Sesame Street: I Don't Want to Live on the Moon with Ernie

To be honest, if there's anyone I WOULD want to live on the moon with, it WOULD be Ernie! (Lennon and Maisy should live with us too.)

I'm so excited to share this brand-new project that I worked on for Sesame Street—truly a dream come true. (Who knew that Sesame Street intersected with Mochimochi Land??) 

The animation concept and all of the characters and backgrounds were created by me (two of which, the Lucky Stars and the Joyful Oyster, are available as knitting patterns). My thanks to Maureen Boyle for her animation work.  

New Animation: Peak Alpaca

Made with help from Maureen Boyle; music by William Steffey and Tim Koelling.

This is the third in our tiny sheep trilogy: also see Happy Baa-lentines Day and Funky Fleece.

Group Show: Hello Kitty & 99 Friends at PiQ Grand Central, NYC

Sanrio has now created a total 100 adorable characters over the years, and to celebrate this achievement, PiQ has invited 100 artists to each re-create one of them in their style. I was thrilled to be invited to participate in this group show, and for my character I chose a little-remembered group called Polar Picnic. 

There aren’t too many images of thee guys online, but it seems that there are always a few listings on Ebay, so that’s where I started. 

Penguins and Polar bears are right in my wheelhouse. Here’s the Mochimochi Land version. 

I couldn’t resist include Kitty Chan herself—she’s hiding toward the back of the piece, disguised as a snowman. 

HELLO KITTY & 99 FRIENDS

APRIL 16TH-MAY 14TH
PIQ GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL 
SHUTTLE PASSAGE

Uppercase Compendium of Craft and Creativity

The Uppercase Compendium of Craft and Creativity arrived on my doorstep in December, and I can't believe I just now cracked it open. 

I'm so impressed with how Janine Vangool put this thing together—it's not just photos and interviews, but fully realized profiles with beautifully designed layouts. And I was surprised to find my work toward the front of the pack!

I'm looking forward to browsing the other artists featured. You can purchase the Compendium from Uppercase. 

Group Show: Playful at Melbourne’s City Library

There's lots going on in Mochimochi Land suddenly (including a new human baby)! Coming up soon is the group exhibition Playful, at Melbourne's City Library April 2-29th. 

The work I’m contributing are gnomes from 2015’s Gnome Genome Project, but I also made these tiny eggs with legs to go in a capsule machine that the show will include.

Here’s all the show info: 

​PLAYFUL GROUP EXHIBITION

Celebrating National Youth Week 2016 at Melbourne Library Service 

Opening: 7 April, 6-8 PM

Location: Gallery at City Library, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000

Exhibition dates: April 2 – 29, 2016

Curated by: Sophia Cai

Artists: Anna Hrachovec (USA), Ashley Ronning, Beci Orpin, Christina Gordon, Cat Rabbit, Evie Barrow, Erica Fustero (Spain), Hiné Mizushima (Canada), Holly Leonardson, Isobel Knowles, Kenny Pittock, Luke Temby, Misako Mimoko (Spain), Philippa Rice (UK), Rosaleen Ryan, Soreureubear (Korea), Tessy King, Yiying Lee

PLAYFUL is a group exhibition that celebrates the power of play and imagination. Curated by Sophia Cai for National Youth Week 2016 at Melbourne Library Service, City of Melbourne, PLAYFUL features leading Australian and international artists with works in soft sculpture, ceramics, textiles, toy design, animation and illustration.

PLAYFUL is an exhibition that encourages fun and play. Come along to a series of four curated workshops during the month of April, and learn from artists Beci Orpin, Kenny Pittock, Luke Temby and Holly Leonardson to sew, sketch, make and cut your own works of art. (Workshops for ages 15+).

Local small press Helio Press and Sophia Cai are also producing limited edition catalogues for the exhibition that feature colouring pages by more than ten artists. Last but not least, the exhibition is also home to the exclusive PLAYFUL Gashapon toy vending machines, co-curated by Rosaleen Ryan. Bring $2 coins to join the fun!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2015 Holdiay animation starring new Mochimochi Land characters the Generosi-trees! Made with help from Maureen Boyle; music by William Steffey.

Tiny Turkey vs Tiny Tofurkey

A little series I whipped up for Thanksgiving 2015. Happy Thanksgiving! 

August 19th Signing at The Book Cellar

I’ve got a book signing coming up next week that I'm quite excited about. For once it's at real local bookstore!

The Book Cellar in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood was nice enough to invite me for this month’s Local Author night. I’m a very local author, actually, since this is my neighborhood bookstore. I plan to show some animations and also put together a small Mochimochi landscape—it's always fun to show it in person. 

We’ll have copies of my new book, Adventures in Mochimochi Land, on hand too of course. 

This all starts at 7pm at The Book Cellar, 4736-38 N Lincoln Ave in Chicago. I hope to see some of my neighbors there!

Happ Fourth!

Made with help from Maureen Boyle. 

Adventures in Mochimochi Land is Here!

I'm excited to announce that my new book, Adventures in Mochimochi Land, is now on sale everywhere! 

 

Well, it's not on sale in the UK until later this summer, but it's available all across the US at least! 

As I've mentioned before, this book is really special, becuase it's a combination storybook and pattern book in one. In the stories,  a giant donut tries to eat a city,

sea creatures hold an underwater election,

and a balloon falls in love with a blimp. 

The patterns are, of course, for the characters and props that you see in the stories, so for knitters it can be an interactive experience. 

Adventures in Mochimochi Land is now available from online retailers like Amazon, hopefully from your local bookstore (ask them if they have it!), and signed copies are available from my shop.  

You can see more images from the book here.