(RELATED ARTICLE: The making of the Cake books)

Yeah! CAKE’s new album “Showroom of Compassion” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200! Even more reason to rejoice that the CAKE books for Bound Away are almost done. Woah momma, do they look terrific. 100% hand-crafted from start to finish, and only 1000 in production!  I’m super proud of my illustrations and of the awesome craftsmanship that SFCB put into the entire book.

Below are some sneak peak photos. The official release date is February 14, perfectly timed with CAKE’s Feb shows at the Fillmore in SF.  What a perfect Valentines gift for your CAKE-lovin’ sweetie! More details to come soon…

(RELATED ARTICLE: The making of the Cake books)

I love the Alternative Press Expo!  It’s my favorite convention of the year.  Hundreds of independent artists together under one (sometimes leaky) roof in SF.  This year I tabled up with my friends at Volta Press and we were quite busy both days.  So busy that I didn’t get all the time that I wanted to carefully check everything out.  Two artists, though, really stood out.

Veronica Graham of MuteManifold.com was selling some truly awesome stamped maps.  She covered long strips of masa paper with half-inch square linoleum block prints, each block representing one type of landscape, to form complex and gorgeous patterns.  Legend of Zelda meets Dutch Quilting meets Adventure Story meets Something Even More Satistfying.  Check it out.   And while you’re on her site, also check out “California Green”, in her archives.  Very cool.

I also liked Karen Knighton’s small illustrated books.  Characters, drawn on sheets of thin translucent vellum, float above beautiful painted backgrounds.  A great combo of her painting and animation talents, and the end result is very satisfying.  You can see a version of the books at birdenvy.com, although a lot of the pleasure of reading the physical book is lost on the screen.

I’m excited to see what will be at next year’s APE!