Hoop Skirts and Clockwork

So, around March of last year, I decided to buck up and be an Artist in the Jackson Southern Fried Comic-Con. Just one problem: I didn't know what to do. My roomie & anime convention veteran had an awesome gimmick- different characters as cats. Original, impressive, & adorable. I, however, do not have the drawing mastery of cute & cuddly animals she has. So we brainstormed & thought about it, & I finally got it.

I like movies/TVshows/anime. I like steampunk. I'm from the South. Let's throw it all together!

Introducing Steampunk Magnolias, a series of different characters put in the steampunk version of the Antebellum South.

I started with Batman's rogue's gallery

based on a costume I own for the most part. Need the red tights & shoes.

Someone called him the David Bowie Joker. I totally don't mind.

Moved to Final Fantasy VIIJust call him Confederoth

Some anime

WatchmenYes, that is a pickled squid. :3

& some fun movies.

See the rest of the series here. All Characters (c) their respective owners. Any ideas for the next batch?

The Gift of the Golden Rectangle

So I'm actually gonna get all bloggy with my bad self. Sue me.

I'm a Mississippi girl & proud of it. Sundresses, preference of going barefoot, fried food, the works. The South is part of who I am & a fraction of that tends to show through my artwork.
Then I pop out art like this:


Here's my secret- I'm also a National Geographic girl.

Growing up in my house, fashion magazines were not that prevalent. No Vogue. No Elle. No Marie Claire. My mom had Southern Living & Better Homes & Gardens, which was boring because all the pictures were of food and houses. There were a couple issues of McCalls & Redbook her friend had given her that I hoarded and poured over (cause mommy fashion mags are swank, yo), but those were unique cases.

The other magazine n the house was the National Geographic.
How I lived to be told to check the mail and find that beautiful brown paper wrapping in the mailbox. I made a goal to rip open that sucker & read it before my dad. Even though I didn't always read it; my focus was on the pictures. Gorgeous, candid, world expanding pictures that blew a little kid's mind might've started her reading the dictionary for entertainment. (Odd, I know. I was that kind of kid.)

What really stuck with me was how Nat Geo presented people, and women in particular. In this model-infested, beauty-obsessed society, these chicks were Real. They had problems and fears and insecurities, and it showed in their faces. The women were not often thin. Dirt was on their feet and lines on their faces. But they were (& are) gorgeous. Ladies in saris, burkhas, babushkas, and tattered dresses have been the most beautiful women I've ever seen. They were beautiful because they were real and imperfect. (Take THAT Lady Gaga!) Here's just a taste of what I'm talking about:
There are a few issues I've read over & over, staying with me through the years. I brought them to college with me.

'African Marriage Rituals' November 2000: I nearly wore the cover off this issue. Whether they wear Berber veils, Ndebe beads, or Himba skins, every girl shares the universal experience of being a bride. The same emotions in western weddings are here too: joy, nostalgia, anxiety, even fear. As different and strange as each wedding is, I am reminded we are all the same as humans.

'Rana Tharu' September 2000: The article describes them as women of grace & it couldn't be more true. They wear homemade dresses, live in conditions we couldn't dream of, & yet they are fiercely proud, independent and strong. There is such strength in their gazes, I couldn't help but admire them.

'Untouchables' June 2003; Very much resonated with me & my loathing for unfair discrimination. It was the first time I felt a calling to the mission field. It would not be the last.

So, all those feral, tribal, powerful women I tend to draw, the come from here.These strong, imperfect, Real women were my supermodels and glamour girls growing up. And I'm proud of that. Just today I bought an old issue of Nat Geo at our Goodwill store. It's from 1978 & has an article about the marriage of a Swazi princess to a Zulu king. I can't wait to read it.

Oddford 25: Scheming Sneezes

Sorry Sarah, but you're a bit of a voice of reason at Oddford High, and some chaos needs to happen.

I thought how cute it would be if Sarah's friends take care of her when she's sick. It fit in perfectly with the current arc, so here it is. And oh yes, on some level, Karen *knows*.

Sarah, Labyrinth boys (c) Henson, Jones, Froud
Oddford (c) me

Oddford 24 New Kid in Town

Perfectly Valid Excuse #34: DA (where I ref all my descriptions for Oddford pages) was down for the first few weeks of school. Honest.


Rodion sure looks like one of those brooding charmers. Girls always seem to love that. Except for Sarah. it rare anything with a Y chromosome impresses her these days.

Obviously, I've been having fun with my visual coding. Spot the symbolism and win the internet. Hopefully I put in enough clues as to exactly where their biology teacher has been .

Sarah (c) Henson, Jones, Froud
Helena (c) Henson, Gaiman, McKean
Rodion (c) Dostoevsky
Turner (c) Disney, Rossio, and Elliot
Landon (c) legacy of Gaiman
Dr. Grant (c) Speilburg, Chricton
Calria, Oddford (c) ME

& I just figured out my sis-in-law & I have the same taste in blog layouts. Check her out: http://girlmeetsmat.blogspot.com/

Oddford 23: No Good Deed

...Goes without a left-handed blessing. Calria is getting used to her terms of the Sarah/Jareth diplomacy contract, only to fear or her life on the way to school.

After 23 pages, I figured ya'll deserve some fanservice for your dedication. There's also a shout out to Ergo Proxy if you can find it. & kids, let this be a lesson to you, never ride a motorcycle without a helmet. Even if your mohawk does look that cool.

Sarah (c) Henson, Froud, Jones
Calria & Caleb (c) me

Oddford 22:

This is not an excuse, but I am babysitting, kay. I'm exhausted by the time I get home. Yet in some way, Oddford marches on.
If you thought Oddford was just going to be cute gags and obscure movie references, I am sorry for misleading you. Calria is the firstborn child of a High King. Complications will happen. Her cousin/guardian is a vassal king with a past.

Said past is about to catch up with him, and they are not happy he's put family before hedonism. Watch for further complications.

I suppose you're wondering as well, why is the protagonist of Crime and Punishment now an incubus? Well, summer before junior year of high school, I was assigned to read that book and do an annotation by a certain due date.

I wasn't reading enough to reach that due date, so my mother grounded me from the Internet until I finished the book. I read at least six hours of Crazy Russian a day for two weeks. It was an experience bordering on mental transcendence. I understood afterwards that there is a seduction in madness. It is as much a temptation and desire as for vice. That is what Rodya represents here. The temptation to turn your back on all your hopes and friends.

Jareth (c) Froud, Henson, Jones
Raskolnikov (c) Dostoyevsky
Dorian Grey (c) Wilde

Oddford 21: Doctor and Doctor

Sorry for the missing two posts. I was busy prepping and recovering from going to my first convention. Recap post to come.

Hooray! Oddford gets herself a real plot. *tear* I'm so proud. & we get to see the kind of buddies Jareth gets to have. You probably can't tell, but Giacomo is my best attempt at David Tennant's excellent portrayal of Casanova in the titular Masterpiece program. Hopefully, I shall improve with time.

& yes, Oddford's doctor is THAT Dr. Pierce.

Jareth (c) Henson, Jones, Froud
Jack & Johnny of Penelope (c) Witherspoon (I think)
Casanova (c) BBC, Tennant
Hawkeye (c) Alda