Alison Stump's Sketch Blog

Triple Creek Brew

2011-11-06T21:48:00.001-06:00

Some of you may know, my father is a very talented amateur beer brewer. He has an imperial stout and an irish red ale that are particularly stupendous. For his birthday I designed the first of what I hope to be a series of initial label designs for his brand. The wolf stands for Grey Wolf Stout and Triple Creek is representative of the area of Beaverton in which we reside.

Botany

2011-04-14T03:54:00.003-05:00

Over a year ago I asked my friends on Facebook to name their favorite flowers and I would create an art piece from their inspiration. The scratchboard and watercolor piece I created just a few weeks later is one of my favorite finished works I've ever done. The problem was that that Christmas I ended up giving it to my parents as a gift before I had had the opportunity to document it.

Well, finally I have taken it off their wall and got it photographed. I apologize for the quality. I'll try to find a larger scanner soon to get a copy that doesn't have the glare. But here it is.

You can also see the original planning sketch here.

Demon Hunter Scratchboard

2011-04-11T03:56:00.001-05:00

For my first update in months I thought I might share some little side projects I've been working on. Scratchboard

Barcelona Day 1 and 2

2010-07-27T00:00:00.001-05:00

Barcelona was not as impressive overall as I had hoped. There were a few notable events, namely Spain winning the world cup for which I will dedicate a whole post, but overall it was touristy and boring.

Upon arrival I found my couch surfing host and settled in. I was so exhausted from my bus trip I slept pretty much the whole day. In the evening I met my two fellow couch surfers, two lovely sisters from France. We made dinner together and talked about our travels. In the late evening we went out for a few beers at a local bar and played fosball but by 11pm, early by Barcelona standards we were all exhausted and crashed out.

The next day I headed out on my own. I found the Picasso museum and wandered the shops of las ramblas.

The Picasso museum was memorable for me, it showed not just Picasso's more famous works but also a large collection of the work from his early teens and the sketches he did while he was in school including a work book that he had sketched all over. It reminded me a little of some of Sean's sketchbooks. What I saw was more of the real person who was Picasso, I saw his uncertainties in early work, mistakes and lines that weren't quite right. It made me think about how critical I am of my own work. I have expectations of where I think I should be without having committed the years and years and years of bad drawing that I still need to finish. It helped me relax a lot and afterwards I found myself inspired to fill pages and pages and fill my first sketchbook so I was forced to go searching for an art store in Barcelona a few days later.

After the museum I found a little bar off of Las Ramblas called the Travel Bar which catered specifically to backpackers. There was free wifi and a ton of other travelers where you could just sit down with a beer and talk about your various journeys. While I was sitting at the bar a rather cute 20-something guy walked up to the bar and asked the bartender if she knew how to solve a computer problem he was having. She said she had no idea.
I was only half paying attention to their conversation as I was trying to solve my problem of having no couch to sleep on and no hostel to stay at when I arrived in Paris but I understood his problem with his camera and fixed it for him. He was very thankful and asked me if he could buy me a beer.

I was only partially paying attention to him and had gone back to what I was doing so I just shrugged and said, 'no, I'm good'.

He looked confused for a second then asked, "Are you sure, I would LOVE to buy you a beer."

I said no again.

It was only after he wandered away looking a bit defeated that I realized he had been trying to flirt with me. Oh well.

I finished up my work at the Travel Bar, having sent out numerous emails asking for a place to stay and went back to my hosts house to meet up with the French backpackers to get ready for the World Cup game.

The World Cup

2010-07-26T18:17:00.001-05:00

So the World Cup was cool. I heard Spain won. Go Spain :P

Gibralter

2010-07-26T17:54:00.001-05:00

Hey Look! I'm still alive and well. Sorry all, I'll try to get up to date as soon as possible.

At 6am I woke up with my hosts and shoved everything in my backpack and then slept the one hour car ride down to Gibralter.

Gibralter is a little tiny sorta country on the tip of Spain. What ammounts to one of England's few remaining colonies. You have to flash your passport as you drive past the border and the only way from Spain to Gibralter is to cross the Gibralter airline runway which begins and ends in the ocean. I watched a plane take off and land while traffic waited meters away behind a flimsy wooden gate. It was amazing but I am quite positive that eventually the precentages of the universe are going to make that airport go very very wrong.

Because Gibralter is British territory, despite being surrounded on one side by ocean and further along, Morocco and on the other three sides by Spain, they speak only English and use the British Pound for currency.

The city is small. I started at one of the furthest most points at the hotel that Gina and Mario worked at. I had coffee in the lounge as the sun rose over the ocean. I don't remember much about the first hour or so, its been a long time since I've woken up that early and I remmeber more of a fuzzy contented sleepy blearry buzz until the caffine started working.

Upon awakening enough energy to move I left my backpack in the hotel baggage room and started walking into downtown. I found out later there was a nice bus system around the town but so early in the morning I didn't mind the fourty-five minute walk into the city center where I had a more complete breakfast and some more coffee than another thirty minute walk to the trolly station that took people up to the top of the Rock of Gibralter.

The Rock of Gibralter is the only big tourist attraction. Legand has it that it was placed where it is by Herculese durring his trials. It rises out of the ground so tall that it shades the entire east side of the peninsula by five or six in the evening. Leaving hopeful sunbathers quite in the dark.

At the top of the rock are troops of wild monkeys. Many tourists visit the rock to see the 'adorable monkeys' in the hour I was at the top of the rock nothing I saw about these creatures could be deemed adorable.

One woman had her makup bag stolen and ripped to pieces, one woman was bitten and I had a money walk right up to my leg and try to grab my bag out of my hand. I am no ashamed to say I hissed at the little bugger and kicked at him. These monkeys are very wild animals but they have absolutely no fear of people at all. They are fed daily in an attempt to keep them at the top of the rock and to discourage them from wandering down into the city but it is still not uncommon to hear about small troops of them down in the city.

For me though, by 11:00 am I was quite finished with Gibralter and ready to head out.

I took a 30 minute bus back to Algeciras where I had originally arrived in Spain and then booked my bus all the way to Barcelona... a full eighteen hour bus trip from 18:30 - 12:30 the following day.

Random note, I don't know if I've mentioned this but they use twentyfour hour clocks everywhere in Europe. It takes some getting used to but after that it makes telling time much clearer.

Estapona

2010-07-19T13:29:00.001-05:00

I arrived in Estapona at 9:45pm and my couchsurfing hosts Gina and Mario picked me up at the bus station.

In arranging my stay I had assumed that Mario was a boys name and had never paid attention if details otherwise had been mentioned so I was quite pleasantly surprised to find myself picked up by a very lovely lesbian couple. They were from Switzerland and Ireland I believe and very kind. We went back to their house, in a smaller town about 20 minutes outside of Estapona and enjoyed some wine and sweets before heading to bed.

In the morning Mario had left for work in Gibralter but Gina and I woke up late and enjoyed breakfast on the terrace. We went to the beach together and spent a very lazy day out on the sand soaking up the sun, reading and wading in the surf.

In the evening we went to the grocery store and I picked out the ingredients to make Indian curry from scratch. In my messages to Gina on Couch Surfing I had offered to make curry partially as a bribe in an effort to ensure I had a place to stay. It really only occurred to me when we arrived at the store that it had been over two months since the last time I made curry and I did not have Internet access to check recipes.

Arriving back at their place I completely faked my way through a curry and Mario arrived home just as I was finishing. She announced that it smelled fantastic. The food did live up to its scent and I can give all the credit to Anna and Evan for the fantastic culinary education I have received over the past two years.

After dinner we walked half an hour down the beach to a lovely little bar owned by a Spanish family to watch the World Cup game, Germany vs Spain. We sat at the back quietly, none of us spoke Spanish very well and the owners only spoke enough English to know we wanted beer. To arrive as three women with obvious norther European decent it was immediately assumed that our loyalty resided with the German team and our reception was... less than welcoming. However when Spain scored the goal our ecstatic cheering was met with grins and free beer and after that the whole bar relaxed and we all partied when Spain won the game.

In the evening we returned to the house and had a delicious dessert of Granada.

The next day I struck out on my own. I spent part of the day on the beach but also found a lovely little British pub where I ate lunch. As I sipped my coffee there two older men sat down at a table near mine with the cutest and most ill behaved puppy I have ever seen. I was caught sketching the puppy and they invited me over to talk.

They were both originally from England and had retired to the Spanish coast to enjoy the sunshine. The girlfriend of the man who owned the dog arrived soon after I sat down. We talked about Estapona and Spain and a little bit about technology and we engaged in a very nice conversation, for a while.

The gentleman with the dog and his girlfriend were very nice and his friend, though possessing of a terrible sense of humor was engaging with me and we seemed to be having a good time. As we went though the gentleman with the bad sense of humor became more and more aggravating. He kept redirecting the conversation towards himself. Though the rest of us were interested in talking about the dog he kept trying to talk more and more about himself, though everything he said was quite boring. The puppy was making an absolutely adorable nuisance of himself and was trying to go sniff the butt of a nearby dog. The woman asked, "why do dogs do that?"

Assuming that the question was no rhetorical I started to answer based on my reading. Bad Joke guy then turned to me and said, "you must be very boring at parties."

I said, "excuse me?"

He proceed to mock me. Joking about encyclopedias going to parties and then asking me other questions, the first two I started to answer honestly until I realized that his only goal was more mocking and then I just sneered at him and turned to conversation with the gentleman with the puppy.

It was of course at this time Bad Joke started hitting on me and asking if I had a boyfriend and if I considered myself "High Maintenance".

I think my answer was about as perfect as possible. Looking him straight in the eye I said, "Am I high maintenance? Mentally? Yes."

The woman laughed outright as Bad Joke stared at me blankly. I then smiled and excused myself. It was getting late and my host family was starting dinner.

Back at Mario and Gina's I was served a fantastic dinner of Vegetarian Plum dumplings that Gina made. They were fantastic and exotic and almost so sweet they could be a dessert.

We laughed and talked and then they told me the most amazing story about when they had been in South America they had actually been kidnapped and taken hostage while the thieves took everything they owned and how they were rescued by a police raid. What I found the most interesting about the story were the little details about the thieves. Mario said that they had been almost kind in some ways. Putting a jacked over Mario's shoulders when she started shivering. Making sure to give them back their passports, giving them the memory card from their camera so they wouldn't lose all the pictures, and telling them how they would leave them enough money for a bus ticket. It was interesting and very human. There was even a newspaper article about it that they showed me.

That night we went to bed somewhat early as we would all have to get up by 5:30 in the morning to leave for Gibralter as both Gina and Mario had work very early.

Granada

2010-07-19T11:07:00.001-05:00

Without Julia and Gustav Granada felt far bigger and far more intimidating. I had become used to being with people who I could trust and I lost some of my confidence without them. For some time I retired to my hostel room for some time, a prisoner of my own fears.

For a while I found excuses for myself. Blog posts to write, which I obviously didn't write, friends and family to skype with, and books to read. However, after twenty four hours without human contact I decided I did need to get off my ass and go out again. Checking through my books I found mention of a small bar that was supposed to have amazing Salsa nights.

The bar turned out to be right around the corner from my hostel but it took my almost thirty minutes of walking to find because it was hidden halfway down an alley between two buildings. It was worth it.

I have never found such amazing music before. They were not playing salsa but jazz, with instruments from India. There were two women sitting on the ground playing something akin to giant guitars (Yes, Aydin I know you told me the name but I can't remember it.) There was also a man with a flute and a man on small lap drums. The music sounded like it was from India and at first I thought they were playing from memorized music but as I watched the two men watched each other and lead the melody on a merry dance. The music rose and fell and jumped and skipped and everyone had a marvelous time.

When the concert was half way through I took a break from the sweltering heat. The bar was built entirely of stone and I believe was partway underground as it had to windows and only the one door. With so many people inside it was exhausting. Outside I met the bouncer, Miguel, who was very tall and very handsome and spoke English. Our flirtation continued until I went back inside for the rest of the concert.

