recent (and not-so) Cosmonaut love

I got another Etsy front page spot back in February; thanks, as usual, is owed to the Etsy Front Pagers on Flickr.


More exciting was getting featured in a blog post about plaid items at the The Experts Agree! (And they were nice enough to sent me an Etsy message about it, although my Google Alerts did pick it up as well.) It looks like a really awesome blog; the collections they put together are very well done, and they post on more than just art and craft sellers. They have some great posts on typography and graphic design. They are definitely on my design blog reading list now!

all-new math

More New Math

trying to get back in the blogging swing

It's been a long time since. I have a home now, and a job. I am trying to normalize my life. For me, this includes working on Cosmonaut; blogging, Flickring, making things, etc. I am trying to get re-inspired. I don't know how to operate this blog smoothly yet; whether I want it to be mostly about me, my creations, photos and drawings that inspire me, or some combination thereof.

The easiest thing to do is scavenge on ffffound for things I enjoy, so here's some of that:

etsy front page!

Thanks to the Etsy Front Pagers, my Google alert picked up this screenshot of my Brown Woodgrain Belt featured on the Etsy front page (9th spot). My views and hearts went WAY up. No sales yet, but it's a good start! It makes me feel a bit guilty for not working on my shop more, but at the same tim it's invigorating and might kick me back into the "making' mindset. Either way, it was a pleasant surprise!

one thing keeps me going...

I clipped a printed version of this comic once. This very nearly explains my continued existence.

via Wondermark

homeless

The disturbing neglect this blog has received for the past month-ish is due to this fact. Fortunately not living on the street quite yet, but all of my worldly possessions are in something with wheels on it. I never thought I would feel what it means to be "in a recession". I have been searching HARD for a job for over 6 weeks now. I have gotten one call back, which never went anywhere. I never thought I could want to mop floors so bad. I would do anything right now, just to be making money.
Nowadays, I perform such glamorous activities as showering at the gym, sleeping on floors, and stealing WiFi while idling in front of Safeway.
The worst part of it for me is that I'm not making anything. I haven't been drawing. I can't even spare a thought for creative flights of fancy because they seem so goddamn luxurious, and I'm wasting my time because why aren't I filling out that application to stack bananas at Whole Foods.
Add to this the fact that I am trying to apply for grad schools, but they each want at least $50 just to decide I'm not good enough to go there. I had to decide whether to pay my phone bill or send 5 pieces of paper to Columbia University.

At least I'm back in the Bay Area and have access to good burritos. Nom nom.

ride it!

Working on my illustration portfolio:

we're moving out tonight

...which means starting tomorrow, I will be homeless for the foreseeable future.

I hate packing god I hate it so much.

odd things from around my house

Giant praying mantis right outside the front door-


De-crowned stalk of broccoli-


Inadvertently buying color-matched foods at the grocery store-

my front yard at sunset

Carpet of insanely yellow leaves.


Electric blue sky.


Shadow of a leaf.


About to fall.


Bright red berries.


Yeah, that bright.

today's project: botanical drawings

These sketches were inspired by some Japanese Ikebana photographs. Quite happy with the understated compositions.
They are most likely not becoming permanent design ideas for Cosmonaut (unless there is outcry to the contrary) not because I don't like them, but because I think this kind of imagery is overdone; I see it on t-shirts and other screenprinted goods all the time.
I personally am more excited about using these kinds of concepts for tattoo designs; I think it is more innovative in terms of layout. I can especially see lots of possibilities for non-black-outline based tattooing that may resemble woodblock prints a la the background branch in the second drawing. (Yes, for those of you not in the know, I seriously would like to learn how to be a tattoo artist.)

little drawings I call widges

Not sure why, it's just the word that popped into my head when I started. They were originally meant for a sprawling project which was a conceptual self-portrait in mix-tape form, including viewer/listener participation through personal emotional cartography. Yes, it's bizarre and complicated, and probably won't ever be completed.
Anyhow, the artwork portion was meant to include at least 25 more of these little archetypes, almost like the characters in a tarot deck. I like them so much that it seemed a shame to keep them hidden on my computer for some unknown future date when I get the project done.

The Carried Pet:

The Executive:


The Tree:


The Mannequin:


The Trophy:

thanksgiving weekend moments

Erik and I unexpectedly spent Thanksgiving at our friend Stacey's house in San Diego. It was a 7 hour drive from Sedona, that we decided to make at noon on Thursday. Hooray for spontaneity!

My favorite things of the weekend were A) Stacey's apartment, which was full of cute furnitures, beautiful flowers, and other lovely objects:

(I used to dislike the all-white apartments I encountered in San Francisco, yearning for the ability to paint or otherwise add a splash of color. However, now that I've lived in beige-walled timeshare hell, I would kill for the crisp white rooms and cute architectural details of a home like Stacey's!)





and B) the opportunity to frolic in the Pacific Ocean!




Sea Cone!



Happy Thanksgiving!

Patrick Leger

Enjoy some amazing illustrations by Patrick Leger. They are so beautiful it almost makes my teeth hurt. In a good way.

today's project: wallet!

I get a queasy kind of feeling when I see a pile of thread from incorrect seams I've ripped out and it appears to be the same mass as an entire spool.

In other words, I'm trying to figure out how my sewing machine works again and making tiny baby steps in progress. The biggest problem is not that I don't know how to work it; it's that I'm using industrial felt, which is very unpredictable when I sew on it. And also, trying to incorporate reclaimed mens suiting material, which is woven and unravels like mad sauce :(

So after lots of frustration trying to make a rather complicated bi-fold wallet with credit card pockets, I decided to make a non-folding pouch/card sleeve. This got rid of the need to wrangle the suiting, stop fraying edges, fold seams under and press, etc.

Here is the result, made from 1/8 inch thick felt, silkscreened with red ink:


Back view (card slots):


Pocket for money:


Voila!


I am mostly happy with it because it uses the natural properties of the felt. That is, I can cut slits in it for cards and such and it is A. sturdy enough to handle being sliced nearly in half and B. won't unravel or fray.


I don't know that I've ever seen a wallet that didn't fold at least in half, if not thirds. Which makes me worry that no one will think it's a practical design. It is definitely minimalist; it can only hold some cash and 3-4 cards. But it's nice and low profile in my pocket. There is a small piece of hidden structure sewn on the inside that keeps the upper card from sliding all the way in. Otherwise, it's just a piece of felt, folded and sewn.

After troubleshooting is over, I am definitely making some for my Etsy shop. I have a few different designs to print on them that will work great.

And I'm still brainstorming other wallet design ideas, and will post if they pan out.