Meghan Stratman Art Blog

Nerd Love Week 27: Spirited Away

2012-01-25T06:39:00.000-08:00

Nerd Love week 27 is Chihiro and No-Face from Spirited Away.

Nerd Love Week 26: Buster Keaton

2012-01-17T07:08:00.000-08:00

This week's Nerd Love is Buster Keaton.

Here's a scene from one of my favorite Buster Keaton movies: Sherlock Jr.

Still Alive

2012-01-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Skyrim and its epic epicness, my art vacation has lasted a little longer than expected. Now that I'm done with it (100 hours later), there should be a new Nerd Love coming soon. Plus, I'm starting work on a number of other fun projects for 2012.

In the mean time, here are a couple pieces I did as Christmas presents and commissions.

Bunny Pirates gifts for the holidays

2011-12-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

Gift ideas from the Bunny Pirates shop!

"MYRIAD MURRAYS" PRINTS

I now have prints available of my collage for the Bill Murray tribute show,

"Please Post Bills", recently held at Gallery1988 in Los Angeles.

The prints are 11x17 heavy cover stock digital reproductions.

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COLLAGE CHARMS & NECKLACES

New to my shop are a collection of hand-made charms, which feature tiny collages sealed in resin. You can buy the charms on their own or order them as necklaces. There are number of charms available at the moment, with a new batch being added on Saturday.

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2012 CALENDAR

My 2012 calendar is available here and features work I've done over the past year.

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ORIGINAL ART

There are a number of new pieces available at Gallery 9 and The Lux Center for the Arts in Lincoln (Some of which you can see below). Both galleries have new and old work along with prints, cards, and charms.

Gallery 9

Lux Center for the Arts

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OTHER GIFT IDEAS

Prints

"Doctor Who" prints are still available in my shop, and all the rest of my prints, including a number of new ones, are available here.

Alphabet 2010 book

T-Shirts

Happy Holidays!

Nerd Love Week 25: Kermit the Frog

2011-12-05T07:13:00.000-08:00

"Someday we'll find it / the rainbow connection / the lovers / the dreamers / and me"

This week's Nerd Love is Kermit the Frog.

Craftacular TONIGHT

2011-11-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

Tonight I will have a table at the fourth annual Craftacular event at Chez Hay in Lincoln (14th & P). T-shirts, charms, new cards and prints - all that fun stuff. The show runs from 5-9pm, with over 30 artists and crafters selling handmade goodies that make great gifts. The first 50 people get swag bags, plus there's a violin duo, a raffle, and cocktails. Some of my favorite local artists are going to be there - it's definitely worth checking out!

I also have a number of new pieces in the GIFTS FROM THE HEART show at the Lux Center (2601 N. 48th Street, Lincoln) now through December 24.

Gallery1988 Bill Murray Tribute

2011-11-07T06:46:00.000-08:00

This past Thursday, Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles opened a new group show, Please Post Bills, which featured 80 artists paying tribute to Bill Murray. I had a piece in the show and for the first time, actually went to LA to attend the opening. It was awesome. I even got to meet the cool people who bought my art. If you are in the area, the show runs through November 26th.

Saturday Night Live, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Scrooged, Groundhog Day, Ed Wood,
Rushmore, The Cradle Will Rock, The Life Aquatic, Get Smart, Fantastic Mr. Fox, & Zombieland.

Nerd Love Week 24: Twin Peaks

2011-10-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

"You know, this is - excuse me - a damn fine cup of coffee. I've had I can't tell you how many cups of coffee in my life and this, this is one of the best."

This week's Nerd Love is Agent Dale Cooper and Audrey Horne from Twin Peaks.

These are two 8"x8" collages (art is 4"x4").

Extra Life 2011

2011-10-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend Evan will be participating in Extra Life again this year. Extra Life is a 24-hour charity gaming marathon that benefits the Children's Miracle Network. This is the fourth year he taken part in the event - last year he and his team (Team Bitmob) raised over $1600 for children's hospitals around the country. His team's goal is even higher this year and I really hope they make it. It's a fun event and raises money for a really good cause.

CLICK HERE to read more about this year's event.

CLICK HERE to read Evan's commentary on last year's event.

I take a lot of pictures when Evan does Extra Life - he adds humorous captions.

This year I think we're going to try and play through Beatles Rock Band start to finish (for an achievement, naturally) and he will be playing through Heavy Rain and whatever else has piled up on his "to-do" stack.

So, if you are interested, please donate HERE.

October

2011-10-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my booth at the Lincoln Arts Festival last weekend and thanks to the Lincoln Arts Council for putting together another great show (the beautiful weather helped too).

Coming soon to the shop:

I'll be listing some pendants and t-shirts in my shop later this week.

I also thought I would share this neat package I got in the mail last week from MALL (May Ann Licudine). She recently had a sale of small art cards (AECO) and I was lucky enough to snag a couple. I am so excited to have some of her work.

Currently I am working on some commissions and a piece for the upcoming "Please Post Bills" Bill Murray tribute show at Gallery1988 in November.

Lincoln Arts Festival

2011-09-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

I will have a booth again at this year's Lincoln Arts Festival. In addition to art, cards, and prints, I have new t-shirts and jewelry this year.

The Lincoln Arts Festival

SouthPointe Pavilions, 2910 Pine Lake Rd, Lincoln NE

www.artscene.org

Saturday, September 24 - 10am to 6pm

Sunday, September 25 - 10am to 5pm

GuilloTINA

2011-09-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

This was my piece for the Gallery1988 Garbage Pail Kids show which opened this weekend. It's really 3-dimensional, so you can check out some work-in-progress shots on my Facebook page.

Nerd Love Week 23: My Neighbor Totoro

2011-08-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

This week's Nerd Love is from My Neighbor Totoro.

Back to Work

2011-08-19T08:14:00.001-07:00

I just got back from a week of relaxing in Canada where I ate lots of carbs, sat and stared at a lake, and took way too many photos of chipmunks. Here is one of the few non-chipmunk-related photos:

Now it's time to get back to work on a number of commissions and a new Nerd Love. Also coming up in September, I will have a piece in the Gallery 1988 Garbage Pail Kids show.

The Legend of Zelda

2011-08-01T07:34:00.001-07:00

I have recently been inspired by the gorgeous work of Ben Strawn, who paints on layered acrylic panels to create a wonderful sense of depth and shadow. I thought it might be fun to combine painted acrylic with paper layers and this is what I came up with. I've been in a real flapper mood ever since I saw "Midnight in Paris", I expect there will be a few more in the future.

Here are some progress shots which show the depth and layers a little better:

Print Winners

2011-07-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

The print winners are: Snape Plissken (Did he get dropped into Hogwarts to save the President? Who would be the magical equivalent of the Duke of New York? So many questions...) and Mama JEM. Thank you so much for all the great nerdy comments! This was a lot of fun - I will definitely do another giveaway in the future.

Print Giveaway

2011-07-20T09:02:00.001-07:00

Leave a comment below telling my what your own favorite nerd loves are - what movies, books, games, etc. makes you geek out and why? I will pick 2 random winners (one from Facebook page and one from my blog), so comment on both and double your chances of winning. If you win, you get to choose the print from those I have in stock.

The winners will be announced Wednesday, July 27. Make sure your comment includes some way for me to get a hold of you if you win (email, twitter, etc.).

Nerd Love Week 22: Harry Potter

2011-07-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

Nerd Love week 22 is Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Crazy 4 Cult 5: Mulholland Drive

2011-07-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

Here is the piece I did based on Mulholland Drive, for Gallery1988's Crazy 4 Cult 5 show:

Here are some close-ups of the piece framed:

Nerd Love Week 21: Olivia Dunham/Fringe

2011-07-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

Agent Olivia Dunham: What are you doing here?
Dr. Walter Bishop: We're trying to plug a hole in the universe... What are *you* doing here?
Agent Olivia Dunham: Apparently the same thing.

