birch tree beehive

i started a new painting today. this is it a couple of hours in.

unearthed during some research

why i think this is funny sort of speaks for itself.

finished pencil box

these are some pictures of the pencil box i made for shauna. the kitty, inside and feet of the box are prussian blue; the color on the body of the box is just a thin coat of white gesso. I covered the whole thing with a coat of shiny varnish.

finished spoons

i've finally finished the wooden spoons i was working on. the top spoon is for me, while the bottom spoon is to be sent of to isreal for the mum of a friend of my sisters. the pencil box is nearly complete as well; it just needs a coat of varnish. i'll post a picture of it tomorrow in all of its painted and shiny glory.

pencil box progress

the little pencil box i'm working on is coming along nicely. all that's left to do is gesso, compose a design, paint and varnish. hopefully i'll finish it up by tomorrow.

happy st patrick's day

i don't really know what this picture is all about - although it does seem vaguely offensive - but this is what comes up when you google irish monkey. anyway, happy paddy's day. i'll be crafting all day; i have several wood-working projects going right now so i'll be spending the day on the stoop sanding wooden spoons and cutting tiny bits for a pencil box i'm working on. these are some pics of my early progress. enjoy the day.

preview of things to come

blogjamming readership is way down since before thanksgiving when my old hand turkey post created all of that internet buzz. so, while i'm not sure who's reading this, i am pledging here and now to increase my output, and will do so over the next two weeks with arts and crafts posts, hopefully some comic book progress posts and a several part series - à la my spring training posts - on some comic book artists that i'm looking at right now or were influential in initially getting me hooked on the medium back in the day. as for why i've posted this picture of papi, just look at the guy and his doppelgänger bobblehead. as always adorable. see you monday.

a stroll through the old hood

now that i'm living in j.c. i don't get back to the old hood very often; this will no doubt change when the weather picks up and zummy puts their tables back out on the sidewalk. ah yes! sun, german beers and wieners! i happen to be on second street yesterday and passed a community garden on second street, a few blocks from the old apartment that had some new decor. i love this bit of muralling and thought i should put it up on blogjamming. spring break is starting tomorrow for both of the schools i've been working at so expect and increase in post frequency and arts and crafts output.

snow day!

to celebrate my first snow day as a teacher here are some pictures of monkeys in the snow. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!