I have been awake for a couple hours, but need to go back to bed. I am not yet back to functioning within acceptable parameters. Tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, we’re having a meetup with the breeder, and then I’ll have both news and the stuff-for-sale post to put up. Apologies for the delay, but toooootally not sorry for all the delicious sleep I am about to get. Nice!
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
We’ve ended the marathon a little early, since we’re kinda turning into zombies, and because I’ve been awake and working since 5 am… so! That was AWESOME, you guys! We’ve raised 80% of our goal, and after I wake up, I’ll be putting together the stuff-for-sale post to try to fund the remaining amount. If we go over our goal, Milo will be using whatever he needs to for his dog, and any remaining amount will be donated, so thank you very, very much for this support. It means a lot to him and to me. I am going to stop being wordy, because I am quite ready to be unconscious. Goodnight!
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
We are on a mission! My roommate Milo is getting a service dog, and I’d like to help him out.
This fundraiser’s goal is to raise 1,000 dollars to help offset the intial costs of getting the dog and supplies. Milo is on a fixed income, and has budgeted to meet his service dog’s continuing needs, but for someone in his financial situation, the initial costs are a not-insignificant amount, and this will help out a great deal. All of the money raised will be used for Milo’s dog and supplies, and if we have any extra, it will be donated to a service dog charity.
Milo’s Story: Milo is recovering from PTSD and agoraphobia. He is making awesome progress in his therapy, but is currently unable to go outside without my partner or I accompanying him. His service dog will help him to regain his independence, and support him as he continues to recover. You can read more about his story and how the service dog will help him out on our ChipIn page.
Fundraiser Festivities:
Participate in the Art Marathon!
My local artist friend, Puss In Boots, and I are going to be drawing LIVE AND ON THE INTERNET for your amusement and entertainment, for 24 hours. Stop in and see how we’re doing, chat to keep us awake, and get some art. Pictures we draw will be available for purchase, and if you’d like to get something custom made for you, ask us in the stream to find out how much to contribute. We won’t be taking larger commissions for anything that can’t be completed during the art marathon, but we’ll be doing drawings, and possibly art cards, buttons, and other fun stuff. We’ll see where this goes!
San, Arsen, Milo and myself (and my cats) will all be on the stream. They are grown-ups and I am not the boss of them, so bear in mind that the stream will be ~PG. The sound is on, and we’re working at the dinner table. The camera’s set up like it is for icon day streams, and I can move it around if you’d like, too!
Here is the link to the stream!
Fundraiser Sale
After the art marathon (and after we wake up!), I’ll be making a post full of lovely works of art and some other fun items, from myself and others, available for purchase to benefit this fundraiser! We have some neat stuff. It’ll be cool! You’ll have to wait to see what it is, though.
Donate to the ChipIn
I’m using ChipIn to take contributions for this fundraiser, and you can see our progress and leave a contribution by clicking on over there!
Here is a fancy progress-bar widget they have provided me:
Order things from Otis’s Wishlist
Milo set up a wishlist of dog supplies on Amazon, in case anyone wanted to contribute but didn’t feel comfortable donating money directly. Items were added with both cost and effectiveness in mind (i.e. he picked things he would purchase himself), and range from fun things like toys to training aids and service dog equipment.
We hope to see you in the ustream, and also hope you’ll pass on the word and help us help my friend Milo and his future dog buddy, by participating and linking back to this post.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
Tomorrow morning, when I get home from my meeting, we’ll be launching our fundraiser for my friend’s service dog, with 24 hours of drawing brought to you live, presumably by large amounts of caffeine and crunchy vegetables. See you then!
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
I have a lot to get done, today. Errands, art work, chores, meeting… I’m glad I wake up so early, to give myself enough time in the day. Now that Vincent has settled down from his I-want-my-breakfast-at-4AM woes, he is a content furball, and it is quite a nice morning. The sun’s coming in the window, Arsen is grumbling a little in his sleep, my computer is humming quietly, and my tea is cool enough that I can drink it, now. Mmm, tea.
So maybe the day won’t be so crazy, after all, eh? We’ll see.
