Cat Luchador production #3- Day before TCAF.

 The day before we had to leave for TCAF, printing did not start til after 6PM...

 3 hours later, everything is finally printed.

 Luckily we had 7 sets of hands to help put together the books!

 Lots of paper, lots of beer.

"El Gato Del La Muerta" Issue #1! We were done and I was out of the studio by 11PM. We left NY for Toronto the next morning. We did pretty well at TCAF and Toronto was a blast! Check out some of the photos of our trip from my tumblr.

Magic Show + Post-it Show at Giant Robot

Hey all!

Two things coming up. I have a piece in "Magic Show" which opens this Friday at LaunchPad in Brooklyn, NY! The opening reception is also a fundraising effort to benefit the space, so if you're in Brooklyn, come out for some home brewed beer and visual performances, including a magic show! Tickets are sliding scale and can be purchased here.

It's that time of the year again! If you are in LA, this is your chance to buy affordable post-it art from your favorite cartoonist/illustrator/artist. Over 200 people participating in this year's Post-it Show 8 at Giant Robot! If I was there I would totally go but I won't be in LA until February, stay tuned for those details in a future post!

some post-its!

more post-its!

New studio!

I just moved into a shared studio space in Greenpoint! We are dubbed Tinderbox Studio and I share the space with 5 other very talented people, some of them I had the pleasure of hanging out with in Portland back in April.

My desk, all moved in! I didn't have any chairs at first but the wicker chair we found while wandering around in Greenpoint and Chris was trying to get rid of the office chair but now I'm using it. :)

 Pretty big space.

 Aya and Chris working in the studio.

 Started to decorate my desk a little. Some separation work.

 The move to the studio wouldn't have gone as smoothly and quickly without the help of some friends, Megan provided a rental car and driving skills combined with Ian's ability for lifting heavy things. We went out for Polish food after the move.

Extravagant meal! The "Hungarian pancake" (that crepe looking thing) is waaaaaay more ridiculously bigger than how it looks in this photo. The pork shoulder cooked in honey was also amazing!

Got some happy hour beer after moving and devouring Polish food. So happy to have a studio space to go to and work, I'm predicting it will be a very productive summer. :) I've got the Fall season festivals to think about, after all. Get ready for new things!

Travelogue #1: Portland!

I had an amazing time in Portland! Here are some photos highlighting the trip:

 I traveled with Aya and Sara and had the best time! We had our first breakfast at Gravy, a favorite of mine since my first Portland trip. The roads were covered in cherry blossoms, it was gorgeous that weekend.

 We got together with Aya's studio mates/friends (Rabid Rabbit crew) and took a trip up the mountains to Timberline lodge, the lodge that appears in "The Shining"! It snows 11 months out of the year and we got to play in the snow and have a snowball fight in April. :)

 We then went to Edgefield where we hung out in front of the Little Red Shed (turns out to be a liquor shed/bar!) After warming back up in front of the fire pit, we got happy hour beer and tots and watched a $3 movie at McMenamins Theater.

To start Stumptown weekend off, we went to another favorite of mine for breakfast- Pine State Biscuits! Saturday started off a little slow at the festival but on Sunday it got a lot busier (to my surprise.) We also spotted the most adorable dog outside a vintage clothing shop right by our hotel! :))))

A trip to Portland isn't without a trip to Voodoo doughnuts! Anyone who knows me knows I'm not really a sweets person but I was curious about the Bacon Maple doughnut (from watching Anthony Bordain devour one on No Reservations) We ended up giving in to Rogue's Bacon Maple Ale to go with the doughnut, it was worth it!

We went to the after party at Pony Club gallery on Sunday night where we were able to catch the Ghost Show before it went down. The next day, I got to hang out with Kinoko! We had delicious vegetarian at Paradox Cafe and she gave me a tour of her school, PNCA. Afterwards I had really yummy warm cocktails at Tea Zone with the incredibly talented Angie Wang. It was the perfect last day before catching my evening flight home before heading to Toronto. Coming up- Travelogue #2: Toronto!

Recap: TCAF and Toronto!

my table at TCAF!

I had an amazing time in Toronto!! I met sooooo many new people, ate so much amazing food and experienced some new beers. Toronto is definitely a place I want to revisit again and again. :)
TCAF was an incredible time. It reminded me of Brooklyn Comic Fest a bit, except larger scale. The free admission definitely makes a huge difference. This festival had a diverse and friendly crowd without being overwhelming the way Brooklyn Fest was. My tote bags did surprisingly well, I'm used to only selling maybe a few, but I actually ran out of all the Lemon + Lime totes that I brought, I even had a few people asking for them after they ran out! :O
My comics and silkscreen books also did really well. I found TCAF a more enjoyable festival than Stumptown, but this is my first time exhibiting both events that have evolved so much over the decade. I would love to do both festivals again if I get the chance!

Having tex-mex brunch at Sneaky Dee's! With Irme, Taylor and their friends Agatha and Laura (pictured below)

The Dunking Donuts of Toronto, or as they call it, "Timmies" This was Deo's dream come true.

Exploring the Distillery District where we had a sake tasting, some artisanal gelato, and a cheese sampling at a place that imports from Quebec! Plus we strolled around with the cutest dog in the world, Murray!

Embarking onto Kensington Market! Where we had family style tacos at "El Trompo"

Post-TCAF karaoke-ing! Pictured here are Hellen Jo, Calvin Wong, Ryan Sands, and Jen Wang.

This is the infamous Canadian dish called Poutine, consisting of french fries slathered with gravy and topped with cheese curds!! This is the classic. Next time I visit I want to try poutine with pulled pork on top...or bacon....! The accompanying drink is called a Ceaser, which is Canada's bloody mary, except it's spicier and more savory, the extra ingredient is clam juice! yumm yum!

Photos above (basically all the good looking ones) taken by my close friend Deo, he is the best traveling companion!

APE 2009

here i am placing postcards on the Tong/Vermilyea table!

I can't seem to get enough of San Francisco! Being there for APE made it my fourth time visiting this year and it's never short of a crazy good time. The weather was near perfect, different from last year when it rained and I was worried about not having plastic bags for the posters I sold.

The party at Lasp Gasp which kicked off the weekend was so good... it's a good feeling being surrounded by millions and billions of books while enjoying beverage in one hand and fancy h'our dourves in the other. (Or as Eliza and I put it, a cartoonist's wet dream) Seriously, endless platters of smoked salmon (!!) lots of cheeses and fruits, spicy curried chicken... bbq pork sliders. yummm

Jon and I did very well at our table! It was fun getting to meet and hang out with some folks who made it out. Got to know and chat with Helen Parson, she is super sweet and I hope to run into her much more. Chatted with Cat who is super cool. She was doing a residency in Oakland and has now returned to NY! My new book did really well, I brought just a handful and made it out with 1 copy left. :) We went to a party at Ryan's place and got to check out his rooftop with an amazing view of the city!



We did plenty of touristy things of course :) Jon and I sure are speedy walkers! We walked pretty much everywhere, all the parks, saw the full house houses. Japantown (checked out the New People store) Did the Golden Gate bridge and Haight st. Ate lots of amazing burritos.

The photo above is of Jon in the distance and one of my all time closest friends, Angie, at the sutra baths at Ocean Beach. We explored some caves and ended the evening at the Beach Chalet. We got there when they had an amazing happy hour of 2 dollar pints and oysters! They brew all of their own beers, my favorite was definitely the Fleishhacker stout. :)

My new book "rainbow & i" is now available to view on my site! Be sure to check it out. :)