Garlic and Vampires

Garlic and Onions are not the most exciting veggies, but they can definitely supply a lot of flavor. I decided to give these bulbs some credit and paint them on an Autumn like cloth. 3 weeks left of the CSA and I've done 12 veggie drawings so far!
Next week I'll be heading to the West Coast to check out A.P.E, the Alternative Press Expo. (Think Comic Con but with zines and small publishing companies) It looks like they will have some great speakers; including Lynda Barry and Daniel Clowes! I'm staying with my Aunt which is always fun and hopefully I can meet up with some friends, bloggers and potential clients. I've been busy putting together little zine like portfolio's I can hand out.

I can't believe its already October... I'm starting to plan an elaborate Halloween costume to make up for last year's complete absence of Halloween. Something involving a tiny red hat I picked up in Harajuku. If you like Halloween, vampires and fabric depicting them then head on over to Spoonflower. I entered this week's contest. Vote for my Vampires!

I missed the Kawaii competition that I desperately wanted to enter. So, I decided to make this a kawaii/vampire fabric. You might say that crosses and gravestones aren't cute... But that's cause you haven't seen a sleepy coffin or a crying stake.

Voting is up this week till October 13th! And while your there check out all the other awesome fabric people have made! Maybe I should do a post on my favorites sometime soon.... hmm

Patterns

I'm a big lover of patterns. My apartment and wardrobe are filled with stripes, polka dots, florals etc... I decided I should learn how to make my own patterns. With a little help from a friend I learned how to put my pattern into repeat on the computer. (proving once again that knowing the right way to do something saves time and frustration) And so with my new skills I am going to create a fun series of patterns based on my favorite things from American and Japanese culture. But wait... there's more!
One of my favorite finds in Japan was a small tote I got in a fashion magazine, it was reversible: one side gold and shiny, the other side floral (two of my favorite things together). I got tremendous use out of the bag because of its flexibility and it inspired me to make this tote.

For the American pattern I included the snack foods I really missed while abroad: coffee, berries, pretzels, and cupcakes. I didn't include everything I missed for fear of the pattern repeat being 2'x2'. For the Japanese side I drew: sweet potatoes, oranges (mikan), persimmons (kaki), chestnuts, tea, green tea ice cream, snacks filled with red bean paste, dumplings (nikuman) and a large variety of mochi. I was so excited when my fabric arrived from Spoonflower!

Here's the pattern all cut out!

I sewed together my prototype bag and showed it off all weekend!
Here's the Japanese side:

Here's the American side:

It was really exciting to see something I drew on fabric. Some parts were a little darker than I want so I'll tweak them. Soon after though I will have these babies up on my Etsy shop for sale and the fabric will also be available on Spoonflower. If you haven't already checked out Spoonflower then I suggest you do. They have a wide variety of fabrics you can print on, the quality is great and its a lot of fun to see what other fabrics people come up with and vote in their contests! I'm working on the next set of prints which will be landscapes; one of Providence and one of the rural parts of Kyoto (where I was staying).

Seeds and Puppies

Fall is here! So is my drawings of veggies from last week; more eggplants, tomatoes and peppers. Doesn't this palette feel like Fall? Although I'm more of a Summer fan, I am looking forward to cooking comforting foods with lots of squash.

Speaking of comforting...

My family got a puppy! I went home for the weekend to indulge in cuteness.

SHE'S SO FLUFFFYY!
We drove to the middle of Virgina to pick her out and after much debate we named her Addie. (I was partial to Mochi or Olive) She's driving our other dog, Lexey completely crazy. Lexey is almost 15 and would rather be left alone. We are all hoping Addie will calm down a bit and they can be friends. Here's her sneaking up on Lex and nibbling on her foot while she's napping.

Yay puppy love!

Just Beet It!

Sadly, our CSA was put on hold for the last two weeks. : ( It seems like a lot of work to run a farm! Luckily I have a few tricks up my sleeve!

I didn't like beets when I was little, and I thought my Grandfather's borscht was one of the grossest foods imaginable. However, all of that's changed in the last few years, now I love a good beet! ( Especially with goat or feta cheese.)

These babies were roasted, diced and put into a tart filled with onion, goat cheese and walnuts.
Delish! I also love the pink, vibrant color they leave on everything!

Thanks to everyone who came to the opening! It was a blast to see everyone's work and people reminiscing over their fav teen shows. Thanks again to Liz for putting the whole thing together! If you go to my website EmuAttacks.com you can see the pieces in full.

9.02.10 Show

I have many guilty pleasures... Netflix instant watch has enabled me to relive my middle school/ high school love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer! When my friend Liz messaged me about her upcoming show based off of her love of 90210 other teen shows of the 90's I knew I needed to come up with a project. (check out her blog to see some awesome paintings of Shannon Doherty crying that will also be in the show)
I am so excited for the opening on Thursday, I wanted to share a sneak peek! Here's close ups of my shadowboxes/shrines to favorite boy crushes from Buffy. Seth Green aka Oz the werewolf. My favorite boy from Buffy! He was in a band, had red hair and often made witty comments.

James Marsters aka Spike, the big bad vampire who starts off on the show as a formidable foe complete with grand schemes and biting comebacks. After a brief stint in an experimental government lab he is unable to hurt living things and starts to fight alongside Buffy. He has some of the best lines on the show!

David Boreanez aka Angel. Buffy's first love interest that happens to be a vampire. Gypsies gave him back his soul, so he's a good guy... Unless he has a moment of true happiness and then he's Angelus (evil Angel) I chose to depict him in LA where is spinoff show takes place.

I set out to make pieces that idolized these men and celebrated teenage obsession. These pieces are sort of mini shrines or valentines to each of the characters with elements of their back stories incorporated. I have to say it was incredibly satisfying to get more of a likeness then I was able to achieve in 1997. If your in the Boston/Providence area come see the show!

The Distillery Gallery

516 E 2nd Street, First Floor

South Boston, MA
The opening is 6-9 this Thursday and the show will be up until October 27th.

Eggplants, tomatoes, and a pepper

Even tiny veggies taste delicious!

The BF's stepmom gave me this dazzling, white eggplant form her garden. A few days later the CSA gave us these two beautiful purple ones. We got a ton of tomatoes last week, my favorite being the grape tomatoes! I bought some mozzarella cheese, basil and ate it all up!

Treats from the Lowcountry

Just got back from a week at the beach in South Carolina with my family. In addition to some new freckles, I also picked up a couple of goodies:

The Boots are from Worthwhile, an absolutely breathtaking store full of creative and inspiring clothes, jewelry and tiny thoughtful gifts. Not only do the boots come in a variety of great prints, but they are also fair trade and made of locally sourced materials. Each boot is signed by the person who assembled them. I can't wait to wear mine : )
Robot Candy co., also on King St. is filled with gummi's, vintage looking robots and kawaii school supplies! While I was overwhelmed by cuteness the BF snuck to the register and picked up the foodie tote, funky monkey pouch and Rilakkum pencil case. (lucky me!)
The necklace is from Dixie Dunbar, a funky jewelry place I always like to visit when I'm in Charleston. I chose this onyx necklace cause I liked the different shapes and thought it would be a great piece to wear from day to night. All of these stores are on King street, so if your ever in Charleston I highly recommend stopping by. I was also digging the combo of these nail polishes... sort of funky, right? Enjoyed my vacation, now back to the grind...