Randall Children's Hospital

I was commissioned to create five large sculptures for the new Randall Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon in winter of 2011-12. Each floor of the building is a different ecoregion of Oregon, so I created two pieces for the Cascade region (bear with lupine and hummingbird and gray wolf with bluebird and trillium,) one for the Willamette Valley (Brush Hare with Western Tanager and Daisies) and two for the coastal region (puffin with sea anenome and Brown Pelican with Silverspot butterfly and violets.)

Here's a slide show that takes you through the process from drawing to sculpture!

Elephabet on OPB!

Being a big time public radio geek, I was thrilled to be recently profiled in a nice little video piece about Elephabet on Oregon Public Broadcasting's website--by jeweler and erstewhile videographer Sarah Fox!

Click here to watch the video!

Mark Your Calendars!!

I'll have copies of my books on hand, a big rack of lovely holiday cards, and a bunch of new sculptures including elephants, picketing penguins and critters of all shapes and sizes. This will be my first holiday sale, so come on by for first pick of the litter!

Elephabet off to print!

Hurrah! I have finally completed and submitted my files for the Elephabet book! I should have them in my hands by Thanksgiving! Here's a few sneak preview pages of the cover and interior:

And here's some images from the workbook, titled Do-it-your-Selfabet, which will be available at Amazon.com in a few weeks!

Sometime before the end of the month, I will update my website to have links to purchase any or all of these! All Righty! No time for rest...there's an animation to make!

Elephabet (by the Camas Ridge School Third Grade Class!)

Hello Beautiful People! Today I had the pleasure of visiting my niece Alex's classroom. They have been following the progress of Elephabet, and invited me to come talk about what it's like to be an artist and how to write a book. When I walked in the door, I could see that they had been doing their homework!

Using the overhead projector, I could show them my sketchbook and talk about the development of several of the letters.

Then I brought out the box with a few of the original pieces. It was a look-but-don't-touch moment, if you know what I mean. I am happy to report that this was a very well-behaved classroom and no pieces were harmed in the presentation.

After answering many questions such as "what do you make them from," "why does the igloophant have big ears," and "how did you make that sombrero on the nacho cheesiphant," we launched into a creative exploration of what other possibilities might be out there. Here's a little video I made that shows the results:


This experience inspired me to see if any of you want to play along. I have created a Flickr Group where people can download a template of the elephant I made, and then add your creations to the online album. I started out with the 32 drawings from the Camas Ridge School, and can't wait to see what YOU add to the mix! Click here to find out more about the Elephabet Flickr Group!!!

I'll leave you with the smiling face of teacher Eric. Two of his students made Ericabets, so you know he must be a great teacher!

Two more letters before pre-sales end!

Hello Beautiful Person!

It's time to reveal letters H and W from the Elephabet Book, the last of the original work I will be able to show before the end of my Kickstarter campaign. More on that at the end of this posting, but for now, let's get down to it....

Those of you who watched the behind-the-scenes video I posted a few days ago saw the very early stages of the Hulaphants, who will be representing the letter H.

We begin with the actual Hulaphant. She will be $100.

Ukelelephant will be $100 as well

Beachiphant is also $100.

And, of course, pineapplephant, who will be $75.

Letter W is Wanderlustiphant, and was inspired by two pieces I showed you earlier that I thought would be part of the Dwellephant series. Wanderlust is a word of German origin that refers to a love of adventure and travel.

I decided to make a larger version of my VW bus so now it's like mama and baby. The large piece will be $100 and the smaller one will be $75.

I also made a mama Airstreamaphant. The large piece will be $150 and the smaller one is now $100.

Last, but not least, I wanted to pay tribute to the classic family road trip cars from the mid- to late-20th century cars with wood-paneled siding. The kids and pets piled in so luggage was on top. This piece will be $75.

So...now I want to tell you just a little bit about what I'll be revealing in the next few weeks because there's only 24 hours left to adjust your Kickstarter pledge! The one letter of the alphabet I have to complete is C, and those elephants will be inspired by cuckoo clocks. I expect they will be in the $100 to $150 range.

I also need to go back and fill in the rest of the elephants with letters on their backs that will help the animation move along.

These pieces will make up the majority of the $45 elephants, a pledge level that has sold out. Every letter will match its theme, of course.

