A Giveaway Keeps the Doctor at Bay!

Happy Superb Owl Sunday Weekend!  What a great time for my first giveaway!  Especially when the item is a Superb Owl hand carved linocut, printed, signed and dated by me!  :)

Please fill out this lovely Google doc form.  Follow me on Twitter @almostmonday for another entry, just make sure you  message me about this giveaway!  I ask 3 little questions in the below form. Visit my Etsy Store to answer question number #3! Don't forget to subscribe to my blog! :)

Life Update #47

To be honest, I really don't know what update number this is.  Tomorrow starts my 4th month on unemployment. November, December and January on the dole.  I'll spare you the unemployment mumbo-jumbo of new claims and waiting weeks.

Wednesday I received the nicest rejection letter known to man. And kitties.  Basically I'm awesome (as I'm training my self to say/believe) but there were people who actually had worked with the particular product and proprietary systems. They received over 250 applicants and only 5 people made it to round 2.  I feel pretty dang good about that.  They will keep my resume at the top of their pile if something opens up in future.  That makes 2 very well respected and great places to work that will hire me as soon as this "current economic crisis" , aka GDII is over.

My February Print of the Month block is carved and ready to go! I will spend today printing it and tomorrow packaging.  By the end of next week all subscribers will have received theirs and I'll post February's print for the general public!  Here's the photo of January's if you didn't see it! Also available as part of the Print of the Month Subscription or separately in my Etsy store! :)


I, for one, am happy the year of the Tiger is over!  I love kitties, but this Tiger was something else. Out like a Tiger in like a rabbit.  Happy year of the Rabbit friends!  (Year of the Cat in Vietnam) Whiskers and soft fur either way - Let's make if a good one!
Hmmm, next weeks print will probably involve a rabbit!

How do you feel about the year of the Tiger?  Do you feel there is more press about the Chinese New Year this year?  I do!

Superb Owl Sunday! Sunday Feb. 6th 2011

This Sunday is my new favorite holiday! Superb Owl Sunday!  I'm pretty sure it involves owls, eating, drinking, family and friends!  And of course no sports!  Here's my print in honor of Superb Owl Sunday!  Get yours now! :) Or at least plan your Superb Owl Party! I'm planning mine now!

PS. Every Superb Owl Sunday should include and Owl exchange.  Let your imagination run wild with the owl you'll bring to the party! The best owls are handmade owls!

The Waayyaaiting is the Hardest Part...

Nothing like a little Tom Petty to:
A. Date me
B. Send me back to the 80's
C. Get me dancing around the kitchen

Sooooo, it's been a week since my second interview.  As if I wasn't already having trouble sleeping, last night I was filled with anxiety about getting an answer or not getting an answer.  Or not getting a job, etc, etc... I was hoping to hear back Wednesday afternoon after they had finished their other second interviews.  At this point all I can assume is that I did not get the job. But then I hear Felix Ungers voice in my head "When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me."  Awe, the Odd Couple.  Now that was a sitcom!  :)

5 pm 1.29.2011 update - received an email that they are still deciding.  I will hear back by the end of next week! I'm looking at this as a positive sign!

Sadly I forgot to take photos of the good ones!

In other news, found another print exchange to enter but the due date is January 31st. Sooo Tuesday I designed, cut and printed another 15 prints.  I mirrored the image I had made for Leftovers and removed the birds and added some clouds.  The ocean changed a bit too. I used black paper and silver ink.  Mailed them off yesterday!  For future reference here's the info! Cascade Print Exchange V  I'm pretty sad I didn't get any good photos.  I didn't think to photograph until they were in the mail!

I just finished painting my bathroom, second coat today.  Tearing paper AND now I will work on a new reduction method multi color print I started last night.  It's my first attempt at this method! I'll post pics when I'm finished!

Happy Friday!  I hope your weekends are filled with creativity and friends! Mine will be!

Leftovers!

Amy at Wingtip Press came up with a great idea last year for all her leftover paper! A print exchange called Leftovers!  I heard about it from Anniepod Press. 

It's pretty simple.  I make 14 prints from my leftover paper, mail them to Amy and she sends me back a random mix of 12 prints. One set will be used to raise money for a charity and the other will be used for shows.  Pretty dang exciting if you ask me!

