With my move to Montana and financial struggle that followed, I have been tirelessly applying for jobs with little avail. It has given me ample time to consider what inspires me in life, what drives me forward, and where I want to go though- which has been wonderful!

I have assembled a tumblr, and if you watch me, you can bet you will see some beautiful pictures, learn a little bit more about what makes me tick, and get the opportunity to see art once I get my scanner. I may even offer free art from time to time!

So if you'd like to see sketches in the future, learn about my Etsy I will be opening soon to sell carvings and paintings, and possibly win some art- Check it out!

http://mscarcajou.tumblr.com/

Has anyone ever done that before?

I have never donated blood, but I've wanted to on occasion and my roommate wants to go with me to donate plasma instead. Apparently there is a clinic in town here that will pay you a little cash for your time to donate plasma. I'm just a little nervous, but I need the cash and it is a good cause...

So any heads up on what I can expect?


Also, cheap holiday art is still available for $5 or $10 a piece, mail cost included so it will be sent where ever you want it!


Happy Holidays.

Norms

Hello all.

Yes, I know, I'm super inactive. I lurk and lurk and neglect to post. In all fairness, I have been doing a lot of moving and a lot of internet stealing and I no longer have a scanner. But I am settled now, and after much saving and much spending and tiresome travels and amazing stories..... I am now settled in the big ol' state of Montana!

Unfortunately, despite months of saving in the south and tedious attempts to watch my gas spending and all on my travels here... I am flat broke. Thankfully my last paycheck from work managed to cover rent, but I am stuck with the predicament of "Oh crap I have $9 in my bank account now and that is not enough to buy groceries."

So I am offering some holiday cheer! Or winter cheer. Or just cheer. Whatever you want!

Since I don't have much to offer, and I can only take shitty webcam photos, these are super cheap! Here's what you get.

$5- A trifolded paper card with inked drawing! I can write something inside the card, or make it fold open to the small drawing. Since it will be small, I won't color the whole thing, but I am offering a limited two or three color additive to the drawing with the few small markers I have :) It can be colored text, holiday colors, or just one color on one thing to make it pop. Your choice!

**LIMITED: I do have about 4 or 5 blank color cards I can do these commissions on. If interested, just ask and I can tell you more.

$10- A cardstock drawing with basic color! Can be up to two characters with some festive decorations, but no full backgrounds. I could possibly be convinced to draw a group.


I will take everything from paypal to checks or cash in the mail. I am really in need, so anything helps, and any donation would certainly get a thanks! I am still job searching, so I have free time to crank these out, and even if I get work I don't know folks here yet and I will be here for the holidays so you can expect quick turnover and no break for family or travels!


So, thanks for considering this, and I understand if no one can afford it :) I will try my best to get some art done between job applications and walking my roomies dog, so you guys can see I am not joking.

Also, do I owe anything from the past? If I do. Tell me. Please.


xo
Norms

I just met today with my future dog, and I am proud to say I will be adopting a beautiful young boy that is a Dutch Shepherd mix with chow. He is gorgeous! Expect photos, and mad art of love if I ever get a working scanner here.

Volunteering at the local shelter, fostering orphaned gray squirrels and adopting my boy has made my new life in Florida all the better.

xoxo
Norms

This evening I am driving south to CT to see my mother. Tomorrow evening, or early wednesday, I will be driving south from there to DC to see a friend of my boyfriend and stay for a night. After that, we're bound to Charleston, SC to stay a night with my father, then on to St Petersburg, FL where my boyfriend is captain for a spearfishing lionfish tournament this weekend. HOLY TRAVELS!

So, the short and skinny is that, as inactive as I am, I am going to continue being inactive for a while. I have finally been getting active again though, and I have been drawing and designing more, so perhaps when I get settled I will update some.

I don't know how long I will be in FL. Maybe just a week, maybe two or three. Regardless, I have some wildlife work waiting for me in Texas, so I am going to be heading there from FL as soon as I can. Going to break the trip up with a stop in New Orleans, then a long, hot few months in Texas awaits me.

I'll be, in the very least, posting some photography of wildlife when I get to TX since I will be working with some amazing animals. Look forward to some pics of tamanduas, aardvarks, wallaroos and binturongs! And I think we can all expect some characters to come of it as well.

