THE LATEST-Part 1: The wedding!

It's been a few weeks now, the smoke has cleared, I've caught my breath, and I'm finally ready to share some news regarding my wedding to the wonderful Laura Tanner.

For all the headaches, money concerns and petty squabbles that went into our wedding (as is the case with ALL weddings, mind you), our wedding was truly everything we ever dreamed of, and exactly what we wanted. Somehow, within the strict boundaries of our budget and resources, we pulled together an intimate ceremony and reception that reflected us perfectly. And most significantly, Laura and I were able to share our vision and happiness with so many of those closest to our hearts.

The whole sha-bang took place at The Bay City Players, a community theater close to both our hearts. To set the mood, I'll tell you that our processional song was "Rainbow Connection", as sung by Kermit the Frog in "The Muppet Movie." This was a natural choice, since I'm a huge, HUGE Muppet fan. Once we got up on stage, we were greeted by Laura's maid of honor, Allison, my best man Scott, and the honorable Judge Tim Kelly, who presided over the ceremony.


























Laura and I wrote our own vows, and we each had people do readings. My friend Justin read a piece chosen by Laura, and Scott read a poem I'd written. They both did wonderful jobs, and it meant so much to have them involved in the ceremony.



























Our recessional song was "All You Need Is Love," by The Beatles, which was reflective of Laura, whose a tremendous Beatles fan. We greeted out guests per isle, exchanges hand shakes and hugs, and led them to the lobby for the reception.














The reception was also a unique event. Rather than having people clinking on their glasses to get us to kiss. laura and I devised a trivia game where someone would pick a question from their table, come up to us and ring a bell, then ask the question which was about each or both of us. If they got it right, we kissed. If not, there was a penalty, such as they'd have to give us marriage advice, kiss someone themselves or sing a song about love. For the most part, the guests knew us pretty well, and there was abundant kissing.

Here's Laura with her maid of honor, Allison...

















Here's us with Laura's grandma...


















Here's a picture of us cutting our wedding cake, which was very good, and decorated with a "Corpse Bride" topper that I built myself...















Here's me, my dad and his wife...












This is the photo collage I made for the reception, full of pics of Laura and I together and separately, many from our childhoods...


















Here's me, Laura and my grandma...

















Here's Laura dancing with her dad....


















Here's me dancing with my mom...

































Here's me, Laura and my birth-mom, Penny...


















Here's me, Laura and her mom...

















Here are my best men, my crew, my boys: Justin, Scott, me and Dooley...














And here's Laura and I, enjoying our first dance together as husband and wife. The song we chose was David Bowie's "As The World Falls Down," from the Jim Henson movie "Labyrinth." This was also the first song we'd ever danced to as a couple about four or five years back at another friend's wedding when we first began dating. Not to mention that we both loved Bowie, Henson and Labyrinth, so this song was so perfect for us in so many ways.




























The night went off without a hitch (or at least, no hitch so bad that we couldn't recover), and it was wonderful to experience it with so many great people. I hope you guy's enjoyed this sneak peek, and remember what I said before: you were all there with us in our hearts.

Jay

GLAD TIDINGS AND INCREDIBLE "GREETINGS!!!"

Please forgive a 33 year old's girlish outburst of emotion, but……

OHMUHGAWDOHMUHGAWDOHMUHGAWDOHMUHGAWDOHMUHGAWD!!!!

I have some seriously great news to share. Do you recall way back in my blog dated March 1st how I was in the process of creating some sample greeting cards to submit to Recycled Paper Greetings? Well, it's been seven months since then, and admittedly, I was getting a little disheartened about my odds of getting a reply, let alone published at all. With my wedding coming up, I was preoccupied enough to not think too much about it, but it was still in the back of my mind.
So tonight, as I walked into the apartment, full from a nice dinner with Laura and anxious to watch "Deathproof" which I just rented, I decided to check my e-mail, if only to delete the influx of spam I've been getting from my website's forwarded e-mail. That's when I came across this interesting and unexpected correspondence:
____________________

