Andrew Hem illustrated for The Atantic’s special Fiction 2009 issue. His illustration accompanies Alexi Zentner’s short story, Furlough, which explores the new military family, in which it is often the wife and mother that leaves for war and the husband who stays behind to care for the family.

Ana Bagayan was asked to contribute to the Insights section of the Communication Arts website. In this Q&A Ana shares the best advice she’s ever received, why she sometimes feels like two different artists and her goal to make each of her paintings better than the last.

Esquire magazine’s Matt Sullivan named our very own Bigfoot as one of the Five People (and One Sasquatch) You Should Follow on Twitter. Click here to see who else made the list and then click here to follow Bigfoot, the ‘famous sasquatch who will make you think thrice.’

Ana Bagayan has a piece in Gallery 1988’s Crazy 4 Cult show. The show, in which 100 artists pay tribute to classic cult films, also features the work of Bob Dob, Tim Doyle, Matt Dangler, Eric Fortune and Amy Sol. The show opened on Saturday, July 16th and runs until Saturday, August 8th, 2009. Click here for a preview of the artwork.

Gallery 1988 L.A. 7020 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles CA

Silence, 18 x 24 inches, oil on wood

Nate Williams was invited to speak at Buenos Aires’ Pecha Kucha Night. Pecha Kucha, which is the Japanese term for the sound of conversation, was conceived in 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (both of Klein Dytham Architecture) as a place for young designers to meet, network and share their work. It consists of 20 presenters who are allowed to present 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds, for a total of 6 minutes and 40 seconds before the next presenter is up. This method keeps presentations concise, the audiences interest level up and allows more people to share their work. Pecha Kucha Night is now worldwide, taking place in 217 cities.

Red Nose Studio illustrated for the cover of the current issue of Associations Now. The illustration accompanies Be a 21st-Century Communicator, a how-to guide for communicating effectively in the 21st century.

Emiliano Ponzi was invited by The New York Times’ Nicholas Blechman to contribute sketches to Sketchbook Obsessions. The show also includes the work of Josh Cochran, Jillian Tamaki, Mark Todd, Esther Pearl Watson and several other artists and art directors that regularly work for The New York Times. Each were asked to contribute their own personal ’sketchbook obsession,’ sharing the imagery and icons that repeatedly find their way into their sketchbooks. The show takes place on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 and an RSVP is required.

Thursday, July 16th, 2009 7-9pm

The New York Times, Gallery 7, 620 8th Ave., 7th Floor, New York NY

RSVP: galleryseven@nytimes.com

Ana Bagayan is exhibiting a piece in Monster?, a group show at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica, CA. Curator, Travis Louie, asked artists to contribute their own ‘monster’ to the show, which was inspired by the ‘monsters’ that appeared in traveling Freak Shows. Other artists participating in the show include Audrey Kawasaki, Tiffany Liu and Ron English, among many, many others. The show opens this Saturday, July 11th and runs until Saturday, August 1st, 2009.

Opening reception: Saturday, July 11th, 2009 8:00-11:30pm

Copro Gallery 2525 Michigan Ave. T5, Santa Monica, CA

Marguerite Sauvage was chosen for Venus Embrace’s What Are You the Goddess Of? razor ad campaign. The interactive website allows you to create your own Goddess Girl by selecting hairstyles, facial features and outfits. You can even choose interests and personality traits to create a Goddess of the Vibe, Goddess of Play, Goddess of the Look or Goddess of Free Spirit. Goddess Girls can be sent to friends or shared on Facebook. The ad campaign includes giveaways and POS signage at Urban Planet and Siblings stores across Canada.

Click here to create your own Goddess Girl.

Jenn Playford and Red Nose Studio each have a piece in the upcoming Custom Kokeshi 2009 show. The show, which was curated by Christina Conway, showcases kokeshi customized by over 100 internationally respected artists, illustrators and designers and is part of the KOKESHI: From Folk Art to Art Toy exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum. Other artist participating in the show include Amy Sol, Calef Brown, Kukula, Marcos Chin, Pietari Posti, Stella Im Hultberg and Tara McPherson, among many, many others. The show runs from Saturday, July 11th until Sunday, October 4th, 2009.

Japanese American National Museum 369 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA