Trumpetflower Blog

Summer Journal #10: Farväl!

Katy — Sat, 05 May 2012 22:50:55 +0000

I was seldom haunted by homesickness during my adventure abroad – thanks to borrowed computers and my trusty iPod, loved ones back home were only a wifi signal away – though I sometimes opted for more primitive methods of keeping in touch…

Of all the comforts of home, one I never expected to miss was stars! Thanks to the ever-present summer sunlight, for my first month in Sweden I saw nary a glimpse of the night sky… but in late August the darkness began to fall before my bedtime, heralding the approach of Autumn – and the end to my journey.

Apple trees in Kungälv bearing ripe fruit were another sign of the season. Tart and delicious though they were, I felt bittersweet knowing that my days of feasting on Swedish fruit were numbered!

And yet, my departure was a joyful occasion, knowing beyond a doubt that I would return home inspired – and so I did! Someday I will revisit Sweden, but for now…

(Farewell!)

Summer Journal #9: Malmö & Höganäs

Katy — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:12:45 +0000

On my way back to Kungälv from Berlin, I made two stops in southern Sweden – first in Malmö, for the Malmö Festival. This free week-long art & music festival takes place every year in Sweden’s 3rd largest city, drawing performers and artists from all over the world.

Each city square was furnished with at least one stage offering live performances of every conceivable genre of music. After enjoying some local musicians, I headed for the largest stage of all to see one of my favorite American artists, Iron & Wine.

Even a wintry summer storm couldn’t ruin this spectacular show, which I enjoyed with my wonderful couchsurfing host Nadja – and her handy umbrella!

After 2 nights in Malmö I hopped a bus to Höganäs, a small coastal town on Sweden’s southwest shore. There I spent a weekend at the beautiful home of couchsurfing friend Jonn (who I hosted in Portland a few weeks before my trip).

Calm and idyllic, Höganäs was the perfect place to relax and reflect on my travels and my impending return home, while exploring the rocky beaches with Jonn and Canadian couchsurfer Kayla.

My visit culminated with photography & hijinks at a beachside playground…

Coming next: Homeward bound!

Summer Journal #8: Berlin

Katy — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 04:25:32 +0000

Berlin was my #1 dream destination since I was a teenager. Steeped in history, splattered with graffiti and teeming with artists, Berlin seemed to me like a city of change – with a dark past, a bright future, and a colorful present…Catching an early-morning bus out of Copenhagen after a late-night party left me dead on my feet, but excitement restored me to life as we neared Berlin.

When I arrived at the bus station my friend Mike Joffe was waiting there to greet me. An old college buddy, Mike was living in Prague and we agreed to meet up in Berlin and do some sightseeing together.

Our first stop was Kunsthaus Tacheles, which I nicknamed the “graffiti palace” – an old building that was once a department store, then a Nazi prison, now an art center featuring galleries, studios and walls decorated floor-to-ceiling with spray paint.After visiting Museum Island (yes indeed, an entire island of museums) Mike and I were caught in a downpour, whereupon we bought matching rain ponchos. I couldn’t help but draw our stylish selves…That night we collaborated on this jam comic – see if you can figure out who drew which panels… (I have trouble remembering, myself.)

The next day we sketched our way through the famous Berlin Zoo, where “celebrity” animals such as tigers and wolves live alongside more mysterious creatures with names like nyala and barasingha. After Mike returned to Prague, my fantastic couchsurfing host Lia stepped in to take me on a magical nighttime tour of Berlin’s famous landmarks…

Between the majestic monuments and museums, the eclectic architecture, the murals and the street performers, Berlin feels like a living work of art.In five days I walked all over Berlin and visited most of the main attractions, but I knew there was much more to discover about this amazing city. As my bus rolled away from the city, I consoled myself with the thought that I would return for another visit someday – and still more adventures awaited me back in Sweden…

Coming next: Malmö & Höganäs.

Summer Journal #7: Copenhagen

Katy — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 06:38:35 +0000

Toward the end of my summer abroad, I took a solo trip to Berlin that had me passing through Copenhagen for one night. Or so I thought…The capital of Denmark is a beautiful old city, and my couchsurfing host Mads was kind enough to spend a rainy afternoon showing me the sights. Danes are fearless when it comes to wet weather – like the stalwart fellows guarding Amalienborg Palace…

The next day I had planned to catch a bus to Berlin, but a series of train delays set me back such that I missed my ride by mere minutes…

Turns out being stuck in Copenhagen for an extra night was no tragedy. Mads happened to be throwing a party, so I got to meet a friendly bunch of Danes who introduced me to Fisk – a kind of liquor that hits you like a minty fresh punch in the face.

