SassyTuna Studio

Valentine's Day Luminaries. . .

2012-02-15T10:53:00.001-08:00

http://www.creaturecomfortsblog.com

Remember to use LEDs for this one. . . ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

http://lillyella.blogspot.com/2009/05/crafting-reusable-tea-bags_19.html

Here is a cute little craft...with the addition of a heart and a bag of loose tea from http://www.britanniateas.ca/

Pie and the Storm

2012-02-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

The 'Storm' we were supposed to have on Saturday never really turned into much, but it was a perfect 'pie' day. This recipe was made from allrecipes.com, and after trying 3 different varieties of ingredients, this website seemed to have the best mix. . .

SassyTuna Commercials - Here's the start!

2012-01-31T10:35:00.000-08:00

Time for a Party!

Green Screen Parties . . .

8 FOOT Drawing Wall for Games. . .

Caricatures. . .

Green Screen Movie Birthday Parties...Dance Party, Be Anywhere, & Animation Party

2012-01-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

These parties are held at 39 Kings Road, with space to eat and play! (click here or below for the map)

Happy New Year! Here are some photos taken last night, after I had a few minutes in the studio to tidy up. (Totally not perfect yet!)

2012-01-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

Here is the front, when you come in for a party or art lesson. The mailbox (in white on the red table) is sitting waiting to be painted. I don't think it's a good idea to put it up yet, with all the slush and ick this time of year)

This is what one side of the room looks like when you come in.

Here is the other side.

Here is another corner, where the children sometimes post artwork.

Here is a HUGE 8-foot white board. It is VERY good for playing drawing games.

This is the petite and fun bathroom. For some reason, people feel like the fish are 'watching' them in the loo!

Here is the kitchen, with a massive phone on the wall that actually works!

The Green Screen room, where we make movies, music videos and animations.

Here is some of the technical gear that makes it all happen.

This is the 'game plan' for when a 'movie' birthday party happens. Every party is unique and fun!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

Thanks again to everyone for your support and patronage since 2001! I hope you have a warm and happy Christmas!

(Do you know how DIFFICULT it is to find a pink Santa hat?)

Happy Hallowe'en!

2011-10-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Hallowe'en everyone!
My brother and I put this together on Wednesday, it is short and my *first one* like this! I hope you get something out of it!

2011-09-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.yelp.ca/biz/sassy-tuna-studio-st-johns

SassyTuna is now on Yelp, so if you have had an experience you would like to share, feel free to post!
As much as I love the caricatures, they always leave my hands, so they don't get posted much (by me).
It's usually an on-the-spot experience, so if you have feedback, feel free to share!

SassyTuna Survey Draw...

2011-09-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the soon-opening SassyTuna Studio on Kings Road (Down from the street from Moo Moo's Ice Cream), over 250 surveys were sent out to customers and we did a draw for a fun SassyTuna prize pack! Who won?

Thanks again to all those who helped me find some feedback, I really appreciate your time!

Mmm...houses!

2011-08-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

Folk Festival and Regatta

2011-08-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

Quel Freddo Giorno!

2011-08-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Wandering Brush invited me to do some face-painting for the Holyrood Beach Cleanup this week. Dylan Cag is a complete expert, and has an amazing kit of colors and brushes! The themes you see here are all sea-oriented. The weirdest thing the children found on the beach cleanup was a sham-wow. . .

Julie's Seahorse

Julie learning to paint on faces, not paper!

Dylan does line-painting...a great way to get through painting hundreds of children!

Dylan painted these beautiful girls with beautiful 'mermaid masks.'

This enthusiastic boy loved Dylan's chomping eye-shark!

Pufferfish Lantern

2011-06-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

1)Blow up a balloon, halfway is probably best! Too big and the lantern gets weak, too small and it's not too impressive!

2)Wrap 3-4 wires around your balloon, First, wrap around the neck of your balloon, and wrap all around the body of it, meeting at the neck again. Do another one or two this way, staggered around the balloon. Finally, thread one around the center, the other way...

3)A mix of flour, white glue, and water does the trick for our mâché paste; 1 part flour, 2 parts water, and a nice big blob of white glue, doesn't matter how much, just not more than the water! You can also use an old paintbrush to assist in stirring, then 'painting' your paper strips onto the balloon.

