Crows Feet Studios official blog

Smartphones and Love Aren't the Same Thing. Sorry, they just aren't.

2011-11-27T21:11:00.002-06:00

How does that saying go? "It's that time of year"..?

I feel that I can mention Christmas because it is AFTER Thanksgiving now. I have the personal rule that I don't even think about the fat guy in the red suit until after the turkey leftovers have been consumed. One nervous breakdown- I mean holiday- at a time.

You may be getting the impression, gentle reader, that I am not exactly stoked about the biggest retail holiday of the year. Well, yes and no.

Yeah, I'll get there at 12 am if they're handing out gold bars and will be cleaning my house for a month. This chick just gives me the willies. And you never really recover from a bad case of the willies.

Don't worry. I'm not going to get on yet another soapbox and start spouting anti-consumerism Christmas rhetoric that we've all heard for the last 50 years. None of you need to hear more of that. What I'm going to do is just spell out some of my own personal observations without getting bogged down in the obvious. I'm actually a big fan of what Linus said in "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!", but I will site some specific examples and reasons for how I see the holiday.

"You know Linus, maybe showing this cartoon for 50 years hasn't done any good. I'm going to throw a park bench through the front of Best Buy and finally get that game system. You'd better not get in my way, you thumb-sucking egghead."

First of all, let's be perfectly clear about something. This whole "Black Friday" and gift-buying obsession is particular to THIS country ONLY. I have friends and family members in a dozen countries, and none of them even come close to the level of mania we have for buying stuff for Christmas. For most countries, it is either simply a religious holiday, or just a time to get together with family and maybe exchange a few small gifts- that's it. I get the impression they look at our Black Friday nonsense with the same shock and disgust as we look at soccer riots in Europe. Hey, soccer (or "football") is a fun game, but no reason to cause a riot and kill people! The same goes for getting 75 bucks off a lousy TV.

Yeah! Kinda like starting fires on Devil's Night in Detroit! Woohoo!

Okay, tell me you DON'T know someone with this attitude about their phone.

So what makes our country different from other countries that celebrate Christmas? There is the obvious factor of wealth, and the large middle class. Many other countries don't even have a "middle class". But a less obvious factor (and perhaps simply a result of other factors) is the set of priorities we have here. Fifty, sixty years ago, Christmas was a whole different holiday. The gifts were mainly for children- as it should be! I mean, come on. A holiday that is largely built around an overweight elf that flies through the sky on a sleigh pulled by wild animals is CLEARLY meant for children and not adults!! At what point did every adult feel entitled to toys also? When did the gifts overshadow everything else? When did we turn into spoiled little kids, and start teaching our children that adults are just as childish as they are?

Speaking of gifts- I have compliled a list and descriptions of the 5 types of gifts given at Christmas. Tell me if you agree or not.

The Five Types of Xmas Gifts-

1) Obligatory gifts. Probably the most common, they are given out of a sense of obligation. Usually random sale items.

2) Extravagant/shiny gifts. Generally given to try to impress someone or possibly to provide the illusion that the giver actually cares about the receiver.

3) Practical gifts. These are sometimes given with some amount of thought, but usually are just given because there is only a cursory knowledge of the receiver.

4) Mandatory gifts. Gifts given because the receiver actually told the giver what he or she wants.

5) The heartfelt gift. These are selected/created with heart, thought, or even personal sacrifice for the one recieving it. Probably the most rare of the 5 types of gifts, and most often given by small children to those they truly love.

If you really think about it, I think you will be able to see which gifts fall into which category this year. Look, I'm not trying to badmouth Christmas. I actually have nothing against it! I guess my issue is with this selfish nonsense that has built up around it. Christmas has just been used as an excuse to spend too much, eat too much, drink too much and not expect any consequences. After a while, this makes the holiday mean less and less....

Apparently Batman and I BOTH have issues. Therefore I am turning the basement into the Batcave, and I will now being using a Bat pencil and Bat sketchbook, along with drinking my Bat Redbull.

This is the PERFECT gift!! Don't steal my idea, dammit!

As far as gift-giving-- well, I'm all for it! There is something very special about a gift you receive that you know came from the heart. And spending a lot of time and effort on choosing/making a gift for someone else is very satisfying- especially when you know it will be appreciated. It would be an awful feeling to give someone a heartfelt gift-- and then have it treated the same way as you would a paperweight. Maybe people are afraid of that happening. Maybe that's a problem with the holiday now; everyone is afraid to deal with the possibilty of hurt and disappointment, so we cover it up with all this TV-inspired superficial nonsense. Do we really need to give more money to Sanyo or Apple just so we can have shiny, borderline useless devices like all of our friends do? Damn, people. We can't fill the hole in our souls with consumer electronics!!

I feel your pain, kid. I feel your pain.

I don't know. I'm just an artist and a blogger. No one says you have to listen to me, and I don't claim to have all the answers. All I'm saying is- please put some thought and heart into your gifts this year. Don't just check things off of a list, and don't just spend 30 seconds deciding what a person will receive. Think twice before buying ANOTHER dvd or video game or phone, okay? I'm not saying to steal the person's diary to explore their soul, or to hand-craft a grandfather clock. Just...make a little effort. Put a little of yourself into it. Please.

Now this dude seems excited about his present. Good for you, creepy cape-wearin' dude.

Well, I could go on and on, but I'd better put away the keyboard and get ready for my dayjob tomorrow. I'm sure you've had enough of my ravings for one evening. But, I would like to thank you all for reading this. I haven't been blogging lately, and this season does inspire me to blog more. Just gotta make time for it. Oh, I'm going to have more stuff on Etsy this week, including one very cool item-- PILLOWS! This one is embroidered and fancy-schmancy and...well, you'll just have to keep tuning into this Bat-channel and Facebook to find out.

Alright, I'm done here. I'm turning off the lights now- don't knock on my door and ask for candy.

Adios.

-Christine

http://www.crowsfeetstudios.com/

Olfactory Manifestations and Other Paranormal Occurrences

2011-09-21T20:27:00.001-05:00

People say that the sense of smell is probably the most primal, the most likely to bring back old memories, of our five senses.

The inside of your nose is kinda gross. I'm just sayin'.

Yes, there may be 6 senses, not just 5. I have the power to see goats. Yes, goats. oooohhhh...spooky...

"Do you see those goats, mister? They're scary." "No, I don't see them, little boy. But I sure do feel like shooting Hans Gruber at Nakatomi Plaza. You wouldn't have a 9 millimeter, would you?"

I remember once finding my old orange plastic candy bucket (shaped like a jack-o-lantern, with the black plastic strap for a handle) from decades ago, and then getting a whiff of the inside of it. Memories of Halloween when I was 9 years old came flooding back to me. Getting sick from candy over a friend's house, the thrill of wandering around in the dark, wearing long underwear underneath my costume because it was SO cold outside, and just the thrill of dressing up and getting free candy. I remembered that old excitement and nervousness that I had, in anticipation of doing something REALLY special. I remembered all this because of a cheap plastic candy bucket that probably cost $1.95 at Kmart way back when. And I wouldn't throw it away for the world.

I hope they never stop making these things...

Nostalgia is a funny thing. People say you shouldn't live in the past, but they also say you can't forget the past, either. I think those people are right about both. So much of our tastes, our fears, our likes, our dislikes, even the way we dress and behave hinge on childhood memories and experiences- even if some of them are memories we'd rather forget. I mean, most of us remember getting the flu at a young age, and ending up vomiting up our last meal--which ends up being the one food we refuse to eat as adults. A certain cartoon still holds a fascination for us for no other reason than we thought it was the coolest thing (or weirdest thing) ever when we were eight. Or avoiding wearing a certain color because our mom ALWAYS dressed us in that color for school.

Remember the Herculoids? Man, they were weird.

I haven't actually thrown up from Dos Equis, but I kinda wish I did.

In my case (and in many other people's lives too, I'd imagine) it affects my parenting, my recreation, and even my work. By work, I mean my artwork. Childhood images from books, cartoons and movies are consciously or unconsciously put into almost everything I make. I guess it's nearly unavoidable. Childhood memories tend to be the strongest, right? Which kinda makes me wonder- when does childhood really end? I don't mean, "when do we physically grow up and become adults". When do we stop thinking and feeling like children? In my case, I still have some thoughts and feelings of a child. Is this good, or healthy, or "normal"? I have no idea. I guess it depends on which thoughts and feelings, and how we handle them. But I tend to believe that I need some of that aspect of childhood to do what I do. Obviously, it has to get pushed aside a little when I'm at my day job, or driving, or doing taxes- but even then, it's in the background like a barely audible tv in a house, 3 rooms away. Sometimes closer.

Growing up is for suckers. I choose to be a monkey.

Okay, enough of this nostalgic clap-trap. Are you getting ready for Halloween? YOU'D BETTER BE!! There's lots to do! Spiders and skeletons and ghosts- oh, my! We still haven't nailed down a theme yet!! I will give myself 3 more days, then we have to commit to a theme. I hope the kids don't suggest things like "Speed Racer" or "cheese" as themes.

This cheese scares the poop out of me! Have you been to those places??

Hey, have you seen this? I was selling them at River Days when I had my little show a couple weeks back. FLASKS! Spooky flasks! All the cool kids are buying them, and I'm sure you don't want to be left out....

When you drink out of these, you receive spooky magical powers. Like the power to conceal beverages.

My Etsy stuff is changing almost weekly, as usual.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios?ref=si_shop
And I'm working on a new series of paintings, and they are VERY cool. Well, the concept is cool- I haven't actually painted them yet. But the sketches are just about done, and I can start Friday or so! Woohoo! Hope you like them! Maybe I will FB my progress....

I am so tired. But, at least I had Indian food tonight. Now I need some orange sherbet or maybe a fruit pie. Perhaps I should combine the two....hmmm. Where's my blender, confound it!?

Goodnight, kids. I've got a blender to hunt down, and a 1920's artsy spooky movie to watch. Now go. Shooo!! Get out of my blog.

-Christine

http://www.crowsfeetstudios.com/

Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see...

2011-09-03T23:29:00.004-05:00

Is it weird that the pumpkins we are growing are turning orange already?

Is this bad? I have no idea.

Every year for the past 4 years or so, we have planted pumpkins in our little planting bed by the house.

As you can see, just this ONE PLANT takes up a lot of room! The other plant is almost as big.

Carlos made the copper plant markers for the kids. You can see the scale of these leaves!! Yow.

This year my husband bought 2 pumpkin plants, one for each kid. We have some copper plant labels that he made, too- just in case there is any argument about whose pumpkin plant is whose. But this year he bought the super giganto mega freakish-sized pumpkins from Meijers. He figured it might be worth the extra couple of bucks to get the big ones.

I don't know about you, but the FIRST thing I will think of when the giant pumpkins are full grown, is how to hollow them out and make a boats out of them. Yeah. Or maybe make a doghouse out of it.

It's the first week of September and only one plant is producing pumpkins. And the pumpkins are over a foot across already, and orange! Will they start to rot now, or will they get bigger? Should I destroy the plant in case it's evil? We have no idea what we're doing. But apparently the fertilizer worked. Well, on one plant, anyway.

One of the pumpkins actually did call me "Seymour". I don't mind telling you that I'm scared.

Yes, we are hoping the Great Pumpkin will visit our pumpkin patch this year. I have to admit, we have a very sincere pumpkin patch, if I do say so myself. Man, those things take up a bunch of room!! The vines go everywhere! These mutant giganto ones have even bigger vines than last year. We had kind of a Japanese theme going on, but the pumpkins are an interesting contrast to that. Hmmmmm....maybe this year we can do a Japanese theme for Halloween..? Japan has TONS of mythology, ghost lore, demons, and bizarre legends to draw from. This might be a possibility.

Insert caption for the guy on the upper left...

She's a little creepy! Yeah, "The Grudge" and "The Ring" were damned scary...

I hope the Great Pumpkin gives money.

We were thinking maybe a traditional ORIGINAL Halloween theme- meaning 3,000 years ago in Ireland Halloween. Carlos is already buying turnips to carve. Pumpkins are from the Americas, and Europeans didn't use them as Jack-o-Lanterns until fairly recently. For centuries, it was turnips that were carved into lanterns. They switched to pumpkins as they became available because of their ease of carving and pleasing color and shape. Sure beats the hell out of a turnip for sheer coolness, too. We will probably end up eating the turnips with the can of haggis we've had in the cupboard for 2 years...

Read up on the legend of Stingey Jack tricking the Devil, but being doomed to wander the earth with his lantern...

We were also thinking an Edwardian or Victorian theme- but that has been done to death. Maybe Day of the Dead? Classic Universal films motif? Strictly ghosts? Insane asylum? I have no idea what to do. We have to decide on something quickly because we only have a few weekends to do it! Carlos has assembled some parts for animatronics, but he can't start working on them without a theme. Any other suggestions?

Maybe this is our new theme. Purple dinosaur overlords. Kinda like Barney, but less humiliating.

Well, hopefully inspiration will come to us this weekend. Did I tell you we took the family to a Renaissance Faire last weekend? We go about every other year up to Bristol. The kids like to see all the stuff there like the crossbow games, falconry, sword fights, and the food! The day was really nice (74 degrees) which was perfect for walking around all day. Check out what Carlos got for no particular reason-

Yes, he got a goatskin. Maybe he is going to make a really creepy "dream catcher"...

Well, he is always getting weird things. He wanted to get a badger pelt also, but it was a little too pricey. Kinda glad he didn't get the badger. He'd probably make it into a sock puppet or something.
He also got this iron bell from Hobby Lobby today at half price. He spray painted it black and is looking for a place to hang it. His plan is to put it in the planting bed with the pumpkins, I think.

Hey, have you checked out the new stuff we have on Etsy lately (now THAT was a seamless segue. Pretty smooth, huh)? Got more t-shirts for sale, and a couple new items in the works. Here's a link, if you have the time and inclination to check it out-

http://www.etsy.com/listing/80803297/obey-the-crow-made-to-order-tee

I also have an art show next weekend. Plainfield (the town where we currently reside) has their River Days next week, and the art show will be at noon on Saturday the 10th. Lots of artists will be there, and I will have my tent full of art goodies, and maybe a few give-aways for you folks. Just look for the crows....

I am SO tired. I gotta work on 2 more paintings, and the other items we are going to be selling on Etsy. Time for some caffeine, I think. Aahh, Redbull...my old friend.....I think I'm gonna shotgun one of the big cans.

I've had enough of blogging for one night. And I don't feel like doing the rest of my work either! To quote a Meatloaf song, "You can't run away forever, but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start".

Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

Do you smell that? It's the stench of Halloween and my blog.

2011-08-19T17:18:00.004-05:00

So why do we hate movie re-makes so much?

Wasn't this the same poster for about 30 other movies, including Footloose?

I hope I never see a cloud like that above MY house. Although he does look happy.

I'm thinking about going to go see the new version of "Frightnight" with friends this weekend. I loved the orignal 80's film, but I am hoping this one has some merit. I think I needed to kick off the unofficial beginning of fall (meaning that my kids are going to school, and it isn't 95 degrees anymore) with a spooky movie. Got to get in the Halloween spirit, right?. But this is kind of a risk. I mean, do I really want to see a remake of a movie I adored? Will I be angry with this interpretation? Maybe just disappointed? Or will it hold its own?

I'm telling ya, teenage acne and dental work can be emotionally crippling.

Look out for the remakes. The Crow, Robocop, Ghostbusters-- new versions are all in the works. Frightening, huh?

I think the reason many people despise remakes is not the remake itself- it's the idea (or lack of) behind it. Just the concept of remaking movies somehow feels....well...uninspired and lazy. Like it was easier to just re-write a great story with current actors, updated dialog, and hope the movie would fly just on popularity of the original. It just feels like a creative cop-out. No soul, if you know what I mean. We tend to cling to movies as a part of our past, as a part of us that should not be touched or altered. And if someone messes with those precious memories- well, that feels like blasphemy. Now, these are broad statements, and they may have a lot of truth to them in many cases. However, really good movies (or any kind of art, really) CAN be made from an old classic. Will it have the same feel? Will it stir the same emotions or thoughts as the original? Almost certainly not- but sometimes it can be a true work of art, separate from the original. That doesn't happen often, though. A true work of art is hard enough to find.

Venus de Milo. Old Classical work of art.

Faberge egg. Turn of the century Russian work of art.

Hostess fruit pie. Convenience pastry work of art.

Okay, some of you may have noticed that I refered to the orignal movie "Frightnight" as a classic. Yeah, yeah- go ahead and make fun of me. But it is an almost a perfect piece of the mid-eighties interpretation of pop/teen/horror movies. It was actually fairly well directed, too! And come on- it has Roddy McDowell in a role that obviously was based on Peter Cushing!! It was goofy, silly, but extremely watchable with fairly good acting and writing. Like many things that I consider my favorites, I don't consider it a spectacular, thought-provoking artistic masterpiece--just a thoroughly enjoyable movie. Get it?

If the cross doesn't frighten away the vamps, his snappy ensemble will.

Well, I guess we will see how it turns out. I think it's worth shelling out a few bucks to find out, I think. And like I said earlier, I need a good scary movie to start off fall anyway. I encourage you all to do the same. Go look for Halloween decorations this weekend! Michaels and Hobby Lobby have had their stuff out for over 2 weeks now! Menards is setting up their stuff, and I'm hoping Homegoods will be ready this weekend. And let's not forget Big Lots! I love their weird Halloween stuff. Glaaaaahhhh... I'm almost drooling like Homer Simpson.

I'm gonna go watch some of the original Frightnight right now, and make some Halloween plans. I also have to put together a couple new products I've been working on. Mmmmmm....selling out........ 8) But this new item is COOL. I test marketed it already, and it will work fine. Wish I could tell you what it is- but you will just have to keep checking FB and Etsy! They are updated more often than our website.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios?ref=si_shop

http://www.crowsfeetstudios.com/

Nighty-night, kids. Pick up your bottles and trash before you leave.

-Christine

And here's where I should probably put down the bottle and go to bed.

2011-08-01T18:46:00.008-05:00

Here's a handy quote that I googled. I'm not going to pretend I memorized this. I mean, come on.

Example has more followers than reason. We unconsciously imitate what pleases us, and approximate to the characters we most admire.

-Christian Nestell Bovee

I'm thinking about blind followers today. And just about all of us are, to some degree.

Which way should we go? Where's the guy with the big cane?

You heard me. We don't mean to be followers (well, most of us don't). It's not a conscious choice a lot of the time. Those of us who are looking for something in our lives- whether it be honesty, truth, acceptance, or just a distraction- we tend to inject all of our ideals and hopes into that person or group that seems to be in line with our ideal. Internally, we decide, "This person/group is EXACTLY what I want to be associated with. I accept everything he/she/they says as truth because I've put all of my hope into them- and I cannot handle having my dreams turn into dirt because he/she/they are just another flawed human/group. If I am wrong about them- that means I'm a fool, and I cannot accept that. So I will cling to my fantasy for dear life, despite all facts and sense. Plus, they seem very nice". And that is how many cult leaders and other power-hungry self-serving liars stay in power! The followers believe the illusion because they want to. It is very, very easy to manipulate people with well-rehearsed "kindness" and method acting empathy.

yeesh...people actually followed these guys...

I just want to make your lives better! And I want to have more reserve cash than the US government! Come on, people- it's a joke. Relax.

Pretty words and a putting on a good show only go so far, though... when the chips are down and hard decisions have to be made, their true colors show. See how "kind" they are when there's nothing in it for them. Watch the plastic smiles fade away.

Quick- which smile is real, and which one will cause nightmares and siezures?

insert facial expression for desired effect.

Wow, that was a bit of a downer, wasn't it? Ha! Why not just talk about sick kittens and the end of the world? Oh wait- wasn't the end of the world already supposed to have happened a couple months back? Or is it in October now? I hope it isn't before Halloween, because I'm buyin' a whole bunch of stuff this year. Now, this may shock you-- you ready for this?-- Halloween is my favorite holiday. Yes, I know it is a big surprise, but it's true. I CANNOT WAIT. This year will be HUGE. My hub is planning on making some animatronic stuff for the front yard, we've already got plans for a cocooned man to be hung upside down in the front, and we HAVE to make a terrifying scarecrow this year. I am open to any ideas you folks might have. Go nuts! Maybe I should put out some Halloween-themed paintings or products...that's just crazy enough to be economically feasible...

Smiling vegetables are scary...

....But not as scary as this Future McDonalds Death Clown

Okay, my soapbox is collapsing now, so I will get off of it. I gotta have one of those Hostess fruit pies again. Man, those are good! I swear if someone propped up a huge cardboard box with a stick, and put a plate full of Hostess fruit pies under it-- well, I'd be trapped inside of the box in 2 minutes.

I would kill all of you for just 5 of these.

I'm hungry. I'm tired of typing. I'm going away now- do NOT touch anything while I'm gone.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

Occupational Hazards

2011-07-29T17:43:00.003-05:00

So what is a job?

Is it just a way of getting money so a person can pay bills and buy food and have a roof over their head? Simply put-- just a means to an end? Let's start off with the topic of money, before we get to that.

Here's a little something about myself. I regard money (in the context of MY money, not currency in general) as simply a way to have fewer worries. It's not power, it's not prestige, it's not a way for me to feel good about myself or to feel superior through the acquisition of "things", nor the conspicuous consumption that so many sad, foolish people try to convince themselves is great substitute for happiness. Money is simply a necessity, and a way to have less anxiety in this life- a way to enjoy my limited number of years on this planet a little bit more and make sure my family is a little safer. When you forget that money is simply what I described-- then you use it as a crutch for your whole existance....and money becomes your life, not just an incidental part of life. And, if that money were taken away- you snap like a twig. Your world collapses.

Some would argue, "No one NEEDS money! It's a fabrication of man, and we don't need it to have peace in our minds or calm in our souls!" Well, you may have an excellent point there. But, I live in the United States, in the year 2011. I am the mother of 2, with a mortgage, credit card bills, medical bills, a computer with internet access, 2 cars, and a whole slew of worries about the future. I am not a Buddhist monk who lives on a mountain with no family to support or future to plan. But let me tell you, I certainly do admire and envy the Buddhist monks... Anyway, I just wanted to let you know where I'm coming from.

No, not THAT kind of monk...

Mmmmmmmm.....

So- how does one get this money? Providing goods or services, as my highschool economics class teacher would say. And what I provide is both. Art, and the service of portraits. Plus my day job, of course. But I chose art as a career not because it was the sensible, practical choice. It was because that's what I'm good at, that's what I enjoy, and that's what I need to do to feel like myself. Anybody on the planet can choose an occupation just for the money. They can hate every minute of it, but spend years doing it , just for the money. Meanwhile they get more and more miserable, their souls shrivel up a bit more every year, and they get further and further away from the way they were before they made the decision to sacrifice their soul/happiness/family/peace of mind for an extra zero on their paycheck. And year after year, they have to cling to the excuses and falsehoods that let them sleep at night even more. But then again-- we all do that.

Still, I can't criticize without reservations. Money has its benefits, obviously. Some days I can't decide if money truly changes people, or if it just allows them the opportunity to be what they truly are- good or bad. I don't know.

A ha! You're not a KISS reject, you are Max Weinberg, the drummer for Bruce Springsteen!

Whatever. As usual, I am babbling about an obvious topic way too much. It's all opinion- think what you want. Hey, I can wrap this up by letting you know that I've got a couple people interested in my paintings!! Cool, huh? Also, I've gotta send some prints to family members. I've got an in-law in Italy that needs a print, and I'm making a custom painting of a crow for my artist friend Sam! She's so cool. Plus, the backpacks are selling! WOOHOO! People are asking for different characters, now. Gotta get crackin'. Here's my Etsy sight, for those of you who want to contribute to feeding my kids and putting gas in my barely-functioning car. :) http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios?ref=si_shop Plus, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that the art you purchase is made right here in the USA, and no steroids were used, or animals abused in the making of this art.

Gotta run, boys and girls. Time to turn the air conditioning on and wear my FEAR NO ART t-shirt. Now please exit in a quiet, orderly fashion.

Peace out.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

Mmmmm....cheese.....

2011-07-23T09:23:00.001-05:00

I like Wisconsin.

I didn't actually see these guys, but I probably would have if I stayed a couple more days. They seem like the quiet, introspective type...

Every year we spend a few days in northern Wisconsin. My parents relax and visit with friends up there, and we usually bring the family and hang out, cook, float on tubes, and listen to the loons. I mean the actual birds, not crazy people. I can listen to crazy people whenever I want right at home.

This is an actual loon. They make cool sounds, and they carry their babies on their backs.

This is just a the crazy kinda loon. Amusing, but kinda dangerous at times. He breaks things, dresses inapproprately and makes noises that offend people.

Northern Wisconsin is different from the south end. People are a bit tougher, the food is heartier, the lakes more plentiful, and cell phone towers fewer and farther apart. All of which is can be good or bad, depending what kind of person you are and your purpose for going there. In my case, I didn't want to fish for muskie, or birdwatch, or kayak (which seems to have been taken over by pretentious granola-eaters that have too much time on their hands) . I just came there to eat grilled steaks, drink some Amstel and float around on a lake- and possibly check out a couple antique stores for my usual items. When I say "usual items", I mean vintage Halloween postcards, old horseshoes for my husband, and animal skulls. I got 2 out of 3 on this trip- my favorite place only had one skull, and it was a little too pricey. But, we got a horseshoe that was big enough to come off a Clydesdale, 3 or 4 Halloween postcards (one was from 1912!) and some sort of trap that was probably meant for raccoons.

"Stop talking!"

I'd like one of these skulls- but I don't think the museum will let me borrow it.

Here are a few random photos of my silly trip, in no particular order.

The dock in front of our cabin. No, this photo is not photoshopped! The lake really looks like that.

This is what greets you as you go upstairs...

This was my dinner on my last night. Lots of cheese, fried fish, starch. One of those fries is still stuck in the left ventricle of my heart.

okay, so what the hell is this? Are the 3 elves going to eat the pigs after the goats trample them??

Now THAT is a nice looking ashtray.

Thank goodness for the reading material in the cabin. And all this time I thought geography was boring! Boy, do I feel like a fool!

I kept Death and my iphone on my nightstand. There's some sort of deep symbolism there, but I choose not to get into it....

...And then I came home.

Back to reality, back to my vinyl box in the 'burbs that has depreciated by 28 percent or so. Whoopedee-doo. Well, at least my garden had 4 big bell peppers and 2 cucumbers when I came back. :) And yes, I brought home cheese and fireworks from Wisconsin, just like everyone else on the planet.

I've also gotten some orders for the backpacks I'm selling on Etsy! People are requesting a large version, so that will be for sale by Sunday. Watch for it, you Etsy lurkers. http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios

My vacation set me behind schedule and I gotta catch up. I should be working instead of writing this nonsense for you people. Moderately-priced artwork simply doesn't paint itself, you know. Oh, I joined the Plainfield Art League by the way. They are a VERY nice bunch of people! I like 'em. So now I'm part of the Chicago Artist Coalition, the Plainfield Art League, and the Society for the Resurrection of Vincent Price. Okay, I made that last one up, but I am thinking of forming that group.

Gotta make some more backpacks, and paint stuff. I don't care what you do, so long as you do it quietly. Now I've got work to do-- go make something out of clay or do some macaroni art.

- Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

If I squint really hard, I can see the monitor.

2011-07-16T13:37:00.002-05:00

I think I need new glasses.

Maybe this guy heard that Evil Dead and The Crow are being re-made, and he lost all faith in humanity and was weeping uncontrollably...

Actually, I don't even wear glasses- yet. I wear reading glasses (on sale at Menards, and quite fashionable), but I've never worn glasses in my life until now. Apparently I am far-sighted, because I have to keep my work at arm's length to be able to focus on what I'm drawing. I am officially old. I'm in my early forties, but my eyes are apparently slightly older. Stupid eyes. I'm trying to wrap up this commission I'm drawing, but my eyes aren't cooperating.

Jeez...point those things away from me!

I don't like the idea of wearing contacts. I don't relish the thought of touching my eyes with ANYTHING. It just bugs me. My husband told be about the time he was using a bench grinder, and a piece of metal got lodged in his eye. When he went to the optomotrist, the dude literally used a credit card to flick the metal fragment out of his eye.... Glaaahhhhhhhh.....

Get that thng away from my eye!!

The French impressionist Monet started painting on HUGE canvases later in his life. Many people thought it was just so the viewer could see the detail, or it was a new phase in his style of painting- but the truth was that he was going blind! It was the only way he could see what he was doing and produce something beautiful. Sometimes the best outcomes are simply a result of getting around an obstacle. One of my favorite quotes (it's actually hanging on the wall in my office) is by the English author T.S. Eliot.-

"When forced to work within a strict framework, the imagination is taxed to its utmost- and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom, the work is likely to sprawl."

He may have been a brilliant writer, but he shouldn't be allowed near a comb, or Wesson oil.

So basically, he is saying that true creativity comes from getting around restrictions and obstacles. I completely agree with that. Creativity hardly has any need to exist if there is nothing in the way of reaching your goals. Without obstacles, without challenge-- we atrophy, we become lazy and ungrateful and unimaginative. Like spoiled children. That's just the way we humans are. So once in a while we have to be grateful for some of the adversity in our lives, because we need it to become fully human.

I will motivate you, Private Pyle!!

Apparently it doesn't mean you have to spell correctly either.

Okay, enough of the existentialist poop.

There's a statistic that might come in handy...

Anyway, I've still got some work to do on the pencil drawing, and lots to do on the adult size back packs. We had some quality issues with my source for the bags, but it should be worked out now. Hopefully the rest of the items I am selling will be flawless and perfect. Yeah, and I might be eating unicorn-kabobs for lunch tormorrow. Anyway, I'm tired of blogging for tonight. If I'm going to stay up this late, I should be either eating pizza rolls, watching a horror flick or getting reacquainted with my friend Mr. Bacardi. Or some combination of the three. Check out my stuff on Etsy, if you so desire-http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios

Now go away. I can hear you breathing.

- Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

A Mime is a Terrible thing to Waste...

2011-07-12T18:52:00.006-05:00

Why is it that some people feel the need to make themselves feel morally superior when the opportunity arises? Why can't they fill the emptiness in their lives with donuts or infomercials or ping pong or something more entertaining? There is a big difference between doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing (which is often thankless and difficult ), and simply picking and choosing when and how you can display your morality and depth of "feeling" simply to make yourself feel good, with no real sacrifice on your part. Ugh. Never mind. It's like shouting at a mime- it doesn't do any good, and you end up looking foolish for trying.

So who was the first professional mime? Were there at one time roving packs of mimes spread across Europe, but they were eventually hunted nearly to extinction and only survive in mime-protected areas? Should mimes be a protected species, or are they more of a menace than anything?

Seriously, where did they come from? Who first thought, "Hey, I'm going to paint my face, wear a beret and a striped shirt & gloves, and pretend to walk against the wind for people! Yeah, that sounds like a solid career path!"? It doesn't make any damn sense. Mimes have been infuriating people for well over a century, I would imagine. You'd think that after the first mime-beatings, most would consider pursuing the miming arts a bad idea. How many mimes have been beat up just in the last 20 years? I'll bet the numbers are pretty high. I suppose I could simply just look it up on this internet doo-dad, but I find it more entertaining just to rant and rave and speculate on the origin and statistics of mimes and mimery ( I think I just made up the word "mimery").

It's the Mimetrix. "I know kung fu..."

He could at least wear some normal shoes. Look at those things.

Hope I didn't offend any mimes out there. Well, that's not true. I really don't care very much about offending mimes, because I'm pretty sure they're evil. Or at least kinda evil. Or just annoying. Is there a crime based on annoyance? "Creating a public nuisance", maybe? That sounds like it was written with mimes in mind.... Maybe we can make a new law about practicing mimery...

Well, that's a little extreme...

Admit it. Less believeable movies have been made.

This is so fake. In a real match, this dude wouldn't have made it to the ring without being beaten with 26 folding chairs.

I'm pretty sure the guy in the blue has a gun.

Ok, I'm out of witty remarks and clever observations. I think you've had enough, anyway. I need some food. Pizza rolls should do nicely, tonight. Mmmmm...pepperoni....

Now put the mouse slowly on the floor, and kick it away.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios?ref=si_shop

Kingdom of the Spiders

2011-07-08T23:49:00.000-05:00

You know what I hate about summer? Bugs.

I have to say, I can't stand bugs. I can't stand the flies that sneak in my house, the wasps that try to make nests on my eaves, the mosquitos that leave itchy welts on my family, or the spiders that somehow find their way into my bathroom. And don't get me started on the ants. In our old house, every single summer, we would have a trail or ants leading into our kitchen. That nearly drove me insane, The idea of a whole parade of bugs (that apparently couldn't be stopped my any means we could find) marching into the area where we cooked and stored food was just sickening. I don't mean to sound phobic or OCD about it, but it really bothered me. We went nuts spreading Diazanon and ant traps and drilling into walls to get at them.

Luckily we don't have the ant issue now. Mostly just spiders. At least spiders eat other bugs. Isn't it bad luck to kill a spider in your house? I read that somewhere. There are a LOT of bizarre "bad luck" practices. Everyone has heard of the opening the umbrella indoors, breaking a mirror, blah blah blah. But here are some weirder ones. And the second to last one I just made up.

Putting a hat on the bed is bad luck.
Putting your shoes on the table is bad luck.
Sleeping at the table is bad luck.
Wearing opals, unless opal is your birthstone is bad luck.
Chasing anyone with a broom is bad luck.
Getting out of your bed in the morning on the same side which you got into it the night before.
If you drop a dishcloth, you'll have bad luck with dinner.
If you're juggling 4 weasels, it's bad luck to whistle a song by New Kids on the Block.
When fishing, you must throw back your first fish. The others are safe.

Now here are some bizarre ones-

Pictures of an elephant bring luck, but only if they face a door.

It is bad luck to cut your fingernails on Friday or Sunday.

If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn you will not catch a cold all winter.

If you spill pepper you will have a serious argument with your best friend.

Salty soup is a sign that the cook is in love.

Why do/did people believe this stuff? I have little doubt that some it is based in practicality- such as a hat being more likely to be crushed if it's on a bed rather than being on a hat rack. Or sleeping at the table is just plain rude to most people. But the rest just seems to be an attempt and making sense out of our world, and getting comfort from the imagined ability to predict unpredictable events. That's what we humans do; we desperately want to make sense of, or maybe just pretend we have control of a largely unpredictable, uncontrollable world, even if the methods we use are completely without logic or merit! We're all just scared children, when you really get down to it...we each have our own security blanket.

Okay, I make myself sick if I wax poetic about the human condition too much. Nobody wants to hear it. Anyway, I'm still messing around with the string backpacks. I got a hold of some adult-size ones, and they seem to be working fine. I should have them up on Etsy by this weekend. I've already got pre-orders from a few friends and artist buddies! http://www.etsy.com/listing/76565487/nissa-string-backpack

And we're crankin' out prints on the fancy-dancy new printer we acquired. That thing works great, once you figure out all the little quirks. It even allows you to print directly onto CD's and DVD's- not labels, I mean directly ON the DVD's! Pretty cool. The watercolor paper we use is so much nice-looking than using plain old photo paper. I've got a couple new ideas of painting on some non-tradional surfaces, too. And hey- here's the art cabinet we salvaged. Instead of rebar handles, we found some cast iron ones dirt cheap. Still in the process of "distressing" the cabinet...

And here is the Barbie Deathwagon so far. Gotta attach all the skulls and stickers to it. This plastic-bonding paint we used apparently takes about 4 days to fully bond to the plastic. We won't let our daughter play with it, so she just stares at it and asks if it's dry yet...

That's all I've got. Well, that's not true. But that's all I can show you now. Gotta have a Hostess fruit pie and go to bed. I kinda wish they made blueberry. THAT would be good. Alright, I've had enough of you people for tonight. Disperse. Show's over, folks.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios?ref=si_shop

Fireworks & Funyuns

2011-07-04T09:58:00.006-05:00

It's the 3rd of July, and I've been hearing fireworks going off since 9 am. Nice.

I wonder if our forefathers would find it amusing that most of us celebrate our country's independance with largely Chinese-made fireworks? That's not quite irony, but it's close.

Some people just think they can light the whole box of sparklers at once,. I don't advise it.

Today we started painting our new art cabinet. It was FREE. My husband Carlos (the Jackal) was driving home from work a while ago when he saw a big writing desk, and this weird cheapo laminated wood cabinet thing on the curb in our neighborhood. It was odd, and badly made, but it had lots of storage! He got all excited and called me to switch cars and pick it up. He gets so excited when he finds cool things at the side of the road. He's a big hairy scavenger.

Hey, look! I found something dead and partially eaten! Nom nom nom....

Anyway, we brought it home (after nearly having some dude in a red Econoline van grab the cabinet first!), muscled it into our living room, and there it sat for weeks. He just now got around to dragging it outside, taking apart the doors and drawers, and spray-painting it. Surpise, surprise-- we chose to paint it black. Just like Voltaire's book says (Goth decorating reference. You can look it up! ) .

No, he is not paying me to put this on my blog. But I suppose I would do it more if he did paid me.

The inside of it is red, and the outside is black, actually. We used that plastic-bonding spray paint because he didn't feel like sanding down the whole thing, priming it and then painting it. Besides, we wanted it to look like it was slapped together and with a neo-80's chic/goth/artsy feel to it. Carlos is working on making the all the handles out of welded rebar, which will be very cool. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow, so I can shove all the crap lying around the office in there! Art stuff just takes over my house so easily, I swear.

This is rebar, in case you didn't know. Cheap, easily accessible, and nasty looking. Like Funyuns.

I'll take some pictures of it when we're done- I may post it on Facebook, or even write a short blog for it here. Oh, speaking of goth-conversion projects, we are also working on the Barbie Death-wagon. Yes, we have painted it black. My Barbie mobile home toy that I had back '77 is finding new life as a spooky ride for my daughter's Barbies. This is something she's been begging for us to complete for a month! I swear we used close to a whole bottle of Goo-gone getting the 30 year-old stickers off of it. It will be worth it. It's still at the beginning stages of conversion- we still have to paint all of the interior furniture red. And she needs some spooky accessories, too. We may even wire it for led lighting. Who knows? But first things first. Gotta get that cabinet done.

Our daughter has "modded" a few of her dolls already. We may have to post what she does to them. And then the state will come knocking on our door and ask us a lot of questions....

Gotta go, kids. Lots of stuff to do for the 4th, including getting our potato gun ready. Yes, my husband built a potato gun. Get over it. It's fun, and the kids love it. We fire it at night with a glo-stick stuck in the potato for a tracer round. That way, the kids can have fun trying to find it after it shoots the potato 100 yards away. My husband grew up in a small town, and this is the kind of stuff he did when he was young. Actually, this is one of the more sane things he used to do.

I'm leaving. If you stalk me, I will be upset.

- Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios?ref=si_shop

Don't mess with Lo Pan.

2011-07-01T17:51:00.004-05:00

Friendly, or disturbing? You decide. I swear, that middle one is staring right into my soul...

You know what's kinda cool about some Chinese buffets?

Those potato fries that are in the shape of smiley faces. I think those are cute, and my kids like 'em. They are somehow very universally friendly and appealing to kids, I think. However, if you look at a big batch of them in the steamer tray, they kinda look creepy. Maybe like they are smiling because they have some sort of plan. But, they are a lot less scary-looking then the chicken tariaki on a stick (or as my nephew calls it, "chicken very yucky"). The reason for this odd topic is that we visited my husband's parents this past week, and they were nice enough to take us out for Chinese. It's a small town, and there are only a couple Chinese places in the area- but we always pick the one with the big bronze lions out front. Plus, the kids like the big wishing fountain in the entrance, too. They spent over 55 cents on wishes. If at least ONE of them doesn't come true, I will be taking 55 cents worth of chopsticks from the restaurant next time. On second thought, I probably shouldn't. With my luck the owner is some powerful demi-god like Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China, and he'll electrify me and feed me to a big monkey or something. I don't want Lo Pan to feed me to a big monkey.

Lo Pan may be evil, but he is one snappy dresser. I'll bet he likes smiley fries, too. And monkeys.

Getting off the topic of convenient Asian cuisine, I am thoroughly enjoying the Science Channel's presentation of Through the Wormhole (or "Through the Pie Hole", as my husband calls it), hosted by Morgan Freeman.

You WILL learn about the nature of the universe, and you WILL enjoy it.

I'm a total geek for quantum physics, string theory, big bang theory, multi-demensional universes and all of that. Looking at the big picture gives you a nice perspective of our little planet, our little community, and out little lives. I'm glad people are out there dedicating their lives to finding answers to the most basic questions mankind has- Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? What is all this? Where are my shoes? Why am I itchy?

Stephen Hawkings may be the smartest man on the planet, but he is also friends with Morgan Freeman- and he will mess you UP.

As I type this, we are also working on some more of the back packs on Etsy. We are experimenting with the large size back packs. I think we'll start with a big ol' crow (his name is Beaky) on it, and then add more characters. Keep checking Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/listing/76565487/nissa-string-backpack

Yeah, whatever. Just give me some investment capital.

This whole blogging thing coming more easily now. It was a struggle to put something down that I thought might be worth reading. Well, it's still questionable as to whether this is worth reading or not, but at least it'snot as labor-intensive as it once was. This is my 18th or 19th blog, I think...wow. Think of all the time I've made you waste. You could have been taking out the garbage, dusting the ceiling fan, or writing an opera based on the movie "The Highlander". That was MY idea, by the way.

Did I tell you that I actually have canned haggis in my cupboard? Seriously.

Gotta go, kids. Frankly, I don't feel like blogging any more today. I want to relax, eat pizza, and watch those brainless chimps on Ghost Adventures. Chimps are funny. :)

Here endeth the blog. Please leave quietly.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

Careers are for chumps. I'll just blog myself into financial freedom.

2011-06-28T16:55:00.001-05:00

So I was at my day job yesterday, and I said to myself, "I like my job, but I would rather be paintin' stuff". I guess it is the fate of most people (though not all) to work their "regular job" until that time when a magical set of circumstances present themselves and you can finally do what you really want for a living. I think everyone wants to love their job. I think most don't, but they just do their job and forget about it when they come home, so they can concentrate on what they enjoy- i.e. family, hobbies, school, or possibly working on a new career. But then again, if you did what you loved every day, maybe you'd get burnt out faster. Maybe you'd put so much of yourself into the job that you'd lose all of your enjoyment of it; both your work and your play are combined into something that can't be separated- so you risk spoiling both if you get burnt out. Maybe I'm wasting too much time thinking about this.

I'll bet Bob Ross liked his job. And his happy little paycheck from his happy little licensing.

I'll bet Charles Atlas liked his job of manufacturing men.

I'm working on my big super-secret project tomorrow again. You know, the one that requires me to form another company and copyright some stuff and work with those Apple folks. It is going well so far, luckily. I'm laying out some pages and trying to finalize the "look" of my characters. This may take a few tries. My business partner in this is really cool, so I know we will work this out.

Oh, and we're testing out 2 products we mocked up over the weekend. A couple of very good friends helped us out, and the testing is almost done. Now the real work of getting past the prototypes and into production begins! This is kinda fun, actually. We have a test marketing procedure in place, and hopefully some first run items will be tested out by next week or so. No one told me that one of the problems with merchandising is that you want to keep all the stuff for yourself. I'm gonna end up like those people on hoarding shows, with stuff piled 9 feet high and 14 badgers living in my house with me while I'm screaming that all the rotting vegetables in my living room are still good.

Yeah, I nearly tripped over the sense of identity I lost years ago under a pile of newspapers and jars of Ragu.

I added this for no reason.

I'm tired. I stay up way too late typing these blogs. I need more sleep. I wish I had a hammock at work. Well, I think I will wrap this one up, kids. Gotta put more stuff for sale on Etsy, too. Remember, check out my stuff on Etsy, or I will put a gypsy curse on all of you. Just kidding! It's actually just a regular curse...

Now go to your room and think about what you've done.

-Christine

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios?ref=si_shop

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

I thought everybody had a Hellboy lunchbox.

2011-06-24T16:36:00.000-05:00

Rather than another boring tour of my silly house, I'll just give you photos of random objects that are strewn about my dwelling. Take it as you want- self-absorbed display, time-killer, lack of anything better to do- but at least it may be interpreted as entertaining. So no complaining! You're in MY house, yo...

Here's a photo of my husband's Hellboy lunchbox. This one contains preserved pumpkin stems from previous Halloweens. He sprayed them with several coats of shellac to keep them intact. Yeah, he's weird.

My husband Carlos "The Jackal" keeps weird things like this all over the house.

Here's another weird thing my huband built/modified. Made a clock out of an old broken sony walkman CD player.

The 80's are BACK, baby. Well, not really. But you can tell time like it's 1988.

Here's a few of the silly action figures in our office/studio. Yes, it is dorky.

With their combined skills, Pumpkinhead and Speed Racer were able to work together to get 2 orange squares on 1 side of the Rubix Cube. This task took 8 months. Eventually they just peeled off all the stickers to make the colors match.

We bought this thing at Caputo's a week ago, only because it looked interesting.

We still don't know that this is. But we're letting it get dehydrated to shrivelly to see how cool it will look.

In the grocery checkout aisle the other day, my ever-vigilant husband noticed this next to the Slim-jims. Apparently he thought it was specifically marketed towards him. I'm not sure if he thinks it's a weapon or food.

Sheer marketing genius.

I'd like to introduce you to Goaty. He's my stuffed goat that I keep on my nightstand, next to my waterglass, my phone, and my Johnny the Homocidal Maniac hardcover compilation. Goaty keeps me safe, but he's got crazy eyes. Actually, my husband glued some googly eyes on him to make him look crazy. It worked.

My eyes may be crazy, but I'm as sane as Gary Busey. I also can fly and shoot lasers from my horns.

Here is one of the new products we've got on Etsy. I'm still making paintings, but we're also starting to market our other products. We took this photo last night.

Soon, I think everyone will want a bag with a creepy girl on it. Acually, I'm kinda counting on it.

Had enough? Can't take any more of our domestic weirdness? Good, because I'm done, anyway. I'm still working on the other items I'm putting on Etsy! Just got my first order for this backback, too!! Gotta make some more. I'll be selling backpacks with other characters, including Beaky the Crow. I'll show that to you all soon. For right now, check out the Nissa backpacks. http://www.etsy.com/listing/76565487/nissa-string-backpack

Gotta run, kids. Behave yourselves, or at least keep off my lawn.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

Would you eat a burger with an egg on it? Would you?

2011-06-20T23:58:00.008-05:00

I'm going to the Music Box Theater this weekend!

Woohoo! It's been so long, but this is going to be FUN. I need this. It's well worth the trip for a midnight movie at the Music Box with our friends Glammie and Paul. Ooh, maybe we can go to Kuma's afterwards! They have THE best burgers, but my hub doesn't like the waffle fries. What can I say? There's something wrong with him. Well, there are a few things wrong with him, but this kinda disturbs me.

Kuma's!!

Just look at this burger! LOOK AT IT!!

So how was the weekend? (I'm going to pretend that you are all talking at your monitors, telling me about your respective weekends. It's nice to pretend.) I hope ya'll relaxed, or did something fun/constructive/legal/non-explosive. Oh, speaking of explosives- gotta check how fireworks stockpile is doing. I have no idea if we have any left for the Fourth of July. I think we have some bottle rockets and Roman candles left over. Oh, I gotta buy some of those burning "snake" things. You know, they're a little compressed cylinder that you light, and it expands into a charcoaly-snakey thing? I love those. I remember the scorch marks they used to make on the driveway.

Quite possibly the cheapest "fireworks" EVER. But I like 'em!

Hey, Crows Feet Studios has finally narrowed down our product line to 4 different items. We're going to start test marketing them this week, and hopefully get some meaningful numbers back in 2 or 3 weeks. We decided to get away from the usual stuff that people try to slap their logo on, and went with some items that were much more interesting. Don't worry, we will keep you posted. I'll let you know a little before they hit Etsy- I promise. And hey, you can tell us what you think of them, too. Or just say "hey". I set up the comment box here so that anybody can comment, not just the "followers" of this blog. I don't believe in forcing people to "follow" this blog in order to comment. I find it more fun to try and hypnotize people, anyway...

I wish I could make sparkles and shiny,swirly lines with a quarter.

Occasionally I try to hypnotize random people I run across on walking trails, but they don't stand still long enough for me to dangle that pocketwatch back and forth and use my creepy hypno-voice on them.

That's all I've got for now, kids. I gotta go finish painting another canvas, and then update our website. We're adding more prints to Etsy every week now. You would be very, very foolish not to look at them. All the other kids will laugh at you if you don't. I'm serious.

Nighty-night. This blog is closed for the evening. No loitering.

- Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76233457/almost-time

Do you have any idea how good REAL pizza is?

2011-06-16T18:55:00.007-05:00

I used to live in Evanston. You know- north shore, Northwestern University, pretentious neo-hippies, old money- the works.

I was there for a good chunk of my adult life, and so was my husband. He went to school downtown Chicago, then moved to Evanston. And I worked downtown Chicago, too. After I had my first child, I thought of moving further out- mostly because of safety issue, plus the housing market at the time was pretty good. We decided to move out to Plainfield (which we had never even passed through before!) for these reasons, knowing full well what a big change it would be for all of us.

We don't regret the decision, but there are some things we miss about the city. Great old movie theaters (like the Music Box. I LOVED that one. And the old McClurg Court theater that closed up), really cool video stores, art galleries, & museums- but what we really, really miss are the restaurants. In Evanston, we were 8 minutes away from ANY kind of restaurant you could think of. Brazilian, Afghan, German, French, Polynesian, Thai, fondue, tappas, fusion- you name it. And today we decided to let the kids experience the Adler Planetarium, plus a Chicago landmark- Gino's East. I know it's totally touristy, but the kids had to experience Chicago and some of the best pizza on the planet. They're old enough to have a little easier time absorbing it.

Inside of Gino's East. It's not considered graphitti if it's encouraged by the management...

Dinner was SO good. The appetizer platter was excellent. The kids had some thin crust cheese pizza, and we had the deep dish. It took them a couple tries to get out order right, but is was worth it! Even my son admitted that the deep dish was the best pizza he ever had!

For all you Star Trek fans out there- "NO KILL I"

We brought our own Sharpie to sign the wall, but they actually provided one for us!! Very nice.

My entire manifesto didn't fit above the table, but I got my message across.

We originally wanted to go to the Shedd Aquarium, but it was free admission week and the line was 3 HOURS LONG. We simply couldn't wait that long, so we just scooted on over to the planetarium instead. It was more expensive, but a wise choice. Besides, we saw a dead fish on the walk over from the Shedd Aquarium, so that was kinda the same thing...

It may look abandoned and post-apocolyptic, but I assure you that people were inside.

My husband kept acting disappointed that they didn't have Buzz Aldrin stuffed and mounted in the front entrance to the planetarium.

Why is Copernicus holding a steampunk Wii controller?

There were lots of kids activities inside, with simulated spaceship controls and such. This one just looked funny.

Talk to the rocket?? Just try and stop me!

One thing that we should have taken a picture of was a bizarre play area that consisted of a big box of kitty litter that kids can play in, and a pile of plastic vegetables that was next to it. I'm not sure exactly what was the point of that. But, my kids had fun throwing the vegetables in the kitty litter. That last sentence was rather odd, now that I read it again...

AUTHOR'S NOTE- I just added this picture because it is just...insane. The Shedd Aquarium actually PAID for this monstrosity. LOOK AT THIS THING! It's a creepy 20 foot guy hugging a fish!!! Psychologists could have a field day with this thing!!!

This is without a doubt THE most demented fountain I have ever seen.

A little astrophysics, a little pizza and a walk downtown made for a great day for everyone. I highly recommend it. We didn't get to do everything we wanted, but we can save it for the next trip. I have SO much more planned, including an excursion to my favorite art supply store in the universe- Utrecht's. Mmmmmm....
Oh, I should mention that we are getting our prints up for sale on Etsy tonight. We are going to have 2 different kinds- one on art paper, the other on professional photo paper. Should be up later tonight. We also had our website altered to include a link to our Etsy shop on the "paintings" portion of the site. Check it out, if you dare.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/75434894/knitting-up-a-storm
http://www.crowsfeetstudios.com/paintings7.htm#

Okay, I gotta go. Go read a book for Pete's sake.

- Christine

Home Tour- The Final Chapter.... At least until I don't feel like writing anything interesting.

2011-06-14T00:46:00.002-05:00

I love this weather.
This is what spring is supposed to feel like. Temperaturses topping out at the mid 70's, breezy and cool. We ate breakfast on the deck, and no bugs bothered us at all! This NEVER happens. We may actually have a fire outside tonight.

Any interest in milking my little tour of the house some more? Come on, it's a pretty good time-killer. Just one more post on this nonsense- I promise. This time we will focus mainly on our DVD's, and throw in some random objects in just for kicks.

Here is our main DVD wall. It may be time to get rid of some. After all, how many times do we actually watch "Sneakers"?

This is a portion of them We have more in milk crates on the floor. We own about 4 Blu-Rays.

Here's the top shelf stuff. You can just see the first season of the A-team.

Yes, we enjoy the series Supernatural, as well as Alton Brown's "Good Eats". Get over it.

Yes, more DVD's. It's a non-stop thrill ride.

You know, "Constantine" might have been Keanu's best role. Seriously. Is that sad?

Here's a bit more of the nonsense we have on the office bookshelf.

Who hasn't wanted a die-cast model of Ecto-1? Or an action figure of Marv in an electric chair?

This is stuck to the other side of my magnifying lamp.

Our daughter drew this mummy, with the speech bubble "uuuuuu". It's phoenetically accurate.

"Be careful what you wish for..."

This was 79 cents on Amazon. Can't beat that with a stick.

That's the office. Well, a heavily edited version of it, anyway. We didn't take pics of many things- there simply is too much stuff to take photos of. Maybe another time.

Gotta run, kids. There is a canolli in the fridge, and no one will keep me from it. See you on the flip side.

Oh, and check out our Etsy stuff. Going to add more tomorrow. Wait and see....

- Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75585069/trouble-with-the-plague?ref=v1_other_1

Blogging, Rambling, Whining & Self-promotion. Isn't that what the internet was designed for?

2011-06-09T22:43:00.004-05:00

Except for the addition of a garage, this is basically what I live in. Suburbs are GREAT.

Let's take a break from our silly tour of my cookie-cutter vinyl house-box in the 'burbs. You've seen one house full of crows, you've seen 'em all, right? Right.

Oh, I know people from the Apple Cult will be mad at me for this. They need to install a humor chip.

I'm in a rambling mood tonight. Listening to the Killers right now on itunes. You know, it's really, really annoying how your Apple devices are pretty much useless unless you use itunes. Ever have your computer crash, and itunes crash with it? Good luck gettng your music back from your ipod. It can't be done using Apple software (as far as I know)- you have to download a program that you have to search the net for (a third party developer) just to get all the music back onto your computer. If you didnt get the music from itunes, then it's gone! Well-designed software that is specifically geared to keeping you dependant on Apple. That's capitalism, I guess.
Well, I can't put down Apple too much. They do make a pretty decent product, for what it is. In fact, I will be selling Apple something pretty soon. You know that saying about a door closing, and a window opening up? Well, I just had a HUGE window open up. I'll be working with a UI/UX designer friend to create something that will be used in a few different Apple products. Can't tell you what it is yet until our company is formed and the copyrights go through- but I will be keeping you in the loop.

Nothin' like a little sci-fi steampunk.

Anyone seen Sucker Punch? I'm looking for an honest opinion on it before I go see it in the cheap theaters. There's that old theater in Joliet next to the Barnes and Nobles that has showings incredibly cheap during the day! If you sneak in food (which, of course, I would never do, nor encourage anyone else to do...that would be wrongedy-wrong) it makes for a dirt-cheap 2 hours of entertainment! I don't see many movies in the theaters anymore. 95 percent of the time it simply isn't worth it. But, a few movies simply must be seen in the theater for the full effect. Honestly, how many movies are actually WORTH the drive, the parking, the 10 bucks a head, the 368 dollars at the concession stand, and the annoying people around you who are too stupid to figure out that the cinema is NOT the place to use your cell phone?

There are times when I genuinely wish for a recurrence of the 50's.

Now, there is one exception to my feeling on this- drive-in theaters. I have a renewed interest in them for the last few years, and I can't wait to go to another. My current favorite is the Midway Drive in way out by Sterling. I absolutely adore going there, and it is well worth the gas to get there. It is in the middle of NO WHERE. The first time I went out there, there were no lights for MILES, and I was positive that Malakai and the children of the corn were going to stab us with rakes. But I loved it. I loved tuning my radio to the audio frequency they put out to listen to the soundtrack, I loved the foil-wrapped burgers at the concession stand, I love the fact that it was literally in the middle of a cornfield. Absolutely nothing beats seeing "Night of the Living Dead" at 2 in the morning at an all-night drive in. I am enjoying this bit of American history while it lasts.

All they want is to give you a hug. Honest.

I figure I should wrap this up. Sorry if I went a little long on this one. Blogs are so incredibly self-indulgent, and it's very easy to forget that there is a strong possibility that no one is terribly interested in what you are rambling about! :) I wish more people would remember that. Heh. Witty remarks and clever phrases can't replace useful information and meaningful knowledge, I guess.

Okay, I've had enough of this blog thing for tonight. Go do something constructive.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75462703/popcorn-and-megaliths?ref=v1_other_1

Home Tour Part 4- This house is NOT clean...

2011-06-08T23:30:00.001-05:00

You know what movie I'd like to see again? "Poltergeist". Yeah.

And so continues our whirlwind tour of select portions of my home. Yes, I'm just as excited as you are. I timed this so that it wouldn't interfere with the royal wedding a few weeks ago. I'm too classy to take away the audience from the royal family.

Here is the one room that may keep you interested for the 3 1/2 minutes it takes to read this blog. There are so many knick-knacks, action figures and crappy nonsense that you're bound to find something that is mildly interesting. I captioned all the photos for you. Some of them are funny-- others may just disturb you. I'm not going to pretend to care what the affect is on you.

Here's my work area. ooooooohhhh....I'm messy, so therefore I'm talented.

I got this huge steel drafting table for 25 bucks about a decade ago. I hope it isn't cursed or anything.

Look! More crap!

I use the magic 8-ball to make all of my financial decisions.

And yet MORE crap! It never ends.

My "desk friends" keep me company, but sometimes they tell me to do bad things.

I just like Christopher Walken. And so should you.

I don't think having a picture of Christopher Walken needs any explanation.

Edgar and Skeletor are good friends. On Wednesdays they play darts at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Yes, I keep Edgar Allen Poe in a cardboard candy coffin. He likes it in there.

Go out and read something by Jhonen Vasquez. Don't argue, just do it.

Johnny the Homocidal Maniac is actually quite inspiring.

Good ol' Siouxsie Sioux. She looks like she wants a bite of my Three Musketeers.

If you don't know who Siouxsie and the Banshees are, you must leave right now.

Aliens are actually very festive creatures. Just don't look too closely at their eggs.

My magnifying lamp is used to hold up silly things...

My tickets to a Cure concert 4 years ago. Held to my lamp with sushi magnets.

Yeah, every artist has some kind of stupid action figure.

Dr. Zaius still won't let the rest of the action figures in the Forbidden Zone. Damn dirty ape.

Just got the printer.....Mmmmmmmm....

Good wide-format printer. Good printer. Stay.

Next time I will take you through my DVD collection. I know this is a lot of excitement for you, but I think my readers are tougher (or at least more desensitized) than most.

I'm tired now. Blogging makes me thirsty. Disperse.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios?ref=si_shop

I'm not sure if Robert Smith would like to be next to a rubber chicken.

2011-06-08T00:30:00.008-05:00

This whole "professional artist" thing is occasionally more time-consuming that I anticipate. I'm getting backed up again. I've still got a poster to design, 2 portraits, modifying 3 paintings, another possible mural, and now I may be illustrating an e-book and an iphone ap with a new friend. Even good stress takes its toll, but these are all good things. Gotta keep this stuff in perspective, schedule my time right, and take it one at a time; I can't complain about being busy. Enough about my workload.

It'll be a short blog tonight, kids. I stayed up too late putting more stuff on Etsy and then watching "Chopped" on the Food Network. Ever see that show? 4 chefs are given a basket of mystery ingredients to prepeare a meal on a time limit- actually, it's 3 courses. It's kinda cool. I like it because of the goofy kinds of ingredients they are forced to use sometimes. It's sort of like, "If you open your basket, you will find your mystery ingredients. They are- six Funyons, some sawdust, a bag of fish heads, and a live weasel. You have 20 minutes!" Now THAT's a good cooking show. Oh, and I'm now listening to my new cd of Cure songs re-arranged for a string quartet. And here's my stuff on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowsFeetStudios?section_id=10009161

I almost forgot about our silly tour of the house. Tonight, you only get 1 photo of our office. I need to take some more tomorrow. I promise to blog again Wednesday with more photos, okay ? Honest. But for now, you get to see Robert Smith, Theda Bara, and a rubber chicken signed by Svengoolie. No, I'm not making that up. He actually signed it for us. We didn't even threaten him.

I gotta get some sleep. Writing this blog for you people is exhausting.

I'm sure you have somewhere to be, so stop hanging around here. Shoo. You bother me.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

New Paintings on Etsy! Oh, and I can show you some more stuff in my house.

2011-06-05T23:03:00.011-05:00

Two paintings finished. Why is it so painful to finish paintings?? It's not like I'm passing a kidney stone or something. Anyway, they are done. Look at them!

I just put both of the originals up for sale on my Etsy page, and I will get my section of prints up and running tomorrow. Still have to update the crowsfeetstudios.com website with a big ol' link to my Etsy page, though. Here are links to both of them-

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75434894/knitting-up-a-storm

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75462703/popcorn-and-megaliths?ref=v1_other_1

Workin' on getting the prints for sale, too. Not everyone wants a big honkin' painting in their house, after all. They will be 8 x 10, I'm thinking. Maybe on watercolor paper, or linen or ragstock. Not sure yet.

Okay, on with my spooky yet pleasantly non-threatening tour of our humble abode. Today we move on to the kitchen. That's where we cook, eat, and occasionally wrestle eachother.

Here is small dome that we keep on the kitchen table. It has a little nest in it! We put the goofy plastic skull in there for no good reason.

Here is a close up of a painting one of my sisters-on-law gave me. Very, very cool. And veiny.

Here's the doorway from the kitchen leading to the dining room. Note the spooky twigs of doom on the right. Very impressive sticks, huh? :)

These are our kitchen cabinets. Utterly fascinating. But yes, we do have a fence on top of our cabinets. We have lights on top that add to the ambiance, too. Shoulda gotten a photo of this at night. Oh, well.

And here is how we tell what the temperature is. No digital doo-dads for us, no sir. We deal with 16th century technology in our household. It's a Galileo thermometer, and it goes with our wooden ox cart and the leeches we use to cure our headaches. Hee hee....leeches. :)

I'm afraid that is the end of tonight's exciting episode, kids. Keep the dial tuned right here for more top-notch, blue-chip free internet entertainment. Where else can you learn about leeches and Galileo? Everyone knows that the internet is the only way to learn anything, right? Yeah....

Gonna have a Hostess fruit pie now. They are one of mankind's top 10 inventions of all time, right up there with the Sham-wow. Goodnight, kids. And remember- knowledge, experience, and intelligence are very different separate things. You need them all to be smart. Now get out of my blog.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

Knitting up a storm

2011-06-03T22:33:00.000-05:00

Finally, this one is complete.

I have the bad habit of doing one painting after another, and ALMOST completing all of them. Then I go back and do about half an hour's work on each of them, and then they are finally done. Anyway, this one is called "Knitting up a Storm". I'm using one of my favorite characters named Nissa as the subject. She will turn up in future paintings. You'll have to excuse the less than perfect photos- I took these photos quickly after my eyes were almost burned out of my sockets from overuse!

I am exhausted. Gonna put this on my Etsy site, and see if I can put it on my crowsfeetstudios.com website in the morning. I'll be selling the original, as well as prints. She turned out pretty well, I think.

Time to relax. The only way to rest my weary brain is with a rum & Coke and Ghost Adventures. Heh. I love watchin' those idiots run around in the dark.

Nighty-night, kids. It's Bacardi time.

-Christine

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

If only our house were as neat and tidy as we would have you believe.

2011-06-03T13:23:00.000-05:00

Finally got most of our flowers in pots, and the garden is pretty much planted. We have 2 pumpkin plants in one of our planting beds, so I hope they do better than last year's pumpkins. We bought the ridiculously huge Hindenburg-sized pumpkins this year, so they'd better be as massive as advertised on the little picture that came with the plant. Okay, enough of the botany.

Since I didn't hear any objections to the heavily-edited expedition through our house, we will continue with said tour. Today, we will look at the family room- also known as the "rumpus room" or "the room with the TV in it that has toys, games & crap all over the place".

I gots lightnin' in my head!

Here's one of those "lightning storm" globe things from the 80's, but it's shaped like a skull. It sits on top of our subwoofer, and we call it the Skull of Confusion. We use it to hypnotize census takers.

Okay, the lower left photo isn't actually in our family room. It's actually in the guest bathroom downstairs. However, it is directly adjacent to the family room, so it kinda counts. The image is an old German woodcut of Red Riding Hood. I admit, I am a sucker for old German woodcuts. They are inherently weird and creepy- not that there's anything WRONG with that....

The photo on the right is a custom made broom that we paid too much for at a Renniassance faire a few years back. Still, it's a pretty darned cool broom. Not very practical for the sweepin', however.

We've got a ridiculous number of cloches and apothecary jars with stuff in them. Here are a few of them that are on our bookshelf in the family room. Note the spooky waterglobe!

Things in jars are spooky. Unless it's jelly or something.

Here's a little doll that my husband paid our daughter 2 dollars for. He modified her into what you see now- we call her Sushi Sioux, and we keep her in a bowl. We are thinking of including her as a helper on our website.

Look at me! I'm in a bowl and I'm spooky! Fear my raw seafood! FEAR IT!

These are our pet frogs. One of them is named Stretchy- I forget the name of the other one. It's some kind of Japanese name like Gonnagitchamichi.

I'm 40 grams of fury- don't mess wit' me, homes.

Here's our picture of Rudi Hurzlmeier's "Krahe". Check it out online sometime. Note the spooky birdhouse on the left. We think in may be haunted by some sort of finch.

That's about it, kids. We will continue our tour in the next couple of days or so. Oh, I am nearly done with my painting, and I will be posting it maybe later today. Watch for it! We're getting our Etsy site updated, too, as well as our main website at crowsfeetstudios.com. And we ordered some cool stuff to customize and sell! Oooh, you should see it! Well, you will see it- just not right now.

Gotta run, kids. I got my day job to get ready for, and I gotta take some Advil for my headache I got from painting so much. Those big green gell caps work great, don't they? Okay, I'm gonna listen to some Psychedelic Furs and get ready for work.

Peace, and Humpty-ness forever.

-Christine

http://www.crowsfeetstudios.com/

A tour of my house is even more boring than this blog...

2011-06-01T18:29:00.000-05:00

Rigby & Mordecai. I base my life on their teachings.

I was just on Facebook (again), and a friend was quoting an episode of "The Regular Show" on Cartoon Network. Heh. It was this episode where Rigby and Mordecai are trying to defeat a horrible pop song that came to life (in the form of a giant dancing cassette tape) by writing an even more mindless song. It was one of the best episodes EVER. Check it out sometime. Really. It's worth watching just for the character "Pops" and all the 80's references. Yeah, sometimes I watch the cartoons that my kids watch.

Okay, let's get back to our bargain-basement tour of my house. Any objections? No? I'll pretend that no one is objecting. I'll also pretend that you are genuinely interested.

Monday we looked at a portion of our living room/front room. Today, we will look at the dining room for a bit. It's one of those rooms that we keep more or less clean, just in case 6 people force themselves into our house and demand a civilized dinner. That hasn't happened yet, but we are prepared.

Here's our family mummy. She's next to a really cool old typewriter that appears to be from the late 1940's. It weighs roughly 3 and a half tons.

Here's a picture we have on our wall. It's by Madame Talbot.

This is a sculpture we bought years ago from an artist in Rhinelander. We call him Beakey. The sculpture, not the artist.

If ya'll behave yourselves, we may move on to more interesting rooms later on this week or Saturday. Got some more weird stuff to show! :) hee!

So here's a question for you. During our last huddle around the kitchen table the other night, we (meaning my large yet surprisingly quick husband and I) were discussing at length which direction our business should be going. We were going back and forth about what people-or at least the demographic we were looking for- like to see in the way of art, collectables, and personalized knick-knacks. I mean, do people actually buy coffee mugs with logos on them anymore, or do they just get the freebies from work like everyone else? Do people buy goofy mousepads, or is that a relic from 1998? We really want to know. Tell us what stuff you'd like to see, or examples of things you like and have bought from other sites. I have no interest in trying to sell bland chachkis that were lame 15 years ago! You can email, Facebook, or use the comment box, if you so desire. We've got a few really good ideas, but we want to hear yours, too.

Also, I've finally wrapped up a couple of paintings I've been working on. I'll post some pictures of them soon--and they will be turned into prints or posters that will be for sale! Mmmmmm...moderately priced art goods......

It's time for me to get off this keyboard now. The "Z" button is sticking because someone spilled something in the keyboard. I have my suspicions as to who is at fault.- I think it may be Wizzo the Clown. Man, he creeps me out.

Gotta run, kids. Dinner won't cook itself, and I can't paint & type at the same time.

Stay classy.

It's ME!

http://www.crowsfeetstudios.com/

crowsfeetstudios@yahoo.com

Faust is in the House.

2011-05-29T16:54:00.000-05:00

It's raining and thundering outside. I had barely enough time to plant a few more flowers & herbs this morning, but I did it. The huge lightning strikes happened about 10 minutes after I finished. I was a little concerned about ending up like that priest in Caddyshack.

Man, we still have so much to do outside. When things are closer to finished, I may post a few pictures of our tiny backyard. We did our best to make it our own little world, and it's still continuing. We built our own deck, flagstone patio and planting beds-with our own grubby hands. And believe me, wrestling with 100 pound flagstones was not easy or fun. It was well worth it, though. :) Remind me to post a couple pics, ok?

Sorry for all the pointless rambling in this blog. Just as a warning, I gotta tell you that you will get blog posts like this occasionally. Today I feel like showing you some random things in our house. Sound good? Well, I can't hear you if you are screaming at the monitor, so I'm going ahead anyway, with or without your approval. Oooh, I gotta get off topic for a second- did you see "Oddities" yesterday on the Science Channel?? It was a marathon! Check it out sometime. It's nothing but a televised freak show, but I really love seeing some of the objects in the that curio shop. Okay, back to the matter at hand.

I'm thinking about taking you on a guided tour of our humble home, one room at a time. I will carefully edit out most of the mess, dust and children's clothes that may find their way into the photos. That's the nice/scary thing about the internet and digital photos- with a few minutes labor and a couple clicks of the mouse, you can give a completely inaccurate impression of almost anything. Frightening, no?

Moving on.

Okay, here are some random pics of our stuff in the front room/living room. If I were 95 years old, I guess I'd call it the "parlor". Look it up. Anyway, lookey lookey. Here's some of our knick knacks in our bookshelf.

Some of them are silly. I think you might notice a theme, though....

And yes, we do have books in our bookshelf, but I didn't think you'd be too interested in our reading material. Or are you? Again, I can't hear what you're saying right now, so I'm just going to make a few assumptions unless you email comments to the contrary. Whatever. On with the show & tell.

I call this one "Mr. Moosenheimer". Yes, it's a moose skull. Antlers would have been cool.

Here's one of our curio cabinet. The sparkly glasses look nice.

And this is on top of our shelving unit. To the average observer, it would seem slightly dangerous. We built that frame as well as hand painted the sign. Mmmmm....shameless self promotion.... You may be wondering why we have a ridiculously big, 6 foot long picture of our mascot/logo on our bookshelf. Long story. But, it looks nice up there.

So whaddya think so far? Shall I continue room-to-room? We'll see what kind of mood I'm in on Tuesday or so. Our office is by far the most interesting. We can get to that later.

I hate to cut this little visit short, but I gotta paint stuff. My husband came up with a couple GREAT ideas for a line of products and posters for Crows Feet Studios, and we gotta hash out some details today. Plus the kids are screaming about something or other. I think it has to do with popsicles or socks.

Okay, kids. Until next time. Here's a quote from Goethe that I really like-

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."

He was a very smart, dead German dude. Read "Faust" sometime. Auf Wiedersehen.

www.crowsfeetstudios.com

Day 3 in California- I saw Mickey, Dressed in Black, and Spent Lots of Money. Then I left.

2011-05-27T22:05:00.000-05:00

Okay, here is the last exciting installment in the LA soap opera I was involved in. Again, sorry for the long delay. It wasn't some lame attempt at suspense; recent developments have allowed me to get back to a semi-regular schedule, thankfully. So saddle up, 'cause here we go.

Day three- Bats Day. Oh, day three... I think the reason why it took me so long to write this was because so much happened that day- but it didn't all get absorbed and processed until much later. You won't hear any of it from me, mostly because I still don't have a clue as to what really went on. C'est la vie. Don't ask.

Bleary eyed, I rolled out of bed to the sound of of a text from Karen. It was time to break out the outfit I had specially planned for the day- and hey!- the basic black corset that I ordered from the UK just for this trip was two sizes too big. Eh, with four hours of sleep, I guess it didn't matter... tightening something that snug around my waist for twelve hours at a theme park was enough to make me a little queasy anyway. So, after gaining some sense of balance and motor control, I then stumbled downstairs and met Karen & friends in the lobby. We were all promptly driven to Disneyland in Matt's cute little square car (or maybe it was more of a trapezoid. I can't remember. My Euclidian geometry is a little rusty).

This is the point where we met up with (now unfortunately defunct) the "Crown and Casket Society" founders and members. The plan was to head over to Sleeping Beauty's castle with them for the Bat's Day group picture (which apparently is a tradition). There had to be hundreds of us dressed in our finest gothy clothing. Luckily, it wasn't 90 degrees, otherwise there would have been a LOT of sweaty pale people dressed in black- some of which would be passing out. I think there was a movie like that. What was it called? Lord of the Rings?

Now, most of our group was exhausted from the night before because of the Market, or staying out too late with the nice neighbors (shh! that wasn't me) so we decided to take it easy- a train ride, Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Carribean. NO TEACUP RIDES. Spinning, rotating teacups are just tempting fate.

I met some really fascinating, incredibly sweet and welcoming people that day. The Crown & Casket members were most gracious in including me on their day out- Natalie and Joelle, Shannon- Jeff and Damian to name a few. Oh, and Chuck! Chuck likes to sit and read a book whenever he goes to Disneyland. I love that. Funniest, best guy I've met in a long time. One of the perks I found being with this wonderful group is that we were in the company of a couple of castmembers (aka Disney employees), so we were able to see a bit of behind the scenes! We all were able to ride on the Presidential Car on the train that travels the perimeter of the park, the one that Walt himself would ride, and sneak behind the Haunted Mansion for a peek at the back pet graveyard. Oooooooo....spooky.

The traditional "goths-only" visit to the Mansion was a hoot. If you have ever been, when you are in the first room of the house, and the floor begins to sink. Then there's a creepy monologue meant to set up for the rest of the attraction. Go figure, EVERYONE in the room knew and recited it word for word. Loudly. I think it's a universal fact that the locals all have annual passes, which allowed them to know the sacred words. I know that if I lived here, I'd just come to go there and hang out, too. While riding the moving car pod thing with Karen through the familiar sights, suddenly the car stops. Mid ride!! How cool is that? Heh. I wish now that I could have gotten out and taken forbidden picures- except for the unforgiving steel bar on my lap. Damn those Disney security thugs. Walt thought of everything.

After a bit of touristy-like shopping with Karen, I got something from a food cart (about 10 hours after we got to the park) that I will never in my life forget. It was THE BEST corn dog I have ever had in my life. Was it because I was so damn hungry, or the fact that it cost me $6.50?  I may never know. But that corn dog was heaven on a stick. Oh, I love you, deep-fried and processed meat.

After meeting Captain Hook, The Evil Queen, Minnie and Mickey (they were oddly silent) - it was time to say goodbye to the wonderful and down-to-earth people I met that day.  They were delightfully sweet and have a "I have a real life behind this one" kind of feel to them, just like the rest of us.  At nearly midnight, after hugs and a promise to see them again, I was on my way back to the hotel on the tram and in the rhombus car. Or maybe it was a dodecahedron. Hee.

I called Becky. She was awake (her night shift occupation allows). We sat in our jammies for three hours talking about nothing and everything in this big ol' suite that I didn't spend enough time in (thankfully) and wondering what life is all about. What a day.

What a life.

After all this, I think I'll put in my will that I want to be cryogenically frozen, and propped up next to Mr. Disney. And maybe next to this guy, too. Now go wish upon a star or something. I've got stuff to do.

Christine

http://www.crowsfeetstudios.com/

Does Robert Smith dream of electric sheep?

2011-05-17T22:29:00.000-05:00

Better late than never, I always say.

I think I'm finally returning to normal. Literally (wait, I don't live in Bloomington or Normal. Darn). I was getting a little too comfortable with the gothyness and the lack of structure. I have to say, after this past weekend it was odd to see people wearing jeans and men at the airport carrying briefcases on their way to a business meeting. I was starting to think that it was acceptable to express myself. Crazy, huh? :)

Day two started quietly, planning the trip up north of town again to see my friends- and then looking at the pictures I took at the pier on the previous night. Then quiet fizzled away at that point and morphed into fun and frivolity And the nervous, exciting feeling you get when you go someplace new. I then managed to find yet a THIRD way to get to their house, after an accidental exit that took me to downtown LA and a nice traffic jam (why does every highway lead to the same destination in this town? I guess you just have to know whuich ones you won't get caught at a dead stop for two hours.). Today, we eat Thai. The best noodles I've had in a long time, coming out of a hole in the wall. It's amazing what you find in a hole in the wall! Like a prize in a cereal box.

After a trip to this really cool art store for a little paper clay- the Rockwalk. One of my main goals on this trip was to obtain an imprint of Robert Smith's hand. (You know, the lead singer of the Cure. Come on- he's been around for 30 years!) Yeah, I know. He's not "Goth". And I was feeling a bit giddy right about then. After a few photos, and some hysterical laughing with Annie and Greg- we got back in the car to find a flat spot to safely dry Fat Bob's hand. From there, a whirlwind tour of Hollywood. Again, places you see in People magazine and on TV- except they were cool. Sunset Boulevard, The Viper Room, Whiskey a Go-Go, Rodeo Drive and all of it's rich folk. On to Beverly Hills (speaking of rich folk), The Chinese Theater, The Egyptian, and the world headquarters of Scientology. Man, that's a BIG building. What do they do to those people in there? Do they have their own soccer field and dirigible hangar? I mean, really.

Afterwards, I planned to meet friends at Disney for the official Bat's Day - then back in the car to brave the crazy motorcyclists (what's up with them riding between moving cars constantly?? They really don't know how to ride bikes. Good grief.). It's time to head back for the Black Market. After finding yet another way to get from the hotel to my friend's house, I managed to get back in time to finally talk with some of my favorite artists, and some people I knew only by my computer screen. It's so funny to look at someone and realize they look familliar, like you have known each other before- then a light turns on. Once in a while, human interaction is a pleasant experience.

I talked to many very talented people that day, and admired their work- and some of them had very encouraging words for me as well. It is nice to get some positive reinforcement from peers that are in the same business as you, once in a while. Smiling broadly, I returned to my room to get gussied up for the Swinging Wake.

It was really a big excuse to hang out with friends, network, and play dress up. But the preparation almost killed me- white makeup from a tube, thirty yards of silver tulle and... who's going to tighten my corset?! Poking my head out the door, I saw my lovely neighbors from the night before- looking quite dapper as always. Ash and Casey were dressed to the nines, and were about as nice as anyone on the planet . Anyway- after a white makeup emergency to which my friend Becky came to the rescue- we departed for the Wake. Morticia and Uncle Fester, some great makeup from 13 Ghosts, and a plethora (heh, I used the word "plethora") of ghoulish apparitions attended. I think I took pictures of them all. The ones that showed up on film, anyway.

Fast forward to the hotel bar for a drink or three. There, we laughed and got to know new friends, and the current ones better. Earlier in the evening, my dapper neighbors invited us up for a drink, so we took them up on the offer. Green liquor is good!

After making too much noise in the hallway at 3am, I returned to my room to try and gather my thoughts for Bat's Day at Disneyland the next day. But that's a story for another day.. and let me tell you, all this with four hours of sleep and a bit of a hangover was QUITE an experience.

So, that was Day Two of my Excellent Adventure. To close this entry, I offer up a quote from one of the classics-

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those ... moments will be lost in time, like tears...in rain."

Now, that may be a little Emo and melodramatic. Well, maybe a LOT Emo and melodramatic, and throw in some sci-fi dorkiness. But come on, Bladerunner was a really cool movie.

http://www.crowsfeetstudios.com/

Christine's Excellent Adventure

2011-05-07T20:14:00.000-05:00

There are strange things afoot at the Circle K.

For those of you, my loyal blog afficianados, who don't know- I am in L.A. this weekend. I am visiting some kindred spirits out here, and getting to know some other artists that I've been dying to talk with. Today I've spent a load of time with 2 good friends from the L.A. area, and I've been having a phenomenal time with them! I'll also be going to Bat's Day, which is the spookiest day of the year at Disneyland. Goths from around the country swarm and converge on Disneyland at this time of year...you can see the dark clouds forming as I type this... Mmmmmmmmm......

I am resisting sleep at all costs because I don’t want to miss a thing. I bought many cans of Red Bull last night, so I can guarantee this. I tried to make a bandolier (just like the one Chewbacca wears) out of duct tape and 24 cans of Redbull, but it proved far too heavy and dorky-looking. Nearly awake for 24 hours yesterday, I went from our midwestern village, to the village on your computer monitor. So, tell me- what’s with all the palm trees? And the Hummers? Not everyone drives a Prius here, to my surprise. And they don’t use turn signals. This can be a little unnerving while driving on a 10 lane highway. It's like a big, scary game of bumper cars/Deathrace 2000.

Well, that was the actual travelling, My hotel room was quite comfy. I was welcomed with a warm cookie. It was a REALLY good cookie.

The evening turned into one of the best in recent memory, with the best taco joint named after a llama (pronounced “yahmma“ because two L‘s doesn‘t mean you have to pronounce an extra long L), a drive to Santa Monica Pier, chai latte, great conversation, fishing pelicans and barking sea lions. A neon ferris wheel and Zoltar the Fortune teller machine. Sand! There was sand! And a really big ocean. It smelled like California. I am feeling a combination of pretentious and hedonistic.

I was driven through Venice, Bel Aire, through UCLA’s campus, West Hollywood, and up a canyon road to see the lights of LA. Familiar names of streets and towns that you think don’t even exist, but on your television screen. Soundtracks to Pretty Woman, Lethal Weapon, and Police Squad were going through my head constantly.

The good gothyness is all around me right now. The cute couple next door to me just got engaged, dressed in their best Victorian mourning clothes last night- complete with a black diamond ring! There are men with mohawks not seen since the glorious 80’s, and some super tight corsetry. No, the men aren’t wearing the corsets. Or at least no men that I've seen yet. Or maybe tonight they will. I’ve seen some interesting stuff since I’ve been here.

Tonight is the Swinging Wake- a costumed event that is SURE to be utterly fascinating on many levels. I mean that in a nice way. I actually sewed for this one. I SEWED. I’m gonna be “utterly fascinating” too.

It’s good to be around a group of people who don’t look at you sideways because your appearance is a little different. So tonight, amidst the palm trees, corsets, tattoos and black eyeliner- we dance! We will dance like children of the night. Or stand around and look like we’re brooding- I’m not sure. I am wild and unpredicable, so we will see what the night brings.

So, from Plainfield to LA in a day. There's quite a difference. Our Illinois town is split down the middle of historic Route 66, you know. The highway that spans the whole country and ends at the end of the Santa Monica Pier. I was there. I saw the end of the road. And it was beautiful. Insert whatever symbolism or allegory or whatever literary device you want.

It will be dark soon. And you know what THAT means....gotta find my flashlight. :)

Keep the dial tuned here, kids. More to come.

Christine

http://www.crowsfeetstudios.com/

Worst blog EVER . Well, not really.

2011-05-01T23:09:00.000-05:00

Bloggedy blog blog.

We at Crows Feet Studios are finally getting used to this whole "blog" thing. It sure seemed very self-absorbed at first; now we just think of it as info-tainment and a pleasant distraction, rather than the egotistical tripe we originally thought it would be...

Okay. Now we can continue with a clear conscience.

If you're reading this, chances are (according to the analytics and stats that we've compiled ) you've already been to our informative, yet tastefully goofy website. And somehow you managed to force yourself away from that little slice of heaven and into our blog. Well, good for you! We congratulate you on your good sense and sheer willpower. So what happens now? Oh, keep your shorts on. We're getting to it.

Right now Crows Feet Studios has got a full load of work to do. Several portraits lined up, t-shirts, posters, more murals, plus more coming down the pike. You can't imagine how much we are spending on Red Bull and effeminate coffee drinks right now. Still, we are NOT complaining, believe me. It is a very good thing that we are growing so fast, and it is well worth the extra hours. We enjoy the work very much, in fact. Now how many people can make that statement? Not many, let me tell you. How many people do you know who actually enjoy their work? For most people, work seems to be one of two scenerios- either the employee is good at their job but don't enjoy it at all, or they absolutely can't stand their job and are doing it strictly for a paycheck. Either way, it's not easy for the long term. Your job takes up so much of your time, so much of your LIFE--well, it sure would help if that job were something that you didn't dread going to every day. I've been there. I'm pretty sure it took 6 or 8 months off of my life. Not to mention how much I spent on medication.

Anyway, the whole point of this soliloquy is to keep you- the gentle yet fashionable reader- informed as to what Crows Feet Studios is doing, will be doing, and can offer you. Right now there is a visit to LA this weekend, which will consist of half genuine networking with other artists and half just dressing up and being goofy. Money well spent. But we are also working on our line of "characters" (for lack of a better term). These will be painted figures, each with their own personalities and themes, out of which we are building a line of products! You know- stickers, coasters, t-shirts-that sort of thing. Mmmmm....shameless marketing.....

I could talk about capitalism and art markets all day, but I'm afraid work must intrude. Plus I want to watch Tremors tonight. I never get tired of that movie. Heh.

See you on the other side, kids.

Chris & Carlos

http://www.crowsfeetstudios.com/