So I recently had the awesome privilege of illustrating/designing a book cover for Laurie Penny!
If you don’t know who she is, you should read the things she’s been writing about the London riots.

I had a lot of fun doing this cover– mostly because it let me do my two favorite things: drawing a pretty girl, and lettering type by hand.

Now I have to run off and do more scrambling to get ready for APE.

You can preorder Laurie’s book right here.

Last night was a night not unlike most of the nights I’ve had lately, which is to say I was having a small freakout to myself about not getting enough done.

You see, my dear friend Kenan sent me a message recently, saying he couldn’t make it to the west coast for the Alternative Press Expo next weekend…and would I happen to know anybody who would want to take his table?

So, of course I jumped on it, and I’ll be exhibiting, and that means I’m currently scrambling to get my product together.
I’ll be tabling with the usual crew of Tim & Jeremy.

Also it will be my birthday. So come by and say hi and stuff.

I’ll have copies of All Over The Map, and Instabook (possibly in COLOR?), as well as prints, and OH YES FRIENDS, some necklaces as well.

Necklace merch will still be from the old line, but I’ll have some new colors for you.
All of this will be available online, along with the new lines, in time for Christmas, but if you show up in person you get the goods first.

Anyway, as I sat there having my little freakout, I realized that none of the new jewelry packaging is done yet, and I’m out of business cards, and I somehow lost my box of old necklace packages in my last move.

So I took a deep breath and started sketching, made myself the new logo you see above, and ordered new cards/packaging today.
When I get them I’ll take some pictures and show you.

This probably won’t be my totally permanent and final branding, but I’m starting to get better at just letting go and allowing for things to change over time. I used to be really good at not putting something out there until it was perfect, but the truth is perfection is hard, and I often just overworked stuff until it was totally unacceptable.

I’m taking steps to change that.
It’s a start.

So after the crazy of Burning Man, Tim and I decided that the best thing we could do was go to Napa and do nothing for a couple days. So, we threw Sky in a zipcar and the three of us headed up north for a couple days of Napa, which mostly consisted of putting delicious things in our faces. For example, these epic macarons from Bouchon. The PB&J one was my favorite.

Other noms not pictured: 4 course tasting menu from La Toque– which included the best Riesling I have ever had.
I am the only person in my friend group who drinks white wine. Every time I do it I think of that Tim & Eric Sketch.

We got this fucking epic hotel room, which I wish I had been able to enjoy more. I, sadly, had a comic book deadline, so I spent much of our stay bent over my wacom.
It was HUGE though. Also there was a bathtub in the bedroom. I wish I had taken more pictures.

The next day we visited Francis Ford Coppola’s winery. He’s turned it into a weird museum, showcasing a pretty random array of things. Some of his awards are on display, along with his first edition copy of Ulysses, and a bunch of stuff from the family that owned the winery before him. 

Most importantly though, he had a huge collection of zoetropes and magic lanterns. These were actually really cool, and I was somewhat disappointed that they’re at a winery, where one wouldn’t really know to go looking for them.

More than anything, this visit made me wonder what I would do if I had the kind of money and wherewithal to open a museum.
Coppola’s collection was really little more than a bunch of stuff that he thought was cool, and a bunch of his personal history.
I think about this and I imagine putting every piece of sentimental ephemera I’ve ever gotten on display. 

Over here is the first “do you like me, check yes or no” note I ever received.
To the left of that you’ll find the entrance to the breakup wing.

Here is my collection of mostly Boston area zines and poetry chapbooks, circa 1998–2003.
You can read them if you promise to be careful.

This is an absolutely terrible idea, so you will never visit, but I hope one day I’ll write some comics that will make you feel like you did.

So, this is mostly for the benefit of all you new people on the tumblr, but it occurs to me that I haven’t done one of these on my proper website in forever either…so here goes.

Hi.
My name is Star St.Germain.
I live in San Francisco in the Lower Haight and I love my neighborhood more than anywhere else I’ve ever lived.
My boyfriend and I live together in a truly excellent flat with a lot of space and an only moderately awkward layout.
I play the cello, and draw comics, and make videos, and make widely varying noises into microphones in front of large groups of people at regular intervals.
I used to teach modern dance.

Like most artists, I have a day job.
I write code for the largest producer of hardcore bondage pornography in the US.
It is the best office job I’ve ever had or could ever hope for.
I work in a castle, and I spent every day on roller skates for the first year or so that I worked there.
Our vision statement is: To be the world’s most recognized and respected company promoting the acceptance of human sexuality.
I truly believe that’s a worthwhile thing to promote.

Right now, I’m feeling really fucking motivated to Do Some Big Things.
My short list includes putting out an EP of original music with my band, creating music videos for all the songs on that EP, relaunching the line of laser cut jewelry I put out in 2009, and writing a series of autobiographical graphic novels of a somewhat mature nature.

All of those projects are at least partway in progress and I am DYING to finish them.
If any of those sound like things you want help me with, don’t hesitate to get in touch — even if it’s just to say you’d enjoy it if those things existed.
I’ll be showing all of you how those things are coming along over the next little while. 

I really like the color red, typography, oversharing, experimental hip-hop, behavioral science, DeLillo, stripes, thai food, anatomical models, and typewriters.

I also like love letters if you want to send me one.

–S

As promised, here are the holga pictures I shot at Burning Man.
I can’t say they turned out as well as I was hoping, but I have a much better idea of what to do with my pinhole on the next go around.

I got pretty much an entire roll that looked like the above shot. Next time I’ll know that when I think I’m close enough, I need to get about a million times closer.

Slightly related, but not exactly, today on facebook I noticed that I’d been tagged in a couple things, so I’ll put them here as well.

Here are some shots by the excellent and talented Icka Boo:

I made the mistake of thinking that buying an incredibly cheap ebay cello to bring to the playa was a good idea.

Sadly it turned out to be more of a cello shaped object than a cello, and it was nearly impossible to make any pleasing noises on it. 

Next year though, I have plans.