A typical fall day in Pittsburgh. 65º, chance of rain...

and a baby boy...

So, last night as we were about to go to bed it happened. Shannon's water broke and we were on our way to the hospital. At the time we were unsure if it was time, things were a little less climactic than we were led to believe, but upon examination it was declared this was it. The baby was coming today.

Unfortunately there were a few things I'd left to do. Being that he was due on the 12th & nothing seemed to be happening yet I thought we had more time, at least a few more days. I should know by now that those are the moments that life happens though. The time when you planned to make arrangements at work tomorrow and install the baby seat in the car this weekend. Instead I was up at 3am typing an endless stream of emails to co-workers and I have no idea when that baby seat is going in. Heck, I don't even have cigars to hand out. What was I thinking?

Now, I'm going to do something and I promise this will be the LAST time I do this here. I'm going to get crazy sappy. You'll have to forgive me, I'm going on all of about no sleep & I just about cried the first time I heard his heartbeat months ago. I deserve just this one, so bear with me.

I am ready with one thing, and that's the excitement of being mere hours away from meeting the little guy that's already managed to change my whole life. In 9 months I've already re-evaluated everything that means anything, I've found new value in things I never understood before. I understand my parents in ways I never realized and wouldn't of had this not come to being. I've found the pieces of myself that make me who I am and that I want to pass on to him. I've found a reset button for my own youth by looking at his life from it's start, even though I've never felt more adult in my entire life.

Shannon and I know the challenges and difficulties that lie ahead, and that's fine, we'll getthrough it just like we always do. We're so excited to bring this little guy into our world, to show him the things we love and to find out what he loves, to find the world that will make him happy.

and dear god, I hope it's art, cuz I look really silly trying to catch a ball....

Out of hibernation

It's finally, slowly and sporadically, becoming nice outside! (although today is leaving a little to be desired...) so what better time to post an update!

The big news is my new job. I recently began working full time at ModCloth.com, a small company I'd been freelancing with for a little over a year. It's about the most exciting opportunity I could hope for as a designer! If you're not familiar with the company, you should stroll on over to www.ModCloth.com and check it out!! The best part is I get to do stuff like this during the day



Now, what can be better than that?

I have some exciting upcoming show news, but until all is confirmed I'm going to keep that little bit to myself.

For now, I'll just leave you with some buttons.

Things are getting weird.....

...and oh so busy. New stuff added to my website gallery, and I opened up a shop where I have 2 prints for sale! T-shirts coming soon, along with lots more art! Keep checking back!

Fun-A-Day Pgh!!

Hello! Hope everyone had a great holiday. We had a nice (but hectic) time visiting family & eating constantly. I'm sure I gained a few pounds, but that's what New Year's resolutions are for, I guess (I started 2007 at 261 lbs and ended it under 220, so I think I'll be OK on that front).

Onto upcoming events! This January I'll be undertaking an ambitious task and taking part in "Fun-A-Day Pittsburgh". You come up with a project you can work on everyday for a month, then in February there will be a show to present all the work (in whatever way it can be presented!) It can be anything at all, as long as it keeps you motivated to accomplish something all month. I've decided to choose an animal, bird or insect & do a drawing a day of it through it's life, so at the end of the month I'll have a series of drawings from life to death of whatever I choose to do. I won't give any more details on my project or show any images until the end of the month though, gotta keep some surprises, right? I encourage everyone everywhere to take on similar commitments. Do something you find fulfilling everyday, because otherwise what's the point.

In other news, the work I had showing in the window on Penn has been a smashing success & I've gotten a ton of great feedback and inquiries on it. If you're not familiar with my work, these pieces mark a significant change in my style & approach that I'm really excited about, and a lot of other people seem to be as well. I have a lot more stuff on the way, so it looks like I'll be busy for awhile. 2008 is looking to be a great year.

And with that I'll wish you all a happy new year and see you in 08!!

Winter Weekendland

The holiday season means a lot of things, and apparently one of them is parties. We had 3 to go to this past Friday night. We had a great time and saw sooooo many friends, tho it would of been nice to have them spread out so we could of spent a little more time with everyone.

One of the parties was our friends Emma & Q's annual mixtape swap potluck. (Q does a podcast which is a great primer for local music here. I didn't get a chance to contribute a mixtape this year (usual excuse of "too busy", but I think I'll begin planing early for next year's). I did, however, do a piece of artwork for the party, which was the prize for the "people's choice" among the mixtapes. It's about records, here's what it looked like!



More holiday parties this week. More friends to see. If I don't update for a week or so, you know why!

Pictures as promised!

Tonight's "unblurred" event was great!
First, here's some pics from the windows at 5013 Penn where I had 4 pieces.

Thanks to Jeff for letting me putting some stuff up!!


check me out





Then, at ModernFormations was the opening for Jairan Sadeghi, the winner of the annual spring salon show. The show was absolutely beautiful! I recommend you check out her site.

Now to sit back, drink some whiskey and relax on the couch for a bit.

Make Art vs. Make Blog

Sorry, but the art will always win!

Tonight is the "Unblurred" gallery crawl on Penn Avenue. If you plan to be out, you may notice some of my art in the window of a storefront a few doors down from ModernFormations and Garfield Artworks. Here's a sneak at a couple things that will be there!





If you're out & happen to see them, let me know what you think. I'll post some images of the windows after we take some tonight.

Busy weekend ahead. Tomorrow is the toy drive at the Creative Treehouse from 10-8 to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters (info in my previous post), then Modcloth is hosting a fashion show/Dance party at the Brillobox to benefit the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, here's the flyer I did for that:



Also, lotsa great gift ideas at Modcloth, so check them out and say hi to Winston while you're there!