Hi Jay,
I realize that it has been several months since you sent Recycled Paper Greetings art submissions for consideration. I apologize for the extreme delay in responding to you. I actually just joined the team in September to help stay on top of new submissions.
Enough rambling though, I showed your card submissions to our Art Director and he really liked two of your birthday cards in particular (the devil & the woman plucking herself bald), as well as your Halloween dentist card.
Would you be available to schedule a conference call sometime next week to discuss your art further? If so, please let me know the best days & times you would be available to chat.
Best regards,
Liz Sacks
Art Department
Recycled Paper Greetings
________________________

My first response was disbelief. I was like, "Oh, that's nice. I got a reply." But then, slowly, it started to well up inside me until the realization reached my brain that, yes, THIS WAS REAL!!!! They honest to god like my work and want to talk about publishing me!!! I walked, flabbergasted, into the living room where Laura was on the phone. She looked at me, later saying I seemed like I was going to puke, and told the person on the other line to hold on a sec. She asked me what was wrong. I choked out, "Recycled Paper Greetings wants to buy some of my cards." Needless to say, she was as elated as I was, and still am. So I let her get back to her call, and I got back to a quick response to Miss Sacks, which went like this:
__________

Liz,

Thank you so much for getting ahold of me! I'm very excited to hear that your art director has interest in some of my card samples. During the week I'm home after 4:00 pm Michigan time (I can't recall if Chicago is an hour ahead or behind us) if that would work for a conference call. Otherwise, I'll be home all day next Thursday, October 25th if that would allow for a better time to talk. I'm so anxious to engage your company in discussion, and I am truly thankful and appreciative of you for contacting me. I look forward to hearing back from you soon to schedule a time to talk. Until then, take care, and thank you again. You've made my day!
Sincerely,
Jay P. Fosgitt
__________

Folks, I am so very, very excited about this. The Dead Duck deal at Ape Comics is still warmly percolating and now THIS!!! I've been in such a mad panic about the idea of Laura having to marry a penniless cartoonist, how I'd support her, would I ever have a career, and all that access baggage. But I'm seeing my dreams come true before my eyes, and just in time to see me get married! My life is beginning!!! I'm just bursting with happiness here, and had to share the news with all you guys, the people I love. I'll be sure to let you know what the next step in all this will be, just like I promised you way back on March 1st, so never let it be said that I don't keep my promises! So much love, people, and more news to come very, very soon!
Oh, and for those interested, here are the cards that Recycled Paper Greetings are interested in publishing. They're three of my favorites of the bunch, too! Hope you dig 'em!





Yours,
Jay

Crushes....

So I sit here at six in the a.m. on a Saturday morning, a victim of unseasonably warm October weather with resulting sinus congestion to show for it. And as I sniff and struggle to shake the cobwebs out of my head (No, spiders haven't laid eggs in my ear. It's a figure of speech), I find myself reflecting on my lost youth. Y'see, today's my birthday-by-proxy with Laura (tomorrow being the actual date of launch), who's the love of my life. And drifting back twenty years or so, I begin retracing some of the steps (of the female persuasion) that got me to where I've always wanted to be:

In 1981, I was chubby, insecure and an incurable doodler. Sure, that sounds like a euphemism for masturbation, but I liked to draw. Clean it up, potty minds. The first grade is an intimidating place. As Dan Akroyd reflects disparagingly in "Ghostbusters", "They expect results." Bullies, math, and forced physical exertion (I refuse to call it education) didn’t hold well for me. But one girl, Mara Mueller, who would become one of my first friends and just as importantly, my first realistic crush (or as near as I could assume to have at that age, a good five years before puberty kicked my ass), kept that period of my childhood from being an absolute bust. The fact that I fell for a girl who had religious values far flung from my own (Jehovah's witness) and who could draw horses way better than I could made the crush even less likely. You may note that I referred to Mara as my first "realistic crush." That's because just before Mara caught my eye, I was won over by a freckle-headed vixen of the big screen who's unshakable belief that the sun would come out tomorrow only made her more appealing. Aileen Quinn's performance as "Annie" would forever be etched in my mental black book as my very first serious celebrity crush, and of an older woman, no less (she had me beat by four years).