A toast to happy accidents! If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Coming next: Berlin at last!

Hourly Comics Day 2012

Katy — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:10:22 +0000

Here are my results for this year’s Hourly Comics Day, which is fast becoming my favorite holiday. I even got the kids I work with involved this year! My influence is something terrible. (Keep in mind though: even though I work with children, my life & my art aren’t always kid-friendly. These comics have some bad words!)

You may view the evening’s events from another angle through Max Karl Key’s hourly comics! Might I also recommend the hourly comics of my friend Kevin Wilson? And of course, there are many others worth a look at the Hourly Comics Day 2012 Forum.

My own previous hourly comics can be found on this very blog:
Hourly Comics Day 2011
Hourly Comics: Seattle Edition

Flash-forward to January

Katy — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:23:42 +0000

We now interrupt your (not so) regularly scheduled summer journals to bring you a freezing cold blast from the present. The dreaded dark days of January are nearly over, much to my relief – though as you can see, I’ve mastered the fine art of bundling up:And this month had its moments, to be sure…

Summer Journal #6: Finland

Katy — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:55:53 +0000

My host family took their traditional trip to Finland to visit relatives soon after my arrival in June, which meant my “work-abroad” summer kicked off with a vacation. I enjoyed some pastoral peace & quiet in the tiny village of Solf, and spent several days exploring Vaasa with family friends Leo & Marjatta.The fun began with a voyage across the Bay of Bothnia on a ferry resembling a giant luxury cruiseliner – complete with a swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna!My modesty in the sauna definitely made me stand out as an uptight foreigner…Solf is home to Stundars, a cultural center that recreates a turn-of-the-century Finnish village. I’ll never forget my first visit to Stundars, when I helped chase down a runaway calf! These drawings documenting the incident have since been donated to Stundars…

Stundars hosted a children’s party during our visit, where Robin Hood himself taught me the basics of archery:

Even beyond Stundars, the art community in Solf is diverse and friendly. A gallery visit led to a private lithography demonstration in a local artist’s home studio:When I wasn’t chasing farm animals or touring galleries, I relaxed in the warm glow of the ever-present summer sun… Like any proper summer vacation, this one featured barbecues…

…and picnics!Coming from Solf, Vaasa (population 59,670) felt like “the big city” – but not many big cities offer such serene coastlines…The artist Leo Ackley gave me a walking tour of Vaasa in the pouring rain…

And we spent some quality time in his studio, where we collaborated on this gryphon!

Last but not least on the Finland tour: Lupe the Texas Chihuahua, belonging to a Panamanian Couchsurfing host – rejected from the Vaasa Chihuahua Club for being twice the size of any Finnish Chihuahua.Coming next: Copenhagen!

Mungo the Sadsack

Katy — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:40:03 +0000

A jam comic is an improvised collaboration between 2 or more cartoonists, usually trading panels back-and-forth and watching a story emerge from nowhere. The result is an interesting hodgepodge of visual and storytelling styles.

Here’s one such comic I created with Max Karl Key. I’m calling it “Mungo the Sadsack.”

Max drew the first panel, and it should be easy enough to tell apart our styles from there on. We collaborated on the last panel – I drew the character and composition while he finished up the background.

It’s great fun to tell a story this way, and I hope it’s fun to read as well!

Summer Journal #5: Gothenburg

Katy — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:43:22 +0000

Sweden’s second largest city, Gothenburg, is a beautiful maritime metropolis featuring a giant ferris wheel, an ancient sailboat and many more amenities that I enjoyed on routine visits during my summer in Sweden.

Most of these visits were spent wandering aimlessly through Gothenburg’s dense, walkable neighborhoods. Around every corner I found striking architecture – from the stoic simplicity of Skansen Kronan, a 17th-century fort…

…to the geometric chaos of Oscar Fredrik Church, a 19th-century Neo-Gothic cathedral.Poseidon presides over the Avenyn, Gothenburg’s main drag, from this ornate fountain at the stoop of the Gothenburg Museum of Art.

I spent 2 full days exploring the museum itself, and was particularly mesmerized by the Van Gogh piece “Olive Grove with Orange Sky.”And it turns out the big city is the best place to get in touch with Sweden’s signature fauna – Slottsskogen, a giant park in central Gothenburg, offers a free zoo highlighting native animals such as this beautiful moose mother & calf.I dream of returning to Gothenburg one day because I can tell there is much, much more to discover in this fascinating and friendly city.

Coming next: Finland!

Gift Art: Mementos

Katy — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:48:39 +0000

The Swedish forest inspired this final round of gift-art paintings…