Fandom – One of the sidetracks I’ve taken, in tackling my creative blocks, has been examining fandoms and fan activity. Of course, I’m keen on anything that brings people together in friendship, and fosters creativity. I used to roleplay a lot, and that was my primary fannish indulgence. I’m not actively involved in any particular fandom, these days. There are things I’m a fan of, but I’m not sure my enjoyment is enhanced by anything more than the occasional bit of silly fanart, fanish Halloween costumes, and… actually watching/reading/whatever the media in question.
I’m realizing that the opposite is true. I tend to lose interest in something when I encounter a lot of fan activity centered around it. I don’t mean this in a “I hate it because it’s popular!” sense… but maybe it really is that sort of gut reaction, which is so silly! I’m not actually sure why that is. I am happy when other folks enjoy something, and it doesn’t annoy me in the least… but I’m very unlikely to, say, watch any of the new Doctor Who. I’m sure it’s a fantastic show – I can tell it is, because of how passionate so many of my friends are about it. But, all of my experiences with those stories were as a kid, watching it with my dad, and I’m happy leaving it at that.
I guess what it is, though, is that when I see so many of other people’s thoughts about a story, it becomes difficult for me to approach the story itself, and to feel like I can enjoy it and have my own experience with that story. That is difficult to articulate without sounding either snooty, or insecure. But, I’m sure you’ve all seen what happens in fandom circles when someone has an unpopular take on some aspect of what everyone’s gathered around the table geeking out about. And then there’s the whole other can of worms: what happens when someone speaks out about something problematic. Once a group starts treating the portrayal of a fictional character as more important than the feelings of real people, that’s when I’m done. I don’t want that sort of crud ruining the happiness of reading or watching something that I enjoy. And, I’ve let it, in the past. Staying away from that sort of thing is my own responsibility.
And, I’d rather play around with my own characters and stories. I’m still hammering at the block, but it’s the right way for me to go.
I really like creative collaboration. That is a huge plus for fandom activity. I’d love to be involved in an original shared world project, or to team up with another artist/writer, but it has to be the right project for me. Space aliens or fantasy creatures or… I don’t know. If the right project comes along, I’ll know it. But, I’ve got lots of projects to play around with, and that’s awesome.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
I have a mission, this week, something that’s very important for me to carry out! I hope that as this develops, you will help me out.
First of all, here’s some housekeeping – the 3.5 x 5.5 pictures from Icon Day 21 are going into the mail, and I’ll be firing off a round of emails when those are all out on their merry way. If you haven’t caught any of the icon streams, yet, I’ve gotten to work on Icon Day #22 and made some good progress there. I’ll be continuing to work on these, and I’m sure it will be a ton of fun. My mission will only take a couple days away from my exciting work of chasing down and capturing icons in the vast wilderness, and I hope you’ll agree that it’s for a worthwhile cause.
About a year ago, I helped my friend, move away from his old home state to come live with Arsen and I, in Washington. He is recovering from agoraphobia and PTSD as a result of abuse, and is currently making awesome progress in his therapy as he regains his independence. He is not, right now, able to head outside without Arsen or I. I will be telling more of his story in the next couple days, but here are the basics:
He and his therapist have been working toward him getting a psychiatric service dog. The dog will be an enormous help to him in his recovery. He has the income he needs to support, insure and train a dog, and certainly has the motivation to both see to the dog’s needs ,and to make the most of the help the dog can provide to him. Arsen and I have also are also prepared for assisting him with the care of his dog in whatever way he needs from us. So, we’re all good, there. But, my roommate is on a fixed income, and there are a lot of expenses involved in initially getting the dog. I want to do everything that I can to help offset that big expense and help make things work… Because after a long search, he’s found the dog that may very well be the perfect dog for him!
I’ve recruited some help, and we are going to have a fundraiser. On Wednesday, starting at 10 am, a local artist friend and I will be holding a 24-hour art marathon session, which we will stream. You’ll be able to drop in to watch and make a donation in exchange for some progressively more and more sleep deprived art. What exactly we’ll be drawing is yet to be seen! I’m guessing it will be a mix of prompted art, and random doodles.
On Thursday, or whenever I wake up from my art-induced coma, I’ll be putting up a post of several donated items and pieces of lovely art contributed to this effort, including a few works of mine. I have some prints, some original artwork, and some other fun stuff from several artists! (By the way, if you’re interested in contributing to that, let me know.)
