Sooooooo excited to head to the Southwestern climes of Austin tomorrow for SXSW Music Festival . Yeeehaw!

This time of year, usually starting in mid-February right after the winter lulls, is what I like to call the “Pre-Flatstock Craze”. Just as new work starts rolling in as bands begin tour season, I’m starting to get ready for SXSW Flatstock by printing tons of new work, pulling, packing (safely! fingers crossed. yipe.) and shipping years worth of work down to Austin ahead of me. What is Flatstock you ask? Ahh yes. Let’s talk about that shall we?

SXSW Flatstock is an ongoing series of poster shows and events that happen at different music festivals throughout the year, starting with SXSW in Austin, TX In March, then during the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Il in July, followed by Seattle, WA over Labor Day weekend during Bumbershoot, and then in September in Hamburg, Germany. Flatstock is part convention, part exhibition, part show, and a lot of tell where the top currently working poster artists from all over the world converge to show and talk about their work. All of the poster artists and studios involved in a Flatstock show are members of the the American Poster Institute (API), which helps produce Flatstocks, but is also a guild of sorts for the gigposter art industry.

If you are in Austin or heading down to SXSW, come by Flatstock and say hello to your favorite poster artists! We don’t bite, unless you have a tasty breakfast burrito, that is.

I've got a ton of new work, test prints, art prints, and posters to show, so don't be shy.

Flatstock Schedule:

* Thursday March 19 from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm.
* Friday March 20 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.
* Saturday March 21 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.
* Sunday March 22 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Here is a list of exhibitors who will be selling their posters, prints, and talking with folks like you!

And at my Flickr page here is a floorplan layout to help you find your must-see studios. See yinz there!

Technology is not boring. Or cold. Or impersonal.

In fact, as the digital becomes more personal, things are getting pretty interesting. There was a time when technology automatically meant cold, distant, impersonal and excruciatingly under-designed in a human sense. You had to learn to adapt to technology, no matter how awkward, never the other way around. Think early cars without windshields or even a roof, hand cranking telephones to call the operator who then placed your call for you, and the giant, room filling computers of yore.

Yeah well, much of that has changed as people have adopted technology, brought it in from the beeping binary cold and made it fit their lives, no longer just the other way ’round. The iPhone and the iPod Touch are excellent examples of this change. So it makes great sense that these small and highly personal, functional machines become more personalized.

The savvy and design-loving folks at Poolga.com are here to help. Poolga has been putting out amazing images for your iPhone & iPod Touch from an international selection of illustrators and designers, for free. That’s right folks….awesomeness…for free. And moreover, these fine Poolga people have just added 2 of my designs to their incredible collection. I know right? It’s crazy. So did you open a new window or a new tab yet? WHY? GO!



I love love love their collection. I’ve been rocking the above image by UK illustrator and designer Thereza Rowe, Black Unicorns on my phone for a couple of months now, and I still just adore it. Her work is really fantastic and entrancing.

And below is my other current wallpaper up at Poolga. Go check them out OK? SO much awesomeness over there. Go yonder and wander, it’s a fun way to fine new illustrators, designers, and freshen up that bit of pocket magic that you carry around all day, everyday. And cripes, it’s free! You so deserve it. Go on, git. Thanks rad Poolga folks!

ShaaahhDoink! Gig Posters Volume I: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century is a new book chock full of hot rock postery goodness. And cripes! They let me in too. In the words of Omar: "Indeed."

Available for pre-order now, published through the super Chronicle Books. And, just an FYI? If you pre-order through the Gigposters.com website you will receive a bitchin' extra freebie: an exclusive screenprinted poster from the indomitable Jay Ryan. No foolin'!

Official Description below:

Gigposters.com showcases gig posters, handbills and flyers from around the world. Great for artists, musicians, bands, designers, venues and music collectors. A collection of rock posters and music posters.

Ships April 2009
11 x 14 inches
208 pages
Paperback

Includes 101 perforated and ready-to-hang posters along with hundreds of other poster images and designer biographies. Packaged in an oversized 11-by-14-inch paperback, Gig Posters Volume I is a spectacular compilation of rock show art (and a great way to decorate a dorm room or apartment).

