WELCOME SITSTAS!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

So just this morning I was sitting around thinking, "Wendy, you really gotta get back in the blogging business. You're a total slacker." Then I went to bed for like seven or eight hours (I just got out of a 10 hour overnight shift, so it's not as slackerish as it sounds to go right to bed first thing in the a.m.) and when I got up I had an email from the girls at SITS, letting me know I am going to be Tuesday's featured blogger! How f-ing radical is that? I think we're going with a few of my funnier posts, of which I have not continued for quite sometime. Mourning the somewhat recent passing of your mom shortly after the somewhat less recent loss of a sibling while going to grad school, raising a family of girls with emotional needs and starting a new job working with troubled teens overnight will take the funny right out of a person. Life has been pretty challenging, extremely enlightening, somewhat overwhelming, but not particularly humorous, or maybe at best the kind of humorous that you only recognize the humor in months or years later.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the funny posts and make yourself at home with some of the more recent artsy updates. (And by the way, if you're getting sick of sock monkeys, real design work, canvases and prints will be coming up later this summer and I am hoping for a quilt, bag design and digital work as well. We'll see.)

I was planning to do the drawing for my free monkey last week, but luckily I didn't so feel free to enter if you're stepping over from SITS. I promise to draw on Friday. Really, I totally mean it this time.

Stop the Madness!

Monday, May 11, 2009

I need to stop making monkeys for awhile. It's out of control. I blame Nina for this, because one day when I was wondering what to make next, she said, "make a sock monkey." And now look what happened! I am overrun with monkeys! I really need to move on soon. This is silly.

Owen loves Camel cigs (although he comes from a non-smoker home), cheap beer and hot she-monkeys. He loves to rock out with his buddies all night, play poker and drink tequila shots whenever he gets the chance.

He's looking for a home where he can live out his life in the rockstar lifestyle he has always longed for. He prefers to sleep tucked in beside blonds, but any sexy momma will do.

Owen is child safe and loves kids, but may be a poor influence on your teens.

Owen is made of knee high black and gray socks and double-stitched all over. He is built to party hard.

Jethro is a mini-sock monkey made of new navy blue and gray socks with a pirate patch on his belly and a red heart bandanna on his head.

Jethro just showed up on our doorstep one night. We think it had something to do with one of Owen's wild nights, but Owen will only say "Billy Jean is not my lover," while grabbing his crotch. We're not really sure what that means.

Regardless, Jethro is a very sweet little monkey. He loves Pirates of the Caribbean, mashed peas and carrots, rock and roll and oddly enough, classical flute music. He sleeps through the night and doesn't cry much. He's very easy to care for and child safe.

Both of these little dudes are on etsy.

I need to draw who wins the this monkey this week, by the way. Sign up to win here! Everyone is welcome to enter.

I exploded & here's a good cause for you

Monday, May 4, 2009

So this week I have finished too many projects to post. I like to try to stay focused (although I often fail on that, I admit). So, instead of showing all the work I did this week, I'll keep it simple and show you what I made for Spirit Jump (shout out!), because it's a great cause and if you have it in you, please sign up. It will make someone else feel great and it's not so bad for you either.

Spirit Jump was started by two women who have suffered with cancer: Meaghan and Stacy. Basically, it works like this. Cancer sucks and it's nice to get a little "jump" when you're dealing with treatment or are helping a loved one through treatment. If you're crafty, have an etsy shop or want to buy a little card and/or gift to send to someone who could use a lift, you can sign up to be a jumper and make and/or donate to people who could use a little encouragement via their mailboxes. Check them out here. Or investigate the new link on my sidebar to your right.

In the meantime, this is one of the projects I finished last week. I'm calling it a munchkin monkey, because it is smaller than a regular sock monkey. It's child safe and has no name or story like I normally write up. That's for her new owner to decide.

Why school is rad

Monday, April 27, 2009

Because I get to make stuff to go with my papers, that's why.

This is the visual art portion of my response to Principles and Practices of Expressive Therapy.

Barbara won't touch my plaster hand. It totally creeps her out, which I interpret as fantastic realism, don't you?

The inside of the box has photo copies of our reading assignments. The outside has applicable exciting stuff about actually doing the work and experiencing expressive therapy.

That's all I have time to say about anything right now. 'Tis the season to be doing final projects after all...

By the way, vote for my new Jone's image. It's one of my sock monsters (currently available in my etsy store, by the way...)

I need a new name

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Yesterday I decided I need a new name. I have always self-identified as a funky, artsy (almost a rock-star, but a tad on the nerdy side and far too innocent). I have been seeing a hair-dresser for the past several months and like giving me hormone replacement treatments, she has been helping me transition by slowly funkdefying my mousy locks. As of yesterday at 12pm, I have bright red, almost pinkish hair.

I instantly knew red-heads have more fun.

As soon as Jeanne (the hair stylist) turned the chair around, I started smiling and felt full of spunk. I walked out of the salon to my car and people said to me, "damn! I have never seen such a good time stuck on a person." Okay, nobody really said that, but one chick said my hair looked cute.

Check my wild-side, self-portrait head out! If only my eyebrows matched. That's sorta weird, but that's the price of being an artsy geeked-out rock star.


The problem is, now I don't really recognize myself. Maybe this is a good opportunity to just be someone else and take on a totally fresh identity. I'm thinking of Lola. Has anyone seen Run Lola Run? I've also always wanted to live in NYC. Perhaps it's time to wear more eye makeup, change my name, move to NYC and become the lead singer in an emo band. Or not.

Shout out to Candid Carrie and Friday Foto Finish Fiesta.