Okay...that's it! Thank you again so very very much to everyone who has pre-ordered their copy of the book or original elephants. Your affirmation of this project means so much to me and I am so thankful to have the funds to be able to produce a higher quality product with your help! I'll check in next week when I have more to show you. For those of you still waiting to grab your book or original elephant, you have less than 24 hours to get in on the fun! Have a great weekend!!

Let the intergalactiphants roulez!

As we wind down the last (gulp!) 48 hours of my Kickstarter pre-sales of Elephabet, I have two more elephants to reveal this morning.

First, we have our Intergalactiphants, representing the letter I. (Special thanks to Jennifer at Green Bean Books for supplying the nifty space helmets from her vending machines!)

Rockephant will be $150

Lunaphant will be $100

Galaxiphant will be $100

and little martiaphant shall be $45.

The last letter of the alphabet had some great choices, and I opted for Zydephant, honoring the music and, of course, culinary traditions of the Zydeco capital of the world, New Orleans.

Accordiophant is shaped like an accordion and will be $150.

Zydephant has washboard ears and a fiddle on the gator's back. He will be $100.

And last, but not least....

This rather large foodiephant will be $150 - includes crawfish, pepper, corn on the cob, and a play on the Tabasco logo on the ear. I am still not sure what to call him, so if you have any suggestions.....

Tomorrow I shall reveal the last two elephants I will be able to finish before the Kickstarter campaign ends. That will only leave one last letter you won't get to see, but I expect to reveal that next week. Don't forget--if you've pledged at a level to receive one of these pieces from the book/video project, you get first dibs, next in line are the rest of the Kickstarter supporters, and if you missed the boat on this, what's remaining will be available to the general public in early December. Thanks everyone for your amazing support of this project! It is exceeding my original expectations and I am re-investing the surplus in a better quality book. Until then, laisser les bons temps rouler!

a little O and P for your holiday weekend

Hello Beautiful Person!

With a little over one week left on my Kickstarter Elephabet campaign, I am coming down the homestretch, trying to show you as much of the book as possible while pre-sales perks and dibs on the original pieces from the book are still up for grabs!

Today I will introduce you to a few friends from the middle of the alphabet. We will begin with O, which is for Operaphant. I picked a few of the biggest divas in town to interpret pachidermally.

Here's Nessun Dormaphant. She's named for the beautiful aria from Turandot, even though she is styled after the title character. This figure will be $150.

Next up is Madame Butterphant. (ha ha ha--someday I will have to do a yellow version of this for my dad who is a big opera AND butter lover!) In case you don't know the reference, click here. She will be a $100 piece.

Of course I couldn't miss Brünnhildephant, named for Wagner's zäftig heroine of the Ring Cycle. Click here to see one of the greats, Jessye Norman, perform the final aria.

Moving along to P, those of you who have been paying attention might be thinking,"wait a minute...I thought we already made P the P-Funkiphant!" Well, there was a change of plans this week when my other B didn't seem worthy, so last week's P-Funkiphants are now back to their previously scheduled B for Boomshakalakaphant. It has been very challenging to wrap up the last half of this book, looking at the entire publication as a whole has great bearing on the themes I choose for each letter.

I have always been a huge fan of the humble handwritten letter, and still think it's pretty amazing how little we pay in the United States for door-to-door service of our correspondence. In tribute, I offer these three Postalphants:

A simple mailbox, the way I remember them when I was a kid. This one is $100.

This one is modeled after an air mail letter. It will be priced at $100, and the one who purchases it can request a custom recipient's name and address on the front (after the book/animation are done!)

Another variation on the air mail envelope, this one will be $150 and also customizable to the buyer, if you don't mind it being written on or below the wing!

Those of you in the U.S., have a great holiday weekend! And for the rest of you worldwide, cheers!! Thanks for being part of this great journey!

Hilary (aka Bunny with a Toolbelt)

L is for Luchidoriphant and U is for Utiliphant

Hello Beautiful Person!

It's time to introduce two new letters from the Elephabet, fresh off the workbench!

I decided to work with the colorful and über dramatic Mexican wrestlers, known to their über fans as luchadors. I made four Luchadoriphants for my letter L, inspired by four real-life luchadors!

First, we have Huracán Ramírez, a fictitious character invented for the 1952 Mexican Lucha film of the same name. In the film a young Mexican, whose father is a professional wrestler, decides to follow in his father's footsteps by adopting the secret identity of Huracán Ramírez, a masked luchador, and he fights in the ring in spite of his father's wishes to the contrary. This figure will be $100.

Next we have El Solar and Blue Demon. Both of these are homages to real live wrestlers. Solar will be a $150 piece, and Blue Demon is $65.

And finally, we have Rayo Tapatio - at $100.

Moving along, I decided that U should be Utiliphant, in the spirit of Bunny with a Toolbelt, my business name.

He's sporting a full toolbelt and will be priced at $150.

I have two more smaller offerings. These will probably be priced in the $45-65 range.

There's a dozen days left to pre-order your Elephabet book and reserve your spot to own one of these actual pieces! Click here to learn more about Elephabet and be one of the pachyderm contingency that is Bunny with a Toolbelt!

This update brought to you by the letters B and X (and maybe I)

Hello again, beautiful person! In spite of the recent shocking headlines, I am nonetheless here to introduce two new letters to the Elephabet.

First, we have letter D, which was almost H. Let me explain. I'm assuming that most of you dear readers have seen my Kickstarter video explaining the pieces I had made thus far for the Elephabet book. WELL...at that time I had a number of elephants that surrounded the idea of housing and was thusly dubbing them "Habitatiphants." I have recently decided that the most appropriate name should really be "Dwellephants." Much better, huh? Here's the batch of Dwellephants you saw in the video, with estimated prices:

habitatiphant $150

Hi-Risiphant $150

Tipiphant $75

I haven't included this one here, mainly because I'm contemplating giving Iglooiphant its own letter I. Igloo is such a great word......stay tuned for details.

This piece will also be $150.

I also made this LogCabiphant for the D category:

This piece will also be $150.

Last, but not least, I have these two pieces that were part of the initial Dwellephant concept. But, like Iglooiphant, I am not sure they belong in this category. It started with Airstreamaphant

This piece will probably also be $150.

I made this VWBusiphant to tow the Airstreamaphant through the video, but the trunks prove to be a bit of a logistical problem when put together. It just doesn't look right. I still like him though!!

This piece will probably be around $75. I'll decide when I'm in the graphics stage of this process whether they make it into the book, but they'll definitely be available for sale when the rest of this work goes on my Etsy site in November.

Moving on, I decided to go with the classic alphabet book word for X, X-Ray. And that makes X-Rayiphant. I couldn't resist painting the skeletal graphic design I thought of, plus a view into the recently consumed foods by these pachyderms:

This one has eaten a pear, orange, and apple, as evidenced in its stomach cavity.

This one ate a big circus peanut, and is the same on both sides.

Okay...that's it for now. I am finishing up Y right now and will reveal it in a day or two. In the meantime, let's see if you can guess what it will be!

A is for Acrobatiphant!

Yippeee! I have another letter to show you from the Elephabet Book, which is inching closer and closer towards realizing its Kickstarter goal! I proclaim that A is for Acrobatiphant, combining the word acrobat with elephant, thinking it would be a good thing to start with a simpler portmanteau to get the ball rolling when one is reading the eventual book from A to Z. Not to mention the fact that I love stacking animals and things on top of animals and things, both in real life and in Bunnywood, where all the Bunny with a Toolbelt creatures live. (Note: it is much easier to do this in Bunnywood!)

Here are my three attempts at Acrobatiphant:
This apple-licious one is the largest, and will probably be priced around $150

This one is only slightly smaller in stature, but more complex, so it will also be around $150.

This one's actually the smallest of the bunch, and will probably be priced around $85.

Before I go, I want to give a big Bunny with a Toolbelt shout out to my niece Alma who affixed over 50 stamps to my Elephabet Kickstarter promo postcards yesterday! I told her about ye olden days when you had to either lick all the stamps, or set up a damp sponge on a plate. The responded as any seven-year-old in their right mind should: Ewwwwwww!

Thanks everyone for your support! I feel so happy that I'm finally realizing this project and, thanks to Kickstarter, it's really fun to be able to do it with a community of well-wishers. I wish you all the best as well!

Not a supporter yet? Click here and join in on the fun!