Mental limbo with eyes akimbo.

Work is still continuing on the new studio, it's been a mix of just finishing the walls and planning out some other built in elements, possibly adding a recording soundbooth or a bigger work/tool section.

I want to start off by saying thank you to my Patreon supporters for keeping me going and your monetary support has funneled 100% into the progress you see above. It looks like August will hopefully be the goal point for this being completed, then after that, it's decorating and setting up all the stuff. Very excited and very grateful for this happening!

I'll be recording a video talking about what and why I jumped onto Patreon and have been reworking the rewards to fit some options people have suggested. It's a great way to get some artwork at prices I won't offer at shows or even in my online store!

So let's get down to it. I've got a group of pics chronicling the last few weeks for you all, as well as a new mini episode of a commission illustration of DC's the Huntress, as well as a sneak peek of my next illustration, then you can also get a chance at snagging some sweet swag including artwork I created for Incognito Cinema Warriors XP, and I also added a new podcast to my online radio show!

Now some of you know I had gotten involved with a wonderful outreach volunteer program called the Scribblers Co. It recently wrapped up, and had a good number of kids that participated, and a great number of mentors (big big thank yous to both my co art mentors Cecilia and Allyson, you ladies are just the coolest for doing this).

Scribblers, founded by my friend Deanna, was such a unique chance to have a group of mentors cover writing, art, and theatre in ways that, well quite frankly, I was wondering how it'd be pulled off. But all my fears were laid to rest when I saw just how into in so many of the students ended up being.

Scribblers was such a great learning experience for everyone, truly.

After a run of weeks, the end of the mentorship was marked with a great gathering of the students, mentors and families at the showcase, where the kids involved with Scribblers got to have the creations they had worked on, be put on display.

The Theatre class showcased some nice performances.

I'm currently working on the new websites for Scribblers so you'll be able to see many more photos, stories and creations on there.

As this wound down, My attention crossed back over to another project I'm involved with, the Chicano Arts Festival. You'll remember that I had curated and installed the Hallmark arm of the show, and just a few weeks ago, the group involved with it, all met at the WCAN Center.

The Westside Community Action Network Center, and a beautiful memorial to Lynda Callon..

I got a chance to meet with Octavio Villalobos, an officer with KCMOPD, who works with the immigrant workers. It's an amazing effort to reach out and keep drugs out, crime low, and provide safety, work, and most importantly a helping hand up.

In a bizarre incident, the day I was going to attend the meeting, I was driving around and could not find the building, so I parked on a corner near where I thought the WCAN building would be. I figured I was close as there was a large group of Hispanic guys all hanging out under a nearby overpass, with vehicles parked there, and just talking. At the same time I was getting out of my truck, a lady was parking her car behind me, and she asked me if I was there for some church event.

I said no, I wasn't but did ask her where the WCAN center was, and... I can't make this up. She looked past me and pointed towards the overpass and said, "Oh it's over there, you see that group of Persians? Right across from them."

What the hell? I didn't even have a response, as I know she wasn't meaning it in a demeaning way, but if there was ever a reason to have something like the Chicano Arts Festival that hopefully would allow people to learn more about Hispanic culture, that moment was what cemented it in my mind.

I'll have more information on this amazing organization at a later date, but in the mean time if you want to find out more and you want to help out, check out the website and the wishlist they have here.

The pin on the reverse is actually a pig character from Angry Birds.

It's not always just keeping as busy as possible, I do like to break off and go to the movies as often as I can. In this case, my brother reminded me that the original Ghostbusters was showing once again in theaters. It had been some years since I last saw it on the big screen, and it's a movie I watch every few months. It really is something to see it back on the screen, so many little nuances and details are often missed on smaller screens.

The comic Deadworld has a line of themed sodas. Did you know that? I didn't either, but at this last Planet Comicon, this was one of the things I forgot to mention I had scored in my show haul. I'll have a full review of it up later on Rogue Hobbyist.

All baby birds remind me of the drunks I would escort out after hours at Power and Light, looking all disheveled.

You never know when someone will need a helping hand, and sometimes that hand is a wing. Some days ago, in this miserable Missouri heat, a baby starling had decided to try to fly and landed on an anthill. Because I didn't want nature to scar me or claim a little life, I managed to pluck him out of the ant hill, and get the ants off of him with a rag and my gloves, and then because his mother was chirping and dive bombing me, I placed him in a brush pile at the end of my yard, where much to my pleasant surprise, the next day, he was up and flittering about, as tiny birds will do. As far as I can tell, he eventually mastered flight, and went off to eat a worm elsewhere. A happy and long ant free life to you, my fine feathered friend!

You can check out a mini video of the drawing progression below.

The art above was a recent commission of DC's the Huntress, done on a 16"x20" basswood panel, in inks, marker, pencil, and acrylic. And speaking of creations and cool things...

April this is such a kick ass little character! Look at that stitching! This is quality stuff!

April is a pretty unique fiber and plush artisan, whose work I have admired for some time now. Easily one of the top talents that I know out of the St. Louis area, she got my attention with a new collection based on camping. If you got a moment, check out her stuff and pick up something!

Being the Eagle Scout still obsessed with camping and all outdoor things, I recall that she posted this, I squeed (it was a manly Yeti squeal... seriously, I know how that sounds like), and then tried to slide money to her via my cd tray. Finally, she managed to get one off to me, and this will be the first handmade plush that will feature in my studio. It's kind of weird that only recently have I run across two people that did plushes I really liked, April was the first, but my co art mentor Allyson also is very accomplished at this sort of art (and the kids and myself were all amazed, when like a boss, she brought a sewing machine to class).

Onto other things, here is a small sneak peek of another work I am shooting to have done by KCCC. It's a bit of a love letter to a moment in video game history for myself. But more on that later...

In the meantime, I want to share that there are some $%&@ing HUGE  frogs out by my night walking path. Like Kermit sized ones. No, not that big. Maybe.

Truth be told, I love parks, just not with people in them. I can't help it, I do love talking to people, but I can now revert back to my introverted and Batman like ways of... well, not fighting crime, but certainly walking around saying things like "I am the night!" or "I forgot how many mosquitoes there are this time of year!" or a personal favorite of mine, "No seriously! There are WAY more mosquitoes than I remember from last year!"

Nothing quickens your step like Zika!

As usual, if I get to feeling overwhelmed, I just take a late night stroll around midnight... like a psycho or a 19th century poet out for a nightly constitution looking for rather large frogs to talk to.

And finally, we get to the last bit of the update, my new episode just uploaded for your listening pleasure, a profanity tinged rant ribald and lively opinion piece on the happenstance of networking shenanigans and kickstarter goings ons. This you can listen to by selecting it over on the right side column.

Please, if you have children. Do listen with the headphones on.

I snapped this photo literally seconds before my episode finished rendering. It's a simple idea, but I think it works.

Oh and one final video for my Incognito Cinema Warriors XP gang! You know you want fresh, funny, and original content riffing and shenanigating (I made that word up) all over your computer screen! Look no further than the other Patreon I think you could look into and also stand a chance to not only get  your socks entertained off, but you might just snag some sweet swag, including new limited art by yours truly, ONLY available through ICWXP's Patreon!!!

So that's it for now my friends and readers! If you have questions, comments, complaints, or even cucumbers, let me know in the comments section below, or email me, as many of you have taken to doing, at mario@mariomora.net, or on twitter as @theartisanrogue.

Thanks for reading, enjoy the short video and new podcast episode, and I'll see you all next time!

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue