RAW Video: Cosplay Fashion Show

RAW: Natural Born Artists has posted another interview with yours truly, this one taken on the night of the Cosplay Fashion Show. It was absolutely delightful to be able to discuss my passion for costuming in a setting that views it as art, rather than recreation. There's footage from the runway walk as well as the interview, so it's definitely worth checking out!

RAW Video: Holiday RAWk

Two interviews that were recorded at the Holiday RAWk show have found their way onto Youtube. The first is my official interview, put together by the talented RAW video crew. (The dimensions are a bit messed up, but I can't figure out how to fix it.)

This second interview is by Alan Fenstermaker, a roving videographer who was covering the show independently. This one features interviews from another RAW artist (Amber Kane of Fabricated Ends) as well as myself.

RAW and T.A.R.

Picture this-

It's the last few days before the Holiday RAWk event and I'm scrambling to get everything ready. December snuck up on me and I'm making a mad dash to get everything prepared in time. I'm feeling stressed out and anxious and that's when I hear the voice of my Madness* saying "Y'know what would be really cool? What if we made a sign with our name on it... And then made it glow! It would be so easy! We'd just carve our name into some cardboard and and paint it black! And cover it with paper and put some kinda light behind it. Come on! It would be so easy!" And I'm like, "Shut up, voice. I've got stuff to do."

Yeah, take a wild guess how that ended...

I can't help myself.

The Madness* requires that all my coolest ideas are unnecessarily complicated and only conceived at the most inopportune of times.

It was made out of some spare cardboard (including a lid from one of my comic boxes), rice paper, acrylic paint, tin foil, and christmas lights. Oh, and lots and lots of packing tape. It gets pretty hot, so I brought a fire extinguisher to the RAW show just in case my makeshift creation decided to burst into flames. It didn't.

But enough about the sign...

Despite being a last minute addition to the list of featured artists, I managed to pull together the nicest display I've ever done for any show EVER. I'm really pleased with how it looked and I know that it definitely turned some heads.

Once I get someone's attention, the art can speak for itself, but getting them close enough to see something they like is half the battle.

I made some new friends, met a few people who might provide me with gallery opportunities in the future, and sold enough artwork to make it worth making the trip. All-in-all, a successful night.

I want to send out yet another thank you to Thomas Mitchell for helping me run the booth. In addition to being a spectacular boyfriend, he also fills the role of my part-time event manager and as soon as I make enough money to actually pay him, I'm hiring him on to do this full-time. He's incredibly helpful and almost as passionate about talking to people about my artwork as I am.

Fast forward to December 10th!

The T.A.R. Salon's Second Saturday exhibit was such a great event! It was a packed house. When I tell you that from 7 to 9, you could barely move in there, I mean that sometimes people would go outside for a minute and find themselves watching the show from the doorway because the way in had closed behind them.

The Tommie Griggz Band performed an incredible set (both original songs and a few well picked covers) and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of the live CD they recorded of that night.

There was unbelievably delicious food there, also from local restaurants. Cuban food from the store next door as well as what can only be described as artisan cupcakes. My favorite was a banana bread cupcake with creamy frosting that was very subtly peanut butter flavored, topped with a caramelized piece of bacon. It might sound a bit weird, but it was heavenly.

The best part of that event though was the afterparty.

Tom and I were invited to go back to one of the musician's houses for drinks and conversation. We left with them, intending to stay for a half an hour or so and ended up staying out until almost midnight! I met so many wonderful, inspiring, and genuinely fascinating people! One of wants me to tutor her kids. Another is a childhood friend of Ethan Van Sciver (a fancy pants comic book artist, for the civilians reading this blog) and is the person responsible for teaching him how to draw. I am SO glad we stayed out!

* "The Madness” is what makes you want to get out of bed and draw. And then when you are done drawing, draw some more. It makes you miss meals, because you are too busy painting. It's an irresistible, incurable compulsion to create things, and I've got it BAD.

RAW Awards Review

The RAW Awards show was kind of a mixed bag.