Nerd Love week 21 is Olivia Dunham, Anna Torv's awesome FBI agent from Fringe. I love Fringe.

July Invitational

2011-06-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I will have two new pieces in the July show at Gallery 9.

"Moonage Daydream"

"But Would You Love Me if I Ruled the World?"

Crazy 4 Cult 5

2011-06-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

Crazy 4 Cult 5

July 8 - 30, 2011

Gallery1988 (Melrose)

I am super excited to have a piece in the Gallery 1988 Crazy 4 Cult show this year. Here's a little sneak peak:

Because I have been working on this piece in addition to two new pieces for the Gallery 9 July Invitational show, I didn't get Nerd Love done this week. It's in pieces on my table at the moment though, so you should see it on Monday (*fingers crossed*). Sometimes it's hard to get everything done with a full time job, assorted other commitments, and the annoying need for sleep.

Wet Hot American Summer / Gallery 1988

2011-06-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty darn excited. Tonight is the opening of the Wet Hot American Summer tribute show at Gallery 1988 in Santa Monica, CA and is the first time I will have art at a gallery outside of Nebraska. Since it's already been featured here I figure it's OK to show you all my piece.

I also got a really nice write-up this week at EPBOT, which is a great geeky blog.

I'm planning on working on a bunch of new art this weekend. I will be working on new pieces which will be up at Gallery 9 and Gallery 1988 in July, and a new Nerd Love. I think I've finally gotten some of my art inspiration back, which has been a little lacking as of late. My sister loaned me season 3 of True Blood to watch this weekend while I am working - good times.

Nerd Love Week 20: Princess Leia

2011-06-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

"Someone has to save our skins. Into to the garbage chute, fly boy."

Nerd Love for this week is Princess Leia. You have probably heard of her.

June Shows

2011-06-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

Gallery1988 - Venice, CA

June 10-29, 2011

I have a piece in this awesome theme show. If you haven't seen the movie you should watch it - it's available on Netflix to watch instantly. You can see a little preview here.

I also have a number of fairly recent pieces on display at Indigo Bridge Books (The Creamery Building - Haymarket, Lincoln NE) through the month of June. They have a First Friday reception from 6-10pm on June 3rd.

Nerd Love Week 19: Portal

2011-04-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

"Area and state regulations do not allow the Companion Cube to remain here, alone and companionless."

Nerd Love for this week is Portal. This one is for sale ($100 Framed) - contact me (info(at)bunnypirates.com) if you are interested.

Nerd Love Week 18: Princess Mononoke

2011-04-20T06:48:00.000-07:00

"Now watch closely everyone. I'm going to show you how to kill a god".

Nerd Love is finally back! *phew* It took a while to get back into the art-groove. Nerd Love week 17 is Princess Mononoke.

By Land, By Sea, By Dirigible

2011-04-18T06:42:00.001-07:00

I attended my fourth Decemberists concert last night and had an awesome time. Apparently I see them every two years (Omaha 2005 & 2011, Kansas City 2007 & 2009). I can even remember exactly where i was the first time I heard a Decemberists song, which is strange but amusing.

After the concert, I thought it might be fun to look back and see just how many pieces of art I have done that had something to do with Decemberists music. Their music has inspired these specific pieces but also a lot of my art in general.

First off, here is one of the last pieces from my March solo show. It's big (18x24) and it took a while to get scanned. But it just happens to be another Decemberists inspired piece. Although the title comes from a Pulp song ("We'll Never Live Like Common People"), it started as a piece based on a combination of "The Infanta" and the line "by land, by sea, by dirigible" from "Sons and Daughters".

1. "Our Ghosts Who Wander All Of The Water" 2011 / 2. "Trillium and Ivy" 2011 / 3. "The Legionnaire's Lament" 2011 / 4. "The Rake's Song" 2009 / 5. "For My Own True Love, Lost At Sea" 2009 / 6. "Forest's Son, River's Daughter" 2009 / 7. "The Wanting Comes in Waves" 2009 / 8. "Bonny Blue Eyes" (actually a Tarkio song) 2008 / 9. "The Crane Wife" 2008 / 10. "We Both Go Down Together" 2007.

*Unrelated to the Decemberists, I finally did ACTUALLY start a new Nerd Love for this week. I have sort of been on a video game binge the last month since I hadn't played anything in a while, so it was hard to get myself back into my studio. But I did and you will see something new this week.

Where did March go?

2011-03-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the gallery throughout March - It was great to see you all! If you didn’t get a chance to see the show, most of the pieces are up now on my website. I’ve also posted a number of photos from the opening on my Facebook page.

When I finish a big art show I tend to close the door to my studio and not open it again for a number of weeks. Now that I am suitably recovered from January and February, it’s time to start up the Nerd Love project again as well as a number of commissions. I fear that when I open the studio door again, it’s going to be like the Toys in the Attic episode of Cowboy Bebop when Spike accidentally leaves a lobster in the fridge for a year... (You guys have seen that right?)

I’m going to be doing a big studio clean in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for some super discounted older pieces of art coming to my shop.

Louder Than Sirens - Down to the Wire

2011-03-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

Thanks to problematic frames and February being a stupidly short month, I literally got everything up on the wall an hour before the gallery opened. The show is now up and ready for viewing! Tonight I intend to sprawl on the couch, maybe catch up on Fringe, and do absolutely nothing productive. It's an post art show tradition. The show will be at the gallery March 2 - 27 and the First Friday reception is this Friday from 6:30-9:30 p.m. There will be art and cookies.

Here are a few previews:

Louder Than Sirens - Postcard

2011-02-24T08:40:00.001-08:00

March 2 - 27, 2011 . Gallery 9, 124 S. 9th Street, Lincoln NE

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, March 4 - 6:30 to 9:30 pm

GALLERY HOURS: Wednesday - Saturday: 10 am - 5 pm / Sunday: Noon - 5 pm

You may park in the lot behind the gallery on nights and weekends

Louder Than Sirens - Music

2011-02-10T08:15:00.000-08:00

I am currently hard at work getting things ready for the March show. I always work on all the projects at once, so I have all these bags of pieces piled up in my studio. It's a bit daunting.

As I mentioned before, the show is based around the theme of songs and lyrics. I put together a playlist of some of the songs that inspired pieces for the show or from whose lyrics I will be basing the titles. Enjoy!

Quick update (with a Triceratops)

2011-01-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

I am currently working on my upcoming solo show in March at Gallery 9: Louder than Sirens. The theme of the show is that all of the pieces are inspired by music and lyrics. I'm going to be trying some new things for this show that I am really excited about - sneak peaks coming soon.

Dino lamp watches over some paint/paper tests I was conducting.

Yep, It's A "2010 Year In Review" Post

2011-01-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

I may not be an organized person, but for some reason I keep extensive lists about what I do each year (if only I was this good at keeping tack of receipts...) So here, with the help of my lists, are my favorite things from 2010.

Total movies seen for the first time in 2011: 58

Moves seen in a theatre: 11

Favorites: Fantastic Mister Fox, Rushmore, The Life Aquatic, Inception, The King’s Speech

I sort of rediscovered Wes Anderson this year and watched a number of films that I hadn’t seen before. Fantastic Mr. Fox may well be one of my absolute favorite movies of any year.

Honorable Mentions: Predators, Die Hard series

Least Favorites/biggest disappointment: Inglorious Basterds

Biggest Surprise: Prince of Persia

It’s not a great movie, but when I got it from Netflix I watched it at least 4 times. I don’t know why exactly.

