Stop and Think About It

I'm not good with definitions. About "what I do." In so many ways, "what I do" defines who I am as a person and how I live my life...yet it is vastly more diverse than a simple job title or description. When questioned about it (or the lack of definition on my business cards) I balk. Uncomfortable. My talents are fluid. My skills are sharp. And I relish all things new and adapting. Why would I want to pigeon-hole myself with one definition?

Now it's true that too much diversity can lead to confusion. And a lot of maintenence. (I do have 3 separate blogs, 4 websites, etc. etc.) I do this because I do believe in consistent and concise messaging: branding.

Feeling the stress today of having so many "jobs." When it is distilled down, the only description that works for me is Artist. This blog will serve as an outlet for all things Nena Anderson. Music, poetry, critical writings and opinions, photography, inventions/product design, illustration and graphic design, parenting, cooking, producing and so on.


I shot this record cover for good friends and former bandmates, Chris James and Patrick Rynn. I am so proud that they are finally receiving recognition for the amazing musicians and hard-working cats that they are. This year they were nominated for a WC Handy Award for Best New Blues Artist.






This is a merch case I designed and built for the band  Wirepony. I worked with the artist in developing a case that was easy to store and transport and that could hold a selection of product. I'm obsessed with combining function with aesthetic. The case supports the brand image of the artist with it's "traveling merchantile look" and kept it all tidy with a cash box and a place to collect mailing list info.






I've drawn cartoons since I was 7 years old, winning contests and drawing logos since I was 12. Yet it never really seemed to me to be a viable "job." Ha! I'm hoping to spend more time in the future illustrating and painting again. This is a piece from a few years back that I created for Nathan James and Ben Hernandez  for a cd they created with  Carl Sonny Leyland. The actual illustration is 20"x 9"

After many years as working as a designer and marketer in fashion, action sports, and sporting goods, I'm thrilled that my art is now melding with my passion for music!

More about (un)defining myself at my work(?) blog *smiling* check it out at  Dungbeetle.

What Love Is

Love. Twisted and idealized by romanticism, society, experience and expectation.
True love is unconditional. Painful. Joyful. Possession without repression. Freeing, yet secure and strengthening. Love seeks truth.

Humphrey's Lounge

I played one of my far-and-few between solo shows last night at Humphrey's Backstage Lounge. Well, almost solo. My friend Kenny Eng sat in on lead guitar and was great! The post Diana Krall crowd enjoyed my "trucker jazz" set and I picked up a few new fans...always a good thing. Thanks to Greg Friedman and Danielle LoPresti for inviting me to perform. And O for the fab foto.

Creating Change

Saturday I will spend my day as a volunteer and observer at the North Park Music Thing. I hear so many musicians grumble and complain about working situations in San Diego and the so called scene. And after 17 years as a working musician in San Diego, I have been one of them on many occasion. Yet there is something here...spark and care, encouragement and nurturing (and sometimes an ass-kicking) I have been so lucky to have experienced from my talented San Diego friends. The music industry is changing. Where it's going...we all wait and watch and listen. I'm not much of a "wait and see" kinda gal. So I am choosing to become a participant, a mover, driven to start creating the changes to what will inspire and hopefully support me as an artist. Maybe it's not a big thing (i'll see you at the registration desk *smile*) but it is a just a start. Research. Observation. Networking. Educating. Evolving. Creating Change.