Dreams Are Real 041: Happy Birthday To Me

Happy Birthday to me!  Last night my housemate Melissa Dowell and I celebrated our birthdays at Molly Crabapple and Fred Harper's studio.  Mine is May 16th and hers is May 18th so it's a double Taurus extravaganza! Here's a few pics from the night. Photos by the magnificent Steve Prue, who will forever be invited to all the parties.

Cropped version of me, Stoya, and Melissa with Nick Schmidt in the background

Zina Brown, Nicholas Schmidt, Veronica Varlow, Larisa Fuchs, Kai Altair, Burke Heffner

Veronica Varlow and Burke Heffner

Me and Shahriar Shadab

Me and David Rogers-Berry

Lauren Goldberg, Zelda Devon, Laurie Penny

Samantha Levin, Veronica Varlow, Larisa Fuchs

Kurt Huggins and Melissa Dowell

Nicole Aptekar, Keith Jenson, Melissa Dowell

Stoya and Fred Harper

Jen Dziura and Molly Crabapple by Esther Westwood

John S. Hall and Esther Westwood by James Lake

John S. Hall, David Rogers Berry, Julia Jackson, Jen Dziura, and Molly Crabapple by Esther Westwood

Jesse Scheidlower, Larisa Fuchs, Steve Prue, and Burke Heffner by Esther Westwood

Yao Xio and Rebecca Memoli by Esther Westwood

Shahriar Shadab and James Lake by Esther Westwood

Kurt Huggins, Shahriar Shadab, me, and James Lake by Esther Westwood

Killin' It 069: MoCCA And Comic News Insider 400th Episode

I attended MoCCA for the first time last week and celebrated Comic News Insider's 400th episode.  Good friend Jimmy Aquino is the host with the most.  Here are a few pics from the week. Photos by Shahriar Shadab and Kasha Minenko.

Rival Gangs: AQUINOSMITH & FOWELL Ben Templesmith, Jimmy Aquino, Melissa Dowell, and me (the princess of power) photo by Shahriar Shadab at the CNI after party.

WARNING a lot of pictures of me with friends that I love.

MoCCA:

Dean Haspiel, The Mistress of Magic, Chris Miskiewicz Photo by Shahriar Shadab

Erica Fishbein and Jeff Newelt

Joyce Brabner and Seth Kushner

Matt Taylor and Pat Grant

Harry Wolf Bogosian (In the middle)

Sean Pryor

Me and Shahriar Shadab

Me, Ben Templesmith, and Melissa Dowell 

Comic News Insider 400th Episode:

Melissa Dowell, Me, Jimmy Aquino, Deirdre Lorenz

Paul Pope and Jimmy Aquino

Ben McCool

Nadya Lev, Nicole Aptekar, and moi

Pimp My Artwork 067: Strength

I didn't know what would happen when I started painting Strength.  I knew it would be difficult.  The strength card never brings easy situations, it just reminds you that you can handle the difficulties. The original card was a completely different set up, softer, more pink.  There was a story in it but that's not mine to tell.

But it didn't feel right.  I kept painting but telling people that I felt the card would need to be painted over.  It took days, it felt like weeks, but I knew this was all happening for a reason.  Shahriar Shadab was staying with me, fresh in from Australia and we had been talking a lot about cycles.  With the Scorpio full moon ahead of us and the Venus retrograde coming up we knew something big was happening.  Both ruled by Venus we understood that we should take this time to observe, assess, and cleanse.  In a heightened state of sensitivity and cycle breaking I was glad to painting dear friend Kai Altair.

The Strength card is about breaking cycles, addictions, and habits.  She teaches us about willpower and taming the beast within.  She harnesses raw passion and connects to the higher power. Kai has amazing cat energy as they are one of her main totems.  Her incredible calming but inspiring energy became the perfect basis for the card including the turbulent times that were about to happen.

Being a former addict, I have an addictive personality.  If it's not drugs, it's food, internet, work etc.  There's always something that becomes a fixation.  Sometimes it's people, relationships, or a certain pattern.  I began to notice patterns in my own life.  I was worried that I was repeating them.  Shahriar assured me that I was doing a good job of not revisiting old patterns.  I wasn't so sure. 

And one night after a major cleanse I decided that even if something felt slightly familiar it didn't mean I was falling into a pattern.  As long as we acknowledge our past and our cycles we can learn to not only break them but shift that energy into positive actions.  The most important lesson we must learn from Strength is that by pushing or forcing we will never get what we truly desire.  Strength has tamed the lion simply because she was patient, understood the situation, and asked.  This isn't an easy or fast process but with determination and patience you can harness your passions and that direct energy to the universe and create a beautiful partnership. 

The original name for this card is lust.  Lust in passion in it's raw primal form.  By understanding this energy, perhaps even getting burned by it or scratched by it a few times we can come to balance it, harness it and use it for positive action.

As I began to understand this about my own life, the card began to shift as well, allowing me to paint the passion involved.  I posted it a few days later.  Kai sent me this image in return. My Strength card had manifested itself into reality and one of the most passionate and talented souls I know was representing it.

Pimp My Artwork 066: Embossed Frames

While wandering around the interwebs the other day I found this tutorial for making embossed frames.  They are super easy to make and perfect for framing the facial studies on Snow on the Roses. Click the in progress shot below to be taken to the tutorial.

Killin' It 068: Stated Magazine Profile

Jimmy Aquino did a wonderful profile of me on Stated magazine.  Click the pic to go to the article.