So, be on the lookout for more details, coming in the next couple days!
I also want to say, this is not a financial emergency or dire situation. I’ve put a lot of thought into this situation. I can say that the help will mean a great deal to him, make a big difference for him, and I feel that he very much deserves it. This is an opportunity that I know he will not squander.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
This is a picture I drew for my mom, for Mother’s Day, when I first moved away from Colorado. It’s been a few years, since then, but this is still my favorite picture I’ve drawn for my mom. LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY MOM!
My mom has four kids and is married to my dad, who is also awesome, but this is Mother’s Day, so this post is only about her. Dad will get his turn. (Incidentally, my three siblings are also awesome, but will be ignored, for the same reason!)
My mom is a creative person! She is into music – she plays guitar, recorder, viola, violin, harmonica, piano, and I’m probably missing something else, there, too. Most of all, though, she is into fiber arts. She knits, spins, weaves, crochets, whatever the verb is for making lace and doilies and stuff, and sews. As early as I can remember, my mom always had some project or another going, and she would always share her time with her work and me and my siblings. I have early memories of her making her feet talk like puppets to keep me entertained and out of her lap while she knitted. I have early memories of being taken to the yarn shop, which, let’s be honest, to a young kid is pretty boring, but I still remember being fascinated by all the buttons and colors of yarn.
My mom has always encouraged me to be creative. Through her support, I never wanted for art supplies and a kind word about my creations, and through her example, I have seen modeled a determined, dedicated creative work ethic in action!
My mom loves nature and animals, and I have her to thank for my own love of the same. I can’t thank her enough for dragging my whiny child self out on hikes and camping trips, which I never lacked for as a kid. This was a wonderful gift.
My mom always read to me, and shared the stories she loved – and the stories she made! My mom has a hand-made picture book she put together when she was in school, and it was one of my very favorites, when I was little. She stapled paper together into blank books for me, and wrote in the words I would narrate to her, when I was too young to do it, myself. My mom has also always been willing to indulge the things and stories that I was interested in, and is so wonderful to talk to, about any old thing. She is a very intelligent and thoughtful person.
My mom works incredibly hard! As I mentioned, she raised four kids, and while we were still at home, earned a private pilot’s license and trained to run marathons. When we moved out, she decided it was time to take it easy by opening and working overtime at her own yarn shop. Her successful business has been a huge inspiration to me, and I love thinking about how successful and awesome it is – I want only the very best for my mom.
Oh, and she’s found the time to raise a new collie puppy, too! And to be a grandma to my sister’s kid (who is ALSO AWESOME! :D)
My mom is supportive of my business and my dreams. She is always willing to lend a supportive ear when things are going badly, and to let me talk out my worries on the phone. And, she is always there to listen to me share my successes, too. I am so very lucky to have a mom who supports me and encourages me in pursuing my dreams.
Likewise, my mom has, from day one, been supportive since I came out to her. There is not a day that goes by where I do not feel incredibly blessed to have a mom and dad who love and support me, no matter what.
I love you very much, Mom! I have you to thank for the person I am, today, and the person I strive to be. I hope that when I am a parent, I am half as good a parent as you. And, I hope that you know that while I am not perfect, that I want to do whatever I can to support you in your dreams, and that I love you so much. Thank you.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
I am streaming icons for an hour or so – 6:30 – 7:30 PST. Sound is off, because Arsen and I are watching Star Trek.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
I’d listened to this a while ago, but was thinking about it, yesterday: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/jonatha
And, speaking of humans, I saw this linked on a friend’s tumblr – A GREAT figure drawing tool, with a good selection of poses and an okay distribution of body-types (mostly thin/muscular people, though), timer options, and animals, too! – http://www.pixelovely.com/gesture/index.p
Humans are awesome! Have fun being and/or hanging out with some humans today! :D
(… Be some humans? Sure, be more than one, it’s all good… go write a story or something.)
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
I’m feeling frustrated about my ability to take the thoughts running through my head and put them down on the page. They feel like they make so much sense up there, but when I go to transcribe them, they come out all “haaaaay, guys, how about let’s all be nice to each otherrrrrrr! Sunshine and puppies!”
