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!

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!

photo shoot!

Last week I had the big photo shoot for Elephabet and I'm just about ready to send it off to print! I can't wait to show you the book, but I'm going to hold off and let you see what you can in these shots I took during the photography session. I used Dan Kvitka for this project--in addition to being a friend for many years, Dan is also an amazing photographer who has documented the work of many artists as well as shooting the exhibition catalogs for the Museum of Contemporary Craft. We worked together to make my visions come to life, adding a little computer magic to float my poofy clouds and ensure a great final project in general. I've been working on the typography and layout this week and it's going to be super sweet. Thanks again to all of you who supported this project!

I also have an exciting announcement! I am putting together a workbook to accompany the alphabet books so that you can design your own elephabetiphants! This was inspired by my recent visit to the Camas Ridge third grade class, where they used my simple elephant template and their imaginations to produce some fun results. In case you missed it, you can see their drawings by clicking here. The plan is to have this and the paperback edition of Elephabet available on Amazon.com, hopefully by the end of November! Here's a sample page of how it will look:

I'll send out the link when it's officially available in case you're interested in grabbing one before the holidays. (Anticipated retail price is $10.) Please note: I am using Amazon.com's on demand printing service Createspace for this book, so orders need to go through them unless you come to one of my two Portland holiday sales this December! Make sure you're on my email list if you don't want to miss out on anything.

Okay, it's back to work for me. I'll check in again in a few weeks when I (hopefully) have my first printed edition of Elephabet in my hot little hands!!

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!

C is for Cuckoophant!

Hurrah! I have finally completed all of the elephants for Elephabet!

Cuckoophant proved to be a challenge, as its namesake cuckoo clock, this tradition is rich with detail! Part of the holdup was that I wanted to get some decorative trim to add to the forms, as well as the cedar shingles for the roof. I'm pretty happy with the results:

This piece is modeled after the more colorful Swiss chalet style cuckoo clocks.

And this is an homage to the original Black Forest style, which are so much more ornate and my favorites of all.

(If you click on either of these images, you can see a larger version of them.)

Don't forget, if you missed out on pre-ordering your copy through Kickstarter, I'm still taking orders on my website. Click here for more information.

So, what's next, you ask? Well, now I can officially launch into the planning of the book. I'll check in next week to fill you in on those details, as well as a visit to my niece Alex's 2nd grade classroom, who have been following the project. See you later, elephagator!

Elephabet from A to Z

Woo hoo! I have finished all 26 of the letter-bearing elephants who will be an important part of the video for Elephabet! Here's a little video I made to serve as a book promo:

I am still taking pre-orders for Elephabet if you (or your loved ones) missed out on the Kickstarter campaign - click here! (note: this is for the book/video only--original artwork created for this project will be listed on my Etsy site when the book officially releases. Sign up for my email list if you'd like to be among the first to be notified when this will happen!)

If you've been following the progress of this project, you might spy one of the pieces from the soon-to-be-finished Cuckoophant series! I am still working out some of the final details, but will be able to show you the two bigger C pieces this week.

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)

Y is for......

Hello again Elephabet fans! I'm excited to finally bring you my letter Y. Are you ready for it? Y is for Yippie-ki-Yayiphant. It's what the cowboys say, dontchaknow?

I made two of these little dogies:

blue bandana with spur and ten gallon hat $150

and a red bandana with a cowboy hat also $150.

I have a second letter completed today - J - which is for Jeansiphant. If you know me, you know that I rarely am seen in public without my blue jeans, so I couldn't resist this one. Note that it's not Blue Jeansiphant, using the B, because I have a much better entry for my B, which I'm finishing up this week. Stay tuned!

(The eyes are rivets, just in case you can't see it here!) The smaller one will be $55 and the larger one will be $75.

There's about 25 days, more or less, in my Kickstarter campaign for the Elephabet Book! Still plenty of time to tell all your friends about it. Although I reached my initial goal in record time, I later realized that there were so many more hardback books ordered than I initially anticipated, so I am now trying to double my initial Kickstarter goal in order to get a larger quantity of these books at a better price. This will insure that I can keep the retail price the same later, but you only get free shipping, the set of buttons, early notice of the original artwork going on sale, AND my eternal gratitude if you pre-order now! Thanks, friends, for helping me spread the gospel that is Elephabet.

(Oh, and one last thing before I go. I also decided that for all Portland residents, I will personally deliver your Kickstarter pledges wearing my bunny suit. Yippie-ki-YAY!)

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!

T is for Topiariphant

Hello Beautiful Person! It's time for more stars from the Elephabet Book! Today we will meet the letter T. I couldn't resist making a "Topiariphant" to honor my lifelong passion for topiary. I haven't ever actually tried my hand at this beyond making my little sculptures, but I did make a pilgrimage a few years ago to the fantastically creative gardens at Zarcero, and I long to witness Pearl Fryar's work the next time I'm in the southern part of these United States after seeing this movie. For now, I will just live vicariously through these four figures.



These pieces are varying sizes, so will range from $45 to $125. If you have your eye on one of these babies, the best way to grab it when it first goes on the market is to support my Kickstarter campaign! Click here for details!

elephabet!

I've crossed the halfway mark for my Kickstarter campaign for the Elephabet Book, but still have a ways to go to reach my goal and publish this fall! Click here to make your pledge today! Anyone who pledges $5 or more gets a set of cute elephabet buttons!
Feeling cash-poor, but want to make sure this project happens so you can purchase later? You can still help me realize Elephabet by helping me get the word out there. Use Facebook or Twitter to share within your online communities, or if you know a luddite or two who might love this idea, message me and I can mail them a physical postcard. I really appreciate your help in making this dream a reality!

Here's the link to pledge or share: http://bitly.com/elephabet
Thank you, beautiful person!!

elephabet!

Yay! I'm excited to finally be able to officially announce the project that I've been working on in the background for at least the last six months--the very first Bunny with a Toolbelt book! This one's called Elephabet and will feature a differently-themed elephant for every letter of the alphabet. I will also make a stop action animation to accompany every copy of the book.

I'm pre-selling copies of Elephabet on Kickstarter, and expect to ship them in November. Of course, all of the original elephants will also be for sale in the Bunny with a Toolbelt Etsy shop at that time.

Click here to support the Kickstarter campaign. Thanks!