Ignite Tucson - My Love Affair With Fake Food

My Ignite Tucson presentation went very well. I was one of about 18 presenters on a variety of topics. The Screening Room was packed and people were sitting on the floor. Here are a few of the images I used in mine:


Heidi Kenney, My Paper Crane
The queen of plush food


Fake food for commercial uses (also called artificial food, display food, etc.)




KogePan (Japanese for burnt bread)

Five Things About Me!

Alanna of Painted Cats tagged me to write five interesting things about myself and I accept the challenge!

1. I am working on a business website finally! Click here for a sneak preview (it's still very rough). My friend Alice is doing the technical part.

2. Two of my artworks are in an exhibit at Dinnerware now! The exhibit is called A Night of 1000 Drawings. I also designed the flyer for the event.

3. I love fake food - paper mache fruit, fake sushi, ice cream cone erasers, you name it. When I was in elementary school I made pillows shaped like food. I recently bought "Toast" (see above) from Lu Lu Bell's Toy Bodega.

4. When I was a kid, I got lost at Disneyland. I wasn't scared and I got a free lollipop!

5. I love fonts. My favorite font sites are myfonts. com, emigre, abstract fonts (free fonts!). My most recent font purchase was "Subkiko Two." Although I have many fonts, I usually use the same ones over and over again. Another great design site is veer.com.

America Starts Here - Cincinnati Highlights

Image from "America Starts Here" exhibit at the Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati.

We visited family in Cincinnati over the holidays. Here are two of the notable places we visited. First is the Contemporary Arts Center in downtown Cincinnati. The building, designed by Zaha Hadid, is extraordinary, and the exhibits were excellent, especially America Starts Here (see image above) featuring collaborative work of artists Mel Ziegler and Kate Ericson.


the fifth floor of the art center is the "Unmuseum," with very cool, interactive displays designed for kids. This is the "sensory elephant" made for children with visual impairments. Each drawer has a different sound or item inside.
next up is Jungle Jim's International Market, a wacky grocery store - sort of a mix of Trader Joe's, 17th Street Market (in Tucson), and Disneyland. they have pretty much everything you can image, and more, complete with giant sculptures of things like an Amish buggy and singing Campbell's soup can. In one little nook you can even watch a video about the history of the market.