Favorites: Fringe, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The IT Crowd, Burn Notice

The first episode of Fringe was free in iTunes so I downloaded it to take with me on summer vacation. When I got back I tore through Seasons 1 and 2 and am up to date on season 3. It’s excellent. If you don’t watch it you should. Great characters, including a particularly strong female lead, and great stories.

Shows I gave up on in 2010: The Office

Books and Graphic Novels read: 12

Favorites: The Strain/The Fall

These are books one and two of Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s vampire apocalypse trilogy which have refreshingly nasty, villainous vampires. I can’t wait for the third book.

Honorable Mentions: Scott Pilgrim, The Walking Dead

Games Finished: 5

I enjoyed almost every game I played this year: Assassins Creed 2, Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, Dead Space: Extraction, Fallout 3

This was apparently my year for long sequel games. With all my art commitments, I really didn’t make it through too many games (last year I played 18), and the ones I did play were fairly long endeavors (aside from Dead Space Extraction which Evan and I blazed through in an evening). I am still obsessed with Bioshock and was as emotionally invested in Mass Effect 2 as all the rest of BioWare’s games. Dead Space: Extraction was a real surprise – it’s a rail shooter on the Wii that still manages to connect emotionally. This says a lot for the strength of the game design and story telling. Looking forward to Dead Space 2 later this month (I won’t be able to play it, *too scary*, but will watch Evan play it).

And then there is Fallout 3. I started playing the game at the beginning of the year but couldn’t really get into it. I started it again a few months ago and it just sort of absorbed me. I’m around 80 hours in and just reached level 30. I know I’m a bit late to the party, but this is just a spectacular game. I just have one more DLC to finish and then I think I will feel satisfied enough to call it completed, even though I know there are plenty of things I didn’t find or have time to do. The next game I play needs to have a very linear story – I think I might be a little sand-boxed out. And 2011 will have plenty of games to choose from. Almost TOO many: Dead Space 2, Portal 2, Uncharted 3, Last Guardian, Arkham City, Dragon Age 2, etc, etc.

Biggest Disappointment: Fable 3.

I put a lot of time into this game. I was well on my way to reaching the goal of 6 million gold needed to protect my kingdom from the evil darkness. I owned almost every building. I was doing good. And then the game, without warning, decided that I was at the end. This poorly executed game ending was so maddening that I just stopped playing. I didn’t care at all what happened next. The entire game seemed rushed and did not provide enough new content to warrant a new game.

- We went to two PAXs this year. Both were awesome.

- I started my Nerd Love project that is still going, despite a long hiatus while I worked on a number of art shows.

- I had my Rabbit Hearted Girl solo show, Ballyhoo & Balderdash – my duo show with Robert Esquivel, and won the Award of Excellence at the Lincoln Arts Festival.

- I completed a second Alphabet series, which I made into a book.

- I actually won something – a set of awesome prints from the BAD DADS show in San Francisco.

- Both FedEx and USPS lost packages I was expecting.

- My parents got a new dog named Dilly, so I've actually had some dog-time this year.

Favorite person of the year: Scott Kurtz

I really fell in love with cartoonist Scott Kurtz this year through listening to him play D&D with the Penny Arcade gents (or watching them play at PAX) and from Blamimations, the animated shorts he makes with Kris Straub. I have started reading his comic and watching the live broadcasts he does when he works - watching other artists work is always really educational for me. Reading his blog has really inspired me to want to be a better artist and following the ups and downs in his recent move to Seattle has made me a little less afraid of possibly doing the same thing some time in the future.

Now I’d better start working on things for my solo show in March.

Parrish Project tonight

2010-12-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

I will have a table at the Parrish Project (1416 O Street - Upper Level) Open House tonight from 5-9 p.m. I have lots of goodies for sale and as an added bonus, my sister Katy will be sharing my table and selling some of her awesome jewelry (pictured below). There are going to be lots of great artists there - a great opportunity to buy hand made gifts and art for the holidays.

Click Here for more information on the Open House.

Nerd Love Week 17: Harley Quinn

2010-12-13T07:18:00.001-08:00

"Don't worry boys, my Puddin' would never let anything bad happen to me. You guys...not so much."

Nerd Love week 17 is Harley Quinn from Batman.

Books and Calendars now available

2010-12-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

Alphabet Books and 2011 Calendars are now available online!

Tomorrow is the opening reception for the Gallery 9 holiday show (6:30 - 9:30pm). In addition to original art I will have the following items for sale:

- Alphabet books: $28

- Doctor Who prints: $25; 12"x12"

- Jewelry charms: I have made a number of charms which you can use for necklaces or other sorts of jewelry (chains not included); 1"x2" charms are $13, 1"x1" charms are $10.

- Alphabet print sets: A complete set (A-Z) of 4"x6" prints from the Alphabet series; $75.

PLUS: Regular Prints & Cards

If you are interested in purchasing any of these items and can't make it to the opening, email me.

And if you order prints online now through December 15, the shipping is free.

Nerd love Returns: Week 16 - Dungeons & Dragons

2010-11-29T07:06:00.000-08:00

Nerd Love returns! I'm finally finished with all my 2010 art shows and have time to start up the Nerd Love project again. This week (a belated week 16) I did a general ode to Dungeons & Dragons. While working on my October and November shows, I listened to the Penny Arcade/PvP D&D podcasts again and was inspired to make some D&D art.

"Roll for Initiative..."

16x20, Cel Vinyl Acrylic on wood

In other news:

My 2011 calendars and Alphabet books will be going up for sale on my website later this week (just waiting to get the proof back from the printer).
Prints for all 26 Alphabet collages are now on sale in my print shop. If you order $10 or more in prints through December 15, the shipping is free. I will be selling complete sets of 4x6 Alphabet prints for $75 at the December holiday show at Gallery 9 (that's a $30 value).
I am also going to be selling art charms (for jewelry) and ornaments - images coming soon.
Speaking of the Gallery 9 Holiday Show, it will run December 1 - 30. The Holiday Show features smaller, affordable art, jewelry, and other items that are great for gifts. The opening reception is this Friday (December 3) from 6:30 - 9:30pm.

Art Share

2010-11-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

If you are into Wes Anderson like I am, you should definitely check out all the great art in the Wes Anderson tribute: "Bad Dads: An Art Tribute to Wes Anderson", going on now at the LoPo Gallery in San Francisco. I really wish I could have been there in person - Wes Anderson is a big influence for me.

You can see some of the art here:

http://www.facebook.com/spokeart

And a number of awesome prints are on sale in their shop:

http://www.spokeeditions.bigcartel.com/

In other news we got the Ballyhoo & Balderdash show hung yesterday - it looks pretty awesome. Here is a little taste...

New Website, Craftacular 2010, and Ballyhoo progress

2010-10-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

I am updating my website! www.bunnypirates.com is temporarily down while I wait for Yahoo to stop being stupid and fix some problems, but in the mean time you can still check out my new site, it's just under a slightly longer address at the moment: bunnypirates.carbonmade.com. Soon it will all be back under the umbrella of www.bunnypirates.com. This new site will be much simpler to navigate and will be much easier for me to keep up to date. No more writing code and resizing images and thumbnails. No sir.

In addition to Ballyhoo & Balderdash which opens next week, I have just added Craftacular 2010 to my schedule. I did this last year and it was a lot of fun - a bunch of great artists and jewelers will be selling their wares at Zen's lounge (122 N. 11th, Lincoln) on Thursday, November 18th from 5-8 p.m. Plus there will be Zen's drink specials and hors d-oeuvres. I will have cards and prints and some other fun things.

And finally, here are some shots of pieces I am working on for the Ballyhoo & Balderdash show, opening next week (November 3). The piece on the bottom is a painting I am working on for the show - I am hoping to have two. I am working with cel vinyl acrylic on wood, which I am enjoying immensely.

