an open [sketch]book

marking our place on the map

2008-08-20T08:40:00.008-04:00

Wowee...Edgar and I are both so incredibly honored by your gracious responses to our happy news. Thank you! It feels wonderful to have so many supportive friends all over the world to share this with. As for more photos...believe me, I'll be happy to oblige once I receive them from our amazing photographer. Right now we only have snapshots. Again, thank you so much. I look forward to sharing more from the nuptials (and my sketchbook!) soon!

my best friend's wedding

2008-08-19T09:33:00.009-04:00

Ok...so I haven't been completely forthcoming with you.

Yes, I have been on vacation...but not just any vacation...a honeymoon! I married my best friend August 9 and I couldn't be happier. Really, it's not possible.

photo by addie brown

enjoy the summer

2008-08-07T16:41:00.007-04:00

While I've been on a unintended blogging vacation for the last few days, I will be on a completely intentional real life vacation for the next couple of weeks! Yay! I'm so excited! Thanks so much for checking in. I'll see you at the end of August.

a-muse-ing

2008-07-31T08:25:00.005-04:00

Rest assured that Pokey has in no way lost his muse status....he's just temporarily lending it to Reilly.

inventory

2008-07-29T08:47:00.007-04:00

3 mechanical pencils
6 felt-tip pens
3 sketchbooks (this drawing is in one of them)
1 calendar
1 bottle of vitamins
1 chartpak marker
1 pack of gum
1 pack of hairbands
1 glue stick, not to be confused with
1 tube of chapstick
1 jar of lip gloss
1 pair of sunglasses
1 map
1 wallet with too many credit cards
1 key ring with too many discount cards
7 pennies
2 quarters
1 dime
1 mirror compact
1 letter from my grandmother
1 magazine order form
1 jump drive

Sadly this was what was in my purse AFTER I cleaned it out.

On another note, one sketchbook is out of my purse and with Andrea Joseph. See my latest contribution to the Moly Exchange here.

invader of pokey's personal space

2008-07-24T07:56:00.009-04:00

Last week you got a sneak peek of our sweet new dog Reilly. You may actually remember Reilly from a post several months back. We used to petsit Reilly, but when her mom needed to move into a place that didn't accept animals we were more than happy to make her part of our family. I wish Pokey was as excited as we were by his new sister. Unfortunately, however, Reilly is a little OCD which seems to really get on Pokey's nerves. Plus, now there is competition for food. Oh my.
One of Reilly's obsessive tendencies is that she eats the food in her bowl from right to left. Unlike Pokey who just "digs in" Reilly takes her time pulling each morsel from the bowl for inspection prior to consumption. This irritates Pokey to no end.

One last thing: I found this great paper sculpture by Megan Brain via Penguin and Fish. Right now Pokey and Riley can hardly be within 3 feet of one another, let's hope this is a sign of things to come.

admittance is the first step

2008-07-23T10:47:00.006-04:00

I know I say this too much, (in fact, I feel a little like the boy who cried wolf) but I apologize for being so spotty with my posts this summer. I have something big coming up in a few weeks (i'll let you know more later :) that's been consuming a lot of my free time, not to mention a sad new obsession with this site. Oh, indeed, it's sad...it feels a little like crack. But, hey, if you need a new addiction, you've just gotta try this game. Yikes!

meant to be

2008-07-15T17:35:00.007-04:00

I haven't been drawing today, but Edgar has. You've got to check out his latest post titled "meet 'the sausage' and 'the mop'." You may know the sausage, but chances are you don't know the mop...yet.

brilliant blogs

2008-07-15T10:50:00.018-04:00

A big thanks to the very brilliant Christina Jonsson who presented me with a Brilliant Weblog award earlier this week! It is now my turn to share this award with others who have inspired me. Of course I have many old loves, but here are some of my new favorites!

Amy of Pikaland Abby of Style Me Pretty Diana of Please Sir Mischa of Dear Rebecca of This Chicken
Should you brilliant bloggers decide to continue awarding brilliance here are the rules to follow or break...it's up to you:

Put the logo on your blog.
Add a link to the person who awarded you.
Nominate at least 7 (or 5 or 50 :) other blogs
Add links to those blogs on yours.
Leave a message for you nominees on their blogs.

Damn, that's a lot of rules. Just have fun.

i miss drawing pickles

2008-07-13T16:33:00.010-04:00

I know the title of this post sounds as though I might have finally lost all my marbles, but it's true. I miss drawing pickles and half eaten sandwiches and all the other accoutrements that go along with lunch. I got a laptop a little less than a year ago, and since then I've have the tendency to take it to lunch with me rather than my sketchbook (wow, this sounds pathetic...occasionally I do take a friend :) Anyway, as a result, I haven't been doing nearly as much on-the-spot sketching as I used to and I miss that.

Inspired by France's recent post detailing her weekend, I decided to pull out my sketchbook and watercolors at Panera this afternoon and "detail" my lunch.

identities have been concealed

2008-07-12T16:17:00.008-04:00

I was looking through some old papers this morning and came across this illustration I created as part of an invitation to a friend's (who we'll call X) bachelorette/lingerie party a few years ago. Just the thought of rather conservation X in this rather, um, provocative ensemble makes me want to laugh out loud.

