Hay there!

Well, hay there! Its been a while since I updated this blog. And do you know why? Its because N and I have donned our flannos, popped on some wide-brimmed hats, gone country, and are pretending to be farmers. You can read all about that here, and until we get the chooks rounded up and the cows to come home I won't be round on this blog so much!

x Maude

F for Fail

Because I'm a really lazy person and I don't have anything better to do than set myself ridiculous deadlines that I can't achieve, I've decided to join in with Anthony Woodward's Mini Comics Challenge and make a comic about Freja, the babing Nordic goddess of love. I've been obsessed with Freja for a little while now - pretty much since I found out that she has a Battle Pig and a magic cape made of feathers. Should I be praying to her for strength? Twelve pages of comics in twelve weeks - sounds like a piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting on top... or not. Well - its a challenge at any rate, so I'm counting on the fact that we're allowed to fail.

Days of the week

As someone who finds the indigenous gods of Western Europe rather charming how delighted I was to find out that the days of the week in English take their names directly from a pagan pantheon of deities. Did you know that? There's the pretty obvious Moon, Sun and Saturn's day, but did you know that Friday (Freja's Day) is named after the Norse goddess of passionate love and fertility? Or that Thursday (Thor's Day) is named after that great hammer-wielding brute immortalised by Marvel in an appalling comic strip of the same name? There's also the more obscure Tuesday (Tiw's Day) - one-armed Norse god of law and glory - and who could forget Wednesday (Odin's Day) named after the heroic master of Valhalla.

Henric

I don't like to crow about it but I'm pretty, pretty excited to say that I have made a new zine!! Its about a brave young hen called Henric and is slightly based on the true story of my hen who decided, recently, that she wanted to be a rooster. Hopefully I will make it to Sticky in time today to give it to them for sale. In which case it will be there, and you will be able to buy it cheep, cheep, cheep.

Freedom

I love the words "free" and "comic books" but as anyone with two eyes in their head will tell you there is so much in comic-books-world that is distastefully flavoured by everyone's least favourite method of oppression: patriarchy. So in the spirit of freedom this Free Comic Book Day I am revisiting this awesome speech by Karen Healey and this project by US artist Alexandria Law.

Chillin'

Hoo boy, has it gotten cold in South Gippsland this week. We've had to whip out the winter woolies quick smart, and even the chooks have been refusing to get up out of their nice warm nest until they've got a hot steaming bowl of porridge for breaky! 

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord for Easter long weekends! I've spent a fair chunk of it unshackled from my new life of full-time workin' and put pen to paper on a comic book I have been meaning to ink for basically ever. Most exciting. Its a sad kind of story about half-sisters and imaginary friends and I'm holding out for Anzac day to get the next instalment done!

hot & sticky

Its International Women's Day and today in the mail (in the weird way that the universe does things sometimes) I got my 6 comp copies of Sticks McLennon, a little chapbook I penned and Blake Publishing published. Sticks is a book for boys that is full of girls. Its about Samson McLennon- a shy 12-year old who is forced to join his big sister's all-girl band, lead by the formidable Harriette.

Gold Star

This week I was thrilled to the back teeth to find out I was awarded one of 12 mentorships by the Australian Society of Authors in the picture book category. 

Ragged

Yes I have a new zine for Sticky zine fair! Yes it is another messy-scribbled-comic about radical ideas and stuff that gets me worked up! Would you like one??? Then I am catching a 3-hour bus to be there!!! You should so very definitely come!

woof woof

For someone who doesn't like dogs, I ended up drawing a whole lotta puppy last year. Out of all the canine commissions though, this is my favourite - a pair of pups for the lovely M + P's wedding invite. Congrats you two!
xx