Invincible Summer

by NJG

Friday, December 30, 2011

The Hairy Maiden, dog photos, Crafty Wonderland photos

Tonight I used the Shark Steam Cleaner I got for my birthday (ahem, check your calendar for that one) at the art studio and let me tell you, it was gleaming after a steaming. I've been there for almost one year, and I'll level with you that though I have swept, I have NEVER mopped the studio.
So now it's clean, and I sat down to use some watercolors, which are apparently my new thing.
I made this Hairy Maiden for my friends at Dovetail Bakery:

Let's see what they think. Here is a plain version for us:

I'll try to have prints of this soon, in case you'd like a
Ms. Hirsute U.S.A. 1922 of your own.


Here is a close-up of my Crafty Wonderland booth. The doilies were a hot ticket item this year.


This is on the last minute of the last day, after a week of working with wild abandon which culminated in fourteen hours of selling. I am wearing an orthopedic mitt.


And lastly, these two jokers who come to work with me, glad to have a nice clean studio floor upon which to set their dog bed.

Good Night!

xoxo
n.g.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Pet Portrait- Chucho in black & white


Here is a bonus drawing of Chucho the dog as the Virgin Mary.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Party Birds! Crafty Wonderland Photos!

THIS was my favorite acquisition from Crafty Wonderland this year. A Party Bird! For only $5!


I recommend you check out this woman's Etsy shop , called Magpie Ethel, and get your own Christmas crafts to cheer up your life year-round.

And thank you to this very lovely lady, The Paper Mama, for posting photos & bits from Crafty Wonderland on her blog. I think she loved the party birds as much as I did.


I made ten pounds of garlic roasted brussel sprouts with "Jeb" yesterday, which was a very athletic activity. A lot of pan carrying, stirring, oven opening and closing, chopping, etc.
In the process, we ate too many brussel sprouts, which I did not know could happen to a person.

Also, do you ever play Pictionary? I LOVE IT. I make up my own words.

Hardest words from holiday Pictionary (meaning ones that we couldn't guess):
Inspiration (try drawing THAT!),
Irritable Bowl Syndrome (drawing included an angry person, & steaming pile of you know what) ,
and
Sesquicentennial (drawing included a sasquatch and a calendar, with lots of arrows).

I would like to nominate Chelsey Johnson for quite possibly the BEST Pictionary achievement, this being getting her team to guess the word(s) "Cultural Appropriation".
She drew a dude with a moustache & a flannel shirt.
Then drew Oregon, with a star on Portland.
This got her team to eventually yell "Hipster!" ,
THEN she drew a Native American headdress on him, and at the last
minute as the clock wound down, someone yelled "CULTURAL APPROPRIATION!!!!!!!!!!" .
It was a magnificent day for Pictionary players everywhere.



I hope you are relaxing this holiday Monday.
What did you eat? Did you get anything good?

xoxo
n.g.

Pet Portrait- Chucho as the Virgin of Guadalupe

This was a Merry Merry Xmas present commissioned for the owner of Chucho by a dear friend of theirs.


Those are little pine cones and sticks floating around, btw.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!



And Merrrrrry Christmas from the B-52s!

Bad Roommate Zine UPDATE

Dear Bad Roommate Zine contributors & wonderers,

The Bad Roommate Zine did not come out in August as planned, but it will come out!

The old plan (to have it debut in August) got waylayed by a new round of To-Dos for my graphic novel, and the sad passing of a friend.

I apologize, and have now enlisted Zinester Provocateur & Co-editor of Tell It Like It Tiz, Marc Parker , to help me put together & get it out there.

The new plan is to debut the zine at the Chicago Zine Fest in March!

Take care!

xoxo
n.g.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Post Cards, Photo, etc etc

I'm the second shortest person in this picture.


Hello!
I can't WAIT for the Xmas season to be over so I can show you what I've been working on. Notably, a pet portrait and a holiday card.
But of course, these items must reach their intended recipients with the element of surprise intact, so until then, I just tell you that I cannot wait.

In other news, I'm working on the cover to my book as soon as the last pet portrait has cleared my desk.

What else- OH! Ooh La la! I believe I am going to TCAF this year!
I will tell you more about this later.

