Blog
August 11th, 2014
Friday was the perfect day to get outside and invade South Lake Union with a bunch of crazy letterpress shenanigans.
For the first time, the SVC Wayzgoose was wrapped up within the South Lake Union Block Party—so some changes were in order this year. For one thing, it meant a bigger crowd and a wider audience—all good things, if you ask me.
Also, there were provisions nearby!
Thanks to the Block Party folks, I also got to expand my operations from a small table into a full ten-foot booth—which felt positively luxurious!
So yeah. Between the perfect summer weather and the friendly, enthusiastic crowd…
…I think we have a winner.
August 7th, 2014
I’m spending today packaging goodies and bagging prints, because tomorrow I’ll be hanging out at the annual SVC Wayzgoose in Seattle. Since SVC is in the process of moving into new digs, this year we’re doing things a little differently: for the first time, the Wayzgoose is wrapped up into the South Lake Union Block Party. We’ll be taking over a hunk of pavement near 9th and John, where SVC will be hosting artist booths, printing demos, and their annual Steamroller Smackdown. Here are the details:
SVC Wayzgoose (South Lake Union Block Party)
Friday, August 8, 2014
12-6 pm, free!
Near the corner of 9th and John (on the edge of Denny Park)
Find me at the Anagram Press booth (#71, in the Wayzgoose section)
More details and map here
See you tomorrow!
August 5th, 2014
I’m a little late to the party, because I was out of town when the “Best of Tacoma” issue of the Weekly Volcano came out. I finally managed to pick one up, and was shocked to find my name inside!
So I whipped up this little village illustration in tribute to my village—and the people in it. Tomorrow is my sixth anniversary of living here in T-town, so being picked by you folks has even more meaning for me. I’m so glad to call Tacoma and the Northwest home—thank you for adopting me, as well.
July 28th, 2014
Jessica has our new broadside on press as I type this, lining up the colors and doing one last check for typos. But this week also holds another kind of “typo” for us, the kind we actually encourage: typophiles.
While our schedules prevent us from actually being there in person, I’m happy to announce that many of our Dead Feminist broadsides will be exhibited this week as part of TypeCon 2014 in Washington, DC. Since it began in 1998, TypeCon has been a major gathering point for designers, typographers and letterers—as well as a nexus for typography as an art form. So we’re incredibly excited and honored to have our work featured among so many talented artists. So if you happen to be attending TypeCon this week, stop by the gallery and take a gander—and tell everyone hi for us!
July 22nd, 2014
I have no idea where the time has gone, but today marks the first anniversary of my illustrated travel blog, Drawn the Road Again! In the past year, I’ve jumped around in both time and place to share as many different travel sketches as I could. But what I might just love the most is sketching the road itself—so in honor of the occasion, I put together a little collage of road sketches posted in the last year.
Sharing my travel sketches has truly been a labor of love—thank you so much for coming along with me for the ride! I can’t tell you what it means to have the encouragement of your comments, social media posts, online sharing, travel recommendations, emails, and even actual mail (you know who you are!). I never dreamed of the response my sketches would have, and I am awed and humbled by your support. Thanks to you, I can’t wait to see what lies just beyond the horizon. You can bet I’ll be ready, sketchbook in hand.
July 21st, 2014
It’s that time again—Jessica and I are hard at work on the next Dead Feminist broadside. Actually, we’ve been hard at work on this piece for months already. I think it’s safe to say that this piece has the most research and labor behind it than any we’ve done so far.
There’s a lot at stake this time, and we want to get things right. And besides—as you can see, the piece is chock full of teeny tiny bits, and the registration is going to be tight. So we’re doubling down on the proofreading skills and triple-checking every detail.
Now the design is done, I just sent out the finished files for the plates, and we’ll be on press starting this week. More soon!
July 14th, 2014
Saturday was a scorcher—I wouldn’t normally pick a day with the temperature in the mid-nineties to hang out in a concrete jungle, but it was a special occasion.
You see, it’s a rare treat to get to have a tasty meal and a good conversation with a roomful of talented illustrators.
Photo by Sophie Dufresne—thanks, Sophie!
We all got together in downtown Portland with the lovely Lilla Rogers to talk shop, ask advice and compare notes. I think all of us came away with our heads full of ideas and our hearts full of confidence. (Not bad for a lunch date, I’d say.)
After that, though, I had a lot to think about, and 95 degrees wasn’t doing my brain any favors. So I bolted for the coast—where it was 30 degrees cooler and a thousand times more peaceful than the city. So I soaked in the sun and stared out to sea, while my ideas took shape.
July 10th, 2014
Whenever I’m looking for a change of pace, my default is to head for a coffee shop and work there. This time, though, I wanted something a little different—and besides, I needed some reference material for some additions to my Succulent! series I’m working on. So I strapped on my walking shoes and headed to another Tacoma favorite: the glass conservatory at Wright Park. The cacti are right as you walk in the door, and there’s a convenient bench nearby. So I just plopped myself down and set to work, happier than a hothouse flower.
July 7th, 2014
On Saturday morning the weather was so perfect that I headed down to the waterfront for a little sketching—not to mention a little quality time with one of my Droplets!
I guess you could count this as working over a holiday, but it sure doesn’t feel like that. To me, it feels like the best way to enjoy a summer day.
July 3rd, 2014
At long last, Tacoma has a real ice cream parlor—I can’t tell you how many years we’ve waited for this. Today I stood in line for the best coffee ice cream I’ve had in years, and while I waited my turn to pay, I noticed something familiar behind the counter!
It was our Just Desserts postcard! Jessica and I couldn’t be more proud. So to the new shop, Ice Cream Social: welcome to Tacoma, and thank you for making us a part of the decor!
![Chandler O'Leary [logo]](https://chandleroleary.com/wp-content/themes/chandleroleary/images/logo.png){kind=logo}