Run!

Yay! It’s Halloween, my fav-o-rite! From current celebrations to Halloween’s incredibly rich pagan history across many cultures and groups of people and religions, the close of summer and the end of the harvest is an incredibly powerful and interesting time. Be a dork like me and learn more here: Halloween Wikipedia entry.

Here are a few vintage Halloween postcards that I’ve found around the web and really love. I’m just fascinated by how many postcards used to be produced to commemorate nearly every day. And as always with vintage postcards, the emotional and stylistic gamut they run is so interesting.

We’ve got your spooky (above) and your portraiture (below)

It's like a family photo.

A little classic witchery, complete with some amazing characters in the cauldron’s smoke.

Witch & kitty & friends.

A touch of what the…???

The traditional Pumpkinhead Baby & Owl BFFship.

Rad pumpkin cart!

Sage advice from the Greeks to us.

A little Victoriana is always found in postcard art:

Vintage Sexy Witch, omg!

Some things never change.

And this gem that has a lot more in common with Halloween’s ancient thematic roots of the harvest and fear of winter than most of things we see now:

Scary!

So, enjoy!

Happy Halloween scary blast from the past. Poor Pluto!

My ARC jacket design for Jackson Pearce's awesome new book "Sisters Red"

Well, OK, this post was a LONG time coming. I’ve been working on a bunch of really fun designs since the summer and haven’t posted many of them here on my blog. In part because for a few, like this one that I am SUPER excited about, I had to wait until everything was final and a full on GO.

And here we go! I got the chance and had the supreme pleasure of working with Little, Brown, & Co. on the book jacket design for Jackson Pearce, and really lovely and talented writer, on her newest book Sisters Red, which will be published to the public in June 2010.  Jackson Pearce describes the plot best, so I won’t bother to butcher it for you:

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris– the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She’s determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax– but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they’ve worked for.

A little publishing world insider information: What you see above is the final design for the ARC Cover, aka the Advanced Reading Copy, this is a near-final copy of a book that is sent out for reviews, but that may still have final revisions before the actual publication date. ARC covers are typically not the complete or final design, though sometimes they are very close. (As we think in this case…don’t you?)

Naturally having read a manuscript copy of Jackson’s book Sisters Red I can tell you that it’s super awesome and that you should certainly find a copy next year when it’s out (I’ll post a reminder, don’t worry) because it’s quite good. But, in the meantime Jackson is hosting a giveaway of a few of her personal copies of her ARCs on her website here with a super fun video of “Things You Can’t Have” (including her adorable puppy and some of my prints eeeee!) and then happily “Things You CAN Have” too, so check it out.

The main problem that this designed needed to solve was to be eye-catching and to be something that would attract you from across a room, say at a bookstore. Fun challenge for sure. So, I hope that you like it.

Double thanks to Tracy & Little, Brown & Co. and Jackson!

Book publishers, see anything you like Feel free to contact us for book jacket design, we love doing them!

Since we lost our best guy Jettson in early September it’s been a too quiet household here. We definitely started looking for a new 4-pawed friend about 2 weeks ago. Amazingly, we found this little bag of donuts at a fabulous local shelter  called Animal Friends here in Pittsburgh, PA and took her home this past Saturday. Meet Sprite! / Squee(gee) / Tank. 2 year-old Boston Terrier-Jack Russell mix. Fully housebroken and 125% sweetpea snuggler.

Here is a video of the spazz out all dogs do in the meet’n'greet room the night that we first met her. She was so sweet and funny with bat ears for days (click this link!)

We walked her around outside the shelter to get her some fresh air. I’m pretty sure Sprite! just thought we were random volunteers taking her for a walk. But then, when she hopped in the car, she busted out this huge smile:

And then fell asleep in my lap while Craig drove us all home:

Sprite! (yes, the ! is a part of her name’s spelling) is settling in well. She has since defeated The Candy Corn:

And moved onto The Carrot:

Thanks for reading and meeting Sprite!

