Shredddmasters

J.T. works at one of those old-timey outfitting shops that has a rental zone.. which means having access to a personal (and free) arsenal of XTREME SNOWSPORT gear. So, with a little gentle coaxing, I found myself at White Pass wearing a mish-mash of winterproof clothing and facing down a mountain with a glorified sled strapped to my feet.


Justin had never hit the slopes, I hadn't gone since maybe 1995, so we were a good team. We quickly mastered the bunny run and then I decided that we just needed to go to the very top and take the long way down. And you know what?


I got totally PUMPED! I really forgot how fun whizzing down a hill can be. Justin did really well, although he took some nasty first-timer spills that landed him with a serious case of sore ribs. But he gets the prize for totally going-for-it! And the prize for most awesome apparel:


Victory!!

Polar Bunnies

Snow Burglar.


Happy.


Cozy.

Fluffy Fluffertons

It is so crazily beautiful outside my window right now. The biggest, downiest snow-feathers are making their descent onto the already blanketed white bluff, and beyond that the steely grey of Totten Inlet winter waves lap at our shores. That said, this is still a problem:


Lil' Dusty is hanging tough, tucked in for the duration of this strange blizzard us Puget Sounders rarely see. However! I did catch an early ride into town yesterday in J.T.'s Man-Truck©, which temporarily lifted my cabin fever (seriously, I was beginning to grow a beard and have a strange glint in my eye much like a prospector). I finished some super-secret holiday projects, and brought home a batch of letterpressed cards to do some silkscreening upon. Gotta stay busy, especially if I'm going to be socked in for another 3 days. Where's that cognac?

Snowed In: Day 3

The Saga Continues: the forecast for this weekend is snow mixed with showers of mysterious and foreboding 'Ice Pellets', so who knows how long my rural confines will continue! But, we find things to do.. instead of sledding down our impossibly steep driveway on garbage can lids, we opted for a more sound adventure: I channeled my inner Yeti through snowshoes, and Justin worked on his x-country moves. A jaunt through the woods behind our house on a unbelievable sunny, snowy day:


Yeti Feet.


Snowtis.


Ok, this is actually a picture of one of the peaks above Ross Lake from last summer's canoe trip, but doesn't it look RAD with the pola-droid treatment? I'm a little obsessed.


Rosebud likes to bury her entire head in snow. She is a very special being.


Another special being. And now we are back at the cozy chalet, toasting the afternoon with Hot Mexican Chocolate Cognac toddies, apres-snowshoe/ski style.

And, because said chalet is a wee bit on the messy side (the occupants of Camp Kamilche are not known for their neat-freakness. Nor are they 'totally gross', they are just distracted artist-types that tend to make piles of paper wherever they go, and also cohabitate with four hairy individuals), instead of an interior shot, you will get another pic of a dog:


ADORBZ.

Shake It Like A..

I just found this rad online photo thingy! POLADROID.. it takes any photo file and converts it in a few seconds to a very accurate polaroid-style version, complete with white frame. I do miss the days of 'Roids. Check it out:




Snow day is getting more fun. Thank you, mighty Computron.

Cozy Times at Camp Kamilche

There's a monstrous blizzard outside of these walls, and I'm snowbound. I tried mercilessly to maneuver Lil' Dusty (my old toyota) up our steep steep driveway, but to no avail. It was pretty exciting; I felt like I was taking place in a special challenge at the Stuntdriving Academy of Burbank! But after much slipping/sliding and a shoveling workout, it was clear my situation was hopeless. And so here I am, inside our warm little snow-globe, worrying about a million projects I want to finish at my studio by xmas when I should be enjoying all the beauty right outside the window.


We did take a nice walk in the woods this morning, myself all bundled up in a gigantor puffy-jacket. Looking not unlike a human marshmallow mixed with some sort of waterproof pirate (nothing says 'cutting-edge fashion' like rainpants tucked into rubber boots). There were little bits of color, like these rosehips:


And Rosebud was ready for action.. 'Hurry up! Down the snowy roads we go!'


J.T. went x-country skiing in a parking lot last night! I love his dedication to all things outdoors. And here's the No. 1 Snowbuddy, Otis. Special freckleness and all.

Today's Obsessions

These vegetables,


and this man:


And also Ibizan Hounds wearing jerseys.

Dogbloggin'

SHHHHHHH...


..Genius At Work:

Geometrix

I stumbled upon these beautiful hand-screened cards during my Friday jaunt through the interweb. I've been getting into silkscreening a bit lately; Community Print is my winter hangout!


Each card was made with old-fashioned care and love by Esther Ramirez aka Essimar Papel.


From Esther's shop page: Send a gentle Kiss or Hello through paper.


Communicate your color with a card or handmade delicate collage.


Yessss. Communicate your color.

Delicious and Proud

It's supposed to SNOW this weekend! Craaaaaaze. It hasn't been this cold in 20 years; I heard the radio man say it this afternoon. For some reason I am still gallivanting about town in a sweatshirt? It just doesn't seem that frigid.. yet. But what better way to warm up your frosty torso than with this new sunshiney t-shirt I made for Buyoly? Behold: Lion Fever.


Goes excellently with mulled wine, hot spiced cider, and stroopwaffels. Let the holiday pig-out begin!!