After the concert was over musicians began to arrive to play impromptu salsa jam sessions and locals arrived to dance. I considered going back outside to flirt some more with Miguel but on the way out I stopped at the bar for a beer and met this older English gentleman who began engaging me in a spirited discussion on politics and society. Of course given the choice between possible romance and a discussion in politics I chose the politics and so my short romance with Miguel came to a close.

This man was a musician and seemed to be a bit of a local legend. Everyone at the bar knew him and greeted him as an old friend. We talked for hours outside the bar. We covered everything from history, to politics, to Spanish culture and music. I had an absolutely fabulous time.

As the bar closed we started walking back toward my hostel. At the corner where I would turn down the street toward my hostel I was completely caught off-guard when the man asked me to come back to his hotel with him. At no point the entire night had any subject relating to sex been brought up. I sort of thought he was joking at first so I smiled as I said no. When he asked again with a, "come on" as if we had both known this was where it was going I said no again and this time I was not smiling. He accused me of leading him on and said, "this is the problem with Americans." So I stated a very firm good bye and wished him a good night. Alone.

I got into my hostel quickly and found myself very thankful for the two heavily locked doors and a long stairway between my bed and the street. I was also very very angry.

How dare that man assume that just because we engaged in a conversation I was looking for sex. It is one advantage that men seem to have over women when they travel alone. They have the freedom to engage anyone, male or female, in random conversation without the other party assuming that they are going to have sex with them. Such an ending seemed to cheapen the entire night and I found myself critiquing my every action of the night, looking for anything I might have said or done that would have "led him on".

I spent half the next day sulking before I shook it off and headed out again. I found a park and drew people and ate pasta for the first time in weeks and I bought my bus ticket to head south again for Estapona and a couch surfer's house.

Granada

2010-07-13T07:36:00.001-05:00

The next day Julia, Gustav and I walked back up the huge hills of Granada to Alhambra, the most well known sight in Granada. It is the ruins of what was the old fortress that the city of Granada was built around. Once kings, warriors, and great nobles walked the pathways of the now crumbling stone paths.
The tickets to get inside the main part of Alhambra cost 12 euro so we decided not to go deep inside but even the outskirts of the city are beautiful. From Alhambra we walked further up a hill to a grove of olive trees and past to the very top where there was an old restaurant owned by a husband and wife and nearby an old stone wall where we sat and listened to old jazz on my iPod and watched the sun set over the city.

The next day followed the same pattern. We walked back up to Alhambra, we found an open terrace on a hill filled with vine wrapped columns. I painted the city and we talked and enjoyed ourselves. Sunday and most of Monday were also filled with lazy enjoyment, laughter, and fun. We walked most of Granada those few days and I couldn't have asked for a better time.

Monday afternoon Julia and Gustav grabbed a bus for Madrid and we said our goodbyes. I miss them and I am really looking forward to visiting them in Brazil as soon as I get the chance.

Granada Day 1 + 2

2010-07-12T07:29:00.001-05:00

There is something about traveling by train that makes the whole world look new. It goes by so fast, yet you can see for miles and everything always looks fresh and green, you can almost pretend its unmarred by humanity. Sitting in our couch seats on the train on the five hour trip to Granada; Julia, Gustav and I had a blast. Our conversations ranged far and wide and we talked most of the five hours to Granada. I came to appreciate my pee-buddy once more when it came to the train toilet. Always remember when traveling through Europe to carry a spare roll of toilet paper and do whatever you have to not to touch the toilet in any way. I'm surprised I didn't get a life threatening disease.

This was the first time that my guide books came in handy. Let me explain first my travel strategy involving guide books. The common guide book is large, thick and obtrusive. I find the them annoying, cumbersome, and a blinding red target of TOURIST for thieves, crooks, and scam artists to try something as I carry it through a new city. My solution was to use an exact-o blade to cut out all the pages that related to things that I found important then rolling them all together into tubes. The resulting pages can still be easily read but I can also pull out only the four or five pages I'm interested in and read them from behind my sketchbook or in my lap. So Gustav, Julia and I unrolled my guide books for Granada and started reading through them. We found the names of several hostels and a map of the entire city along with some good recommendations for Tapa bars and clubs.

After arriving at the train station we walked with our large backpacks through the town until we found a hostel we liked for a good price, 20 euro for a single room with a personal shower. Really nice. We showered and changed clothes after our very sweaty day of walking and then hit the town for some tapas. I think we found the absolute best tapa bar in Granada, it was small but not seedy at all and had locals of all ages mixing with a few tourists. Their beers were 1,20 euro and each came with the most delicious variety of tapas I had my entire time in Granada. They were amazing and it was just around the corner from our Hostel.

I could direct you to it with a map but sadly I never learned its name.

Comfortably tipsy and laughing after our marvelous evening we fell into our beds at about 1am, early in Spanish time.

The next morning we took our time getting out of the Hostel. We slept late and woke around 11:30. Leaving our big bags behind we ran a few errands than as the city began to shut down around 1pm we began to walk north away from the city center into the steep hills guarded by a stone wall. The walk was nearly vertical and absolutely lovely. Even in the corners of the is little city you could find passion and heat. Graffiti layered the walls around us but it was beautiful, the act of true artists, not just names scrawled in spray paint.
Weaving our way through residential streets we found ourself at the very top point of Granada, a small courtyard surrounded by bushes and looking down, a steep downward drop back into the cathedrals and markets below.

We sat up there for quite some time. Breathing in the flowers and enjoying the breeze that must have come down off the cold mountain peaks covered in snow we could see in the distance, I soaked up the sun and the beauty around me. I could see my new friends talking together, close lovers and friends, this was the experience I had been hoping for when I decided to make this trip.

Later we made our way down the hill again back into the city. There was a game that evening between Brazil, the record holding world cup champions, and Netherlands. Of course, being with two people from Brazil where, I was told, people are exempt from work for football matches, we had to go to the game. We found a small pub and ordered beers to watch the match. Brazil's loss was a savage blow and so of course what choice did we have but to console ourselves in a beer and tapas.

On the town that night we met two cool guys from England. Who were quite fun to talk to for a while. I got into a long conversation with them and Gustav and Julia said they were going to head back to the hostel. I waved goodbye, intent on my conversation.

It really is these sorts of split second decisions that get me into trouble. It was only after my friends left that I realized I wasn't entirely sure where I was, I didn't remember the name of the hostel, my friends didn't have a cell phone, and was a fool.

To make a long and ultimately boring story short. I met two very nice Spanish people spoke very little English but who walked most of the way across downtown Granada with me, I met the Granada police who didn't speak a word of English, it was suggested that if all else failed I could spend the night in the Granada jail, I walked passed the hostal twice and finally found it almost two hours later laughing with my new friend at my foolishness. We waved goodbye, Gustav and Julia were asleep, it was almost 3am and I went to bed.

The low night

2010-07-09T08:22:00.002-05:00

After waving goodbye to Aydin and passing through customs into the port I found myself with time to kill. My ferry across to Spain had yet to arrive but cars were already lining up to drive onto the ship. Near the parked cars I saw a European looking woman sitting playing with her two children. With nothing to do I decided that greeting this stranger would be a great first step in the greeting of the many strangers to come.

I greeted her with 'bonjour' and was pleasantly surprised to discover she actually was French and she spoke a little English. We talked about my coming trip and her children seemed fascinated by me. They spoke to me several times in flowing sentences of French and I would answer in English and we would smile at each other. The older of her two children, a little girl, occasionally would turn to her mother to translate something to me but for the most part we just enjoyed our Babel companionship.

An hour or more later the sun had set and the ferry arrived. I met the lovely woman's husband and their friend, maybe an uncle? They were going to drive onto the ferry so I was invited to meet them inside. It seems I was the only person walking on or off of the ferry. I felt the stirrings of unease in my stomach. With no one else walking on that meant that no one else would walk off. Everyone would have a car and somewhere to go immediately. Still I took a deep, breath, hefted my backpack and walked onto the ferry.

Though separated by language my new French family adopted me for the two hours that it took to cross to Spain. We shared smiles and coffee and I folded their little boy an origami crane that he flew through the ship. Later he came over to show me his video game and collapsed against my leg as he talked, trusting and taking it for granted that I would catch him and pull him onto my lap where he stayed until we arrived in the Algeciras port. I was certainly sad to see them go when we waved goodbye but I also felt I had proven myself capable of making good friends wherever I could need them even without language and I was ready to face my next challenge.

That next challenge came quite a bit quicker than I would have hoped.

Stepping off the ferry on foot alone I found myself in a ghost of a port. There was no one there. I walked alone through the hallways and was passed through customs with barely a nod by the lone officer who did not stop talking to his friend on his cell phone as he stamped my passport and waved me through.

I knew I was supposed to have met a Couch Surfer at 9pm in Algeciras but it was far passed that time. I wanted to call her but I didn't have a cell phone that worked or Internet access to email her. It was late. Passed midnight by the time I found the ticket offices, waiting rooms, and the entrance to the port that led out to the rest of Algeciras. Everything was closed and one thing became very abundantly clear that no one here spoke English. I was alone.

There were a few lone travelers, mostly men who were asleep on benches or sitting at empty tables in the cafeteria. I decided that my best course of action was to take a deep breath, let go of my anxiety and just sleep the night here. I found an empty bench on the second floor where I could sleep unobtrusively, tied my backpack to my wrist, laid out my travel pillow and fell asleep.

The following morning found me quite a bit more upbeat than the night before. The sun was shining, there were more people now, getting ready for their own travels to places unknown, and the cafeteria was open where I could get a croissant and a coffee.

Here are the three wonderful things I learned about Spain that day.
1. Ordering 'una cafe' gets you a delicious cup of espresso even at the lowest class dining establishments

2. food in very very cheap. One coffee and a croissant baked that morning costs 1.50 Euro and is delicious.

3. an Internet cafe in Spain can be found in the same place where there are pay phones, an establishment called a Locotorio and they also sell Spanish SIM cards for mobile phones.

By 9am I had been able to check my email, post to Couch Surfing and get a Spanish cell phone that allowed me to call the Couch Surfing host who had expected me the night before.

As soon as I left the locotorio I called her and boy was she upset. I was informed that she had waited for me that night and that I had changed plans on her to often and staying with her tonight would not be possible.

Ok. That changed things a bit. But what could I do? I apologized then hung up. I understood and I do not hold any bad feeling for her. It must have been quite frustrating from her point of view.

With no where else to go I headed for the bus station and promptly got lost. I found a kind old man talking to his friend and tried to get them to direct me to the bus station. They only spoke Spanish and I only spoke English so with gestures I asked them to draw me a map but instead the old man offered me a ride to the station and drove me right up to the door. I repeated my only word of Spanish 'muchos gracias' several times then waved goodbye and headed in. I knew there was another CS host who was expecting me that weekend in Estapona and figured I could stay with them early or find a hostel for a few days so I bought a four euro ticket to Estapona that left at 4pm.

Since by then it was only 1pm I decided to wander around for a bit. I asked for directions to a SuperMaket (not a spelling error) but was directed instead to an open market with stands and stands of the most beautiful fruit and vegetables I had ever seen.

All my anxiety and depressed feeling vanished as I found joy in this bustling mob of people and lives. Everything was so beautiful and so real, how could I be sad when all this beauty was around me and I could only look forward to more as I continued this trip.

Imagine my surprise when I hears, "ALISON!"

I turned around in surprise, and found myself staring into the grinning faces of the marvelous friends I had mad on the train to Tangier. Gustav and Julia were smiling from ear to ear and I joined them in laughing at our good fortune. They led me to a building that was part of the market where all the fresh fish and meat were sold. There among the meat stalls they showed me a tiny bar so small there were no tables or even stools. Just an alcove big enough for the owner and his wife to prepare tapas and serve beers while their patrons stood in the market's street laughing and watching the crowd.

