Illustration Month, Year 2.

January is approaching quickly, which means it's almost time for Illustration Month. Here's the basic idea: Pick a story & draw scenes from it, in a month. I've been really enjoying reading travel novels and anthologies lately, so I'm going to draw scenes from Jules Verne's Around the World In 80 Days. What book (or story) would YOU pick?

Illustration Month's now on Twitter & Facebook. Check it out.

Video:

Come Fly With Me - Frank Sinatra

A Few of My Favorite Things...

I wrote a collection of my favorite songs from this year over on CHIRP Radio's Blog. You can listen to the station here. And hopefully soon on the airwaves, thanks to the Local Community Radio Act. CHIRP has been a big part of my Chicago experience so far, with DJing, concerts, and in-depth music discussions. Thanks to them for introducing me to many awesome songs and artists, and having a stellar radio broadcast!

I am listening to LCD Soundsystem in this photo.

The CHIRP Record Fair, 2009. Photo by Sarah Gonzalez.

Song:

We Used to Wait - The Arcade Fire (at thewildernessdowntown)

Cookies in Everyone's Favorite Shapes

My Mom sent me a New York cookie cutter (via annclark) for my birthday, and Grandma B gave me sprinkles, so I decided to make cookies with Sarah's & my favorite states & animals. I made cookie cutters of Oregon, a koala, and an owl.

Oregon & New York.

A koala & a snowy owl.

And they all turned out deliciously. (With a loose representation of the Finger Lakes.)

Songs & Videos (YouTube):

Spoonful Of Sugar - of Montreal


Sweet Thing - Diana Ross & The Supremes

Happy Holidays From the Christmakkahdon!

Because the best way to wish everyone a happy holiday season is with dinosaurs. Yeah Christmakkah!

Songs:

Rock of Ages - Ben Kweller (HypeMachine)

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - Bruce Springsteen

Hello Etsy, It's Been a While

I've begun using Etsy again. I set up a shop last year, but didn't quite understand how it worked. Now, after seeing some of the best at the Renegade Craft Fair & the worst on Regretsy, I've decided to try it out with a little more of my work. It's a lovely way for artists to connect with each other and sell in a worldwide marketplace. People can even request custom items. This time I've added a lot of my senior work to my shop, It'll Glow On You.

A bioluminescent menagerie in my old studio space with works in progress. (The basket starfish would later become orange.)

Video: 

Carnival of the Animals: The Aquarium - Camille Saint-Saëns

They Draw & Cook... Matzo Ball Soup

One of my drawings was featured on the blog They Draw & Cook. They are doing a showcase of holiday recipes throughout December, and even though it's a Passover food, Matzo Ball Soup is a perfect winter dish. Here's my drawing (Click the image to make it larger): 

Here's one of the original sketches.

   

I highly recommend the soup!

A Song: 

A Million Matzoh Balls - Dean Friedman (Artist's Website)

"Rabbi, Is There a Blessing for a Sewing Machine?"

"There is a blessing for everything." - Fiddler on the Roof.

I recently bought a new sewing machine, and it is absolutely wonderful. It does 80 different stitches and comes with 8 presser feet. It's like upgrading from a basic drawing pixel software to Adobe's CS5. So far, I've only used one foot, but already can get an amazing range of stitches.

Test Pattern:

So to christen the new sewing machine, Sarah requested a Chanukah/Hanukkah decoration.

Check out the stitching around the star. Autostitch #09!

Needless to say, it'll keep me in stitches for quite a while. And I'll leave you with this:

"Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman With a Sewing Machine." - Rosie Geissler

Song & a Video:

Chanukkah Under the Stars - Fountains of Wayne (iLike)

How Do You Spell Channukkahh? - LeeVees from The LeeVees on Vimeo.