Edwardian Ball 2012

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been busy working on quite a few projects at once...and one of those is getting ready for this year's Edwardian Ball in SF this weekend! I am thrilled to be a vendor this year as STRYX ASTRA sharing a booth with the lovely and talented BirdSkull Studios under what's become our default co-selling moniker "The Theatre of Angels and Witches."

Here are some quick progress shots of the types of things I've been making (monocle/goggle masks...yessss)

If you haven't heard of the Ball, I suggest you watch this:

If you're planning to attend the SF Ball (as well you should be, especially after watching that video), please stop by and say hello! If for whatever reason you will not be there in the evenings, there's also a free Vendor Bazaar on Saturday afternoon, so there really is no excuse to come check it out.


This is my favorite event that I've attended to date in San Francisco, so even though its going to be a crunch getting everything ready for this Friday, I'm also really, really looking forward to it. Such an fantastic array of mustaches, corsets, steampunkery, bustles, taxidermy, circus antics, canes, absurdity, pompousness, and curiosa...! Can't wait & hope to see you there!

2012, new things, mushrooms!

Happy 2012! Somehow that seems far enough into the 2000's to be considered the realm of science fiction :]

I'm excited for this year...there's lots of Big New Exciting changes for me in the coming several months (bigger and newer than usual, that is) so we'll see how things unfold. To summarize, I've been staring at a lot of PHP & CSS lately, writing graduate school applications, cutting up old leather and rearranging old things in new ways, and working on what seems like a million projects at once.

One thing that I've been meaning to share for a little bit now are these awesome mushroom cards that I recently printed in collaboration with Cherish:

These cards are about 4 x 4 inches, printed on a nice off-white cardstock. I only did a small run (just to see how they'd turn out), but I'm so so happy with how they came out, I'm definitely going to print more. What do you think?

music video love

I have this secret desire to create/direct music videos (I think its one of of the most perfect ways to feature visual art), and I'm endlessly fascinated by the work that gets done in this genre. I'm particularly drawn to illustration/animation and stop-motion-type effects. Below are a couple of my most favorite music videos from 2011 - inspiring, incredible collaborations, and excellent music. ♥!

Lovely Bloodflow from BATHS on Vimeo.

Beats Antique | REVIVAL from Ivan Landau on Vimeo.

The Shrine / An Argument from Sean Pecknold on Vimeo.

COCOROSIE - GALLOWS (OFFICIAL VIDEO) from Emma Freeman on Vimeo.

another year

...another year almost gone. And what a tremendously busy year its been!

I've got quite a few projects to finish in the remaining week of 2011, so things will be quite busy in the next couple of days, but here is something I completed quite recently for a client that I'm awfully fond of:

This was commissioned as an 11x17 inch two-color poster/wedding invitation in an Art Nouveau style, integrating some of the passions of the clients (their dogs, elaborate clothing, San Francisco, Victorian houses, etc.) It was such a pleasure to work on, and I am very excited to see it in print. The yellow/bronzeish color will be a real metallic bronze in the printed version, from what I understand. The clients are super happy with how it came out. Check out a couple of progress shots below...

desert ghosts

Dear blog, I want to apologize for being silent for so long. So many months have passed...so much has happened in my life and in this incredible city that I live in, it is hard to keep on top of documenting it all! I am currently in the middle of some major transitions yet again, but I hope to post a couple of more times before 2011 draws to a close.

Just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the desert after almost 7 months of being away, see some of my most favorite people in the whole word, and attend The All Souls Procession with my love. How fascinating it is to see memories superimposed over reality, things changing, growing, evolving! I had forgotten the last time I had simply walked the Procession -- for years, I have been a performer, so I experienced the event very differently. A part of my heart will always stay in Tucson, I think, regardless of how far I wander, or how much I may love colder weather, moody oceans, and forest-covered mountains. Its funny to realize just how much that dusty desert city imprinted on me in the years I spent there, and how deeply its magic settled in myself.

There is nothing like it.

fur, leather, glass

Very busy indeed, leaving for Faerieworlds on Wednesday! My friend Maria (who is making some incredible handmade journals to sell) was kind enough to model my masks & jewelery for me. Here are a couple of my favorites:

phoenix mask

Just a quick update to share a mask I recently completed for a dear friend of mine, Suzi, who's been planning to put together a new phoenix performance number :]

Not the best lighting, since I had to dash to present it to Suz at her birthday party, but still gets the idea across. Getting ready for a pretty intense week of crunch work for Faerieworlds + very excited!