book-by-its-cover @ the mocca festival

I’m blushing! One of my favorite blogs featured my MoCCA table today. If you've never seen book-by-its-cover.com, you're in for a real treat. It's a great place for people who love gorgeous books, typography, design, and illustration to lose several hours perusing it's pages. Thanks to my pal Rachel Allison (illustrator extraordinaire) for introducing me to it over a year ago, and for alerting me to today's posting! Having my work photographed on the same page as Seth (one of my idols) and Tom Gauld (Tom Gauld!) is a great thrill!

MOCCA ART FESTIVAL 2009

MoCCA offerings - 2009

Here’s a sampling of my offerings at MoCCA this weekend. 

Come see me at table #403!

The MoCCA Festival is this Saturday and Sunday, 

at the Armory at Lexington Avenue and 25th Street. 

11AM to 6PM both days.

my MoCCA sandwich factory

The other day I turned my kitchen into a silkscreen studio/sandwich factory in preparation for the MoCCA festival this weekend. Just to clarify my earlier posting, the sandwiches I'm offering aren't edible, but hopefully they will be a feast for the eyes. (Okay, maybe that was a little much, but I've been on my feet for two days squeegeeing ink.)

See my previous blog entry for details about MoCCA, such as location and times. Oh, and I'm at table #403.

If you look at the second photograph carefully, you'll notice how flippant I've become about my work as it appears in print...a happy accident really. Don't they look like they're debating about lunch at the sandwich shop?

MoCCA festival - June 6th & 7th - table #403

Next weekend, June 6th and 7th, I am participating in the 2009 MoCCA Festival at the 69th Regiment Armory at Lexington Avenue and 25th Street in New York City. 

You can find me at a table with two other SVA graduates, the fabulous Sophia Wiedeman and the always inspiring Dunja Jankovic. And I'm looking forward to meeting Maria Sputnik, who will be with us too. All these MoCCA-chicas have much more comic book experience than I, and yet they are kind enough to allow me to play along. 

I will be selling signed copies of my books Alphabetic Ballyhoos and The R. U. Fauna Department Store Catalog, along with other wares, such as original art, hand-bound stationery, gift tags, t-shirts, and sandwiches (yes, sandwiches), and I'll throw in some free stuff. I hope to see you there!

If you've never been to the MoCCA Festival, it's a great way to see what's happening in the world of comics and graphic novels. All of the major publishers (Fantagraphics, Drawn and Quarterly, etc.) are there, beside a stunning array of independent, international comic book artists. It's also a great fundraiser for MoCCA, a tiny museum with a big purpose, on lower Broadway. 

The festival will be open to the public from 11:00am to 6:00pm Saturday, June 6th and Sunday, June 7th

General admission is $10/day or $15/weekend but is only $10/weekend for MoCCA members. 

For more information, go to moccany.org 

artafacta: ideovigilancia

This month, I was invited to submit a piece for an online fanzine called "Artafacta." The creators, a group of Spanish illustrators and designers, take two words and smash them together to create a third word, the theme of which participants are asked to illustrate. This month's word was "ideovigilancia." Check out the link below to see the other submissions and just in case you can't figure out the translation yourself, the imagery will certainly help. The page preceding mine features the work of my classmate at SVA, the extremely talented André da Loba. Stayed tuned for next month; they're working their way through the alphabet, so "J" is next.

artafacta: ideovigilancia

the thesis show-the r. u. fauna department store

The Thesis Show reception was a great success Tuesday night. Over 750 people visited the Visual Arts Gallery on West 26th Street to see the SVA MFA Illustration and MFA Design installations. Above are a few images from my part of the show, The R. U. Fauna Department Store, at a quieter moment this weekend with my nephews. (That's Will reading the "Formal Wear" section of the catalog.)

The R. U. Fauna story began deep in the rainforest, where founder Rufus Ulysses Fauna, billionaire, adventurer, naturalist, and lifelong clotheshorse enjoyed his first vacation. Never before had he witnessed such diversity and ingenuity outside of the retail world, and he knew bringing it home would set his chain of dry goods stores apart from the competition. For the rest of his life, R. U. continued his travels, hiring the mammals, reptiles, crustaceans, and domesticated creatures he encountered along the way. The exhibition documents the unique history of the R. U Fauna Department Store, featuring a merchandise catalog, employee portraits, and a display of befanged gift boxes.

The Thesis Show is up through Saturday, May 16th, at the Visual Arts Gallery, 601 W. 26th, 15th floor. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10AM to 6PM.

the art directors club

This week I was invited to participate in a portfolio review day at the Art Directors Club in New York City. Over 100 recent graduates were showing their wares. Chaired by Matteo Bologna (of Mucca Design) and Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich (author of “Bembo's Zoo”), participants met a wide variety of art directors, ad agency representatives and publishers. Here’s my set up...with me.