Muppet the Hairdresser's Dog

Spanks Hairdressing in Portland, Oregon has a mascot named Muppet, a wiry haired little dog that will sit and stare at you for hours on end while you wait to get your haircut. So I stared back at him and drew this picture. He is the dog with the most organized hair I’ve ever seen, so I’m not sure why he is called Muppet.

Spanks Hairdressing in Portland Oregon has a mascot named Muppet, a wiry haired little dog that will sit and stare at you for hours on end while you wait to get your haircut. So I stared back at him and drew this picture.

One Fish, Two Fish

While working on a larger illustration for a website project, I particularly enjoyed drawing these two little fish. In researching the project, animal symbolism played a heavy role and I thought this thought fit nicely: In China, the fish is symbolic of fidelity and unity, as it is noted that koi often swim in pairs. The fish below aren’t koi – they look more like salmon-trout-koi hybrids that are swimming up a noodle river – but they sure look happy.

Leap Day

Black outlined LEAP DAY type with various pattern fills such as dots, circles, lines, stripes and triangles. 3D type is filled with magenta, orange, yellow and teal. Welcome to the 80s!

A week ago today was leap day, February 29th, the day that occurs once every four years on a leap year. Good thing we have smart scientist people to tell us that the Earth isn’t always exactly on time, and we need to make up for it every fourth year and every couple of decades with an extra day.

A week ago today I also made a leap. A leap of taking the Bureau abroad to see if the independent designer lifestyle and running a small business could really transcend continents. A leap to see what the next year in life will bring me. And, boy howdy, so far it has brought me a 600% increase in pickled herring consumption.

Leap year also made me pause to consider the markers we all use to gauge time. It’s easy to get bogged down in daily routine, so I choose to look at these anomalies in an otherwise flatline of days and months and years as a time to look back, and look forward. Take stock, rearrange, and make some plans for what you want to accomplish.

What leaps do you want to take?

Salad in a Jar

Well Vegan, the site I helped design and launch last month, is in full swing now. One of their most recent blog postings caught my eye as being handy, so we decided to use the content in a promotional postcard. “Salad in a Jar” is a practical, and very cute, way to build and transport a salad without having it turn into a mushy conglomerate of soggy vegetables. It’s all in the layering technique – check out Well Vegan’s blog post for the full instructions on how to construct this healthy lunch-on-the-go.

Salad in a jar instructions: dressing at the bottom, then the hearty bits, the lighter bits, and greens on top to keep from getting soggy. Mix and match: Greens: arugula, spinach or lettuce. // Lighter bits: quinoa, seeds, mushrooms, walnuts, sliced almonds, mandarin oranges, broccoli, tomatoes, red onion, sprouts, corn, strawberries, apple slices, peas, pine nuts // Hearty bits: carrots, beans, edamame, radishes, green beans, cucumber, bell pepper, wheat berries, chickpeas // Dressing.

We Can Be Heroes

Welcome to the big leagues little rabbit. Last week both MTV and CNN reported on a project that I was lucky enough to work on for Warner Brothers/DC Comics while at Studio Jelly: a campaign titled We Can Be Heroes that was created to bring much needed relief to the Horn of Africa. The face of the campaign is not just one, but seven, superheroes. Together they comprise the Justice League, with each superhero representing a trait necessary for the triumph of good over evil.

We Can Be Heroes campaign for the Horn of Africa, funded by Warner Brothers and DC comics. The Justice League includes: Aquaman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, The Flash, Cyborg.

My role working for Studio Jelly was to help set the tone and create initial artwork for the print campaign, shown in the snapshot above. Striking a balance between comic book cool and a cause helping humanity was a good challenge, and I think the end result is both badass and respectful. A short video was also created, directed by Benjamin Reece with creative director Jelly Helm and writer Kathleen Lane. The girl in the red coat is basically me and every other pre-teen at that age, and we’ve been trying to make up for it ever since.

Thanks for having me, Studio Jelly. I also want to thank Aquaman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, The Flash, and Cyborg for standing so still for their group portrait. Barring one small kerfuffle when Superman stepped on Batman’s cape, their composure and professionalism was excellent.