STUFFED! And, Pink Shoes

Three of my forest orphans are in the summer issue of stuffed.  It's fun to see my work in print, it is also a sort of strange.  I wish I could elaborate, but I am at a loss for words today, I'll keep writing and see what happens though.  I think what I enjoy the most is seeing their stories in print.  I have this dream of having Pink Cheeks Studios at a place where I can supplement my family's income comfortably and also have days that I can devote to writing books and illustrating them as well, in the style of my latest prints.  I have to laugh at myself, though because these past couple of months I have been working on getting Pink Cheeks profitable enough so that I wouldn't need to get a part-time job after we move to Louisiana (just a couple of weeks now).  I am nearly there, and so grateful, really, and now I am already getting greedy and wishing for this other goal to happen.  Maybe that is good?  Maybe that is a very general "business plan"?  It feels a little greedy though, so I guess I'll slow down, pull in the reigns and try and enjoy the time at home that this Pink Cheeked business allows me.

We move to Louisiana in a little over two weeks!  I am getting increasingly nervous about it.  Mainly because people who have been there love to tell me all about the summer weather.  I sort of recognize that weather is a fun, communal thing people can talk about, and that sometimes things can get exaggerated because weather is a fun thing to kick around and complain about.  I also know that I can tolerate heat like a trooper.  I like the feeling of the sun on my skin.  However, I am really starting to wonder, is it actually like a sauna, as people say?  I have never experienced that.  My brother, who has lived near Savannah for the past 2 years says that when you are driving in the summer down there, sometimes you need to put your wipers on even when it is not raining because it is so humid that moisture gets all over your windshield.  If I go outside down there, will my glasses fog up?   Are Walter and I going to hole up in the house all day and hide from the heat and alligators?  I am very curious about this place.  One thing that did make me feel better though, was a blog entry by Joy the Baker about New Orleans.  She calls the place "magic", and I love magical cities and places that feel unique in the world.  I also really love chicory coffee, which apparently is a nut they used to use to extend coffee, when rations were low during war times, but I love that nutty taste, and it is all over New Orleans.  Also, beignets.  I am going to eat a bunch of those. 

In sewing news, I am working on a mobile for the ultra pink and super fabulous Kitty Pink Stars.  Here is a sneak peen.  Or, should I say sneak pink.

New Prints in the Shop and Sumo Steam Roll

Several new prints are available.  The good news is that they are only $12.00!  I decided to go with the chromogenic prints to make them more affordable.  I can't tell the difference between them and the inkjet (which are a good deal pricier).  I order my prints from iprintfromhome.  They do great work.  I am so happy with these prints.  The textures look so real, that I have to restrain myself from touching them just to check if iprintfromhome did some sort of magic to them.  I have this plan of doing a series of animal portraits like the delighted frog and the melancholy polar bear and offering them in a large size.  I think they would look so fun in a child's room, like life-size animals are peering in on them while they play.  In fact, I am so drawn to the idea that I will make a few for Walter's room first.  I will put the animals in charge of helping Walter to feel comfortable in Louisiana. 

Also, I am working on a Sumobile for a wee one in Texas.  This picture happened spontaneously.  That's what happens when tiny working trucks are all over your house.

Milly and Harold

I channeled my younger self when I designed this one.  I was a happy, but weird kid.

Polar Bear Girl and Frog

She goes deep into the woods with a finely sharpened pencil to do detailed drawings of trees. The bear suit keeps the wolves at bay.

This guy makes being green seem like a walk in the park.

I am still over here loving this new medium.  It's the kind of work that actually makes me want to try 5 hour energy, the drink, which actually I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.  But, it would be nice to take it in the middle of the night and do several hours (five, to be exact) of solid work.  Wow, that could be interpreted as being a pretty lame statement!  What a wild and crazy woman I have become!  No, I've always been this way, and I think most people who read this blog would have the same desire to not need sleep, but rather burn the midnight oil being creative.  It's okay.  That is one of the gifts of being in your thirties, I think, is that you can more easily accept your quirks with a shrug of your shoulders and an "eh, that's right." 

I have a sad story about a frog that was given to me for my sixteenth birthday by a cute boy.  We named him Caesar because he jumped into the pizza box ("pizza, pizza").  It's such a sad story that I can't even type it.  It is also gross.  One day though, I am going to re-visit this dark story and make a comic book out of it.  A comic book of the sad and dark variety.  Caesar will look a lot different from the frog above. 

Alright, back to my happy place.  I hope you are all having a lovely summer week and that you get to spend some time splashing in a pool.

A Blue Haired Girl Leading a Sheep and Prints are in!

They are either heading to the prom or the county fair, either way, they are heading there in style!

 

 Melancholy Polar Bear Print available now!

This pirate would love to come into your home!

A friendly man who picks you flowers!

Fuzzy Wuzzy.

A strong man for you!  He's so strong. A few prints have been ordered and I am going to make listings of them in my Etsy shop this week!  I hope you like them very much, I am enjoying making them.

 

This past weekend my town (soon to be former town) had their annual 1000 clown parade.  It is in honor of Red Skelton's birthday, who was born in Vincennes.  They are big fans here.  I have never seen a video clip of him.  Steve Martin, who I love, was also a big fan, so I really need to buckle down and get to know Mr. Skelton.  

 

We sat across from a building that burnt down.  It was a strange experience to have all these colorful characters frolic past a giant pile of rubble while the hot, hot sun beat down on us.  Strange and delightful, which is the best kind of strange and a nice sort of delightful.  This clown was a walking pun.  He's a golfer and he's holding his "hole in one".  

 

 

Parades are pretty special.  This one has a lot of heart.  It is an explosion of celebration.  The streets get shut down for a march of color, laughter and candy.  I like it.

Another clown pun-----"ballet parking".  Pretty sweet.  

 

Oh Vincennes, Indiana.  I will miss you in a way.

We All Scream

I have ice cream on the brain.  Joseph and Walter and I finally tried this local ice cream place called the zip and sip which boasts 32 soft serve flavors, including espresso and coffee!  What is the difference in taste, I wonder?  We are an indecisive family so we asked if we could mix flavors, thinking they would put half of each flavor in, like if you were to scoop it out, but instead they mixed the extracts (?) together to make one flavor.  I ended up eating maple-nut/german chocolate.  I also managed to forget that german chocolate involves coconut and that I don't like coconut.  It's a strange thing to forget, but I always do, or at least I have more than once.  It was a lot of flavor in a cone, but I ate it all because no matter what ice cream is awesome.  I like this latest guy.  I would like to hear him talk about his days of yonder.