the semi-triumphant return of the photo

I busted my camera beyond repair the first week of july hence the lack of photos here. i'm uh....borrowing one. i'll leave it at that. hopefully i can replace my sony after i, you know, get paid. wow that's going to be nice.
anyhow, i've been working like a fiend for crafty bastards so here's a sneak peak...

a new painting called "put up your dukes". the line is from a shadow from a window mullion.



This purse was something I've had for a while. it's a bunch of wooden beads strung together (i bought it at a thrift store) but I taped out a skull design and spray stenciled it on.



another thing i'm doing is trying to make a bunch of small "paintings" with a magnet on the back so you can put them on your refridgerator or filing cabinet or whatever.



and lastly, here's one of my bucket 'o dolls.


I have a little cold, but this cold medicine has made me strangely focused. I also made butternut squash soup this afternoon. i've been productive!

tomorrow!

Art romp is big and great. you should go check it out if you can.
tomorrow is adams morgan day.i'm nervous and excited. i'm happily sharing a tent with colleen and we're renting a zip car since my car decided to get sick last week and i haven't had a chance to take it into the shop. i'm shooting for monday am (super ridiculously early) so everyone, think non-transmission thoughts if you would.

oh please let it be a fuel problem....please please please.

If you want me, you can find me:

I'll have a painting in ArtRomp 20 (the final one!) At the Warehouse 1019 7th st. NW DC
Opening is September 7th.

Sunday September 9 is Adams Morgan day I'll be on Belmont Ave. with a bunch of other phenomenal folk selling stuff and then the biggie:

Sunday September 30- CRAFTY BASTARDS.

Yikes, i gotta get sewing...

alternative etsy options?

Does anyone recommend alternatives to Etsy?
Not that I don't enjoy the site, because I mostly do.

I've just found 2 people copying my stuff which bummed me out because their stuff is actually selling.

I think i'm pretty done with etsy in general. I'll leave it up through crafty bastards and after that it's going away.

The Big News

Ok, so the big news is that I have a new job!
Starting the 27th, of August, I will be the new coordinator for the Art Bank program with the DC commissison on the arts and humanities.

My boss is completely freaking out.
But with the state of the theatre and how they're choosing to ignore working conditions and storage/space issues there's no way I can stay.

So, good bye Shakespeare Theatre. It's been fun. Sometimes.

I will miss having good stories about what idiots actors are to tell my friends.

I have big exciting news that i technically can't talk about here until probably this afternoon.

although if you're a friend, you already know.

but wow, this is killing me.

also killing me: so much driving in the past week....baltimore and back, philly and back, west virginia and back. this is the final week for fort reno which is good. i've been too tired (and busy) doing other stuff that i'm barely ready for adams morgan day which is now less than a month away!

YIKES

Hello Baltimore!

I dropped off a few dolls at a soon-to-open store called Earth Alley in the Hampden section of Baltimore yesterday.
Eva is the owner and is about as nice as can be.
There's a blog here: http://earthalley.blogspot.com/
The store opens on September 1. And i think i'll get to do a workshop with kids where they can design a monster and articulate it into a 3-d monster.

I am so thrilled that I have some dolls in Hampden. And I think Earth Alley is going to be a *really* great store!

I've been trying to work on some color tags for the shippment up to Boston. I don't think it's going to work.
i might make these images into pins.
we'll see.

Back from Chicago

Wow i'm exhausted. 3 days of rock at pitchfork (saw: Slint (astounding), Gza, Sonic Youth, Grizzly Bear (meh), Battles (killed), Mastadon (super killed), Of Montreal, Steven Malkmus (adorable and engaging), Sea and Cake (awesome new stuff), New Pornographers (less-awesome new stuff), Jamie Liddel (annoying), Clipse (really great), iron and wine (meh).
Part of me regrets not seeing De La Soul, but my feets are tired. they still are.
My favorite moment might have been seeing Brian McMahan all but swallow the mic at the end of "Good morning captain"
I wish tina and aaron had been there.

Now i need to switch gears and start making stuff!
Also, look for a small-ish interview with me in the Washington Times on Friday about the X in DC event. I'm everywhere!!!

meet me in person! or not....

three exiting things for Magpie DC-
1) if you're in Boston, there's a store called MAGPIE (no relation) who will have a small amount of Baddie dolls.

2)On September 30, I will be taking part in the Crafty Bastards craft fair in Washington DC
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/craftybastards

3) can't wait that long? I'll be at the Adams Morgan Day Art on Belmont festival too.


I'd better get sewing!!!

new art!

today I made one new small painting:


and i listed it as well as three other works in my etsy shop:



hopefully something will sell before i leave for Chicago.

someone outside is setting off firecrackers.
i hate this time of year.

Pro Photos

Allow me to pimp my friend Pete Duvall of http://www.anythingphoto.net

He took super pro photos of my dolls. I think they look lovely

baby batty

baby batty
Originally uploaded by tigersscareme

This is a baby proof version of the Batty for my friend eric's kid's first birthday.

I hope it doesn't scare him.

Make new friends!

Be friends with the Baddies!

Join Astro-NOT! and Zee Handsome Devil
While they await their friends Fun Gus and Batty and Bruised Ghost.

Thank You!!!

Thanks to all the incredibly nice people at X in DC tonight.
WOW!
I thought i was going to be an old indie rocker in a sea of young hip electronica kids, but I genuinely loved everyone i met.

Everyone was so kind and encouraging. It was really great and really fun, and holy crap, how 'bout those Pop Rock martinis?
yum!!

pictures sometime soon!
if you took some, please send 'em my way!!!

today is the 88/X thing.

I am incredibly nervous. As I always am before a new event. I'm just wondering, should I bring a book?

Ikea has an ingenious new-ish thing- it's a little metal rolling dolly that you can stack individual drawers on.
I bought the trolley and one drawer yesterday on an ikea trip with my boss.

I can't find pictures of it on the website, so i'll have to assemble it and take pictures and post it here, because if you do craft shows and carry 4 boxes of stuff, this might be for you...

ok, i have to water my garden, feed the cat, make a few more things and shower..
oh! and get ready for this thing too..
yipes!

this is how it goes

when i get tired, i lose things.

Friday was the epic losing of the keys (12 hour search)
Sunday night/monday/tuesday/now I have lost my cell phone.

i am due for an upgrade anyway i think...i've had that phone for a little over 2 years. i love that phone 'tho.

Have you seen me?

Astro-NOT on myspace

My brother's girlfriend brilliantly said "you should make a myspace page for each baddie!"
So I totally am.
here's astro-NOT
http://www.myspace.com/astronot9

be his friend, won't you?

on deck

I'll be at
here on June 19th. It looks pretty slick and I'm afraid I'm going to be out of place with my messy little felt dolls. But who knows...

I had a second interview yesterday with a store that sells paper and Gocco supplies. And it's lovely. And the people who work there are lovely. But the pay is incredibly bad.

I would start at what I made 9 years ago basically, and lose 1/3 of my income which is scary.
It might be too scary to make the leap.

Here are some +/- of the situation.

+ cute store
+nice area (probably wouldn't find dead hookers, used condomns and human feces-smeared socks outside of the store. All of which have been found outside of the prop shop. Hey, both places have the initials "PS".)
+learn skills like letter press and book binding
+there would be opportunities to grow and take on to earn more money.
+hours are from 10-7
+they have air conditioning (the work room at the prop shop can get up to 103 degrees in the summer, and this winter with one heater down, it wouldn't get above 54 degrees)
+probably wouldn't be as tired when i got home.

-if i chose to bus, then metro, then bus it would take about an hour and 20 minutes. which means if i work until 7, i won't be home until 8:30 and having dinner at 9
-i would absolutely have to take on at least one more part time job, and i wanted to get out of the job i have now so i can work more on my own art stuff. and i'm not going to sew on the bus. i'm sorry, but i'm just not.
- no sick days. limited health insurance (no vision...which i don't need, but i do enjoy a good sick day every now and again)
-i am by myself. i have no one to fall back on if i get behind in bills which i am barely making right now i would be completely screwed.

which i think maybe sums up what i need to do.
there's no way i can cut $10,000 out of my yearly pay and still live. there's just no way.
I would never see my friends, I'd be constantly worried about money that I would do nothing but work 24-7. Is that the kind of life I want?

But do I want to work in a 100 degree work room in the summer....

oh lord, help?

ceiling ian

am i the only person that when i see this:
thinks of this: