so, in and amongst everything that is going on (finishing a book, middling a book, making work for group shows, working on super secret projects that should peek their head up sometime soon … … … [super exciting]) i managed to take a class on letterpress printing.  it was awesome!  AWESOME.

i am not entirely sure what purpose the letterpress process will play in my life … i have friends that are certainly more gifted and faster and on point than me, who could make projects happen for me … but i am excited to figure that out.

i really enjoy typesetting and i really love working in old image blocks with new type.  i imagine that prints will make their way into my shop.  super prints!  in the meantime, i offer my letterpress doodles/sketches/bursts of productive inspiration.

looking to the near future, i will have work that will be a part of two group shows in Portland, OR.  More details to come.

happy week everyone!

hey!  guess what!  i made a print!

i chose the piece i did from The Where, The Why and The How:  75 Artists Illustrate Wondrous Mysteries of Science.  beached whales!  who DOESN’T want to hang them on their walls and think about the earth’s magnetic field and sonar technologies.

anyhow, you can find it over in the ye olde shoppe.

and if you haven’t done so already, sign up for the mailing list … you can find out about these such things sooner.

have the best weekend!

i am not going to go into how i completely flushed three hours away just now.  it’s just going to make you and me so irritated.

what’s not going to make us irritated is this great post about THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER over at design mom.  i like the internet because i can sneak around and listen in on what people are saying.  wait.  no.  i don’t like the internet, i LOVE the internet.  i like knowing how my work is getting out there and how anyone is feeling about it … good or not so good.

i especially like in the comments of this post that someone is excited that i worked with cynthia again … or should i say, she worked with me.  we worked together?  we worked together.

this book was a real dream come true.  and i am thinking about pulling together a post on the process sketches of the book.  either here or over at my tumblr page.  either way,  you will be able to find it, i’ll link the bejesus out of it.

small shop update!  there are sets of postcards available over at my online shoppe.  there are five designs per pack, $12 per pack (+ shipping).  hang ‘em up all over yer walls or send them along to friends … or enemies.  no judgement!

also, sometime soon … i am thinking maybe in a week or two.  three? there will be a brand new item in the shop that i am super excited about.  and then there are ideas coming in after that that are just as exciting.

baby steps.

so, if you want to be kept in the loop, you can sign up for email updates or follow me on facebook.  super!

something to know about me … i am on facebook, often.  it’s where i get to catch up with folks and friends i either see a lot and can’t communicate enough with or don’t see much at all but i love to touch base with them.  and oddly enough, i consider it a quiet corner of the internet for me.

as an illustrator, i love to touch base and connect with people i may not know but like what i do.  i love to hear from folks whose lives i’ve managed to visually wiggle my way into.  and up until now i thought that i was out there, interwebs-wise, as jen corace, illustrator, what with the flickr and the tumblr and the twittr (HA! internet spelling joke).  but no facebook … not as an illustrator.

i’ve solved that.  here.  i’m even more available.  i’m excited.  i hope you are as well.

(psst … the image above is a sneak peek to one of three pieces that will be in the upcoming group show, Wider Than a Postcard.)

recently, online magazine, whim, did a feature piece on my work.  thank you, whim!

also, i have three pieces in the upcoming group show, wider than a postcard, over at breeze block gallery in portland, or.  the show opens may 2nd and runs until june 1st.  i’ll post images of the pieces i did closer to the opening date.

sign up for my email list!

i promise not to overwhelm your inbox.  i mean, honestly, i am bad at keeping on top of emails and don’t even ask me about my phone skills. (i hate the phone)  i will, however, keep you up to date on shows and new items in the shop.

man, a store AND an email list all up in one week … after i prep my tax papers tonight i’m gonna need two manhattans.

in an effort to make room in my flat files i’m letting some older work leave the nest.  i love these pieces but they’ve been hunkering down in the dark for so long and not getting the attention they deserve.

they’re over in the shop!  take a peek.

i’ve finally opened shop!

it feels good.  it feels a little crazy.  i feel like there is a learning curve coming on.  ah life.

anyhow, things to know:  i ship USPS priority mail and only within the US.  you know, baby steps.  if it seems like folks outside this country wants some, then i can start looking into that.

anyhow … onto exciting new frontiers.