Artist from La La Land

Illustrator of the week is Melissa Kojima from "Artist in LA LA Land Illustration".

I consider her one of my friends from the blogging network and such an honor she follows me (thank you Melissa) she always shares great support(thank you Melissa) So I don't know what took me so long to feature her (wait I know, Procrastination tsk tsk) She's does everything from illustration to Paper-Mache. I'm a big fan of her paper-dolls and not just like the ones you used to cut from the back of children magazines with the little flaps, but articulated ones, Perfect for children and adults. If you are a fan of bunnies,paper toys,vintage toys, animal circus or looking for a blog full of inspiration, definitely check her blog. I follow her blog not only to see her work that she shares, but she also shares such awesome findings, she just shared this amazing thanksgiving paper play I would not have found on my own. So highly recommend to check out her work and her blog, you'll end up full of inspiration,and now some photos.

Hungry for more? Visit her blog @ http://www.melissakojima.blogspot.com

Wedding Invitation Part 2

Well, you guys remember part 1? well the invitations are done, and were a huge success. I'm glad. I loved working on it and even more when people told me they were very unique. Anyway The invitations was done using materials from Oaxaca. From the handmade paper, to the heart clip and printed here. Here are the photos:

House of the City

The House of the City

I love that this house is two blocks from my house. This house is a good place to start to know about Oaxaca. The main subject of this house is sustainable living and how to apply it to Oaxaca. And not only that, they also have exhibition rooms, one of them holds a photograph floor with an aerial view of Oaxaca. In the other exhibitions room they hold exhibitions that relate to Oaxaca, or being sustainable. I got the chance to see an exhibition about the importance of water, and the history of water in Oaxaca. 

They also hold events that promotes being green or that will help oaxaca, I assisted to the 5th Congress of cyclists, amazing time.

They also have an amazing library, but I will talk about the library another time, because it deserves its own post.

I’m sharing some photos, but feel free to visit their website @ http://www.cdlc.mx/

I'm Back and the Blog too!!

Oh dear, I though the organizing was never going to end! but I made it, I made it!. Now is easier to read old posts. and the good news is I  cleaned it so well, I have enough room to upload pictures till the end of the year. When I'll run out of space, I will switch to Tumblr.com, (don't worry this blogspot will still exist for anyone who wants to go back to reread a post) because I cannot afford to pay google every month for pictures space, my economy in Mexico is cheaper than the U.S.A.

So there you have it, I plan to update once a week.Have a great week everyone.

Don't forget to visit my Facebook page, for updates too!

Catalogue of Iberoamerican Illustrators and a Small Announcement.

I was not selected to be in the "Catalogue for Iberoamerican Illustrators" and that's ok, you win some, you loose some. And there's always next year. Here are the illustrations I submitted :) Can you guess my inspiration?

Now the Announcement: I'm running out of space to upload pictures, I have to pay for more storage, but first I want to organize my blog. Create pages and organize my tags, so it will be easier to also read older entries, or an specific subject. The Pages will be the blog, Oaxaca, My travels, Ecollustration and DIY. So I won't be updating for a while, so as soon as I'm done I get my extra storage and start posting again.

Have a good rest of the week

Children's Library of Oaxaca

This is one of my favorite libraries in Oaxaca, not just for its content but its architecture, it truly is beautiful.

The library is aimed at children and adolescents, and in my case for lovers of children literature. No only does it have a great variety of books,but it also has CDs, films, toys and computer services. There are reading rooms, play rooms, there's even an auditorium and a beautiful patio. 

Like I said I also love the architecture is definetely a library you could spend the whole day reading, researching, and relaxing. The architecture is sustainable too. I'm not sure who designed the architecture, but on my next visit I won't forget to ask.

Also every month there are workshops, and lectures for children and adults. And one of my favorite things from the library is the toad fountain designed by local artist Francisco Toledo, when I first saw it, it reminded me of Hayao Myasaki's films.

Another great thing about this Library, it has another small library called "Jorge luis Borges" and it's for the visually impaired, it offers a collections of braille books, it also has workshops in teaching braille, special computers for the blind and more.

The children library is located in one of my favorite neighborhoods of Oaxaca, called Xochimilco.

Here are some photos for you to enjoy:

The Library's website is as follow, Is in spanish, but play around : http://www.bs.org.mx/

Business Cards for the Mama!

My mother has started her Clothing design business again, she's doing really well. So as a congratulations gift, I surprised her with simple homemade business card. Here they are:

I actually did them with supplies from Office Depot:

1) This is a mini cutter, but it also comes with a clip to score paper.
2) Corner punch hole.
3) Make your own stamp kit.

I was glad I saved up used watercolor sheets, on the clean side I just blended a bit of watercolor to give it well...color! :D

It was fun to make them for her :)

Wedding Invitation Part 1

I'm excited to be working on a wedding invitation, It's a fun project and new experience for me to be working on. I just finished the painting for the cover of the invitation:

The photo was taken with my Ipad, hence the blurriness to it (I need to save up for a new camera, my old one is starting to malfunction :( ), Meanwhile Ipad is cooperating.