4)Now we're ready to mâché ! Tear a white tissue paper sheet into strips, then a coloured one. Starting with the white, completely cover the balloon, painting the strips on. Then put the coloured strips over. Keep the amount of paper you use to 2-3 sheets, or else the lantern becomes too thick to allow light through. Even though they look see-through now, once they dry, they are more opaque.

5)Dry over night. It is good to tie the neck of the balloon with a string and hang it somewhere harmless.
At this point, you can trace your sheet (There is a template sheet attached here, at the end, for your fish features) onto the appropriate colours, black, white, and whatever color your fish is, for example. (only black, white, and one other colour paper is needed)

6)Next morning, (DO NOT pop the balloon yet, I know you want to...) stick your eyes, fins, tail, and polka dots on with white glue. Do not use tape, it will not work! Let dry. Keeping the balloon inside will keep it strong until we are ready.
Again, there is a template sheet attached here for your fish features, and see the bottom photo as to where to glue them!

7)**NOW YOU CAN POP THE BALLOON** (YAY!) Take the rubber balloon out by the neck, and cut a quarter-sized hole in the end where the neck was. This is to put your LED light in later.

8)Poke a tiny hole in the top, and feed a thread down inside. Tip your balloon then, to let the thread escape through that quarter-sized hole you cut.

9) Tie a bead to that end of the thread. That way it can't fall out. And also you can tie beads to the other end of the thread, if you like.

10) Put your LED light in, already turned on, all DONE! ;)

Happy Lanterning!

The Mediterranean, very inspirational!

2011-06-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

Spring Life Drawings

2011-04-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Patrick - A Celebration
April 16-30, 2011 (Opening Reception on April 16 @ 7:00pm)
At the Arts and Culture Centre, The Group of 77 is having an exhibition of Patrick Brown, the dedicated, stock-still model. Here are some of my recent sketches of Patrick.

Caricatures and Chocolate at 166 Water and 166 Duckworth!

2011-04-05T14:13:00.003-07:00

Johnny Ruth, www.johnnyruth.com, had me in to do caricatures in February. It was hard for me to keep my eyes on the paper with all the gorgeous bags and jackets within reach :) . They're at 166 Water Street...

Then the Newfoundland Chocolate Company, asked me to design three bunnies for their annual Easter bunny run; Kathy Dunderdale, Joey Smallwood and Danny Williams are now sitting pretty in the front window on 166 Duckworth Street.

Yay 2011!!

2011-01-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

The SassyTuna packages went out: approximately 50 to Italy and another 200 to Newfoundlanders. It will be a very happy year with lots to look forward to!

Here are the packages that took about 5 full days to create, package and send out.

One last check on all the addresses.

The desk was wallpapered with magnets and stickers!

The skipped dip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eQQkWZtuNU

Nope, never did the dip this year :) ! We were geared to go, with bags packed, but 12 pm came too fast on New Year's day, and we never got to the boat ramp. Next year to wait for again, but we HOPE for a run off of the beach this time, not off the harbour's ramp!

Two SassyTuna Fonts for Download!

2010-12-09T07:01:00.000-08:00

Here are two fonts for download, created about three years ago. You can use them anywhere, for *personal use only* please !

Click on the font to get it. . .

Then when you're done, put it in your 'fonts' folder in the Control Panel to use it.

Polar Dip. . .2011??

2010-11-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t_Ci5Tgxd4

Last year January 1, 2010, this was fun, because it was my first time at this...
dunno if 2011 is going to be the same. I think I'll feel more brave if there's snow on the ground this time, so it feels 'official.' The dip into this harbour (The Atlantic Ocean) lasted about 40 seconds :) .

6 minute live-action drawing class!

2010-06-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

For now, this live-action drawing lesson requires a password for viewing.

If you don't already have a password, please email me at julie@sassytuna.com.

Drawing and Painting on 16mm

2010-06-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

For the first time, SassyTuna tried recording on 16mm (real) film, on May 16th, a couple of weeks ago. Last year we started some digital trials with green screen, and will have some of *that* content released in a few days. There is still lots of work to be done, but here are some photos to give you an idea of what was involved. The finished film took 14 people on site, and one whole day to set up and shoot, and will likely be a succinct 5-7 minutes when complete! Holy cow!

Birthday Parties...

2010-05-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

Things have been VERY busy on the birthday front. . .
Here is a beautiful little video of Brennen's party:

http://www.nategates.com/BHG/Brennen-Party/index.html

Credit for the touching photography goes to - Nate Gates www.nategates.com

This was a beautiful party, and the children were all so pleasant to spend time with.

