(Inside A Black Apple)

Midway Prints!

I just spent the first part of my day filling the shop with lots of prints from the Midway series (and I also created a mini-gallery for the series right here, so you can see it all together whenever you wish).

Huzzah!

I've gotten so many emails asking when these will be available, so hop over to take a look!

I'm really happy to be able to offer many of them in two sizes - there were so many larger pieces from this show, which equals more large prints.

See you soon!

Bear + Friend

Just the feets of a pair of unfinished dolls I worked on yesterday for the belated birthday of a little pal o' mine.

Unrelated to doll feets, but I'm very excited because all the new work (plus the brand-new set of postcards with images from Lost on the Midway) will be up in the shop early next week.

Also very excited for a date tonight with my mister to see the highly anticipated new Jeunet movie. It is not every day that a new movie from a favorite director arrives.
Happy Friday to you!

The Only Bagel that was Remotely Round

A few weeks ago, I jumped on the bandwagon (bagel-wagon?) because I was too entranced by Amy's post to resist. I used this recipe she linked to, and it worked perfectly. This one is from my first batch - I captured photographic evidence of the only bagel that was circular in shape. I'm not sure if anybody else has had this issue in bagel-making, but lots of ours have broken apart in the boiling phase and turned into crescent-bagels. Still very tasty, if somewhat malformed.

 

I've since gotten some good tips about fixing the problem of the dough-rings breaking apart (cutting the dough with a cookie cutter, for example, is a method I might try soon).

But let me be clear: their weird shape has in no way diminished how fantastic these bagels are. They're chewy and lovely and smell like gladness when they're baking. I'm totally converted! If only I could remember to get the dough going in advance (this is always my stumbling block with baking bread items).

I could really go for a deformed bagel right now. With jam.

Little Red & Little Heart Lockets

I've been keeping these two new Fancy Wearables designs under wraps for a while now, but I think the time is right to release them. I'm crazy about how these two turned out, and I can't hoarde them and keep them all to myself. Therefore,  I've made the Little Red Locket and Anatomical Heart Locket available for their debut.

Small quantities of each new locket are now available in the shop! 

Little Red, in the dainty "book-style" locket:

 

   

And the mysterious Anatomical Heart locket in the sweet round setting:

 

 

PS: So fun nerding out about Daria yesterday...I had a feeling there would be lots of other fans here.

La la LA la la...

Lately, I have been rejoicing that my very favorite TV show as a youth has finally come out on DVD.

 

After years and years of waiting, Daria: The Complete Series was released last month!

At first, I was weirdly reluctant to watch it, because I was worried it couldn't possibly hold up to my glowing, fond memories. But it does. It's actually better than I remember (or could appreciate the first time), especially as far as the outstanding writing goes. For a show that makes use of all the usual archetypal high-school-show characters (the cheerleader, the clueless parents, the cool best friend) there is so much thoughtful, clever dialogue, especially a little further into the series.

 

Until this show came along, I had never related to a character on television, well...ever. Until Daria, television, like Seventeen magazine, just made me feel defective. Watching it now reminds me of watching it when I was 16 with my best friend (who was not unlike Jane, Daria's slightly cooler and better-adjusted best friend). I remember feeling so much comfort in their misanthropic hijinks and whip-smart observations.

And it's still comforting to me. And still really funny.
It's so great to watch it again, and not just for the nostalgia factor. Happily, Daria's wise-ass brilliance and relevance isn't confined to the context of the 90's -- which makes me even more happy that a new generation of misfit girls get to know her now.
_________________________

(Exchanged at a party in the episode: "The Invitation")

Jane: "Are you ready to go?"
Daria: "I was ready to go before we got here."

The Book!

I've been so busy with the show and everything lately, I haven't had the chance to share this very important item of information - my book recently became available for pre-order! I am pleased as can be to announce that The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer: Activities & Amusements for the Curious Paper Artist will be released on November 2nd!

You can find all the pre-order links right here, in the special nook I made just for the book.

The Paper Doll Primer is a 160 page fully-illustrated wondrous oddity - equal parts art and craft book. Inside await hundreds of brand-new illustrations, as well as diversions aplenty. Filled to the brim with original paper dolls and clothing, the book also holds a trove of cut + play projects like a paper theater, customizable dolls, interchangeable backdrops, and more.

