happy 2014

click to enlarge

Sketchbook

I’ve been working on my freelance marketing business lately and haven’t had time to take my images from sketchbook to finished art. It feels like I am storing up all these bits of ideas which will someday make their way into a story.

This is a page of notes from a children’s book illustration conference I attended on Sunday. I picked up a few tips but it always comes back down to just doing the work…

we’re all angels

May you be inscribed in the book of life!

the narrow bridge

on holy ground

sending some heartlight for you tough new yawkers

once upon a star

a blind date with anxiety

falling into grace

yom kippur

a few characters in search of a story

phobia

Everyday, I fight the forces of decay and ruin. I get up each morning, brush my teeth, put on clean clothes and slowly watch it all fall apart. Then I do it again the next day. There’s point here somewhere.

Stand by, it’s coming to me.

emptiness

my cards have landed

Yeah! A fun store in the neighborhood, Co-op28, is showing my card line. It’s a great feeling to finally be out there. And the cards look great. If you find yourself in Los Feliz, stop by. One small step…

learning to be a brand

(almost) ye ole greeting card shop

I’m for sale! Well, not me exactly but my images are looking for good homes.

Slowly, I am figuring out how to sell my work and by extension, how to talk about it. I’ve made an interim shop on ETSY while my website is under construction. The Etsy shop will help me practice fulfilling paper card orders and ironing out the kinks with printing and shipping.

So, take it for a spin and let me know what you think! This reminds me of when I was 8 or 9 and my best friend and I sold paper flowers from a cart on Main Street in Quogue. The tools are vastly different but the excitement is the same. Enjoy!

houdini’s secret cousin

pep talk from Ira Glass on refining your craft

Ira Glass, the creator of This American Life, developed a new genre for radio by telling the stories we needed to hear. I found an inspiring interview with him discussing the chasm between our taste – what we know is good work – and our ability to make work (insert your artform here) that lives up to that ideal. His advice: don’t give up and practice, practice, practice.

map quest

I relocated to the other coast last week. My brother and I drove across the country, my car stuffed with stuff. That’s one heck of a drive. I thought I would document it but after 10hrs a day of staring at open highway, my mind was as flat as western Kansas.

I moved out here for various reasons – help my Dad, try something new (again), transform my identity (hopeless idea) – but it’s all a big mystery.

Passover notes.02