Click to see the images…
Well I have been re-watching all of the Star Wars films in the lead-up to Return of the Sith (which I have now seen twice…goes without saying-I totally loved it), and I was struck by the sheer number of limbs that are cut off in the whole saga. Here is a visual audit of the best instances of severed limbs I could find…severed by lightsaber (or other means) in the pre-Sith saga (though I will need to update this after Sith comes out on DVD). Also, I was left with the nagging question: why, out of all the Jedi we see in the early films, are there none with limbs missing? I suppose that they would merely have robotic prostheses, ala Anakin and Luke. Though it would be cool to see some stumps, with all those lightsabers flying around…Seems that lightsabers cauterize the wounds, though I guess that wasn’t the case with the Walrus-man’s arm…

Though I risk breeching our laser-focused charge of covering drawing / illustration / photography and other visual arts, I felt a certain urgency in pointing out a few of the incredible FREE, live, high-quality music events in NYC this summer.
The New Pornographers (June 25)- First off, in my home borough of Brooklyn, Canadian smartie-pants indie-rockers The New Pornographers will be playing at my beloved Prospect Park on Saturday, June 25th at 7:30pm. Don’t forget that one-fifth of The New Pornographers consists of honky-tonk siren Neko Case, who is a powerful force of nature in her own right. Backing up the Pornographers are two other quality canuk bands, Stars and The Sadies.
Yo La Tengo / Malkmus ‘n Jicks (July 4)- Just a short stroll away from WSJ HQ in Battery Park City, a meeting of two indie juggernauts: Hoboken’s own Yo La Tengo and former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus with his band The Jicks. Also preforming is Nashville’s crooner Laura Cantrell (who I’ve heard nothing but good things about!). Show starts @ 3:30pm, and sadly I’ll be missing this incredible lineup.
Calexico (July 14) – Also performing on the southernmost tip of the city is the concert I am most looking forward to right now. Tuscon, Arizona’s Calexico will be performing at the Castle Clinton National Monument (never even heard of this before…just east of the Staten Island Ferry). Calexico is a very difficult band to describe. I’ll take a stab at it: gringo-mariachi-alt-tex-mex-folk-country-latin-indie-tamale. In a word, they are amazing. They will be performing at 7:00pm, and I will definitely be there for this one.
I couldn’t seem to find the listings for Central Park’s Summerstage. Their site is up, but no artists listed yet. I’m sure they will have a killer line up.
ALSO, Upcoming.org has a great listing of all the upcoming shows in the area. Mac users be sure to check out their cool iCal button that subscribes you to that calendar, automatically marking up your iCal calendar on you Mac with the dates of good shows you don’t want to miss.
Heres some more info on Prospect Park and the WFC Arts & Events listings:
Link: Prospect Park / Celebrate Brooklyn Performing Arts schedule
Link: World Financial Center – Schedule of free music performances


UPDATE: Duh. Also don’t forget the Village Voice Siren Festival on Saturday July 16th. Rain or shine. Coney Island. No final lineup yet, but do check their site for details…and you’ll see our own PA’s fine illo handiwork all over this gala event…

Well I just finsihed up my first ten-week course at the Center For Book Arts. The CBA was recommended to me by the master book artist herself, Barb Zuckerman (make sure you check out her TRULY amazing books).
I took Bookbinding I with Nancy Loeber, and I thoroughly enjoyed the class. Bookbinding is one of those step-by-step crafts that requires an enormous amount of first-hand observation of someone who knows what they’re doing (and my instructor Nancy clearly does…she was very helpful and patient

The subway is still one of my favorite spots to draw people. Though as Kerry O’Neil has mentioned – you often end up with images of people sleeping and reading. Also pictured is an acrylic fingerpainting from the moleskine sketchbook – which reminds me of similarly colored painting my brother Stephen did when he was 3.

You can now pre-order “The Lambkins” by Eve Bunting on Amazon. This is the HarperCollins-published book that I did my first book cover for (Click here to see a large version). I also did a few black and white spots for the interior. Good for young teens, shrinking children and crazy old ladies with dollhouses.

Also, I have posted my ill-fated illo that was killed at finish just the other day.

I made these drawing/paintings for my niece and nephew (Ella and Jack) who live in Pittsburgh. The poses are from characters in the siren drawing.

Also viewed some great work at the Greater New York 2005 show at PS1 this weekend.