So today I rounded up my leftover paper.  Sketched out my design, redrew on to my linoleum and started carving!  

I cut out my original design to trace - Is this cheating? :)

I usually draw on a scrap piece of paper and then decide which way the design will look best. The way I drew it or flipped.  It still happens once in a while that I forget my design will be a mirror image once I print it!

Thanks for the press Nancy!

This is my first time using unbacked lino.  I wanted to get a more even ink transference by using the press I'm borrowing from my dear and fabulous artist friend Nancy.  I can't use a backed block in this mini press.  It is much easier for me to carve a backed piece, but I'm sure I'll get use to the unruly unbacked lino! 

Leftovers 2011

I'm pretty happy with the results and I'm really excited to see what I get back!  I'd love to be able to see the entire collection at a show too.  The deadline is March 15th and the cost is $12.  Please see Leftovers for more information!

Happy Tuesday and Happy Printing!

An Update -

Unfinished Owls

I just wanted to thank everyone again for all the support over the last couple of weeks after the break-in!

Plywood Art Window

I'm still not sleeping very well, but it's getting better.  I finally have all the insurance crapola sorted out.

Thanks to my family, friends and a couple of strangers too, I was able to sell enough to cover my deductible!  I'm amazed at the all the kindness. Thank you, thank you, thank you!  My Mom, aka my biggest fan, wins the award for most generous!  :)  It made me feel so much better to provide art to the people who helped! 

The downside of the event. Besides not sleeping well, "Fred's" computer was NOT covered under my homeowners insurance policy.  So that was $1800 out the window, literally.  Since he is considered a renter in my home his items are not covered.  He took it much better than I did.  I almost puked when the adjuster told me.  

I've ordered my replacement laptop, "Fred" was given a 10 year old crazy computer from his work's recycle bin to use until he can get a new one.  It sounds like a jet!  My replacement window is also on it's way.  The flooring and furniture are next on my list to have repaired and replaced.  

Thank you Diane!! aka AnniePod

Today I received this in the mail!  Talk about making my day! :)   

Things like this make it much easier to move on!  I can't wait to put this all behind me!

Thanks again everyone!

The Idealist and the Snare

I woke up this morning wondering, I'm an idealist?  I looked it up.  "Idealism sometimes refers to a tradition in thought that represents things of a perfect form, as in the fields of ethics, morality, aesthetics, and value. In this way, it represents a human perfect being or circumstance." Thanks Wikipedia!  (Side Note:  I can't remember what it was like before the ablitliy to look up anything you'd ever want to know in seconds!)

Work friends took me to lunch, even when I was out of town!

Maybe I have become an Idealist along the way.  Yesterday in my interview the question was posed "What does your perfect work day look like?"  "In a perfect world" I said, "I'd be making art all day.  In the real world I'd work for a company that I like with people I like, feeling that said company was making some difference in the world."  Reasonable answer.  And true. 

I love beets!

Where is this post going?  Good question.  I think my point is, that maybe due to this idealism, I've been missing the obvious solution to my financial woes.  A part time job at a company I like!  Duhhhh, as I would have said in this 80's photo of me.  I think I was sooooo fixated about not working at a job I hated again, that I forgot the obvious.  There are companies I would like to work for.  For instance, when I was loaned to SERA Architects, I worked a bazillion hours but loved every second of it! I will spare the details of why I really liked it, and why they really liked me.  Just know it's true.

Why didn't I think of this as an viable option sooner?  Idealism? The current economic crisis? The lack of jobs in my field? Blinded by art?  But, aren't I still an artist even with a day job?  And as an up and coming artist, in my humble opinion, wouldn't it be nice to pay the bills and eat!  Starving artist really isn't a misnomer.

So, to whose the benefit did I write this?  The aforementioned potential employer who may or may not be reading this? The kitties? My Mom? Nah, I think for myself.  Though I'm sure the kitties will be happy that I'm looking for ways to put food in their bowls!  

Some times work friends are the best friends!

Happy weekend everyone! Now get outside if there's sun!  If not, make something!  Even if it's just a happy mess!  :)