Oh...and in case you're wondering...I'm not sure what happened to X's hand. My only guess is that the fire must have gotten too hot and shriveled it up.

danger lurks just around the corner

2008-07-09T09:43:00.005-04:00

Care to take a guess at what this is?Oh, it's just the exposed innards of Edgar's cell phone charger, held together with electrical tape and plugged into a bathroom outlet. When the charger stopped working a few months ago, Edgar refused to give up on it and buy another. No, instead he decided to fix it this way. Arg. Well, that's all I have to say about that.

would you like some dirty socks with that salad?

2008-07-08T15:38:00.006-04:00

How does that old saying go..."renters can't be choosers?"
This must be the case as I really, REALLY, REALLY dislike my kitchen. There are multiple reasons for this, not the least of which is bad fluorescent lighting that makes everything look green, a linoleum floor that is impossible to keep clean and rusty metal cabinets (yep, that's right...time for an update). But, the thing that grates on my nerves the most is that this is where the washer and dryer hookups are conveniently place. Tada! How convenient! My disdain is compounded by the fact that laundry is my least favorite chore (and, apparently, Edgar's as well :).

That is why, well, my kitchen looks like this today. The only thing that could make it worse is if this was the situation on the other side.

delineating space

2008-07-02T15:27:00.008-04:00

I'm getting to practice what I preach...uh, make that "teach"...this summer via several architectural illustration assignments. I enjoy this type of work as it reminds me of the areas I need to pay special attention to when helping students learn to draw interior environments from imagination.

This sketch will be used to illustrate the vision for Lexington Home Brands' new Las Vegas showroom. I really enjoyed this project as I was given a wealth of information about the details of the space. This makes the process of getting the designers' ideas down on paper much, much easier.

moleskine heaven

2008-07-01T19:14:00.006-04:00

I've got some EXTREMELY talented friends...see more here.This art makes my day.

sharpies and sanity

2008-07-01T13:44:00.003-04:00

Wonder what a girl's gotta do to get a sponsorship from Sharpie?

lets sing a song about color

2008-06-29T19:38:00.005-04:00

After a long break, it feels great to play with watercolors again.

it's not easy being green (and forgetful)

2008-06-26T19:48:00.004-04:00

I really want to be green. The key words here are "want to be." While I have the best of intentions, my actions do not always reflect my desires. These canvas bags are a prime example.Kermit the Frog really knew what he was talking about.

i've got the blues...shoes, that is

2008-06-25T14:12:00.007-04:00

I don't know if you've ever shopped for blue shoes before, but....well...it's difficult. I had to take a whole week off from blogging just to find the right pair :)

birthday by chocolate

2008-06-16T13:54:00.006-04:00

Patrick surprised me at school this morning with cupcakes. Yum. What a friend! Too bad, you're not here, or I'd share them with you. Instead you'll have to rely on my drawing...please don't lick the computer screen.

The taste of these cupcakes transported me back in time. Where, however, I'm not sure...I just know that's I've tasted the very same combination of ingredients before.

bathing suits and boots

2008-06-15T22:14:00.007-04:00

Do you ever create those posts that you are nearly certain you will regret in the morning? (If your answer to this question is no, perhaps now is a good time to take a look at this article from The New York Times Magazine). Heck, I'm already regretting this one and I have yet to even post it! Oh well, it's healthy to poke fun at oneself ever now and again, right?
This sketch represents a collaborative effort between Edgar and me. It all started innocently enough on a paper tablecloth at dinner while envisioning going for a swim in the country. The rest, well...the rest is history.

no more cubicle!

2008-06-12T11:08:00.005-04:00

I really enjoyed drawing my living room earlier this week, so I decided to start the day off my sketching my new office at school. I'm lucky to have a nice, tall space with plenty of natural light and an extremely big work surface. My desk is around 10 feet long! There is also a wall of pin-up space, which will be terrific place for layers of inspiration to start piling up.

go ahead, put your feet up!

2008-06-09T20:39:00.007-04:00

Welcome to my house. Please make yourself at home and stay as long as you like. Please let me know if you need anything.

In the past few years Edgar and I have splurged on few mid-century furniture pieces (yum!) for the house (still waiting on a couch, by the way). It is something we both love and appreciate. This gets me to wondering what is it that you splurge on? Is there something that gives you such delight that you can look past its price and buy it? Also, if money was suddenly no option, what would be your first purchase?

psychedelic moleskine

2008-06-08T08:41:00.006-04:00

Have you ever seen a leaf in the road and thought that it was a turtle?

As promised, images are up of the latest moleskine entry by Miguel Herranz. Check them out here!

mail art

2008-06-07T12:40:00.012-04:00

I've had two exciting things arrive in my mailbox this week...and by exciting, I don't simply mean mail other than bills, I mean pieces of art!

On Thursday I received this beautiful print from my friend Marilia Cardosa in Portugal. If you aren't familiar with Marilia's work, you've got to check out the blog she and her husband share as their work is so vivid and fun. And, lucky for all of us, Marilia recently opened up an online shop! Yea!

Thank you so much Marilia! I'll be sure to post another image of your work as soon as I get it framed and on the wall! Now to find the perfect place...

Also this week, I received Juj's Moleskine via Miguel Herranz...but you'll need to stay tuned for that. Please check back in later this weekend both here and at Moly_x_12 to see images of the sketchbook.

Just heard the mailman at the door...gotta go :)