'm busily at work on another sea life painting--an angler fish! Oh yes, you did in fact read correctly. I'm excited to get it underway. Will post in-progress shots a bit later.

Ta-ta for now, chaps!

Birthday Luck

Good day, ladies and gents!

Today is my 23rd birthday and to celebrate, I took the day off from work and went thrifting, shopping, and hiking. It was grand. First off, I found this amazing lamp at the Port Townsend Goodwill. It's incredible! I love these old late 60s-early-70s biggo lamps. They're so gaudy and colorful. Usually I can only find them in orange or brown but the gods were with me today. A perfecto lime green glass one--for only $9! Weeee! And the best part? Plug it in and the base even emits a soft glow. The wiring is a tad on the iffy side since it's so old, but hell, I can easily rewire it.

Here's my new lamp next to a thrifted 60s chair I bought at the same Goodwill earlier this year (I got it for, I kid you not, $15--how's that for a score?). I do say, they look like a happy couple.

Next up, I bought this splendid elephant shaped white ceramic teapot at a local independently owned grocery store for $12. I adore it. I saw a price tag next to the elephants that said "camel teapot" but alas, they were all out of the camels. I'll have to go back and snatch up a camel if they come back in stock. The green and white striped backdrop in this pick is a tea towel I picked up at the same store for a few dollars. I'm gussying up my kitchen in white and limey green with some vintage sass and the towel fits in like a charm (course, so does the teapot).
No time for more--I'm off to attend a birthday feast my mom is throwing in my honor. Mmmmmm...crab legs and then walnut pie for dessert..... Can't wait! Oh--the cuckoo clock painting did get finished and I will be adding it to the shop this week. Photos are a'comin, I promise!

Enjoy your day, my friends!

An Evening of Movies and Junkfood

Busy busy busy.

Busy?

Busy.

Funny how the second I say I'm not sure when I'll be posting in the ol' blog again this week I get the pressing urge to post right that very second, no matter the cost. Maybe I should try that trick out more often...

Anyway, it was a very long work day today so I'm super exhausted. There shall be no painting, sculpting or general-artsyness from yours truly today. No sirree. I've got a Netflix movie to pop in the dvd player, popcorn to pop, and a couch that has my name allllll over it. Oh, and did I mention a hot bath?...

Sounds like my kinda night.

Before I leave you, here's a pic of the cuckoo clock happenings before yesterday (during which it was completed--and I can't wait to show you!). I told you--very bright colors. Once I have the time, energy, and, uh, daylight, I'll take a shot of the finished piece. I'm thinkin' this one may wind up in the shop as well, probably sometime next week. Will let you all know when that'll be.

And soon, very soon, like within the next month, the spanking new printer will be ordered. Vast prints are on the horizon, my dear friends! Oh yes, yes they are...

PS: An extra shout-out to my buddy Rachel, who just returned from Austria the other day, and dropped by my work today (which itself was a big enough gift) to give me a bag of birthday goodies (the big day is on Tues. the 12th). The handbag is SO me, the little ceramic head thing from Croatia is delightful (in an odd, creepy and very "Michelle" sorta way), and the German chocolates? Uh, don't be surprised if they're all gone after tonight's movie. Jus' sayin'... Cavities, here I come!

A Big Thanks and New Paintings

First off, I just want to give a big heapin' thanks to everyone that's given their love and support via comments, email, cookies (yum!), and hugs in regards to my deceased cat. I dearly love you all! :) I'm doing much better--the first day or two were a tad rough, but with all the support that's been given along with my crazy (crazy I tell you!) work schedule, I'm feeling close to normal. Man, that was quite the emotional hit for me. I've been through a lot of pet deaths (including a couple rather grisly ones) but this one really did me in. She was very, very close to me and to lose her that way was just so not cool.

Anyway, the stump painting did get finished and is now listed for grabs in the shop! It'll be hard for me to let this one go--it turned out awesome and with that lovely gloss varnish on there it really brings out those colors and depth.

Once I completed it, I grabbed my nearest sketchpad to work out my next painting. I'm happy to say, it's currently well on its way (another 5x7 incher--but this time of a cuckoo clock!Squee!) and is bursting with color.

Today is my only day off for the next seven days (all 8-9 hour shifts), so I made it worthwhile by taking a trip to the thrift store. Not a lot of good finds today, though I did nab this set of four teacups that I couldn't resist (all four acquired for less than two smackers).

That's all for now! No idea when I'll get the time to post again, but soon. Very soon. Here's to a good week!