1985 and the fifth grade held it's own brand of horror that would make first grade seem pleasant by comparison. Given a choice between two mean old bitchy teachers, I inexplicably chose the worse of the two for my homeroom. Mrs. Dankert hated me for reasons I can't begin to understand. I wasn't a wise-ass, I wasn't a bully, and I wasn't a know-it-all by any stretch. But she seemed to resent me, and found ways to inflect petty tortures that left scars significantly internal if not external. But a bright spot in my year of darkness came in the form of Mary LePeak.
Maybe crush is a bit too strong to describe my feelings for her, but she was certainly the truest friend I'd made that year, and I recall drawing a figurative white squall of cartoons about and for her.

1986 was a mixed bag. Sure, it was, up until that point, the greatest year of movies I'd ever experienced (Labyrinth, Little Shop of Horrors and Howard the Duck in the same year? Who'd been looking into my dreams?!). And it introduced me to the three guys who would end up being my best friends (mad props to Ray, Danny and Bill). But there seemed to be a bully population boom that year (the market was flooded, almost like a full page ad requesting twelve year old thugs was posted and the response was overwhelming), my hormones were off the charts, and I was a social misfit of the tenth power. And lording over the wasteland of my scarred psyche and throbbing libido was Jenny Masterovski.
In the truest sense, it could be said that she was my first honest to god, would face a firing squad for one kiss crush. Mara was good for the first grade, but Jenny was the real deal. In retrospect, she was a very kind girl given her social status (burgeoning popularity with the homecoming queen crown on the horizon). She actually gave me the time of day, so to speak, and did nothing to discourage my harmless flirtations in the form of the previously mentioned white squall of cartoons. But like most twelve year old boys who's decision making is marred by the mystery of where that hair came from and why does my zipper feel abnormally tight, I let me emotions get away from me and scared her off, albeit temporarily, but enough so to embarrass myself in front of the entire class. Hey, what's one more scar to the ol' psyche, anyway? Fortunately, a 6th grade girl's memory of such things had the lifespan of a fruit fly, and we were on decent speaking terms (a brief "hi" in the hallway or a polite acknowledgement of a drawing) after my obsession ran it's course. But I will say that there were much worse people to have around when puberty came a knocking.

1989, another great year for movies (Batman, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade), and another great year for crushes. Actually, crush really doesn't pertain here. With the others, I'd harbored a fruitless hope of an actual "Wanna go with me?" relationship. But with Amy Royal,
I just wanted to stare awhile. She was a different kind of popular than Jenny: stuck up, a wee bit loose perhaps, humongous red hair and with a real cruel streak from what I could tell. So what did I see in her? Just the superficial. Great body, loads of freckles (I've had I thing for them since the days of Aileen), and that hair. Oh man, all that red, bushy hair. So I found that staring awkwardly in the hallways and cafeteria every chance I got was the best way to suffer my libidinous affliction. Ironically, by the time I had a class with her in my junior year and her senior, I got to know her and found myself as disinterested as could be. Her hair deflated, her snotty attitude was wearing thin, and I had other interests to pursue. I don't know if that made me shallow, but seeing as how it was fifteen years ago, I'm not apt to feel terribly guilty about it.

