cover to cover

At some point a couple years ago I decided to read more books. I don't exactly remember when, but I e-mailed Katie and asked her for some good ones to start with, as she is The Book Queen. She sent me an excellent list, I put it in the Notepad app on my phone (way back when it looked like this, *shudder*) and I forgot about it.

And then magically, without even realizing it, I was checking books off the list. And then I was ADDING books to the list. IT WAS A MIRACLE, Dear Reader! A book reading miracle.

So with that I give you my List of Things to Read. It is presented to you exactly as it is on my phone: definitely not in alphabetized, possibly with some misspellings, added to whenever I hear about something interesting, read in no particular order, checked off with the emoji checkmark when I am finished. It's a crazy system but it works for me.

CRAZY LIST OF BOOKS:

The Age of Miracles - Karen Thompson Walker ✔

Seating Arrangements - Maggie Shipstead ✔

Art of Fielding - Chad Harbach ✔

The Red House - Mark Haddon*

This Bright River - Patrick Sommerville

The Leftovers - Tom Perotta ✔

Dare Me - Megan Abbott ✔

The Newlyweds - Nell Freudenberger ✔

Prospect Park - Amy Sohn ✔

Blood Bones & Butter - NF Hamilton

Swamplandia - Karen Russell 

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig

This is How You Lose Her - Junot Díaz ✔

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn ✔

Dark Places - Gillian Flynn

The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards

The Best of Everything - Rona Jaffe

Fin & Lady - Cathleen Schine

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

Then We Came to the End - Joshua Ferris

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern ✔

From the Mouth of the Whale - Sjón

Blood Will Out - Walter Kirn

The Vactioners- Emma Straub

The Marriage Plot - Jeffery Eugenides ✔

Wild - Cheryl Strayed

The Magicians - Lev Grossman

Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel ✔ **

Wildalone - Krassi Zourkova

The Bone Clocks - David Mitchell

The Circle - Dave Eggers ✔

Southern Reach Trilogy - Jeff VanderMeer (Book 1 finished, Book 2 started)

Commencement - Jay Courtney Sullivan

The Fever - Megan Abbott

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins ***

Wolf in White Van - John Darnielle ✔

The Anatomy of Dreams - Chloe Benjamin

Delicious Foods - James Hannaham

The Country of Ice Cream Star - Sandra Newman

The Passage - Justin Cronin

The MaddAddam Trilogy - Margaret Atwood

If you'd like to start your own crazy list, might I suggest checking out NPR's Book Concierge? I got a tonnnn of additions to my list from wading through these great little widgets. Also sometimes a book gets added just because it has a cool cover. I'M NOT SORRY.

Moral of the story: GIVE ME YOUR BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS. If you can't tell I'm all over the place as far as taste goes, so I'm game for pretty much anything.

*I started reading this book over Thanksgiving two years ago, left it in a hotel room in Ohio, paid the fine at the library and never picked up another copy to finish it. The memory haunts me still.

** My most recent conquest, now I only want to read dystopian novels and think about how terrible I would be at surviving in such a world.

***Just checked my LAPL account - I'm currently 696th in line to get a copy of this bad boy, which isn't bad considering when I placed the hold the number of people waiting was seriously more than 1,000.

unlisted #8

Another set of items occupying my mind grapes - from the edible to the legible! Previous versions: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

bloodline | We were hurting pretty bad, TV-wise, after finishing House of Cards AND The Jinx in short succession. I love a good crime drama, true or fiction. After two episodes of this show I'm thinking it's exactly what I needed. Doesn't hurt that  Kyle "America's Favorite Coach/Police Offier" Chandler is in it.

korean bbq pizza | There's not a lot that can tear me away from a classic red sauce on a piece of pizza (I'm looking at you, white sauce- you have no right being on my pizza), but this recipe made me think twice. I'll admit, I was lazy and got a premade BBQ sauce from Trader Joe's, but they had this new sriracha kind and I really want to try it. Also I used premade dough too. No regrets.

myth, magic, and millennials | Usually when an article uses the word "millennial" in the headline I roll my eyes and go back to checking instagram while I drink my kale cold pressed juice. I KID I KID, but also not really. Anyway, this piece was actually really interesting and kinda hit the nail on the head for me.

good luck bar | After living within walking distance of this place for an entire year we finally made it over to Good Luck Bar to have some tasty tiki drinks. Of course, nothing holds a candle to Psycho Suzi's when it comes to tiki tastiness, but I definitely enjoyed my rum concoction.

the southern reach trilogy | I got the first book in Jeff VanderMeer's "sci fi" (if you could call it that and I still don't really know what to call it) trilogy from the library, and it so captivated me that the next day I ran out and bought the whole collected series. It helped that I'd seen the cover making the interweb rounds for quite some time and thought it was gorgeous and perfect, but really it's this weird/strange/gross/scary/beautiful story that got me so excited.

newpon | I follow two different rabbits on instagram. One of them is this fella.

magic hour

Another year, another witchsona! This one is a little simpler than last year's, mostly because I've been bonkers busy with fifty million things, some of which we should see come to fruition soon! EXCITING TIMES MY FRIENDS.

