Me at Brooklyn Zine Fest

photo by Suzan Choy

BCGF!!!

 

I'll be at Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Fest this weekend in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY! BCGF marks my last show of 2012, and I've already started planning my next year, so stay tuned for that news. 

 

Find me downstairs where I'll have on my table the last batch of Nature Nurture zines plus a bunch of prints. I'm at table D20, next to Nobrow Press table. This is one of the more highly anticipated festivals of the year and I'm so excited!!

APE next weekend!

APE is next weekend! If you're in the Bay Area don't miss this. I'm tabling with my buddy Jon Vermilyea and I'll have fresh copies of Nature Nurture, available in 2 color covers:

And only a handful of copies of my other screen printed books:

And a bunch of festival exclusive prints. It's gonna be an awesome weekend! Don't miss out. :)

SPX + new zine!

It's been a while since my last update but I've been busy working on my new fully silkscreened zine and I'll have copies available for SPX this weekend!
Here are some photos of the screen printing I've been doing over the past couple weeks:

 I went in to print shop right when it opened for the school year and it was real nice because nobody was there. 

 Some mushroom prints on the rack.

 Part of my inspiration for determining the palette of the illustrations is the growing popularity of risograph printing. I purposely limited myself to 2 colors for a lot of the book because of it and I'm really happy with the results.

 Bone folding paper. Also, the zine comes in 2 different color covers!

 One of the last steps after stapling, putting it through the guillotine. (the weird looking water bottle is filled with coffee in case anyone is curious....)

Finally, Small Press Expo, here I come! This will be may first time exhibiting at SPX. I've attended previous years and it's loads of fun. I'll be tabling with my friend, the very lovely and incredibly talented Jess Ruliffson, find us at table D12. I also booked a hotel room which will be jam packed with old and new friends. Like every year, SPX will make hanging out in Bethesda a crazy good time like no other. So stoked!!

Waking up in a Tutti Frutti Hat

I have a couple of pieces in a show at Alternative Cafe! The show is called "Waking Up in a Tutti Frutti Hat", curated by my friend/studio mate Aya Kakeda. The show will feature a bunch of illustrators/cartoonists/artists that also make books, along with the artwork on the wall they will also carry books by all the artists!

These are the new prints I made for the show. The print with the rooftop scene is the most detailed screen print I've attempted so far, and it wasn't easy! (printing the line) Even in the humid weather.     

The gallery will have copies of "hot + cold" and "Find my Light" The opening reception will take place Friday, July 13th at 7PM. Check out the Facebook event page. The show will remain on display throughout July and beginning of August.

Here are some process photos from the print shop.

 After printing blue, pink and yellow.

 Preparing 2 colors for gradient effect.

 After printing transparent gradient.

 Test scraps.

 "Follow Me" print.

 Printing line.

"Rooftop" on the racks.

CAKE in Chicago!

I'm heading to Chicago next weekend for CAKE fest! I'll have all my latest books and prints, find me at table #53. It will be my second time visiting Chicago and I'm really excited. I'll be participating in a panel discussion on Saturday about silk screened comics! The panel is called "Low Brow, High Mesh".  We will discuss the screen printing process and talk about how the practice can inform our narrative/art. Be sure to check out all of the panels going on over the weekend, there are so many great ones. CAKE is going to be awesome!!
Also, I am moving into a shared studio work space in Greenpoint this weekend! This way I'll spend a lot less time being holed up in my room. More on that later.

Travelogue #2: Toronto

I had a blast in Toronto! I had just a day and a half between going from Portland to Toronto after a red eye flight back to NY (!) but it wasn't so bad, I think the jet lag worked in my favor. Anyway, here are some photos from the trip-

I took the 12 hour bus with my pal Megan, getting through customs this time around went by quicker and felt less nerve wrecking than what I'd experienced in the past. When we got there we were greeted by our Toronto friends, Irme and Taylor. The next day we went to the Toronto Zoo where we got to see a lot of animals up close. It was awesome!

The gay penguins were there! We also got to see the new baby lion cubs, Simba and Nala (jk!) But in all seriousness, they were adorable and definitely up there among the favorite animals we saw there. The polar bears were also addictive to watch, there were 2 giant ones and a cub. Both the big bears started wrestling in the water at the end of the day and I couldn't keep my eyes away!