Tapas are another thing that Spain does very very well. For each beer that only costs €1 - €1,50 you receive a small plate of food for free. These plates can be fish, or meat, or bread with exotic cheeses. Everything is good and as far as I can tell the tapa you receive seems to be at the whim of the owner, although that may have everything to do with my lack of Spanish. Still I will never complain to play such a delicious roulette. Gustav loves to talk and make new friends and it wasn't long before we were joking with the other four patrons of our little bar along with the owner. One man in particular was very very drunk and his foolishness was for the most part amusing and only occasionally fell into the realms of obnoxious.

One of the men was apart from the others. At first I thought he was quiet by choice before I noticed a shadow at his throat and realized that at some point in his life he had had a hole cut into his throat and he was unable to speak at all. I smiled at him and we began to try to communicate. Our conversation was stunted and I saw unbearable frustration in his eyes and anger at constantly being ignored by his boisterous companions. However I tried to talk to him and I tried to understand and listen and in the end, as we said good bye he kissed me on both cheeks and there were tears in his eyes.

As for Gustav and Julia, I felt comfortable with them, like old friends and when they mentioned they were planning on catching a train to a city called Granada at 3pm. I asked what was in Granada and they shrugged.
'Alhambra'
'What's Alhambra?'
'Its supposed to be beautiful.'

I decided, 'what the hell'. My bus ticket had only cost €4 so I ditched it and bought a €20 train ticket five hours north along the coast to Granada with the plan to enjoy my time with my new friends and see what kind of adventures we could find.

Last day in Morocco

2010-07-08T07:59:00.001-05:00

I have been remiss my friends. To leave you so long without an update. My only excuse is exhaustion. When I finally find moments to sit down with my computer it is late and I am so tired I can barely talk, let alone write.

In a way I feel I have been unkind both to myself and to those who will read this by waiting so long. Each day has had its own variety, its own flavor. I have been up, down and all around but to write these posts after the fact seems to lose a bit of the essential essence that is everyday and rather paint over it with a broad brush of my current knowledge and feelings.

But it would be even worse to not write at all so I will start from where I last left off on my blog it was the 29th of June and I was still in Azrou. That night Aydin and I cleaned the apartment then moved a rug and blankets to the roof and sat talking late into the night. To fall asleep under the stars with the chill of the air and warm arms around me is a lovely experience. Though the night was cold I woke in the morning with rays of morning sunlight heating the blankets and encouraging awakening if only to push them off and lay open to the wonderful sun.

There was nothing else much to do that morning but pull ourselves out of bed. The packing had already been finished and so I just grabbed my things and we headed out. We grabbed breakfast at a little restaurant on the way. I must say, the restaurant food in Morocco is lovely the first few times but there are really only four or five foods to choose from and I sincerely feel for Aydin because after a few days they get very very boring and I was quite glad to head into Europe for some culinary variety.

Walking from breakfast we went to the bus station to look for a bus that would take us to Mekness where we would catch a train. However the next bus wouldn't leave until so late that it would have left us little time in Mekness to get to the train station so we decided instead to take a Grand Taxi.

Now I begin this next section specifically with a warning for my parents and those other wonderful people in my life with protective parental feeling for me, you may want to skip this next bit.

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Grand Taxis are sort of like normal Taxis. They are normal five seat cars with one driver that go from point A to point B for a specific price. The differences are that Grand Taxis go further, usually from one city to the next and they won't go until all the seats in their car are filled. The other bit that makes it especially interesting is that Morocco does not seem to have any traffic laws anyone is required to follow, and the Grand Taxi drivers try to make as much money as possible by fitting as many people into their car as possible. The result was a two hour trip to Mekness with Aydin and I sitting together in the front passenger seat with four women crammed together in the back, and no seat belts. However, it wasn't until we were just outside Azrou and we stopped for gas without any of us getting out of the car or the driver turning off the engine at all, the entire time he refiled the gas tank that I began to try to find some god to pray to.

Once we were on the road it did not get any better. I spent the trip expecting the passenger door to fly open, or for the car to fly off a cliff as we turned round the bend. Or for a head on collision to occur as the driver sped around other motorists that he decided were going far to slow.
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Oh who am I kidding you couldn't help but read that bit could you? :)

Despite the reckless and I admit somewhat exhilarating ride to Mekness we arrived in tacked and found the train station with ease. Because the American dollar is worth so much in Morocco it did not cost us much more to buy a first class ticket on the train so we indulged ourselves and I couldn't be happier that we did.

Though the train was almost an hour late we hopped on and made our way to our designated... room? I have no idea what they are called. In first class, each train car has several little rooms with six very nice comfortable seats. When we arrived, five of the six seats were full when we arrived but it seems that one poor man had found his designated seat in another room full and so had found an empty seat here. We kicked him out. I hope he found his seat.

In our room however we could not have been more fortunate for the people we sat with. There were two older business men who were quite nice but more interested in talking about their rich mundane lives split between London and Morocco than anything I found intriguing. However our other two companions must have been sent from the grand travel gods themselves. Gustav and Julia came from Brazil. Neither was an expert in English but they were creative and very friendly and their passion and intelligence shown through any barriers of communication. I could only wish at the time that I knew Portuguese to talk with them even better. Aydin and I chatted with them non stop the entire trip. The commonality Aydin and Gustav seemed to find in movies and music was uncanny and Julia and I shared more than one look together of shared amusement.

Our friendship built quickly and easily and we were already sharing the risqué jokes of close friends by the time we were halfway through our journey. Jokes we told behind our older companions backs and giggled like school children when they returned.

After a six hour train ride we arrived in Tangier on the northern tip of Morocco. We waved goodbye to our to older companions then turned to our new friends. They were heading to Spain as well but were taking a ferry to Tarifa instead of Algeciras like me. We hugged and exchanged emails and I looked forward to hearing from them in the future.

Aydin and I had to travel by taxi again, a normal one this time, to the older port several miles away from the train station. As we drove I felt my spirits lower and tears come to my eyes. As I watched the beautiful landscape drift past us all I could think of was all the things I would miss about Morocco, Aydin most of all. Those wonderful people in our lives who lift us up and encourage us to become more than we thought we were, those are the people who should always be treasured in life.

Last night

2010-06-29T19:57:00.003-05:00

Looking out over Azrou tonight. I feel a powerful mix of anticipation and sadness. Though I was close with so few here it has felt a little like a home away from home and I know that I will miss it. I will miss the old woman, diligently out selling snails every night. Who always has a smile for everyone, even as her eyes glaze over in exhaustion. I will miss the little brother and sister who play soccer in front of our door step after every wold cup game. I will miss the funny waiter at the café down the street who is always calling out names of American movie stars as an inside joke with Aydin that I have never understood but I like his crooked smile. I will miss Abdu the carpet seller and his father. Neither speak very much English but they make everyone around them feel warm and welcomed and I wish I could give them both enormous hugs. I will miss the beautiful black cat who lives in their carpet shop and her three little kittens including the runt who is half the size of the others but makes up for it in passionate ferocity for life. I will miss Zakaria and Khadisha. Most of all I will miss Aydin.

The stars are so beautiful here and the sky is so big. I feel closer to myself and find my thoughts somewhat easier to grasp than normal. Some days I find myself so frustrated with my own emotions. It is a constant struggle for me to form my ideas into coherent words that others can understand. My thoughts constantly seem to spin like a tornado of color and flavor and indescribable feeling to pluck a single threat from the mass and draw it into language is sometimes more exhausting than I can handle and I let myself fall back into just floating within my own head.

But here, in these last few weeks, it has seemed easier to form language from the storm and I can begin to think ahead to what is in store for me soon.

2010-06-28T09:10:00.002-05:00

Life in Morocco moves so much slower than it does in the states and I think I could grow to like it. Without a car and with everything organized in mini villages around courtyards with the same shops every few blocks. Each business stays open because people here are not loyal to a specific brand they are loyal to the business owner, the people that are around them.

You really feel your own place here. You feel time move by slowly like currents down a lazy forest stream. There is always time for conversation with a friend or introspection over lazy hours and a single cup of nouse-nouse (Moroccan Late).

Last Tuesday Aydin and I left for the Gnowa music festival in Essuara on the southwest coast of Morocco. I had never heard of Gnowa music before but a huge number of Peace Corps volunteers would be there and who could pass up what promised to be an epic beach party lasting from Wednesday to Sunday.

Our bus was scheduled to leave at 9:30pm so of course by Moroccan time we left just past 10:00pm. We drove through the night, switching from the fancy CTM buses to a normal, groty Suk bus in Marakesh around 6:00am. We arrived in Essuara around 10:00 am Wednesday morning. Taking long bus trips like this is normal here but it is still a fascinating experience for me. I take flights for granted but there is something almost wonderful about having so much Time to just sit with no pressing concerns, nothing to do, just to look out the window and watch mountains turn into fields, turn into desert and then into coastline.

I finished the first of what I hope to be many books during the trip. A prequel to Frank Herbert's, 'Dune' called, 'The Butlerian Jihad'. This is not a book that I would recommend to most people unless, like me you are simply in love with the entire wold of Dune, enough that you can put up with terrible writing. The book was written after the death of Frank Herbert, by his son. It is one of the first books written by Brian Herbert based on Frank Herbert's notes and the book has about the structure and focus of a Dune fan-fiction and not the best of fan-fiction at that. Brian does go on to write better stories in the future but 'The Butlerian Jihad' and its sequel 'The Machine Crusade' which I am now reading are not examples of them. That all being said, I'm still in love with the world and cannot bring myself to move on to another book until I finish these.

On to Essuara, it was a madhouse. People come from all over Morocco and Europe to spend time at the Gnowa festival. I knew nothing about the music before I arrived, though I had heard it was supposed to be a fusion of traditional Moroccan music with Spanish Flamenco influences. However what I found was a sound very similar to Reggae music. The sound was certainly enjoyable to dance to but it also attracted a crossover of reggae fans who brought with them not just their awesome hair and extravagant clothes but also a strong drug culture.

This festival is also so large is causes the population of Essawara to explode and draws not just fans from all over the world but professional thieves from all over Morocco.

We stayed with the Peace Corps people in a house/apartment building within walking distance of the festival but because there were so many of us there was always someone at the house so we didn't have to worry to much about thieves stealing from our rooms. Having been warned before hand though about pickpockets at the concerts we left everything behind at the house including our keys and just relied on the people staying at the house to let us in later. It is a good thing we did because I have never been felt up so many times in my life.

Teams of young boys would run through the crowd. The first ones patting targets down then signaling the the boys behind them who had valuables who then slipped hands into pockets and darted away. Because of our planning ahead we had nothing to worry about and just danced and enjoyed the spectacle. I personally had time to marvel at their technique though I do wish I had had the foresight to write inspirational messages in English on the pieces of paper the approximate size of dollar bills. It would have taken them a while to translate them, if they bothered to at all, because English is the last language anyone expects you to use here but I still would have found the joke hilarious.

My favorite means of relieving tourists of their valuables were probably the groups of Moroccan teenagers that hung out near the beach who would invite tourists to dance with them.

One of the Peace Corps people I met in Essa, a very attractive gay man named Jeramey, described his experience with these guys at the Gnowa festival last year. He had been approched and asked to dance and like most of us unsuspecting westerners when approched by a group of very very attractive men had redilly agreed and had the time of his life.
After a very enjoyable impromptu dance the men waved goodbye and wandered off. It was only after they had gone that Jeramey realized that he had been relieved of everything. His cellphone, money, keys, cigarettes, and even the lint in his pockets had disappeared and like his attractive dance partners, never seen again.

My friend Khadija was invited to dance by a similar group of men this year but she was carrying everything in a backpack over her shoulders that she had then wrapped in a sarong around her shoulders so there was no accessing the bag at all. Apparently they danced for a long time and eventually Khadija had stopped and waved goodbye. The one of the dancing thieves had started to stop her but then he and his friends conversed for a second among themselves and waved her off. It just wasn't worth it.

Both Jeramey and Khadija told their stories with a laugh and a smile because really what else could you do? And at least these thieves had had the courtesy to give you a very enjoyable show before taking everything you owned.

