Every once in awhile, you discover an artist or album that resonates with you, a voice that hits your heart. Olga Nunes is a singer, songwriter, and designer from San Fransisco, whose deep lyrics and intense sound make every listening experience a moving, musical adventure. She’s also an incredibly talented storyteller and she has combined all of these skills for her latest project, LAMP.

LAMP received funding about a year ago on Kickstarter, and I was so excited to help out. Not only is Olga a wonderful musician, but she’s a sweet person too and this project is one from the heart. It was an honor to help her achieve her goal.

Plus. She gave out the best awards. Check it out!

So really I just wanted to write this post to show off the awesome necklaces and other goodies Olga created. And, of course, to tell you all that you need to go listen to Olga’s music and follow her LAMP project. Because both are epically awesome. And you should follow her on twitter too because, well just because. And read her blog. You want to.

Enjoy! Also, the first post of the New Year! Yay! And this is the first post of a kind-of new series based on the old Music!Inspire interviews. Because I love music and you should too.

While I haven’t been updating here much, I still do blog over at Fuel your Illustration. Sometimes. Rondal is an amazing co-editor and I’m pretty sure FYI wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren’t for him. Thanks Rondal! Anyhoo, here are some of my recent contributions.

Fuel Your Illustration Articles!

Webcomic Wednesday: Promises, Imagination, & Cleopatra in Space
June 29th, 2011
“Oh how I have pined for my weekly adventure into the kingdom of Webcomics. Oh Wednesdays, for too long you had lost your meaning to me. But no more…”

Colours Not Forgotten: Interview with the Forgotten Colours Crew
July 19th, 2011
“A few weeks back, we introduced you to Forgotten Colours, a beautiful and inspiring iPad app that was filled with stories and illustrations…”

Womanthology: The Not-So-Webcomic Wednesday Special Edition
July 27th, 2011
“Not to isolate the male comic book artists out there, but as a geeky girl with an intense attraction to visual storytelling, I absolutely love learning…”

They’re Not Faeries: Kickstarter & Interview with Paul Keskey
August 23rd, 2011
“When I was little, I was obsessed with the Dark Crystal (okay, maybe I still am). As I grew older, I discovered more works by Brian Froud and fell in love…”

And today’s article, a co-interview with Rondal:

Illustrate Like a Boxer: Interview with Artist Marcelo Vignali
September 7th, 2011
“This week the staff here at Fuel Your Illustration is proud to introduce a very special guest: Marcelo Vignali. Joining us from his home studio in California…”

Write For Us!

These are just my articles, there are a ton more of them over at Fuel Your Illustration by my awesome co-editor and some great guest writers. Interested in writing for us? Head on over and contact us! We’d love to hear from you.

I kind of have all sorts of love for Kickstarter.com. If you aren’t familiar with it, check it out. It’s a site that enables creatives to create fundraisers for projects of all sorts – from art to dance to tech to food to flying pigs to the moon and back. It is a fantastic tool to get noticed and, of course, raise money for projects that better the world. Which is why I’m introducing a new column here at Snailbird: Kickstarter Favorites!

Field Guide to Chrysalies They’re Not Faeries

Paul Keskey is a New York painter with a passionate dream to introduce the world to Chrysalies, sentient beings that often mistaken for the more commonly known faery. Using his subtle paintings and carefully written observations, Paul has created a field guide to the natural world of this little creature. In order to bring his dream to reality, he has utilized Kickstarter to get the word out about it: A Field Guide to Chrysalies, They’re Not Faeries.

As of this post, Paul has a total of $4,400 and needs to reach $10,500 in seven days, September 11th. I believe it’s doable. And Kickstarter makes it easy for you to help. All you have to do is make a pledge to donate any amount of money to help him reach his goal. You don’t have to pledge for nothing – Paul has some awesome incentives for different levels of pledgers, which you can check out on the kickstarter page. You could get postcards, prints, hand-drawn thank you cards, or even a copy of the very book Paul is trying to make. And everything Paul makes is a work of art. You can check out his personal art gallery page at MorningMist Studios. Oh, and if you haven’t gotten enough of Paul, check out the interview I did with him for Fuel Your Illustration.

More Incentive: Hurricane Irene

Why else should you pledge to donate for Paul’s project? Well one, it’s just plain beautiful and I think everyone would benefit for having such a gorgeous book in their house. But another good reason is a simple one: to support Paul and his family. Living in New York means that his family was located in the path of the recent Hurricane Irene. His neighborhood, and his yard, was flooded, and I know that making his goal would be one hell of an awesome way to make his week better as he deals with all the weather issues. This morning he sent me these pictures of what he’s working with right now and it made me want to help him even more.

Make Your Pledge To Support Paul

Paul is awesome and he’s got an amazing talent to bring fantasy to life. His paintings are right out of my own childhood. Why wouldn’t you want to donate to his cause? Pledge your support and donate to A Field Guide to Chrysalies, They’re not Faeries!