My Sunday's been looking like this. Lots to do. Lots to do. And Australia is right around the corner.

Hugely excited/nervous/honored/overwhelmed to not only be nominated but actually voted on to the speaking panel for Monterrey Mexico's Design Week. I will be speaking and contributing to workshops at the CEDIM sponsored design week October 25-19. Check out the other speakers here. I am also hugely thrilled to be going with my comrades David Gensler and Aerosyn-Lex, creative powerhouses of The KDU.

In other news, thanks to Sillas Macial who asked me to participate in his experimental design magazine, Code Magazine. I was super honored to have been give the cover. Check out the magazine here. I've got an interview in there where he lets me talk about nonesense, so give it a look!

I was really honored to be part of a small student magazine project in Colombia called Vademékum Magazine. You can view the online version here. [Photos courtesy of Vademékum creator Diego Ante.]

Here are a few excerpts from the translated article, published in Spanish:

Sara Blake is an American artist, who has been able to merge the best of both [worlds] to achieve aesthetically incomparable results, in her own words: “I love that tactile nature of drawing something by hand first, but I love the freedom and playfulness of digital. For me it was the most natural marriage.”

Art for Sara is more emotional than reasonable, she is able to convey sensations through her own thought and her own mood, that’s why her pieces can have very varied personalities, and communicate in very distinct ways. “I love my own style not because of how it looks, but because I love how it feels. It's a passion. It's like cooking or sports for some people. It's all me, and really it's the only way I know how to do things.”

Sara is not only an illustrator, but also an art director, designer and writer, what gives her even more tools when she has to communicate. All of this knowledge is reflected in her workflow, "I write more often than I sketch. I try to capture how I feel, who I think I am, and how I relate to the world. I find that articulating that first helps me figure out what my next piece will be."

Also exciting news: Hello ZSO was Website of the Day over at Design Taxi yesterday!

And below, another work in progress shot:

Above: is the new baby boy, Rhino. He's finally healthy—a little too healthy. All he wants to do is cause mayhem. It's tough to work with a kitten biting at the ends of your pencils. I'm coming to terms with being a cat lady. I work in my studio with 2 of them, and by studio I mean my studio apartment...a conveniently deceptive term for New York artists.

Below: a snippet of the Grizzly Bear show on Governor's Island on the 12th. They've been a top band for me and a major influence this year—I thought it was worth capturing a bit and sharing, even if only just for me.

No work to share today... just a taste of some of the good stuff life is made of. Great food. Great company.

Above: a quick "S" for no reason

Below: a cool rooster JM found in the middle of the East Village!

Above: the first few lines of something new

Below: messy behind the scenes

Below: a new girl

It's a pretty special thing when you get to work for a company you genuinely really dig and support. Working for SGC was definitely one of those instances. SGC just launched this summer and its full of awesome goodies. I own several garments myself, and they are amazing, simple, and fulfill all your hedonistic needs. Their sweatshirt beat out my old amazing NYU sweatshirt as my new favorite. The art direction and photography is beautiful, etherial, and just downright well done. They are also a cool company in that they really support creative people and have a whole section on the retail site for their artists. Now that's my kind of company.

Check out SGC NYC, you'll be glad you did.

And here is the portrait digi-fied. A rare under 24 hour turn around. Now something new!

JM in all his handsomeness.

I'm in serious draw-athon mode. Time is not my friend. Which I'm trying to look at as a positive as it's helping me loosen up and just go with something gut. Cranking out piece number 4 in under 24 hours. Hopefully another 3 in the next 24. Can't seem to get away from abstract portraits.

New piece for the show. Prints up to 6" tall.

Hello hello! I'm very excited and honored to announce that I've been nominated to speak at Design Week 2010 in Monterrey, Mexico. Please vote for me here!

Some of 2009's prestigious roster included Karim Rashid, Mark Wigley, DJ Spooky, Neo 2, and Jonathan Kenyon of Vault 49 to name only a few. Also in the running this year is our fearles leader of the KDU, David Gensler as well as other fellow KDU members like Mr. Daren Newman! Vote for them here.

New piece for Sydney in speed demon, all-nighter like fashion. Time for bed. Work in the mornig.

And what is happening at my feet while I work (above).

Update: Kitten named Rhino—above, sick and tired.

Spring came late this year. Time to start everything over again whether you like it or not.

Onward.