I myself experienced the legal thievery of the exhibitionist prices the shop owners in Essawara had set just for the festival. Unless you learned to haggle you could easily expect to pay at least twice what anything you bought was actually worth. Despite my lack of knowledge of any language commonly spoken in Morocco I headed out on my own several times to wander the markets and learn to haggle successfully. And if I do say so myself, with a little more practice I could become quite proficient at it. Though I know I still go ripped off I did not spend nearly the amount that even many of the more experienced Peace Corps volunteers did. Among the things I bought were a pair of new sandals that are quite nice. I paid 179 durums for them which would equal approximately $20 US Dollars.

I also spent all of Thursday lounging on the beach with Aydin and Khadija and swimming in the remarkably cold ocean waters. Oh it was so beautiful. The sun was so bright everything seemed to glow and the water sparkled like diamonds. The sand was elegantly soft and I couldn't help but fall asleep for an hour in the warm sunshine. I also forgot to completely cover my back in sunblock and paid dearly for it. The sun burn is now starting to fade but it has yet to peel thanks to a very liberal application of aloe-vera lotion several times per day for the last several days. I've learned my lesson but still I regret nothing.

Aydin and I left Friday and headed back to Azrou ahead of the crowds that would begin to leave Saturday afternoon and to make sure we had enough time together before I head out for Spain on the 29th. Which is tomorrow... wow.

I think I am going to miss Morocco so much. I am not going to miss the toilets or the street animals that hang out on every corner but I will miss the relaxed atmosphere and the people i have met and more than anything I will miss Aydin.

It will be at least a year and a half before I might hope to see him again but we both have our own journeys ahead of us and I am looking forward to keeping in touch as past partners and good friends. It is always important to know you have those people out in the world, no matter how far away they are, who you know love you and keep you in thier thoughts. Just as I keep you in my thoughts my friends and my family.

Though I am looking forward to this next month of travel I can not help but also look forward to its ending and the people waiting for me back home. I can not wait to hold you in my arms again.

Day: 4, 5, and 6

2010-06-19T08:15:00.001-05:00

Azrou is the kind of city a Minnesotan would dream of... at least in the summer. It's warm with cool breezes and very few insects. The only bugs I have seen in any number are flies that surround the inside of the dirtier cafe's that are open to the air but it is part of life here and no one complains so why should I?

The landscape is beautiful. Surrounded by mountains and farm land and I have never seen more beautiful sunsets than in Azrou. In the center of town is the Mosque from which the calls to worship emmenate five times a day. The courtyard of the mosque is enourmous and along the walkway trees rise which are constantly filled with large white birds that screech at each other all day. But beware walking below them, the ground is littered with missed aerial attacks and I barely managed to dodge an aerial attack myself.

Azrou is definitely a walking city. Every block has its own pastry shop, its own snack shop, the man on the corner who sells cigarettes either by the pack or one at a time, and at least two cafes. Getting tea at a cafe in Morocco is enough to make any dentist in the states cry. They put at least three cubes of sugar in each eight ounce glass. At lease in some of the cafes I've visited thus far they are familiar enough with tourists to only offer the sugar cubes on the side. The same goes for any coffee drink you order. The orange juice is good as is their wide selection of coke products. There is also a really nice fresh mint tea that they make which I think is amazing.

On one of the side streets, through a doorway you can find yourself suddenly in the middle of a market. There are people on all sides of you selling grain, meat, fruit, and vegetables. Everything here is fresh, seasonal, organic and you know its right off the farm down the road because to import something costs far more than most of the people here will ever make. Aydin and I picked up some fresh melon, nectarines, peaches, and cherries just reaching the perfect ripeness. We've been snacking on them for days to offset our daily outings to explore the cuisine of Azrou.

Day 3: Morocco

2010-06-16T13:53:00.001-05:00

Its been a few days my friends and Morocco is beautiful. The air is so dry despite this being one of the most humid parts of Morocco and the streets are covered in a layer of dust.

The people love to talk, they greet each other on every corner and Aydin and I can not make our way down the block without stopping to greet an acquaintance.

After arriving in at the Fez airport around 4pm we took a bus to the center of the city and then took a taxi to the local bus station. We waited an hour an a half for the next bus to Aydin's house in Azrou. The full bus trip was two hours and we arrived in Azrou around 9pm.

There is something about arriving in a city late at night. It is disorienting and magical. There were still people everywhere, in fact more people come out at night when the air is cooler than in the daytime. Navigating the streets was a glorious adventure. The side walks are high so moving from street to side walk requires a good solid hop and there are so many people you have to squeeze between bodies as if we were in a festival.

We made our way the few blocks to Aydin's apartment, a small blue doorway on a side street surrounded by small markets and bustling crowds. His house is three floors tall but very small. The first floor is an entry way barely wide enough for two people to stand side by side and a steep stairway up. The second floor is a small alcove with a small sink that you have to turn on my turning a leaver on the pipe itself and a small window that looks out over the street. The other room is the bedroom covered in a carpet on the floor and beds on the floor covered in the softest quilts made out of sheep's wool I've ever felt, they are so warm. Following the stairs up further you reach the kitchen and the bathroom.

The kitchen is sparsely furnished at this point as Aydin does not prefer to cook a lot but there is a nice area to sit down on low couches next to a low table.

The bathroom is quite the experience and will try the will of any westerner used to the finder things in life. There is no toilet but rather a hole in the floor surrounded by tile with two areas where you place your feet to squat over the hole. There is also no toilet paper but a bucket and a tap that only releases very cold water. You fill the bucket with water and use it and a bar of soap nearby to wash yourself after you are finished then use the rest of the water to poor down the drain to 'flush' the toilet. As a child my parents referred to my travel tastes as the 'Mariot Kid' so I can say this is not my favorite part of Morocco but I now consider it part of the adventure so I can handle it for the next few weeks.

In the morning Aydin and I set out to explore Azrou. The city is split into thirds and there are three main streets reaching out in a 'Y' from the center of the city. One street goes North to Meknes, one South-West to Kheniefra, and one South-East to Ifran and Errachieia. In the center of town is the city mosque and a giant rock called Ackshmeir for which Azrou, which means 'the rock' is named after. We climbed Acksmeir and looked out over the whole city and the mountains beyond. I think the boys already at the top were surprised to watch this strange woman clambering up the steep rock. I think I made a good impersonation of a mountain goat but if not I don't want to hear about it.

In the evening we went out and ate this delicious white bean soup and for desert we found a street vendor who sold boiled snails in spicy broth. You ate a cup of the snails at the vendors stall and then she offered you a bowl of the boiled snail broth to wash everything down. I have to say, it was amazingly delicious and I'm looking forward to having it again.

Day 2: Paris

2010-06-14T11:00:00.003-05:00

In Paris I was met by Niccio who very very kindly picked me up from the Airport and drove me to his house where I got to take a wonderful shower and then we drove back to Paris for a speedy tour. We first stopped at a beautiful restaurant that, based on the photos looked like it had been around since the 1900s. They specialized in creps that were just amazing, indescribable. Mine was made of potatoes, blue cheese and something delicious that I can't remember. It was so good.

I was very conscious of the fact that I was the only person in the restaurant who can't understand a word of French and I think I stood out like a bad American sore thumb.

After dinner we drove around the city and we even stopped at the Eiffel tower and watched the people who were gathered watching the world cup on a giant screen. It was a practice in skipping jet lag in one easy step. Don't sleep until you are supposed to in that time zone even if your so tired you are shaking. We went back to his house soon after and I fell asleep in the car.

I'm writing this now and I've scheduled it to go live sometime tomorrow as I get to morocco so you all will be about a day behind me but that'll give me time to see where the next step of this adventure will take me.

I miss you all but I can't wait to see Aydin tomorrow.

Isn't it pretty

French Pigins

Nicco's house

Day 1: REK to CDG

2010-06-13T23:00:00.002-05:00

Landing in Iceland was beautiful. The entire land is ravaged and burned and covered in hardened lava, you could see where the flow reached the sea and combined with the heavy waves that crash against the cliffs. The earth has begun to recover though. Already there is moss and grass covering large patches, and there are still houses gathered in patches on the horizon or little mounds in the earth with doors. I'm told these were the original style of house that the Vikings built when they first colonized Iceland.

The airport is small but quite beautiful. I heard what I think were at least five different languages spoken the first minute I stepped off the plane. Keep in mind where you disembark from one plane is not inside the terminal proper. I had to go through security again to get to my gate but the rules are still exactly the same. Liquids in a plastic bag, shoes off, and computers out. It was easy, as was going through customs.

I h e to say seeing the custom's guy's eyebrow twitch when I counted off Morocco, Spain, and France was funny. Good thing I didn't mention Netherlands, Germany, and maybe Italy. But he relaxed when I mentioned I was meeting my boyfriend in Morocco.

I found my gate but the seating is spread down the hallway instead of alcoves offered for each gate unlike most US airports I've been to. So I sat near the only other person I could see who also had a giant backpack. He was French I think because he told me my half finished drawing of an airplane was very good in French... At least I thi k he did. The woman near us was listening to some awesome French rap but I couldn't bring myself to ask her about it.

Sat next to a very sweet French couple on the plane. They didn't speak to me and I did not speak to them but they cuddled and held hands and dozed on each others shoulders the entire trip.

As we hit the first of the islands that make up the western edge of Europe I was so excited I could barely stand to stay seated, though that also might have had something to do with the coffee they served me. Or perhaps the fact that at the time of writing this, not counting sugary dried pineapple and a handful of trail mix, I have not eaten anything since 3pm Minneapolis time yesterday ( aprox. 13 hours ago ).

Sorry family members and loving friends. I know these are not the things that I should be writing about but trust me they'll make the full story a more interesting read in the long run.

Also, has anyone else noticed that French is not written AT ALL like it sounds? What is up with that France? Leaving whole pieces of words out of the pronunciation just seems rude. How do you think those extra vowels and consonants feel? Maybe that's why Icelandic words are so unnecessarily long.. They offer foster homes for all the unwanted French consonants.

Day 1: MSP to REK

2010-06-13T16:29:00.001-05:00

My bags are packed
I'm ready to go
I'm standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye

I miss you all already. I thought it finally became real as I watched the ground fall away. We rose to meet the clouds and turned away from the setting sun and it was beautiful. But it wasn't until we were an hour away from Reykjavik and I looked up at the Lavatory Occupied sign, Salerni Upptekid and I felt my stomach drop for a moment. This is really it. I'm gone, for two months I'm gone. I suddenly feel so exhilarated, but I also feel so alone.

To late to turn back now.

I called my whole family at the airport and told them that I loved them. It's weird to think that I will be without instant contact with everyone I know.

I have already met some very kind people. All English speakers thus far, which would be as I write this on the airline from Minneapolis to Reykjavik ( I should learn to spell that) but I expect I will soon find myself in a very different world.

On the airline they offer deliciously warm blankets for free but god the seats are uncomfortable. We have already converted to the euro. If you buy anything, including dinner which is very much NOT free, they write your name down on a piece of scrap paper to avoid currency exchange debacles until later.

They do however have free movies and tv assuming you bring your own headsets and a neat little USB port next to the screen that I nave no idea what it's for but it allows me to keep my iPhone fully charged so I'm satisfied.

Having a bunch of books on my iPhone is keeping me quite amused, thank you so much Anna for the amazon gift certificate. Having eBooks is a lifesaver.

I keep wondering what I am thinking even if it is to late to turn back now. I can't wait to see Aydin and the anticipation is killing me. I can also only hope that Nikki meets me in Paris like we have planned. But these are the situations that I think make life worth living

Watercolor Volcano

2010-03-28T23:52:00.003-05:00

Sumi Rocks

2010-03-28T23:50:00.003-05:00

Sumi

2010-03-25T09:55:00.001-05:00

Started playing with Sumi brush techniques again. What I find the most fascinating about the art form is how important the process of Sumi is versus the product. Meditation and focus are so important and I find the creation of even little sketches relaxing.

LIttle Bird

2010-03-24T15:12:00.001-05:00

There was a little sparrow outside my window this morning.

woman on the bus

2010-03-10T13:55:00.004-06:00

more iphone sketches

2009-11-06T11:31:00.002-06:00

this started out as a sketch of Anna while we were having coffee at the Urban Bean but since then has just become an experiment in using the air brush on my iphone.

Art Sale Sketches

2009-11-04T00:24:00.002-06:00

Some sketches for pieces I hope to get done in time for the art sale.
And now I'm going to bed.

Early morning above the clouds

2009-10-27T10:36:00.002-05:00

I thought I would share a couple of the photos that I took on the plane flight back from Portland. The flight was way-to-fucking-early-o-clock but watching the sunrise over the rocky mountains made it almost worth it.

I drew a froggie with my finger

2009-10-26T00:23:00.001-05:00

So I need to geek out a little. I got my very own iPhone a few months ago and I have been playing with it non-stop. I just got new drawing app called SketchBook Mobil X. I think you'll be seeing more random sketches from me after this. I'm totally in love with it.

UI Design

2009-10-25T19:51:00.001-05:00

I'm excited! Christina has brought me on board to do some user interface design for a new game by Zeolight Studios. You can check out the first mini trailer on their website.

Update:
This project has been put on hold for the time being due to financing issues.

Mocca Day 1

2009-06-04T16:19:00.003-05:00

First day in New York.

As the plane came in over the city I saw the harbor and the skyline and there in the middle of the water, the Statue of Liberty. I felt for her, she’s stood there, alone, and she seemed suppressed now, imprisoned on her tiny island with the enormous skyscrapers around her. I was worried I would feel the same but after stepping out of the airport I found myself on the subway and walking around the city. I’ve been introducing myself as politely as one can in New York and thus far I feel at home. It’s even gray and humid, just like home.

I’ve found the necessities of life, a place to stay, a good friend, and a coffee shop with pipping hot caffeine and free wifi access.

The MOCCA events start tomorrow evening. If you’re curious, check out their web site for more info. Several artists from Minneapolis are going to be there including Evan Palmer, Anna Bongiovanni, Sean Lynch, Raighne & Meghan Hogan,and Ed Moorman. I’m going to be taking photos of the con so stay tuned, I think there’s going to be some amazing stuff to see.

2009-04-22T09:56:00.002-05:00

Client: Minnesota Public Radio
Project: Sound Learning
Contribution: Programming
I hope to have several screenshots updated in my portfolio soon but I couldn’t wait to show off a little bit.
The redesign of Minnesota Public Radio’s Sound Learning website went live last Monday and I’m quite pleased with the final result. It was an honor to be invited back to MPR and one of the definit highlights of this project has been to hang out with the New Media group again.
You can check out the full web site here at http://soundlearning.publicradio.org/

Wordpress

2009-03-06T10:02:00.001-06:00

I have been working on the new Ailea Studio website for weeks now and finally I find myself able to sit back and enjoy all my hard work.

My decision to rewrite Ailea Studio using the wordpress framework was partially a consideration of curiosity. I have had numerous people approach me about the possiblity of creating a simple and easily managed site that didn’t require a knowledge of html for basic maintenance. Wordpress seemed the perfect solution but with no background experience the idea was mostly supposition.

With the completion of this project I can happily say that wordpress is a very good tool for creating simple portfolio and personal sites that require regular simple updates. The customization process is not all that challenging and the integration of pre-built plugins allows wordpress to do almost anything that you could wish.

In short I’m quite satisfied with it and am looking forward to doing more projects with wordpress in the future.

check out my site

How much does it actually cost to be happy.

2009-02-10T11:43:00.002-06:00

In the current ~~disintegrating~~ troubled economy people are struggling to keep everything together. As of last week my number one source of income and pretty awesome boss all things considered, has informed me that he can no longer afford to pay me for my web and design work. At least for the next couple of months.

This is certainly on my list of bad. However, overall I'm trying to keep up beat about the whole thing. I've started work on my website again and am researching more advanced actionscript using the Flex interface.

I'm also going to really take the time to look at exactly where all my money goes and what expenses really aren't necessary. In fact, for the next month. I'm going to make a challenge to myself. How much extra stuff can I cut out of my life and still be happy?

For me this challenge will mean, biking everywhere, no more car. I won't buy any new video games, no new electronics, no beer. I will think very carefully before spending money on entertainments and make choices for free activities whenever I can. I see this as an opportunity to really review my life and necessities and take steps toward a more sustainable lifestyle. I would welcome anyone else to join me in this and share their challenges and their successes as well.

An interesting blog to check out on related topics is No Impact Man.

good luck

Updates and News

2009-01-17T01:37:00.001-06:00

So I know that I haven't posted anything significant for several months now. I do apologize. Between my full time job, client project and the redesign of my personal portfolio site, I don't have a lot of time on my hands for anything. I can feel art need building and I've been taking notes to keep all the ideas I'm having organized.

So today i thought I would share some recent news and a useful link I found.

Cool news first.
Many of you have already heard but I am now the proud owner of a new macbook pro. Her name is Audacity in memory of my old computer which, though she continues to try to stumble along is really ready to go out to pasture.
I'm of course completely in love and I expect I'll be posting links to cool new tools I've discovered soon.

What you need to remember to design a portfolio website.
I've been talking to a lot of people recently who want to get their portfolio site up. I would like to offer up my services of course but I also thought that this website might be really useful.

Graphic Novel Literary Agents

2009-01-09T14:53:00.002-06:00

This is not my list but its absolutely amazing so I thought I would make an archive copy of it because as I said. AMAZING!
You can check out the post I found it on here

This is something all comic book artists should take a look at.

Graphic Novel Literary Agents
I know Colleen Doran posted a list of literary agents that represent graphic novels a few months ago, but in going through the list, quite a few of the names have now retired or moved on, and others represent only graphic art/coffee table books (the search sites she used have misleading keywords), or nothing resembling graphic novels at all... or they don't take unsolicited queries.
Of course, you only find out after getting really excited by someone's client list, and then you see they only take on new names by personal recommendation! Not too helpful if you want to be actively trying to find an agent.

So I thought I'd post my own list of agencies I found (or were mentioned to me!) over the five months I sent out queries. I hope it helps. Every agency on this list has mentioned an interest in graphic novels either on their website or their blog-- no second-hand info.

Agents I've queried:

Andrea Brown Literary Agency: Laura Rennert
http://www.andreabrownlit.com/

Baker's Mark
http://www.bakersmark.com/Booksnwriters.html
Represents a number of creators with books coming out from First Second.

Bliss Literary: Jenoyne Adams
http://blissliterary.com - Jenoyne Adams

Bob Mecoy Literary Agency
http://querytracker.net/agent.php?agent=624&tab=genres
http://www.mediabistro.com/mbtoolbox/how_to_pitch_agencies/pitching_an_agent_bob_mecoy_creative_book_services_39903.htm

Represents Tintin Pantoja, Jim Ottaviani.

Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency: Jeff Moores
http://www.dclagency.com/index.html

FinePrint Literary Management: Colleen Lindsay
http://www.fineprintlit.com/about/colleen_lindsay.php
http://theswivet.blogspot.com/2007/01/submission-guidelines.html
Represents the infamous Niki Smith. ;/
"Director of Publicity for Del Rey Books" and "instrumental in the successful launch and promotion of the Del Rey Manga program."

Fox Literary: Diana Fox
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/fox/
http://dianafox.livejournal.com/

Full Circle Literary
http://www.fullcircleliterary.com/about.html
http://fullcirclelit.blogspot.com/

Howard Morhaim Literary Agency: Katie Menick
http://www.morhaimliterary.com/

Lippincott Massie McQuilkin: Rob McQuilkin
http://www.lmqlit.com/contact.html

Objective Entertainment: Elizabeth Jote, Brendan Daneen
http://objectiveent.com/books.asp#fgraphic
http://elizabethjote.wordpress.com/?s=graphic
Represents Shooting War, others.

Prospect Agency: Vivian Chum
http://www.prospectagency.com/

Robert Astle & Associates Literary Management
http://www.astleliterary.com/

Stimola Literary Studio: Rosemary Stimola
http://www.stimolaliterarystudio.com/

Susan Rabiner Literary Agency: Holly Bemiss, Sydelle Kramer
http://www.rabiner.net/?page_id=2
Represent Alison Bechdel, Lucy Knisley, Harvey Pekar.

Transatlantic Literary Agency: Samantha Haywood
http://www.tla1.com/agents2.php?id=4#cnt_co
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/samantha775/
Represents Drawn & Quarterly and others.

Trident Media Group: Scott Miller
http://www.tridentmediagroup.com/scott_miller.html

Veritas Literary Agency: Katherine Boyle
http://www.veritasliterary.com/submissions.shtml

Wendy Sherman Associates, Inc: Michelle Brower
http://wsherman.com/content/agents.asp

William Morris Agency: Evan Goldfried
http://agentquery.com/agent.aspx?agentid=1061
http://wma.com/
Represents "Best American Comics 2006 contributors Joel Priddy, Lilli Carre, and Alex Robinson."

Writers House: Daniel Lazar
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/DanielLazar/
http://www.writershouse.com/content/home.asp
Agency represents Neil Gaiman.

Others: Agencies I never got to or didn't query for other reasons (I went with email queries first, they want exclusives only, etc).

Frances Goldin Literary Agency: Sam Stoloff
http://www.goldinlit.com/submissions.html
Agency represents Rutu Modan.

The Literary Group: Jaimee Garbacik
http://www.theliterarygroup.com/submissions/submissions.html

Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency: Kelly Sonnack
http://www.dijkstraagency.com/agents.htm

Sheldon Fogelman Agency: Sean McCarthy
http://sheldonfogelmanagency.com/submissions.htm

The Zack Company, Inc
http://zackcompany.blogspot.com/search?q=graphic
http://www.zackcompany.com/submissions/what_we_want.htm

Agencies that don't take unsolicited queries: ...but you might want to know about just to know they're out there.

Judith Hansen
http://hansenliterary.com/
Represents a very many comic artists whose work I adore, but I don't have a list of names.

Kitchen, Lind & Associates
http://www.kitchenandlind.com

David Hale Smith Literary
http://www.dhsliterary.com/Comics-Graphic-Novels.aspx
Represents Jill Thompson, Greg Rucka, others.

Exauhsted Ramblings 1

2008-12-11T02:34:00.001-06:00

2:30 AM
1 day 9 hours until everything must be completely done.

During finals there is that certain look that students, especially the upper-classmen acquire. Its created by to much work and a lack of sleep so terrible that many people go half insane. The blank stone stare of a terrified zombie.

I witnessed another comic student down in the Comic Studio with that look tonight. Her pen was poised to ink but it was as if she had become frozen and simply stared into her laptop screen. There was some movie playing but it was slow and obviously not the sort of action packed movie that you actually have to watch to understand. Despite that she stared. I watched her for several minutes and she never moved, not an inch. Though her will was attempting to force her body to continue working her mind was completely asleep.

Last momment dissapointments

2008-12-10T21:16:00.001-06:00

Always, always be careful when ordering business cards.
I checked my order and checked it again, and again and again before putting the final conformation and still, I recieved my business cards today and the top graphic is missing.
This has made the entire card look awkward. I'm really upset and I've wasted almost $60 since I put in a rush order to get them before my show.

So much for that.

Come on by to see the Show.

2008-12-09T11:18:00.001-06:00

The WiiFlash Interactive Comic based on the work of Johnny Lee, Gerbster, and the great community on WiiFlash is up and working on the 3rd Floor of the MCAD Gallery. My Senior Graduation Exhibition will be up between now and Saturday, December 13th.

Please stop on by and check it out.

I will be updating my blog with all file and instruction in the next week but because sleep deprivation is not conducive to cohesive descriptions I will keep my posts short until some rest can be found. Tell me, have you seen any?

Comic Heads Meeting

2008-12-03T20:51:00.000-06:00

Just letting everyone know that there is a ComicHeads meeting in the MCAD comic studio this sunday at 1pm. We'll be hosting an MCAD finals support group complete with emergenC and food.

