Saturday, October 18, 2008

When you wish upon a blog...

If only I could post through telepathy. Then this blog would be updated daily, if not hourly. Instead I choose to binge and purge my entries. (see below)

But really, I've been working on a better schedule for myself (and seeking much wisdom from Mr. Alec Longstreth). Trying to manage my time between comics, invertebrates and feeding my face shouldn't be that hard, but I end each day wishing that there were AT LEAST 5 more hours to go before bedtime (29-hour day, anyone? it'd be good times, I promise you). In addition to my inability to make a schedule, autumn has always been a time of transition for me. Transitions = fatigue, unrest, inability to do things (like make schedules):


I find myself going in several different directions with projects I'm excited about, but this often results in huge amounts of spent energy, and little to show for lots of work. So I prioritize, but sometimes making a list of all the things to do and which things need to be done first can be AGONIZING. With that said, I'm doing lots of work...it's just not seeing the light of day on ye ol' blog (yet). OK ENOUGH OF MY RAMBLING.

SPX was good this year. I had some new stuff:


This comic debuted at MoCCA, but I originally drew it as an online installment for Ballyhoo Stories. (Click on "COPING" under "Online Comics"; be warned: there are swears and good old cartoon violence!)

Then, this past July, Mr. Joe, Ms. Liz, Mr. Tim and I did a journal comic everyday for the month of July and then packed them into a mini-comic dubbed "Four Squares":


Here's the first page:

We then drew ourselves in crayon (not in the book):


It ended up being 64 pages - whew! Joe has it for sale on his Etsy...I should have an Etsy site up soon (but, you know, IT'S ON MY LIST OF THINGS TO DO!!!)

I drew a few comics while down in the DC area for SPX:
On the road...


What better way to eat a Happy Meal than to the sweet, sweet cacophony that was the vice presidential debate?


SPX generally consists of eating, and selling stuff, and buying stuff, but mostly eating stuff:


And then just when you thought I was dead, I return from the grave to EAT YOUR FACE!!!


One could understand why I looked like this at the end of the weekend:


I also saw the exhibit "Jim Henson's Fantastic World" at the Smithsonian International Gallery. Though I was sleep depraved after 9 hours in the car, it was well worth it. Having grown up addicted to PBS (and some might claim that I still am...thanks a lot, NOVA), I was a huge fan of Sesame Street (uh, I watched it through junior high and high school). My mom was gracious enough to tape things like "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas" off of TV (so I could watch it until the VHS tape snapped), so like many of my generation, I grew up with all sorts of Jim Henson influences. But I digress; this is a traveling exhibit, so if it comes near you, GO SEE IT!!!

OK, so SPX was good. Saw lots of peeps; I wish everyone lived closer; it'd be great to be around so many amazing artists and just hang out and draw more often. Oh, speaking of drawing, this was one of the jam comics from SPX:


So I, Joe, Kaz, and Liz did the first four panels, but then I sent my sketchbook around, so I'm not sure exactly who did what after that...here's some of the folks (I think) who drew on this: Robyn Chapman, Laura Park, Nate Doyle, Austin English...If you drew a panel, let me know. If you didn't draw a panel, and I put your name, I'm sorry.

So after SPX, Joe and I returned to a pretty messy house and decided to clean for, let's see, I don't know...FOUR DAYS. That sucked, but now the apartment is absolutely SPARKLING (well, I might not go that far, but it's relatively clean). Not that this has anything to do with cleaning, but on an end note, here are some whales (and perhaps a few dolphins thrown into the mix):



Oh, and I haven't forgot about these two...



p.s. I proofread as best that I could, but some of this post is poorly written...apologies!

-m

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

coping with death was great!

James said...

Just ordered 2 copies of Four Squares. I can't wait to get them!

Toby Jones said...

I love these comics! I dearly hope you don't think it too forthcoming of me to add you to my sidebar of pages I read.

(I wrote "pages" instead of "blogs" there because saying "blog" makes me feel like a tool.)

Billy Fore said...

I also just purchased a copy :)
and also have added you to my sidebar of pages/blogs.
HOORAY FOR BEING APART OF THE CROWD!
Anyway, I really enjoy what you're doing with your comics... and I am at the moment trying to make my coffee slurp an angry one... and it is hard. Coffee brings me joy.

Billy Fore said...

grr. a part is two words. :(

Jen said...

Glad to hear that the Jim Henson exhibit lived up to your expectations. It's coming to our museum in Orlando this February and we're all waiting patiently!

Evan Larson said...

I LUV the whales! Is that going to be a poster or print perhaps?

maris wicks said...

Yay!

Thanks every body!

Those who ordered "Four Squares" - enjoy! I hope you like it!

To ghetto satisfaction - that's why I often call them "bolgs"...(which is stupid and tool-y in itself!)

To Billy - I eagerly await the "angry slurp"

Evan - I'm thinking a print? Maybe matte finish...I might make another image with more whales (the original is only 4 x6).

p.s. I'm looking forward to the Human Torch...FLAME ON!!

jenjo0623 said...

Ooh, Cetaceans!!! I love cetaceans, almost as much as cephalopods. Kudos for making them and disecting them!