Spring is Coming!

Almost! Still some snowpiles lingering, but I am hopeful for picnics and bicycle adventures in the near future.

My AG Gallery show comes down this afternoon. I'll be offering up some of the remaining unsold pieces on Etsy. I'll announce their appearance on this blog.
Thanks to everyone who adopted one of my little portraits! It will be difficult to part with them, (I seem to get so attached to my drawings, no matter how small) but I know they will be in loving homes...

A Quick Little Drawing

My obsession with mustached- and bearded-ladies continues...

I'm Too Busy!

I apologize about the lack of recent posts, but I had to come in to work two days out of my three-day-long weekend :(
After this week, I'll be back on track!
Check back soon, and Happy Spring!

My Gallery Show is Up!

I'll have pieces and photos posted soon!

I'm looking forward to a little reprieve from drawing and painting in the evenings and weekends for the next few days. I need to recharge my brain... and my fingers.

My next project will be a series of pieces (possibly detailed cut and painted layered paper) based on the mythology of my Slovak ancestry. I've been exploring the legends with the guidance of the genealogical research of a helpful relative. More details to come!

Someone's Turning Twenty Five!

Here's a birthday card I created for my boyfriend. He's the kind of guy who appreciates cute baby animals...
Happy birthday, John!

Birthday Card for Jennifer

Made especially for and sent to my dear friend Jenn in windy Chicago some weeks ago.

I Only Have a Brother, But...

Update: They'll be in the card sections of the stores, not on the book racks - yes, you're supposed to send them in envelopes!This is a 20 page hardcover book of my artwork published by American Greetings. You may recognize some of the images, as they're all card-product I created in the past years. It's certainly nice to see my name credited as the Illustrator on the title page! The lettering on the cover (specifically the weird green cut-out shape they used) seems very awkward to me, but I had no say in the matter.




Can be found in American Greetings stores nationwide (possibly also Carlton and Gibson stores - they're all the same thing).

Lovely Linework

Please hop over to My Mind in Two Dimensions and take a glance at the newish artist blog of John DeLucca. He's just started a series called "Presidents With Animals On Their Heads," and I find them to be mighty amusing.He has 7 of them posted currently, and I hear that there are more to come!

Plans for the Future & Close-Ups of Graphite and Scissored Edges

In trying to decide what to work on next, thoughts of world folklore and fairy tales kept entering my mind. I'd love to do a series of cut and layered paper girls (and paper wolves, paper mermaids, paper dragons, paper woodsmen, paper fishermen) based on legends and tales from around the world. Perhaps scenes? Perhaps a congregation of characters all together.

Let the research begin!

And also, here are just a few detailed views of the paper girls. Can you imagine claws, fins and antlers instead of hands, slippers and flowers?

Papercuts & Gluesticks Gallery Girls

Here they are!
Many thanks to Kari of the gallery for providing me with the opportunity to work fast and furious to produce these.
As they came along, I wasn't quite sure how they'd turn out, but I was very pleased with the result. The first three are on dark mustard paper in black frames. The last three, on brown paper and white frames.
Each paper girl was carefully named, carried through the snowy lane to the gallery and lovingly handed off to Kari as soon as they were complete... Farewell!







Additional photos of the gallery opening will soon follow!

Long Hours...

Been putting a lot of work into the six pieces that will be in the Gallery Opening Friday. I was originally going to do some articulated paper dolls very similar to the ones I've been making in the recent past, but I've ended up creating layered paper assemblage figures that are much more detailed and involved. I'll post the final results after the Opening is over since I'd like them to be a surprise to anyone who attends tomorrow... But I must say I'm very pleased with them so far.
They're much more intricate than most things I've been working on recently. Many long hours into the night (and morning) will culminate tomorrow evening when I hand off my last three framed pieces to Kari at the gallery! The place itself looks great, although Kari insists that she has an impossible amount of work left to finish before Friday night. Wish us both luck in finishing in time!

Gallery Grand Opening

This Friday, February 22nd, I'll have some of my paper dolls in the Papercuts & Gluesticks Gallery in Rocky River. It is a brand new little gallery owned by Kari Sanford, and this opening on Friday night will be its "grand" opening. Kari was kind enough to contact me last week after seeing my work on Etsy. Even though it is very last-minute, I'm excited to be part of an up-and-coming gallery, especially one so close to my apartment!
Please take a look at the gallery's site (partially under construction) and Kari's blog.
If you're near, drop by the opening, which begins at 7PM!