Come by and get some feedback on your work and hang out with the rest of us.

Technical aspects

2008-12-03T20:37:00.001-06:00

I spent part of this week rewiring a wii sensor bar so that it could be powered from a common household outlet.

I started off trying to build my own with the help of this website but I was not able to get ahold of powerful enough infrared led's and my sensor range was only about two feet.

So I found this website instead and that worked very well. I now have a wii sensor bar that I'm going to attach to a pair of googles but I don't have to lug around the entire wii to get it to work with my interactive comic program.

here are a couple of pictures of the final product.

You can see, all of the products except of course the sensor bar itself are parts from radio shack and the total project cost me about $28 dollars. But that's because I bought the variable voltage adapter when all I needed was a 7.5v adapter.

It won't win any beauty contests but it gets the job done and its one step closer to my super interactive comic.

Continuing work on my senior project

2008-11-21T03:53:00.001-06:00

I've almost got all the programing worked out and I'm looking forward to the completion of a successful project.

To see a bit of sample code in action click here.

This file is controlled by mouse movement and doesn't have the scaling aspect as I assume most of you have not taken the time to set up a wii remote on your desktop.

When the project is finished I'll upload some videos of the whole thing in action as well as all my code and instructions on how to set it all up for yourself. Trust me. Its easier than it sounds and its a ton of fun. Who wouldn't want to control their computer by waving a little rectangular block around?

Update to Comic Heads

2008-11-21T02:24:00.001-06:00

A few days ago I wrote an article for the Comic Heads blog discussing tools and resources for online networking.
You can check it out here.

2008-11-14T22:26:00.000-06:00

Progress has been made!
I've been working non stop for the last week, leaving behind sleep and perhaps sanity.
I'll update now with links to all the major drawings for each panel I've put on Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ailea_/sets/72157604534409626/

I'm in process of programing the Wii Remote to work with Flash using the tools from http://wiiflash.bytearray.org/ and http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/.

Side projects have also begun for after graduation productivity. I've been reviewing an old screen play that Christina Beard and I will be attempting to cooperate on to turn into a short animation film. I've also started making plans to restart Twin Cities Babylon.

Sketches 2

2008-10-23T23:07:00.000-05:00

The first step is to get all the drawings done for all the panels. The planning has been the most difficult part. I started off with thumbnails of the four panels as if they were in a normal comic, to get an idea of the story as a whole.

To plan out the entire "panel" takes me a whole page. Some of its really sketchy but the point is to plan out how all the elements work together and start thinking about how things are going to move and overlap, or not.

The plan is to have it readable in as many different ways as possible. Its so hard! I've had to wrack my brain to think about storytelling in such a different way. As you'll see in the thumbnails there are still some blank spots that's I'm still not quite sure what to do with. I'm hoping time and continual work will fix the kinks.

A lot of these drawings are still in the sketchy blue line stage, next week you can expect an update with all the finished drawings.

The Man Who Sits On The Tide is definitely my favorite character to draw. Just check out the cool tattoos!

Sketches 1

2008-10-23T21:54:00.001-05:00

Wow.
It has been a crazy couple of weeks, let me tell you.
I've got a schedule now. Between now and December 1st I have all my time scheduled out and all my due dates penciled in. If everything goes according to plan I should have my project ready for exhibition by November 18th and I can start putting up the show December 1st.

The Graduation Exhibition Opening will be December 12th and I would like to invite everyone who can to come join me for some fun! I'm really excited.

Planning, its a good thing.

2008-10-05T02:25:00.001-05:00

Today... well I suppose yesterday at this point, was the first day of the 2008 MCBA Fall Con at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Its a good show, lots of creators and a comfortable community. It was great with the exception of the fact that I lacked books to hand out and sell. So no money or contacts for Ali.
Now here I sit, 2am looking down at the pile of beautiful printed comic books.
Only to realize that I have no stapler.
Life is a cruel mistress.

Senior Show Images

2008-09-22T10:44:00.001-05:00

I'm nervous about my Senior Show Project, its a lot of work and I'm doing something no one has done before, so no one can really show me how to do it. Most people don't even understand the idea.

Despite that I've begun my first Flash demo of the first panel. The programing is a bit strange but I should be done by Thursday. For testing purposes I'm only manipulating three images, a foreground raven, a middle ground tree and a far off background.

Raven

Tree

First Comic Head's Meeting

2008-09-14T10:48:00.000-05:00

Just a quick announcement for anyone in the Minneapolis area.

Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Comic Head's Meeting: Ideas and Inspiration
Sunday September, 14 ( TODAY! ) 1 p.m.
Auditorium 140

I made a calculator

2008-09-10T20:56:00.001-05:00

As much as I complain about Flash, I have enjoyed making this program.
Its just a simple calculator, but I think its pretty fun.
Check it out.

A short fangirl note for CSS

2008-09-10T07:42:00.000-05:00

This is just a short post before I really start my day but I was cruising though my daily blogs when I came across the newest CSSplay post and its drop dead gorgeous!

This is the kind of beautiful and creative design that I always think about when people start talking to me about the Flash website they want. Flash is great, don't get me wrong, its a fascinating program and Actionscript 3.0 is actually starting to become a vary useful programing language, but Flash is not god.
In fact, I can very comfortably state that in 80% of all circumstances where people insist that they need Flash websites it could be done better in CSS, almost entirely.

play with color

2008-09-09T00:11:00.001-05:00

A sketch I did after working for hours on homework.

Its so nice to feel free enough to just play with color.

Flash

2008-09-01T15:54:00.001-05:00

I've begun Database and Computational Design, one of the two last classes I will take at MCAD. The class is about advanced Flash Actionscript 3.0 and I'm struggling, the first steps to learn a new programming language are always hard.

In my quest to understand the complexities of Flash I've found a number of useful websites that I thought might be helpful to others as well.

One of the best Flash resources is actually the Adobe LiveDocs but they're remarkably hard to find on a google search.
Language and Components Refrence
Flash CS3 Documentation

Kirupa is a great tutorial resource for all sorts of stuff, not just flash.
www.kirupa.com

The work for my senior project is also going to be done in Flash so I've begun work on learning to create 3D-esc flash files. These are a lot more challenging. But I should also be able to get help from the awesome people at WiiFlash.

basic 3D scripting for Flash
A collection of links to Flash tutorials
Kirupa: scripting 3D in Flash

In search of a Bright Ful future.

2008-08-30T18:59:00.001-05:00

Well the computer operating system has been reinstalled.
not once, but twice
It's working now and I'm back to being my semi-productive self.

This week has definitely been Fulbright week.
To any who don't know, the Fulbright scholarship program is available for students who have just finished their bachelor degree or who are working on their graduate degree. Its extremely competitive but, if you get it, its an amazing opportunity.

My goal is to win the Fulbright scholarship grant to study storytelling in Ireland. I will study the style of storytelling and the storytelling culture that Ireland has developed. The fruit of this project will be a comic book about Irish storytelling, its history, and how its style can be used in education and business.

One of the challenges of the Fulbright, there are many, is that I must first make contacts in Ireland myself. I'm looking forward to this particular challenge, I enjoy meeting new people.

So this computer thing... it won't eat me.. will it?

2008-08-27T10:04:00.000-05:00

I'm reformatting my laptop.
This is the computer that I do most of my work on, keep most of my stuff, and apparently encourage the most viruses. A virus has done something very weird to my system files and they're not where they're supposed to be anymore. This isn't really a problem as my computer still seems to be running fine... but its concerning. Concerning enough I'm going to destroy it all and start again from scratch. Its not like my computer didn't need it anyway.

So the computer is being reformatted. I've backed up everything several times and prayed to every computer god I know but its still very likely that I'll lose some kind of data. I just hope its not my Outlook contacts like it was last time.

Wish me luck guys.
And if you don't hear from me in 48 hours... just know that my computer is dead and the world is lost.

Homesick

2008-08-01T10:38:00.000-05:00

I finally have finished a new comic this summer.
And I'm sorry I still haven't finished cleaning up my senior project. I'm still having a hard time looking at it.
There are things I really want to change.
But anyway.
May I present...

Homesick

I can't wait to get home and spend time on the coast with my family.

Why am I not in SanDiego?

2008-07-25T09:47:00.001-05:00

As I step outside my house today into poring rain and the boom of thunder I have to stop and ask myself, why am I not in SanDiego?
Why am I not enjoying endless sunshine and people in bad costumes? Why am I not hanging with my wonderful comic geek friends? I feel regret that yet again my bank account has not allowed me this trip down to the sunny state. Oh San Diego, how I miss thee.

Attack of the leathal virus's

2008-07-20T14:37:00.001-05:00

So along with having no internet access outside of a coffee shop because my Quest modem appears to have died, I've spent the whole weekend not working on the art project I wanted to get done and instead, have been battling a whole slew of nasty computer viruses who have corrupted my computer to the extent that I'm now limping along with little hope of saving my computer from a complete reinstall.

That means operating system and everything.

I've sort of guessed that from the beginning, when on Thursday my computer was literally hijacked before my eyes, my Internet Explorer opened without my command and a file began downloading. I think I've had one of the best looks on my face to date. I believe it was a mixture of horror and aghast fascination.

Lucky for me my father is an amazing computer network enginier so he was able to get on the phone with me and figure out most of the problems. Still though... things seem kinda wonky so I'm afraid to access any websites where i have to enter a lot of personal information. I'll have to find another secure computer to pay my Quest bill.

So I'm sorry for yet another non-art post but I'll be getting back to the art-ing soon.

Color inspiration from nature.

2008-07-18T08:52:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to take a moment to link to a really amazing design article I found. On Nudibranch.

Just look at this color palette!
You can read the full article here.

Sometimes as a computer artist I can get so caught up in the technical stuff that I can forget to take the time to just look outside my studio window.
There is so much inspiration just waiting out there. So many amazing creatures and shapes.
I just set up a new studio with my room mate in the porch of our apartment, it looks great and so far its a perfect working space... assuming the fans are on full blast. Its hot here.

10 Commandments of Web Design

2008-07-10T07:14:00.001-05:00

This is just brilliant.
I laughed and I agreed with the entire article and any one out there who likes to build the occasional site would do well to hop on over and read The 10 Commandments.

Seriously, I feel like I should print this out and pray to it every day.
My favorite is 'Thou shalt not abuse flash', my savior has come.

the first step has begun

2008-06-17T23:35:00.001-05:00

I've started work on my senior show project again.

Its been frustrating and technology is a very frustrating.
so I'm not going to go into all the details at this time but I'm trying to connect a wii remote to a bluetooth adapter.
I've now discovered that every time I disconnect my bluetooth adapter, to make the wii remote work I have to reinstall the program and then disconnect the wii remote then reconnect it again.
Its annoying to say the least.

now I have to find new batteries

at least when everything is installed it works well.

One more bike post

2008-06-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

ok, one more post about this bike "accident" then I'll get back to more important things.
I wish I had more art to post but setting up the new apartment has taken a lot of time and things are still a mess. I don't have access to a scanner right now so that's making it difficult to post even the few sketches I have done.

but onto being hit by a car. yeah, not an experience I want to repeat. I've changed my bike route so that I'm more protected, and I try to ride with a group of bikers whenever possible.
These are the bruises on my left leg. They've actually become a lot more impressive since I took this picture but I don't think anyone wants to see those.
My left arm is also really bruised but I can't really get a picture 'cause its on the backside. I think I also strained my neck but that barely hurts at all anymore.
I'm still really miffed that the guy didn't even stay around to see if I was okay but I think I've learned some valuable lessons about bike safety. I would encourage all my friends and readers. Please please please! Keep an eye out for bikers around you, they are very much more afraid of you than you are of them.

And now for something different: Bikes

2008-06-06T07:53:00.000-05:00

I have dedicated this blog to the discussion of art related topics, however, with your indulgence I'm going to spend this post discussing another topic that has recently become very important to me.
Please, please if you are driving a car, please, keep an eye out for and respect the bikers around you.

