FontShop...New Bohemia Signs (Damon Styer)

Once again my husband amazes me! He got interviewed last month by the FontShop. It just came out today. Here is the video!

Why I Love My Neighborhood...A Banksy Visit.

I'm gonna try to see the Banksy documentary, "Exit through the Gift Shop" this week. I've gotten extra inspiration by seeing this in my 'hood. Could it be a real Banksy? I'll be the first to admit, I'm not hugely into  graffiti, San Francisco is overly tagged, but this film seems pretty cool. Maybe my mind will be opened a bit more.

 "This'll Look Nice When Framed"

Happy Earth Day!

I've been trying to get back to nature a bit more in the last year. Last weekend I tried to do some mountain biking, too bad you ready do need to have the right tires on your bike. But it was really wonderful to get away from the city for a few hours. It is always amazing for me to realize just how quickly you can visit the mountains in the Bay Area. One hour away and you are in a different world.

 After the failed mountain biking incident in Corte Madera State park. We went to Pescadero and checked out Harley Farms an award winning farm who make amazing goat cheese.

More Earth Day bits: Here is a little video made by my husband as we explored the Kelp beds down at Sea Ranch last fall.

Listening to...Charlotte Gainsbourg

Charlotte Gainsbourg. She is so talented and I love her music. She is definitely someone I listen to when I'm painting and getting into the groove of things. She is just so cool, maybe I'm developing a girl crush.

I love this song...

The 7 year itch

As some of you out there know, I am about to leave my full-time benefits filled job in a month or two (timing having to deal with a possible layoff), to work fulltime a freelance illustrator. In other words, my life is about to go through some major changes and challenges. It has been 7 years since I began working at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and I tell ya I am ready to go.

It has been a crazy seven years... I do want thank the museum for the fact that I was able to save up some money and do some traveling over the years, I was able to go to Paris, Laos and India, which opened my eyes to the world more than you can imagine. I was able to go back to school and study graphic design. I met the love of my life and got married.

I'm very thankful for the fact the museum was the first place to publish my illustrations. Thank you Stacy for giving me a try. Hopefully I will continue to do more illustrations for the museum and in the upcoming years as a freelancer.

Things that I am not so thankful for, are learning how easy it can be to get stuck in a dead end job and get seduced by the call of being a city employee with great benefits. I hate the fact that I lost so much confidence when ever I told people what I did for a living. (I work in Visitor Services selling tickets and memberships, BTW.)

Truthfully, I am ready and terrified about this upcoming year off. I'm scared I won't be able to do it. Jumping into a highly complex and competitive freelance world is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever done. I will have to be a kickass business person as well as a confident and talented artist. You know, I've always just gotten by some how. This is a year that I have to prove to the world and myself that I am actually the artist/illustrator I've only dreamed about being.

This next year is a time to rejuvenate and find what I am really all about.

Have you ever seen any of the TED talks? The are very inspiring. This is one of my favorites by graphic designer Stefan Stagmeister in which he talks about the year long sabbatical he takes every 7 years.




Enjoy!

Any thoughts?

Another cool thing...Tauba Auerbach

I went to a talk by Tauba Auerbach about art and science at UC Berkeley on Monday which was wonderful.  She was wonderful and her artwork amazed me.  But this instrument called the "Auerglass" blew me away. I don't believe she made this. Here she is with her co creator, Cameron Mesirow playing away.



pretty amazing, don't you think? Now I better get to work.

BTW, She used to work for my husband at the sign shop for years and I have been loving watching her rise in the art world.

Here is a interesting article on the Aureglass from LA Weekly.

Glob Paints Go Green!

My friend Ashley created these wonderful natural paints made of herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables called Glob Paints.  It is really fun stuff that comes in 6 colors and can be watered down to be as thick or thin as you like.  I used the paint like regular watercolors and had the opportunity and show some paintings at the San Francisco Green Festival this weekend. It worked great. These paints are mostly geared for the little ones but I was surprised by how versatile they actually were to use. Here are a few shots of my paintings and the booth at the festival.

Truly safe paints for kids. What a great idea. I'm glad I could be a part of it even in a little way. Way to go Ashley...Good luck with these amazing paints!

This makes me happy...

The new video by MGMT.  So creative and strange.



This band gives me some hope for the future of music. Who's creating your favorite new music? Anything you would recommend?

Happy Easter Everyone!

 Kicking it with Doris Day! Hope you all had a day filled with family and fun...and lot's of good food too. Or at least one peanut butter Easter Egg.