Category: Blogs

Hello, my Creatures!

If you’ve been keeping up with On the Couch, then it’s no secret that I’d like to some day be able to sprout a beard. This is the part where I get to be a bit of hipster, because I TOTally wanted to do this before “No Shave November” and beards/mustaches in general were “cool.” No one will believe me, but it’s okay, I still think they’re cool and am quite pleased that they have become so popular because now I can buy merch with beards and mustaches on it, and all my friends give me fake mustaches and beards for birthday and Christmas.

Where was I.

Right. Growing a beard. This falls in the number five slot on Top Five Super Powers I Would Like To Have. It’s a low-level super power at best, but I would like the ability to grow and shed any style of beard, mustache, or combination thereof, in any natural hair color at will. Because let’s face it, I’m a lady, and facial hair just isn’t appropriate for every occasion. 1950s Dad does not find this prospect nearly as amusing as I do, and I haven’t worked out the logic on this yet, but I think it has something to do with the fact that he has the ability to actually grow a beard.

And I am more than a bit jealous. Think of how philosophical I’d look!

That’s all for now, my Creatures, and as always: Thanks for reading!

Hope all my Creatures had a happy and safe Halloween, and aren’t too drunk on candy.

I was pleased to have so many Trick-or-Treaters this year, and actually got rid of most of the candy this year (compared to last year when I just got to eat two entire bags of Laffy Taffy).

I’m kind of spoiled when it comes to costumes thanks to going to conventions and seeing all the super-awesome and crazy-labor-intensive outfits, but there were a couple of standouts that showed up at my door. My two faves were the little Jedi who’s black lab was dressed in a cape as Darth Vader, and the girl dressed as Dr. Facilier (the villain from Disney’s Frog Princess).

No pictures, although, I DID think about it, and then realized that it’s SUPER creepy to take pictures of other people’s kids outside of a convention setting, no matter how innocent the intention!

That’s all for now, Creatures, and as always: Thanks for reading!

It’s the last On the Couch comic before Halloween, and you Creatures know what THAT means: I get to dress everybody up! 

And I mean everybody.

I’ve gone with a pretty obvious theme this year, though, once again some of the costumes are more obscure than others. Hope you enjoy and have fun guessing!

That’s all for now, and as always: Thanks for reading!

I get a lot more time to take pictures when I’m sitting behind a table at conventions, and I always get to see some great ones. This year was no exception! Most of the costumes one sees at AWA are more current pop culture references than the type of garb one sees at Dragon (where the costumes can range from “Oh my glob! Did you see last week’s episode?!” to “Holy crap. I thought I was the only person on the planet that had ever even seen that movie…”).

Here are some of my favorites from the continuous parade by my table!

Continue reading “AWA 2013 Pictures”

Hello my Creatures, old and new!

Thanks to everybody who came by my table this weekend to say hello and especially thanks to everyone who stopped by to tell me how much they enjoy reading my comics! It was really great to meet some of you guys and it makes me so happy that so many are enthusiastic readers. I’ll do my best to keep you guys laughing whether you’ve been long-time fans of mine, or I’ve conned you into coming along for the ride this past weekend…mwahahaha!

So, just quick words of thanks for now, but I’ll have costume pictures up here, later in the week. That’s all for now, my Creatures, and as always: Thanks for reading!

Hello, my Creatures!

How’s about an update on the Art Lair situation? I’ll be honest, I’d hoped to have it completely finished before I put up some new pics of the place, but it’s been FAR too long since I’ve revealed anything on it. First up, I’ve got some work-in-progress shots to show you that painting a room is work, man. Especially one as big and oddly shaped as this one is (it’s kind of shaped like that weird zig-zaggy Tetris piece that you always hated getting because it was nearly useless except in about 3 specific situations…Also, there are eleven(!!) outlets, including the one in the freaking closet. Which, while totally useful…is totally weird.). ANYway, there was lots of taping involved, and before I go any further, let me plug FrogTape. If you’re painting a room (especially one that’s destined to be a future realtor’s nightmare), it’s the best thing for getting crisp, clean lines. I used a lot. You can see here:

Yeah. That tape ball would have been larger if I’d thought to start balling it up from the beginning of the unmasking phase. As it is, this was most of it. I used lots of tape to make sure I didn’t hit the ceiling or baseboards of course, but also because I wanted to paint crazy designs on things. Hey it’s my house. Do what I WANT. I’M AN ADULT!

Those chalked out “No’s” are reminders for me to not paint there. I was getting a little punchy by the time I started in on this part. You can start to see what I mean about “Realtor’s Nightmare,” though. Of course I couldn’t just paint the walls all one color. BAH! You’ll also notice, my dear Creatures, how I’ve gotten rid of that bizarre chair railing that rain the perimeter of the room. Can we talk about how much of a chore that was for just a second? Chair rail is supposed to just kind of be tacked on with these little nails called “finishing nails.” It is NOT necessary to find each and every stud in the wall and then screw said chair rail to said studs. It is also not necessary to bear down SO hard on the screws that they get stripped and a future owner can’t get them out with a drill and then has to use a freakin’ crowbar to get the chair rail off the wall and then have to spackle the heck out of all the holes that are left behind. Rargh.

TLDR: Here’s pics of what’s a mostly finished room!

Not quite finished yet, as I still need to paint up the baseboards and I’ve got one more cool touch to add before I can call it done. Can’t say that it’s any less bizarre than its previous paint job, but it’s definitely a lot more “me” and that’s what matters!

That’s all for now, Creatures, and as always: Thanks for reading!

Hello, my Creatures!

Today I’m talking about space. Namely, the space in which an artist creates. I think that every artist (whether that artist be someone who creates visual art, bakes bread, or landscapes) needs a bit of space that’s only for them and their creative stuff. In my old apartment, I had a desk in the little front room and…probably about three quarters of the walk in closet in the bedroom (good thing 1950s Dad didn’t come with a lot of baggage!) because artists always seem to have lots of Things. I’m no exception. Most of the Things I have are just little knickknacks that  inspire me in some way, get the creative juices going, or just make me smile. And I have a lot of them. Since purchasing an actual house, I’ve been lucky enough to acquire an Art Lair. I say Lair, because I simply do not think I’m mature enough to call my space a “Studio!”

But that’s really what it is.

Some of you may recall that I’d mentioned I was finally painting the Lair to better reflect my personality. I wanted to have the before and after pictures posted side by side, but I’ve not quite finished it yet. Today, I leave you with the Before Pictures.

Before we moved in, this oddly shaped room belonged to one of the family’s young daughters…Hence, the polka dots. Admittedly, I don’t wholly loathe the colors themselves but it’s lacking…Artistic Vision! Anyway, here’s what the room looked like before:

Look upon the glories of my old 1990s Boom Box and early 2000s CRT Television (complete with working Sega Genesis!). Also, Weird Things hanging from light fixtures (remember what I said about Artists and Things.)! So long polka dots and odd-for-a-child’s-bedroom chair railing! It’s time for a more grown up look!

Grown up for an adult who thinks like a five year old! HA!

I leave you all now with promises of the room’s final paint job, so that’s all for now, my Creatures, and as always: Thanks for reading!