Talk of Inspiration, Traveling and Entrepreneurial Woes on the Paper Pastries Blog

The lovely Margaret Haas of Paper Pastries interviewed me for her blog, the first of many Artist Interviews. Have a read!

2014 Calendar Presale and New Goodies

 

The 2014 Calendar is nearing completion and I'm offering an opportunity to reserve yours early since I'm printing a limited quantity. As a bonus for ordering early, I'll take care of shipping and will include a bonus gift because you know me, I love surprises. You can preorder yours here! Have a peek at some of the months--

 And I have some new wedding cards in the shop as well because it appears to be the season for it.

And the product I'm most excited about... STICKERS!!! I used to count and collect stickers when I was a kid. So it's pretty rewarding to see my own illustrations in sticker form like this. I have two sets, Snail Mail and Elephants.

Keep and eye out for more new goodies like bookmarks, a 2014 poster calendar, and holiday stamps!

Succulent Terrarium Workshop at EcoMonster

A couple months ago, I met up with my friend Kristina and we briefly discussed wanting to make succulent terrariums. Then BOOM, literally two days later EcoMonster in San Jose posted the details of their upcoming workshop. Too perfect. My mom wanted in as well, and this past Saturday we three along with several other crafty ladies had the pleasure of making our very own! Leandra from Licorice Landscapes was a great teacher and all the succulents were from her garden. I've never seen so many varieties. Thoey kept us fed with chocolate cupcakes and wine + nectar drinks. Not a bad way to spend one's Saturday afternoon.

That's my mom in pink. Why so serious, mom!?

My mom's terrarium. She was pretty excited about her trophy medusa.

Kristina and her new garden.

I made this one!

I don't know who made this one but it cracks me up. I love it.

They plan on hosting another in December, but in the meantime, there are a ton of other workshops and events you can partake in if you find yourself in or around San Jose. Thoey's shop is located above Black Cat Collective, and though small, it's filled with handmade gifts and goodies (including my cards) so you probably won't leave empty handed.

Photos by EcoMonster/Thoey Ng

Sketching Before Bed

To make sure I draw every day, I started sketching for at least 5 minutes before bed. It's been fabulous. So many good ideas (and not so good ones) find themselves to the page when you're half asleep. You should give it a try. Here's a little sample.

And last night, between the hours of 11pm and 3am, I doodled the two characters and thought it'd be a cute header for a calendar. So walla! It's in the hands of the printers so stay tuned for its debut online. 

This Will Make You Cry

"Good Night Billy Moon" is Ian Chachere's heartwarming/heartwrenching, beautiful submission for the Santoro comicsworkbook Composition Competition and it will MAKE YOU CRY. It's his interpretation of real Christopher Robin's last days. A preview is below. Click here to read the comic in its entirety. Bring some tissue.

This Week's New Art

First finished illustration for my upcoming 2014 Calendar. 

These will become stickers.

A jumping wedding illustration. So cute!

The Mind of a Chef

image from eater.com

Something completely unrelated to illustrations, entirely related to food and in my opinion, definitely about art, I started watching PBS's The Mind of a Chef. The show follows David Chang (restauranteur and mastermind behind Momofuku) as he explores the science of, the stories behind, and the deliciousness of food. Anthony Bourdain narrates the show so it feels like No Reservations but is really more of a TV version of Lucky Peach magazine. I LOVE it. I'm only 4 episodes in but the first episode, "Noodle", has me salivating and itching to visit Japan again. He also makes gnocchi out instant ramen. WHAAAAAT!! Watch it below (or on Netflix).

Watch The Mind of a Chef, Episode 1: Noodle on PBS. See more from THE MIND OF A CHEF.

Actually, scratch that. It is related to illustration because there are some sweeeeeeet animated sequences thrown in, too. It has everything!