Broken Pencil Review

I just found out that I got a really sweet review of Dreams of Donuts #14 in Broken Pencil (which you can peek at here)!
Publication: Broken Pencil
Author: Gordon, Cam
Date published: October 1, 2013

Dreams of Donuts Comic, Heather Wreckage, issue 14, all4choice(ci)hotmail.com, heatherwreckage.blogspot.com

Hellarity was an (in)famous squat house in Oakland, California that boasted a rotating cast of punks, vegans, tramps, anarchists and other fringe dwellers during its tenure, and was known to neighbours and authorities for its "lively" comings and goings. Heather Wreckage was a one-time occupant and has captured a tribute to Hellarity in the latest issue of her Dreams of Donuts comic. To say this is a "warts -and-all portrayal" is an understatement and make no mistake, a portion of those warts are of the genital variety. While Heather details the mass of rats, vomit and bed bugs that inhabited the house, she always paints (well, draws) vivid portraits of love, companionship and self discovery-all completely off-thegrid and yet familiar and comforting to anybody with any semblance of heart The comic also give a fairly fantastic account of the house residents' battle with the owner, including details on the eviction process and the residents' attempts to seize control of the dwelling. It's dense, it's fascinating and it's way more than a glimpse into a lifestyle that is 100 per cent counterculture and yet rooted in a lot of fundamental emotions that are entirely relatable. All told, this issue of Dreams of Donuts is a compelling read with an amazing array of drawings and stories that should fascinate any and all. (Cam Gordon)

The Birth of a Flyer

How I'm spending x-mas today, along with reading Vegans Must Be Stopped (seriously, it's so amazing and hilarious).  This show is going to be for Sophie's birthday, and the line up is going to be the Crude Studs, Bad Daddies, No Business, Fiscal Cliff, and Class System.  It's January 18th here in Sacto, so if you're in the neighborhood you should totally come.

Trial and Error

I finally finished this drawing for the Hellarity documentary website, and scanned it today at a copy shop that is new to me and confusing.  It took me forever to figure out how to save it as a picture instead of a document, and honestly I wasn't even the one to figure it out, but it's done and thats all I care about.

Anywho, it's the holidays right now.  I pretty much hate x-mas because I'm one of those folks with little-to-no family and nothing to do, not to mention the blatant consumerism as well as the buying sweat shop products made by unprivileged kids for privileged kids.  That said, it can also be looked at as an opportunity to get a bunch of illustration done.  I'll be home drinking and drawing for the next two days, and I hope all of you dear readers are having happy, if not decent, holidays.

Hellarity

Saw this today and filled with nostalgia for this dirty junk pile I called home, as well as the variety of characters I called housemates.   It could be an experience in itself to stroll through the house and look at all the crap on the walls (art/flyers/maps/etc).  I circled my part  in this picture in red.

Printer Hero Merit Badge

Part of my prize from the Arts Exchange Program zine grant.  But where to put it?

When Life Gives You Lemons

  I have been pretty inactive with art lately due to a bunch of factors.  Friends came to town, which is probably the only positive factor, but also I had to deal with a leaky roof, a terrible cold (maybe it was the flu, either way I'm still not over it yet), and a flooded carpet which resulted in my landlord putting me up in a shitty motel room for a while.  My room is pretty much my "studio" and is still not totally fixed, but at least I am able to sleep in it now without it being a cold, icky swamp.
  Dreams of Donuts 19 is still in progress, as is this banner for my dear friend Vanessa (Hurricane in the Hellarity issue of DOD).  Vanessa is planning on making a documentary about our old home, Hellarity, and this should end up being the banner for the facebook page/website.  I think I heard the release date is being planned for November 2014, and will most likely be a must-see for punks galore.

  Also, just wanted to share some nice notes from the Screaming Queens and Lunchlady, was well as a sweet piece of mail I got from one of our incarcerated comrades (who unfortunatly was writing about the Razorcake review and used "Dreams and Donuts").

Art Exchange Program

Remember that zine grant that I applied to from the Art Exchange Program?  Well, it turns out I got FIRST PLACE!  I could barely believe it when I heard the news.  I get satisfaction from making Dreams of Donuts in a lot of ways, but this is one of the first instances where I have actually monetarily profited off of all my hard work (it really is hard work to draw that much). You can see who else won and what rad zines they produce here.  Also, if you make a zine, you should really think about applying for the grant next year.  Special should out to Marc for running the grant and helping carry the torch for small print.