Art Show: "Art Jam 5"; live painting at the 9 Lb Hammer in Seattle

This past weekend I went down to Seattle to participate in 'Art Jam 5'; a live painting event with a bunch of local artists hosted by artist Augie Pagan. It was held at a pub called the 9LB Hammer. "To keep the event affordable and open to the general public, no piece of artwork sold for over $50." (more info + pics in this article). The place was jam packed! Lots of art apprecianados bumpin' to the music, chattin' over drinks and watching the artists paint. The place had great energy, and was perfect timing for me to start painting again after fracturing my drawing hand (blog post on that coming soon, I promise)!


[My card suit monsters meet Lawrence's heart pantied Alice]

I collaborated with Lawrence Ruelos on an Alice In Wonderland themed piece. I haven't really done a collab before.. and definitely not in front of a crowd. It was fun tossing around ideas with Lawrence and watching our pencil sketches come to life as we lay down the paint in our different yet cohesive styles. I was a bit nervous going on stage at first because I'm not one for the spotlight, however the excitement of both the opportunity to paint + to collab with Lawrence outweighed any apprehension I had. My first time painting in front of a crowd + my first time painting after my hand fracture = big accomplishments for me! Lawrence had painted in the previous Art Jams so he was a pro. ;) We painted for about an hour and unfortunately it wasn't enough time to finish our piece (we had to wrap it up to let other artists have a spot at the easel), but I'm happy with how our piece turned out anyways. :)



The last time I was at a live painting event was this summer at the San Diego Comic Con where I watched Dave Flores, Joe Ledbetter, Angry Woebots and Yoskay Yamamoto breathe life onto large scaled canvasses at Munky King's Omi mask launch party. I was glued to the spot at that event... it was hypnotizing watching my art idols create their signature styles right infront of me. So to have the opportunity to be an artist in an event was huge for me + I can't thank Lawrence and Augie enough for having the confidence to give me a chance. :) Our piece sold to one of Lawrence's awesome girlfriends who skates for the Jet City Rollergirls (derby girl, wut! wut!). It makes me happy to know the piece is going to one awesome chika! :)



Dev, Augie and Shane White collaborated on this sweet monster piece.



Yet more awesome paintings! It's exciting to me that everyone has the same tools... canvas, brushes and paint + yet there is so much uniqueness + variety in each individual piece. /art dork This event is such a great idea. I hope there are more in the future!




[Moi Painting my monsters, Photo by Lawrence Ruelos]

Photos: Hipstamatic for iPhone

This month I caved + got an iPhone just like everyone else. I didnt think I'd love it so much, but I do. I'm obsessed with it. Not only can I check my email and Facebook wherever I go, but I can take pics with it too! My phone has become the perfect lightweight camera for a girl with a fractured hand. There are some pretty awesome photo apps you can download for it, but one of my favs is Hipstamatic because the program makes photos look like they were taken with old retro cameras like Holga or Polaroid. It lets you choose which 'lenses', 'film' and types of 'flashes' you want to use. Instant.total.love. Check it out:

Halloween: Alice In Wonderland

I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! I'm very late in posting pics of my Halloween costume. To (most likely) nobody's surprise I was Alice In Wonderland (again) this year. (Actually, come to think of it... I've been Alice 3 times now... the first time was at the Alice In Wonderland Made Tea Party @ Royal/T when I had blond hair. /tangent) Unfortunately my sling was not part of my costume, although I probably could have explained it was from falling down the rabbit hole. ;) I actually fractured my hand a few weeks ago and it has taken me out of the game... literally. Expect a post about it!

Art Show: Sweet + Toxic - Conjoined Deer Twins Plush

Sweet + Toxic were made for the Robots + Monsters group show at Ayden Gallery in Vancouver, BC. Opening Reception: Friday, October 22, 7-11pm. Exhibition runs until Nov 14, 2010



Sweet + Toxic follow their hearts with full force. Their intense love brings them both the most sweetest joy and the most toxic pain. Most of the time the candy coloured duo have a happy outlook on life with their strawberry pink palette and kawaii fabric details. Their favourite dessert is Strawberry Shortcake and they fight over who gets to eat most of the whipped cream.