Ballyhoo & Balderdash

2010-10-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

One more show to go! The show will run November 3 - 28, with the opening First Friday reception on November 5 from 6:30-9:30. I think our work is going to look pretty cool together - now the trick will be not to buy every one of Bob's pieces. I already have two at home. The show is loosely based around the themes of folklore and mythology, but don't hold us to that. Two of my new pieces will be paintings on board with cell vinyl acrylic. I love the stuff and have found that I really like painting on wood.

The second book in Guillermo Del Toro's series The Strain finally came out as an audio book which I can listen to while I work. I found I wasn't getting much done when I had the TV on - go figure.

Rabbit Hearted Girl photos

2010-10-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the Rabbit Hearted Girl opening last week. The screen printing part of it was a lot of fun. The work will be up the rest of the month during Screen Ink's normal business hours (M-F, 9-5).

Now I'm working on art for the November show I am doing with Bob Esquivel. It's loosely themed around mythology and folklore. I'm still going to need to come up with a few more pieces between now and then, so any folklore/mythology-ish suggestions are definitely welcome.

Sleepy...

2010-09-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

One art show down, two to go. The Lincoln Arts Festival went well - some crazy wind on Saturday but that didn't last too long and Sunday was beautiful. Thanks to everyone who stopped by. This year I received the Award of Excellence at the festival, which was really exciting.

After a few really late nights, I am just about done with all the art for Friday's opening. After I graduated college, I sort of lost the ability to stay up until 3am, so this month I have been slowly re-building a tolerance to it. In the future, I will probably avoid scheduling shows three months in a row. I am thoroughly looking forward to taking a nap this afternoon and I have plans this weekend of sitting around in my jammies while I lounge on the couch playing a video game or catching up on my massive Tivo backlog. After that it's back to work getting ready for the show in November.

Please stop by Screen Ink (416 S. 11th) for the opening tomorrow night, 7:00-10:00 p.m. There is going to be new art involving squirrels, elephants, mysterious vixens, and angry bunny girls, PLUS live screen printing, wine, and homemade cranberry pumpkin bread (which I will bake tonight after I get done taking a nap). What's not to love?

Other goings on...

Evan will once again be participating in Extra Life, a 24-hour video game marathon to benefit the Children's Miracle Network. If you are interested in reading more about it or donating, check it out here.

And finally...

Here's a song to get stuck in your head. Apparently i am on a banjo kick at the moment.

Show Previews

2010-09-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

S is for Sea Monster and Y is for Yak, part of the second Alphabet series that I will have at the Lincoln Arts Festival this weekend.

The Rabbit Hearted Girl and Diver, two new pieces for my show The Rabbit Hearted Girl at Screen Ink in NEXT weekend.

In getting ready for this October show, i got a lot of inspiration from the music I was listening to - 4 of the pieces are based directly on music or lyrics. The Rabbit Hearted Girl that you can see above is based on this song by Florence + The Machine.

Expanding on this theme, I am thinking of basing my upcoming solo show in March (at Gallery 9) completely around lyrics to favorite songs.

Picture Post: PAX and works in progress

2010-09-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

Back from PAX and hard at work getting ready for all these shows. I took the day off work on Friday and had three productive 15 hour art days (with a few breaks for food and brief video game breaks for sanity). For the first time I tried listening to an audio-book while working, which ended up being a good idea. I just finished The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest and now I need to figure out what to listen to next.

First PAX (If you don't know what PAX is, click here to find out):

We got a pretty spectacular view from the plane on the way into Seattle.

Jonathan Coulton

Some awesome Venture Brothers cosplay.

The Portal 2 and Fall Out: New Vegas booths.

You get a lot of free swag at PAX - Only a few of these things were purchased. Most were booth goodies.

Evan wrote a post on Bitmob.com featuring more of my photos and much funnier captions.

And here is what is going on in my studio:

You can now get Netflix instant streaming on iPods, so I had this jurry-rigged set up with my iPod hooked up to some old computer speakers so I could watch Top Gear while working.

Since I am working on about 30 collages simultaneously, I have it set up so all the pieces for each collage are stored in page protectors in a big binder. It's actually worked pretty well so far. Here's one from the Alphabet series.

And here is a work in progress for the Screen Ink show.

Getting ready to work

2010-08-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

I am back from vacation and am now in work mode getting ready for the three upcoming shows. I decided I should start by getting a new cutting mat. I think I wore out the "self-healing" aspect of my old mat. Look how pristine this new one is - that won't last long...

I also stocked up on paper:

Because of the work load involved here, Nerd Love will be intermittent for the next few months. At least all this studio time is letting me finally listen to all of the Penny Arcade D&D podcasts. :)

I will be hard at work from now until the beginning of November, with a brief pause at the beginning of September to go to PAX again in Seattle. Yay!

The shows I am working on:

September 25 & 26 - The Lincoln Arts Festival

For the festival I am putting together a brand new Alphabet series and will be printing a book of the whole set which will be available in my booth. I have wanted to do a book for a while, and am really excited that I finally found a way to do it.

October - Solo Show at Screen Ink

Lots of new work, much of which is focusing on women.

November 3-28 - Group Show at Gallery 9

We are planning the show around the theme of folklore and mythology.

Leaving For Vacation + Galaxy 9

2010-07-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

No Nerd Love this week - I had a bunch of other art I needed to get done (as you can see below). I'm going on a vacation for a couple of weeks, so there won't be new Nerd Love until mid-August.

One big project that I am working on is a re-vamped Alphabet series which I will be selling at the Lincoln Arts Festival in September. This time around, I'm also going to be putting the whole series into book form which I am really excited about. I will post more details soon. I'm hoping I will be able to fill out a few straggling letters while I am on my trip.

In August, Gallery 9 in Lincoln will be featuring a group show called Galaxy 9, centered around the theme of space, sci-fi, and science. I won't be there for the opening, but you should definitely check it out. The opening reception is Friday, August 6 from 6:30-9:30 and the show runs August 4 - 29.

These are the two pieces I put together for the show:

Nerd Love Week 15: Rushmore

2010-07-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

"I saved Latin. What did you ever do?"

Nerd Love week 15 is Ms. Cross, Herman, and Max from Rushmore. I wonder how many Wes Anderson movies are going to pop up in this project?

Nerd Love Week 14: Zero

2010-07-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

"Your'e the head of the team, Zero!"

Nerd Love week 14 is Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I was really busy this past week with non-art sorts of things, so I had to do a small piece this time.

Tomorrow morning, I will be putting some of my first batch of Nerd Love collages up for sale in my shop: Pris, Dead Space, 2001, and Poison Ivy. You can preview them here. All of the pieces are matted and framed. The tough part of this project is not just keeping them all.

Nerd Love Week 13: Big Sister

2010-07-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

"Mister B, Big Sister doesn't want you playing with me..."

Nerd Love week 13 is a Big Sister from Bioshock 2. For some reason I thought this was going to be a simple piece to put together. This ended up being one of the thickest collages I have ever made - the paper is layered so high on her left hand that it's almost a quarter of an inch thick.

Man I love Bioshock.

Also, check out Evan's really well-written article about the history of censorship in the media and how it effects the current fervor over video games.

Nerd Love Week 12: Supernatural

2010-06-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

"You know what? House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music. Shotgun shuts his cakehole."

Nerd Love week 12 is Sam and Dean Winchester from Supernatural.

July Invitational

2010-06-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Here is my new piece for the July Invitational show at Gallery 9. The show features new work from gallery members along with work from invited guest artists. I saw some of the work yesterday and it looks to be a good show. The opening reception is Friday night (6:30 - 9:30 p.m.) with the show running June 30 - August 1.

LOVE SONGS

New Nerd Love tomorrow.

Nerd Love Week 11: The Fly

2010-06-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

"Something went wrong, Seth. When you went through, something went wrong."