ALSO, I made some postcards. I think they are nice. There is a giant sort of disclaimer I included in the Etsy listing for them, because I find that random online shoppers (not you... ?) are a little less scruffy and/or forgiving than myself, and so I have a constant low-grade anxiety about letting them down.
Is this true? Who knows. But I've had someone fall out of their chair when the (gocco printed) greeting card they purchased from me arrived and was on a thinner stock than they'd expected.
So now, I either never list greeting cards or I do with a giant disclaimer.
If you're ever interested in a greeting card, let me know and we can talk.
But in the meantime, the postcards are nice! They are cute! I'd like them in my stocking if I didn't already have a box of them downstairs.


Here are the images from the postcards.




Here is a hand drawn bday card I included in a package for a customer.
I care! I'm scruffy, but I care.

Here are places you can get your last minute Invincible Summer calendar:

FROM ME, OF COURSE

LONDON:
Magma Books

EUREKA, CA:
Mae Henry

PORTLAND:
Food Fight Vegan Grocery
Land
Alberta Grocery CoOp
Crafty Wonderland Shop
Reading Frenzy
Powells City of Books (in the small press section)
Zim Zim

ONLINE:
Little Otsu
Buy Olympia

Thank you and good night.

xoxo
n.g.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Giraffe Doilies, Chicago Zine Fest & Wishbone's Cover Letter

Hello!
Okay, I've officially purchased my tickets and will be traveling to Chicago for the Chicago Zine Fest this March!


In other news, Wishbone is looking for a job. Here's the cover letter for her resume:


Just kidding. She can't work. She's not old enough.
BUT , this is the laminated page that came with her when I got her from a rescue 3 years ago. It was like a little advertisement for her in their binder full of wayward dogs.

And lastly, here are two new doilies. Giraffes for you.


And of course they are for sale. The ones above are $40, the ones below are $60. The doilies are 12"x12" across. Very large! Suitable for framing. Original drawings!


They're chilling out on Etsy right now.

xoxoxo
n.g.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

THANK YOU

Thank you to everyone who came by my booth at Crafty Wonderland and said hello. ESPECIALLY if you bought something. Of Course.


Now...... HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I still have some postcard packs left from the craft show for your purchasing pleasure. They are on my etsy page.

xoxoxoxo
n.g.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Crafty Wonderland Deals TOMORROW!



Good Evening.

I'll be at Crafty Wonderland all day tomorrow (Dec. 10 {also Dec 11}) .
It is free & at the Convention Center, Portlanders.

It is also my BIRTHDAY.

If you come to my table at Crafty Wonderland tomorrow and say
"Happy Birthday, Please Give Me A free Postcard",
I will give you a free postcard.

(This is not the postcard)


Here are a couple of other deals that will be happening tomorrow:
-3 calendars for $30
-Free set of postcards with any purchase of $10 or more
- Advice for $2
- NEW Hand Drawn One-Of-A-Kind Doilies for $20 (or $25, I'm not sure) ,
and new GIANT (12 inches around) hand drawn doilies for $40

Soooo......

See you at Crafty Wonderland!
My booth is #105, f.y.i.


n.g.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Tattoos! The Book! Senior Citizens! A Mouse Band! & More

1. WATCH OUR AMAZING RACE TAPE.

Help us! I don't know how, but I think that watching it is a good first step.

2. Here is a photo from Lukas in Hamberg, Germany, who got a tattoo of the cone-collared cat from the 2012 Invincible Summer Calendar. Thanks for the photo, Lukas!
He & I agree that getting tattoos on her inner arm feels both disgusting and painful (disgusting being my word, as it kind of rattles your veins and yours truly has one big ole vein-phobia over here).



3. Next on the agenda, here is something that may or may not have happened to me today, in which someone revealed they'd been farting on me while I sat behind them.
I drew this comic in only five short minutes, but I just had to tell you about it.
Click to make larger.





I think that is all.
oh....

4. Cue the horns, mice:


I TURNED IN MY BOOK! (Again).
Again!
But for real this time! Like for real for real.
Woo Hoo!

And....

5.


Here is a pregnant butch comic by A.K. Summers , which is just great.

Okay that's it for real.
Have a nice weekend.
n.g.


P.s. My birthday is coming up. Here are some ideas for what to get me. It's a real shot in the dark/weird thing to steer strangers towards gifts, but YOU NEVER KNOW. Stranger things have happened.

If you are not a billionaire and live in Portland, come to my booth at CRAFTY WONDERLAND on December 10th and say hello! I'll be working there all day on my 31st birthday.



P.p.s. Thanks to the Mouse Band for providing the sound track to my book being finished.
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxox