Katie Bair's Art Emporium and Petting Zoo

Petting Zoo News - Archives

"Counting Unhatched Chickens" Updated: April 16th, 2003 After the horrible luck we had last month with issue 104 of NHS, Robby and I were really hoping to have smoother sailing with 105. Since 104 was turned in so late in the month, we ended up having to start the next issue without a break, and man o' man I was getting burnt out very quickly. But since I only had a short period of time to do all 24 pages, I just sucked it up, and pushed myself extra hard to get them to Robby to tone. I actually got the pages all done 2 days before the deadline, and I was all jazzed and ready to relax. Then Robby gave me some "good news, and bad news". The good news was that our deadline had been extended a week, so we could spend more time toning, lettering, and editing. The bad news was "We" meant "Me" since Robby was getting pulled of NHS to do some last minute crunch work on a different book. So I was already wiped out, and then got another week's worth of work handed to me... this week was Hell. I survived in a big way thanks to my super-helpful friends, who aided with the "art slave" duties and did all the rough lettering for the book. So everyone give a round of applause to Jodon and Ed (Well, mostly Jodon... Ed was easily distracted from work by shiny objects... like monitors with games on them) for their unselfish efforts. I'm really lucky to have such great friends. ^_^ And as an extra bonus, Robby did end up finishing the other book fast enough that he could help out during the last two days of the deadline. (Which was yesterday morning... I was up until 7:30am. -_-') So yes, the book will be out in time, and it looked good pretty good, if I do say so m'self.	The "cursed" issue! (See last month's article for details...)
Big Move for the Petting Zoo As some of you are aware, I'm moving back to California in June. This has thrown a bit of a curveball into my convention schedule this year, since I will be on the wrong coast for some of the ones I was planning on attending. So unless I'm invited as a guest, or have a giant pile of money dumped in my lap, I won't be making it to Otakon this year. However, I'm hoping to make it to Anime-Expo in July instead, but that'll depend on how quickly I get settled in at the new place. I'm still planning on hitting Animazement right before I leave, but that'll be my last convention on the East coast until ShoujoCon in New York. But gee, if I move back to California, I won't get such bizzare weather... like earlier this month when there were giant snowflakes coming out of the clear blue sky!
Cosplay Scavenger One of the things almost all cosplayers can agree on is that it's an expensive pasttime. Before the cost of convention registration, hotel rooms, transportation and food, comes the cost of the actual costume. Good materials can get rather pricey, especially for the more intricate or unusual costumes. Of course, we try to save money on materials whenever possible. Sometimes this means looking for online bargains, digging through the remnants bin at the local fabric store, or just using "alternative" rough materials to acheive similar results. (Like rayon instead of silk.) And sometimes this even means digging through what other people would consider "junk" to find the perfect shape or material for free. We have no shame. ~_^ Yesterday, I myself engaged in a rather silly act of cosplay scavengerism. Someone had thrown out an imitation leather sofa, and it had been left by the curb. (A general practice in my neighborhood is to leave large items of unwanted furniture near the street. You'd be surprised how often they disappear by the next morning.) I had noticed it when I drove by the night before, but it managed to remain there all day unclaimed. I have no need of a sofa, I barely have enough room as it is, but VINYL, on the other hand, isn't cheap. So under the cover of darkness, Matt and I armed ourselves with his Leatherman knife and the dogs (our alibi for why we were strolling through the neighborhood at night...) and walked to the sofa. I considered stripping the entire thing, but decided that I could probably make do with the large flat piece across the back. So Matt pulled out the knife, which had recently been sharpened to near mono-molecular proportions by Ed, and removed the back with four quick cuts.
Now, this in itself, must have looked quite silly to the neighbors, but then there was an even better part. As we pulled off the material, a bunch of "stuff" fell out of the frame like candy from a piñata. There was a comb, a bottle of nail polish, two maxi-pads (unused of course...), a couple of straws, a packet of ketchup, an earplug, a pen, a tube of triple-antibiotic cream, and a few tissues that had managed to make their way into the framework of the sofa. Oddly enough there were no coins. I took the nail polish, and hurried away from the scene of the crime. ^_^
Commission and Wig Update I got a big chunk of those left-over Katsucon commissions out of the way, but I still have a few to go. Sadly, one of the ones I sent out was returned by the post office, and I haven't been able to get ahold of the girl I drew it for to get a new address. So if you read this Safia, I have your picture, so please email me. ;_; This is going to be my busiest month for wig commissions as well. I've got 10 to do before May 15, and several of them are kind of complicated, so no slacking for me. On the bright side, I'll have a whole lot more to add to the gallery once I finally get it up.^_^
Slowly but surely... I still need to update the wig and fanart galleries and fix the charity store, but it looks like you'll just have to wait a little longer. I am working on them, I just haven't had much extra time recently. As always, feel free to drop me a message, and let me know what you think... or tell me how cute my pets are, whatever floats your boat. ^_^ -Katie

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