Red Bubble shop now open!

Hey darklings!
I have opened up a Red Bubble shop! Now you can all pick up a few things like greeting cards or notebooks, or t-shirts, or even a phone case that you can flash around to all your buddies letting them know how incredibly cool of a person you are! I mean, what says a person is hip more than a mass produced t-shirt??!!! Don’t question me, just go get something!

Now with flair!

I can now offer up to the masses stickers and buttons that feature my artworks, favorite quotes, or random hilarity that hits me! Considering how much I absolutely LOVE buttons & stickers, this is something I’m super excited to be able to sell now.

In other news, I’m trying to lay the foundations for a Little Miss Strange book. Plotting out her story is a bit tricky as I haven’t completely figured her out. I guess figuring her out is a lot like me figuring myself out. In the meantime, its me just constantly putting out whatever randomly pops into my skull and displaying it for the tiny dark area of the world to see. Not sure of anything really anymore. Be safe whomever reads this. Know that it means the world to me that you care and support me. Especially on the days when I can’t find the energy to believe in myself. Thank you!

Moose nipples are the new craze!

I put that title up because no one freaking reads this blog as far as I know so I'm basically talking to myself here. I could shout about the many, many ways in which barnacle porn is the new hot fetish in SF or how a hippo once saved a sea captain during a terrible storm, and no one would know about it. Because I'm essentially invisible here. So therefore I'm declaring that Moose nipples are not actual nipples but actually a new candy that tastes like Batman eating a hot fudge sundae at the county fair because no one is here to stop me!!! MMMMUUUUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA!!!!!!

For anyone that IS reading this, ........well hi.

awkward silence

I don't really have a clever witty way to end this post sadly. But do I really have to be clever to just myself? I mean, I know that I'm legit cray cray, but does amusing only myself push me further in Crazy-town? Wait, is there a place called Crazy-town? Do they have mini golf or skee ball there? Is it called crazy because of the town or because of the people there? How's the Wi-Fi? Wonder if there are pibbles there that need a good home.......... I guess we’ll never know.

Moose nipples.

I'm not feeling clever enough for a title.

Last night as I was trying to go to sleep, my ADD brain does it’s usual Ted Talk session where it just rambles on and on about random things other than actually sleeping. One of the narratives that popped up was breaking down how my artwork overall fits into specific sections depending on what the medium is. I’m hoping to get my shit together to fix up my site to properly reflect this, but that first required me to know WHAT I want it to look like first! Minions!! I need frakking minions dammit!! Or maybe just a fraction of Dr Strange’s ability to astral-project so that I can DO ALL THE THINGS that I want to do at once! So as I put that assignment on my never ending To Do List, my brain said that I needed reflect on my work. While listening to the soothing sounds of the Derpacabra snoring into my armpit, I mentally put my work into a kind of Mind Gallery and stood back. Here’s how the exhibition ended up working out:

Paintings- My paintings are broken into two different types: the Personal and the Political. When it comes to the Personal, the imagery is designed to covey specific feeling(s) via visual representations. How can one explain how a panic attack feels with out using words? How does one communicate without words what one’s own self confidence is feeling like? How do you convey the feeling of internal rage at the moment it breaks within you? These pieces are how I communicate the difficult emotions that I struggle to express in words but find immensely easier via imagery. I’ve always found that images are easier to explain how or what I’m feeling. We don’t all speak the same way regardless of language, but much like how the pen can be mightier than the sword, a paintbrush can go even further. The Political pieces are more blunt in their expression. I don’t see the point in burying my opinion under 4oo pounds of pretentious bullshit. I actually find that practice to be one of the biggest factors in why art over all has become something the public snubs. Viewers only take in a piece statistically around 3-5 seconds, so unless the piece IMMEDIATELY grabs their attention, they’re going to move on without any further investigation. My political leanings are progressive and deeply feminist, and I tap into my pop culture influences to speak on those messages. I am a Gen Xer, raised by TV, video games, music videos, and the overall deconstruction of the propaganda from my Baby Boomer parents’ heydays. My political images are created with a sense of defiant sarcasm, much like Carrie Fisher giving you the middle finger while grinning sweetly.

Collage- Both paper and digital collages are me creating my own world of nonsense in response to a world focused on putting every little thing in its place, even if its against its own will. I’ve never really fit in most social settings, and it has taken decades to accept this uniqueness as being okay to be. My fasciation with randomness, with the “abnormal”, and anything that triggers my mother to frustratingly say, “why”, has always been something that brought a smile to my face. I see the world through collage, piecing things together that may not go but look so interesting when put they’re next to each other. Puzzles that aren’t really puzzles just waiting to be united. There’s no rules and no wrong answers, all that matters is that spiritual click that happens when a piece says its done.

