Eagerly Awaiting Spring

A few of the trees in our apartment complex have started to bloom. We've had some unusually warm weather which has actually made it rather pleasant here. Still, I know the cold will return before too long. There is a large tree in our "front yard" that is always stunning in the Spring and is the biggest reason I'll hate to move when the time comes. Its blossoms are rather frilly and pink, which anyone can tell you isn't my style, but for some reason I've become particularly attached to it peeking into our balcony view. Its trunk is slightly twisted and I imagine if it had been fortunate enough to have been planted in a garden rather than an apartment complex, its branches would be perfect for sitting in and enjoying a good book. It's helped this place feel more like a home despite the tiny kitchen and slippery steps. Call me a tree hugger if you like. Sometimes they are just as welcoming as a good friend.

The Wise Eyed Quail Boat

Our entry for Illustration Friday "wise".

This is a pretty Ink Blot we started during our Florida trip and recently finished. One of our friends recently noted that she could gauge our stress levels by our ink blots. This one is probably a pretty good example! I think that's a great testament to why artists must create. It's an outlet for all of those trapped thoughts and feelings. We decided for some reason that "Quail Boat" seemed to fit this one. All of a sudden I remembered a children's book I love called The Story of Ping. In the story, Ping the duck lives in the wise eyed boat on the Yangtze river. Therefore, we now have The Wise Eyed Quail Boat. You'll probably see this one in the shop some time over the weekend. We just need to frame it. Oh, and if you have children or just enjoy a good story like I do, check out Ping. It's wonderful.

Ink Blot Illustration: Woolly Dragon

We have to admit that coming up for a name for this one was really difficult. Is it a dragon? A creepy guy? Some mutant sperm? Finally, it was decided that a woolly mammoth and a Chinese dragon had a complicated love affair and this was the result. (Please don't notify the asylum. We're fine. Really…) I'd like to incorporate more of the 'fur' technique used on his chin in other pieces. I'm liking it. So feel free to come up with your own name for this cheerful specimen and leave it in the comments for us :) And if you fancy him enough, he will be listed for sale in the shop tomorrow.

Oh, and thank you to everyone who voted on our Halloween pumpkins!!!! I am happy to say that my (Lani) Day of the Dead Sugar Skull pumpkin won 46 to 29 (not that I'm gloating or anything :D ) Michael's Franken-Tiki was truly awesome and he's only sulking a little.
Have a good week everyone!

Party Squids Reinvented!!!!

We are back! Florida was lovely. The week after vacation is always the hardest. I dearly miss the cool waves washing over my feet, but with all of this warm weather longing, there is still a ray of sunshine in this little head of mine, 'cause we can now reveal the super secret project!!!!!
A long time ago, Michael's little sister saw a drawing of mine called "Party Squids". It was just a silly ink blot I'd made for Michael before we started drawing together. Well, she fell in love with it, so this year when she also fell in love with skateboarding, we decided she should have some party squids of her own. We gave it to her this week, so now the rest of the world can see it too. Get ready to be bombarded with Squids…

The last one is some fancy grip tape cutting that Michael did on the other side. Yeah, I know I may have gotten carried away with the pics, but hey, why not? This is our first skateboard deck and we're pretty happy with the results. Don't worry, this one will be hanging on her wall rather than riding down the road. We have 4 more decks to illustrate, so we'll see what happens :)

Time to Get on the Road

Well, we're off to Florida for a week in the fine sunshine. All of our coworkers have been threatened with bodily harm should they choose to call us during the trip. The Etsy shop is set to vacation mode, but we'll still be accepting emails. And so we'll leave you for now with this lovely ink blot domino that will be made into a pendant when we return. This one reminds me of a thousand quilts my grandmother made. A bit of lace, squares of fabric savaged from old dresses, and a bit of delicate stitching. Oh, and down below is an awesome pic that Miss Courageous sent us of her wearing her bottle cap bracelet she won in the Bottle Cap Challenge. Congrats again! Have a good week everyone!

It's Elemental My Dear

In our efforts to add more color (thank you Racheal), we're experimenting with different ways we can dress up the blots. Round one- splatter paint. While I love the splatters, I'm not crazy about their relationship with the blot. I'd like to try some other things with splatter though. I think next we'll try some different colored ink. We think the spike on the right side looks like a radioactive piece of corn. What do you see?

Here is a clue to one of the secret projects we're working on. It's a present, so we'll have to wait until the recipient has it to show off the whole thing. Look for it sometime in October :)


Thank you to everyone who has entered the Bottle Cap Challenge so far. There is still time to send your bottle caps. Don't hesitate to send us a message if you're afraid your caps won't make it by the 10th. We may be extending the contest for a few late entries. Find out more here.

How's it Feel to Have Your Art in a Museum?

It's pretty awesome my friends, pretty awesome. Don't worry, we won't forget the little people, whoever you are… I know by now you're looking for the punch line, so... ok, ok. So maybe we don't have anything of ours hanging in the exhibition hall, but hey- we're not complaining. Anyone can feel like a Rembrandt at the Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The best part about the place in my opinion is that they don't just encourage viewing art, they encourage experiencing it and creating it. In several areas of the museum there are pencils and paper provided and guests are invited to create some art of their own. You can take your masterpiece with you, or leave it at the museum, where they will put it on display in one of the little lounge areas for others to enjoy. So while we were there this weekend, we left a little something behind. The big teeth in blue up there is named Chomper. I wish the picture was better, but hey- not too bad for a camera phone in so-so lighting. *Sigh* We only hope the museum will appreciate our generous contribution :)
Tomorrow I'll post about the entire trip, so stay tuned!

Don't forget that you only have until Sept 1st to mail in your caps for the Bottle Cap Challenge! Find out more here.

Bird Of Paradise?- An Ink Blot

This is a little blot we drew a while back. I've always thought it would be nice on a t-shirt. It's also a great example of where our logo came from. If you look toward the bottom you'll see a flower like image. That flower or some variation of its design tends to resurface often in our drawings, so it made sense to use it (cleaned up quite a bit) to represent us. Other reoccurring elements include eyes (or other facial features), scales, wings, and swirls. Although we do name each piece, we like for other people to decide what they see. What can you find?

Don't forget that you only have until Sept 1st to mail in your caps for the Bottle Cap Challenge! Find out more here.

Ostriches and Jazz

I love this ink blot. My favorite part is the swirl of dots in the middle. I've drawn this pattern several times, but this one came out really nice I think. We drew this one at the High Museum of Art during Friday Night Jazz. It kind of helps to work somewhere with lots of distractions. We're less focused on what shape we're going to draw next and so pieces end up coming more naturally. Where do you go to find inspiration?

Have a good week :)

Doodling at Macaroni Grill

This post is for Racheal, who recently asked us why we stick to black and white in our ink blots. The truth is we don't. We typically prefer black and white, but give us a set of crayons, and we'll gladly occupy ourselves for hours. (I guess that makes these Crayon Blots…) The only reason we go to Macaroni Grill is because they cover the table with paper and let us color. And to be perfectly honest, waiters and waitresses that don't set drinks or plates on our drawings get bigger tips :D Oh sure, we've freaked out a few people. We've gotten some strange and dirty looks. But you know what? It takes all kinds to make up this great world, and we're proud to be wacky.

Ink Blot Illustration: Tails

Tails came to visit us while we were sitting at Starbucks the other night. She prefers spending her days adrift in the ocean flexing her spirals to propel herself. I think she's rather lonely. Cupid's arrow has found her many times, and yet her shyness holds her at bay. Perhaps we can coax her out of her shell. Feel free to leave her some advise :)

Ink Blot Illustration: Slink

Meet Slink, yet another addition to our Ink Blot family. I think Slink is on the hunt for something. He seems incredibly focused on finding it, but I wouldn't want one of those bony fingers tapping on my shoulder. What do you think he's looking for?

Ink Blot Illustration: Wicked Wasabi

We just finished a few more Ink Blot Illustrations that we'll be putting on the blog this week. To start it off is Wasabi. He is definitely one of the trippiest pieces we've done. He reminds me of some sort of 70's Chinese dragon groove train. And due to the look on his fabulous face, he's our submission to Illustration Friday for "Sour".

In other news, I just got back from a little trip to Marietta, Ohio. I haven't been for many years and it was past time to visit family. It's amazing how much you don't realize you miss a place until you're there again. Now all I can think about is going back. All of that green and all of those rolling hills help me to remember what is really important- what is worth saving and cherishing. I haven't felt that at peace in a long time. I hope everyone else is well and having a fine summer. :)

Rare Sightings of the Elusive Jackaloptopus!

Here we present the Jackaloptopus. You cannot possibly imagine what an honor it is to have witnessed this amazing creature in it's natural habitat. A twisted love story between a jack rabbit and an octopus brought science this logic defying animal, and yet it has conquered all odds surviving both on land and at sea. With no camera available at the time, I'm afraid we were only able to scribble this Ink Blot of the creature as it slithered and hopped along the shoreline, nibbling at whatever washed up on the deserted beach. You can see here how only five tentacles protrude from what appears to be a fluffy bunny tail! Unbelievable. It remains unclear if a sustainable population is in existence, but this sighting certainly brings us a renewed hope that these creatures can become more than a genetic whoops.

We watch too much Discovery Channel. Enjoy :)

One Hot Blot

This is one of my current favorites in the shop. One of these days I'll perfect my hotrod flames, but in the meantime, I'm pleased with the way this blot turned out. You can also see it in our shop here. Hopefully, we can get some full sized blots framed and show them off soon. Robo Chicken is on display at Vintage 965 where he is strutting his stuff right up front!

In other news, we just sold these babies:
These were carefully sliced from a salvaged bicycle handle grip. We coated them with some poly to help make them more durable. I think they have a lovely shape. Feel free to leave us a few comments and opinions on them. We're still trying to decide if we want to make more. Peace out people and have a great week!

Offline Marketing with A Cup of Joe

We're all trying to find more ways of marketing and it seems like the more time we spend updating this profile or promoting in that forum the less we actually do what we do best- create! So today we have a great tip that has served us well: take your craft mobile. No, I'm not talking about making iPhone cozies with your embroidered logo. (although it's not a bad idea!) I mean get out of the house and craft somewhere public. We regularly try to set up shop in our local coffee house putting together earrings and drawing blots. We usually drum up some interest and always have some cards handy. This week, we met a lovely buyer and are now a few items lighter because of it. Of course not everyone can lug their supplies all over town, but even if you can only take a part of it, like sewing on buttons, or attaching findings- try it! Think of all those musicians playing outdoors with their cases open wouldn't be making a dime sitting at home playing for themselves.

And don't forget to check out some of the new domino Ink Blots! Go ahead- break my heart and buy one. I dare you :)

Introducing A Brighter Blot

We got back from Augusta last night, so now we can talk about some new things we're working on. The domino bin is running rather low, so we've started thinking about other things we can blot. A few local baristas happily chipped in and started saving up used gift cards for us that would otherwise be tossed in the trash. They make an awesome backdrop for our swirls and eye balls! We'll be slowly putting them out this week, so look for them next to our domino Ink Blots.

As for the Augusta event, we had a blast! Thanks very much to Vintage 965 for having us!

Catch You on the Flip Side

So we're working on last minute details for our trip to Augusta. Of course, we're never as prepared as we'd like to be, and we never finish as many items as we'd like, but too bad! We'll go and have a great time as we are. The shop will be closed on Friday since all of our items will be going with us. Look for the reopening and some great new listings either Sat. or Sun.

We'll now leave you with our newest Ink Blot friend- "Robo Chicken". Like an overgrown garden that someone forgot to tend, Robo Chicken is a little twisted and warped. He has ropes and pulleys, eyes and teeth, spiders in his brain and fish in his throat. The vines have grown around him or rather become part of him. Our submission for Illustration Friday "garden". Enjoy :)

Adult Swim- Eat your heart out.

A Quick Recap

This is just a quick recap of our Ink Blot process. Thank you to our reader Jodie for the request :)

Not long after we started dating, Michael was moving into a new apartment. While helping him pack, I opened one of his sketch books and became incredibly confused. I couldn't figure out how he had gotten one of my sketchbooks! I turned several pages before realizing that they weren't my drawings. While I recognized the style and shapes, I didn't recoginize the complete images. It turns out we've been drawing the same types of images since before we even met. So, it just made sense to start drawing them together.

We sit down with a piece of bristol board and one person draws a shape. Then the other person adds a shape. We don't know what we're going to draw, it just slowly emerges on the page. (And it's all in ink from the beginning, so no mistakes, no changes!) I guess you could say that the ink blots represent two intertwining souls. They might not be perfect, but they represent the twisted thoughts of two kindred spirits.

After working on bristol for a long time, we started drawing directly on dominoes and converting them into pendants. This provides a slightly cheaper, but still original drawing for those who don't want to buy a large framed piece. We are currently working on some new fun versions of the blots that will be released in early March, so keep an eye out :)

I'm Seeing Spots

We finished this little blot in January and I think it got overlooked, so here it is! Stars are back by popular demand and I swear one of Grandma's doilies squeezed in there! The Ink Blot Dominoes are actually doing pretty well. We really need to focus on them some more. We have a big event in March that we are currently throwing all of our creative energy at (more on that later :) so the shop has taken a temporary back seat. But don't worry; we have some great plans that hopefully will be ready for Spring. We'll keep you posted.