Which brings me to 2002, my second year at my third college (I'd attended Saginaw Valley State University for semester, spent a long and wonderful tour of duty at Delta College, graduated and went on to Central Michigan University). At the time, it seemed I was working towards a degree in not getting a date, and having maintained that area of study for the better part of 28 years, I was certainly overdue for my Masters. I'd about given up trying, actually. I didn’t even want frivolous "friends with benefits" type of canoodling. I just wanted to forget the whole idea of the opposite sex. Of course, that's when it all comes tumbling down upon you. A brief sojourn of non-exclusive dating with a girl who ended up a good friend gave me valuable experience (non-sexual, ya bunch of primates) in future relationship endeavors. So when by absolute whim of fate I met Laura, I had at least an inkling of how to treat a girl (I would have killed for an inkling back in 1986). What was great about Laura is that we started out as friends. Or more accurately, we started out less than friends, though not quite enemies. We were acting in a scene together, and she being the more experienced actor had little patience for my unintentional skill at stepping on her lines during rehearsal. She made sure I knew I screwed up, in short. So I was put off by her, which as we know is a sure sign you're going to fall in love with this person. Soon, it became evident that, through chance encounters and some not-so chance that Laura liked me, which was great, since she was a very attractive woman with a great smile. Yes, superficial at first, but a cute girl liked me. I couldn't afford wasting time reading her resume and doing a background check. Fortunately, when all research had been completed on my part, I found that we were highly compatible and that I loved being with her, which soon evolved to the point where "being with" fell off altogether, leaving "I love her" to stand on it's own merit. This did not take long, on my part at least, which I imagine intimidated her and understandably so. But that's the fun thing about relationships: they don't run on a time schedule. They're going to grow and spread in their own way in their own time. And ours did, into the beautiful blossomed garden that we'd planted together five years ago this month. Sure, that garden has a few bugs and weeds, but it's healthy, and it's going to sustain us well into our old age when such nutrition is most vital to a couple.

So I stand on the precipice of the future, and casting a look over my shoulder to the past, I close my hand around Laura's and signal my appreciation for the experiences that brought me to where I am today, by her side, in her heart and anxious as that awkward twelve year old to profess my love on the alter and make her my forever bride.

I've been meaning to tell you this....

So you want some news? I mean some real, sink your teeth in and let the juices squirt over your lips and run warm down your neck into your shirt collar news? Alright then. You asked for it. How about this...

















After five years of dating and two years of engagement, Laura and I are finally getting married.

Now, to some of you kids who read the inane surveys I fill our on Myspace, you've probably pieced together this info already. But for the rest of you out there who haven't been privy to the constant hints and references, the truth is out. On October 27th in Bay City, Michigan, Miss Laura Beth Tanner will become Mrs. Laura Beth Fosgitt. And me, I'll just be the same ol' schmo who drew pictures in the back of the class since day one.

Now, I'm sure there's more than a couple of you out there saying, either to yourselves through inner monologue or perhaps out loud in a grocery store or public restroom: "Hey! Why is this the first I'm hearing about this?? And where the damn is MY invitation?!?"

The answer is simple yet regrettable. Laura and I, with some assistance from her family, basically had to scrape together the money and resources to put on this wedding all by ourselves. While this enabled us to do things entirely our own way, it limited us to the amount of people we could afford to invite. The resultant guest list, after much number crunching and no shortage of headaches, is a cozy fifty people, all immediate family members. If you wonder what that amounts to financially, think back to what you probably spent on your first car and subtract a thousand. That might come close to our wedding budget. In the end, we are very happy with the way the wedding plans are taking shape, and thus far, it looks like this will be the best possible wedding we could hope for.

That doesn't, however, make it any easier that we couldn't invite every friend we've ever had, or even a quarter the amount of every friend we ever had. For this, I can only hope that none of you will hold it against myself or Laura, and will be able to wish us your best with the understanding that, in an ideal, financially independent world, you would all be there, and will still be in our hearts.

If you're still with me at this point, I'll be happy to share the details of what the day will hold in store.

Laura and I will be wed at The Bay City Players, Michigan's oldest running community theater where Laura grew up and where I've been creating some great memories of my own in the last few years. We'll be married on their stage by Bay City's own Judge Tim Kelly, himself a regular performer in several Players' production. The reception will be held in the Players' lobby, where we'll enjoy some great food, music and just sharing the day with our families.

So that's it, folks; the biggest news I've had to share in, well, ever. If you have any thoughts, positive or god for forbid negative, don't be afraid to share 'em with me.

In other news, just a couple weeks prior to my matrimony, I've got a birthday coming up. This Sunday, actually, on October 7th. I'll be a perpetual ten year old trapped in a 33 year old's body. And what's on my birthday agenda? Well, not as much as you'd imagine. This Friday night I have a gig at Buck's Run in western Midland County where I'll be drawing caricatures for a Dow Corning event, Saturday night Laura and I will be doing something together, and Sunday, the day itself…hell if I know. Maybe nothing. As I'll be working the following Monday, it hardly seems wise to party on the Sabbath.

As for the rest of this report, I'm still in talks with Ape Comics, who still seem interested in Dead Duck and are assessing how best to market my comic. Their comment, and a very complimentary one in my opinion, was that "There's nothing else out there like it." That may make it hard to market, but it makes me proud all the same.

I've had a caricaturing gig last Friday at an Elementary school here in Midland, and I've got three more lined up this month (the one at Buck's Run, one at Northwood University here in Midland, and one at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi after my birthday). So that's good, at least. I sure can use the money and exposure.

More news as soon as there's any to report, people. My best to you, and the hopes that we all converse very, very soon. Oh, and as an early Happy Halloween to all you guys (and because it's my favorite holiday ever), I hope you enjoy these caricatures I drew of golden age horror actors Bela "Dracula" Lugosi and Boris "Frankenstein's monster" Karloff.

Jay

What?! A new post from Jay? I don't believe it...

What do you guys think of my new header? My cartoonist pal from another gal Evan T. Shaner taught me the way to do it, and after a good month of being too stupid to understand his directions, I figured it out anyway. Evan smart + Jay dumb = a new blog header that shoulda been done a month ago.

It's been longer than I'd wanted it to be, kids. I've been so disheartened with the lack of actual, tangible, reportable news on my end that I swore not to post until there was some real news in my life. So I sit here now, typing these words, and ask myself, "Do you really have anything worth sharing?" My answer is: Sure. How 'bout this?















I dig Lord of The Rings, and I dig the McDonaldland characters (ever thought I've been off hamburgers and pop for going on two months now). This is what I do best, drawing simply to entertain myself. Does that pay the bills? Not so much. But it does make for a good sample in my portfolio to show people who might actually wanna pay me to draw. So in that respect, it's potentially profitable.

I've also been trying to keep my hand in caricaturing, even though my art gig docket has been noticably dry for the past two months (maybe it has something to do with my lack of pop and burgers?). Anyway, when I sit down and commit to drawing a celebrity caricature for myself, the results are always far better than if I were plunked down on a folding chair in a gym drawing energy drink-addled teens at their post graduation party at three in the morning. In this case, I wanted to see if I could draw Jessica Biel. The girl is hot. Hot girls don't always equal easy to draw girls. The challenge presented itself. I answered.















I drew the left one first, right outta my head, and was very happy with it. But suggestions to the contrary from my #1 counsel on such matters (love ya, Laura!) compelled me to try again. The version on the right was my do over. I loved this one, too. Hell, I loved 'em both. Why try to pick? So I didn't. Both versions are here for my benefit, for yours, and for the benefit of my ever-growing caricature portfolio.

Having been with Thomas Township Parks and Rec for so long that I still recall when Jesus applied to be our head lifeguard (the guy was good with water, y'see), I've drawn my share of, for lack of a better term, crap over the years. This is no one else's fault but my own. I'm limited in my ability to come up with clever ways of drawing people playing softball, volleyball, floor hockey, soccer and various other activities for thirteen years solid. However, when our annual Haunted Train Ride happens every October, inspiration pours out like so much urine from a beer-engorged bladder. In a good way. I dig Halloween, and the drawings come easy. This year, being our 25th anniversary of said train ride, I decided to go for broke and come up with the mother of all illustrations to emblazen upon our fliers and promotional material. This is the bastard baby I gave birth to.


















Don't know if any of you guys will get the reference, but in the 60's there was a cartoonist called Big Daddy Roth who drew these far out looking mutant characters driving souped up hot rods. He made quite a career out of it, and even after death is still being plagerized by no shortage of gear head cartoonists, taggers and tatters today. So I thought it'd be cool to have my Haunted Train Ride logo be an homage to the master. Hence the tattoo on my beast's bicep.

Just the other day, after having sent out a pleading e-mail to Interlude begging for an assignment after they lost their editor and my biggest supporter on staff and subsequently quit calling me with assignments, I got a message from their art director, an old Delta friend who's been my second biggest supporter at Interlude. She gave me an illustration assignment for a story about sick relatives visiting at Christmas (Look, I don't question 'em. I just draws 'em). Not wanting to waste a moment, I hammered out this, my first paid work for them since last April.


















So by now you're probably saying, "Okay, this is all well and good, but where's the real NEWS?" Well, the pickin's are slim, but here's what I got...

Back in mid August, Laura and I threw together a last minute trip to Chicago, home of the 2nd biggest comic con in the nation, Wizard World. This was meant to be exclusively a business trip with the hopes of my finding some cartooning work via networking with industry pros.

Here we are in the train station in Kalamazoo (Much cheaper and only a little shorter trip than from Flint)...














Here we are in our train car (Despite our posed smiles, we were in a bit of agony, since our car was the only one on the whole train where the air conditioning was on the fritz...














What followed next was a flurry of taxi rides and a brief yet positive pilgrimage to the actual con. However, because all the attendants of the con were asses to elbows packed in and because I was so busy visiting any booth I could find who'd look at my Dead Duck comic book concept, I didn't get to take any pictures. No great loss, though. The Motor City Comic Con looked just as good, and I have plenty pics from that con from over the years.

After a cab ride back to the train station we walked a couple blocks to bar and grill where we had a really nice dinner. It was the best part of the trip, in my opinion...














Then it was back on the train, where we enjoyed the spoils of our journey in the form of graphic novels that Laura found for us while I peddled my artistic wares...














And then immediately after, we were dead to the world until our train pulled into Kalamazoo.














Though the bulk of the trip was spent looking out of train and cab windows, I did make at least one solid contact at the con, which is what we were there for and what made the whole trip worth while.

An independent comic publisher called Ape Comics had a neat looking display, mostly focusing on their latest publication, "Teddy Scares", an anthology comic based on a line of creepy toys sold in Hot Topic and other such venues. I showed their co-publisher Dead Duck, and he seemed very interested. He liked the three stories I had written and drawn with the characters, even suggesting how cool they'd look in full color, and gave me the private e-mail address of his co-publisher, encouraging me to send everything in my Dead Duck portfolio to the man and see what he says. I shook the guys hand and left very, very hopeful.

So when I got back home to Midland, I immediately e-mailed my entire stock of Dead Duck work to the man himself, and within a day I got a short but encouraging e-mail. "We're interested in Dead Duck and will be discussing the possibilities. Thanks for your patience and we'll be talking to you soon."

I was pretty stoked from this small but very telling bit of correspondence. And I patiently waited for just shy of a month to hear back from them. By that time, however, my enthusiasm started losing steam, and I began to think this would end up like the failed opportunity to illustrate the card game I'd mentioned in previous posts (if I hadn't already mentioned it, it didn't pan out and now ain't gonna happen).

Then, after a much needed pep talk form Laura about being more aggressive, I sent Ape Comics a follow up e-mail, asking them if they'd had a chance to review my work yet.

I got a reply within hours.

"Hey Jay! We've scheduled a conference call for this afternoon, and we'll be discussing Dead Duck. Talk to you soon!"

Good gravy. A conference call was held this afternoon regarding my creation! What does that mean??? No clue. However, my hope is back up to the highwater mark, and potentially, this may be the first real news I've had to share with you guys in forever, not counting the odd art gig and something I'll be sharing with you at a later time. So fingers crossed for me all around, okay? I need a little spark of luck in my life right now. Real, real bad. So go roll around in the grass and wish on a buttload of stars, chant from the rooftops that you do believe in fairies, and go cash in that favor Don Corleone owes you. This could be the big one. After twenty odd years of hoping and trying, Dead Duck may fly at last. Be here when it happens, kids!

Jay