A little preview of Peanut Butter and Jellyfish, a book for the youngsters I’m writing and illustrating with a nod to my time in Australia.  I can’t help but think “The dingoes ate my baby!” when I look at this one.

Sad songs of cicadas drift on the hot Santa Ana-like wind. Undulating water softly rocks the boat atop which I sleep under stars of the southern skies.  It’s the wee hours of what will become the hottest day on record in New South Wales.  Dew has gathered on the flybridge, but the dampness did not deter when faced with the heat and still air of the cabin below. I have been on a boat for five days now with the Hard family living what we jokingly refer to as The Hard Life.  Food.  Beer.  Sun.  Sea.  Rinse and repeat.  A [...]

Twenty some odd hours in transit and no shower in my immediate future, our first official stop after the Nelson airport was an icy river apparently fed from caves in the mountain above.  A quick roadside change into what would become my uniform for the next three weeks, and I was jumping into a breathtakingly cold lagoon.  I’d like to enhance the story a bit by pretending I had jumped off a substantial cliff, but alas, those daring feats will be left to Juanita (more on that in Aus installment). A walkabout in Ngarua Caves revealed evidence of a Moa’s [...]

A month has now elapsed since opening National Anthem.  With the election just 2 days away, the debate over healthcare is at a stalemate.  Political allegiances aside, I’ll be grateful to anyone who can bring permanent reform to an ailing industry.  As a relatively healthy young woman, self employed and of moderate means, I’m reluctant to cash in on the civic programs San Francisco offers. I’m compelled to pull my own weight, and believe those programs should be reserved for those who really need them. A little chronology to catch you up on my inspiration for the show: In 2006 I signed up for a PPO paying under $300 for a 2 month billing cycle.  By 2011, the same cycle cost me $930.  I finally left Anthem Blue Cross with my premium inching toward $500 a month.  I’m willing to commit funds to my own health, but $500 is a [...]

Interesting how one reacts to the trial by fire that is putting on an installation in the matter of a week.  Save a few donated hours by dear friends, I found myself working alone, hours on end to make National Anthem come together.  Gallery time intermixed with day job totaled 2 weeks consecutive of 10 hours or more.  I had forgotten what it felt like to work for a living.  Called my sister Tayler, who works on the ranch, to complain of my physical ailments each night. All things considered, I completed the installation with time to spare, and found myself content and proud of the outcome.  In the gallery by myself the night before the opening was like a cathedral, softly lit and quiet, save the goings on on the street outside (more on that later). Unfortunately, I have a love hate relationship with showing my work.  If an [...]

Signs procured on the streets of San Francisco, encased in resin as pop art jewels. Teichert’s 2011 series Spare Any Change shifts the underground economy of panhandling into new context.  The signs, some painstakingly crafted by the original draftsmen, display a gamut of emotions.  From pride [I Hate to Ask & U Hate to Give], to desire [Hungry for My Wife in Shanghai], to the old classic, humor [Why Lie I Want Beer].  Despite being one of the wealthiest cities in America, San Francisco hosts between 7-10,000 urban campers each night.  Teichert set out on foot to buy the signs from their creators, in the process gaining insight into one of San Francisco’s omnipresent issues, which will be chronicled in an upcoming documentary short.  Selected works were included in Los Angeles Art Association’s Open Show and the full series was showcased at Teichert’s solo exhibition National Anthem.  For slides of [...]