To Blog Or Not To Blog

To blog or not to blog, that is the question! Okay - so do any of the rest of you get blog guilt? I do love my blog but I've found it hard to keep up with it, my Etsy shop, Facebook, Flickr, Craftster, and the zillion other sites I frequent. Now I feel guilty that I haven't blogged.

I used to feel the same guilt with my diary when I was a kid - I'd write in it every day for 3 months and then I'd go to once a week, then to once a month and then I'd find myself apologizing to my diary! "Dear Diary, I'm sorry it's been so long since I wrote in you..." Like the book cared! Now I know a blog is slightly different seeing other people actually read it (or at least that's the goal I think) but do I need to feel guilty for not writing?

Well, I've decided to feel guilty no more! Life is short and my blog is what it is. Thank you to those who still wander in here from time to time and read my ponderings. Perhaps I'll do it more often and perhaps I won't...Just know that I wish you all sunny days, positive thoughts and a life filled with at least a little geekiness!

JUMPCON UPDATE

For those of you who followed the horrible Jumpcon debacle last July, here is an update:
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090428/NEWS01/304289925

Looks like Shane may finally get some of what is coming to him and I'm happy to see some justice done.

Gocco Experiment #2

I’m getting better with the Gocco! Yeah! This is Dalek print try #2 and they turned out a zillion times better now that I’m using the paper ink on paper. I fixed the other newbie mistakes as well. I didn’t take the original off the master right away and I used a steady, stable surface to print on.

I tried printing these on a couple different paper types. I took some pages from a Doctor Who book and printed on those. So far it’s my favorite – I love the look of the image over the text. I also printed on some silver card stock. The cards had a bit of a glossy sheen to them and it took the ink twice as long to dry on those as it did on the book pages.

I came up with a great idea for what to do with the prints on the book pages. I’m in a Doctor Who swap on Craftster right now and I’m going to make this for my swap partner so I can’t share it here yet, but if you’re a Doctor Who lover – you’re going want one too!

Go Gocco!

Hello Everyone,
Sorry I’ve been away so long. It was a busy end to 2008 and I overextended myself a bit doing craft shows and burnt myself out. So, I took an extended craft break for the last 2 months and now my creative juices are flowing again and I’m ready to get crafting.

I started last night. I’ve been wanting a Gocco printing machine forever and I finally broke down and bought a used one on Ebay. For those of you who don’t know a Gocco machine is a Japanese made unit that basically makes instant screen prints. You can print on paper or material and do it from the comfort of your dining room table.

To give you all a little insight into my crafty world I thought I’d share my Gocco experiences with you. I got my Gocco about 5 days ago and even though I’d been yearning for it for so long when it arrived I was suddenly scared to death of it. I’d read a zillion tutorials online about how to use it but when faced with the box, ink and lots of instructions in Japanese I froze!

So, last night I decided the best way to start was to just do it. I made what is called your original – it has to be something either photocopied or drawn with a carbon pen/pencil. The carbon is what makes the whole screen print process work, so you can’t use a inkjet or laser copied item, it must be a photocopier that uses toner.

Seeing I can’t draw very well, I created a digital image and photocopied it. Here is my “original” and yes, that is a Dalek from Doctor Who! What can I say, I craft geek!

Then you take your Gocco machine and you have to assemble all the parts – flash bulbs, batteries, and a mesh screen that will become your master screen. This is what the image burns onto. Here is a photo of the Gocco machine. Sorry I only got 1 angle and it doesn’t show you the screens, or flash bulb housing unit.

I was doing great up to this point. I assembled it all, put my original down, screen in place and tried it – no flash. Guess I should have checked the batteries. Turns out ones that came with it were no good. I replaced the batteries and tried again. Success! I saw the flash and could see the screen had burned an image onto it.

Now came more mistakes – I got too excited at this point and stopped reading directions – so learn from my mistakes and if you’re just starting a Gocco project – go slow.

Your original will stick to what is now your master screen. What I incorrectly did was immediately peel off the original. Then in my excitement and haste I grabbed a tube of ink and started applying it to the master screen. Well, there are 2 kinds of ink. One for cloth and one for paper. I wanted to print on paper but grabbed the cloth ink instead. It was too late once I figured out I had the wrong ink. My master was covered with it so I gave it a try anyway. Here is a print on canvas, not too bad:

Then I tried it on paper. My next mistake was to quickly put a piece of cardstock under it and press down – well, the image came out but I hadn’t thought about which direction the card would fold – so now I have a dyslexic Dalek card that opens backwards! Exterminate it!

That’s it. That was my 1st try at printing Gocco! Hopefully I’ll learn from each attempt and be printing out beautifully geeky images in no time.

Oh yes – 1 little tidbit that was a great hint I found in the Gocco group on Flickr .
My machine didn’t come with any of the official Risso cleaning solution and I did end up with ink all over the place – guess what cleans it up great? Vegetable oil! Yup, good old fashioned greasy vegetable oil. Not only can you cook with it but you can clean ink with it too!

Geek of the Year Interview - Chris Hicks - Sole Artist and Designer of the Mighty Muggs

Okay the Holiday Season has overwhelmed me a bit and my geek of the week interviews have faded into more of a geek of the month so I decided to bring out my last, best interview of the year!

I am lucky enough to be good friends with someone whose husband is the sole artist and designer of the Mighty Muggs from Hasbro. His name is Chris Hicks and even though many of you don’t know his name yet, you’ve seen his work in toy stores around the world!