Please always consider adopting a new pet rather than buying one. Many cats, dogs, bunnies, and other pets from pet stores DO NOT come from reputable breeders. Please don’t support irresponsible breeding and abuse of animals. And now more than ever, there are literally millions of fantastic, ready-to-go-home-with-you pets in shelters all over the country. Breed specific rescue groups are also a fantastic way to find a new best friend too.

For more information and resources nationally and in your area, check out these links below:

The American Human Association (US)

The Humane Society (US)

The SPCA (International)

Petfinder

Best Friends Animal Society

And as one of pets’ best friends in the US ever, Bob Barker, always closed The Price Is Right with these important words: “Please always spay & neuter your pets.”

Just a super quick reminder that I will be at one of the country’s premiere craft and DIY handmade art shows in the country tomorrow in Washington, DC –> at Crafty Bastards! If you are in the area, definitely come check it out. I’m booth #50, but trust me there will be an overload of awesome. Get your holiday shopping started bright, right & early or treat yourself with some incredible handamde work.

A full sized and easily readable Vendor Map is here for you, and yeah like, um, come on over to #50 and say hi!

That's right! The strawberryluna booth is at #50. Click for a larger image.

The awesome crew of Crafty Bastards have set up some extra cool things on their blog here from highlights of some of the hand selected talent showing this year, to The Art of the Snark, a cool little roundup of sharp wits, and a great article for booth monkeys, AKA craft show helpers.

DETAILS: Saturday, October 3, 2009, 10am-5pm at the Marie Reed Learning Center at 18th & Wyoming (Google Maps) in the hip Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC.

And! Follow Crafty Bastards on Twitter to receive awesome of-the-moment special deals and AT the show! Just check out @CraftyBastards and have at it.

Other friends of mine that I love and who’s work you should check out are Bossanova Baby at #45, right next to Berkley Illustration at #44 , El Jefe Design at booth #20, Giant Dwarf at #112, girlscantell over at booth #23, Mogo at booth #33, and Squidfire at #29. Yay! Can’t wait.

Plus, lookit this cool illustration by Ben Claassen III that you can color and flip forward to make your own Crafty Bastards cover. He’ll be at booth #103.

For more information about the location and time, please check out my previous blog post here!

And, here is a sweet little preview of some of the artists at Crafty Bastards, via a fabulous Crafty Bastards Gift Guide put together at Etsy, so cool. (Look for my Set Of Any 3 Alphabet Prints!) Thanks guys!

Click to see the Crafty Bastards Gift Guide!

Hand screenprinted, 4-color love letter to fall. Click for more details or to purchase.

Fall & Autumn, my favorite 2 seasons. So, I’m not at all surprised that while in the process of hand printing this art print, I decided to do two colorways of the same print. This is the fourth print in series of seasonal, limited edition prints that I’ve been doing all year. That’s right, they fit the number of seasons, crazy right?!

Anyhoo, here you see both colorways, the above as planned 4-color design with metallic gold leaves, (edition of 75) and the below with frosty, nay, ghostly white negative space leaves. A harbinger of things to come (a smaller edition of just 25). The leaf shapes are from leaves that I gathered on a dog walk and scanned in at home a couple of years ago. I love their shape and definition.

Click either image for more details or to purchase, cause those clicks will take you right to my website.

Hand screenprinted, 3-color love letter to fall. Click for more details or to purchase.

And, here are a few cruddy phone-photographs of the print in progress while on press:

First color, orange, being printed.

2 colors completed, things are shaping up!

3rd color, the brown of the tree. This is where I started thinking about splitting the edition in two.

The final 4-color print, on press and all done.

Side by sidesies.

Let’s get this truth out of the way first: I love Jason Lytle. Unabashedly and completely. What’s not to adore? His songwriting is orignal and fantastic, he’s a funny assed dude, and a sweetpea. He is just super dupes.

We got to see Jason Lytle play a live set as the opening act for Neko Case while touring in support of his first and incredibly good solo record (Yours Truly, The Commuter) this summer at possibly the weirdest venue that Pittsburgh has yet managed to pull out of thin air: a swampy downslope on the Monongahela River next to a water slide park. It was a warm and muggy night full of folding chairs, teenaged ushers with no real idea where one’s seat were, and the slow roll of Jason Lytle’s music weaving magic. I can’t say it was ideal, but it was perfect, if you get me. Thanks for being so nice too after the show sir, I love my poster and doodley postcards.

With all of the work and travel that I’ve done in September this year, I’m a little behind on some things, and this NPR’s excellent All Songs Considered recorded show of Mr. Lytle’s at The Bowery Ballroom in NYC this past July, but posted by All Songs Considered on 7/11/09 is one of them. Just listen and fall in love.

You can listen and stream or download his set here or click on the photo below.

Jason Lytle, live in concert at The Bowery Ballroom in NYC on 7/11/09. (Photo courtesy of All Songs Considered.)

Well, color me blushing.

The super talented and extremely cool Jeffery Everett of El Jefe Design, in Washington DC asked me to do an interview for his series called The Screening Process on a blog that he regularly contributes to called The Vinyl District. (Please check out TVD it’s amazing! For instance, I just found a great post with some old David Sylvan / Japan mp3s. And here, I thought that I was the only one who liked Japan then, let alone now.)

Jefferey’s questions were really great, and my responses were kinda…well, me. Ha! Anyway, if you are interested in the behind the scenes sort of process, thought, and mindsweat that goes into design and hand screenprinting posters and prints, SHA-BAM! This interview will wet your whistle, cowboy.

The interview is posted here for you and definitely check out El Jefe Design’s work, he’s quite the fella. And, he will also be appearing at the Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair on October 3rd, 2009. Can’t wait to hang out and look at his work in person.

Hooorraaay!! I am SO excited about this craft show, Crafty Bastards, happening on October 3rd, this coming Saturday. I’ve always heard great things about it, so I finally got up the gumption to apply for it this year, and lo! I made the cut. Since this is my first time, I don’t have a lot of firsthand info or chat, so I will let the spectacular crew of Crafty Bastards do the talking. From the Crafty Bastards website, all of the information you will ever need. Mention that you saw this post on my blog, and receive a free bookmark & sticker pack OR $5 off of my newest art print, Fall 2009, your choice friend.

Hope to see you there! Here is a great list of the participating vendors for 2009, searchable by name, alphabetical order, or craft type, how helpful and rad!

All about the Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair:

What is it?
Now in its 6th year, Crafty Bastards(sm) Arts & Crafts Fair is an exhibition and sale of handmade alternative arts and crafts from independent artists presented by the Washington City Paper. The fair is all-day, outdoors, free to attend, and will offer goods for sale, food, entertainment, prizes, and more! Crafty Bastards will take place Saturday, October 3, 2009 in Washington, DC.

Why are we doing it?
As DC’s premier alternative newsweekly, City Paper promotes underground art and strives to connect the voice and vision of the indie craft community with our readers. In our Classifieds section, in print and online, we have a special Crafty Bastards advertising section through which craftspeople can sell their wares and throughout the year we post craft related info on the Crafty Bastards blog, Cut the Craft, where we invite talented crafters to share their knowledge and expertise with the public. Every fall we hold the fair which creates an experience where the urban consumer can discover unconventional, hard-to-find arts and crafts, meet the artists, as well as enjoy an outdoor event with fun and entertainment! In 2008 we hosted a spring show that focused on learning, workshops, up-and-coming artists, and those newer to the indie craft scene.

When is this event and how do I find it?

Saturday, October 3, 2009, 10am-5pm at the Marie Reed Learning Center at 18th & Wyoming (Google Maps) in the hip Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC.

Read the FAQ for more information.

What kinds of crafts will I find?
You won’t find mass produced or imported goods here. You will find talented vendors handpicked by a select jury for their DIY chops and singular vision selling things you never knew existed and that you may never see again! There’ll be surprises at every booth including reconstructed clothing, punk rock baby clothes, handcrafted jewelry, whimsical and demented plush toys, handspun yarn, screen-printing, avant-garde art and much more!

Event History
In 2004, City Paper held the first Crafty Bastards(sm) Arts & Crafts Fair at the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace. We featured 150 vendors, food, and bands. In 2005, Crafty Bastards moved to the Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan, and has since featured more than 100 indie craft vendors, over 20,000 attendees, food, sponsors, prizes, a b-boy battle, workshops, and entertainment that’s included a fire-eater, kid-friendly rock shows, a fashion show, belly dancers and more! Our sixth year running, we expect another exciting display of creative talent, entertainment and fun for all!

