The Jim Henson Company

So excited to be prop building for Sesame Street!

Happy Mother's Day!

Love, Yayi

A day in the life

A normal day at work;
•pinning butterflies & beetles
•gutting scorpions
•patching & painting taxidermy
•custom framing
•cleaning bones
•making a freeze-dried mouse head puppet for a magician... duh
•constructing domed dioramas
•playing with work pets!

She's up!

McNally Jackson bookstore

52 Prince Street

New York, NY 10012

--------------------and a little Before & After!--------------------

A Flaxen Chestnut Wee Bonnie Lass, she is

So for a whole MONTH, I spent my nights and weekends sanding & finishing; the most tedious part of this project by far. Over the past week I've been painting and mixing up my own pigments using Milk Paint. I chose this medium because it gives more of a matte finish and I didn't want it to look like a plastic cast, although, I did have to clear coat it with a subtle sheen to seal in the paint. I'll probably add some detailed gold border, I'm thinking a vine pattern, to the green of the blanket. The round base and brass twisted pole come in the mail this week.

 INSTALLATION IS NEXT WEEKEND. SHE WILL BE IN THE WINDOW DISPLAY OF THE MCNALLY JACKSON BOOKSTORE IN SOHO FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON! 

OH AND HER NAME IS BONNIE

Ghost Horse

One layer of gesso down ^
The white illuminates any imperfections in the surface so from now on you can find me sanding my fingerpads away...

Carving the mane

I used an angle grinder to hack off big chunks of basswood, and a V chisel to channel out the hair.

Domestic Lubbers

Some of my vignettes that will be at our show!

Peaceable Kingdom opening reception

Come check out my and talented bff Becca Barnet's
original works at Hub-Bub gallery this Thursday September 20th

Illustration! Animation! Puppets! Taxidermy! Insects! Miniatures! Dioramas!

Horse Operating Table

Doesn't look like much has changed, but I've been hacking away for a few weekends in a row now. Every nook and cranny has to be sanded smooth, and all edges squared off. Yesterday was a big day cause I finally glued the legs on and patched up the seams.

Every carousel horse has a Romance Side which is the side that would be on display. Pictured is the side with less detail as the mane is flipping the other way.

My Little Pony

My very own carousel-horse-in-progress!
This is a Third Row Jumper, meaning all its legs are off the floor and it would be in the third row if it were in a real carousel since the horses recede in size per row to give a forced perspective. So she is about the size of an actual pony and not a full grown horse.

 This photo was taken about a month ago and I'm only just about to pick up where I left off since I'm now a member of the Gowanus Studio Space.

Choosing the colors will be the hardest part, and I am fighting every

 bone in my body to not make it a Palomino.

The beginning...

A little bit derpy

Adding some snout length. Ouch.

LOOK AT THIS STUFF

ISN'T IT NEAT? WOULDN'T YOU THINK MY COLLECTION'S COMPLETE?

I pinned my favorite specimens. The Goliath beetle has a velvety, burgundy elytra - what a beaut!

Atlas moth

Attacus atlas

gouache painting

15"x13"

Happy Mother's Day!

Insect fabric

FABRIC ARRIVED

I uploaded my design to Spoonflower and ordered a fat quarter of quilting weight cotton.

You can order it HERE!

Rainy day pen & ink

Chain Link Scarf

One of the easiest knits I've made so far. Just stockinette stitch and a lot of Downton Abbey!

Assistant Entomologist

I started a new job in October working at an entomology department in Manhattan, where I get to learn about all kinds of bugs. I have learned how to pin and preserve butterflies, moths, scorpions, spiders and beetles for framing and display.

Here are a few butterflies I spread and gave as Christmas presents...

Ornithoptera croesus lydius (female Birdwing)

Papilio ulysses (Blue Emperor Swallowtail)

Calligo illioneus (Owl Butterfly)

Urania ripheus (Sunset Moth)

6th annual Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest

...was a success!

I was hesitant to submit the coyote I made this summer because she's such a traditional mount (this contest mostly embraces the kooky, kitschy and rogue), but it seemed like people loved her. We came back with a trophy! "Best Buddy" category - whatever that means! :)

Note the amazing Tae Kwon Doe trophy... 

and my very own Bow Hunter Ann, complete with treestand!

Saw her in Time Out New York, and found some really sweet comments...

Good days media:

The overall winner of the competition was Mike Zohn of the tv show Oddities for his beer-dispensing (pissing) coyote keg. The cooler that it's mounted on actually works. Now why didn't I think of that!

Make sure to come out to next year's competition at the Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn!