Catalina Estrada’s new ROJO® limited edition Smart Fortwo car was presented during Milan Design Week. Hosted by Mercedes-Benz Milano, visitors were invited to come view the cars, have a drink and pick up a free copy of ROJO®fortwo, ROJO’s Smart Car inspired issue where several international artists were invited to design a Smart Car. Catalina’s illustration was also chosen to appear on the cover of the sold-out issue.

The event ran from April 16th to 21st with the launch party taking place on Thursday, April 17th at 7:30pm.

Catalina Estrada illustrated for Italian syrup company, Torani. Her illustrations were seen in trade ads and on table-top signage and cafe posters for Torani’s seasonal flavors for fall and winter, including Brown Sugar Cinnamon and Peppermint.

Torani

Nate Williams was interviewed by Argentine magazine, Urban/Wicked. The magazine features the most current news in Argentinian art, fashion and music. The article appears in their upcoming May issue.

Urban/Wicked

Marguerite Sauvage’s blog is now available in English. Check it out to see what’s new with Marguerite, including new art and upcoming gallery shows.

www.margueritesauvage.com/blog

Ana Bagayan is exhibiting in DvA Gallery’s collaboration show with Billy Shire Fine Arts in Chicago, IL. Other artists participating in the show include Dave Cooper, Martha Rich, Bob Dob and Bonnie Reid, among others. The show opens on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 with a book and toy signing between 4-6pm and the opening reception between 7-11pm.

DvA Gallery, 2568 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL

Shawn Barber’s new book Forever and Ever is finally out! The 256-page hardcover book acts as an overview of Shawn’s paintings and experiences from the last three years with the Tattooed Portrait series.

Shawn will be doing a book signing at the Shooting Gallery on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 between 6-8pm.

The Shooting Gallery 839 Larkin St., San Francisco, CA

You can view a few spreads from the book on Shawn’s blog.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble will not have the book in stock until after July 2008. If you can’t wait that long visit www.9mmbooks.com to order the book now directly from the publisher!

If you live in Los Angeles you can pick up Forever and Ever at:

La Luz de Jesus/Soap Plant/Wacko 4633 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

Canvas Los Angeles 441 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA

As far as stores carrying the book in your city- if they don’t have it, please recommend that they stock it!

Emiliano Ponzi recently illustrated for France’s Le Monde newspaper. His illustration accompanied an excerpt from Marc Lazar’s book, L’Italie à la dérive, about Italian politics. It ran on Saturday, April 12th, 2008.

The eagerly anticipated follow-up to Me Write Book and In Me Own Words, Bigfoot: I Not Dead hits bookstores on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008.

“In his eagerly anticipated follow-up to Me Write Book, Bigfoot returns from exile to share his inspiring, hilarious, and often deeply disturbing experiences as a misunderstood forest gentleman and tragic media darling. These entertaining and often grizzly stories stand not only as a testament to the greatness of the legendary man-beast, but also as a chilling cautionary tale of the downside of a life of celebrity, cannibalism, celebrity cannibalism, wanton violence, and lack of toilet training. As in Me Write Book, full-color glossy spreads depict every intimate, disgusting, and downright insane moment of Bigfoot’s life. Bigfoot: I Not Dead is an unforgettable memoir that will stay with readers long after his foul scent has dissipated.” - Penguin

Pre-order is available now through Penguin and Amazon.

Jenn Playford’s illustrations for Jenny Wren Paperie were featured in the April issue of Canadian Style At Home magazine. The magazine featured her stationery, gold-flecked cards and re-usable giftwrap, Furochic.

Chris Sickels of Red Nose Studio has a show opening tonight (Fri, April 11th, 2008) in historic downtown Greenfield, IN, his hometown. The event is part of the inaugural Second Friday event which links little shops, cafes, galleries and even a studio arts center with with people in the community. Chris will also be signing copies of The Look Book at the new Crazy Lake Art House at:

2 W Main, Greenfield from 7:30-8pm, April 11th.

The exhibit will run from April 11-July 31st 2008.

Presented by Arts Hancock County.