So there's the front cover, the lettering says "And our story continues...". The couple to whom I'm doing their wedding invitation, actually married two years ago by civil union, now they have seen that they are still in love, and with good money save up so they are ready to be marry by the church.

next will be the inside! stay tuned!.

Much love

me

From my Ipad to Yours

Hello!

I decided to create another topic to post about "From my Ipad to Yours" it would work the same way " From my Library to Yours" works likes. Last christmas I was given an IPAD, and boy has it change a lot of the way I work. I was skeptical of the Ipad at first, but know I'm all about recommending it.

For today the app I recommend is *drums rolls* "BRUSHES"

Here's the link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brushes-ipad-edition/id363590649?mt=8 or search for it on your IPAD App store.

I love taking my Ipad to my figure drawing class and experiment with it ( I use an Ipad stylus, the cheapest one I found on Office Depot here in Oaxaca, but it works great!). Here are some images I did:

Oh and the cool part it records your process. 

Ratoncito "Perez"

Here in mexico, instead of a tooth fairy we have a mouse, and is called "Ratoncito Perez."
When I was little I used to think, the little mouse was related to me, him having the same last name as me Perez ( of course I now realize Perez is one of the most common mexican last name). So here's my version of Ratoncito Perez, just for fun and to bring a little action to this blog  :)

Travel with me to Oaxaca

AS many know, I love participating on 'The Sketchbook Projects" by Art House, and now you have the chance to see my sketchbook online!

Follow this link : http://www.arthousecoop.com/library/8354 : and it will take you to my sketchboo "Travel with me to Oaxaca"

Much love

From Ol' little me.

The Logo

It's finished! I definetely like this logo in all my documents. Here I'm sharing the before and after logo:

Before

After

Oreo The Cookie Dog

This past month has been extremely busy with work (Thank you god, I'm grateful) but that's not the only reason it has kept me away from the blog, there's also my new puppy Oreo.  I adopted Oreo, he seems to be a pit bull mix. It has been a challenging experience, specially since I have no experience with dogs. Do I regret it? No, I don't. Everyday Oreo is teaching me to be a better person, a "Calm assertive" person like Cesar Millan (my hero) and not just that but learning new things about dog psychology (yes nerdy me has been reading books by Cesar Millan, Ian Dunbar and Stanley Coren, more recommendations are welcome) Now a little illustration of my puppy Oreo.

My Studio

I finally finished setting up my studio and I'm loving it! I think is very important to have a space dedicated for you, I feel it helps me concentrate and work better :) Take a look an enjoy.

Marurice Sendak & Stephen Colbert!

I want to share with you this video of one of my favorite comedians Stephen Colbert interviewing illustrator and author Maurice Sendak, yes a must-see interview that will have you laughing out loud!

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

And here is an ARTICLE about where inspiration came for our favorite Children's book:

The Unexpected Inspirations Behind Beloved Children's Books

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Grandpa's Suitcase = Craft Supplies Suitcase

I found my grandfather's old suitcase, and decided to restore it to save my art supplies, check out the big change:

I can definitely say I'm happy with the outcome, and highly encourage anyone that has an old suitcase to give it a second chance. Here is the process of the restoration: 

After cleaning the suitcase I went right to painting it.

Then I glued in the fabric of my choice. I highly recommend you don't pick a fabric too thick.

Then I created where I'm putting my colored pencils and watercolor tubes. I then added the velcro strips.

After accommodating my pieces of where I'm putting my color pencils and watercolor tubes. I
glued in colorful strings I bought at a craft store, to help me keep my boxes in place.

After everything is in its place, I use a cover to give a little extra help in keeping things in place.
IT's made of cardboard and an old map.

There you have it. Easy to store and move around while looking cute

I <3 my new suitcase for my art supplies :)

It was a long process, but all you require is determination, patience and good sense of humor.

Here a some links about other vintage suitcase restoration that served as inspiration for me:

http://hearthandmadeuk.blogspot.com/2011/08/inspiration-station-vintage-suitcases.html

http://naughtysecretaryclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/trendy-is-as-trendy-does-suitcase.html

http://ladeedacreations.com/2011/07/picnic-in-a-vintage-suitcase/

http://www.abeachcottage.com/2011/01/beforeafter-chalkboard-paint-vintage-suitcases.html

Great Books to Welcome Me in My Hometown.

"How and how much to charge:Graphic Design in Mexico." This book is very similar to the Graphic Artist Guild Handbook to Pricing and  Ethical Guidelines" Even though is graphic design a lot of the info is helpful to me as an illustrator. I'm still searching other wonderful books to help me discover the business of illustration in Mexico. Have found some great sites too. :)

My father gave to me this beautiful 3 volumes book about my hometown! I'm almost done with the red book above and I'm very excited to start reading this book and as I read I plan to explore what i read about. The books talks from everything about Oaxaca. It's Culture, traditions, its people, its museums, it's famous artists and centers as well as it's markets and celebrations!.As I go reading I will be sharing my experience with all of you :).

Cool Logo no?