This slightly peculiar undertaking (an epic paper doll book is not the most common thing in the world, I know) is what I spent most of my 2009 creating. And I worked pretty much non-stop on it - sun-up to sun-down many days. There are thousands of hours of work and care wrapped up in that little tome, and I really hope that it's a delight to look through and play with.

 

I'll keep you posted as we get closer to the release date, especially concerning events, etc. I'm so happy it's coming out in time for the Winter holidays...already my very favorite time of year.

It's a peculiar, slightly-lonely thing to make a book, especially when one is used to sharing what they make more or less when they make it. 

Which is to say: I'm so happy to finally share this here!

Sea & Sun

This weekend, we had a few elusive days of warmth and sun in Portland-town. When I saw the predicted turn-of-weather coming up, we made up our minds to brave the crowds we knew would certainly be at the beach!

We always do about the same thing: take a picnic, eat our lunch, stroll the beach for an hour or two (walk to Haystack Rock), and then hang out on the quilt for a little, listening to the waves.

 

It's always so windy - no matter how warm it feels when the air is still, there's always a little chill that comes and goes. When I was a little girl growing up in the South, vacationing on the Florida coast, I dreamed of a beach that you could wear a sweater to.

I also like to bring a scarf, because my hair goes crazy in all that wind. And because the beach seems to bring out the Little Edie in me, too.

I read aloud The Hunting of the Snark (which seemed appropriate, since it's about a sea voyage. Well, kinda). The copy I have ends with Jabberwocky, which Josiah read with panache. We have a friend who can recite it all - maybe I should learn it beyond the first four lines!

 

Then Josiah read some PG Wodehouse to me. The Jeeves & Wooster stories are some of the best read-aloud reading we have found.

 

And after the lovely afternoon, we bid the beach farewell for the day.

Happy Monday to you!

Lastly, Some Little Pieces

I made a small handful of drawings and things for my Midway show. I wanted to have some little things that were affordable and added to the variety of work in the collection.

The Twins & The Girl Giant    both 8"x10"    Pencil on paper

Tattooed Lady & Tattooed Man    both 8"X10"    Pencil on paper

And I had these three dancing girls in attendance as well:

 
Dancing Girls in Green, Black, and Yellow    5"x7"    Gouache on paper

The above ladies were framed in pretty thrift store frames, and look so sweet among the cluster of smaller pieces.

Last, but not least, a parsnip-man painting:

 
The Wondrous Parsnip-Headed Man    8"X10"    Acrylic on wood plaque

And I think that's really & truly everything!
Sharing all of this work has been so fun, but I'm glad I'll have a chance to share some different things next week. Big news needs announcing, and other un-Midway-related items must see the light of day!

Happy weekend!

New Work Available Online!

I'm happy to announce that pieces from Lost on the Midway just became available online, right here! 

 

Quite a few pieces sold opening weekend, but lots (including my personal favorites) are now available to everybody, far and wide, through the gallery's webshop.

Three paintings that I kept under wraps til' the opening is this trio with green-blue skies. In one, a raven-haired girl-giant, in another, a ginger-haired girl with a lovely dance partner, and third, a gentle fair-haired miss out riding.

This is one of my favorites in the whole (30+ piece) show:

The Girl Giant    11"x14"x1"    Acrylic on canvas

I feel a lot of empathy for her...though I'm hardly 10 feet tall.

The next is a tribute to my favorite painting by one my favorite painters, William Holbrook Beard.

Bear Dance    20"X16"x1"    Acrylic on canvas

I think the bear is just about to spin her!

Finally, this brown-eyed little sweetie:

The Carousel Elephant     16"x20"x1"    Acrylic on canvas

Actually, I suppose they both have gentle brown eyes!

Now I only have some small drawings and a small painting or two, and I will have shared all the new work!

Soon, I'm going to create a gallery (like the ones I've made for the past few series of work) which will house every image from this collection all together. That way, everything can be safely tucked all in one place for easy perusing.

