LO Studio Blog

Great review of Water and Fall

2009-06-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

Check out this great review by Rob Clough of Water and Fall by Martine Workman:

http://highlowcomics.blogspot.com/2009/06/mini-comics-round-up-marinaomi-gonzalez.html

"WATER AND FALL, by Martine Workman. This is a charming series of drawings that loosely work together to form a narrative of sorts about water. Mostly, it's about water spraying people in weird and unexpected ways. At times, it acts as comics-as-poetry, creating a certain rhythm of images on the page to get across the visceral sensation of floating and/or being splashed. I particularly liked the way that Workman diligently stippled drops of water while crafting figures that were small blobs in the face of nature. This comic is a beautiful trifle; it doesn't aspire to deliver a powerful emotional statement but rather simply creates an atmosphere and details a singular and similar set of experiences. It fits quite nice into the overall aesthetic of comics & zines published by Little Otsu."

All that and it's only $4!!

http://shop.littleotsu.com/collections/books/products/water-and-fall-by-martine-workman

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale

2009-06-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale is coming up next week and we're pleased to host a bake sale for the new vegan bakery Violet Sweet Shoppe in front of the SF store on Sunday, June 21st, 1pm-4ish. Crystal will be selling lots of her yummy cookies, cakes, and breads with half the proceeds going to Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue. So come by and get a taste of these new vegan treats, help out some birds, and treat your dad because he deserves it!

Event: Olympia Comic Fest

2009-06-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

Attention residents of the Pacific Northwest: The Olympia Comic Festival is tomorrow! I'll be at table 18 and I have some new books to share. 12-5 at the Vault, 425 Franklin Street, SE. Entrance fee - it's free!
http://olympiacomicsfestival.org/

Event: Lilli Carre in the Big Apple this Saturday

2009-06-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

If you're going to MoCCA this weekend, be sure to stop by the Fantagraphics table on Saturday from 3-4pm to say hi to Lilli. You can also catch her a few hours later (6:30-8:30) at Giant Robot for the release of Windy Corner #3.

Nine Ways to be "read immediately!"

2009-05-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to Whitney of USA Today's Pop Candy for picking Nine Ways to Disappear as a top read! "I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not wanting to go out and buy a copy for someone else." We couldn't agree more!

Q & A with Jo Dery (part 1)

2009-05-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

We first learned of Providence, RI artist Jo Dery when we picked up her mini comics Plant Life for Human Lesson. We were immediately drawn to her bold style and interesting narratives, but little did we know what a multi-media talent she was (filmmaking, animation, screen printing, and sewing are just some of the things she excels at). Her work with us so far has included cards, a notepad, the wonderful book Quietly Sure - Like the Keeper of a Great Secret, and an awesome window display and prints for our SF store. Thanks to Jo for taking the time to answer some of our questions!

The characters of Quietly Sure seemed to already have a full life before you put them in the stories of the book. What is the background for these characters and do you think they will continue to appear in your work?

Some of these little guys have appeared in my little books Plant Life for Human Lesson. Each character is kind of an archetype, only able to understand so much about what is happening to them, around them... You know, I am positive I am done with these characters - for now!

How did you structure the writing of the book? Did you have the whole thing written and planned out ahead of time or did you write it as you were drawing it?

No, none of it was written out beforehand. I mostly drew it and wrote it straight through, going back to make changes if I had to.

You call it a book of stories and yet there are characters and certain plot points if you will, that play themselves out over the whole book. So is it a whole contained larger story or is that coincidence or just playful elements?

Yes, I think of it as one story where the traditional linear experience of time gets choppy... It is like everything is happening in parallel, and at certain moments there is an intertwining of events, of time and place.

It seems like your printmaking background informed the look of your book--was that a conscious choice you made when you were creating the drawings?

I think you are right, it seems the use of half tone is reminiscent of the printing process, particularly color separations. I also think that the way some images are composed reminds me of how I frame shots for animation. I had not done much layout in the computer before, so it was a big learning experience!

When did you start doing animation?

The first animation class that I took was when I was a sophomore in college at the Rhode Island School of Design. It was with a professor named Yvonne Andersen. For the rest of my education there, I studied live-action filmmaking, and only took one other animation class. But by senior year, I had the bug!

