Done and dusted...

45 completed.
WOO!
They're packaged in groups of three and on their way to the P4A perks gathering place. Took about a month of work. Many continuous hours over the last two weeks. Abused my body in the process. A vicious knot over my right shoulder blade. Neck aching. Sleep-deprived. Too sedentary. And my fingers are all wrecked, thumb included. I won't be doing any art for the next two weeks. At least nothing that requires holding a tool of some sort. Might do some Illustrator work since it's just clicking paths into place. I'm typing this entirely with my left hand at the moment. Lol.

Totally worth it though. The Project for Awesome will be in a couple weeks. I'm very happy to contribute to the cause.

Here are some highlights out of the 45.

It's all Vlogbrothers/Nerdfighter stuff. I'm really pleased with the results.

The packaging is cute, too. Little brown paper envelopes with handmade stickers to close.

That's the look of glorious victory.

And also aching fingers. XD
I've even been taping my thumb, which is super tricky to do with the need for so much bend at the knuckle. It's quite furious with me, to say the least.

While working on this, I was reminded that most folks don't have to worry about using scissors or pencils for a few minutes. And also that I used to not have to worry about it. I went 20 some-odd years without having to limit tool use, and now I can hardly relate to what that must have been like.

Sad thoughts.

I'm now in the indecisive mode of how to encourage healing. Tight taping to stifle swelling? No taping? Heat soaks? Ice? Pure rest? Normal use? I wish I knew what it was. I'm tempted to take prednisone, which I know works, but the side-effects are miserable.

Just gonna tough it out and monitor recovery along the way.

FINGER STATUS

Little epicenters everywhere. My pinkie is the first to be fully swelling. Can't bend it much. Ring finger looks like I took a hammer to it. Small puffy spots on the middle finger. It's the least affected actually. The tip of my index finger is beginning to be unbearably sensitive. The thumb also has the hammered look going on at the knuckle, but the worst pain is around the side of the pad.

Mess.

I've had a few nights now where the overall ache and prickling is keeping me awake and it will probably get worse.

It's not all doom and gloom. It was a good test to see how much I can push it while also taping religiously. And I got some fun art out of it. S'all good.

Also got through all of Star Trek:TOS. I'll post on that at some point. Hoo boy. It really never improved. -___-

But next post will probably be about JYJ. I still want to say a few words about the album. Plus, they're currently on a dome tour in Japan and releasing a new single. They are singing Begin during the concert encore. EMOSHINKI. The tears. THE TEARS I HAVE SHED. T___T

Hajimarusaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Oh, and I think I'm switching lanes to the Nvidia Shield Tablet instead of the Nexus 9. Android Lollipop rolled out for the Shield a few days ago and I think that just sold it for me. Waiting to see if there will be any Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals that become the determining factor.

K. I'm done.

In the thick of it...

May have been a bit ambitious. Ha!
I've been hunched over paints and pencils and stencils for a couple weeks. Now on the homestretch. I need to get these Project4Awesome art perks ready to ship by next Friday.

Cut up a ton of squares from old printmaking paper.
Mixed acrylics and painted them all for backgrounds.
Below are some progress pictures while I was stenciling the Nerdfighter salute logos.

Stenciled what I could. Everything else is hand-painted and drawn with Prismacolor pencils.

I'm eyeball-deep in this mess now. Lol. It's all the most focused, meticulous, detail-work for the rest.

Still aiming for 45 pieces, but my fingers are starting to get really angry with me. Taping religiously has kept me from a full-blown swelling episode, but there are a few spots that are on the way. Depending on how well my hand withstands the next couple days that number may need to change. We'll see.

Then it will be packaging and mailing. Woohoo!

FINGER STATUS:

It feels as good as it looks. My thumb is unfortunately untape-able, because it's too restrictive. But it has also had far fewer blow-ups than my other fingers, so it's still pretty manageable. The ring finger is a mess, but taping is keeping the swelling down and keeping my mobility. Lots of other sensitive/raw/threatening areas, but all tolerable thus far. I wonder how I'll be in a week!