What I want to say, though, is that you, reading this now, are a wonderful and special person. You are unique in the whole universe, and the things you feel passionate about, the things you love and think about, the things you dream about, those all have value.
I don’t believe that some people have to fail in order for others to succeed. I think that we are clever enough that we can rise above that, and fix a paradigm that says, “if everyone wins, no one is special.” I think that paradigm perpetuates a lot of unhappiness, inequality, and very real suffering, for the sake of a few reaping the benefits of being the handful of winners. If everyone is equal, where will be the motivation to excel? What about the motivation to work together, for everyone to have a safe, happy life? To be a community!
… in space? ;P
No, seriously. Forget the 50 colony planets and billions of spacehumans I like to go on about. We, each and every single one of us, has the fantastic power of creating community. There are fierce obstacles, yes, but it’s still true. Humans are amazing animals.
I am going to haul my amazing animal self to my art desk, and get to work on some art.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
Today is my older cat’s birthday! She is now eight! Holy cow! She will have all the treats and brushings, today. Only a geocities tribute page can fully express my affection.
Puppets – Yesterday was productive for puppets!
Dinosaur upper jaw.
Dinosaur arm.
Now there are two halves of a dinosaur head drying on top of my fridge. Good times.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
I don’t really know what to write, today. It’s one of those bleeeeeeeergh mornings. Arsen’s been awake for a couple hours, too, putting the finishing touches on a presentation he’s doing today. We’re working on puppets, and I’m working on art, along with that. Sorry for the lack of stream, yesterday. I killed my hand inking a tile floor.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
In a nice little coincidence, this week’s Skeptoid covers climate change, politics, and critical thinking. A very, very good podcast on the topic, and a good follow-up for me to listen to, after what I was thinking about, yesterday. http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4309
Zazzle – Arsen and I have been trying to figure out how to work on Zazzle products on the ipad. The product creation interface almost works in Safari, save for some issues with clicky-boxes. I tested a few other browser alternatives, and the free app Terra works great, for both single product creation, and Quick Create. The only downside is that you can’t upload images directly from the ipad. But, you can dump ‘em in with the image uploader, on your computer, then lie in bed or on a patio chair, drinking tasty beverages and making products for sale. I thought I’d pass that on.
Other Stuff – I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Maurice Sendak passed away. I have great respect for his work, and encouraged by knowing he was a children’s author and illustrator who was gay. While you’re grabbing Where the Wild Things Are, because I’m sure many of you will, today or soon, spend a little time reading some of the amazing books written and illustrated by so many people, there in the picture book section. This is a truly wonderful medium.
Today – working on various things, today, and I’ll announce if I get in a streaming session!
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
I stumbled across and read something toxic, last night, and it’s still worming its way through my brain. There’s usually a lot tunneling around in there. I’m dumbfounded by the hatred, anger and ignorance that’s so prevalent on the internet, and in our world outside the little typey-computer-boxes. Pretty much the only thing I can do is to focus on trying to let go of how much I care about what other people think of me. I know that holds me back and makes me behave in selfish ways. As I chip through that, I’m better able to help others, and better able to take care of myself in healthy ways.
Today, Milo and I are running some errands, and maybe going for a walk, if the weather holds. It’s beautiful out, this morning. I’ve been listening to the birds sing through the open window, since early-o-clock. I hear there have been record high temperatures in Colorado, lately, and I’ve been worrying about there being a drought, but out here, we’re getting an unusual amount of rain. I worry about that, too. I worry that the world’s going to change more than we can keep up with. But, I also think that climate change might just ultimately prove to be a test and an opportunity for humanity to develop new ways to sustain ourselves responsibly. I think we might eventually create computer intelligences that can help us responsibly use all the power available to us. I think we’re going to be ready for it, if we work hard. I think about people living on fifty earths, throughout the galaxy… can you imagine five hundred billion people, living in a post-scarcity society? Can you imagine the story of human history stretching fifty thousand years into the future? I want to know where we’ll be in fifty thousand years! Us and the robots!
But, a lot of hard work, and it’s all work that is entirely outside the realm of what I know about or do in my life. There’s nothing for me to do but sit here and watch and try to sort through anger and fear from all angles. Promoting critical thinking is probably the most important thing anyone who isn’t in position of power can do, right now. That, and inspiring optimism.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
I spent all day yesterday drawing things! Free Comic Day was a lot of fun. I mostly made stickers for kids. Everyone was in a great, geeky mood, and it was a friendly place to be. I already can’t wait to go back, next year.