This is what it looked like before the house lights were turned down.

Most of the people who showed up were friends and/or family of the other artists (i.e. not interested in purchasing art), so I didn't sell anything at all. However, I did make arrangements to sell one of my pieces to someone later on in the week and also met with several gallery owners who seemed genuinely interested in carrying my work, so it wasn't a total bust. Whether or not last week's RAW show was a success will depend on if those leads for "potential future money" pan out.

Despite my lackluster experience at this last show, I really do think that keeping my fingers in this particular pie is going to pay off in the long run. The guy who runs the RAW shows absolutely loves my work and has asked me to exhibit with them again in December, which I'm much more excited about. It's a holiday show, so it should draw a crowd that is showing up specifically to buy art. No distracting voting, no jockeying for floor space- just the displaying and selling my artwork.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER TICKETS

(or click on the image above)

The RAW Awards!!!

The RAW Awards are tomorrow!

Please come out and vote for me!

There's going to be live music and drinking and tons of fantastic local artists!

If you haven't already bought your tickets, you should do it before you show up. Ordering the tickets online is cheaper than buying them at the door. Pre-ordering tickets also allows 18+ guests to get into what is usually a 21+ event!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER TICKETS

RAW AWARDS 2011!!!

Oh my god, you guys…

GUESS WHO'S ONE OF PHILLY'S TOP 5 RAW ARTISTS?!?!

Thank you soooo much to everyone who helped me in that first round of voting!

I'm SO freakin' excited about this nomination!

The awards ceremony itself will be on November 17th, so if you're local or able to make the trip, I'd really appreciate it if you came out to support me. It would be absolutely amazing if I was voted the best RAW Artist in Philadelphia, but honestly, I'm just thrilled to be in the running! As soon as I find out where and when the awards ceremony will be, I'll send out the details.

RAW throws a great party, so I can pretty much guarantee you'd have a fun time.

Again, thanks to everyone who helped me make this happen!

I couldn't have done it without you guys!

RAW Awards

I NEED YOUR HELP.

Voting for the 2011 RAW Awards has begun and every artist that RAW has showcased last year is now competing to be named the best of 2011!

The top five artists from every category then go to an awards show where the guests vote on the best artists in Philadelphia! There's even a chance I could end up at a big fancy party in Hollywood, CA if I make it past the semi-finals, but let's take this one city at a time…

Please please please vote for me!!!

Click here to get to my RAW Artist profile.

You can cast your vote once a day from now until October 15th.

The image above provides instructions on the simplest way to cast your vote. If it doesn't say "you have voted today in this category" after you're done, it didn't go through right.

I really REALLY want to be in Philly's top 5!

Please help me get there!

(If you want to know more about the contest itself, click here for details.)

RAW and more!

This year, April came in like a lamb and went out like a PERFECT STORM OF CHAOS. So, needless to say, a lot has happened during the past few weeks.

On April 30th, I attended this year's Gloucester City Art and Music Festival with the help of my ever-present booth assistant, Thomas Mitchell. When we first arrived it was freezing cold, but as the day went on it slowly transformed into a beautiful (albeit windy) outdoor venue!

A wonderful crowd turned out and many of them were delightfully interested in my work, even when they had no interest in taking any of it home with them. I met some great people, had several extremely interesting conversations, won some money in an art contest, and sold a bunch of work! All in all, it was a pretty successful show!

The following week was marked by the arrival of the long-awaited RAW: Natural Born Artists show!

Frederick Calalang (the Location Director for RAW's Philadelphia branch) had told me that I could hang as much work as I wanted, so I took that as not only a golden opportunity, but also a challenge. It isn't everyday you get the chance to hang a retrospective of your work before your career has even begun!