See yall on the flip side.

Just extremely busy. Perhaps I will post more art soon? It's hard to say.

I have been living life, trying to work things out and get work. I am moving south soon, and west in the winter I think. My plans keep changing.

I am trying to sell my tablet and possibly my printer/scanner. Would anyone be interested in either? I own a small wacom tablet, and it still works just fine and I believe I have the software for it somewhere too. The protective cover is a little scratched, but once removed the tablet itself is untouched. I'm looking to sell it for a reasonable price... I'm open to offers. It would be cheap though. I will get specs up sometime.
My printer is a Kodak ESP3 scanner/printer. Very nice condition, prints excellent quality(even photos!), has an SD card reader right on it, and scans very well too. Comes with the software for it. I have kept it in good condition, so I'd like to get about $75 for it? I think it's $100 new, and I have kept it in the box a lot.

Let me know if anyone is interested. It would help me a lot to get things together for my move south.

Art is still being created on and off. I keep it mostly to myself, working on some skills.

xo Norms

SOOOOOOO.

I have strep throat right now, which sucks. So much. Oh god.

BUT ON THE BRIGHT SIDE-

I am moving west!

I got accepted into the Wildlife Biology program at the University of Montana(SO GOOD) and I will be moving out there with a friend of mine in August!

Before that though, I might live in CO for the summer! My brother is out there for college and wants to stay for the summer, and he asked me to live with him and I think it is a grand idea.

Who lives out there? SOMEONE HAS TO.

I am excited. And sick. And EXCITED.

To the adventures in my future! Cheers! *chugs tea*

Working on commissions. Got three on deck right now, finished sketching the first two and the last is a double commission. Gonna try to ink and color the first two to get them out before the others.

ASIDE from that. I've been doodling a bit, and painting when I can. Life has been on a mad downward spiral lately, some karmic being was just like "What is the top things Norms never wanted to happen to her? Let's go ahead and do that." No joke. The therapy of Ben&Jerry's can only do so much, but oh how I am sticking to it. I pinky swear that when I can muster the energy to do something proactive online, I will dump so much arts here. Look out.

Hope all is well with most others. Just thought I'd give a quick update on my lack of everything.

Peace
xo Norms

I'm in a drawing mood, and I need some money. I'll turn around art within the night or tomorrow, so... comment below! I take paypal.

$10 gets it colored if you want it.


Slots::

1-
2-
3-

GOGOGO

Does anyone live in Montana?

Just curious. Thinking about leaving the east coast soon. Top choice places? Wyoming, Montana or Michigan.


Also, art upload coming soon. Be on the look out. My scanner is on the fritz so it's a pain, but now I'm feeling better and I got it to work for my sona upload, I plan on working things out with it to get more art scanned.

Peace <3

Yo diggity, anyone out there in SC? I'm flying down there TONIGHT. For a week.

Just curious who would be in the area maybe. I'll be by the coast, like five min from Charleston. I am going to severely miss the snow in VT(which I am already missing cause I am CT for my flight). Way to be lame xmas, I was expecting snow >:C

I'll be online there. I have art updates, if I can get pics of them or I will scan them when I get back.

Peace~

I no longer have a jeep. My friend and I are ok, thankfully his house was only a mile from the accident so we just walked home in the blistering cold. My knee has a good shiner on it but aside from that no problems.

At least it is just a car. It sure is opening a pandora's box though. Life shifts, coming soon.

I understand a fancier college asking only to allow fish to limit the wreckage an animal may cause to a dorm(Never pets of mine, but I can't speak to the responsibility of every college student). But MY SCHOOL, of all places, suddenly changing the pet policy?

At first there was talk of health certificates. I am all for this. With all of the hippies at my college that insist on keeping rabbits and letting them free roam, I would appreciate knowing that each bunny is healthy. Then there was talk of removing pets. Again, I could understand- free roam rabbits don't do well for the dorms, even if they are shit holes already. We still live in the old country house that was used in the 50s to dorm teenage boys for the outdoors program we ran. We can't afford to keep wrecking the place, so I was accepting of these conversations.

