Underbite

So, over the summer, I met a cat... in fact, I found myself keeping the company of two fancy felines, although both ended up finding great homes elsewhere.  One was a tiger named Tsukiko, and one was a furry little man named McReady (pronounced McReedy).


Here's McReady.  He's the most fun little man on four legs with whiskers since my little buddy Merlin (my old cat) who he both resembles and whose spirit he seems to embody with a little quirky twist that's all his own.  If you're aware of or if you knew my buddy Merlin, then you know just how cool a cat McReady must be because Merlin was also his own man and an excellent cat :)  However, we have absolutely no need for four pets.  So, when we found out that our good friends Garre and Greg were thinking about bringing a kitten into their little family (they also have an awesome 3-legged lab mix named Steeler, who is also his own man), we were ecstatic.  Steeler and McReady have become fast friends!  Not only had we found an awesome home for McReady, but we can visit him now and even pet-sit when they go out of town!  Our furry ladies are always a little more lively when he comes to play and they're always up to some kind of mischief... it's pretty entertaining.

McReady showed up in July right as I got Tsukiko.  He simply came out of the bushes and began following me around like he owned the place.  However, no matter how distractingly funny and cute he was, there was a much bigger cat that demanded my attention.

Tsukiko, a beautiful life-size tigress, is my fibreglass tiger that I painted for the UofM Centinial celebration.  100 tigers have been painted or aesthetically manipulated in celebration of UofM's "Tiger's Around Town" and I was fortunate enough, thanks to the heads up from my friend, Heather, to be a part of it.  She sat in our carport for about two weeks, one of which I was out of town for, and then, after a long, hot, and sweaty week, she blossomed into the beautiful and exotic lady that I knew she could be.

I had a blast doing this project which simply confirmed the fact that I need to keep challenging myself and carrying out ideas that so often get lost in the shuffle.  I'm going to get a new sketchbook.  For some reason, it's been a while since I have started a new one, so needless to say, I can't wait to go buy one.

If you want to find out more about the "Tiger's Around Town", click here.  There's going to be an "Unveiling" on Sept. 10 between 11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. when all the tigers will be exhibited.  I can't wait to see all of the different tigers, I know they'll be amazing!  Also, I know a few of the other artists that worked on tigers, and I can vouch for their awesomeness as well, so you should definitely come check it out if you can!

Absence:  I apologize for it.  It has been far too long since I've shown any love to Underbite and I promise I will be making up for that.  My excuse:  life has been hectic, and, though I have had the occasional moment to check in for an update or exciting links, I've just been taking the small opportunities to give a minute to myself and Joey to breathe and catch up with ourselves.   There have been several instances where I've clicked to create a new post, stared at the blank template, and clicked out, not knowing where or how exactly to even begin.  The blog has always been a fun little ongoing project for me and never a stressor in my life, and I don't ever want it to become one, so I stepped away from it while I let life slow down or catch up or whatever you want to call it.  However, today, when I sat down, I didn't feel the dread of not knowing what to write about or where to start, so I began typing.  So, ultimately, now I've got a lot to catch you up on, and a lot to write about, and I hope that you'll forgive me for the dry spell.  I'm really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and sharing my ideas, inspirations, and life adventures with you so that perhaps you will enjoy them as well and can share your thoughts and comments.

Today Joey and I headed over to his family's house to celebrate Mother's day a week early with an excellent brunch made by his sister Cheri.  We all sat out on the front porch, ate delicious breakfast burritos, bagels with cream cheese, capers, onions, and smoked salmon, home fries and fruit (Yeah, that's how Cheri rolls and it's awesome!).  Mimosas and coffee complemented the brunch as well, as did the always wonderful and good time that comes with visiting my in-laws.  They're a most excellent bunch of people and I'm so very happy to now be counted amongst them!

After brunch, we migrated to the den where we watched the Grizzlies show the NBA that they are indeed a team of contenders.  The series won against the Spurs shed some light on our abilities and I'm stoked to see how far they can go. Although the OKC Thunder are an amazing group of athletes, the Grizzlies proved to be the better team this game and this Memphian could not be any prouder!  Go Grizz!!!

So, despite the tornados and the crazy weather, it has been a great Sunday, and I'm excited to catch you up and get back on track.  I never got a chance to show you my final piece from the art show, so I'll start from there (pictures below) and slowly catch up with myself from then... March... geezz I'm behind!  I'll try to get back on the Mon.,  Wed., Fri. posts, because I liked that flow.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and I hope this week proves to be lovely for you with (hopefully) calmer weather.

This weekend, I'm joining my fellow grad students in hanging our show.  I would love for anyone interested to come check it out, and will have a small handful of invitations to pass out soon :).

Because this small series was so detail intensive, with stippling and such, I have noticed a significant change in my eyesight... and not for the better.  I've been squinting a lot more lately.  So, an appointment with the eye doctor is going to be due soon, and, for the fun of it, I've been eyeballing frames that have been calling my name.  Tell me, which is your favorite of these two?

So, I know it's been super slow around here, but I've been busy making art and working after-hours at school, so, when I get home, I'm basically done for the night.  I'm looking forward to Spring Break and time to focus on projects that don't necessarily have deadlines!  This weekend, Joey and I have been working on our individual creative endeavors, and helping one another move forward with them as successfully as possible.  The time spent creating, and the time spent relaxing, is DEEeeelightful!!! I hope everyone's February is going swell and that you're enjoying your weekend as much as I am.

WASTE LAND Official Trailer from Almega Projects on Vimeo.

I'm pretty certain that my brother-in-law is not a frequent reader of Underbite, so I think it's safe to assume that I can show you his birthday present for this year.  I've been slowly working on this piece for about 3 years now I think (it's done a lot of sitting under a pile of papers for the first pencil phase, then on my desk under clutter for the ink phase, and then moved about and around through various other phases until I decided that it was finally finished).  So, for this year, Blake will finally get the finished artwork of Chloe and Bleu that I have been promising him for quite some time now.

Pssst... here's a sneak peek at a detail of my piece I'm working on for the art show.  It's still in pencil, so you'll have to squint...

I'm loving this series, "Style.Play.Work.Shop" from Compai Blog.  The ladies over there throw out about 5 random items (this week's was ribbon, squash, envelope, jewelry, and bottle) and they and other bloggers or readers who would like to participate arrange these items in a picturesque way and photograph them.  Then, they display some of the best shots on their blog the following week.  Brilliant!  No contest or prize, just a good ole' incentive to go and get creative and make something beautiful.  I would be participating, however, I'm really good at distracting myself, and I don't need to distract myself with this until I'm finished with this semester.  Maybe next year!

So, check it out!

This week flew by!  It seems like everyday there was something going on so that by the time I made it home it was time to go to bed and do it again.  That does not mean, however, that I didn't enjoy the week.  The beginning of this week was pretty rough with a few classes that decided to act like CERTIFIED LUNATICS instead of actual human children who sometimes act endearingly looney.   After Tuesday, though, the week began to look up and good times and lots of productive art-making began to happen.






On top of working on the C-STEM Challenge, an extra-curricular program that a few of the teachers and I are participating in with the kids, I've been working on an art contest with the kids where the grand prize is a 75 gallon living coral reef aquarium!!!  Fingers crossed we'll win, however, if we don't, then that's one 75 gallon aquarium that I won't be maintaining and one beautiful piece of artwork made by the fantastic 5th graders at Oakhaven to hang up for everyone to see.  The C-STEM Challenge is pretty exciting as well.  It's a set of 6 challenges that the kids will have to complete and compete against other schools (mainly schools based out of Houston, which is where we will finally be competing in April).  We're the only school in Tennessee participating and knock-on-wood Memphis makes a name for themselves while competing in Houston, TX.

Besides school stuff and constantly keeping up with how the educational environment is changing or trying to change, life has been very good.  Joey and I enjoyed a semi-disappointing opening game with the Grizzlies game with our friends Zach and Sara.  Great company and a fun team to watch, Joey swears that when they stink it up during their first game of the season, the Grizzlies always do well during the rest of the season.  We shall see, won't we :)

 I still need to work more on my thesis and hopefully, sooner rather than later, I will blink and find myself with a master's degree.  In the meantime, I need to find more self-motivation.

As for today, however, it's Friday; a much needed Friday for many, so therefore, we shall proceed with fun non-work-related distractions and goodies!!!