Nerd Love week 11 is David Cronenberg's The Fly. This one was a challenge for me because I so rarely do art with large, inanimate objects - I'm not used to having to get angles right and lines straight. It didn't turn out great, but I can definitely use the practice.

Nerd Love Week 10: Isaac Clarke

2010-06-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

"For what it was worth, you did a great job Isaac. See you around...or maybe not."

Nerd Love week 10 is Isaac Clarke from the video game Dead Space. If you like horror games and haven't played this one you should check it out. Beautiful art direction. I can't wait for Dead Space 2.

Nerd Love Weeks 8 & 9: The 11 Doctors

2010-06-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

"Change, my dear...and it seems not a moment too soon."

This week's Nerd Love is a two parter (Weeks 8 & 9). It's all 11 Doctors from Doctor Who! For some reason I thought this would only take a week to get done. Pshaw. So many collars.

Prints available here.

More Than I Can Chew

2010-06-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

I got a little ambitious with this week's Nerd Love, so it looks like it's going to be a two-week sort of piece. It's worth it though. Promise.

Hmmmm.......

In other news, this fall is shaping up to be mighty busy:

September 25-26, 2010: The Lincoln Arts Festival

I will be doing a booth at the Arts Festival again this year. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that there will be less wind this time...

October 2010: Solo Show at Screen Ink

I will have a solo show at Screen Inc., a local screen printing shop which dedicates their front room to art shows each month. A cool part about doing a show in a screen printing shop is that they will turn a few of my art pieces into t-shirts for the show.

November 3-28, 2010: Group Show at Gallery 9

I will be doing a group show with Su Harvey and Robert Esquivel. We're working around the theme of folklore and mythology. I have so many ideas already for this - it should be a great show.

Nerd Love Week 7: Dave Bowman and HAL 9000

2010-05-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

Dave Bowman: Alright, HAL. I'll go in through the emergency airlock.

HAL: Without your space helmet, Dave, you're going to find that rather difficult.

Nerd Love Week 7 is Dave and HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Nerd Love Week 6: Poison Ivy

2010-05-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

"I thought the plants were in pain. Now I realize they were evolving, growing stronger…"

Nerd Love Week 6 is Poison Ivy from Batman.

Nerd Love Week 5: Raz & Mr. Pokeylope

2010-05-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

"A deranged madman is building an army of psychic soldiers to take over the world! And there's no-one who can stop him but us! "

Nerd Love Week 5 is Raz and Mr. Pokeylope from Tim Schafer's Psychonauts.

Speaking of Psychonauts, you should check out Scott Campbell's Blog and his Great Showdowns series. Scott Campbell was the art director on Psychonauts and has great art.

Nerd Love Week 4: Ed & Ein

2010-05-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

"Ai-ya, what are we going to do, Ein?"

Nerd Love Week 4 is Edward and Ein from Cowboy Bebop.

Nerd Love Week 3: Ash

2010-04-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

"I don't have a bandit hat, but I modified this tube sock..."

This week's Nerd Love collage is Ash from Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Nerd Love Week 2: Claptrap

2010-04-19T06:26:00.000-07:00

"Hey check me out everybody! I'm dancin', I'm dancin'!"

This week's Nerd Love collage features some dancing Claptraps from the video game Borderlands. They like to dance.

Nerd Love Week 1: Pris

2010-04-12T06:40:00.001-07:00

Every week I will be making a new, nerdy collage - the goal is to post a new piece every Monday (although I expect there will be some weeks where life gets in the way). I always have ideas for fan-art but never really had a reason to make any, so this is me having fun with 52 of my favorite geeky, nerdy characters. Since this will be fan-art, I will not be selling prints of any of these pieces - just the originals (which will be available in my online shop).

Week 1: Pris (Blade Runner)

"We need you, Sebastian. You're our best and only friend. "

Sirens

2010-03-03T07:43:00.000-08:00

My very first finished art of 2010 - it took a while to get out of the gloomy January art-funk.

Sirens

3 collages - 8" x 20"

The Blues

2010-02-23T06:49:00.001-08:00

"The Blues" A Gallery 9 Group Show

March 3-28 (Opening reception March 5, 6:30-9:30 p.m.)

124 S. 9th St, Lincoln NE

I'm working on a triptych for this show and still have a lot of work to get done this week. I made the mistake of watching Philadelphia for the first time list night while working. Needless to say I didn't get as much work done as I had hoped.

The bottom of the collage will be 11 layers of paper, so I'm doing some major paper flattening/drying today while I am at work. Luckily I have this massive and heavy ceramic torso I made in a class in college that just sort of sits around being useless, so it finally has a purpose today as i'm using its massive weight to press all this paper.

February Sketchbook

2010-02-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

I've finally started making art again after a gloomy January hiatus. Here are some sketches for upcoming pieces.

Return to Oz

For possible inclusion in Gallery 9's March show "The Blues"

This started off as a human version of a Red Panda. It sort of got away from me.

Lady with a Chocobo. Playing with the daVinci painting "Lady with an Ermine".

This piece will definitely be for the March show. It will be a triptych.

Random Photos

2010-01-20T07:57:00.000-08:00

Lots of personal stuff going on this month so I haven't started on any art as of yet. Hopefully that will change soon. So, in the meantime, here are some photos that i've taken recently.

We had a huge blizzard on Christmas Day and all these doves took refuge from the cold in the rafters of my parents' back porch. I thought it was pretty cute.

We've also had A LOT of fog this past weekend. Basically we've been living in Silent Hill (minus the monsters).

2009

2009-12-31T13:59:00.000-08:00

Favorite things of 2009

I am a major list-maker and every year I keep a detailed list of every movie I see, every game I play, and every book I read. I like being able to look back and actually remember what I did in a year. I even zero out my iPod playlist each year so I can see what songs I listened to the most.

MOVIES and TV

Total watched: 65 (16 in a theatre)

My favorite movies watched in 2009 either came out in the 90s or within the last weeks of the year. At the very tippy-top of the list are Dead Calm and Heat (both are very tense and very good), Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. Other favorites: Rock N Rolla, Watchmen, Let the Right One In, Up, Hunger, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Moon, Time after Time, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

My least favorite movies of 2009: Wanted, Rescue Dawn, and X:Men Origins: Wolverine.

Favorite TV shows in 2009: Dexter, The Mentalist, Burn Notice, True Blood, and Californication.

VIDEO GAMES

Total games played: 18

I think I finally got some confidence in my gaming ability this year and played some games that I previously thought would be too hard for me. I finally played Bioshock for the first time, which I am rather obsessed with artistically, and Half Life 2. I also really enjoyed Dragon Age Origins, which is a BioWare game and as already established with my multiple playthroughs of Mass Effect, I tend to get really emotionally involved with the characters in these games. The ending I got almost made me cry, even more so because I didn’t have a saved game before a major plot decision which led to the death of my favorite character. Curses at my failure to keep multiple saved games! Arg. Luckily You Tube exists and let me just pretend I got the better ending. Other favorites of 2009: Arkham Asylum, Uncharted 2, Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time, Borderlands, and Resident Evil 5.

BOOKS

Total books read: 14

A friend of mine got me reading Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series and that’s pretty much all I read this year. They’re really good and I literally would pick the next one up as soon as I finished one. I also read a lot of David Sedaris this year and finally read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – well technically I listened to them on CD, but we’ll count that.

MUSIC

The song I listened to most in 2009 was The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned) from The Decemberists album THE HAZARDS OF LOVE, which is my favorite album of the year. Other favorite bands/music of 2009: Paramore, Lady Gaga – Bad Romance (good grief it’s catchy), Sia – Breathe Me, Editors – especially No Sound But the Wind and Papillon, and Mat and Kim – Daylight.