Then it opened up as real policy. Where I thought I was safe for having a tanked animal(Leviathan, my corn snake, does no damage to the room), I was not. $25 pet charge first. Ok, I can live with that, that will cover the extra bit of electricity he uses for heat. Then, I was approached about a health certificate.

I can not have my snake on campus without a certificate of clean health from a vet. The same very snake who does no damage in comparison to the large community of rabbits. The same snake that shows no sign of ill health, and does not carry the same dirty conditions that rabbits create in one day(it would take him months to poop that much...). GRAHH.

I get it. I get the need for the policy, but getting on my ass in the middle of the semester? I luckily managed to convince the dead of residence to not charge me more money. Anyone that didn't have a bill of health for there pet on the 9th has been charged $2.50 per day until they get their pet to the vet. The only way I escaped this charge was under the agreement to get the snake out.

So here I am, at my boyfriend's house with my snake. Good bye Leviathan.


Next year, I am moving off campus. No doubt about it.

Bobcat killed on the road today. Still fresh, very warm. Working through the legalities to hopefully keep it for educational purposes right now. I'll let everyone here know how it goes.


What do you think of roadkill? I've been doing a lot of studies on the impacts of roads on wildlife in my conservation biology class.

Update::
So, while a sample skin would have been lovely, and a mounted skin would have been amazing... We cannot keep the bobcat, and game warden is coming to grab it soon. I've learned my lesson, but the good that has come of it is that I might be able to get licensing for the school to make samples in the future from roadkill.

Overall it was a very interesting experience, and I enjoyed the chance to hold and examine this beautiful boy. I weighed him in at 12-14 pounds, and I plaster-casted all his paws so I have some great prints of him. The best one cracked a bit, but I think I can fix it. He died not in vain, for he was an educational blessing and goes to science now.

That's all there is to it.

Norms

17 degrees at 8 this morning, carving frost off my jeep. I am so ready for more snow to make winter full-fledged. I love this season, the transition of fall and winter is beautiful and they are my two favorite seasons. Spring and summer? I'm just not so good with the heat, but I don't hate them. Summertime in Vermont is gorgeous.

Life is hectic, so sorry for no updates. School has kept me busy, I have a particular class that is trouble because the teacher is horrible at teaching. That isn't just my opinion- the WHOLE class and teaching assistant agree, and we just filler out a midterm class evaluation that we hope helps. If not, there's a good, strong-headed bunch of us that have no qualms talking to the dean. Sometimes, that's how classes are- Don't waste your money you spend on your education just sitting back and dealing. At least, that's my personal opinion.

Home life is tough too. My boyfriend got laid off from his "awesome" job... They played him, and it's rough. I knew they were trouble when he began working for them and they seemed more interested in money than anything else. We're hightailing it out of CT and back north now, he's moving to NH temporarily until he can find work in the good ol' Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. At least here he'll get honest work with honest people, no being lead on that he'll get training and raises and promised work unless it'll really happen. It's been tough to get through though, we were both excited for giving it a shot down south since my mom lived only 15 minutes away from him. Oh well, better happy and working than just finding something to get by down there. He missed the mountains anyway, and I sure am glad to have him closer. Now it'll be just a two hour drive to see him.

So that's been trouble, since I had all my stuff with him and now I have all my stuff stored in this tiny little dorm room I call home. No room to unpack my scanner yet, but in two weeks I should be able to get my snake to my boyfriend's room at his mom's, and after I move that 40 gallon tank off my desk I'll free up space.


In brighter news, I've been feeling artistic lately and I've been trying to crank out pieces for a gallery show I am going to do with a friend of mine. I am pretty nervous since I prefer to cartoon, but I have some solid figure drawings and a lot of folks like my watercolor landscapes, so I am going to try to get some of those nice and matted, maybe make a few bucks selling art. It's nothing big, just something over at the local art house in this small, rural town. Folks should like the natural pieces, its all about the woods here.

I've also been internship searching, and I found an amazing big cat reserve I am applying for. I hope I get it! Big cats, and bears to work with! I will be so happy(especially with the bears, catamounts and tigers <3). Just gotta crank out a good cover letter, and I am so nervous about making it good so its been hard. I'll let folks here know what happens.


So life is having it's ups and downs, lots of stress unfortunately with trying to find housing and jobs and all so my boyfriend can move somewhere with me(gotta be in a reasonable distance to commute to college...) and with some classes, but a lot of bonuses with the beautiful weather. Also, bobcat spotting! We have free range(on accident) rabbits by our dorms and there is a young bobcat taking an interest in the white fluffy rabbits. No kills yet, but lots of sightings! Very exciting. <3

Hope all is well with everyone else!

xo Norms

Hey all! Sorry for no art recently, life has been hectic at college. I got moved into a room with one outlet, and it's taken a while to get setup to have my printer/scanner plugged in and accessible. Art is on the way!

Not many more updates than that. Classes are good, been doodling a lot and diving head first into lots of projects.

I am single handedly running my school's Humans vs Zombies game, and also planning a murder mystery party for halloween here. I got a major head cold this last weekend that knocked me off track for a bit, but I am getting back on now and things are going smoothly.

Hope everyone else is doing good.

xo
Norms

Commissions are closed.

All owed art is on hold, as I am very busy moving into my dorm. This is my last weekend home with my boyfriend, so we are enjoying a family dinner with my mom tonight, tomorrow we are hitting the Big E(hopefully), and sunday I spend the whole day moving. Should be an interesting weekend, I am trying to keep my stress down.

I've got trades inked(for the two I owe) and they'll be colored soon, but I have already packed my scanner up with my stuff to move. There will be a mass upload ASAP(between monday and wednesday I think) of my two trades, and three feral art pieces I have done from my list.

Later all.
Norms

Ok, maybe not all, but for all to view and all for me? I dunno xD

I am starting a new project for the next couple of days that I am basically calling "Animals that Shaped my Life" where I am going to pay tribute to the animals in the my life that have made me, well, me.

I hope to amp up my feral drawing capabilities and deliver some cool pieces that will span some serious parts of my life, like the ever faithful german shepherds I grew up with when my dad was in the k9 unit, and the always active aussie that I fell head over heels for in HS when I raised one and he was my best friend. This isn't just dogs though!

Here's some ideas of what I want to do so you can see and so I have a list:
-=to do x=done
xGerman Shepherd
-Australian Shepherd
xFancy Rat
-Quarter Horse
-Draft Horse(either Belgian or Percheron)
xCorn Snake
-European Fallow Deer
-Fainting Goats
-Black Bear
-Raven


Hopefully I keep this up! I am really excited about it right now and I want to develop a portfolio of pieces I can display for possible future commissioners.

Thanks everyone~

Norms

Anyone else excited for the season finale tonight for Eureka?
Also did anyone else notice the awesome Doctor Who reference in the last ep of Eureka?! C8

GOSH I AM SO COOL in a horrible sci-fi nerd way. I need to know if anyone is on the same page as me :3

Might do some Eureka fanart soon. Probs won't post it on here unless I do a furre piece, so who knows! Can I hear it for the fans? Maybe I will do something if I get the impression some fellow fans watch me.

Count down to awesome ep!


PS
This journal is brought to you by a Norms that just recently caught up on all of season 4 Eureka eps she missed when she was gone in AK! Just in time for tonight. Hells yeah.

$10 gets you a drawing from me of whatever you'd like! Any payment method accepted- paypal, money order, concealed money in the snail mail, whatever works! I will draw anything, and you will receive a preliminary sketch once the order is confirmed and drawn, and a colored piece once the money is received(as soon there after as possible, I realize paypal is pretty instant xD).

I am opening four slots, and in that slot you can order as many pieces as you'd like! For an extra $2 you can get the pieces mailed to you as well, and trust me, my traditional pieces are a lot smoother and more vibrant in real life. Curse scanners!

Slots:
1-
2-
3-
4-


I am in quit the financial pickle right now and trying to stay afloat as well as possible. I suppose I made a mistake with filling up gas along the way and how much I filled, cause my bank account is dangerously low to zero and if it stays that way I can't get to college in a few weeks! Yikes, I do not enjoy the lack of a summer job I've had since my decision to go to AK(though I don't regret it, amazing experience and 12 more credits closer to graduating!).

Anything to help is greatly appreciated, and if you would like art but can't afford $10 maybe we can work something out. I know I had $5 commissions before but I really need some money, but I might be able to go that low again if need be.

Thanks everyone that helps! <3

Norms

So I have been settling well in my new apartment with my boyfriend, I've had plenty of time to get comfortable since he works 10 hour days and I am waiting for college to start. I have another month here, so I am looking at volunteer options, working on art, and trying to get a head start on my senior project by working out schematics with the place I want to host my project. Fun stuff.

So! I have a month to live here with no income, so I am still taking commissions. Here's my current updates on that though:

Slots:
1. Sofur: Sketched, awaiting go ahead on inking
2. Kylia: Both pieces being colored
3.
4.

If you are curious about commissions, they are just $5 right now! Info here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1454576/

Expect art posts soon :3

I have been back for a while now(a week and a half) but I was super stressed with some going ons and now I am FINALLY settled in!

So. What can I say about Alaska? Living without so much as touching a computer for five weeks was interesting, and it was hard to get back into life when I returned. I had a lot of fun out camping and backpacking, and I learned a lot- My botany skills have increased like crazy, my tracking skills are refined for new species, and my bird list has grown. Also now I know a lot about Alaska from geography to culture to history. Fun stuff, methinks!

I saw a lot of great things, from landscapes to places to animals, and I met some great people and got to know a lot more about some people I already knew. Overall it was an amazing trip. Highlights include climbing onto a glacier, camping on a siksik(arctic ground squirrel) colony, checking out University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Museum of the North there(I want to do their Wildlife Biology grad program soooo bad!), taking a bush flight over the arctic circle, hanging out in a Nunamiut village, hiking limestone canyons, finding so many caribou racks and remains... and making friends with Nunamiut sled dog puppies! So much to mention, but it's all a long story and the main point is that I learned a lot, had fun, and traveled.

I didn't draw a whole lot while I was there because I was so enraptured by the land and homework, but formulated ideas and I have new characters coming up soon! Be on the look out!


Also, I've got some time before classes start for me(a month) and I am taking all forms of commissions real cheap! So check it out(http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1454576/) and see what you think :3

Hope everyone else has enjoyed their summer too!

xo
Norms

Friday I leave on a five week backpacking trip. No laptop, no internet, five weeks traveling the Alaskan wilderness with some peers to study Tundra and Taiga Ecology.

All the free art I said I would draw will still be drawn! Sorry for lack of updates, I've been so busy running around to get all the gear I need for this trip. I will have stuff to upload on my return!


Catch you all on the flip side. Keep it real, draw it up, and live it out.


Later, much later,
Norms
xoxo

This me giving up on selling commissions but still looking for things to draw. First few people to comment with cool things they want drawn, I will probably draw it.

I have been drawing a bit more lately, getting back into the swing. A decent amount of smut has graced my pages, and I don't think I'm going to share it all here(A fair amount is human), but I will get some things scanned and posted. I have been doing a lot of jumbling around so art has been weird.

Still no phone, internet or TV in my apartment. Bare bones! I can't afford anything though, had to borrow massive amounts to pay first months rent and second month is coming up... but hopefully something will come through from my school that is supposed to be paying for me. Things look hopeful, so we'll see how it all goes. It'll be nice to lose the stress and feel a lot more relaxed to just draw draw draw.


So, not much to update on. I want to draw though! So feel free to comment. No need to draw anything back either, I won't expect that.


<3

Interested in my art, and looking to get some of your own? Well, my commissions are open for a meager $5. I'll accept any method of payment! In the mail, through paypal, however you want to do it. You'll get a nice shiny traditional piece of up to two characters for just five bucks! It's a steal. (Though if you physically want the pieces I need $2 more to mail it to you!)

I am offering four slots to the first people interested, and you can order as many pieces in that slot as you want.

Slots:
1. Sofur :: waiting for lineart confirmation to ink!
2.
3.
4.


I will send you an unfinished lineart as a progress bar within two days of your order if you want to see one, and the moment I get the money I will post a colored piece as soon as possible!


Ask any questions if you have them. I will draw anything! G, PG-13, R!

Please tell friends if you know anyone looking for art. I am in dire need of some financial support right now. I'm just hoping as hard as I can, fingers crossed- Regardless of commissions, I will try to keep a steady flow of art here to show you guys what I can do!


Hope everyone else is enjoying their summer!

Norms