It's pretty rare for me to have photos, since all the images go out of my hands...Last year I did just over 1000 images, and only have a few snaps to secure the reminder to myself that THAT many caricatures went out!

Post again in a couple of days! I gotta get on myself about this... :)

SassyTuna Studio Trailer

2009-12-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

Depictions, designs and doodles

2009-10-21T11:53:00.001-07:00

How much my heart is after just drawing!

Sleep deprived and happy. . .

2009-06-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here I am on the road, soon onto Italian adventures this summer! This photo was taken few hours ago, after a 4:30 am wake up in Halifax. Dr. Christine Hunt gave me a tour of the new NASCAD Port campus last night, what a beautiful place! There are HUGE clay kilns that are the size of elevators! The view is breathtaking as well, with the tall and long windows overlooking windmills, boats and the water.

Jenny and I will have some long-distance adventures this summer, as SassyTuna spans the Atlantic! I can't wait to see old friends and do some artwork under the sun!

Meet Jenny!

2009-03-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

This is Jenny MacDonald (right), the professional new addition to the SassyTuna Studio!
In addition to being a spunk-a-riffic girl, Jenny has all the patience required to tame the tizziest art party! Being so happy and enthusiastic, she is a real gift; here from Halifax, she fits right in! Look for more of Jenny's talent Summer 2009...YAY!!!

I Need Some Help in this Department

2008-12-10T06:48:00.001-08:00

Eastport -

2008-10-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Shawn Hayward at The Beacon for showing this photo today; last weekend was the Eastport Peninsula Agriculture Exhibition.

2008-09-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

This hat tells me I am too busy to be at the computer right now, be back with you soon!! (Thank-you Jo-Jo and Jennifer!!)

Off to the Races!

2008-07-30T06:08:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody:
I said 'always new':
it's difficult to keep up!

The past 2 months have been packed with caricatures, and many, many trips; I have met so many cool people and have had so much time to draw! Good thing, too, since I want to post some drawing lessons in the Fall...
Here are some photos from the last couple of weeks:

Julie and big, little brother Christopher at Salmon Fest.
All the new signs made it easy to answer questions.

There were thousands of people: my arm was tired, but it was lots of fun!

Thanks for taking the 'foo-fee' pink skirt(Cristina Fabretto's word)
photos before I left, Jennifer!

As soon as August is out, I will have more to post: 2008-2009 are to be the biggest years of a private project to be unveiled!

Thanks for popping by my site, this is a small posting, will have more to say soon!!

Julie

Pancake and the Savages

2008-04-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

Pancake & The House of Savages

A fresh new comic from a comically fresh artist!

About the Comic Strip

Pancake and the WHAT?! Allow us to introduce a unique, true story. With inspiration taken from the artist’s pet dwarf hamster, and real life scenarios with friend and fellow art-lover, Jennifer Barnable, “Pancake and the House of Savages” was born.

Whalen’s Pancake overflows with his larger-than-life personality embodied by a fuzzy, peach-coloured rodent sporting a faux-hawk. The House of Savages refers to Barnable’s house of cats and kittens – and yes, Pancake plays with them in real life! He actually dominates them by bitch-slapping their whiskered faces without a moment’s hesitation. Indeed, you’ll soon discover that Pancake is a superhero of a different sort…

Pancake is the new, alternative voice in downtown St. John’s, drawing from social commentary and his own adventures to bring chuckles from anyone who meets his acquaintance. Whalen describes Pancake as “the voice of the little person; the voice that makes you want to vent and rant – about the everyday annoyances of life. Pancake says and does things we wish we could. He’s cute, yet carefree and powerful – he shows us how to look at St. John’s in a different way.” Pancake brings us a hamster-eye-view of downtown in a way we least expect and handles everything with clever, impulsiveness.

About the Star: Pancake

Pancake’s signature characteristics are: his ability to stuff food in his cheeks until it is pushed back into his armpits; his tendency to bitch-slap his owner and anyone else who catches him at a bad moment; and -- above all --, his bizarrely deep and gravel-filled voice – nothing like you’d expect from a little fuzzy hamster. This can only be demonstrated in person, by Whalen.

As the comic strip develops and progresses, you will be introduced to each of the five felines that inhabit the House of Savages – as well as other side characters, unlikely creatures he meets along the way (including a fellow escapee guinea pig, Mr. Pigglesworth, and Tilly, his mousey girlfriend from Shea Heights!