Illustrations- Being that I’m a complete lunatic, I’m always having random images pop up in my head. Seriously, my brain is one giant room of TVs all running different shows, from every single channel or streaming service in existence all playing at once. Occasionally, an image will emerge out of the noise like one of those annoying pop-up ads on an internet site. These are just examples of how intensely random my interests, humor, and obsessions are. These are how I express my personality in the Visual. My geekiness, dark sense of humor, silliness, and my sense of joy wherever it is found. Dealing with chronic depression, these are the tools that I use to fight back against the mental demons I do battle with. For example, Little Miss Strange is my way of healing the broken pieces from my childhood. She’s one of my “characters” that embodies an assortment of my own persona, but with an access to cartoonish weaponry and a collection of adorable creatures. Influenced by cartoons, comic books, and creatures from the minds of Brian Froud and Jim Henson, my illustrations are love letters to all of those inspirations.

Photography- I don’t really do much of this anymore mostly because I haven’t had the chance to upgrade my camera. However, my desire to capture the beauty in the oddity of everyday life and in nature is still prevalent. Once the ability to visit the flea markets again will mean my fasciation with creepy dolls heads, weird objects, and just the strange out in the world will again be captured. I enjoy highlighting the ways the mundane can be frightening. I love how beautiful the natural decay of things once loved and cherished occurs.

Maybe one day I’ll be able to have a space to put all these things together properly. Besides my own head and walls of my house. One day…….

2020 East Bay Artist book!

Guess what?

Your favorite Strange Child was selected to be one of the artists to be published in the 2020 East Bay Artist book that is set to be released very soon! The book contains over 100 full color images of artists that currently reside in the East Bay area. The book is available now for pre-order for $28, and I highly suggest you pick one up! Pretty please??!! With chocolate sprinkles and cherries on top?!

Supporting local artists this way allows for many of us who don’t have access to the “fine art” galleries to showcase our work for the masses. Artists like myself have been dealing with an extremely difficult time during this pandemic. Most of the avenues I would have been selling my stuff at out there has been canceled for the foreseeable future, so whatever little triumphs I can have I’ll take them! This book would help give a major boost to not only just my work, but my already fragile ego. Please, won’t you think of my ego???!!!!

The link to order the book can be found in the navigation portion of my site. If you order one, I’ll personally write up a letter of recommendation for you to whatever deity you wish.

Support needed!!

Hey there darklings!

Being that I’m currently unemployed, and draining the life essence of my overworked, VERY MUCH underpaid loving Hubby, I really could use some financial support. I am willing to take on commissions, and have TONS of works that would look AMAZEBALLS on your walls!

Suggestions on themes to explore, or crafts to make are also welcome because I love making things!! Especially if they scare the “straights” of this world!!! (evil grin)

Please, share my site as much as you can! BUY ALL THE THINGS!!!!

Lamest Apocalypse Ever

Holy shitballs Deadpool! It’s been almost and entire year since I last updated this. To be fair, I have been completely not busy. But just in case there are people who are interested, which I’m sure there isn’t, I’ll just begin with the highlights and then move on to the main show.

Tried to make art my “full time” gig, and didn’t do very well. Appeared at a couple different events, sold a couple pieces, but over all I wasn’t too successful. Hubby and I had an agreement that I would give it one year and then it was back to “adulting” since he’s the only one bringing in the finances and that’s a bit too much of a burden all on his shoulders. Unfortunately, just as I was starting to, the freaking world developed a plague so I’m stuck. (*pouts*  Me and and fucking timing) During this time of being in the Nothing, I worked on my illustrations, improving my graphic design skills, and trying very hard to not spiral. I had a bad March as the sudden lack of human contact basically dick slapped me in the mental health nutsack. (There’s a visual!)  I broke at one point. Felt like a human shaped cement block walking around. My ADD was all over the map, meaning I had brain fog and the attention span of a hamster unless I was on my phone, then my focus was in LOCK-DOWN on whatever was on the screen. I had completely forgotten the rule I had set up for myself about curbing my phone usage during the evening so that my focus was on my surroundings not the phone. Routines, rules, and plans are annoyingly a very important part of functioning properly for me. I may be an adorable glittery ball of whimsical chaos that smells of freshly baked cookies most of the time, but the chaos has to be reign in most of the time. But my inner Happy Fun Ball is getting the hang of working WITH the system to make it her own as opposed to avoiding it entirely.

