illustration. dogs. liza. oakland.
Dear Friendlies,
behold! The kind folks at Hard Boiled Industries made this promo video for the San Francisco Center for the Book and Dog Dreams as part of what will be the eBook version of Dog Dreams. Neet!
(And, I’m not joshin’ when I tell you I hope to see you at the Center making your own books soon!)
xm
Dear Friendlies,
there’s a new Friendly in our midst. Lucy Sisman (who has an incredibly impressive roster of print clients) is working on a great literary blog called wwwword, and she asked if I’d like to be interviewed for their blog. The result? One of the nicest pieces of writing about my process to date, and an in-depth look at the creation of A Dazzling Display of Dogs.
Thank you, Lucy!
Friendlies,
we’re getting the band back together again – again – for a singing and book signing at Bookshop Santa Cruz. This is one of my very favorite bookstores, and we’re excited and grateful that they want to host and event with us. We have a long history with the town of Santa Cruz, and Bookshop is one of the best things about Santa Cruz. We always go there when we visit. Usually we go to Zachary‘s to fuel up, then down to Bookshop. It’s a thing we do.
So come on down, check out the surf, grab a book. Come say hi!
WHAT: Dog Dreams singing/signing at BSSC
WHERE: Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Avenue,
Santa Cruz, CA
WHEN: January 19, 2012, 7:30 pm.
Some video has emerged from the Dog Dreams opening at the Oakland Museum: here it is. It’s super goofy.
OH MY GOSH I ALMOST FORGOT AND THERE’S THIS! SUPER CUTE! (t/y Carolee)
xm
Kids (and those of you Kids with Kids),
Dog Dreams is like The Little Kid’s Book that Just Won’t Go Away!
We’re excited to invite you all to the re-grand-opening of Dog Dreams (v.2) brought to you by the kind folks at Gingko Press and The Oakland Museum. This is the second printing of Dog Dreams (you can see a gaggle of images from Dog Dreams here). The first printing was only 100 copies and those sold out, like, RIGHT AWAY, so I was more than thrilled when Gingko Press offered to do a second printing. This is the same book, mind you, we scanned in the letterpress prints and used those to construct the pages for the new book but this one was printed 175% larger (it’s 7″ x 7″!) and is has been pre-tested to work beautifully as both a board book and a chew toy.
Apparently, it tastes delicious.
Here’s a sneak preview of the new version.
And a video of me talking about this thing:
You might ask: “Michael? Will you and Andy and Suki be getting up in front of the gathered to embarrass yourselves again with tiny drums and a ukelele and badly-sung novelty songs about dogs?”
The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind. And that answer is YUSSS.
What: Dog Dreams v.2 Opening!
When: Sunday, December 4. Starts at 2pm, ends when my pen runs out of ink.
Where: OMCA Gift Shop. The Museum is FREE that day. The address is 1000 Oak St. Oakland, CA 94607, and it’s very close to Lake Merritt Bart.
Who: YOU.
Why: BECAUSE WE LIKE YOU.
So. Come see us, grab a book, laugh at us. We don’t care. We like it. In fact, it’s ‘free day’ at the museum, so you can just come and laugh at us without buying a book and the whole thing will cost you NOTHING. Hey, it’s hard times! We understand! If we can momentarily distract you from the constant buzz of police helicopters overhead, then we’ll be happy campers. If you’re looking for a giftie for the holidays (I started to itch all over while typing that last bit), these puppies are priced to move. I will be signing books as well.
Another question: “Will this event be kid-friendly?” Yuppers. Most of my kid’s book events thus far have been in the evening, when our precious little darlings turn into flesh-rendering wildebeasts, so here’s your chance to bring ‘em out when it’s not dinnertime. Plus, you can take them to the museum and the cool gardens and let them run around. BONUS.
See you then?
x,m
Friends of the Four-Pawed:
amazing news! Gingko Press (the folks who bring you the work of Marshall McLuhan and Shepherd Fairey, among others) will be offering my little book Dog Dreams as a 7″ x 7″ board book in Fall 2011!
Dog Dreams is a little bit different than the rest of the titles in their catalog, but they thought my work would be a nice addition for those folks with children (or for those of us who just act like children).
The original run of 100 hand-printed letterpressed copies is sold out, but hopefully we’ll be seeing this new pressing in stores in time for the holidays! Click here to see images from the original production at the San Francisco Center for the Book.
We’re absolutely thrilled to work with the folks at Gingko, and happy that this little book will be reaching a wider audience!
Photo by Michael Bartalos.
xm
Furry Friends,
please join Janet Fine and I at Artisans Gallery in Santa Cruz, California for June’s First Friday! I will be showing images from my letterpressed book Dog Dreams, and our dear friend Janet Fine will be showing images based on the Dog Dreams theme. Super excited to show with Janet – her work is great.
Punch and Pie. And dogs.
If you’re in the Santa Cruz area, I hope you’ll be there! By the way, Santa Cruz is a lovely place to spend a weekend away (hint, hint).
xm
Friendlies,
‘Secrets of the Dog Park’, my screenprint that explores the issues of the gay dog community, has been selected for inclusion in American Illustration 30, a sooper groovy hard-cover compendium of hand-picked images. This is the seventh time my work has appeared in the book. “From more than 7,000 pictures entered by over 1,100 illustrators, magazines, agencies, publishers and schools, the jury selected, by a majority vote or better, only 316 images to appear in the book and represent the best pictures from 2010.”
Buy yourself a copy of the print here.
Yay!
xm
Frenz,
I’m totally overwhelmed by the positive response – we packed Diesel Books! It was SRO! We also sold out of copies of A Dazzling Display of Dogs (but not to worry – if you want a copy, you can order one here).
For those of you who braved the rainy weather and [maybe even] came out with your kids on a Wednesday night – I thank you! I hope you had as much fun as we did. Thanks also to Tricycle Press (this is, sadly, one of the last books they will publish), Suki and Andy for the music, and Loriana and Carolee for helping out and setting up. Thanks to Betsy Franco for making the trip to Oakland, and to Diesel Books for being so accommodating. If you’re in the Bay Area, go buy your books there! It’s a great shop.
Here’s a little video that Michael Zelner shot (thanks Michael!):
What’s next for the book? Well, The Mutts are going to be recording these songs for real sometime soon. Betsy and I are going to be making a book trailer or two for the two books we’ve published together thus far. There are also rumblings about another collaboration. Stay tuned.
xm