The weeks leading up to the RAW show were spent planning out every single detail I could think of. As soon as I got the measurements for the space I'd be inhabiting, I planned out where everything was to be hung, right down to the last inch. My Mother also assisted me behind the scenes by locating wall hooks and lighting, figuring out how to pack up and transport almost two dozen pieces of framed artwork, and coming up with plans for get it all up on the wall in the least amount of time. Then, when the time finally came to get my stuff in place, my boyfriend Tom was the muscle behind getting a six-foot table and a half a dozen boxes (full of wood and glass) out of the car and down a flight of stairs.

We all did a TON of prep-work before I set foot in the G Lounge that night and it really paid off! I ended up with one of the most professional-looking (and densely packed) set-ups in the whole show! Score one for Team Guzzo!

Trying to describe the RAW show is a daunting and ultimately futile task, so let me just say this: It was without a doubt the best art show I've ever taken part in.

I've done quite a few events, but the RAW show tops them all. It was the best in terms of making sales, in terms of making connections, meeting interesting people, having fun- Every way you slice it, it was an incredible success!

There will be professional photographs and a video interview coming out sometime in the next few weeks. Obviously, I'll be posting links to them here. I'm really excited to see how they come out!

The very next day, after staying up 'til 3:00, I packed up my art for ANOTHER SHOW. This time it was the First Friday event in Haddonfield, New Jersey. I honestly don't know why I didn't take a day off, since I certainly could've used a bit of down time after all the stress and chaos of RAW. And I understand that I was a little spoiled by the wondrousness of the night before, but Haddonfield First Friday was still extremely disappointing.

Haddonfield has always been pretty slow in terms of sales, since most of the people who pass by on the street are completely uninterested in my wares. The majority of them are out walking their babies or walking their dogs or just coming out of a local restaurant, trying to make their way home, very few of them have any desire to stop and peruse my wares.

This month however, I sold nothing.

NOTHING.

Not one t-shirt, print, or sticker went home with someone else that night. It was the very first time I've ever been to an art fair where I had to pack up the car with exactly the same merchandise I'd unpacked only hours before. Needless to say, it sucked.

I'll probably keep doing Collingswood Second Saturdays,

but it'll be a while before I go back to Haddonfield.

More RAW Preparations

My new egg-displaying contraption came in the mail!

That's one less thing for me to worry about... Now I'm just hoping that my Zazzle shipment arrives before the 5th.

The walkthrough is tonight, so I'll FINALLY be able to take measurements of the wall and properly plan out where I'm hanging what. I've been going crazy without that information.

RAW: Natural Born Artists

I've been so busy preparing for this show that I almost forgot to blog about it!

So, for those of you who don't already know, I'm going to be one of the featured artists for next month's RAW event and I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT!

I attended their April show (Unearthed) and it was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. They describe themselves as "an artistic circus of creativity" and that's pretty accurate. There's a million things going on at once.

If you walk into the G Lounge during a RAW event, you'll probably see:

- artists of all types exhibiting and selling their work, which ranges from abstract oil paintings to handmade jewelry and custom clothing

- models (both male and female) in elaborate body paint, displaying the talent of the makeup artists who have been asked to come to the show

- a runway show for this month's

featured fashion designers

- at least four live bands and a DJ

- three bars and a tiled back wall that lights up

Art Gallery + Dance Club + Bar + Fashion Show = AMAZING

Needless to say, I had a marvelous time, and I am full to bursting with excitement over having the chance to exhibit with them! I plan on hanging as much art as I can fit on the walls, as well as setting up a table to sell my sketch covers and t-shirts and painted eggs. Basically, if it's art related and not nailed down, I'm going to try to sell it at this show.

Thursday, May 5th

8:00 pm - 12:00 pm

G Lounge, 111 South 17th Street

It's a 21+ event, cocktail attire (since the G Lounge is a schmancy place)

Tickets are $10 if you order them in advance. And you should,

because they're talking about the possibility that they might sell out.

When you buy your ticket, be sure to put yourself on my guest list!

Upcoming Art Show:

Somewhere, in the midst of all this chaos, is the third annual Gloucester City Riverfront Art & Music Festival. It's happening this Saturday (April 30th) at Proprietor's Park and I'll be selling my work there. If you're in the area, come by and take a look!