And yeah, I've got a magical avocado sidekick. When a witch moves to California it's only natural to pick up on the local culture.

Speaking of magic, my amazing friend Lisa is publishing a magical book of poetry (cover illustrations by yours truly). Look, even if you think you don't like poetry just give her work a try. It has a lovely underlying tone of dread and creepiness, which is right up my alley.

table setting

Hooray! I've finished up another project from the freelance files that I can now show to you. The Heavy Table is my go to blog for all things food related in the Twin Cities - I trust their opinion dearly, going so far as to order the flavor of ice cream they liked from the ice cream place around the corner. They're also behind so many exciting food related projects, the most recent one being the Secret Atlas of North Coast Foods. It was already fully funded on Kickstarter (woo!) when I got the call to supply some spot images of random foods found all across this fair land. 

 In the book these babies will probably be black and white, but I find it easiest to start in color and adjust the greyscale after everything is all finished up. Does that sound crazy? It sounds crazy now that I'm typing it.

Whatever, HANDS IN THE AIR DON'T CAREEEE (insert appropriate emoji here). How about you just enjoy this sampling of some of the images that I included on my website and buy that dang book as soon as it's out! And then hire me to make some food illustrations for you, because IT IS SO FUN.

unlisted #6

Another set of items occupying my mind grapes - from the edible to the legible! Previous versions: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

this simple cake recipe | Oh, Martha. What would I do without you? This layer cake recipe was in the most recent issue of Martha Stewart Living and of course I first laid eyes on it when I was stuck midway between Minneapolis and Washington DC on an airplane with no food in sight. I knew I had to make it as soon as possible, and luckily I got a chance to this weekend for Ben & Bill's birthday bbq! It was intensely easy and intensely good.

the burning house | I love a good very specific theme blog. The Burning House is exactly that: carefully laid out, reader submitted photos of what they would take with them if their house was on fire. Obviously it's mostly fantasy based, but these photos and lists still say a lot about their submitters. I especially like ones like elle townsend - they're almost portrait-like in nature without any actual images of the person's face.

janelle monáe's Q.U.E.E.N. | THIS IS MY JAM. Ms. Monáe is such a dreamy rock star and man oh man this video is filled with babes. I wouldn't mind it if every item of clothing in it could be in my closet.

prettify your power cords | I'm not always into DIYs, but this one from DesignLoveFest is simple enough and the end result is stunning. Plus... I've been looking for a reason to buy some washi tape, since all the cool kids have some already.

hallucinations by oliver sacks | My dad is an amazing genius and got me this book for Christmas, along with A Clash of Kings. It took me months and months to finish the latter but I'm finally done and just got started on Oliver Sacks' latest book last night. So far it's living up to the hype!

this gorgeous basket | Gorgeous colors and fair trade to boot? What is there not to love!

schooled

When I was little my brother and cousins and I would play "Dragon School", which was a thinly veiled excuse to write up tiny report cards and organize office materials for our fictitious school for dragons. My love of school supplies and brightly colored yet simple products has carried on throughout my life... and right into the estate sale of an ENTIRE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL a few weekends ago.

Picture it. Gym supplies, science supplies (beakers!), maps, globes, EVERYTHING. So a whole bunch of us (including Alli & John) got ourselves down to the sale to grab some numbers and go nuts. I zeroed in on the geology samples right away and got myself a most excellent sample of rocks, all named and organized neatly in what appears to be a small box covered in gift wrap. Don't worry, I have plans to mount these babies in a shadow box or somesuch business.

I tried to limit myself otherwise, since our apartment is so small... but I did walk away with a giant bag of paper flowers (currently waiting for their fate in our storage unit) and a great little book on gems. Since I didn't want to take home too much else, I settled on photographing all the great covers I found after a quick jaunt around the library. Here are my faves:

p.s. in case you don't follow me on instagram and didn't see my photo of that bottom right book: I hereby claim Spice and the Devil's Cave as my band name.

girl talk

I mentioned earlier that for the GIRLS: Fact or Fiction show at Light Grey I chose the talented and gorgeous performance artist Marina Abramovic. Well, here's the piece! It's been quietly sitting on my website for some time but I wanted to wait awhile before I posted the whole thing.

This ended up being a very difficult portrait to do - by doing so much research I started getting nervous about properly representing an artist that I admire so deeply. After many attempts at starting, I finally decided to focus on the props used in her many pieces throughout the years. See if you can figure them all out! It's like Marina Abramovic scavenger hunt!!