Designers:
3d Glasses, Adam Turman, Aesthetic Apparatus, Alan Forbes, Allen Jaeger, Amy Jo, Andrio Abero, Andy Vastagh, Beyond The Pale, Billy Perkins, Bobby Dixon, Bongout, Brad Klausen, Brian Ewing, Budai, Burlesque of North America, Casey Burns, Cricket Press, Crosshair, Dale Flattum, Dan Grzeca, Dan McCarthy, Dan Stiles, Daniel Danger, Delicious, Denny Schmickle, Diana Sudyka, Dirk Fowler, Drew Millward, Drowning Creek Studio, DWITT, Eleanor Grosch, Emek, Engine House 13, FarmBarn Art Co., Firehouse, Furturtle Printworks, Gary Houston, Gregg Gordon, Guy Burwell, Hero Design Studio, Invisible Creature, Ironforgepress, James Rheem Davis, Jamie Ward, Jared Connor, Jason Goad, Jay Ryan, Jay Vollmar, Jeph, Jermaine Rogers, Joanna Wecht, Johnny Crap, Jon Smith, Josh Rickun, Judge, Justin Hampton, Justin Kamerer, Largemammal Print, Leia Bell, Lil Tuffy, Little Jacket, Lonny Hurley, Lonny Unitus, Luke Drozd, Lure Design, Malleus, Mark Pedini, Mat Daly, Methane Studios, Micah Smith, Michael Michael Motorcycle, Mig Kokinda, Mike King, Nate Duval, Patent Pending, Powerhouse Factories, Powerslide Design Co., Print Mafia, Rob Jones, Ron Liberti, Ryan Nole, Sasha Barr, Scrojo, Seripop, Squad 19, Stainboy, Steve Walters, strawberryluna, Tanxxx, Tara McPherson, The Decoder Ring Design Concern, The Heads Of State, The Little Friends Of Printmaking, The Small Stakes, Thomas Scott, Tim Gough, Todd Slater, Vahalla Studios, Zach Hobbs, Zeloot

BONUS ART PRINTS:
Pre-order now from Gigposters.com and receive an exclusive limited edition screenprinted art print by Jay Ryan.! Jay will be creating 3 different 10"x13" art prints for the book release. The first 1200 pre-orders get free art prints! (400 of each)
*Order the 3-pack to assure you get one of each art print!*
(Jay Ryan subscribers will automatically receive copies of the art prints in their subscriptions)

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Yeeehaaaww Cowboy!

Ok, so sadly, not the Lee Marvin version. But, I am the current Dirty Dozen interviewee on the very cool new poster blog Poster Rocket.

It's sure to answer all of your burning questions about strawberryluna. Well, maybe not all of them. But some of the biggies are covered, most definitely. Secrets about my early formative years as a writer, how I never planned on being a printmaker and poster designer, and what deceased musicians would best love to do a poster for, in an alternate universe are all revealed.

The Dirty Dozen is Poster Rocket's own handpicked choice of 12 posters from a single artist or studio coupled with an interview. It's a good time and be sure to check out the Poster Rocket site for past installments as well as the bevy of rock poster hotness featured every day. Or, be brave and submit your own (legit only!) posters for review.

Cheers!

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Awww yeah! It's The Handmade Arcade time again! What is The Handmade Arcade you ask? Silly goose. It's Pittsburgh's largest and best independent handmade crafts show. AKA Freaking Awesome. Crafters and artists from all over the country and even a few international peeps will be there selling all handmade, high-quality awesomeness. There are over 85 vendors - check out the list here - participaing in this year's Handmade Arcade . That's a ton, right?

This event is extremely popular and well attended, last year over 7,000 people came to look, shop and be stoked! So don't be a goofus and miss out, OK?

We'll be there! All posters will be $20! Yep, that's right! That means a savings of $5-$80 on posters. That's HUGE. We also have several new tshirt designs ready to go home with you that are not yet available on my website, (though check my Etsy store!) new art prints and lots of goodies as well as posters and prints. Please come say hello and introduce yourselves! I promise, we are more shy than you are. Honest Abe we are.

See yinz there!

What: Handmade Arcade, Pittsburgh's own HUGE indie craft fair.

Where: The Hunt Armory at 324 Emerson St. in the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh, PA.

When: Saturday & Sunday November 8th & 9th, 2008 from 11-7pm Sunday and 11-5pm Sunday.

Why: For awesomeness. Psssshht. Don't be shy, say "hi" ok?