My favorite of the comics I snagged is the hardcover Mouse Guard, etc. anthology comic. That’s a great promo, there.
My pens held up well! After traveling to the event in my shirt pocket, they performed without a single leak or ink explosion. So, the field test has been successful! Now, all that’s left to see is if they get gunked up in a few days, or if my use/cleaning routine is sufficient to keep ‘em in good working order.
Today, I’m doing pomodoros and working on even more pictures! My hand got a good night’s sleep, so I’m ready to have at it, again. I am planning on a stream at some point, later today. The shorter hour-long streams are much easier to fit into my schedule.
I woke up with Disturbed’s cover of Land of Confusion stuck in my head. My brain has a weird random shuffle for these songs. As for the original version of the song, I am saying this as a puppeteer… that video is highly disturbing.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
ayup! Come watch! Sound is on and so is the public domain jazz.
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
The votes are open for the Pink Gorilla t-shirt contest. If you feel so inspired, you can check out the entries and vote, here: http://www.talenthouse.com/zazzle-bay-to-b
And here is my design: http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvit
You can vote using your twitter or facebook account. I am not in the regular habit of entering design contests, but I had a fun idea, so I entered. There is a people’s choice prize, but I believe Zazzle picks their final choice for the big prize based on other factors, too. So, we’ll see how this goes! Thanks for looking, if you do, and if you don’t, no worries. :)
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
Last night, after comic group, we went to a Thai place and had the best food! It was delicious. I ate a ton, ruined my diet, and this morning I feel like I’m carrying sports equipment of some sort in my stomach. Urrrrgh. Totally worth it, though. Once I feel less urpish, I’m going to need to do some extra exercise today to make up for that glorious disregard for calorie content.
Anyway, I am working on something for Hats today, working on the sketches for another awesome project, and working on pieces for the camp. There’s a deadline for the 11th for those, and anything I can get done before then will go in their new game book, so that’s fun – I’ll be balancing that with other obligations, though. I will also be streaming icons at some point, and will make an announcement when I do. Oh, and I need to go get cat food, which I should probably do first off, so I don’t forget or run out of time.
Tomorrow, I’m going to the comic shop in Mt. Vernon to draw cartoon animals for kids, for Free Comic Book Day! I’m really looking forward to that!
According to ebay’s package tracking, my Rapidographs are in the state, and left the sort facility late last night. I don’t know if that means they’ll arrive today, or tomorrow, but I’m hoping today, so I can bring them along to the event tomorrow, and get some good practice in! Ridiculously excited about Rapidographs, zomg!
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
We are working on this troodon puppet. Here’s the cardboard base for the head, before I covered it in paper mache. Paper mache has vinegar and salt in it, this time, to prevent mildew, and I’ll let you know how that turns out. So far, so good!
Here’s the top of the head, with paper mache. When this is dry, I can work on the sides and bottom of the upper jaw, fit the teeth, and set up the cardboard base for the lower jaw, so they work together all puppet-like. The final step will be making a few foam details, including the eye sockets, sanding down and painting the uncovered part of his snout, and putting fabric down on the covered parts.
Meanwhile Arsen’s been sewing the body – arms and main body are sewn up! Just the legs and stuffing and adding some wire left to do, I believe. Also, fierce dinosaur claws. Milo is sewing in the feathers, and is also going to be doing beading on the critter, to make it fancy.
Also finished Sir Roquefort’s head and attached it to his body. He needs some eyes, and little details to finish him up. We’re making great progress on our puppet cast!
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
Thank you for participating in Icon Day 22! Requests are now closed. I will be working on the icons over ustream, and letting you know about my progress here. Tips did not reach the final incentive, but I will still find other things to ustream this month, because that is fun to do.
Rider – I finished this illustration for the WotC art test thing I mentioned, about a month ago. This took forever.
Kickstarter Signalboost!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1729
http://www.indiegogo.com/artbusinessbook – This project’s been running for a day, and is already 1/3 of the way to its goal! Support an awesome art business book with cartoons!
Originally published at The Story Dragon. You can comment here or there.