The day after that, we took a road trip to Niagara Falls while stopping at a couple of wineries along the way. There was one winery that was a unanimous favorite of ours which is Konzelmann Estate. I really enjoyed some of their barrel aged oaky reds and they had a late harvest dessert wine, "Vidal" that I found surprisingly great. (I'm not usually into dessert/ice wine, but this one is just right- not too sweet)

Here we are observing the rainbows at the falls! It was quite a majestic moment. The negative ions in the air made our hairs fly up.

Spent Sunday at TCAF where I got to say hi to a bunch of cartoonists, some I've been continuously encountering from going through the same festival circuit which is always nice. Afterwards, Megan and I decided it would be good for us to eat a wholesome Vietnamese dinner. This is when I had Bun Bo Gio Hue for the first time (beef and pig knuckle noodle soup!) and it was amazing. Later on, after several drinks we went out to search for poutine at midnight and Pizza Pizza was the only thing open, so we thought "What the hey! might as well indulge". The next day, we got real poutine from Smoke's Poutinerie, the double pork (bacon + pulled pork) Yesssssssssss!

On our last day, after sharing a modest box of Smoke's fine poutine for lunch, (of which we couldn't even finish and I kept in my bag only to discover it again back in the States) we had a decadent last meal before hopping onto the bus ride home. We picked up a bunch of live lobsters and steak from this awesome Asian supermarket, T & T. Megan and I stocked up on pickle dill potato chips and ketchup potato chips because we felt our friends back home need to try these things! They also had dessert tofu which comes in a variety of sweet and fruity flavors, of course we had to try the maple caramel flavor. It was so good! All in all a very memorable trip. :)

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!

"Ghost Show" at Pony Club

I recently made some new prints for this show! "Ghost Show" at Pony Club Gallery in Portland. It opens April 5th (tomorrow!) so if you're in PDX area, you don't want to miss this. I got to meet some of the Pony Club folks when I visited Portland for the first time last year and they are total sweethearts! I'm heading to PDX again for Stumptown this year (more details about that soon) and I am definitely gonna stop by the gallery once I'm there later this month.

Here are some snapshots of the ghost prints on the rack:

my second time printing gradient!

4 step color process for "Boo"

APE and San Francisco Recap

San Francisco was beautiful as always! The weather was perfect this time around. APE was so much fun this year, I thought it was my 4th consecutive year but Jon Vermilyea told me it's my 5th?? I am completely losing track. APE is always awesome and I don't think I will ever stop exhibiting. Here is my recap of the trip, photo diary style:

I had the pleasure of hosting two lovely young ladies this time around. Pictured here are my friends Jess and Diana on top of a hill.

We got tacos at one of my all time favorite Mexican places, El Metate in Potrero/Mission area.

Here is Jon and Hilary playing some pinball at the Lasp Gasp warehouse.

Jess and Diana help me set up my table!

Post-APE dim sum with my ladies!

I did really well at APE! I sold out every advanced copy I brought of my new "don't follow me." I will have more copies available next weekend at Whitney Museum's very own Zine Day(!) as well as Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Fest coming up in December in Brooklyn, NY.

New book for APE "don't follow me"

Here are some quick photos of what I've been caught up with making during the past week.





About to catch my flight to LA shortly, and spending this weekend in SF! I will have advanced copies of "don't follow me" available at APE this weekend (fresh off the racks), along with the debut of "hot+cold". I will also have new prints available at my table, if you're in the Bay Area be sure to stop by!

October Events

Plenty of things going on in October! The show I was in at Alternative Cafe in Monterey is traveling to My Plastic Heart gallery in the Lower East Side in Manhattan! The show opens September 30th and runs throughout October.

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the opening reception because I will be in San Francisco exhibiting at Alternative Press Expo the weekend of October 1st and 2nd. It's going to be a great time as usual! I'm always excited whenever I visit my hometown, beautiful San Francisco. I have a different table placement this year, find me at table #540.

I'm also participating in a zine day at the Whitney Museum organized by Desert Island, which takes place October 15 Saturday afternoon. It's a kid friendly event and all the artists will have a special made print available for attendees to collect into a book. Not to be missed!