Time to get back to work.

Refreshing...

I'm painting again.

I crafted that shelf for my paints I mentioned in the last post.
Cardboard, tape, and hot glue.
Booyah.

It's a chimera of leftover IKEA cardboard, sketchbook backs, cardstock, and the packaging from a wii (the blue tray at the bottom). The left side half-shelf is from a tower shelf unit in my closet, where I didn't need one of the shelves anymore. So that's propped in there. And everything fits nice and it's glorious.

And I'm painting again after five years.

Initially I started off with making copies of a Kandinsky and part of a Mucha--pieces I've wanted to do for a loooong time. But then all the official info came out for the upcoming Project 4 Awesome Art Perk submissions... and I've thrown myself into the ring. I had already started planning, but figured I'd do it next year. Then decided, "Fuck it!" and I'm doing it this year. I'll talk about it in more detail once I'm further along. I'm making 30 to 45 mini paintings.

We'll see how it goes.

Also re-designing some of my online presence. Going for something more consistent across everything. This blog and my tumblr feed now look like fraternal twins. Just wanted to go super clean. A few more things to add, but I'm refreshed by the change. I suppose it mirrors the room overhaul. Feels good.

Came across a ton of old photos during the chaos, including this gem.

Yep.

Hat-face.

It's a good look.

I don't know why it didn't catch on.

I'm assuming my brother had something to do with this.

Classy.

Seven... or eight years old, roughly? Not sure. Started growing my hair out when I was about nine I think. Hasn't been shorter than this since I was that age. My hair is so long right now. And it's Autumn, so it's doing it's annual shed, plus age and stress, I feel like there is more of my hair on the floor than on my head right now. -___-

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Listening to Seo Taji and EPIK HIGH's new albums. Pretty great.

Özil got injured enough to be out until the end of the year. Arsenal is struggling badly this season. He was also apparently involved with some woman during the Spring that isn't his girlfriend. Lol. Footballers. Jackasses, the lot of 'em. A lot of fangirls lost their minds. I guess I'm not that bothered by infidelity. Not because it's Mes. I think I'm just too disconnected from the idea of romantic relationships to care... or be surprised. *shrug*

I have my eye on that new Nexus 9. It's $400.
But I think it's perfect for my needs. Trying to decide if I wait until it's actually out and reviewed or if I should pre-order it already. It will be my first 'smart' device of any kind. I have a very oldschool cell-phone, which I barely use. But I've been carefully researching and considering having a more mobile/accessible gadget to use away from my computer. I think I'm going to be pulling the trigger on this Nexus.

Hoo boy.

Junsu has been in LA for the last week with his buddies. He tweeted a series from all the Halloween-related haunted-house stuff that is set up in Universal Studios for the month. Absolutely fucking hilarious. Dracula all up in those zombies, tweetin' and making fun of his screaming friends. He really killed Dracula, too. The musical. The reviews sounded incredible and the few videos available looked spectacular.

Yoochun is still promoting Haemoo. Apparently it got an Oscar nomination? Or is expected to? Big movie. Pretty cool he was a part of it.

It's freezing in here, so I better stop typing before my fingers actually do blow up.
Feel like I'm treading on thin ice with the painting projects.
*knocks on wood*
Gently!
:P

Building still...

 The room is nearly settled. A few more bits and bobs to sort out. There is one more piece of furniture to either make or buy. A shelving grid for paint storage. But today I worked on this pen/pencil rack to go in one of the IKEA drawers. Figured I could buy one for 30 bucks or make some use of all the spare cardboard I have collected over the years.

Constructed the box out of some cardboard sketchbook backs and covered in white cardstock. Then used a bunch of the cardstock to double-over and slice all the component pieces for the slotted grid.

TOOK  FOREVER.

F-O-R-E-V-E-R

But the result is exactly what I needed. Huge space-saver.

Here it is in the drawer, all filled up. The Butterfinger and Smarties tins are full of Sharpies and my set of drawing pencils, respectively. Altoid container has lead and eraser refills.

YATTAAAAAAA!