Daily...

Pug pathos #3
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

An extra from a Daily Photo shoot

Well, sort of.
Daily anything is difficult for me. I keep forgeting to take daily photos- and when I do manage to take them, I often forget to post them on time. So if you look through my photostream on Flickr, you'll see them in a very wonky order.
But the idea of daily habits is fascinating to me, and I keep thinking how great it would be if I could actually keep up with some of them. So I keep on trying...and generally just keep on stumbling, falling off the wagon, running after the wagon, kicking the wagon when it breaks, etc.

Playing catch up

(A photo recap of the past few days)


Jack Sparrow impersonator!!
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

We went to a party on Saturday. I detest parties, but Jack Sparrow was there, so that was nice.


The crane tree
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

Then I finally put all those cranes I've been making to good use: I made a crane tree. It almost reaches the ceiling.


Hello.
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

Then it was time to create some creatures. Here's a peek of one of them.


Embracing the blur, this time.
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

Finally, here's Topanga's interpretation of the craziness that was this past week. And probably also the weeks to come.
Many, many more new photos on Flickr!

All is quiet on the blog front...

Would you like to know why? I'll tell you anyway.
I was up until all hours resizing photos and carefully cropping them, preparing the precious bundles of pixels for teh interwebs.
There were photos of new creations, experimental night photography, pugs, and a Jack Sparrow impersonator.
I pushed everything else to the side so I could get the millions resized.
And then...
I forgot the disk.
At home.
Over an hour away.
From work.
Where I am.
Where I, frankly, get most everything done.
No new photos till Thursday, peoples!

For the love of birds...

A little birdie told me...
this painting:

Blue bird
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

is being featured over on For The Love of Birds. It's in the top right hand corner of the page. Go and check out her blog, it's chock full of wonderful bird related merchandise. All sorts of lovely things!
p.s.: The lady who runs For The Love of Birds also makes really, really neat letterpress goodies!

Dear Japan,

Please send me one of these.
They must be very precise creatures. Here's a gem from the bottom of the page:

"eat a larch tree bark

bite off a twig at 10 cm point from the tip

drop a brown old bud, eat only the bark skillfully

leave the white core like a needle"

It's almost haiku!
From the Atelier Momonga homepage:
"It is also claimed to be the true identity of the TENGU (long-nosed goblins)said to live in the mountains." MYSTERIOUS.
Check out this guy on Flickr:
He's training a momonga to do his bidding!

(Also: if you mouse over the momonga on the index page, it will fly around. Just thought you should know.)

When life hands you injured dog paws...

Bulldouge
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

Post a drawing of a dog?
Or just throw your hands up and say, "Eeeew! Gross!"

What, no new artwork today?

Daily Photo 6.20.07
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

You can read the whole whiny reason for that by clicking on the photo.
Having my pup in pain really stresses me out. (Also the vet bills. They stress me out, too. Buy a painting or twenty, won't you?)
Whine, whine whine.
p.s.: Topanga is doing much better now!

Wee bit of news

I will be at the:

For more information, go here.
Hooray for real world exposure!

Illustration Friday 6/15/07- Rejection

The first thing that came to mind (and kept on repeatedly coming to mind) was part of a Jonathan Richman song-
"And they could laugh,
and that's like, rejection-
you probably won't like that very well.

I happen to like nice men...

New painting for today: A red coated fox scoundrel:

Red riding fox portrait
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

Scoundrel...I like the sound of that.

{Sorry...I watched Empire Strikes Back this weekend. Again.)

Annnnd release

Yes! I snagged two spots! I am very pleased with myself and my sitting in a chair and clicking skills. Absolutely Small will be in the Showcase on Tuesday, 6.19.07 and Saturday 7.7.07. Woot!

Here's hoping I'll be noticed!

Also: More cards are in the shop, along with this little cutie:

She's all hand sewn, cut from no pattern at all, as imperfect and full of individuality and personality as can be.

Holding my breath...

and hoping to get a showcase spot (or two) on Etsy for my shop.

Watching the human world

Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

Inspired by Topanga, who loves to sit outside and watch the world.

I had no interest in penguins until I saw this.

A penguin who wears a backpack to go shopping. People, that is just a painting waiting to happen. Awfully cute. And surreal!

Did I mention...

that prints and greeting cards are now up in the shop?

Suit- Illustration Friday for 6/8/07

Suit- Illustration Friday for 6/8/07
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

Hooray! Finally had some time to paint.

What's for dinner?

The way of things
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

Finally got this painting finished. It's best viewed large, so you can see what is on the table. I don't like leaving anything unfinished, especially paintings. It's good to have this done!

Aha!

Behold! Mishapen imperfection!
Originally uploaded by chicken widget.

Creating things really is therapy for me. This point was driven home once again as I created this little creature. I made so many mistakes. She was originally intended to be a gift, but that plan got scrapped, along with her legs. Even with all the mistakes, I felt I had to finish her.
When the last stitch was in place, I held this little creature in my hand. I liked her. All the lumpy unevenness, the strange stitching. The complete imperfection. Visually, it made her great. More than that, it gave her a certain feel...a personality, kind of.
Then I realized it. We're constantly fed a diet of perfectionist ideals- "Look like this, eat like this, live like this"- unrealistic ideals that no one can really live up to, so we're also constantly choking on perceived failure.
This creation was imperfect, yet fantastic. Interesting, with personality. Real. Just because she was imperfect, did that make her any less dear to me? Actually, the imperfections endeared her to me. That's what made this creature what it was.
"Perfect" isn't nearly as interesting, fun, or satisfying as imperfect. When you're creating things, it's how your hand casts those lines that makes it yours. "Perfect" isn't genuine.
The ideas for new creatures started crashing in, one right after another.

And we're back!

Pretty good looking for a note card, right? Handpainted cards, available right now in the shop.

Time to get back to work! I have a new project (actually, several) to begin, and I am dying to get to them. The studio is all reconfigured with a new table- ready for action!

But first, this bulletin:

* We got the final on our house. (We built it from the ground up- with tons of help from contractors and friends, of course) This is huge. Now the decorating can begin!*