Artiste Gullible

step-by-step screen capture

I’ve always been intrigued by cultural social etiquette. What society demands in one arena, another culture may denounce in the same setting. It often makes both people uncomfortable as they struggle to keep up appearances. It also leaves the door open for the unscrupulous (or salacious) to take the advantage.

It’s funny sometimes to see what panels seem more polarizing in this (mostly) light-hearted adventure of mine. This week, I received my FIRST donation! Yahoo! Thank you very much. I am unsure wherether the Automaton panel instigated the spontanious show of support, but I appreciate it.

This week also marked my first (hate?) mail. Supposedly, I demean woman in my depictions of subjugated and objectified roles; like wind-up dolls, or miniaturized in the palm of male hands.

I replied that I also have men hanging from cages around women’s necks, and a female (furry) leader who is definitely not a toy in her agressive stance against foreign invaders. I also pointed out that wind-up girls are not my invention, and that they almost constitute a subgenre within the Steampunk community.

Somebody once said that polarizing issues make good reading, and that mediocrity grows in the grey shadows of the mundane. While I certainly do not wish to offend, it is my intent to explore using AG as an innocent “everyman” who tries to make sense of the strangeness of circumstance that surrounds him. I reserved the right to place him in almost any compromising position to make a point, get a laugh or sow a satirical smile.

Whew! glad I got that off my chest.

All of that being said, here are a few housekeeping items:

I fixed the site. Almost. The functionality is back. The look and feel is repaired, and reading and writing is working again. I am working on a few “behind the scenes” issues but the solution was easier to implement than I first supposed.

As an extra bonus: Here is a step-by step screen-shot of how my sketch progresses into a finished piece.

Thanks for reading!