.......

Partially finished painting (60%).



xoxo
Strongie

Some Sketches

Below are some (very) rough sketches for paintings I'm working on right now. I will post the paintings when they're done this week.



These are two angry cloud/god/heads causing a volcano to explode color diamonds over a city.



And a cloud/god flooding a city.



This one's not as destructive. It's a god (drunken), blowing color diamonds onto a city while it's asleep.



And back to destruction. This is a god with a lightning bolt arrows destroying a city.

In other news, my mom & I submitted our entry for the Michael's craft pumpkin contest, & should know the results by November 15th. Please keep your fingers crossed!

Enjoy your Monday everyone!

xoxo
Strongie

Halloween

This year, I'm going as a fluffy cloud for Halloween. I'll be dressed in a white hoodie & white sweatpants, covered in white fuzz (i.e. stuffing/batting).

Below is a digital rendering of the costume. (Please note the arm flaps, which will help distinguish I'm a cloud when my arms are raised).



Remember!

This image has no fuzz. One the fuzz is attached, it will be virtually impossible to tell the difference between me & an actual fluffy cloud.

Also. I will have a bag of cloud treats. This includes paper cut-outs of lightning bolts, snowflakes, cats & dogs, & raindrops that I will be handing out to people.

I'm going to Brooke's party in Providence, RI, with a group a of people from NYC. Halloween in Providence is a city-wide, month long event that includes an international horror film festival, dedicated to HP Lovecraft, who lived there. (Also, Edgar Allen Poe haunts one of the main streets - S~P~O~O~K~Y).

The costumes are also incredible. And parties usually mean (crazy) warehouse haunted houses, that are always a little dangerous. Also. There are always great bands playing in the spaces (sometimes puppet shows).

So.....if you see a fluffy cloud roaming the streets, it's probably just me. Say hi & I'll give you a snowflake.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

xoxo
Strongie

Funn

That's a photo of Leslie Hall's RV, taken last Summer, in Burlington, VT. If you (somehow) haven't gone to GemSweater.com yet, go now. It will CHANGE your life.

Okay.

Still hard at work on the pumpkin contest & making paintings. I feel like I'm back in art school (since this has been all that I'm doing). After a couple of deadlines at the beginning of November, though, I'm going back to the T-Shirts, which have deadlines in the beginning of December.

Current likes:

*Pumpkin spice coffee
*Mixed tapes
*Gmail (just opened account)

That's all for now. I'll post pictures of the paintings soon.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

xoxo
Strongie

WE

At work, people would often tell me, via email, to have a good WE (weekend), which I would like to extend to everyone else as well! The weather is supposed to be beautiful in New York.

Here is what I have planned for my WE:

Today, I'm having lunch with my sister & Danielle in the new Hearst building. It's one of the city's newest buildings, & is also one of the most green. It was built to maximize energy.

Then, I'm going reverse shopping (i.e. returning stuff) & then to the MOMA, which is free after 4pm on Fridays. Afterwards, I'm off to dinner, & then to see my friend Rachel (I'm very excited, it's been a long time!) After our reunion, I'm going to see Nina Nastasia, who is one of my favorite live performers.

Tomorrow, I'm helping Danielle move & then attending WINKFEST!, a night of fun with some of my FAVORITE people.

The pumpkin contest deadline is the 21st, & yesterday, my mom & I prepared the characters. According to the contest rules, I can't divulge too much information/photos, but please be assured that this thing is CREEPY.

I'm also working on a new painting of two cities, with atomic clouds & a rainbow.

Okay!

Diary-style blog over!

xoxo
Strongie

Thursday Night

Here is a picture of a painting I made today. No title yet.

xoxo
Strongie

GhostFoot

This past weekend was the RISD craft fair, in Providence, RI.

Rebecca (who shared a table with me) & I drove up Friday night to Brooke's AMAZING warehouse space, which, thankfully has the necessary warehouse swing, covered in leopard fur. Providence is really the only city I've seen that has all of these incredible spaces (of course, it could just be the amazing artists that live in them...)