Still have questions?
See our Frequently Asked Questions.

Oooooohhhh..

How cool is this? 500 beautifully colored pencils look absolutely lovely all together. Presented by the folks at Social Designer as a set and a subscription, this is one of those  _______-of-the-month-club deals that I actually think is really rad. Obviously, I am a fan of color, the more the better usually, so these collections and rad little display vignettes just charm the hell out me.

Watch it polar bear!

25 pencils per month for 2o months gets you quite literally all the colors of the rainbow. Or, as Social Designer puts it: “500 Colored Pencils: the only set in the world that matches the span and wonder of human creativity.” At $33 a month, it’s like a sweet 70’s car payment.

I'm into it, all nice and flat on the wall.

PS – All of these photos are examples of the ways that you can store and / or display the wonderland of color that is this 500 Colored Pencil collection, all available at Social Designer as well as a few other neato ideas, beyond the trusty and iconic old coffee can.

Hold 'em tight...

Though I use mostly plain old graphite pencils or scratchy old ink pens to sketch, this collection is tempting, I just love the idea of a fresh set of color like a bouquet (sans mort et bees) arriving to brighten up every month for almost 2 years. And yes, I am a design nerd.

Click on any of the images for more information or this link to visit Social Designer.

Color & light.

Ok, I won’t lie. This summer and well, now early fall have been breakneck speed work, travel to several shows all over the country (Chicago Flatstock, Seattle Flatstock & Chicago Renegade, to name a few), packing orders (with many prints and posters now sold out) and more work for me here at strawberryluna World Wide HQ. So much so that I seem to have forgotten to update my ol’  bloggery here with a few “new” prints and posters. Whoopsie daisy Maisy!

So, without further chit chat, I bring you some “new” releases! Ooooohhhhh…

First up, POSTERS:

Hey, remember Joe Cocker? The man was and IS a rock’n'roll animal to the core. And, he’s been touring pretty much non-stop since the John Belushi SNL skit days, (too young to know what I’m talking about? Weren’t watching SNL as a little kid like I was? Learn here whippersnapper.) Anyway, I had the supreme honor of doing a poster for his show at the Delta Classic Chastain Park Ampitheater in Atlanta, GA.

Offset printed, 4-color, CMYK poster for the incomparable Joe Cocker. Click to purchase or for more info!

Next up, is my rainy day homage to one of my favorite US cities: Seattle! For one of the premier rock poster shows, Flatstock, designers & poster artists have free range to produce a poster for each Flatstock and it’s super fun to do. This year for Seattle’s Flatstock, which happens during the Bumbershoot Music Festival, I made a little play on Seattle & Pittsburgh’s similarity – rain. This poster is based on an illustration that I’ve had floating around for about a year and that I really wanted to use, so I added some musical notes and textures and a lil mod-city in the background to finish the layout. Hope that you dig.

Hand screenprinted, 3-color poster for Flatstock Seattle, 2009 & Bumbershoot Music Festival. Click to purchase or for more information!

And next, let’s get caught up with strawberryluna Art Prints:

And, just in time for autumn, I’d like to premier my Summer 2009 art print, the next new print in my Seasons series. Oh yeah! On time like a bus on a sleeting Christmas Sunday. And not a hair too soon before my Fall 2009 print is done and ready. Ho, ho ho. Loads of overprints dominate this hand screenprinted breezy summer lovin’ expression.

Hand screenprinted, 7-color art print, Summer 2009. Available at my website now. Click to purchase or for more information.

And lo & behold,  last but not least, my most recent art print, the newest colorway of my super popular Going To See My Baby print, this time is fall-ready orange.  Hence the name, Going To See My Baby Orange. Tricky! I know. Who doesn’t love love?

New colorway of my 5-color, hand screenprinted art print, Going To See My Baby Orange. Available on my website now. Click to purchase or for more information!

Ok then, I think that we’re all caught up. Bye summer!