new! art work available on etsy

i’ve been receiving a lot of lovely feedback on the newest september show up at both sides gallery in pilsen, chicago. and an overwhelming amount of questions on how to purchase the work, if it’s for sale, where can it be shipped to, etc etc etc.

so! with great aplomb and excitement, i’m proud to announce that all the framed typographical illustrations currently on view at the gallery are also available for purchase through the jilly ink etsy shop. browse away, but remember- these are one-of-a-kind pieces of work, so be quick to the draw if you want one for yourself!

 

have a lovely and gorgeous and wonderful september autumn day!

feel it in my bones

last weekend was my second showing at second fridays down in pilsen, at the lovely and welcoming and gorgeous space at both sides gallery. last month, i showed my wooden-books story installation piece, which was met with a wonderfully positive response.

this time around, i showed an edited version of that piece, along with some screenprints made while at saic, and a few cheeky custom illustration and calligraphy prints.

making these was so much fun. so much fun, that i think i’ll prop open my massive gray’s anatomy book (bought for $2 at the brown elephant in chicago), and start scouring for some more bones to to pair with suggestive phrases..

 

tattooed in uganda

(His angels will guard us in all our ways – for melinda ozongwu)

the other day, a lovely woman named melinda emailed me from uganda. she was on her way to london, and while there, was planning to get a phrase tattooed on her forearm. the design was finalized, the appointment was made, everything was ready. and then, so she says, she stumbled upon this blog. and overhauled her entire design. what an honor it was to take up the task of creating something she could really fall in love with. something that she’d look at every day, and know that taking the extra steps to make it perfect was well worth it. personally, i think it looks just lovely.

getting inky

(earth, wind, fire, water, moon – for alex raffael)

sometimes how we envision things happening doesn’t end up being the case. in fact, this happens most of the time. if, a year ago, someone was to tell me i’d be receiving weekly commissions to draw and design words and pictures that people all over the world would be permanently marking themselves with, i’d have thought that sounded amazing, and completely unbelievable. well, now, just seven months after designing my own, first tattoo, i am happily occupied with translating ideas, words, and images into tattoos. i love it. of course, now i can’t imagine not thinking of this in the first place.

(tattooed version of this design – for jessica silva)

here are a few recent tattoos that i’ve designed, and as always, i welcome many more to come.

(‘bird’ – for katie prange)

(meaning ‘to live life passionately and unafraid – for megan mateer)

bleed heart bleed: design cloud chicago

some exciting news to share – my installation piece, “all those other words“, will be amongst 25 other artists’ works in design cloud gallery’s 2nd ever group show! opening this friday, february 17th (reception 6-9pm), bleed heart bleed includes work that explores, examines and reflects the many different responses to lost love. my piece, which is also currently up in the sullivan galleries through february 18th, fits into this quite aptly. below is the invitation to the show – if you’re in chicago this friday night, be sure to rsvp, come sip some wine, look at art, and share in the universality of what it means to have a broken heart, what it means to mend it and move on.

never try never know

as promised, all the way from thailand, here are photos of my amazing friend adam’s newly tatted forearm. i have to say, it looks gorgeous. and i’m so honored to have been a part of the process.

and tattooed in texas

 

the stars must be aligned.. just two weeks after i designed and got my very own, very first tattoo (post to come), i received a very cool email from a very cool lady down in dallas, texas, asking if i’ve ever considered designing one for someone else. ‘why, of course!’ i exclaimed, and there began our adventure in finding something that utilized my script, her three children’s names (madelyn, mitchell and merritt – adorable), and a feeling of ‘whimsy’. after a few back-and-forths, here’s the final design. just like my dear friend adam’s tattoo (which was inked this morning over in thailand!), i can’t wait to see the design in its permanent home, on her forearm. thank you valerie, for allowing me to be a part of this amazing process!

all those other words

 

i know i haven’t updated in quite a while, but i have a pretty big-deal post for today.  for the past month and a half (and really, the last year), i’ve been working on an installation piece for an exhibition opening at the sullivan galleries in chicago this friday.  the piece, ‘all those other words’, is a 17 page story written non-chronologically that i laser cut into birch plywood and set behind stained wooden doors.  i cannot say how proud i am with how the piece turned out, how happy i am that it looks so beautiful and reads so well, how utterly relieved i am that it’s finally up and i don’t have to worry about little tiny screws or super glue or nail guns anymore.  enjoy the photos – hopefully i’ll post more after the opening!

 

the books:

 

 

during installation:

 

 

all up on the wall:

 

 

canopy

after one and a half weeks of frantic designing, printing, cutting while kneeled and hunched over on the floor (oh my back!), i finally, with the help of my dear roommate) put up my final project for my installation class this semester.  and it just so happened that we installed on the one, repeat: one, beautiful, sunny day that chicago’s seen in the past month really.  it was truly a blessing, and it made the papercut installation sing with clarity, brilliance and full out shine.

i am now completely obsessed with cut paper projects, and will be experimenting with other materials as well, maybe forming language out of wire, or different forms of pellon, or really, whatever i can get my hands on.  thank you so much to everyone who’s helped support me mentally and emotionally in this project – it really, the whole thing, has made me so happy.  and now i’m equally happy that it’s done.

and in case you’re interested, here’s the text of the piece:

she does not see far.  the wind twists itself around and about her limbs, sends her hair into a fury, but she doesn’t see far./she doesn’t hear long.  the sounds of rays that creep within the cracks of her skin make no impression on her eardrums./she tries to follow the feel.  she touches the ends of things, gropes for a hanging-on of connection.  the mouth she has./she lets it all in, and washes it all out.  welcomes it in, and stands helpless as it all passes through.

follow the lines

some process photos that i promised – here’s the first two panels of large-scale papercuts for my third installation.

pre-cutting, here’s what the scrolls of paper look like with the designs printed on them:

starting to cut:

the completed first panel:

and here’s the final cutout of the second:

i’ll just go ahead and let the pictures speak for themselves.  more to come!