I just wanted to say thanks to my Bro who helped me with the finishing details due to my injured hand. Thanks Jess! :)

Plush Art Show: Animus + Euphoria + 2 Deer for Plush You 2010

These plushies of mine will be on display at Plush You this year. The opening reception is this Friday from 5-9pm at Schmancy in Seattle, WA. Stop by if you're in the area!



Animus + Euphoria
Animus's name was influenced by 'Animus Vox', one of my favourite songs by Glitch Mob. As well as symbolizing masculine energy, Animus also means 'strong dislike' which I find a contrast to really liking the song Animus Vox! So I thought it was fitting to call the sad-faced sister 'Animus', while the happy-faced sister would need to have a positive name -- 'Euphoria'. Their contrasting names were also inspired by the rabbit print on their bellies. The print shows a happy idealistic union of two rabbits. I wanted the sisters to reflect the reality of this union -- happy and sad. One cannot know happiness without experiencing sadness. There are two sides to every coin and these sisters know that very well. Sometimes Animus leads + days are sad. Other times Euphoria makes all the decisions and days are happy. They don't always agree with where they are going, but they must work together to find a balance in order to move forward. Animus + Euphoria remind us to take each day one step at a time, and to embrace the ups and downs in life.



Strawberry Death Cupcake Deer + Cherry Death Cupcake Deer own the gothic lolita themed cupcake shop in Deerville. They decorate their cupcakes with tiny plastic bats, hissing cats and smiling jack-o-lanterns. Their favourite holiday is Halloween and they cannot wait for it this year because they love dressing up!

Press: VancouverIsAwesome.com

I forgot to mention that I was featured on VancouverIsAwesome.com a couple of months ago! The Proof is one of VIA's weekly series about local Vancouver artists. You can read the full article HERE. My awesome friends Dave Mah and Megz Majewski have also been featured on VIA too! :D

Urban Vinyl: Toyssssss!

My newest aquisitions! :D

Original Pandara (limited edition of 20) + Blue Anniversary Pandara (limited edition of 5) by Paul Shih. Blue Pandara was a gift from my awesome friend PodgyPanda. <3



Junko Mizuno Dunny (3/50) from the Femme Fatale series + Skull Boy SDCC 2010 exclusive (limited edition of 60) by Junko Mizuno. Junko signed the top of his head for me! :D



Seiko (1/20) from the Pure Trance blind box series by Junko Mizuno.

Seiko the idol loved singing since she was a child. After numerous auditions, she was finally discovered and followed the path of the very pop stars she always admired. However, lately she has grown sick and tired of her managers forcing her to hide her own personality and act like someone else.



Pocket Gator Mummy (Piderman) + Pocket Mummy Boy, both SDCC 2010 exclusives by Brian Flynn + Super7.



Original Rose Vampire + Clear Green Rose Vampire SDCC 2010 exclusive by Josh Herbolshimer + Super7. Josh drew a heart on Clear Green for me! <3



My mantle. Lots o toys + prints by Krista Huot + PodgyPanda!



And last but not least, my haul from SDCC 2010 (tagged on Flickr).

Photos: Vancouver Bokeh

My obession with bokeh continues + a self-portrait.

Etsy: Plush Deer, Felt Art on Canvas + Photo Prints

I've added some new items in my Etsy shop! First up is 3 Felt Art Canvases featuring deer silhouettes. They measure 5 x 5 and are ready to hang.



Next up is 5 different doll-themed photo prints. I actually had these printed up 2 years ago but they ended up in storage for a while when I was moving around. I found them in a box + thought it would be a better idea to list them. They measure 5 x 7 and are printed on high quality Kodak Professional Endura Paper with a Luster finish. They come unframed, with a signature on the back. Check out my Etsy shop for more prints.



And last but not least is a new plush mohawked deer: Miss Blueberry Pie. She likes to go antique hunting at the local flea market. She loves buying old furniture and decorations to restore and re-paint.