Cotton Candy Soiree

The opening was really fun, even though I was still a sickie. I think you can actually see me clutching a bunch of tissue in my hands in at least one photo from the night! But bunches of friends came, lots of nice people I had never met came, and the cotton candy smell filled the room. Who could ask for more?

To start, here are photos of the paintings and things hanging on the wall, in order from the front-left side of the room to the front-right side:

1.  
(Photo by Pat Castaldo)

2. 3.

4.   5.

1)This clustered wall had all the small work on it - the dolls, drawings, etc. (some of which you haven't seen here yet). 2.)Then these three paintings you haven't seen here yet: I'll share proper images of them soon! 3.) The far wall had the big centerpiece/title piece, flanked by the Illustrated Man and the Mouse Quartet paintings. 4.) The left wall had a row of 11"x14" pieces.  5.) The final three hang on the nearest part of the left wall to the entrance.

We were the first ones to get to try out the cotton candy!

 
(Photos by Pat Castaldo)

There were bunches of little people there (including my favorite little chickens) throughout the night, and it was so fun to see how jazzed they were about the C.C.!

I wore this beautiful rusty-red and cream striped reconstructed dress from the 30's. There aren't really any good photos of it, 'cause honestly, taking photos and having my photo taken weren't things I wanted to do very much of throughout the evening. My main goal was to talk to all the sweet people there and try not to sneeze on any of them!

I had a red wooden box holding a few treasures on a ledge next to the jar of free fortune-telling fish:

 

And the next day, I had beautiful flowers to smell in my kitchen, courtesy of my sweet Ms. A, right next to two stray cotton-candy cones that were left over at the end of the night.

 

The Title Piece

One of the paintings I was keeping a secret before the opening was the title painting/centerpiece of the show.

It's one of the largest paintings I've done (though by normal-people standards, not really that big). The show really feels right with this one at the center.

Lost on the Midway    20"x24"x2"    Acrylic on canvas

 

I imagined an almost-deserted carnival...maybe just before a storm. In fact, the whole show ended up (to me) feeling like the moment just before a tornado passes through, when the sky is an eerie green and everything is oddly still. 

I found the perfect golden frame for her, complete with an engraved diamond pattern. I'm so excited to share what all the pieces look like in their framed state (the gallery has beautiful photos of each of them, all framed up). Soon, soon.

And I'll post photos of the opening next...full of cotton candy and happy people!

The Tattooed Lady says...

"Come and visit!"

at Friday's opening of "Lost on the Midway" at Land Gallery. Festivities/cotton candy eating will commence at 6:00 pm and go for a few hours after!

The Tattooed Lady    11"x20"x1"    Acrylic on shaped vintage plaque

I'm very excited about the show - we finished hanging this evening, and it really feels lovely to have so much of my work in one place at one time. I'm so pleased with how it came together, although I think I overdid it a little work-and-stress-wise, and as a result, I came down with a bit of a cold. I'm going cross my fingers and hope I feel better tomorrow,  'cause nobody likes a sniffly dud.

I've gotten so many nice inquiries about purchasing paintings and things, and I will certainly post as soon as I know exactly when work will be available online! It should be soon. 

And I'm excited to share the pieces I've been saving for once the show's up! Those will probably pop up here over the next week or so.

Lastly, thank you so much for all the kind words about the new paintings and dolls and things. There is very little as nice as knowing other people like the things you make with your mind, heart and waking dreams.

Midway Dolls

I was able to photograph the dolls I made for the show today - huzzah!
They're all one-of-a-kind right now, but I might (meaning, probably will) make a small edition of at least the conjoined twin dolls...and heck, maybe the tattooed folks, too.

  

Tattooed Lady Doll     Approx 12" tall   
Wool felt, self-designed fabric, striped cotton, acrylic paints

&

Tattooed Man Doll     Approx 12" tall   
Wool felt, self-designed fabric, striped cotton, acrylic paints

And last, but certainly not least:

Twins Doll   Approx 10" tall    Wool felt, dotted cotton, acrylic paints

 

These will be up, perched on a shelf, with the rest of "Lost on the Midway"...I couldn't have an art show without a few dolls!

Happy Wednesday to you!