These Little Worlds

What I do All Day... Working obsessively on collages... Watch out for the 2012 calendar... Prints will be available on my etsy hopefully soon...

Real Scissors/ Paper Scissors

Adorable

Some of the books I got from St. Vincent De Paul

Brain Container

The fine gentlemen in Monogamy Party asked me to draw their beloved buck skull, named Denise, who had accompanied them in the van on tour, to supplement the album art. I started drawing, from a normal perspective but eventually really messed that up. I decided the right-side-up skulls are boring, so I drew it from underneath. The resulting view looks a little strange, like a creepy smiling mask or something. I hope they like it.

Warmup: initial loose drawing in india ink, this photo was taken before I really messed it up by adding a buttload more ink everywhere.

Cosmo left his footprints my original, so I had to make a carbon copy of the outline on a fresh sheet. I threatened to eat Cosmo for dinner, but I'll give him another chance.

 

final drawing!

Been Diggin Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Pen and Ink, August 2011

 

Rock Paper Scissors

A while ago my friend Katie suggested we both submit pieces to a show with singular prompt of "Rock Paper Scissors." I got super stoked when the idea of making a pop-up book of the people's playing hands popped into my brain. I'd made a semi-pop-up moving hands book a few years earlier. Ever intrigued by the intricate muscles and movement of the hands, I will never get enough looking drawing them. My chubby, bitten fingers are a particular point of embarassment, but it's balanced by how proud I am of what I can do with them. Useful tools are not the prettiest.

So, I had to learn to make a real book. For anyone interested, this is a particularly good site : http://www.mothteeth.com/bookmaking/

As I was sewing and stitching and measuring and gluing, I got to thinking of my friend Brant, who is a book mending apprentice at the library. The process is an intimate and beautiful thing. The grain, the warping, all of the pieces and parts that must go in the correct order, patience (the hardest one for me), and exposed sections you didn't want exposed. You know, like getting dressed in the morning!

Well, I didn't have time to finish the book by the deadline, plus I wasn't excited about paying a $25 submittable fee, so it will not be showing at the show. I thought I'd show you what I came up with so far... Each page is printed with a linoleum block that supposed to look like beach rock, but I don't know if it does. I intend to make it incredibly doper. I'm going to add a story line, some collage, whatever else I want...

Life is Collage

The opening for the show at the Vera Project was so much fun. I am so grateful for all the friends that came out to see it. I feel I should be a better friend and not just be cooped up all day. I'm glad people still like me. I will work on it. But being cooped up is how I'm able to pull some cool stuff off, like these 10 collages that were hanging up on the wall.  I think jumping off the ledge in between two buildings after the show was the best part of that night though. No pictures of that.

See Vera Art Galleries photos of the event.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/verart_gallery/sets/72157627031086429/with/5919310197/

This was my first real grown up show. And I talked to real grown up artists, who gave me some advice. http://jennyfillius.com/home.html I'm more than a quarter century old, I gotta get my stuff together! I made a website. http://jcruz2.otherpeoplespixels.com/home.html It's not quite done, but it will do for now. Soon I will have business cards and will be totally ready to contribute to society the way society tell you you should.

Getting my head a little bit out of the clouds.

The Things You Do for Love

Drawing by me, design by Malia with help from me.

By me.

I am lucky enough in this life to know Malia Alexander, my "friend and frequent collaborator on creative projects," who started her own record label

http://echolalicrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mercy-ties-grenades-split

(cool as hell, right?) and needed a logo for it. I feel privileged to be associated with the talented friends and acquaintances who share this visual/aural space. Coby, her dog, is one of the best subjects a person can ask for. I obviously have a certain affinity for hairy beasts, including my boyfriend, and the sea lion depicted in the flier below. The flier which, by the way, I have been sending cosmic signals for hopes of receiving the honor of "poster of the week" by the Stranger. If so, that will take care of one my life goals. Ego, I do not deny you.

Sci-Fi Book Cover Commission

I just finished designing a book cover that will be sold as an e-book on Amazon.com. How much fun! Sometimes you just gotta get a little retro. Above is the final product, but I was also fooling around with a more graphic style (below). I think I may become enamored with digital coloring in Photoshop. It's new to me, and soooo addicting. This is obviously a rough sketch.