I also listened to a lot of soundtracks this year. They finally released the Sunshine score (John Murphy and Underworld), so that’s easily at the top of the list, along with the soundtracks to Moon (Clint Mansell), New Moon, Across the Universe, Repo!, and Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer).

ART

Total pieces of art made: 66

I had my first solo art show which was a great success and a lot of fun.

OTHER FAVORITE THINGS IN 2009

• PAX

• Scotland

• Seeing The Decemberists again in Kansas City

• Intergalactic Mice solo show

Greetings From Under A Lot Of Snow...

2009-12-10T06:24:00.000-08:00

It snowed a bit here on Tuesday.

The calendar is finally done and up for sale!

You can find it here.

Holy Crap! It's December?

2009-12-02T07:01:00.000-08:00

Currently doing a mad dash to get the 2010 calendar done as soon as possible. Basically that means making 12 collages simultaneously, which for some reason is taking some time. Here's hoping that I get it all done this weekend. The theme is playing card royalty. I'm doing the art and my boyfriend Evan has written little 4-line poems for each character.

Here are some photos of the works in progress:

This month I will have new art at two galleries in Lincoln:

Gallery 9 All Member Holiday Show December 2 - 27

124 S. 9th Street, Lincoln

Opening Reception Friday, December 4th - 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Handmade Modern Holiday Gift Show December 4 - 23

Parrish Studios, 1416 O St. Suite 40, Lincoln

First Friday Reception - 6:30 to 10:00 p.m.

At Gallery 9 I will have prints, cards, ornaments, and a new collage (shown below) along with a number of slightly older pieces (from the Arts Festival and the solo show). Gallery 9 is featuring an all member holiday show during the month of December which will include lots of art, ornaments, and great jewelry (great for holiday shopping).

At Handmade Modern I will have prints, cards, and more collages. There are going to be a lot of great artists (including my mom!) selling yet more gift-worthy art for the holidays. I won't be able to make it to the First Friday reception (since I will be at the one for Gallery 9) but you should definitely check it out if you are doing the First Friday gallery walk.

Ornaments at Gallery 9

Emma and Her Llama Dressed to the Nines for Their Evening Walk

Gallery Nine

Kingfisher

Handmade Modern

I also have some older pieces (from the solo show), along with prints and cards, at the Lux Center For The Arts. They have a gift-centered holiday show which is up now and runs through December 23.

Tedious Cutting

2009-11-19T06:44:00.000-08:00

Working on a lot of collages at the moment, with a lot more that I need to start on. Currently on my desk are some ghosts, a kingfisher, and a llama. Here are some photos:

Cut out the outline for this forlorn ghost. It took some patience, but I think it turned out nicely.

There are three ghosts in the piece, and they will all need to be outlined.

Getting the tracing paper and rubber cement off of the back of paper that thin and breakable is a little nerve-wracking.

Oh, and also there's this bird. He's not involved with the ghosts.

Done with Craftacular

2009-11-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

Craftacular 2009 was great - lots of nice people, awesome artists, and great music (seriously, who ever picked the playlist for the background music did a great job - The Faint, Journey, Blue Foundation, Kansas, and they even played "I Want To Hold Your Hand" from the Across the Universe soundtrack...) The ornaments, gift tags, and bookmarks that I didn't sell at the event will be going up on my etsy site tonight. I was planning on putting them up this afternoon, but the photos I took of everything last night really didn't turn out well - lets chalk that up to being sleepy and having a migraine.

One exciting thing about Craftacular was that I finally got a chance to buy a piece of Nolan Tredway's art - he's one of my favorite Lincoln artists and I just kept missing his shows. I included a photo below, though it hardly does it justice (remember, sleepy and migraine). You can see more of his stuff here.

Taking a mostly non-art night tonight (i'll be doing sketches for the calendar while catching up on Tivo - we have 2 seasons of Burn Notice piled up that really needs to get watched) and then back to work this weekend getting more new stuff together for the December Gallery 9 show and working on a number of commissions that can now have my full attention.

Nolan Tredway's cigar box animals. So cool.

Keeping busy...

2009-11-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

I got interviewed! The Star City Blog ran an article about me last week, which you can read HERE.

Don't forget about Craftacular 2009. There's going to be a lot of great handmade items for sale (by lots of really cool artists) which would make great holiday gifts.

Some new art that I will have for sale at Crafttacular. The first three are going to be available as gift tags as well. I will be selling them on Thursday and then they will be going up for sale on my etsy site on Friday or Saturday. I'm also in the process of making a new calendar for 2010. It's going to be a little darker in tone that my usual far - influenced very much by Edward Gorey. The calendar's theme is playing card royalty and my partner (who is a writer) is writing little verses for each month. It should be a lot of fun. That should be up for sale at the end of November.

Cardinal with Hat

Yeti

Winter Hat

Lady in Waiting

Making a Dragon

2009-11-04T08:59:00.000-08:00

Some people have asked me how I put my collages together, so I thought I would post a little collage creation photo series. I know I'm always really interested in how other artists work - I like seeing pictures of studios and work in progress. So, hopefully this is somewhat interesting.

STEPS 1 & 2: I always start from a sketch. In the case of this dragon, I had already made the piece once before, so I had a picture to start from. Usually I scan my pencil sketches, size them to whatever size the collage will be, and use that printout. I then trace each shape that will need to be in the collage.

Step 3: I pick out all the paper I will be using in the collage. These here are dragonish papers.

Step 4: I use a thin, mostly wet coat of rubber cement and glue each piece of paper to the traced image.

Here you can see all the papers cemented down onto the tracing paper. There are some strips of paper there as well, which I will be using on one of the layers.

Step 5: I let the cemented paper sit overnight so it doesn't slip around while I am cutting it out. On the back of each piece of paper you can see the shape I traced. I use this as the guide for cutting out the shapes.

Step 6: After the shapes are all cut out, I peel off the tracing paper (since I only used one layer of wet cement, it is only a temporary bond) and remove the excess cement with a rubber cement removing block thing.

Step 7: Assembly. All the shapes are clean and ready to be glued. I assemble the pieces one at a time so I can trim straggly edges and stuff like that. When the basic character/creature is together, it gets pressed under a huge stack of heavy books and old printmaking blocks overnight so that it's firmly together and everything is flat.

Step 8: While the dragon is being flattened, I usually start working on painting the background. This sets overnight as well so I'm sure the paint is dry before I start gluing collages to it.

Step 9: Once the dragon has been suitably pressed, I add the details. Here I'm cutting out spots to go on his back. Usually I'll press the collage again overnight if I add details like this.

Step 10: The little guy is all done. Time to glue him to his background.

Step 11: The piece gets pressed overnight again when I glue the paper to the painted board. Here you can see my pressing system. Lots of ridiculously heavy college books going to good use. Someday I intend to buy a book press or something like that.

And there's a completed dragon. Just needs to be sprayed with an acrylic UV/waterproofing finishing spray, matted and framed. Usually my desk is pretty messy by this point. Especially since I usually have 4-5 pieces in production at one time.

Website

2009-10-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm in the process of moving to a new web server, so my web page will be offline for up to a week.

LAF photos and Craftacular 2009

2009-10-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

The Lincoln Arts Festival 2009 went really well. The only setback was the seriously strong wind on Sunday afternoon which blew my tent around like a sail. I ended up taking everything down a few hours early to avoid losing any art and for the sake of my nerves.

The next event I have coming up is Craftacular 2009 which will be held at Zen's Lounge (122 N. 11th, Lincoln) on November 12th. Come and peruse lots of handmade items from local artists (artwork, prints, t-shirts, ornaments, etc.) and enjoy food and drinks from Zen's Lounge. It will be a great time to start picking up holiday gifts. I will have new art, prints, cards, and ornaments. PLUS, I'm working on some new items that I'm really excited about. I'm going to be making and selling bookmarks, gift tags, and wooden art boxes.

