(Inside A Black Apple)

New York Dispatch 3

 Aannnd...if you missed the TAL live show, there is actually an encore tonight (May 7th)!

Hooray!

New York Dispatch 2

 

New York Dispatch 1

Bookin' It

Some mornings I spend hours upon hours at the computer, just re-ordering supplies/re-stocking Black Apple stuff. Yesterday was one such morning, and as I was staring, glazed over, at the various types of bubble mailer I might or might not need, I wished that I was making a list of all the great books I got for Christmas.

So here, my friends, is that list!

Josiah spoiled me with tons of new comics...Skim, which comes highly recommended, The Lagoon, 'cause I'm a big Lilli Carre fan (remember my original drawing that I was so psyched about?), French Milk, a book I had hyped to myself so much that when it was finally in my hot little hands couldn't help being kind of a let-down, Gasoline, Dame Darcy's newest and insanely ambitious (and as per usual, crazy) offering, and Bottomless Belly Button, a book I wasn't familiar with but found really immersive.

One the non-comics front, I received Vintage Shoes (which I had seen at Amy's and not-so-subtly hinted about), the charming Boulangerie-Patisserie, a beautiful vintage pocket-sized edition of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales from my crafty mom, who bought the book right under my nose when we went on that trip to Powell's. Also from mom, the Taylor's Guide to Roses...because I'd like to grow some someday, and there's no better place than Portland. My hip grandmama gave me the entertaining I Was Told There'd Be Cake (Sloane Crosley can't hold a candle to David Sedaris, though). And, complete with my very favorite Madeline story (The Bad Hat), Josiah gifted me Mad about Madeline.

Back in Athens, my pals Mandy + Devlin gave us a smorgasbord of rad stuff...a little pile of wonderful-smelling vintage paperbacks, two Golden Nature Guides for me, and a dime-store edition of Alice for my collection. All told, I'd say I'm a very lucky girl indeed.

I've got a new little project underway that I'm pretty excited about...I think I'll be able to share it by the end of the week.

Happy Tuesday!

"Just How Everything Is All The Same,

No Matter Where You Go"...

That's a quote that I really like from Enid (comic Enid).

The new Ghost World special edition is out from Fantagraphics, and I had to give the eighteen-year-old Emily a hug and get it. I already have both the screenplay AND the comic book, but I couldn't resist. Every time I would see a review for it in a magazine, I would tell myself: "You need that like you need a hole in the head" but it's a beautiful book, and has lots of incidental drawings and snippets and things.

Plus, as my local comic-ista suggested, I can pass along my old volumes to some other young lady who seems like she might be headed down "the wrong path".

If you hop quick like a bunny (and order directly from Fantagraphics), it seems that there is some special, signed bookplate you can get in your volume courtesy of Dan Clowes himself. I feel sad that I missed out on that, but it's okay...I'm going restrain my mild nerd-tendencies and be okay with it. Oh! Also. The intro from Mr. Clowes is very thoughtful and interesting, and contained a reference to Hyde Park in Chicago, which he described as the home of "our future president", which I thought was, well, cute. I hope that you are right come November, Dan Clowes. And thanks for your snarky brilliance, too.

PS: Thank you, dear readers, for your kindness and support. You never cease to amaze!

The Last of the Comic Books

(EDIT: THE LAST BOOKS HAVE SOLD...THANK YOU SO MUCH!)

My boss:

...finally gave me permission to release the rest of the Scuppernong & Muscadine books for sale in the shop. What a taskmaster...I'm really just the lovely Miette's whipping girl.

Okay, really I just wanted to be sure of how many I actually had on hand before posting the last batch for sale. This is the end of the print run of 250, and they won't be reprinted (at least, not by me!)

I hope your week is off to a nice start! I'll be back soon with a new painting and a new recipe.
xo

Books, of the Sketch and Comic variety

(EDIT: THE FIRST 100 COMIC BOOKS (THE ONES THAT COME WITH A PIN) HAVE SOLD OUT (thank you!), BUT THE LITTLE BOOKS THEMSELVES ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR NOW!
THERE WILL BE A STEADY SUPPLY OF BOTH BOOKS IN THE SHOP UNTIL THEY SELL OUT, SO IF YOU THINK YOU MISSED OUT...JUST CHECK THE SHOP) ;)

So, here are two projects I was hard at work on last month (I hinted about one of them here!). If anyone is sad about not being able to nab anything from the last update, maybe these will cheer you up!

They arrived from the printers (Pinball, and they do beautiful work) last week, and I've been itching to show them off here. The first is a sketchbook, with a cover illustration taken from my own current sketchbook (with a few minor bits changed around):

   
(Photo courtesy of Pinball Publishing)

It is offset-printed on lovely, sturdy chipboard, and is 120 pages full of blank, creamy drawing/ writing paper with a slight tooth. I designed these sketchbooks/journals to be exactly my perfect, portable blank books, and I'm just thrilled with the way they are printed.

 

They also completed a very special job for me, which is a mini (super-mini, they measure 4"x4" square!) comic based on the little book I made for Josiah last Valentine's day. It is called "Scuppernong and Muscadine" and is the 18-panel story of two hedgehogs who love a lot of differing things.

They are also offset printed, and so very beautiful and polished. The first 100 books also come packaged up prettily in a glassine envelope with a free one-inch button of a cute matching cottage (the batch with buttons has sold out, but the books are still available for purchase!).

Hop over to the shop to give them a look-see! I hope you like them as much as I do.

xoxo

Genevieve Castree/Elverum

I realized that I hadn't posted about comics very much in the last year...which doesn't mean that I haven't been reading them, per se, it's just that I have a hard time finding stuff that I like. And sometimes (as in the case of Genevieve Castree) when I find an artist I like (in this instance, in the Drawn + Quarterly showcase from 2005), it's really difficult for me to get ahold of their work.

She is a musician, also, and has released comics as well as LPs + comic sets. And her work is soooo beautiful to me, and I can't visit a comic shop without inquiring (always in vain) about it.

Her Canadian publisher had this one little book: Roulathèque Roulathèque Nicolore, in stock recently and it came in the mail a week or so ago:

And poking around the web, it looks like she currently has (or maybe just had) an exhibition in NYC of the images from her new book/record set, Tout Seul dans la Forêt en Plein Jour (which I am anxiously awaiting).

Happy Weekend!

Chocolates From France & Bunnies With Headgear

Sara is back from her long journey, and she brought us some very beautiful and tasty presents. This little owl and squirrel are too much:

Look at how beautiful and detailed they are! The little talons on the owl? They kill me.

Also killing me (in a good way, of course) is the new-to-me tiny book from Renee French, Edison Steelhead's Lost Portfolio. Here is one of my favorite, erm..."troubled"... rabbits:

 
They're such beautiful images...it's hard to not to want to frame up a bunch and make a mini-gallery.
Renee French is amazing.
I'm very glad to have my friend back, and to have purchased this sweet little book today. The rabbits remind me of Sara and her work (and she knows that's a compliment).

And thanks for all the Portland advice! I'm going to make a list with the "must-try-to-do's" tomorrow to pack with us for Friday.

Geekish

Here I am, wearing my best secretary shirt for going to see the ever lovely Neil speaking, reading, and generally being hilarious and almost too charming for his own good tonight. Oh! And also being interviewed by John Hodgman, better known as Mr. PC in that new crop of Apple ads that I find annoying. I find them annoying because I feel like we all get it, Mac Marketing Brains that PC is geeky and Mac is hip...and plus I think Mr. PC is adorable and find the hipster annoying.
Anyway, back to Neil...he was full of wonderful insights about everything from the world of "fan-fic" (shudder) to the filming of the various worlds he has created (which I was very interested in). Stardust is coming out in March of next year...very exciting! and I presume Coraline (double hooray) will be happening next year as well. He read us some poems from his new short story collection, and it was just the most fun sitting-in-an-auditorium time I've ever had. I love Neil.

Tonight was my comic-geek night, and last night was my Etsy geek night, as I met up with these two & the incomparable Kate Black for a fun & somewhat gushing night of...well...being Etsy-friends in real life. Plus, we got to spin our own cotton candy when we left...I was terrible at it. Kate, however, could work at a carnival. I mean, if she wanted to.
Fun things will be popping up in the next few days in ye olde shoppe, so stay glued to ye olde blogge for pictures, news, etc.

PS: Thanks for all of the encouragement and sweet words about the little books! Now I'm thinking a mini-run of mini-books might be a bit too mini! But, that is the best problem to have :)