A little art and a lot of other things.

All in a days work...

 So much has been in flux since I last updated anything on here. I decided to cover some of the day to day happenings that I have going on and ending with a bit of call to action for some of you at the end.
Late night working sessions have been off and on as of late for me. In some instances, it's been catching some changes from clients and trying to get them back as quick as possible, in other moments it's been doing all the little and big things I can for my comic/art efforts. Freelance isn't as big of a player currently for me as a time taker as much as working on my personal projects and efforts. And of course the day job still takes a lot of the creative energy out. I don't mean that in a negative way at all, more in the zone that probably a great many of you all do as well. Like being at work when an idea of any kind suddenly pops into your mind. Suddenly you find yourself scrambling for a pen and paper, or trying to remember that idea long enough to find your phone and type in a note.

Besides, if I am  lucky enough to be able to hold onto a job in this day and age that allows me the usual good things like benefits and chances to expand my intake of design trends and artworks from the past (Hallmark's internal art collection is almost on par in some ways with what the Nelson can offer), I really don't have much to complain about. I've been out there before doing straight forward freelance, and as freeing as it can be, it can also be stressful beyond belief.

Recently the group I am a part of moved to another floor, so we got new cubicles assigned to us.

I will say that working for a large company, which I had not done since back with my days with Jarodo/Universal Manufacturing, is as far removed from working freelance as anyone could imagine. I know I've touched on this theme fairly often, but there are times like now that I consistently reflect on both the pros and cons to working in a corporate environment. I'm sure some people on both sides of the divide do that often. Especially if one is trying to work on goals that were there before whatever current job one is in took priority.

Today's economic standards and beliefs are a funny and myriad thing. For example, I tend to have a growing love of locally created or more specifically hand made/home grown sort of things from food, to clothing, to tools, the list goes on..., but I am grateful for access to things like Amazon and Target.

I worked in past jobs as a part of the idea that exporting work and jobs to out of country workers was a desirable way for companies to bring cheaper services and items to the North American population at large. But in recent years, the movement towards companies and people finding a strength and honesty behind things made in the U.S.A. or even more so from your own hometown, is gaining ground and it's a welcome change. Having been a part of the Strangefolk Festival has helped cement that in me even more, but prior to that I had done other art shows and comic conventions and in most all of those circumstances, you could see the ideas and unique takes on how people would create things to sell, or how displays and marketing elements would be put together, often on limited budgets and almost always with the thought in the back of your head that whatever show you just set up for, could be a really bad no money making show.

More and more I dig in my heels that the more you can learn, the more you can attempt to do on your own, the better a person you become. The more resilient and appreciative you become of the people around you, the environment as a whole, and the things you own. Not in a trendy upcycling sort of way mind you, but in a do the smart thing and save money or educate myself for the better kind of way.

The acrylic elements were cut here onsite at Hallmark in the Leap Lab. I wanted to create a smaller scale medallion sized mock up of my logo to plan out how to do the larger one for show displays. (The brass gauge face was created by an acquaintance of mine.)

In the case of where I work, I am probably one of the most restless people you will find. I consistently try to reach out to other areas and people to try and learn new things, not only to increase the knowledge base I have for my own job, but also to refine and add new things to what I work on outside of the day job.

After cutting out the acrylic parts, I did a quick bit of painting on them, and then reassembled them with some adhesive. The shiny "wet" area you see in the recessed areas is jeweler's ice resin.

When the going gets tough, I go to Warrensburg...

But work isn't everything, and if it was, I would be a very boring person. I was having some problems with a storyline angle in my comic, and when I got the chance to go back to Warrensburg last weekend, I went around some of my favorite haunts like to play some arcade games and do hunting for props and collections. Some people might think that's a waste of gas or time to look for old things, but I get a genuine rush searching for things, and many times I come across stuff that I like or that generate new story ideas.

The local Mazzio's had a Mrs. Pac-Man cabinet (as a rule, I make sure I always have four quarters on me because you never know what game you'll find out and about). Later I found a milk crate full of old Archie, Conan and Uncle Scrooge comics.

Two cool items I didn't pick up, but did snap quick reference pictures of were this circa WW2 German canteen and this Russian ammo belt.

On the artwork front...

I have managed to get a few more things accomplished illustration wise. Over the next few updates I will have some new additions to the wood panel series showing up an on my online store. The shirt design for "Thorn" can be purchased at Society 6, and there will be some new designs showing up on there as well by March.

Progress is slow but steady on finishing "Dark Invader" over various lunch breaks. (right) "Thorn" available on Society 6 now.

Catching up with old friends...

Just this past week some old friends of mine, fellows I'd known since I was in high school, were in town. It's weird to think about just how many years have gone by since all four of us were last able to talk face to face. But it seems that aside from time giving some of us grey in our beards, we stepped right back into the flow of where we'd left off from before.

This is the picture that my friend Ray took of us at 54th Street near KCI. Many theories have come up for why Chris is glowing like that from mutant powers being caught on camera, to his Irish side shining through, to him acheiving "proof that I have enough experience points to become a 42nd Level Caucasian".

It was a hell of a lot of fun catching up and talking about old times as much as covering the time we'd all spent while living in different places. Kinda scary how in some ways we sort of fit that bill of responsible grown ups, but when I looked at my buddies for a while, I could just see the guys that used to sit around and game late into many summer nights, walk around cemeteries, and talk about everything from alien invasions to what we would do after college. I definitely owe a lot to them for the humor and ability I have to get through a lot of the curves that life had in store for me.

A Thank You...

I've posted this on Twitter and have gotten some great returns on this. Over the years a large number of you readers and many others helped me stay afloat by being nice enough to buy a lot of my artwork and comics. I cannot possibly thank you all for that. But I am compiling something featuring those of you that I had gotten photos of at shows. If you'd like to be featured, strike a creative yet family friendly pose with whatever comics or art you have that I created and send them my way at mario@mariomora.net. This will be part of my PZ Volume 1 graphic novel "Days Gone By".

Two of the page layouts.

Until next time, support your local artists, and thanks for reading! - Mario, the Artisan Rogue