Extra Life 2009

2009-09-28T12:57:00.001-07:00

My boyfriend Evan is participating in the fundraising campaign EXTRA LIFE again this year. It is a 24-hour video game marathon which raises money for the Texas Children's Hospital.

Here is more information from Evan:

It's that time again...

On October 17th, I will be joining thousands of gamers worldwide to play video games for 24 hours to raise money for pediatric cancer treatment and research at Texas Children's Hospital.

Like last year, I will be dedicating my questionable vocal performances in Rock Band to those who donate. And you can pick your own song, provided I didn't do it last time.

Your tax-deductible donations will go to help this hospital continue to provide life-saving treatment for children from around the world. Last year, Extra Life raised more than $120,000 to help Texas Children's Hospital fight pediatric cancer. This year I think we can do even better. Thank you very much for your generosity.

Click here to find out more about the Extra Life Event.

If you are interested in sponsoring Evan, click here. You can sponsor any amount and it all goes to a good cause.

Lincoln Arts Festival 2009

2009-09-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

If you live around Lincoln, Nebraska stop by the Lincoln Arts Festival this weekend. I will have a booth with new art, prints (if they get here in time - fingers are crossed), cards, and a few new ornaments. I have lots to do tonight and tomorrow to get ready.

Saturday, September 26: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday, September 27: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

South Point Pavilions - 27th and Pine Lake

Mister Nibbles

Ladybug Shaman

There's Something About That Guy I Don't Entirely Trust.

Her Night Club Was Notorious. So Was Her Past.

Marie Antoinette

Vampire and Dragon

2009-08-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

Some new little pieces for the Arts Festival.

New Stuff

2009-08-04T07:33:00.001-07:00

Due to THREE upcoming trips (sheesh), I'm working on getting work done for the Lincoln Arts Festival already. The festival is September 26th and 27th this year. I'll also be making more kokeshi dolls, prints, and greeting cards. So much to do!

Lonely Mister Root

(this one is up at Gallery 9)

Space Turtle

Pirate Jenny

Solo Show Slideshow and Sketches

2009-07-16T08:32:00.001-07:00

First off, here is a slideshow with most of my pieces from my June show.

I spend a lot of time sketching and drawing before any collages get made, so I wanted to make a little feature on the blog just to show you what is currently in the works.

Pirate Jenny

Mr. Bulb

Her Nightclub Was Notorious.

So Was Her Past.

Shirt.Woot Derby Entry: Space

2009-07-11T15:50:00.001-07:00

New shirt.woot derby entry for this week's theme of "Space". If you are a member of shirt.woot please vote for my design.

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=33562

Cephalopocalypse Tour 2009

2009-06-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

Another week, another shirt.woot derby entry. If you are a voting member of shirt.woot.com please vote for my shirt in this week's derby. This week's theme is "Fake Band T-Shirts".

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=33110

The Lesser Mouse Detective

2009-06-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

If you are a voting member of shirt.woot.com please vote for my shirt in this week's derby.

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=32627

Paper Craft

2009-06-15T07:55:00.001-07:00

I've recently been really interested in paper craft models. I built my first one last week (tiny Cthulhu, pictured below). I've never really done these before but I think I will get better with practice. Check out paperKraft to see some really cool models. On my list of pieces to work on: Koroks from Legend of Zelda, Pikmin plant guys, and maybe a Big Daddy from Bioshock if I manage to get up to that level.

Opening Reception

2009-06-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the show and the First Friday opening reception.

Nuclear Weasels

Main Room

Hallway

Opening Reception

Intergalactic Mice at Gallery 9

2009-06-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Collages Completed: 31

Audiobooks Finished: 2

Hours of movies/TV watched in studio while working: apx. 80

The show is up! I am really happy with how it all came together and am also really happy that despite finishing less pieces than I had planned, it ended up being enough. Please stop by the opening reception on Friday (June 5) from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. at the Gallery (124 S. 9th Street, Lincoln).

The rest of the week will be spent playing video games, dying my hair bright red, reading book 3 of the Dresden files, spending time with my boyfriend, and basically doing things that are fun and relaxing.

Went to see The Decemberists in Kansas City last week. Awesome.

The art takes over the living room....

Matting...

Look! Progress!

Paintings.

The gallery corgi Murry and guest play as the art is arranged at the gallery.

Murry is pooped after a long day of being adorable. I could go for a nap myself.

Getting Ready For The Show (Post 7)

2009-05-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

Collages Completed: 23

Collages Near Completion: 7

Collages Ready to Start: 3

Movies Watched So Far During Studio Time:

Raiders of the Lost Ark (2)

Spirited Away

Twilight

The Incredible Hulk

Iron Man

Bridget Jones' Diary

King Kong

Superman Returns

The Dark Knight

Land of the Dead (2)

Pride & Prejudice mini-series

Princess Mononoke

The Punisher

Venture Bros. Season 3

House Season 1

Spaceballs

Desperado

Lord of the Rings (all three extended editions + Appendices)

The Bourne Identity

Pride & Prejudice

Gross Pointe Blank

Howl's Moving Castle

Eddie Izzard: Unrepeatable & Dress to Kill

Doom

Sin City

Home stretch! It will be a busy weekend, but the end is in sight. Looks like the total will be 34 - lets hope it will be enough. Obviously I'm not the kind of person who gets everything done with lots of time to spare. Luckily, I think I work better with the pressure of a looming deadline. :)

Tomorrow I go to Kansas City to see The Decemberists again and then it's back to art production, matting, and framing through the weekend. Show hangs on Monday.

Frames take over part of the living room.....

In production...

Another series of work shots:

Getting Ready For The Show (Post 6)

2009-05-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

Collages Completed: 16

Collages Near Completion: 10

Collages Ready to Start: 7

Movies Watched So Far During Studio Time:

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Spirited Away

Twilight

The Incredible Hulk

Iron Man

Bridget Jones' Diary

King Kong

Superman Returns

The Dark Knight

Land of the Dead

Pride & Prejudice mini-series

Princess Mononoke

The Punisher

Venture Bros. Season 3

House Season 1

Spaceballs

Desperado

Lord of the Rings (all three extended editions + Appendices)

The Bourne Identity

Pride & Prejudice

Gross Pointe Blank

Howl's Moving Castle

Boy that movie list has gotten long. ....

Still working - it's going to be a long 3-day weekend. I have to take about 24 hours of no-art next week when I drive to Kansas City to see the Decemberists. I'm starting to look forward to doing some major slacking in June. :)

More photos of work in progress:

My studio looks much cleaner when only lit by twinkle lights...

(you can see my Hello Kitty Easter/Halloween basket collection hanging above the window)

Getting Ready For The Show (Post 5)

2009-05-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

Collages Completed: 8

Collages Near Completion: 12

Collages Ready to Start: 13

Movies Watched So Far During Studio Time:

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Spirited Away

Twilight

The Incredible Hulk

Iron Man

Bridget Jones' Diary

King Kong

Superman Returns

The Dark Knight

Land of the Dead

Pride & Prejudice mini-series

Princess Mononoke

The Punisher

Venture Bros. Season 3

House Season 1

Spaceballs

Desperado

Lord of the Rings (all three extended editions + Appendices)

I have a lot of pieces that are really close to being done, so next time I post that completed number should have jumped ahead. I took a day off of work yesterday and spent the whole day working on art, which was a good idea.

Stamping postcards

Working...