I was hit by a car today on my way to work.

In Minneapolis there are not a lot of bike lanes or large shoulders to ride on. I ride into downtown on 3rd Ave S. This isn't to bad of a road to bike on. There are actually large shoulders here and a lot of bikers use it so the cars seem to at least acknowledge we're there. However, when I turn onto Washington Ave there is nothing. There is no shoulder to speak of and the cars have no problem zooming inches by me. I've had to swerve numerous times to avoid getting clipped.

So, I have taken to riding on the sidewalk down Washington. I don't feel good about this. I believe that sidewalks should be for pedestrians. However I don't feel that I have any other safe place to be.

Today however even that wasn't enough. I was riding on the sidewalk and I was starting toward an intersection. I had a walk sign so I went ahead. That's when the car turned in front of me.
I hit my brakes and tried to turn to the side but it wasn't enough and I crashed into the side of the car and bounced off, hitting the ground with a crash.

The car didn't even stop.

They slowed down, obviously the loud THUNK couldn't have escaped their notice, though they seemed oblivious to everything else. But when they saw me stand up they zoomed off. There were some very sweet pedestrians that stopped and made sure I was okay, asked if they could call anyone.

I'm okay, just badly shaken and a little bruised. My bike is okay too, mostly, its ridable at least. I'm going to take it into the shop to get it checked out. I really hope I at least left a dent in that car for them to remember me by.

So I admit I'm still a little angry because I was a lot scared. But this really is important. Please! Pay attention to the bikes around you! As the gas prices go up we need to look for better ways to get where we need to go but so many people are afraid to ride their bikes because they are afraid of getting hit. I believe this needs to change. Laws protecting pedestrians and bicyclists need to be respected and enforced and motorists themselves just need to remember that we're out there and we need your help to stay safe.

Here is a list of the top 11 safests cities for bicyclists in the world.

1. Amsterdam

2. Portland, Oregon (this is my hometown. GO OREGON! )

3. Copenhagen

4. Boulder, Colorado

5. Davis, California

6. Sandnes, Norway

7. Tronheim, Norway

8. San Francisco, California

9. Berlin

10. Barcelona

11. Basel, Switzerland

Source: TreeHugger

Summer art requests?

2008-05-19T18:41:00.001-05:00

I'm really in need of some inspiration this summer. I don't want to slack off on my drawing like I have every other year. Any requests for pictures?
I'm willing to do fanart.

Summer evenings and a new job to go along with it.

2008-05-19T18:19:00.000-05:00

I have a really wonderful new job for the summer. It's a design position with a small consulting group. This is the kind of job that I could really learn to love, and of course, its all about the people. My boss and my coworker are really wonderful people, really interesting and have some great ideas. I am also allowed a lot of room to stretch my wings.

When I signed up for this job I thought I would be doing a lot of graphic design and illustration, things I can do and I enjoy. What I've found myself doing is being thrown headlong into intricate data visualization and business info graphic work.

If you need some examples of what data visualization can look like, check out Jonathan Harris or Aydin Mohseni.

Its some seriously challenging work, and I'm loving it.

And to make sure there is some art on this post somewhere, here are some photos of a gorgeous midwest sunset I took with my camera phone.

Senior Project 4

2008-05-01T19:52:00.001-05:00

Here's my first fully finished page.

I really don't know how I feel about this lettering.

Here is page 3. This one still needs some grays I think.

Edit: I didn't realize till after I posted it that the word balloon in the 5th panel was pointing the wrong direction. Its supposed to be pointing down toward the third tier.
It's fixed in the final version which should be up on my website soon.

Senior Project 3 - kissing

2008-04-30T22:29:00.000-05:00

I had some difficulty drawing the kissing, but it came out really well, even if it took me a while.
I'm uploading my favorites as I finish inking because it keeps me motivated.
I have only four left then I can relax.
Deadlines are a... very frustrating.

Senior Project 2

2008-04-30T06:15:00.001-05:00

It's 6am and I've been up all night, again. This really can't be good for my health.

I got a good pick-me-up halfway through the night with a wrap and a Sobe from Caffrey's Deli. For anyone in the twin cities area I highly recommend them. They're open till 3am!

Anyway. I'm still plunking away at my senior project. I have five pages left to ink but several of them should only take a little while. We're speaking in relative time of course.

senior project 1

2008-04-28T23:16:00.000-05:00

I'm so exhausted. There is no time to sleep and I'm looking forward to going and eating some pizza in an hour. Until then, I ink.

Here are two of my pages for my senior project. They are missing lettering and I think I want to add some gray wash to the second page but they are really coming along. I'm enjoying myself.
...
now if I could only get some sleep.

Finals

2008-04-20T18:10:00.000-05:00

Difficult to report anything but work. Caught up in the midst of finals I have a thousand and one things going on but no brain cells to talk about them.

A friend of mine at MCAD has just recently set herself up with a website and I would highly recommend checking her stuff out. She has great illustrations and amazing tone work.

Nicole Vanche

Little news and Storyboards

2008-02-24T20:30:00.000-06:00

I wish that I had more news to add. I'm afraid everything is going a bit slow right now.

I've been working on two larger projects that have been taking a lot of my time but that don't give me a lot to show. I do have some storyboards that I made last week that I like a lot though.

I was also playing around on Flickr today and found a really interesting imagery tool that finds photographs based on an image you draw.

Icon Design and a new blog

2008-02-13T14:37:00.000-06:00

Currently I am working on improving my graphic design skills and understanding. I found this link on my Dig News feed and it has some really interesting points on icon design.

http://turbomilk.com/truestories/cookbook/criticism/10-mistakes-in-icon-design/

Also, I have begun a new blog using WordPress which I am hosting on my personal web server. Its focused on discussing the art of storytelling. I hope to be posting interviews, news, video, and links to other interesting articles and artists. Please come join the discussion.
Ailea Studio Storytelling Blog

Final Chase Storyboards

2008-02-09T20:47:00.001-06:00

I added some more parts with the bears and tried to make the ending a little more tense.

Storyboarding

2008-01-29T23:35:00.000-06:00

This semester is one of the greatest I've ever had. I really enjoy my classes and feel incredibly stimulated by my teachers and my peers. One of my classes this term is Storyboarding for Animation and Film. Its very fun and I love how encouraging my teacher is. I've really gotten a chance to experiment with Photoshop and my wacom tablet, learning how quickly I can draw to get my ideas across.
Here are my storyboard roughs for class this week.
The story is just a chase scene between a wolf and a fox.

page 1

page 2

I'm looking forward to finalizing them over the next week. If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it.

Talks Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

2008-01-28T14:00:00.000-06:00

A talk by Sir Ken Robinson on schools and the new direction public education needs to go is amazing. Robinson is a great speaker with just the right amount of wit. This talk was given in 2006 but I just found it and I think its amazing. One thing he said that really struck me as an artist was, "if your not prepared to be wrong you will never do anything original." This is very true, yet is something that public schooling trains out of us. Probably one of my most challenging daily trials is to push through my own fear of mistakes to create something new. What would the possibilities be if our schooling fostered creativity instead of squashing it. What sort of art would that new generation create? What kinds of new inventions?

Check out the video

My last blog post was about the new 3D gaming tools that are being created. That fascinated me, I would like to see more of these kind of innovations created in the future. I've especially been interested in the possibilities these kinds of technologies offer to comics. Would it be possible to create a 3D comic? Something that looked like an image on paper but as you moved around new objects or characters would be revealed. Could this be a new way to involve readers in a story?

2008-01-23T18:04:00.001-06:00

I'm really truly excited for what is soon to come out in the world of video games. As a comic artist and illustrator I have dreams of someday doing some of the concept work for games like these. Imagine the possibilities.

Zefriel v. 1

2008-01-10T00:13:00.000-06:00

So the fox comic is finished but I've decided to retouch it before I put it in my portfolio. I would also really like to continue Twin Cities Babylon sometime in the near future. I hope that I have time for it. In the mean time I'm playing with a new coloring style and working more in Corel Painter. Here is a partially finished painting based on a role playing character named Zefriel. He's a half dragon.

2007-12-24T14:15:00.001-06:00

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/

Okay here is what you do.
1. click on the link above
2. scroll down to the list of all the democratic and republican presidential candidates.
3. click on the first candidate on the list
4. Scroll down to 'On The Issues' click on the first link
5. Read the candidates position on all the issues.
6. repeat steps 4-5 for all candidates and become a fully informed voter
7. send out this to do list to everyone you know.

I know this will take a little while but its important and I don't care who you vote for except that I believe everyone has the responsibility to form their own opinions.

2007-12-11T17:59:00.000-06:00

My first fully finished page for my comic final!!!

Yay!!!

sexy flash

2007-11-19T00:47:00.001-06:00

So in planning for my own gallery redesign and also working on some consulting for a friends gallery I've been spending a good deal of time researching different ways of showing off a large number of images in an easy to load, esthetically pleasing way, and damned if this isn't the sexiest gallery I've ever seen.
Its a beautiful utilization of flash in a simple environment and it loads quickly and beautifully. The only issue for me is that it is flash which still has some compatibility problems for older browsers and users who don't like to download new software and Flash is still not supported on phones with web access which is a problem because the number of users accessing sites from mobile devices is raising every day.

So, as beautiful as it is I don't know if I could use it in my own site yet. Never the less... its fucking gorgeous.

2007-11-14T20:36:00.000-06:00

I wish I had more to update with.
I've begun conversation with a woman who has connections in Ireland and begun planning to visit there to continue my storytelling research. This is of course a bit of forward planning because I can't leave until Summer 2009 but I like to know what I'm doing, even if the plans change completely between now and then.
I'm still working on the beginnings of my senior project as well as a 14 page story for Comic 3. I'll be uploading the sketches to my website soon.

Speaking of websites, I think mines in need of an overhaul. I need a full on identity and a layout that doesn't act odd every few page loads. It looks cool but I've decided that it isn't as practical as I would like it to be. I'll also be adding more PHP for fast updating and perhaps move my blog fully on to my server.

I miss Twin Cities Babylon. I really want to start it up again. Soon Babylon. Soon.

2007-10-31T15:42:00.000-05:00

As anyone who actually reads this might have noticed, Twin Cities Babylon had to be put on hold till the end of this hellish semester. I've noticed I don't do well during semester on anything other than school work, which is as it should be I suppose.

I've begun work on my senior project and its looking awesome, I'm loving my process book. I've finally settled on a workable piece that can show off my talents and that I will enjoy doing but that I don't have so much investment in that it will take years to complete, which is what my other ideas were turning into.
While trying to figure out what I wanted to do for my senior project I stumbled upon a few more exceptional ideas that I plan on investing in in the years to follow my graduation. The research will involve travel, which I'm really looking forward too. In anticipation of this I have begun researching grants that can help me afford my endeavor. Grants are a bitch to find. Well, not grants in general, put a search into Google for grants and you'll get pages and pages of hits and most of those only lead to more lists, more memberships, and more reasons to let go of more money but so far very few have had what I need.
There is a neat storytelling grant that might work from Northlands Storytelling Network
And a comic and cartoonist grant besides the Xeric grant which only covers self publishing costs, not research or travel.
I've also decided I'll try for the Fullbright but there are so many applications every year that I doubt my chances.

2007-10-12T16:08:00.000-05:00

Nothing beats a visit from your mom and home baked cookies never go out of style.

Twin Cities Babylon part 2 - 5

2007-09-29T00:16:00.000-05:00

Part 2
Title: It came from the water

Part 3
Title: The Foundling

Part 4
Title: No Hospital

Part 5
Title: Public Transportation

Twin Cities Babylon : The Fall

2007-09-21T08:19:00.000-05:00

Series Title: Falling Into Babylon
Comic 1: The Fall

Here is comic one. I'm so nervous about this comic. I think I'm going to stay with a more greyed out color pallet, it seems to fit better and matches the grey skies that are all around these days. Its so cold already.

