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Plexipixel doubled its size in 2006, adding a whole lot of brains and a whole lot more opinions. And while we all relish the new creative energy funneling in, we aren’t going to lie to you. What really kept us going was mind candy. Movies, games, TV, music… you name it, someone here loved it. Here’s a little sample of what we dug in 2006.

Hands up if you love the Nintendo Wii. Yes, it’s unanimous. Whether getting sore arms from playing it or sore feet from waiting in line to track one down, we obsessed over the little white box thats taken the world by storm.. That’s not to say we didn’t find time for other games too—everything from old school Super Mario to Geometry Wars to Animal Crossing DS to Guitar Hero II helped us kick our work stress.

Apparently the real world can’t hold a candle to the enchanted land of Tamriel: Ian H is sure his system lies when it reports that he played 140 hours of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Allen is close behind, with 65 hours (and counting) under his thumbs.

Jesse R spent hours convincing us to see the cinematic masterpiece that was Snakes on a Plane. Most of us wisely ignored him, and enjoyed big dollar spectacles like X-Men: The Last Stand and Pirates of the Caribbean. Milk-comes-out-your-nose sendups like Talladega Nights and Borat delivered laughter, and Shortbus and Little Miss Sunshine kept us feeling indie.

Local art and music sustained us during months of rain, snow and windstorm-induced power outages. Our brains exploded with the awesomeness of Plush You, the annual celebration of all things plush, Suite 100 Gallery’s Made You Look art opening, and Ellen Forney’s “I Love Zeppelin” multi-media extravaganza. A Fantagraphics retail store opened in Georgetown, providing much needed entertainment to the South end. Decibel Festival ruled.

Nitro rocks. Plain and simple. Almost as much as PartMan PartHorse, Keane, Neko Case, Thai Beat A Go-Go, Girl Talk, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Ghostface Killah, DJ Spooky, Tim Hecker, The Slackers, and Liars. And when all else failed, we had Crunk Hits. Hwwaaaaat? Ho-kay! Yeeee-ah.

As 2007 rolls in, we have our fingers crossed for Barack Obama, riveting new seasons of Lost, American Idol and Heroes, and the magic of Spiderman 3 and Transformers the Movie. Amie S and Lisa S hope to clear some of the Microsoft acronyms out of their brains. So long, IW, BDM, LMK, WRT, CIL and WTF. We’re also looking forward to weddings: Plexi founders Vicky T and Matt R are tying the knot, and Paola R and Ian H too.

All of this wouldn’t be nearly as exciting if we weren’t also keeping busy with a full platter of fantastic and creative projects. Here’s hoping for more of the same in 2007. We’ll be sure to tell you all about it.

(props to Tizzy A and Ian R for doing all the work on this puppy!)

May the Godfather of Soul rest in peace. We will miss you!!!

Please come down to the new Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Saturday, December 16 at 6:00 PM for a special evening with two of the nation’s most accomplished and influential cartoonists - Peter Bagge and Ellen Forney.

This FREE event takes place at 1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way), in Seattle’s lively Georgetown neighborhood. Phone: 206.658.0110.

Bagge will screen rarely seen animated shorts interspersed with tales of the glory days of grunge, which inspired the stories in “Buddy Does Seattle.”

Ellen will resprise her wildly entertaining multimedia performance based on the stories from her recent “I Love Led Zeppelin” collection.

Take care of all of your last minute holiday shopping with the world’s largest selection of Fantagraphics Books. Make an evening of it by enjoying the funky ambience of Georgetown’s many cafes, galleries and nightclubs. See ya there.

OKOK is proud to present the official release of Jim Woodring’s Mr. Bumper toy. Jim will be signing Mr. Bumper!

OKOK will also have an exclusive colorway for this event only.

OKOK Gallery is located at 5107 Ballard Ave NW Seattle, WA 98107 (203) 789-6242.

The reception is Saturday, December 16th from 6-9 pm.

Here are some photos from the Made You Look show. For more, go to flickr.  

Friend of Plexipixel, Jim Woodring, and collaborator/musician, Bill Frisell were awarded a grant this week from a new organization called USA (United States Artists).

One thing on USA’s agenda is to provide self-supporting artists with money to help pay for their health insurance! Thank you USA!

Other notable awards went to Fantagraphics’ novelist Joe Sacco and cartoonist/book designer Chris Ware.

Here is an article featured in the Seattle Times and another at Bloomberg.com.

Matt and I got to meet Roy E. Disney after his amazing presentation at Animaticus’ “2D or Not 2D Festival” last month.  Roy’s talk was all about Disney and the cutting edge work that Disney (and mostly Walt) spearheaded.  Being engaged to an animator (hi Matt!), there were a lot of specifics in the presentation that I knew about but Roy still brought up so much that just blew me away.

One of my favorite highlights of the presentation was getting a peek at ”Lorenzo”, a 2d/3d Disney short about an obnoxious fat cat whose tail takes over.  It was another Disney triumph with great characters, and engaging storyline and amazing animation!

There was also a photo of the multiplane camera created by Ub Iwerks actually in production of a Disney project.  Just a year earlier, Matt and I had been able to bask in the glory of the camera in person at the Disney Backlot thanks to our dear friend Brian Elling.  It was fun to see an image of it at work. 

Being a former member of Roy’s “Save Disney”, I feel priviledged to have been able to personally thank Roy for all he has done for Disney and the art of animation.  Both Matt and I look forward to watching the new chapter of the Disney story starring Roy and Lasseter unfold!

Suite 100 Gallery is hosting the Made You Look show from December 8th through December 22nd.

Suite 100 is located at 2222 2nd Ave, Suite 100, near Shorty’s in Seattle’s Belltown.

Opening reception is Friday, December 8th from 6-10 pm. Curated by Kirsten Rask of Schmancy, featuring artists Arbito, Le Merde, Oliver Hibert, Spencer Hibert and Shawn Wolfe.

Check out this page, drawn by brother of Plexipixelite Jordan Kotzebue, Travis Kotzebue.  Nice work, Travis!!!

This weekend, Dec. 1st -3rd, there is a lot going on! As well as the mondo Urban Craft Uprising, there is at least one other craft sale happening at the Phinney Ridge Center. Friends of Plexipixel Karin Yamagiwa Madan and Suzanne Kaufman will have a table in the red room at table 83.

The event takes place at 6532 Phinney Ave in the Greenwood district of Seattle.