Orange and Yellow

I kept noticing these two colors all weekend. The little sculpture on the right is a tiny chair I designed in the children's education lab at the Museum of Modern Art.

first watercolors

One of my favorite things to do with Penny lately is paint with watercolors. The only rules I give her are:
(1) No black.
(2) Rinse your brush between colors.
(3) Look for a white spot to lay down a new color.
And then I let her go to town. When she's done I take a 5 x 7 mat (using it as a viewfinder) and move it around the painting till I find a nice composition, mark it, cut it out, and voila! A fine abstract piece, courtesy of a 2 year old. We've been giving them out as birthday cards.

Can't Keep Johnny Down

They Might Be Giants held a contest to make a video for their song, "Can't Keep Johnny Down". Here's the winning video.

Rainbow City

I love that my daughter is old enough now to enjoy some of the things that I enjoy. Above is a picture from a trip to Rainbow City, an art installation on the High Line.
I've become a big fan of staying home on holiday weekends. I was in dire need of rest and quality time with the family, and I got big doses of both.
This painting sold at the most recent Too Art for TV show, but if you like it there is now a print available in the shop. I'm thrilled with the way the print turned out. That yellowy tan took ages to get just right in the painting and was nearly as hard to color correct in the scan, but I was so psyched when it inched its way out of the printer. Looks perfect.
And finally, if you've ever wanted to try a Gocco, I'm selling mine from my Telephone Road shop. You've probably heard that these cool little machines are no longer being made, so if you're interested, grab it. I'm including an awesome stamper accessory I bought that lets you Gocco your WALLS, if you want! (Or just wood blocks, as I did).
Hope your July is off to a fantastic start.

Treasury

Made a treasury this afternoon. I love red-orange so much. You might notice it says the curator is Telephone Road and not MamaRobot. Telephone Road is my new vintage shop that I'm running with my mom. She's got lots of rad old stuff in her house and is looking to divest, and I was itching to make a well-curated, well photographed vintage store, so check it out. There's only a couple of lunchboxes there now, but I'll be listing more stuff very soon.

Inspiration

Since my last post I've accepted a design job that is taking up most of my time and creative energy. I'm really enjoying working in a studio again after over a 2 year hiatus, though it'll be awhile before I have the luxury of making another Kindle book. Until I have new work of my own to show, I'd like to share some things that have really inspired me lately. The first is this short film by the brilliant PES.

I'd also like to thank everyone for all the Father's Day orders. If you'd like to get a card or a shirt for your favorite robo-lovin' dad, there's still time to order!

West Elm recap

This is what my merch looks like inside a West Elm store. Even without a 6-ft. table to lug around, I was reminded of how much work even a 3 hour event can be, and how much preparation is required. But it was so much fun to set up with more space and more furniture at my disposal than I've ever had. It really was like having my own store for a night, with lighting, music, and, best of all, lots of customers! I want to thank everyone who came by to say hi and take a piece of MamaRobot home with them. I hope you all enjoy your purchases and come see me here real soon!