Yeah RLY!

I just finished my first mustache portrait (Thank you, Brad). I've got two other customers and am still taking orders if you're interested :D

I'll post a better version of this painting once I get my hands on one!

Do YOU Want a Handlebar Moustache?

Hey everybody :D

So the other day I made my facebook status this:

"Shayna Hawkins will paint a small portrait of you with a handle bar mustache for the low low price of $50. Sans mustache? Double it."

I was mostly just being facetious because I didn't think anyone, other than myself, would be interested in paying that much for a portrait of themselves with an eccentric 'stache.

Oh, how I was wrong.

I already have three customers who are just as excited as I am to see themselves with sweet handlebar mustaches. HOORAY!

I will post pictures of them as soon as I finish them. I'll also be painting one of myself. If you're interested in one, email me at:

tickle.me.plaid@gmail.com

Later gaters!

Cuomo here Rivers

Weezer was probably the first band that ever fell in love with. Sure, I had been sort of listening to Nirvana, the Breeders, and Metallica due to the interests of my older siblings. However, I never really felt like I could relate to a band until I first heard Rivers Cuomo sing "In the Garage". You see, Pre 7th grade, I was a skinny, ratty-haired girl who begged her brothers to let her play RPGs with them...in our garage. No joke. I rolled with 12 sided dice and knew exactly what River meant by "Dungeon Master's guide" the first time I heard him sing that line.

However, it wasn't just this relation that made me adore Weezer. There's something about Rivers' voice that, to me, seems so young and innocent, even now. The man is thirteen years my senior, but it's easy for me to forget that sometimes. As I grew up listening to the lyrics of the Blue Album through the Green, I felt as though the band was maturing with me; struggling and succeeding in love and life at the rate of Shay.

Yet after their third album, I started to lose interest in the band's music. I tried REALLY hard to enjoy Make Believe, but could only find a flicker of enjoyment from "My Best Friend," and to be honest I haven't really given the Red Album a chance. Until today, I couldn't help but wonder whether or not I'd ever enjoy anything produced by any of the band members ever again.

Luckily I read my friend Brenna's blog. She posted three video's of Rivers Cuomo singing live for stereogum.com in 2008 that I've completely fallen in love with. I'm going to post my favorite of the three, but will add links to the other two as well.

This video shows a live recording of the song "Can't Stop Partying". According to Weezerpedia:

"Can't Stop Partying" is a track from Alone II. Jermaine Dupri wrote the song and gave it to Rivers Cuomo because he claimed, as the Alone II liner notes say, that "the rock world and the hip-hop world were really the same: they were both all about partying."

I hope these fill your hearts with happy like it did for me <3!

Happy May Day!


Other Links:
Video #2
Video #3

cap'n gown

I'm going to be super busy during the next week, so I'm going to make this entry short.

Here's a tiny list of things that have been awesome lately.

Awesome thing number 1:
I'm going to graduate next week and I'm actually going to walk. I wasn't going to before, but I've decided that it might feel like I'm crossing a finish line, which appeals to me slightly. Look for the cap that has "FTW" painted on it. I'm also working on an appropriate silly walk for this occasion. See Monty Python for details...

Awesome thing number 2:
I got a flower for being helpful :) I assisted the gallery coordinator and a few others during the jurying of this semester's student art show. We had to put pieces back in the studios they came from if they were rejected (ex: a sculpture would be taken back to the sculpture studio). The process took over 4 hours, but I stuck around because I felt super social that day, which is a rarity this semester. I got this rose right as they were starting to hand out the awards on opening night (I don't own a vase, but I think the juxtaposition of the rose and this crystal cascade bottle is totally rad).



Awesome thing number 3:
My painting "Squid Baby," won best in painting and my digital print "ROFLcopter" won best in digital art at the student art show. I've only received an honorable mention before (at the bear gallery for "Mupples"), so every time I got called for an award I felt shocked, somewhat embarrassed, and ecstatic. It was a strange mixture of feelings to say the least.

So here they are again...the pieces that made me $60 richer. I'm going to get fancy sauces for my ramen :D

© 2009 Shayna Hawkins

© 2009 Shayna Hawkins

OMG! It's VIRTUAL Whimsy!

I want to make sure all of my family and friends are able to enjoy my gallery, even though some of you live too far away. So, I've compiled video, photos and links that will help you feel as though you were there, too! And if any of you are interested in purchasing any of the artwork, you can go to my previous blog HERE, to see the prices. I hope you all enjoy the tour <3!

This is a video of my show's opening reception. It was put together by my sweet boyfriend, Nick:


These peices are actually in the order you would see them on the walls if you started from the right side of the gallery and worked your way around it ("Good Morning...Darling!" being the first piece you would see). If you want to see larger images of the peices, click HERE:

This is the file that is looping on Computer 1 (of 3) in my BFA Thesis Exhibition "OMG Whimsy":

Animation 1:
"Mupples"
"Mupples" won an Honorable Mention at the Fairbanks Arts Association's Bear Gallery in the 2009 "New Media: art via digital technology" Exhibition. It is also featured on Aniboom's You-Tube Channel with over 12,000 hits.

Animation 2:
"KSUA Rocks!"
This animation has been featured on KSUA-TV, UAFs Student Television station. It is based on a logo I had created for the Student Radiostation KSUA 91.5fm in Fairbanks, Alaska.


This next file is the one that is looping on Computer 2 (of 3) in my BFA Thesis Exhibition "OMG Whimsy".

1st Animation:
"Emoti-Cat"
3-D Animation composited into video.

2nd Animation:
"Mash-Up"
A mix of some of my animations from the past and present. Music by Gage Choat.

3rd Animation:
"The Kite"
An animation I created based on the kite I created and painted for my beginning sculpture class. This is a rough animation and I plan to clean it up and change some things in the future. Music by Gage Choat.


Computer 3 (of 3) had a flash file that contained my Shay-Town comics. You can see what it looked like by clicking HERE.


Well there you have it, friends. I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of my show! I'd like to take this moment to thank Jess for the help she gave me during set up, and for taking beautiful photos during my reception. I'm very lucky to have a professional photographer as a best friend. I would also like to thank Gage Choat for always being generous with his music. I am very fortunate to have a friend who creates songs that go so well with my humor and artistic style. And last, but certainly not least, Nick, who kept me sane during installation and helped me more than I could have ever asked for during this stressful time.

I love you all! Thanks for checking out my show!

<3 - Shayna

PS If you would like me to post the artist statement later, I will. I just need to find the jumpdrive it's on :D!