Process/Progress

Bad blogger! Disappearing like that for weeks with no explanation.. I've just been hunkered down at the studio, which is totally looking Mass Rad these days with special office carpeting scraps and a big sturdy work table courtesy of my friend, Young Chad the builder. I kind-of helped with the building: I nailed nails.


This is Scott (human) and Bela (feline). Scott operates Olympia Screen, our town's little silkscreening hive complete with a robotic press that reminds me of the Octopus ride at Lakefair. I paint a portrait of Bela, Scott helps me with screening projects. Olympia is the town of the mighty barter!


This is the process so far: photos, tracing paper sketch, letterpressing, then blocking in the key parts. The best part comes later, in the details.. whiskers and catttttitude!


And P.S.. the Clever Fox shirts are now available in my shoppe, complete with awesome glow-in-the-dark eyes!!

Toast Not Bombs

So I was just google-searching 'how to make my podcast widget look better' because not only do I plan to give you some autumn-style musical treats, but also because I have no idea how to program computers and most default graphics look terrible. I only got as far as googling 'how to make' and I paused on this Top Ten list:

How to make money
How to make a website
How to make out


How to make a toga
How to make a resume
How to make pumpkin seeds
How to make jello shots
How to make a paper airplane


How to make french toast
How to make a bomb

Hmmm. This is the popular ranking of the ten things that Americans desperately need instructions for. I'm so happy that people are wanting to roast pumpkin seeds before building a bomb, but I'm worried about adding togas and jello shots to the mix. As for 'How to make out', well.. that's just sad.

ed. note: FRENCH TOAST NOW AVAILABLE IN CANS.

The Dog Lady

I paint all the time. But do I draw? Barely ever. Luckily I took a silkscreening workshop at Community Print yesterday, where my friends and I all made our own Crusty-Patches®! I couldn't resist showcasing my hidden (ok, not-so-hidden) psyche:


This little weirdo, The Hairless, is my fave:


And tomorrow, my neighbor Young Chad is going to help me build a big long table in my studio, perfect for drawing. Perhaps it will become my winter JAM.

BLOWOUT

So many shirts for just $10!! Get 'em while you can!!


In other news, I'm doing a very boring 'cleanse' involving no sugar, wheat, or alcohol. B-O-R-I-N-G. However, this has prompted me to consume vast amounts of movies, to get my mind off of OHMYGODCARAMELBUTTEREDFRENCHBREADGIMLET. So, while I can't exactly recommend plain kefir flax shakes for breakfast, I can tell you about this great documentary I watched last night: The Cats of Mirikitani.


Actually, without any sugar or wheat or alcohol to fuel my typing, I'm just going to let you read about it here.

Castle of Solace

Yesterday I re-arranged my studio a bit; I hung a bunch of recent work, grouping it all together on the long wall. And I stepped back, and thought:


1. Hey! That's what the inside of my head really looks like!
2. Mondrian's Tree.
3. Am I turning into a H.Darger type? Obsessive revisits to characters that have backstories/interactions only known to myself?
4. I really need to start painting more tigers. Tigers = FUN.


And 5: I am a creature of extreme habit. I will paint on the floor even though I know it's bad for my back. I will buy the same shoes as last time. I will eat a egg and coffee for breakfast tomorrow. Repeat to infinity. There is comfort in routine. Realizing that you are conservative (and I'm talking in the sense of risk-taking, shaking things up.. not in a social or political sense) can be an awfully strange feeling.

Scorpzzz

It's Scorpio time again! All my pals are having bdays.. including the one and only Justin!


Today! I love that on the calendar I wrote 'Justin turns 35!', only to see it crossed out and corrected with '36' a few days later. Oops. In my heart you shall remain forever young. I wish I could say that I was gifting you with a gaggle of rescue pups, but since we don't live on a farm, that's not gonna happen. I hope this memory foam pillow is a worthy substitute! And homemade squash ravioli with walnut-sage buttercream sauce too.. tickets to Iceland; that might have to wait till xmas.

Carrot Milk

FREE SHIPPING WEEKEND starts right...


..NOW!! Grab a 2009 calendar or corn mug, and don't forget to show some love to my pals:


Sam McPheeters!


Wynne Greenwood!


Abigail Adams! And so many more. We are all part of the extended Buyolympia.com dysfunctional-artist family. Our Thanksgivings are AWESOME.

And a big gigantic Olympia THANK YOU to my new pal Tula, over at the superrrrad Whorange for featuring my calendar. Check out her blog for delicious style and design features!

Roadrunner Xing

What is the collective sound of thousands of individual plops and blops pouring down upon the roof, garden, grass? DRIZZLE, my friends. That's right, the grey doom has finally arrived in the Northwest. Only 7 more months of rain!


If you live in sunny, temperate Southern California (which is such a total moment of 'grass is greener' personal admition; I spent many an October afternoon cursing and sweating on the freeway in those consecutive 105 degree Valley days..), might I suggest a trip to Joshua Tree? There's going to be a RAD art swap meet on Saturday at the High Desert Test Sites curated by those crazy Yao sisters! And Kye and Julia are making grab bags.. they have a lot of stuff. I mean a lot.


Meet me at Skull Rock!

Epiccccccccc

Dudes! HIGH-FIVES all around!!


Knut the Polar Bear wants to especially give some skin to my Mom, who voted for the VERY FIRST TIME in her life!


The Macca says THUMBS UP!


I don't even know who's cat this is, it just pops up when you google image search 'happiness'.