2007-09-16T19:57:00.000-05:00

Wow. Its been a long time.
At school I've taken over the job of RA which is nice but time consuming along with my seventeen credits and four studio classes, three of which are comic studios. I'm also taking a web comic workshop and building the basis for what I hope to be a continuing web comic.

It will be a combination of fantasy and reality set in the twin cities.

This is Sheiryth. She's crazy, and very blue, not in the emotional sense though, she's to crazy for that.

This is Doug, he's hip and he's a chef.

Lil
She's Doug's best friend and has been crashing in his basement for the last year while she finishes school.

Shade is evil. He wants to capture Sheiryth but lately he's been distracted by the hot Minneapolis night life.

Text and Word Balloons

2007-07-21T12:43:00.000-05:00

The text element of the comic medium must be taken into account when developing a good story. Whether the artist decides to create a story entirely with text or not using any text at all, the decision must be a conscious artistic choice.

In word balloons the type of text used can change the way the words are interpreted. Someone saying, “no you can’t” in a normal font has a very different impact from, “NO YOU CAN’T” or even “no you can’t”. These changes in type face and size impact how readers interpret the words being used. This gives the readers a greater sense of the character’s emotions, their personality, and the theme of the story.

Will Eisner, had an especially good instinct for the combination of textual and visual elements. Whenever he incorporated text it always matched the story he was working on.
In the Spirit, Eisner really introduced the idea of dynamic text and titles. In every issue of the Spirit the title of the comic would be incorporated into the body of the first page. It would become an element of the storytelling rather than a simple description that is observed in most comics.

When I'm working on my own comics, I admit that I have a tendency to take the easy road and use computer text, its generally faster and as most of my work is rendered on a computer with a Wacom tablet its faster than printing it out. However, I always do feel a keen sense of disappointment when I look at the finished product. The text element of a visual story must match up to the images that make up the majority of the storytelling or something becomes lost. It is the goal of comic artists to take into account all aspects of their storytelling craft and ensure that no one element will draw to much attention as to pull the audience out of the fantasy that the artist has created.

Here are some interesting pages on text and word balloons in comics.
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~mfram/Pages/3036-sound.html
http://comixtalk.com/comic_theory_101_loopy_framing

Motocycles in Montana

2007-07-14T12:08:00.000-05:00

So my dad's in town for the weekend, he drove cross country across Montana on his motorcycle. Its a lot of fun, hanging out, talking, building computers. Right now my dad's showing me some of the photographs he took with his digital camera while he was on the road. Some of them he even took while driving.

I must admit that I am not a fan of Montana, sorry, its nothing personal. But damn, it is still some really beautiful countryside. Those slightly curving hills and way off in the background the points of snow covered mountains. I'm going to see if I can't get a copy of a few of the pictures my father took. They're beautiful. His motorcycle is in the foreground which is, in of itself, a beautiful piece of equipment.

Fox

2007-07-09T21:48:00.000-05:00

Here is a character study that I did for my Comic Book Story Telling class.

I really enjoy this character a lot. This really is a very very quick drawing of her but never the less, some of her answers to the questions are really fun.
Fox Character Study
Update: I'm sorry the link seems to be down. I'll try to get it fixed soon.

Drawing for fun

2007-07-07T18:53:00.000-05:00

Wow. I had forgotten how much I missed drawing, just for the fun of it.

Last night I had dinner with some friends. It was a wonderful dinner, one of the best I've had in a very long time. The food was good and the company was better. We laughed and joked and as the main course was coming to a close we all pulled out sketch pads and drew each other in a round. Then we switched. It was a great experience.

Not since my early days of high school have I been able to draw with friends in a comfortable environment just for the joy of drawing. It was fascinating to me to see the differences in each piece as well, we all had such different styles.

My favorite was the drawing my boyfriend did of me, but I'm biased.

I feel inspired to draw again today, in a way I haven't been in a while. Inspiration comes and goes but sometimes you have to help it along a little. I'm absolutely going to do this again. I feel great.

sketches

2007-07-02T20:10:00.001-05:00

Ozy and Millie

2007-06-29T18:10:00.000-05:00

So its been many a week since I've last updated. I've been on a great adventure and a guest to discover new discoveries... I also drove through Montana in a little over a day.
So I've been traversing the mighty US of A in a little car filled to the brim with boxes, a tv, and piles of beautiful, must have junk to put into my new apartment. Sadly, I won't be able to move into my new apartment until August and everything doesn't have a place in the current abode so for now its sitting in a pile in the middle of the living room.

Since I returned I have spent quite a few hours reconnecting with the internet and catching up on my favorite web comics as well as reading a few new ones.

Ozy and Millie by D.C. Simpson, is probably one of my favorite web comics. I just started reading it but its been around for quite some time. I'm still going through the archives.

As far as art goes this one is top notch. The artist really does a great job and knows his style well. Its of the anthro style but the fact that they're all animals doesn't distract and the characters are so loveable I don't care at all.
I absolutely adore the political commentary and discussion about social and cultural stupidity as well.
Its also making me what to refer to all annoying politicians as Poo-heads.
In short, I'm in love. Millie also reminds me of myself at a young age so that could be part of it as well. ^_^

sketch

2007-06-06T21:34:00.000-05:00

A sketch I did after watching the last season of Buffy. There is some freaky stuff that goes on with eyes in that season.

2007-06-06T02:57:00.000-05:00

Its funny, as I have been traversing Minneapolis from home to work and back again, I have found quite a bit of time to write some really interesting things in a little black notebook, blog worthy things. Yet, when I get home, I can not find the energy to do anything with my computer.

Having spent the entire day staring at a computer screen I am much more inclined to play a game, talk, read a book, or just curl up in a ball and not move for a few hours.

That's not to say that my work is bad. The people I work with are wonderful and the work is actually quite enjoyable, and I'm learning a lot.

Its just that... I feel so drained.

I feel stoppered up. My creativity is there, in my head. Its filling me so much some days that my hands shake with the need to let it out. But I can't seem to. I have been given many opportunities to let my creativity go wild, and yet I do not. I don't know quite what is keeping me this way, maybe its backlash from school, maybe its stress, maybe I'm just more lazy than I'd like to admit.

Every day on the bus when I sit with my little black notebook the world seems to open in front of me. But the second it closes my world narrows back to a small empty cube.

Buses

2007-05-23T13:55:00.001-05:00

Well, as the internet at my house was out this post is a few days late.

The early morning sun is always something glorious to behold. Especially for an art student, we don't get to see it often.

Yesterday I rode to work on the Minneapolis Bus System. I really do feel that this system could be improved, it leaves much to be desired. The arrival times should be right to within a minute or two of the times posted on their website and I don't know who came up with the same number, different letters idea for naming their buses but its greatly lacking in practical functionality, it sucks. Buses named 21A, B, and C all take slightly different routes or only go so far to my destination. I don't know how many times I've ended up only halfway to where I want to go with no other bus in sight.

However the buses do give me an opportunity to really brush up my drawing skills. Its so convenient to be surrounded by people who all sit perfectly still. Most are asleep or believe that it is terribly impolite to address strangers on the bus. No one talks to me or looks over my shoulder while I draw and can't really say anything if they seem me drawing them. As I said, it's convenient.

I really do get some of my best ideas while I'm on the bus, looking out the window and watching the world go by. Even walking to the bus stop that morning was fun.

I walked down the sidewalk watching my feet treading on the cracks and falling back into childhood wondering if I'd be falling a breaking my back. Then laying on the sidewalk in front of me was an extremely large earthworm, it twitched. It was dying and already two large centipedes had attached themselves to its body to consume it.

I looked at them and felt sadness, empathy for a worm, and also comfort, it reminded me of the natural order. It reminded me that the cycle of life, in all its horrifying realities, it continues and it changes.

I wanted to remember those thoughts so I pulled out my camera phone, I felt like an intruder, so I snapped a picture and continued on my way.

it looks to be a great summer

2007-05-08T19:23:00.000-05:00

So as of this moment my finals are finished, kaput, done, and gone. Hooray!!!!
Now I can look to this summer which looks to be full of entertainment and adventure.

On Friday I begin my web internship at MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) which I am very much looking forward to.

I will also begin a number of personal projects including redesigning my website in Flash and in PHP, writing the script and thumbnails for my senior project, learning more about Adobe InDesign and Flash, and making a ten page comic about two brothers after their father's funeral.
That of course will be along side a visit to Portland, Oregon, spending time with my wonderful boyfriend, and taking some nice hikes around the city and the wilderness.

It looks to be a great summer.

Computer vs Traditional

2007-04-30T09:28:00.000-05:00

So, I have spent all week sitting in front of my computer cleaning up the pages for my comic final (a few sample pages are available in the last post). And I truly never expected it to be this tedius.

Some people complain that computer work is cheating, that its faster and easier than traditional. This is an argument I'm going to have to disagree with.

True that the undo button is something that I take full advantage of and is something not available in drawing and painting, but I have found that the amount of time it takes to make something look really good, to look really clean and not pixelated or computerized can take just as much time as any traditional media.

Penciling this comic took me about five hours per page. Versus pencil and paper this is a bit faster than the average time of ten hours. However, the clean-up process and the refining of line that is the computerized version of inking is not so quick. For me this process takes almost twice as long per page than any form of finishing, painting, inking, anything.

I would like some feedback if anyone reads this. What is your preference of media? Do you find the computer to be faster or slower than traditional medias and where do you like to use it and where do you not?

2007-04-27T18:50:00.000-05:00

We are now entering the last week of finals.

I've been spending a lot of my time working on my comic final for my Image as Narrative class. Its an eight page comic that could be extended to nine.
Over the summer I plan on redoing it in scratch board.

Here are a few pages in progress

Outside of comics I'm working on a few papers and a drawing. I'm also working on redoing my site using a php template but that doesn't look to be done until after the semester ends.
I've also begun planing to make a Flash version of my site. This will probably be up mid summer or so.

Ailea-Studio v2.0

2007-03-27T03:56:00.000-05:00

My total reworking of my website is up and running. :sigh: It only took me two months.
I've used some really awesome javascript and css in this version to add lightbox 2.0 to show my images. Pretty awesome script. I had to work with it a little bit to make it do what I wanted but it came out pretty nice.

So now its four in the morning. I have a bunch of new comics and illustrations to put up on the sight but that will have to wait for tomorrow, I'm exhausted.

good night all.

2007-03-21T01:08:00.000-05:00

So you might have noticed a few changes.
^_^ I figured out how to manipulate the HTML for this thing. Yay!
I've added a number of links at the top of the page that, as of yet do not work. But fret not. They will work soon. I plan to have the redesign of my site up and running by the end of spring break.

for now you can still check out my old site at www.ailea-studio.com

When the update does occur you can look forward to several new illustrations and four new, never before seen comics as well as a better navigation system and overall design.

2007-03-19T17:38:00.000-05:00

Well we've hit midterms and the work has started snowballing. Which is ironic as the sun is shining the wind is warm and the last of the snow has begun to melt.
I want to go dance in the sun shine but I am stuck inside working.
I am getting ready for my schools merit scholarships where we compete for really nice packs of money based on the best artist in each major and department, or at least, the one judged best, there are always those that disagree with the results. I'm fairly confident that I will not win because there are some truly amazing comic artists participating this year but I will try my best and it will be a good experience.
To add to my merit scholarship show I have completed three new comics that I very much enjoy. There is Life, Touch, and Samurai no Musume which means Daughter of the Samurai. I've had a lot of fun with all of these projects. My favorite so far has been Samurai no Musume because I had to do research on ancient Japan and the traditions of the feudal era.

In this time period the women of Japan were often left to protect their lands while the men rode off to try and conquer other lands. Most women were accomplished warriors and fought with long spears with curved blades and short swords more like long daggers. The daggers were more often used in suicides which were the preference to being captured where it was expected that a woman would be raped and sold into slavery. Her suicide was the honorable thing to do. It was similar to the ritual suicide performed by males except that the blade went across the throat instead of the stomach.

I plan on updating my website soon with all of these new comics and also look forward to an entirely new layout for my website. Its a little darker but I think it works well.