Shake It Out

Wow.
I rarely just link a Youtube video on an otherwise empty post, but there’s no way I could express my thoughts right now better than their said in the lyrics of this song. I don’t think I could have heard it while I’d been in the valleys of the waves over this last year, but while I can see life and God a teeny, tiny, sliver of a bit more clearly right at this moment, they’re beautiful words. They’re fighting words.
There will surely be more shipwrecks, but in the mean time… shake it out.

More PHranken Toys in Foto Album… wait. strike that. reverse it.

Creature Power!

Well, this is it.  One month to go before I move to our Country’s capital.  Boxes are being packed and repacked, and room rental is being arranged.

Hands have healed well enough to function.

In the west suburb of Ottawa, Kanata, is a fresh, exciting studio called Wild Kratts, named for the show that created it, “Wild Kratts“, and run by its name sakes, the Kratt Brothers (Martin and Chris).
I’m really excited about the quality of this show.  Not only the animation quality, but for its ability to entertain and educate both children and adults.  I find myself learning things about animals, just from researching the show.  And with  past successes like “Kratt’s Creatures” and “Zoboomafoo“, they’re kind of a big deal.
I applied to the studio as an animator, had a nice skype interview while suffering from laryngitis, and got hired as an animation supervisor.  I’m pumped and I’m ready and I’m sewing a Zaboomafoo Franken Toy with lobster power!
Between packing and watching Kijiji for rentals, I’ve been getting up to snuff on Toonboom tutorials.

So, my lovely Hamilton home (which I took off the market) has been handed over to a property management company and will leave me free to exlore Ottawa.  I’ll probably become friends with the Prime Minister’s family, get a key to the house and sleep on their futon from time-to-time.

More Prints Available!

There are more prints available!

Order one of the following 8.5×11″ prints for yourself or a loved one.
$25 per order, shipping included within North America.  Add $10 for overseas shipping.
And by all means, larger donations are welcome!

“Great Beyond 1″          “Great Beyond 2″          “CBC 1″

“Chair”          “Day:1″          “Safe”
Send orders to retch10@hotmail.com via Paypal with a message stating your name, mailing address and which print(s) you’d like.
Also, it would be ideal to let me know if your paypal email address is not your contact email address, just in case of questions or delays.

As I heal, look for a job that doesn’t require my arms, each order I receive helps me out.

Thank you so much to everyone who’s already donated and ordered from me.  I truly appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Rachel.

Faun-tastic

I haven’t updated my site in ages.  There are far too many reasons to explain.  One of those reasons (and one of the reasons I don’t care to take the time to explain) is the first of two carpal tunnel surgeries.  I shouldn’t really be typing. …Oh, and I’m not.  Right, right.  I’m pounding my face against the keyboard and it’s just pure Shakespearean-chimps-at-typewriter chance that words and coherent sentences are the result.  It’s really creepy.

Anyway, I want to share at least a peak at what’s developing in my world of busking.  Pavement art is getting progressively hard on my body… So, I’ve decided to start building an other-worldly walk-about character who will surely help me ruin the remaining parts of my body left undmanged by chalk.  So far, I call her “Faunus”.

I’ll let the photos do the typing now, but stay tuned for a finished, full body faun, late in 2011…

Just in Time For Winter Holiday Fun Gift Celebration Turkey Time!

Ok, I celebrate Christmas.  Let’s just get that out there.  But whatever YOU celebrate, don’t let the occasion go by without seriously considering which Franken Toy you’d like to adopt!

They’re getting all sorts of blog famous, so you should really find your special guy before they all get Christmas’d up!  (snatched up. …at Christmas time, I mean.)  I’m sorry, I’ve had one sip of wine and I don’t hold my booze very well.  Bear with me.)

Remember also that new Franken toys go up to the shop every week or so.  If you don’t see the right one for you, keep coming back!  It’s virtually a toy factory over here at my house, with adorable limbs, torsos and severed puppy heads everywhere!  It’s just a matter of time before your perfect pal shows up, ready to be adopted.

So, get ready for Christmas with Franken Toys for the family!
(They’re lonely here.  They cry at night, asking where their Mommies and Daddies are.)

Go check out http://www.etsy.com/shop/frankentoys right away!

NOW!#%$@!!!

What an Honor!

I make toys out of other toys.  As my Toys page shows, I’ve recently opened up an etsy store.  For those of you who don’t know, Etsy.com is a site for hand-crafted or vintage items.  You can only sell your own art — nothing that’s been hand-crafted by someone else.  There are a lot of unique products and one-of-a-kinds on Etsy.  A lot of great things as well as a lot of horribly regrettable things.

As a result of the popularity of Etsy and the audacity of some people who think they can sell horrible junk, there is now also a highly popular blog site (and recent coffee table book) called www.regretsy.com.

The sharp-as-sewing needles author of regretsy who goes by the pseudonym, “Helen Killer” treats the site largely as a failblog of etsy items, etsy descriptions or etsy stores, but also has categories for the weird and wonderful masterpieces who just need to be spotlighted.

WHO do you think just got featured in the “Not Remotely Crap” category??? GUesS!!  No, seriously, take a guess!  …No, not Matt Damon.  No.  …try again.  No, not Dave Coulier. …Amy Grant?? What?? No, ME, you dingus!!

Yessir, I made my first 8 sales within the first 24 hours of being on regretsy, and I regret NOTHING!!

check it out:

http://www.regretsy.com/2010/09/23/frankentoys/

WARNING:  The rest of the site contains some adult material and language.  It seems a lot of etsy shops sell very adult, genitalia based crafts.

I’m super honored.  I would have been honored to even have been mocked.

Good job, Helen Killer.  Rock on.  And don’t let any of those death threats get to you.

~Rachel.

Most recent addition to my shop, the only driving “Wookie Mobile”, complete with wookie.

Franken Toys. Up For Adoption!

New on my toy design page is the Franken Toys Etsy shop.  Head to the Etsy links and check out the whole collection.  New ones are being made every day.

Blogs of Buskers

I just received an email from Peter & Christine Finnie of Biff Spandex Blog, pointing me to their great photographic overview of this year’s Toronto Busker Festival.

Thanks!

Toronto BuskerFest, One Month Away!

Toronto Busker Festival is coming up and if you’re in the area you should probably be there!

I will.

http://www.torontobuskerfest.com/

Visit the website and check out the acts.

Come see me draw my latest piece, “Lonely Elephant Parade” and maybe drop a toonie in the bucket!  Because as the old adage goes, every time you don’t put money in a chalk artist’s bucket, somewhere in the world a fairy goes into a deep and irreversible coma.

A glimpse of last year’s piece, “Project Grizzly”.

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