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I walked around the block to visit my friend Laurie today (and to bask in the glow of The Most Beautiful Christmas Tree on Earth)…
…and look who I found on the tree! It’s Victoria Anne McGillicuddy from our letterpress ornament set!
Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve got everything I need here.
Every year I tell myself I’ll actually take photos during Studio Tour—and every year we get a bigger crowd, and I get all wrapped up in talking to people, and somehow the camera just sits forgotten in a corner. But at least I managed to take a couple of quick snaps of how it looked before we opened! We had our biggest group yet this year—over 150 people, many of them new faces! So an enormous thank you to everyone stopped by or sent me encouraging social media messages throughout the weekend—I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be a part of this amazing community.
I woke up this morning to a pile of all my favorite things—the best birthday haul any artist could ask for. Today is still a studio day, but those tickets say I’ll be having a grand time at the Pantages tonight!
I always look forward to Studio Tour because it’s the time of year when I produce the biggest crop of new pieces—and get to “try out” new work with the folks who know me best. This year has turned out to hold some pretty major shifts in direction for my studio practice, and I’m both excited and extremely nervous to put this stuff out there in the world.
(My internal worry-wort lately: “What if they don’t know it’s me?” “What if people ignore this and just ask, ‘What happened to [X]?'” “What if I can’t make the finished product look like it does in my head?” “Who says you get to do [X]?” Ugh.)
Studio Tour takes a lot of that pressure off, because I get to show this new work, in person, to folks I already know, before I release it into the wild. People who already get me and understand what I do—who don’t need me to launch into any awkward elevator-speech explanations of why. They already know the because. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that.
And I’m grateful for you, the reader, as well. Whether you live in my town, or you’re part of my online circle—thank you. I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on. More soon.
When you’re an illustrator, you have to start celebrating (or at least gearing up for) every holiday months in advance. So that means I’ve got Christmas music stuck in my head already. That’s okay, though, because it means I’m churning out new work for the holiday season! And I’m having an extra fun time this time year, because I’m trying some new things, in a little bit of a different style.
If you’re local, you can be the first to grab the new crop of goodies (including brand new illustrations from the Drawn the Road project, and the new Red Deck of the Tacoma Playing Cards) at this year’s city-wide Studio Tour circuit, held during the first weekend in November. I’ll be open both Saturday and Sunday, as usual—more info and maps/directions here.
If you’re not local, look for the big blog-reveal of all the new holiday goodies on Black Friday. Stay tuned!
It’s funny how totally different projects can converge into a single theme. This summer and fall I’ve found myself to be doing a whole bunch of similar commissions for completely different clients. The theme this time? Book covers.
First up is Erik Hanberg, who is not only the tech genius behind my new travel blog, but also Tacoma’s own Parks Commissioner and a fabulously talented writer. Erik has just finished his latest novel, The Lead Cloak—one of the best parts of being asked to illustrate the cover was that I got to be one of the very first to read the book. (It’s a page-turner!) This design was a departure for me again, because I got to mix a very graphic, slightly abstract sci-fi style with a more painterly background. It ended up being an uneasy combination, which we both loved—because it matches the tension and unease of the book. (If you want more details than that, you’ll have to pick up your copy at the book launch tomorrow!)
Next is a how-to travel book by my friend Mary-Alice, author of the wildly popular blog, Dog Jaunt. M-A is the hands-down expert on how to bring your pup along on your adventures, and she’s written what I think is the Bible of pet-travel advice. This was a fun project for me because (for once!) I got to design something clean, spare, and simple—and indulge in some serious punnage. And as an added bonus, M-A let me redesign the look of the Dog Jaunt blog to match—woot! (I mean…woof!)
Last, but never least, is the magazine cover I was asked to illustrate for Eastern Washington University. From beginning to end, this project was an absolute joy—because I was able to do exactly what I would do if I were standing at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge with a sketchbook in hand. My art director was inspired by the sketches I was posting on Drawn the Road Again, and asked me to replicate the style for the magazine.
Now all that’s left for me to do is to visit the place in person—and start filling the ol’ sketchbook.
They’re here! At long last, the Red Deck of the Tacoma Playing Cards is finished, printed and delivered.
(You’ll have to excuse my cheesy phone photos—I was just too excited to dig out the fancy camera.)
It’s so great to see the finished product, and how well everyone’s artwork reproduced at playing-card size. But you can also see the originals—if you’re local, stop by the big launch party this Friday, October 4 in downtown Tacoma. If not, you can find all the originals for sale on the Tacoma Makes website.
I illustrated the Queens again—and in the process, saw some secret pockets of Tacoma I’d never visited before.
I also got to revisit some old favorites,
get to know some beloved institutions,
and even discover hidden corners of old haunts.
But best of all is the feeling of seeing both decks together. Maybe now I’ll finally learn how to play Bridge…
I’m pleased to be able to show off a couple of brand new illustrations! The Broadway Center for the Performing Arts commissioned me to illustrate their two historic theatres to kick off their new capitol campaign. They’ll be restoring and spiffing up these grand dames in time for their centennial in a few years, so expect to see these illustrations pop up around Tacoma between now and then.
Many thanks to Lacey and Mariesa at the Broadway Center for bringing me on board! It was an honor to be a part of such an important milestone.
It’s the time of year where our kitchen is a lot hotter—and the days much longer—than anything summer might throw at us naturally.
The Tailor and I have been up late with the dilly beans,
out at dawn at the Blueberry Park,
and across the mountains to get peaches right off the tree.
And then everything has got to get washed and sliced—
—and packed into jars—as quickly as possible. It’s the best way we know how to make the fleeting summer last.