Talk about the animation process and what's involved for you. Where do you work on it?

Here's a photo of my animation studio so you get the idea as I describe this place...

I have a stand that I have built, fitted with a digital camera, lights, etc. This camera is connected to my computer. I take stills as if they were frames of film, and then I animate them, and mess with them in the computer. This technique allows me to maintain hands-on physicality while making animation. I love to play with objects and paper cut outs under the camera. For example, the other day I animated a pigeon wing I found in my garden.

The other part of it is the creation of the soundtrack. This is equally as fun for me, as I often collaborate with friends, recruiting them to make music or voices. I make sound effects and field recordings. Lately, I am editing animation and sound simultaneously in the computer, something that back-in-the-day my 16mm tools did not allow. These days, I have an enormous flatbed film editor in my place (called a Steenbeck), so now I could swing editing picture and sound for film. I do love film, and I love my film camera (called a Bolex). It is a wonderful machine.

In terms of my process, I usually build a narrative around one image, an image that comes to me like a vision and I can't shake it even if I try. For example, in Echoes of Bats and Men, I had a vision of a cloud of bats flying out of the factory smokestacks in Providence. So, I traveled to Texas to film bat colonies, and then returned home to make all the animated scenes.

Do you have an interest in doing longer-form animations? What else do you want to do with animation that you haven't already done?

I like to make films that folks might want to watch again and again, searching for interpretations, gleaning for more meaning. The project I am doing now will have (gasp!) not one, but two human characters with lip-sync dialogue. The main thing I am trying to insert into my animation right now is language.

I would love to attempt longer animation projects. However, I think I would need a team, or at least an assistant, and a stretch of years, too.

You attended an international animated film workshop in Poland--how long were you there and how was your experience of Krakow?

I was in Poland for about a month, Krakow for 2 weeks. I went to a workshop with the animator Jerzy Kucia, whose work is amazing. I was able to go because of a former professor, Marcin Gizyki.

Krakow is a magical place. I can't begin to say how it affected my work, and my experience of the world at large! It was a dream.

Lilli Carre in NY Times Blog

2009-05-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

Everybody's favorite books blog Paper Cuts recently mentioned the Penguin edition of Huckleberry Finn that Lilli Carre did the cover for. Check it out here:

http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/classic-comics/

The great book design blog Caustic Cover also featured Lilli, including our new book Nine Ways To Disappear (thanks to Tommy T. for the link):

http://causticcovercritic.blogspot.com/2009/04/lilli-hans-and-anders.html

And you can always keep up with Lilli at her new blog! www.lillicarre.blogspot.com

Jo Dery print & Quietly Sure at Tiny Showcase

2009-04-28T19:58:00.001-07:00

Tiny Showcase has a limited edition letterpress print called "The Physicality of Tortoise" that's signed by Jo and includes a signed copy of Quietly Sure - Like the Keeper of a Great Secret. There are only 31 out of 100 left, so get yours while you still can!

http://www.tinyshowcase.com/index.php

Event: Dave Eggers & Valentino Achak Deng Reading Tonight

2009-04-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

At the McSweeney's office behind our store...

"Valentino Achak Deng is back from Marial Bai, Sudan, with astonishing photos of the school he's built in his hometown. Come see him and Dave Eggers TONIGHT at 8:15pm at 849 Valencia Street, San Francisco. They will show slides, talk about Valentino's foundation, and the future of southern Sudan. This is your last chance to see Valentino for a while. Don't miss it! "

Lilli Carre book debuts at Stumptown Comics Fest!

2009-04-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

We just received our first copies of Lilli Carre's Nine Ways to Disappear and we are excited to be debuting it this weekend at Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland! Come see us at booth #102--not only will we have special Fest discounts, we'll also be accompanied by the fabulous Martine Workman!

Event: 826 / Believer Movie Fundraiser

2009-04-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Focus Features is coordinating a series of events around the world premiere of Away We Go, the newest release from Sam Mendes starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. It was written by Vendela Vida and Dave Eggers and they're going on a mini-tour of screenings as a fundraiser for 826 National, The Teacher Salary Project, The Believer, and Voice of Witness.

May 1: San Francisco
May 7: Los Angeles
May 9: Seattle
May 14: Ann Arbor
May 15: Chicago
May 16: New York
May 31: Boston

Event: Jo Dery and Allison Cole in RISD Comics Show

2009-04-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

Friends of Nancy: Comics at the RISD Library
April 16 - June 26

Opening Reception
Thursday, April 16, 5:00-7:00pm
Library, Second Floor, Room 223

Fleet Library at RISD
15 Westminster St.
Providence, RI 02903

Friends of Nancy: Comics at the RISD Library is an exhibition of comics and graphic novels which will be displayed at the RISD Library. The exhibition includes an eclectic mix of groundbreaking contemporary and historical cartoonists from the Library's collection of Artists' Books and Special Collections, and will feature original pages and hand-printed mini-comics by Allison Cole, Cybele Collins, Jo Dery, C.F., Leif Goldberg, Carlos Gonzalez and James McShane. The opening reception will be held on April 16th from 5-7pm in room 223, the Special Collections Reading Room on second floor of the RISD Library.

Event: The Face on Your Plate at Powell's

2009-04-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight at Powell's on Burnside (in Portland), author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson of When Elephants Weep will be speaking about his new book The Face on Your Plate which, "explores our relationship with the animals we call food, challenging us to become conscious of how our food choices affect our moral selves, health, and environment." The title alone is a reason to attend. More info here: http://www.powells.com/events/

Milwaukee: Paper Boat Boutique Closing

2009-04-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

At the end of May, Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery in Milwaukee, WI will close its doors after four years of being in business. We've had the pleasure of selling our publications in their store and they were always very nice to deal with and will be missed. If you live in Milwaukee, definitely stop by their store before it's gone.

http://paperboatmilwaukee.blogspot.com/2009/03/paper-boat-is-closing.html

D+Q Birthday Concert

2009-03-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Drawn and Quarterly for turning 20 this year! They are definitely a paragon of publishing that we look up to. If you're in Montreal on June 3rd, their anniversary show with TV on the Radio and The Dirty Projectors seems like it's not to be missed. Plus snazzy poster by Adrian Tomine!

New Cards

2009-03-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

We finally have a new batch of cards in hand and they look great! Selena Wong and Gracia Lam from one of our favorite fellow North American countries join the LO team and perennial pal Jennie Smith pitches in too.

We also made a new Come Along postcard from a salvaged file of Lart's artwork for a sadly never-to-be-realized poster. But mini is better than never!

The Postal Service in trouble

2009-03-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

No, not that Postal Service, the older one that makes stamps. USPS is running out of money and is looking to make big cuts that affect everyone, especially small businesses like us that ship packages every day (except Sunday of course). We are not looking forward to a 5-day mail week!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/washington/26postal.html

"The Postal Service will run out of money this year unless it gets help, the postmaster general, John E. Potter told Congress on Wednesday as he sought permission to cut delivery to five days a week."

Event: Smallpressapalooza 2009

2009-03-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

If you're in Portland tonight go check out Smallpressapalooza 2009 at Powell's Books downtown starting at 5 pm. Our friend Emiko will be reading from her zine Broken HIPster (which is about dealing with kidney disease) at 6:15 pm. For more info on times and who's reading, check here: http://www.powells.com/events/

Reminder: Jo Dery at Cinders Tomorrow!

2009-03-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

Join Jo Dery in celebrating the release of Quietly Sure- Like the Keeper of a Great Secret at Cinders Gallery in Brooklyn, NY on Sunday, March 8th at 7pm. Jo will be showing some of her animated films & videos (including the brand new movie "Woodpecker in Snowshoes") and showing off Quietly Sure to all interested parties. Colin Langenus (usaisamonster) will be playing music and fun should be had by all (word is there will be popcorn).

Jo Dery Book Release Party

w/ Colin Langenus (usaisamonster) doing music
Sunday, March 8th at 7pm

www.cindersgallery.com

Event: Kristine Reano art show in Portland

2009-03-05T21:56:00.000-08:00

Hey Portlanders, go check out the opening for ex-little otsu intern Kristine Reano at Life + Limb:

San Francisco-based artist, Kristine Reano, draws inspiration from the intricacies of nature. She creates gossamer environments with watercolor and meticulously detailed line work. Kristine's most recent collection, "The Forgotten Meaning of Hollow", encourages the viewer
to question the notion of emptiness and it's illusions.

Kristine Reano
Artist Reception
Friday, March 6th, 6-9pm
Life + Limb
1716 E. Burnside St., Portland, OR 97214
503-233-4738
www.lifeandlimb.net

George up and down the West Coast

2009-03-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

As I've said before, my brother George is a busy busy guy and if you don't meet him at the Handmade Nation screening at Mezzanine next Wednesday, you have lots of opportunities to see him play (or tell a story) coming up...

march 13th fri @ the smell, la
burning star core
damion romero
workbench
ezra buchla
chen santa maria
http://thesmell.org

march 14th sat @ women house, la
moment trigger
lemon bear
chen santa maria

march 16th mon @ verdi club, sf
porchlight storytelling series
w/ george chen, stephen elliott, tba
http://www.porchlightsf.com

march 19th thurs @ southern exposure, sf
what's in the box?
w/ george chen, kit clayton, david horvitz, lukas geronimas, leif hedendal
http://www.boxgame.org/

.::chen santa maria/dan friel west coast tour::.
april 25th - portland - pocket sandwich w/ mark evan burden, yellow crystal star
april 26th - seattle - the josephine w/ redneck, arbitron
april 27th - portland - valentine's w/ white rainbow
april 28th - oakland - totally intense fractal mindgaze hut w/ grouper, pete swanson
april 29th - irvine - acrobatics everyday @ uc irvine w/ erika m anderson
april 30th - los angeles - the smell w/ lucky dragons, finches, erika m anderson
may 1st - los angeles - pehrspace w/ erika m anderson
may 2nd - san francisco - oven51 w/ high castle, erika m anderson, stamina mantis

http://myspace. com/chensantamaria

We put a Bunch of Stuff on SALE!

2009-03-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

We know it's tough out there and so in the spirit of getting more for less we put a bunch of things on sale in our storefront and online store:

-All calendars are on sale from only $4-$8! Crazy!

-Jeremy Tinder Journal for $9

-The Grid Notebook (a pocket-size notebook made entirely of grids) for $6

-Lart Stationery Set for a crazy cheap $3

-Plus lots of special bundles from your favorite artists

Check out our new sale section:

http://shop.littleotsu.com/collections/sale

The Beaches of Agnes

2009-03-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

We didn't have time to partake in much of the 32nd Portland International Film Festival, but we wanted to see something and The Beaches of Agnes jumped out at us since we loved the two Agnes Varda films that we had seen, Cleo from 5 to 7 and The Gleaners and I. Even though we ended up with craned necks and a bit of screen sickness from being relegated to the third row, the movie was totally worth it. It's a filmic memoir composed like memories are--disjointed, fanciful, random, sentimental. Varda has lived an incredibly colorful life and coming from anyone less charming, this might have come across as self-aggrandizing, but instead it is beautiful and inspiring. I don't want to go into details of the movie as each little bit builds up to making the wonderful whole, but I highly recommend seeing this if you get a chance.

Lilli Carre Interview

2009-02-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

Check out this great interview with Lilli at the comics site, The Daily Crosshatch (http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2009/01/21/interview-lille-carre-pt-1-of-3/). We have been working with Lilli on a brand new book of stories that should be coming out in the near future, so stay tuned! Until then check out her excellent book, The Lagoon (published by Fantagraphics).

Event: Handmade Nation Movie Screening & Tabling

2009-02-26T00:17:00.000-08:00

The San Francisco Film Society is screening the movie Handmade Nation and was nice enough to ask us and other local stores/crafters to have booths. Kirk will be manning our table along with George who will also be representing ZUM. The mini-craft fair will run before and after the movie and panel.

Handmade Nation

March 11, 2009, 7:30 pm

Mezzanine, 444 Jessie St, San Francisco

Tickets are $8 for SFFS members and $12 for non-members.
For all info: http://www.sffs.org/events/films/film_handmade_nation.html

(In full disclosure, we make a brief appearance in the trailer for the movie and so might be in the actual movie itself, but we haven't seen it yet.)