Finally posted Hallmarket Photos from October!

   I'm spending the morning (and last night, actually) backing up my hard drive. I ran across these photos and realized I'd never posted them. So, enjoy!

Hallmarket 2, Electric Boogaloo

   Today on the Hallmark square: the second annual Hallmarket art show & sale! Steph & Jack invited me to share their booth, and they said it was dog-friendly, so I brought the crowd-loving Taylor with me, and spared his more shy sibling.

View from our booth

Our booth

Donna VanHooser's Sundog Mosaics

Tag Team Tompkins

Steph's work

Jack & Steph's work

Jack, Steph & Penny, and Taylor & me

Michael, Aidan, and Aiden's new bat plush!

Me & my Cyclopticat

Steph & Penny

Chieko's daughter & her friend loved Mr. Tay!

Panda lover Maria Villa

Jeff Wilson's Frenchy puppy, Rocco

Renee, Joe, Rosie & Boo

Flora Chang

A guy in Retail who used to work for Disney

Sarah & Colin Walsh

Ruth Donikowski

Carol Osborne

My loot!

Pitchin' & Bitchin'

   Everyone's entitled to their opinion. Even our local alternative weekly 'zine (free, because no one would pay for it?), The Pitch. I was looking for photos of today's event and a Google search turned up an unnecessarily sarcastic story. Yes, it's true that we are artists, and we work for Hallmark. That doesn't make us sell-outs. It doesn't mean we couldn't make it on our own. Maybe, just maybe, we enjoy working in the company of 800 other fantastically-creative and talented people? That being surrounded by almost incomprehensible talent five days a week is fun? That working in a building with an art collection that rivals most museums is a pleasure? That working for a family who has been a powerful force for good in Kansas City for 100 years is inspiring?
   I could go on, but what's the point? The Pitch has some unspoken vendetta against Hallmark, which was especially transparent a few years ago when they did an "expose" on our company; an article riddled with misinformation. (I'm talking facts like the names & faces of the company's leaders, not simply differences of opinion.)
   Working for the purpose of helping people make deep and genuine connections with the people they care about is a lot better than purposefully spreading ill will. At least in my opinion. But I'll leave the staff of The Pitch to their own.

Hallmarket part 2: Update

   This Saturday, Hallmark artists will be selling their work at "Hallmarket," an art fair in the square outside headquarters in Crown Center Square, downtown Kansas City, MO. I was originally thinking that I wasn't going to be able to participate, but Steph & Jack graciously invited me to share their booth, and I've got some plush that recently returned to me in a big box after they've been vacationing in LA & San Francisco for a while (lucky plush!), so I'm going for it!
   The majority of what I have to sell are from my "Catattack" series (monster cats of all breeds: catbats, mercats, cyclopticats, reptilicats, yeticats, robocats, etc.) Shaun & Ed of Shaun of the Dead may also make an appearance. These are some of my favorite plush that I've ever created, so it's bittersweet to offer them for sale. Good homes only! All are 100% hand-sewn, one-of-a-kind art pieces, not intended to be toys for kids or pets.

   It would be nice to make a lil' extra cash, for an upcoming trip-of-a-lifetime that I'm *hoping* I'll be able to take this year... more to come on that!

My photos of last year's event

Information about the event from the Hallmark newsroom

KC Star article