Without further ado, here is the Mighty Man himself…Chris Hicks (you can hear the crowds roaring).

1. Who are you, where are you from and how long have you been creating art?

That’s a pretty heavy question- who am I? I dunno, just some dude? I’ve been creating art (if you apply a very liberal definition of “art”) ever since I was a little kid. The first grade is my earliest memory of really enjoying drawing. Oh, and I am from Rocky Point, New York. The Most God-Forsaken Place on Earth!

2. Do you create for a specific genre of geek (ie. sci-fi, gaming, horror, math, fantasy, music, etc…)

I work in toys now, but I’ve done comics and gaming illustrations too.

3. What was the first “geekey” craft or artwork you ever made?

Probably drawing up pictures of my Dungeons & Dragon characters when I was a teenager. Doesn’t get much more geeky than that!

4. What inspires you to create?

Movies, comics, video games. Anything inventive and fresh, with a good story and good characters.

5. Where can we find your work (website, shows, blogs, etc.)

I have a lot of my freelance work on my web site http://www.pyroplant.com/ although it’s in a dire need of an update. Also, my comic book “Mister Blank” is available through Slave Labor Graphics or Amazon.

We also know one of your secret identities is as the sole artist who designs all the Mighty Muggs for Hasbro Toys so we’ve got a few Mighty Mugg Questions:

1. What is your favorite Mighty Mugg that you’ve designed so far?

Hmmm, probably one that is so ridiculous it will never appear in stores and I dare not even mention its name. My favorite ones are the ones with a little bit of dark humor twisted in.

2. How did you get such a cool job?

I honestly don’t have the slightest clue. The cliché answer would be “right place, right time” but that seems to slick and elegant. It’s more like a Mr Magoo cartoon where I’ve bumbled and flailed around and somehow landed in a spot with a chance to do something awesome. The details are a blur!

3. Are there any new Mighty Muggs coming out soon that you can tell us about?

I was a HUGE Transfan growing up, back when Transfan wasn't even a word. And I still am. So I was very excited about doing Transformer Muggs. I tried to pump as much of the detail and my memories of those characters as possible. Soundwave was my first Transformer, and still my favorite, so getting to do him as a Mugg was A LOT of fun!

4. How do you feel about people who paint over your Mighty Muggs so they can design and paint their own custom Muggs? Do you consider this a form of flattery or do you hate seeing your Mugg designs get painted over?

Definitely the latter. The whole custom market for Muggs is AMAZING. People are doing some really inventive and cool things out there. Plus they are in the enviable position of being able to make a Mugg of any character or license they want.

Thanks again Chris!

Geek of the Week - The Geekery!

I'd like to introduce you to a new Geek of the Week - The Geekery! Her fun floppy disc coasters caught my attention on Etsy (and yes I'm old enough to remember when floppy discs were really floppy) and I knew she must be a kindred soul!

1. Who are you, where are you from and how long have you been crafting?

I'm Jocelyn from The Geekery. I live in San Jose, California, but I grew up in Las Vegas. I've been crafting off and on all my life. I was big into rubber stamping before rubber stamps were even in Michael's back in the late eighties, early nineties, but I've gone back into my first love: sewing by hand. I started sewing things when I was about seven years old. I picked up a needle and some thread and taught myself how to thread the eye, crafting avant garde clothes for my Barbie dolls out of fabric scraps and whatever materials I could find. My parents took me to a miniature dollhouse show at the library one year, and after that I started making miniature versions of furniture out of things we would toss out. Every room had a lamp made from a used cap of toothpaste and a generic game pawn. I made a rather large dining room table out of toilet paper rolls cut in quarters and a thick piece of cardboard. I used to make all different kind of tableclothes for it with construction paper and doilies. Over the years, I've made various household items from frivolous toys to the practical.

2. Do you craft for a specific genre of geek (ie. sci-fi, gaming, horror, math, fantasy, music, etc…)

I'd say I'm kind of eclectic geek wise as I've got computer-oriented stuff such as the floppy disk coasters, the meeples appeal to gamers and the cthulhu's appeal to the horror geeks. I think when I'm crafting I like to take what's known and give it my own twist. In the future I do want to explore more of the gaming geekery. I'm also creating my own game which I hope to sell on Etsy.

3. What was the first “geekey” craft you ever made?

When I was eight, Devo was one of my favorite bands. I somehow recreated the famous red plastic dome hat for my Barbie doll out of cardboard and red construction paper. I also made her a one piece dress out of duct tape to go with it. My parents thought I was weird, and they were right.

4. What inspires you to craft?

I get inspired nowadays by thinking of ways to repurpose materials. I love to create, but I'm not fond of waste so I get ideas from thinking about ways to reuse materials.

5. Where can we find your crafts (website, shows, blogs, etc.)

http://www.thegeekery.etsy.com/http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegeekery/http://www.facebook.com/pages/thegeekeryetsycom/20219259081http://www.thegeekery.livejournal.com/and recently featured in Gizmodo:http://gizmodo.com/5075458/please-insert-drink-5-of-12-to-continue-alcoholism

Handmade Arcade Rocks!

Our roadtrip was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who came out to see us at Handmade Arcade and thank you to the organizers of the event! We had a fabulous time and we hope they let us come back and do it again! Pittsburgh Rocks!