And please, come to the opening of GIRLS if you can make it! If you can't make it, no worries! There's a real sweet looking book for sale. [UPDATE: you can also buy my print NOW, HERE! Spend $100 on prints or whatever and you'll get the book FOR FREEEE].

image courtesy LGAL

unlisted #4

Another set of items occupying my mind grapes - from the edible to the legible! Previous versions: 1 / 2 / 3

the joy luck club by Amy Tan | A coworker lent me this book before I was done with my last job, and she was nice enough to let me keep it until I was done.... which didn't take too long, let me tell you. I don't know how I've never managed to pick up this classic book about mothers & daughters before, but I'm glad I finally did. Amy Tan does such an amazing job describing the many facets of family relationships, all in some gorgeous and haunting prose. "Because sometimes that is the only way to remember what is in your bones. You must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother. Until there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh."

homemade vegan peppermint patties from brunch at saks | Every year, right around this time, I start dreaming about making seasonal desserts of all varieties.. it might be a little early for peppermint, but I think I need to plan making these and packaging them up in some pretty paper and handing them out after the first big snowfall like some sort of magical candy princess.

jenilee marigomen | I can't quite remember now how I came across Jeniless Marigomen's website and blog, but I am hooked. She is an amazing photographer with an eye for all sorts of everyday moments, and her journal (read: blog) is full of all sorts of images of a beautiful looking life. Definitely worth a scroll through. Pro tip: Try clicking "Everything Collage" on the right side of the page.

felicity | I think I can actually hear Katie screaming "I TOLD YOU SOOOOO" all the way from California, she of the You Must Watch Felicity variety. I started watching this show last week and am pretty desperately hooked. I know, I know what you're thinking: "uhhh, didn't Felicity give up her whole life and move to New York so she could follow a boy she had a crush on? GIRL DON'T LET A MAN RUN YOUR LIFE" but guys. I'm here to tell you that this show is so much more than that. It's sweet and it has the Pink Power Ranger and the whole look of the show is dark and cozy. I mean, there is a real tumblr dedicated to the sweaters of felicity, AND my fave Lost/Star Trek/Super 8 fella J.J. Abrams created it. Give Felicity a chance, buddies.

between a rock lamp | SECRET: The Land of Nod has some preeetttyyy baller stuff. I had previously written it off as Kid's Stuff and thus Not Worth Looking At, but oh, was I wrong. This lamp base, for one, is amazing - like a gold geode of light and prettiness. And look at these awesome wire baskets! And this sweatery moose blanket! I want to go to there!!!

jayne mansfield/lauren bacall hair | Now that I have the short hairs all I think about is what I can do with them. Braided crowns aren't quite the same, so I've turned to curling. My hair does hold a curl much better now, and I've been experimenting with going further. This jayne mansfield tutorial taught me some new things about pin curls and BRUSHING the curls out! I know, I should have known about this, but guys. Brushing curls out has changed my life. I've given it a few tries now, with a little success yesterday for the tarot show. Someday I'll really get it to look like the girl in the video, though. SOMEDAYYYY.

What about you? Got anything taking up space in your brain right now?

winter is coming

star siblings tote by fencing & archery | mcalister wedge boots from j.crew

Yeah okay, the last post was pretty nerdy. Hopefully you were okay with that because this one might be equally nerdy, if not more. I am coming quickly to the end of the first book in the A Song of Ice & Fire series (you might know it as the tv version, Game of Thrones, which is what got me started on this whole thing). It's so good, oh man. You see the same event through the eyes of multiple characters, and it's easy to get attached to every single one of them - even the baddies.

I'm loving the overall tone of Game of Thrones, too - it's dark and cold, even though the first book takes place during a very long "summer". That tone carries over into the show, which has some GORGEOUS costume design. There's even Helmut Lang's most recent collection, also inspired by Game of Thrones.

So yeah, I figured I should do a round up of my favorite Game of Thrones-y things, for more nerdy fun. Enjoy, and remember: a Lannister always pays his debts (as in someone should buy me that antler chair post haste).

hybrid No1 by merve kahraman | vintage celluloid brooch from the greedy seagull

cover girl

Last year I was approached by my friend Wes (I linked to his IMDB page because I think it is amazingly cool that he has an IMDB page), saying he had a young adult fiction novel he was writing, and did I want to do the cover?

"YESYESYESYESYESYESYES"

I'm always admiring the youth fantasy fiction section when at book stores - from the realism (like this cover by Sam Weber) to the more stylized covers, they're always so fantastic and fun, it always looks like the artists have a good time with them.



The characters in this book were so great to draw, too. Mary is a very realistic young lady to me - at home in a bleek Minnesotan tundra until she's placed in the world of magic that she secretly wishes was real. You should probably read the book... if not just for the wicked Muma Padruii (on the right) who has the most insane description I have ever read (I didn't even do half of it justice in my drawing).

cover story

i found this book while doing some research for a (shapeless/nameless/baby stages) project at the st paul public library. i wish it were mine! Also, if you ever get the chance to go to the Central Library in downtown St. Paul, you should go. It is BEAUTIFUL.

booking it

I know this is many-an illustrator's lament, but why don't children's books look like this anymore?

#3

yet another lil' photo of the new place. And yes, that Himalayan cat book used to live in the phone nook at me n' katie's place as well. I know you want this book for your own telephone nook, you can totally get it on amazon.

The author wrote other gems such as The Book of the Shi Tzu. If you like books like these you should check out Sami's Know Series.