Photos: Winter In The Maritimes

Here are a few shots of Bear River, Nova Scotia when we had a HUGE snowstorm that kept schools closed and left mail undeliverable. Although it was a nuisance (we were snowed in and could not even get the car out of the driveway!), it was beautiful and so picturesque.







The photo below is a snow sculpture in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec. I spotted a bunch of sculptors out around 8am carving huge figures for the winter carnival. I admired their dedication -- not only was it super early, but it was SUPER FREEZING, too! Rivière-du-Loup is a very cute and quaint town in Quebec, along the Trans-Canada-Highway near the New Brunswick border. It means "Wolf River" in French. My dentist is convinced that it's named after the "Loup Garou" AKA the legendary werewolf! haha. :)



The last pic is the view looking west across the frozen Saint-Laurent River in Quebec. It was an icy cold -12C degrees that day, but the colours were so soft and pretty!

Inspiration: New Acquisitions

I added some new pieces to my collection this month. The first thing is Krista Huot's latest print "The Key". It's a limited edition print numbered at 3/25 and was released at her "Nepenthe" solo show at Gallery 1988, San Francisco. Check out all the work from the show here: krnepenthe.blogspot.com/


The next thing I purchased is the Sweet Monster Fulcraim by Kaijin. He comes with a laminated certificate that indicates the show he was launched at (Kaijin Exhibition @ One Up, Tokyo, June 9-15, 2008) and is number 67/80. He has two faces and is full of hot pink awesomeness!





I also picked up the 3 inch Mori Chack Dunny à la Gloomy Bear style from the 2009 Dunny Series. And my friend Troy Stith sent me his DIY Lil' Lucha Dentadura! Troy hand casts his own resin figures, which I think is awesome. I plan on customizing this little guy soon.



And last but not least, my sweet friend Leeanna Butcher sent me these gorgeous Alice In Wonderland postcards! It's been a great month! <3

Plush: Sissiboo for Kat Brunnegraff

Sissiboo was made especially for my super talented artist friend Kat Brunnegraff, who wanted a foresty-themed doll. She has an obsession with owls, so I thought it was fitting to name her doll Sissiboo (the word has owl roots... see below) and is also a local name here in Nova Scotia, Canada! :)



Sissiboo's Story:
Sissiboo ran through the winter forest towards the rushing sound of the river. She got to the river's edge and looked at her surroundings. It was chilly and there was snow on the ground. Parts of the river were frozen, but the stream still found a way through the ice and snow. A Great Horned Owl suddenly swooped down and landed on a stump next to her; sending up a cloud of snowflakes as its wings flapped and folded in.

"Sissiboo, we have a matter to discuss.", the Owl said as it nodded its head. "I've been chatting with my five owl brothers, and we have all agreed that we need to ask you for a favour."

Sissiboo tilted her head slightly to the left with a curious look on her face.

Owl continued: "The Great Lady Kat of The Dominion of Ohio is one of our oldest friends. She is in great need of a forest companion, and we think you would be best suited for this task. She lives in the Silver Ohio Woods where the princesses and unicorns live and has a great menagerie of animal and monster friends."

This sounded fantastic, but Sissiboo was a little unsure about leaving her familiar forest behind.

"Lady Kat knows the legendary Argyle Owl", the Owl added, knowing that would sweeten the deal.

Sissiboo's eyes widened... "The Argyle Owl!!!!", she exclaimed, and thought about the magnificent purple and blue bird who sings melodies of rainbows and grants magical wishes. "Oh... when can I leave?! What should I pack? How far away is The Dominion of Ohio, and how do I get there?", she asked while bouncing on the spot.

Owl chuckled and clicked his beak. "Not to worry dear little one, my five brothers and I will fly you there.".

Sissiboo closed her eyes and said goodbye to her forest. The Great Owl hooted and flapped his wings. Five identical owls joined Great Owl as they swooped down and picked up Sissiboo gently in their talons. Sissiboo and the Six Owls sailed off into the cloudless sky towards the setting sun, and towards The Great Lady Kat in The Dominion of Ohio. :)

Origin of the name:
Sissiboo is the name of a river near the small town of Bear River, Nova Scotia. The legend behind the naming of the Sissiboo River is based upon a Loyalist settler who encountered members of the Mi'kmaq Nation. The Mi'kmaq wanted to show the Loyalist six owls that were in a tree nearby and pointed in the general direction of the tree, saying in French: "six hibou". The loyalist thought that he was pointing at the river, which was in the same direction, and was saying: "Sissiboo".

Plush: Boba Fett

Introducing plush Boba Fett! He is a very special commission made especially for Mark Austin, who played Boba Fett in the Special Edition of Star Wars: A New Hope! :)



Mark was an animator at ILM when he was asked to play Boba Fett in the new Mos Eisley docking bay sequence with Han Solo + Jabba The Hutt. He was already a huge Boba Fett fan prior to his role in the film, so having the chance to play his favourite character in the Star Wars legacy was amazing experience for him. I met Mark when we were animators on the movie G-Force at Sony Imageworks. Mark saw photos of my Princess Leia + R2D2 plush for the Stitch Wars plush show and asked me to create a plush based on his favourite Star Wars character.



Boba Fett is by far my most detailed and time consuming plush doll to date, but I really enjoyed using image references so I could add lots of little detailed stitching. :)