Studio Birthday! Gallery Nite

My comrades at Drippy Lip Productions celebrated our Studios birthday with a kick ass party at our NEW headquarters! Despite the blizzard, we had an amazing turn out, a great show and several gallons of sherbet punch. Take a peek!

Our patrons enjoyed a time machine/photo booth, an eclectic exhibition, live tunes by The Aches, poetry readings and CAKE! I was beaming for everyone who contributed to the project--what an awesome moment to realize all the coolest cats you know are your friends. :}

We've got a few new projects in the works that I CANNOT WAIT to share with you! Comics, talking trees, and the robot apocalypse...

What have you been creating? What new plans are you hatching?

GirlZilla: Destroyer Diary

Hello Ladybugs! I wanted to show you what I've been away working on. We're gearing up for our very first gallery night: scrubbing the studio, fliers flying and paintings exploding all over!

For this exhibition, I wanted to experiement. The goal was to recreate this journal entry on a large scale. I'm being called to my journal more and more and wanted to translate some of that manic process oriented spree into my painting. Here are the results!



I began with a bunch of boxes I scavenged from the dumpster behind the museum. After a generous coat of gesso, the city was sketched in...


















I always default into this stuffy super serious figure drawing mode and it just wasn't working. Still after days of drawing and redrawing, the face was all scrunchy and wrong...so I scrubbed it out -->



















While frustrated with the yuckiness I had achieved, I joked about just making the head GIGANTIC.

And then decided that's how I would solve the problem. :)

























GirlZilla!
























Outfitted with a found cardboard bow and war paint to compliment her rainbow laser-vision, she was ready to crush the rest of the cartoon city. But even with the additions, it wasn't jiving...it didn't have the collage-y vibrations I was going for. It was time for DRASTIC MEASURES!



















So I pulled out the big guns: Spray paint, stencils, chalk, markers, oil pastel and GLITTER! I learned so much about my materials making this painting: what sticks to what, what resists what, what mixes with what. And that stars make everything better...



















Add a little leopard print eyeliner and GirlZilla is ready for Gallery Night!

What have you been making, Muffins?

Love is Leaky: A Studio Romance

Hello schweethearts! Have you ever loved something no one else loves? Ever been head-over-heals for something your friends thought was a heart-burn inducing shitwreck?

My studio is hideous. And I love it.

I've just moved into my very first studio--a space I am fortunate enough to share with fellow artist friends and band mates. Its a drywall cave housed in an dank old tannery. It's caked with brownish dust, fluorescent lights sputter the way they do in a truck-stop bathroom, it's never more than 40 degrees and the paint is just barely clinging to life.

Oh, and it leaks.

Getting our space ready for our first show!

...and it's perfect.

Our very own Doom Factory! Our private mansion for mayhem! We Play as loud as we want. Paint as late as we want. Drink scuzzy beers out of the tiny fridge box till we're fuzzy and most importantly:

Show our work to the public.

As soon as the white envelope that held the shining keys was slid under the flimsy door I heard a fluttering sound--

the sound of a need for snide gallery owners and bar promoters flying away.

No more waiting for weeks to receive a phone call from an apathetic bartender that mispronounces your name. No more crossing our fingers until they're bruised, hoping our work will be accepted by the clique.

It reminds me a bit of "Saw" at the moment...

We're gearing up for our very first exhibition in our new Headquarters January 20th. The evenings festivities include painters, photographers, ugly cupcakes and a poetry slam.

We have a creative castle! And I don't care what anyone says--mildew or not--I've got the over-the-rainbow-flaming-unicorn-hots for her.

She is beautiful. :)

WE CAN MAKE IT.

nail it
post it
sculpt it
bind it
glue it
film it
write it
bake it
wear it
draw it
fold it
sing it
tie it
catch it
sketch it
build it
weld it
sand it
hang it
mail it
make it.

Stuff That's Totally Doin' It For Me Right Now

Hello Puddings!* It's time for our semi-weekly meditation on all the things that bringing in major joy points: Stuff that's totally doin' it for me right now.

First up, enjoying a steamy cuppa after waking up to our first snow!


Next, my new hair do! I wasn't feeling like myself for quite a while and I am loving this silly new platinum swoopy-doo. Looks like soft serve ice cream.

Then, a pintrest board I've been feathering--full of wintry inspiration: swirly snowflakes and frosty foxes.

Source: ohpioneer.com via Molly on Pinterest

A glorious double chocolate cupcake I destroyed with my beau.


What's totally doin' it for you right now?

Nose Candy: Paint Diary

Hello Kittens! There's gold leaf on the ceiling and green acrylic on my sweater-- getting new pieces ready for "Kitschmas" a group invitational exhibition we're hosting in a few weeks. The theme for this show is Kitsch: the gaudy, the gross and giggle inducing. It's been liberating being able to really experiment and get silly. Here is the progress of my totally tasteless contribution:

My process always starts with a photograph.

Next, I start "carving" out the figure with broad strokes--most of the under-painting is still exposed. The patterns really needed to pop--I'm finding myself being inspired by fashion magazine spreads and obnoxious dubstep remixes. It could be weirder. So, I pushed it further--

One gold-leaf unicorn horn and a snort of silver glitter later, I came to this. It got gross...and I'm pleased. I've never made a painting quite like this: it's tighter, smaller and stranger than anything I've made in recent history. I'm excited to see where the tacky train takes me. :}

Destroyer Day Dream: Art Journal Entry

Hello cherry bombs! Went the the journal today with day dreams of wasting the city with rainbow laser vision and white lighting. I'm going to ride around on a big black raincloud fulla sour candy--smash up some parking meters and swing around on bridges. A new painting perhaps?

What are your fancies today?

Handmade Holiday: How To Novel Wreathe

Hello Pumpkins! To get myself in the mood for handmade holiday mischeif, I decided to spruce up the apartment with a paper wreathe for the front door. It's 100% upcycled, 100% free, 100% adorable and 100% easy-peasy to make! Watch:

You will need: Cardboard, scissors, an old book and hot glue

Start with a piece of cardboard you can cut into a ring, or any shape you like. Mine is cut from an old pizza box.

Find a paper back or an old book--I found this one in my laundry room. Cut out the pages and begin rolling cones of varying sizes. (The cover of this book will be recycled in another project!)


Start hot gluing the cones onto your cardboard ring. Make sure you're tucking them close together so none of the cardboard is peeking out. Experiment with different lengths and widths of cones to get the effect you desire. :)

Once you've filled the ring, finish it off with some text (construction paper) or a bow and deck your front door to drive your neighbors wicked jealous of the crafty bad-ass who lives there.

What are your handmade holiday plans?

Vlog: Handmade Holiday Crusade!

Grab the badge to play along! There are no required postings, no schedule, and no rules--except you have to Make Stuff: fold it, paint it, stitch it, bake it, mail it, build it, write it, and post it!

Much Joy kids, this is going to be fun. :)

Dance Party Portraits: New Work In Progress

Hello Peaches! These blustery autumn days are dynamite for being a hyper productive hermit in the studio. I'm working on a small series for a group show I have coming up in December. Here's a peep at the progress !

Untitled mixed media 24"x36"

I'm playing with happy accidents and unequal resolve in my newer pieces. These weren't as meticulously planned as previous works. I took a reference photograph, decided on a pallet (if you can call it that...) and went in guns a blazin'. As far as materials, my method was "see what sticks."

Untitled mixed media on masonite 12"x12"

This is the latest effort and by far the smallest painting I've ever attempted. Here you can see the first layer, I'm working out proportions and building up some volume in the flesh.

Here we are a few hours in and several coats of ink and nail polish later. I'm excited to get that unicorn horn in there. And possibly another evil monkey... :) My goal is to crank out one more piece for the exhibition. I can't wait--it's always a treat to show with friends!

What have you been making, my pretties? Wishing you much Love, Paint and Rock&Roll!

Dia de Los Muertos Give Away!

Hello Kittens! I've been down the rabbit hole--which feels more like a roller coaster--and wanted to pop in for a Day of The Dead Give Away! Leave a little comment love and be entered to win this pair of handmade skully earrings! A name will be drawn November 10th. :) Best of luck, honey bunnies!


More goodies to come from HerSpeak Headquarters: new studio work, paint, tunes and mayhem. :)

Updates: No Rest for The Wicked!

Hello Puddings!* I'm not dead--just down the rabbit hole again! The candle has been burning at three ends for the past month. Here's a quick recap at what's been brewing here at HerSpeak Headquarters:

The Barn Owl Ballyhoo was a complete success! A night brimming with local art and awesome musical performances. You can peep the details on the Drippy Lip Productions page.

I had the pleasure of doing make up for a collaborative lingerie runway show with Beauty and Project M. The designer envisioned a pin-up look: cat eyes, ruby red lips. My Favorite! You can check out the scene here.
I've also started my special events assistant internship at the Milwaukee Art Museum. We host some of the most extravagant events in the city--I get to go behind the scenes, be in the guts of the museum and see how the magic happens step by step.


Headquarters is covered in glitter dust again as I begin a new series for exhibition this December: "Kitschmas"! We're excited to present a punchy show to cure those too-cute-Christmas blues. It will be grounding to get back to the studio this week. :)

I've missed all of you, my blogosphere bunnies! I hope to find time to visit each one of you soon! This week is mayhem in the making: time for Halloween! What have you been up to, my pretties?

Wishing you much Love, Paint and Rock&Roll. <3

Studio Cam: New Tinkerings

Hello Sweetie Pies! The HerSpeak studio has been hoppin': scattered with gold leaf, felt scraps and paint squishing about! Here's a peep at what's been shakin' this week:





New mini shrine: 3" wide. Gold leaf, sequins, found images, nails, candles, glitter, plastic beads, wood pieces and silk flowers. The best part about these projects is I buy nothing: every shrine is recycled or found materials. Fiddling around and figuring out the best way to pair objects together is half the fun of making!


A Dia de Los Muertos fabric vignette underway--still have to stich on the mustache! He should be a sharp looking skelly when he's all sewed up. The frame is, if possible, more ridiculous than the skeleton. Can't wait to show you the finished piece!


And finally, the beginnings of a new painting! This is the second in my new latest series. I need to finish two more and they'll have homes in a Salon here in Milwaukee. More inprogress peeks to come! (30"x40", acrylic, watercolor and sequins on canvas.)

What is the state of your studios these days, darlings?

Burn Out: Shift For Survival

Hello Mermaids: Today I feel much like Mr. Match. Burnt out, fizzled up, scorched and surly. Mostly bitter and brittle. Why do you feel like Mr. Match, you ask?

Because I've allowed myself to be put in a position
that surrenders all of my personal power.

I recently started a new job and in an effort to prove myself as a stand up employee have in fact established myself as the Office Doormat. BACK FIRE. I live behind the desk: doing work for two people, 7 days a week while being treated like a ghost--a ghost who graduated cum laude and makes minimum wage: Expected to be everywhere for everyone all while being unseen.

This aggression shall not stand.

Normally I don't use this space as a forum for personal kvetching or pity parties: but I know this is an extraordinarily tough time for a lot of you and I wanted you to know:

I feel you.
<3

So what do we do, my Match Commrades? Tomorrow Mr. Manager Boss Man is going to hear Ghost Girl. Burn Out is a temporary state if we choose it to be. I'm choosing control. I'm choosing Joy. I'm choosing Courage...even though it's hard...

So while I step up to the office door tomorrow I'll be pulling for you too--Be Bold, dears. Ask for what you need. Let's make a shift together, a shift for a joyful Survival. Solidarity! Best of Luck.

In The Studio: Shrine Series

Hello Sweetpeas! It was a whiplash weekend full of errands, work, baby showers, rehearsals AND a few snippets of sweet sweet studio time. Here are a few of the latest pieces for my craft fair shrine series:



A jewelrybox or cigarette case shrine. Materials include acrylic paint, nail polish, wood, plastic gems, sequins, silver glitter, pink felt, found images and charms.


Next, we have another tiny shrine. This version was much easier to make than the prototype. It may be my new favorite. Materials include acrylic paint, bottle caps, quartz crystal, nail polish, wood, masking tape, candle wax, felt, found images and charms and GLITTER.


And finally, the smallest shrine I've ever made! It's only slightly larger than a postage stamp. :)

What were you up to this weekend, craft warriors?