This is a small section of a piece I'm working on for a yearbook cover. It's a cover that is making me sad on several levels, and it's overwhelming me with the current modern reality of racism in school mascots. Considering everything that's going on in this county this week alone - violence against people of color, violence against women, Standing Rock - and we still have these emblems of institutionalized racism on a public school level. 
This school wanted an Indian Maiden on the cover, in a headdress. They sent reference for illustration style and coloring. And the theme is what's killing me most - "Through the Eyes of a Redskin."

The school wasn't interested in referencing any historical images of tribes that would have been native to that area - they just wanted a young face.
But I'm left questioning, how deep is this entrenched cultural racism that it's not only tolerated on a state and federal level, but in some ways celebrated? Should I assume that this is a case of an area where the school mascot has been the same for so long that the mindset is "my parents and grandparents did this and they're good people so it must be ok" or is there even that much thought put into it?

It's leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

.gallery scam.

These were originally supposed to be submissions for a gallery show, and then I did a bunch of math.

The show is fairly open - any piece can be submitted, so long as it is flat, and 6" square. Easy enough. The submission fee, per piece, is 35$, which is a little high. Apparently this is to cover the cost of framing, except they keep your "framing fee" whether your piece gets in or not. Assuming you submit the max number of pieces, for the greater chance of showing at all, you're already 140$ in the hole, not counting any materials you used to create your work. After submission, if your piece does not get in, you do not get that fee back. Worst case scenario, none of your work is chosen, and you just spent 140$ on someone elses frames.
Next worst case scenario, one piece gets in. The gallery is also taking 50% of all sales. That's high - all of the galleries I've worked with have taken 30-40%. This is on top of your entry fee. So if you price your one piece at 300$, you make 10$ (150$ for the gallery, 150$ for you, but you already spend 140$ on frames). Minus shipping if you're not local to that gallery. And a 6" square piece is going to have to be pretty spectacular to sell for 300$.
Assuming best case scenario and all 4 pieces get in, you need to factor 70$ starting price just to cover the framing (35$ to the gallery, 35$ to you which you already spent on the frame). Any money tacked on after that has to be thought of in halves, so if you would like 50$ for your piece, you need to add 100$ onto the price. Already your piece is pricing at 170$. which is still really high for a piece that is only 6" square. You're close to 5$ per square inch at that point, and that is a rate for artists who probably don't need to submit to juried shows anymore.
The best part is that you have to decide your price at the same time as you're writing your 140$ check to the gallery, so you don't even know what your financial hole is going to be yet. But the gallery will let you keep the frames for any pieces that don't sell, which totally makes up for it.

This is not a gallery show. This is a scam to rip off artists and sell frames.

I'll be selling my pieces, framed, on my etsy store instead.
60$.
They'll be listed tomorrow for any interested parties, along with some customized Field Notes.

.projects.

There is a lot of stuff going on right now...
First and foremost is prepping for the October Raqs Boheme show that's happening in less than One Week!
Geeky/Halloween bellydance - what could be better?

I'm also working on some ink drawings for a possible art show submission. And debating whether or not they need color, or will color just ruin them...

And then all of the other projects I've been hacking away at for ages.... the Tarot Cards, the book, the blockprints...

.updates.

It's been a whirlwind of a year, in which I haven't been posting hardly at all.

In short:
 • we got a dog
 • I stopped dancing
 • I started LARPing again
 • we got a divorce
 • I started dancing again.

If all goes to plan I should be posting again regularly sooner than later.

(and no, I don't have the dog anymore)

.figure drawings.

f. u. hill

.figure drawings.

I went to the Illustration Academy live drawing event last night. It's been probably 12 years since I've worked with a live model, and I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it. These are all my 20 minute pieces. I'm gonna need some better paper for the next time.

.studio move.

Back in November, I approached my Mister about switching out studio spaces. I've been in the much larger basement space pretty much since we moved into the house - going on 7 years now - and he's been in one of the much smaller first floor spare bedrooms. 

Originally, this worked out really great for me, because all of that extra space was perfect for setting up as a dance studio, and as I was dancing more plus teaching regularly, these things all made sense.

In the last year I've been dancing a lot less, purposefully not teaching at all, and in general loathe to be in a dark cold windowless basement.  Taj on the other hand, likes dark and cold and windowless, and has turned the basement garage into a painting space anyhow, plus garage basement game nights; and the real crux of it - he's never been able to fit himself into that smaller studio anyhow.

For about a month now we've been working ont he change over - packing everything, moving one set of things, moving another set of things, removing that first set of things - we're getting closer to completion, but it's a process.

And as soon as that process is done, I'll having small perfume sample bottles back for sale in my etsy shop. But right now, it's such a mess, I'm barely aware of where all of those sample vials are.

But soon.

the monster at the bottom of the stairs. addendum

The other thing about having a dog, which I really didn't expect, is that in walking the dog you meet everyone in your neighborhood who also has a dog. And because they are dog people, they assume that in walking a dog that you too are a dog person.

And the first part of that - I've been taking walks - long walks - in my neighborhood for as long as we've lived there. And I've maybe gotten waves or nods ten times. Ever. Since I started walking Sherlock, I'm had conversations with more people than I know what to do with. And some of them more than once - because of the dog they recognize me, or at least him - and say words.
And it's unsettling. Suddenly not being faceless.

Also there's that dog person assumption - which I suppose it not totally unreasonable. Because why would you be walking a dog if you're not a dog person. But I'm not a dog person. And I'm convinced that someone, eventually, is going to figure this out.

And I don't know why I feel like there will be some kind of Dog People of Kansas City retaliation for posing as a Dog Person, but there it is.

Also, while the cat may not play with most any of the toys I buy him - at least he doesn't eat dirty Kleenex.

.the monster at the bottom of the stairs.

Meet Sherlock. The now almost 9 month old lab-hound mix puppy my Other and I adopted from Great Plains SPCA back in September. We hadn't intended on adopting a puppy - I was looking for a nice, calm, older, seasoned dog - but the Mister fell in love with this floppy face and I've brought so many cats home over the years I couldn't say no.

I refer to him as the Monster at the Bottom of the Stairs, because he's a puppy with all of that crazy puppy energy which I was totally unprepared for, and because he's not allowed up stairs for two reasons. He's still not fully potty trained, and that's where the cats lives now.

So this dog has taken over our lives.

And I've spent the last two days home with him, sick with some kind of bug that made it almost impossible to get off the couch, and it's not all bad because he's a very good nap buddy aside from peeing in his sleep sometimes. Because our new puppy is now a bed-wetter.

And our nice calm lives, which neither of us thought were very orderly, have become chaos revolving around a whirling land seal goat shark ball of chaos that eats rocks and bobby pins and wants to be friends with a cat that wants to murder him.

And we're both exhausted and nothing is getting done anymore.

So, that's fun.

.drawloween 16-31.

As I've just realized I never posted it...

The Astronaut and the Sea

The hubs and I worked on out first collaborative illustration project ever (that we ever finished I suppose) last month in order to put together super awesome pocket notebooks as holiday gifts for friends and family.

Naturally, we ordered way to many for friends and family, and so now the excess books are up for sale on my etsy site.

Despite the quantity showing on the site at any given point and time, we actually have about 150 extra of these gorgeous three packs up for adoption - unfortunately my brain can only handle so many packages to the post office on a given week so I'll be listing them in smaller batches; and I'll be sure to make a new listing with a different title when we get down to the final bunch.

Pictures below. Link above!