Pieces in progress

I took some pictures of the progress I made on a piece involving a large hamster

Large hamster (in progress) with people

Robot girl

More art waiting to be worked on

Getting Ready For The Show (Post 4)

2009-05-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

Collages Completed: 8

Collages Near Completion: 8

Collages Ready to Start: 18

Movies Watched So Far During Studio Time:

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Spirited Away

Twilight

The Incredible Hulk

Iron Man

Bridget Jones' Diary

King Kong

Superman Returns

The Dark Knight

Land of the Dead

Pride & Prejudice mini-series

Princess Mononoke

The Punisher

Venture Bros. Season 3

House Season 1

I've moved to audiobooks and podcasts for a little while, and have completed "When You Are Engulfed In Flames" (David Sedaris) and am now catching up on the Penny Arcade podcasts.

Show Preview 1

More studio shots:

Look Both Ways and Getting ready for the show (post 3)

2009-04-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Look Both Ways: Artists & Writers Collaborate

Saturday, May 2 - 7:30 p.m.

The Loft at the Mill - 8th & P Streets, Lincoln

Admission is free

I'm going to be part of this event where writers were asked to choose a piece of art and respond to it with an original piece of writing. There will be a reading of the new work and then the artists and writers will be available for questions afterward.

Show stuff....

Collages Completed: 3

Collages Near Completion: 12

Collages Ready to Start: 20

Movies Watched So Far During Studio Time:

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Spirited Away

Twilight

The Incredible Hulk

Iron Man

Bridget Jones' Diary

King Kong

Superman Returns

The Dark Knight

Land of the Dead

Pride & Prejudice mini-series

I am deep into art production now - with lots of pieces in pieces. I had been counting some old pieces as completed, but then since this is a new-work show, removed them from the total. Those ones can stay at home for this round. I'm thinking my total will be 38. Here are some studio shots:

Teeny-tiny Obi-Wan (with pen for scale)

Teeny-tiny TARDIS, Batman, and Obi-Wan (with tweezers for scale)

My desk (April 25) - You can see the tiny geek icons in position as I work on my self-portrait.

Tattooed Girl hangs out with Intergalactic Mouse while I prepare a background for her.

Getting ready for the show (post 2)

2009-04-21T07:56:00.001-07:00

Collages Completed: 7

Collages Near Completion: 5

Collages Ready to Start: 17

Movies Watched So Far During Studio Time:

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Spirited Away

Twilight

The Incredible Hulk

Iron Man

Bridget Jones' Diary

King Kong

Officially in production mode. I've been making a point to make time every night for at least 45 minutes of video gaming/hanging out with Evan so that neither of us go totally crazy. We're currently doing an achievement run in Resident Evil 5.

I ordered my show postcards today!

Getting ready for the show (post 1)

2009-04-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Collages Completed: 7

Collages Near Completion: 1

Collages Ready to Start: 20

Movies Watched So Far During Studio Time:

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Spirited Away

Twilight

The Incredible Hulk

Iron Man

I'm hoping to have 35-40 pieces done for the show, so I need to come up with a few more pieces to meet that goal.

I've also finished some ornaments to sell at this weekend's NATURE'S MARKET event.

Here are some pictures of the work so far:

Ladybug Ornament

Dusk Ornament

Dia de los Muertos Ornament

First new piece finished!

My desk (April 15)

Q is for Quilter

2009-04-08T06:13:00.001-07:00

SOLO SHOW NEWS

I have just started work on the first of the 40 planned new collages for the solo show in June. It's going to be a busy two months. I also finally decided on the title for the show:

Intergalactic Mice and Other Curiosities

New Work by Meghan Stratman

I think it's fitting. :)

I had fun keeping track of the movies, etc. that I watched while working last summer, so I think I will do that again. I think I'm going to buy a couple more Miyazaki movies to keep me company in my studio.

OTHER ART NEWS

Dont forget about NATURE'S MARKET. I will have a table there and will be selling prints, cards, and hopefully a few new ornaments. There will be lots of other artists and craftspeople selling their wares, so it should be a fun way to spend a morning. It takes place April 18, 9am-1pm at the Pioneer's Park Nature Center.

NEW WORK

Before starting on my show pieces, I finished up this commission:

Q is for Quilter

New Work

2009-03-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

Doing some new, little pieces for a fundraiser tonight.

Other upcoming events:

Nature's Market

Pioneer's Park Nature Center

April 18th, 9am -1pm

Solo Show at Gallery 9

124 S. Ninth Street, Lincoln

Opening Reception June 5th, 7-10pm

*I'll have an actual name for the show sometime soon

Speedy Bee

This One's Mine

Photo Finish Gallery show at Gallery 9

2009-02-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

"Photo Finish: Photography In Art"

February 4 – March 1, 2009

Celebrate "Lincoln PhotoFest" and join the member artists of Gallery Nine and their invited guests, as together they stretch their artistic limits. Each artist will take up the challenge of creating new works in a variety of mediums that begin with, incorporate, or grow from photography. An excellent opportunity to see some new and intriguing approaches to an interesting artistic challenge!

GALLERY NINE - 124 S Ninth St, Suite 4, Lincoln, NE

Public Opening & Reception - Friday, February 6, 2009

7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Gallery Hours:

Wed – Sat: 10am - 5pm

Sun: 12noon - 5pm

GHOSTS OF ROME

New Graphic Design projects and a collage

2009-01-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the things I've been working on recently.

Graphic Design: Look Both Ways for the Angels Theatre Company

Graphic Design: Reviving Ophelia for the Angels Theatre Company

Graphic Design: New Orleans Animal Rescue

film poster & DVD cover project

Graphic Design: Wake The Witch

film poster & DVD cover project

Collage commission for the Crows Book Club

2008 Art Review

2009-01-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

Total collages completed: 46

Total ornaments completed: 15

Achievements in 2008:

*I think I made a big leap forward in 2008. This was the year where I started to feel like a "real" artist. I'm starting to define my style more and i'm getting better, especially when it comes to faces, side profile, and technique. Here's an example:

I decided I wanted to try and make art out of some old sketches I had done when I was just starting to do collage. You may notice a drastic difference from 2006 to 2008.

But even looking back at my artwork from a year ago, you can still see a lot has changed. Here's an example of a piece I did in 2007 and a recreation I did as a commission in 2008.

I think my vector art also improved a lot in 2008, which isn't saying much because I was always really crummy at doing anything more than basic shapes. I received a Wacom tablet for Christmas which I think will lead to more digital art in 2009.

2008 was also important because I was accepted as a member to Gallery 9. This allows me to have work on display every month and It has been a great place to show my work to new people. I also had a booth in the Lincoln Arts Festival again in 2008, which was great fun.

Goals for 2009:

I want to challenge myself to move past the static poses that have been so common in my work. I think I started to move my characters around a little in 2008, but it's definitely an area where I can improve.

What to look forward to in 2009:

February 2009 - Gallery 9 members will be particiating in a themed show called "Photo Finish: Photography in Art" where we all make art involving photography in some way. This will be an interesting project for me and I'm really looking forward to it.

June 2009 - Solo show at Gallery 9. I'm going to try a bunch of new things for this show - some paintings, some drawings, and more collages of course.

September 2009 - Hopefully I will be participating in the Lincoln Arts Festival again this year.

And finally:

Here are a few final collages I completed in 2008, all of which were commissions.

The Proposal

Creativity

White Dragon

New December Art

2008-12-02T20:21:00.000-08:00

Here is some new work. Come visit me at Gallery 9's First Friday reception. I have new work plus prints, cards, and ornaments. Here is more info:

"Celebrate Art" All Member Holiday Show
Public Reception For The Artists:
Friday, December 5, 2008, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

This annual event will feature holiday items and original artwork priced especially for "Holiday Giving."

Gallery Nine is located in the Mission Arts Building, 124 South 9th St. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sundays from Noon to 5:00 pm.

The show will hang from December 3 - December 28, 2008.

Free and open to the public.

Aristobot

Rocket Bunny in Blue

The Bandit Queen

New Ornaments