Face for Radio Part 02.

NPR INTERVIEW STREAMING LIVE NOW.
As I posted yesterday I recorded an interview with NPR Chicago. We recorded it last week on Valentine’s Day.  It is now streaming on their website just click here to listen to yours truly talk greeting cards, comics, cancer, Jeffro’s BBQ and monkeys in funny hats!
Above: The notes and doodle I drew while talking on the phone with Greg Berg from NPR Chicago, and a Valentine’s message from my lady!

Face for Radio.

INTERVIEW ON NPR TOMORROW!
8:11am (Central), 9:11am (Eastern)
Last week yours truly sat down, pajamas on and coffee in hand, and was interviewed by Greg Berg from NPR Chicago. We chatted about my book, comics and sketchbooks. It was all pretty surreal – each time he asked a question in his awesome radio baritone I had a bit of an out of body experience. We spent the better part of the hour talking about the creative process and what it means to be an artist in this day and age. Here’s hoping that folks driving to work tomorrow in Chi-Town and the surrounding area dig what they hear. For all of the rest of us that don’t live in the windy city we can tune in on the interwebs!
Big thanks goes out to Steve Berg for setting the wheels in motion.
Above: A screen shot of UArts website promoting the release of the book! It’s good to be alumni!

Above: The listing for the interview as it appears on Greg Berg’s homepage for the radio show.
Below: A synopsis of what we discussed, check back here for a link to the archive when it goes live.

Proud to be Published Part 02.

“Funny, the Day was so Hectic…”
As an instructor I utilize ted.com countless times in the classroom. Their lectures are among the best in the business; informative, educational and extremely entertaining. I have brought everyone from Stephan Sagemeister to Espo into my classroom thanks to Ted. So when they were looking for Philadelphia artists to contribute to their program for TedXPhilly I jumped at the chance. I thought of it as my way of giving back to an organization that I truly enjoy. The design of the program was amazing I was extremely honored to be among some of the most talented artists in Philly, representing our city of neighborhoods. It featured a wide array of guest speakers from my area to discuss what wonderful, creative and forward thinking place my hometown is to live and work. I topic I truly believe in.
Above: My contribution to the TedXPhilly Program a reproduction of my “Kong” print.
Below: The cover to the program – so happy to be part of such an awesome event.

Monster Monday 33.

Last week  I put together an online store in order to sell my recently released book and some of my prints. If you are a frequent visitor to this blog you may have noticed the new buttons on the right-hand side. I hadn’t had the store up for more than a day when I received notification of my first sale. It has been a blast filling orders and sending packages out the door. I have been signing and drawing in books all week. I also have been including various trading cards, posters and stickers along with every order. I am just really appreciative of everyone that has taken the time to make a purchase.
In designing the banner I wanted to utilize some hand-done type but also have it link visually to my artwork. So I made each letter-form a little creature or character all their own. Keep your peepers peeled on this here blog for give-aways, discounts and new releases as the storefront develops. Thanks to everyone that has placed an order already!
Above: The new sign for the shop! (The banner I designed for the new patchworx store.)
Below: A detail of the pen and ink artwork created for the design. This was demo I gave in class on how to do type by hand and give it a lil’ character!

Interview with Quo Vadis Writers’ Project.

I was recently interviewed about my book, “I Put the Can in Cancer: A Journey Through Pictures” by the Quo Writers’ Project as a featured writer. These are the folks (Exaclair, Inc.) that make some really beautiful sketchbooks; Rhodia, Clairefontaine and Quo Vadis to name a few. They were also gracious enough to donate a bunch of their Exacompta sketchbooks to bundle with my book to give to Children’s Hospital here in Philadelphia later this year. You can read the interview here . Great company, awesome products, good people!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Karen Doherty (VP, Marketing, Exaclair.com) and Leah Hoffmann (Quo Vadis Blog blogger) for their amazing help and support.