I remember one space, which has since been torn down (an entire floor of a warehouse), that was a treehouse. The only things on the ground were the stove & bathroom. Above the floor was a complex system of bridges & ropes & the people who lived there slept in ceiling nests.

The space below the treehouse was the infamous Fort Thunder (RIP - also demolished). I saw the most incredible things there, both in performers & the space itself, which was always transforming. I remember one Halloween (dressed as ghetto batman), crawling through a triangular hole into a dark room, with no exit. Eventually, I found an oval cut-out on the other wall that I hoisted myself up onto & through. This led me to a series of treehouse diaromas & a mattress bridge. Eventually, I fell several feet into a room filled entirely with leaves, in the shape of a teepee. To exit the maze, I had to go through a refridgerator, which led back to the party.

I am especially nostaligic because the RISD Museum currently has a show called "Wunderground Providence, 1995 - Present," which features thousands of silkscreened posters & photos from all of the Providence events, warehouse & otherwise. AND, even better, they hosted a party on Saturday night for young alumni (with free food & drink - thank you RISD!)

Overall, it was a weekend filled with old friends & familar places. Gisel & Nadav even made a surprise visit!

Okay, now for pictures!



This was our table at the craft fair. My new shirts did great, & my old shirts surprised me by selling really well too!



Here's a picture of Rebecca with her BEAUTIFUL jewelry!



A close-up of the tees.



And, another craft fair photo. Note my NEON signs!

I'm very exicted for the December fairs, & can't wait to debut a very special silkscreened shirt. Details to follow...

In other art/craft news, I've started a new painting series. The painting below is called " We Died Trying to Get the Pieces to Fit Just Right."



It's a small painting, in acrylic, on wood.

Okay!

Have a great day everyone!

xoxo
Strongie

Providence

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Providence, RI with Rebecca for the craft fair. We've both been so busy getting ready for the fair that we haven't had time to chat or hang out recently. I'm really looking forward to our quality time.

Yesterday was my last day of work (Re: quitting my job to make art full-time). I have a feeling I'll think I'm on vacation for the first couple of weeks until it sinks in. It's been so long since I've exclusively made art.

At work, my office was windowless, & I only left to walk between two buildings. Each time it was nice outside, I'd always feel like I was missing something. This morning, though, I went for a long walk in Park Slope, & loved every minute of it. Especially not rushing, something New Yorkers have to force themselves not to do.

My plan is as follows:

*Make art
*Be healthy
*See what happens

Lately, I've been putting my faith in the universe, which has worked wonderfully. I realized the things that weren't working out in my life (job, etc) weren't supposed to. Likewise, things that came easily were supposed to be. Since I've made the decision to leave, several opportunities have already come up. In the end, I was struggling at something I didn't want anyway, & the struggle was a sign that it wasn't meant to be.

On a lighter note, I now get to see my adorable niece more often, who will be over tomorrow.

Okay. I was out too late at a going away party, & am exhausted. Also have a cold.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, & I will post pictures from Providence when I get back!

xoxo
Strongie

October Beginnings

Last night, I went with Danielle to see Sufjan Stevens at Town Hall. The entire band (all fifteen), were dressed like butterflies, & Sufjan was dressed like an eagle. So special. It was really a wonderful show.

Also special was the weather today, especially the light. Today had the prettiest light I've seen in a long time (i.e. I love October). I went for a long jog & thought about apple cider & hay bales. I don't know what I'm going to be for Halloween yet, but I know it needs to include a fake moustache. Last year, I was a bottle of ketchup (I went with a hotdog).

I have 66 new shirts made for the fair so far, & roughly 20 leftovers from the Spring. Please see below for new shirt pics, even though the shirts aren't ironed & the lighting/photos are terrible. Get the gist. Leave the details.



This is a baby tee of a cloud.



And baby octo.



Baby rabbit.



Lightning bolt shirt for men.



And lighting bolt shirt for women.





These two I have in Women's & Men's sizes.

The fair is this Saturday. I think I'm done sewing, so now it's time to do labels, hangtags, bags, & other prep work. Wednesday is my last day at my job, so I'll have Thursday & Friday to prepare.

That's all for now.

Goodnight everyone!

xoxo
Strongie