Onto other more geeky fun news, our annual trip to Gallifrey One Doctor Who convention in LA this year was fun!! The 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston was there! I got him to sign a Pop figure that I got EXTREMELY lucky to find in the dealer’s room. That line is gone and with it being signed, I’m NEVER giving that thing up! (Especially after I spent literally over 4 hours waiting in line to see him.) Pearl Mackie, who brilliantly played companion Bill, was also there and she was just adorable! I didn’t go as crazy as I wanted to in dealer’s room because of finances, but luckily our tax refund happened to drop while we were there so Hubby took me out to the fancy steakhouse the hotel has for a Valentine’s Day dinner. (Boneyard Bistro remains the best steak I’ve ever had) We had made some friends while at the most recent Dickens Faire who were also going to the convention. They’re amazing at cosplaying so I am filled with geeky glee seeing what they come up with! The con also happened to fall during the time new episodes were airing so we got to watch the Mary Shelley episode on the last day of the convention with a bunch of us in the room hanging out. *Small fangirl rant: I LOVE 13, and I think her second season was much stronger than her first, which is usually the case. I do think she’d benefit more with a female showrunner, but I just roll my eyes at most of the criticism. It just feels like some fans are looking for flaws yet ignoring the fact that the male versions ALSO did those things and were celebrated. Ugh, 2020 is once again highlighting how ingrained sexism is across the board. Rant done*  Gally is the only con I really get a chance to get to and I love it! Already got our tickets for next year, provided the world isn’t still being Grounded.

Speaking of the apocalypse, I’m honestly glad it isn’t zombies. I really am! I’m not a runner, and I’m a total fucking coward so I’m totally gonna end up being zombie jelly. I could do without the rampant stupidity in this country. Its that hard of a concept to just fucking stay home. You all can thank Generation X for coming up the technology and ideas that have made this FAR easier than it would have been if this had happened in the 90’s. YOU’RE WELCOME, BTW!! Our generation is the last one to know what to do with ourselves on our own because we were raised that way. Most of us either had 2 parents working or one, so majority of us were “latchkey”, myself included. When we came home from school, we usually had a couple hours to ourselves. We had video games, movies, cable tv, our bikes, etc to go off and do whatever we wanted to as long as we were home “before the street lights came on”. We had chores to help out our working parents run the house. We even had to learn how to cook and do laundry on our own. So this is why X’ers are handling this SO MUCH better than most. My idiot parents who are high risk are “behaving” but my dad does go out and most of the time not with a mask, because “its hard to breathe with it on” *facepalm, screaming internally* So if anyone is going to get sick its going to be my mother, however since she’s decided that the best way to prevent herself from murdering my father is basically avoid him, she sleeps all day while he’s awake, and then spends all night by herself. To be blunt, my mother decided to be nocturnal so as to reduce the urge to smother my father in his sleep. *sigh*

I watch as little news as possible. Mainly for sanity purposes, but also because there simply isn’t enough rawhides in the world for me to gnaw on as while that fat orange racist kills us all. He’s so unbelievably stupid and ignorant and lacks even a smidgen of empathy because there isn’t enough room beyond his massive completely unearned ego. Yes, you might say I do not care for him. I try to hold onto this sliver of hope that we’ll kick his ass out, along with his all of his buddies and lackies, and start to fix all the carnage that this cockmuffin has committed. So while this lame apocalypse is going on, my life is this: making art, cleaning the house, taking care of the murder dogs, updating my artwork site, and only screaming into a pillow once a day that in November that stupidest man in the world will finally hear the world tell him to “fuck off”.

“Rebellions are built on hope”, as the saying goes. This all shall pass.

Another shop!

Hey there! ,

I opened a Threadless shop for some of my illustrations. Check it out and maybe pick something up!

https://astrangechildcreations.threadless.com/

Little Miss Strange

Hey there darlings!

I just uploaded a couple new illustrations of Little Miss Strange today. I’m working on more illustrations of my sweet little darkling hoping to one day put them together in a book for the masses to buy. She’s a perky version of Wednesday Addams, where she spends her time playing with silly monsters, weird multi armed creatures, carnivorous plants, and getting into all sorts of shenanigans!! Her world may be seen by some as “morbid” or “just plain weird”, but that only makes her love it more! She doesn’t fear the abnormal, she instead asks it to play with her. I hope people enjoy her as much as I do.

Shameless Self Promotion!!

Hey everyone! I am excited for my first art fair appearance this holiday weekend at the Alameda Summer Art Fair & Maker Market!! Come by my booth, located across from the information booth, and pick up something you’ve had your eye on! Meet me and if you’ve got an idea for something, you can talk to me IN PERSON! Isn’t that awesome???!!! There’s going to be live music, food, art & crafts, and tons of things to check out! Support your local artists and makers in the easiest of manners! If you don’t, the terrorists win! (I know, I’m just trying to throw some motherly guilt your way)

Here in my head

As soon as I figure it out, I’ll be adding a blog to my site. There you’ll get a peak into the nonsense that runs through my brain meats as well as be able to have a better understanding of all things Strange Child. For now, I’ll just put up a link to my wordpress blog here.

https://musingsofastrangechild.wordpress.com/

I’m trying to schedule myself to update my blog more so,……consider yourself warned!