Juxtsaposing

Rally For Art Supplies by Gregg Deal

2012-01-14T14:12:00.001-05:00

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/greggdeal/rally-for-art-supplies

Hey there! Artist Gregg Deal has begun one hell of a great Kickstarter campaign. Click the link above to check out his page and learn about his art, his life, and more.

You may all remember Gregg giving a speach at the Workhouse Art Center during a First Friday event back in June 2011 at Urban Decay II. Well now is your chance to help him out!

Gregg will be back in Urban Decay III in June 2012.
Check out his art here: http://greggdeal.carbonmade.com/
Check out his kickstarter campaign here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/greggdeal/rally-for-art-supplies

And SUPPORT ARTISTS!!! Peace!

UAS Inaugural Fundraising T-Shirt Design Contest - ORIGINS

2011-11-22T13:57:00.001-05:00

So a short while ago Me and a couple of friends brainstormed and created a buisness we deemed the Urban Art Syndicate.

And to draw attention to our new formed buisness venture and drum up interest and funds to make us "ligit" we came up with our first year-end t-shirt design contest. The theme of this contest is Origins. Here's how it goes:

Attention Designers, Painters, Muralists, Pin-Stripers, Artists, Hobbyists, and anyone else interested in getting your work put on an ultra limited edition, totally sweet American Apparel T-shirt (and hoodie!):

What the heck are you guys talking about?:

We want YOU to create a t-shirt design to be printed in HIGHLY limited quantities as a part of a campaign to increase awareness about Urban Art Syndicate and our growing community. The only limitation to the design is your imagination.

* Maximum art size should not exceed 12" wide by 16" deep (or able to be scaled to a size within that range).
* Artists retain ownership rights of their work, and we will NEVER reprint the design without your approval.
* Each submission will cost $25 (payable through PayPal to urbanartsyndicate(at)gmail.com), and all proceeds will go directly towards printing the merchandise, supporting the upcoming Urban Decay 3 exhibition to be held at The Workhouse Arts Center in June, 2012, and building the first UAS Exhibition to be held at an undisclosed location in Fall 2012.
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So what do I need to do?:
Get out your favorite tools and CREATE an amazing design... something you're proud of, and something that will let the world know that you are a part of a growing community of artists, musicians, performers, and people interested in pulling urban art, lowbrow, toy customization, independent music, independent film, performance, etc. into an organic, living, breathing, noticeable entity with a thriving network of newbies, up-and-comers, and professionals working together to create something fantastic. Once again, the theme is "ORIGINS," so get your toys together, and get creating.

Once you're happy with your submission, send a .pdf, .jpg, or .eps to urbanartsyndicate(at)gmail.com. If you would like to watermark your work for the submission period, please do! We don't mind. If you aren't sure about watermarking it, or you would like us to watermark it, just let us know!!! When you send in your submission, we'll send you over to paypal to pay your submission fee. If you are unable to email your submission, just drop us a line and let us know... we'll be more than happy to make arrangements to get the work from you and put it up on the site!

**Important - ONLY those submissions that we have received payment for will be displayed on the Gallery and Flickr for voting. So if you send in an awesome piece, but forget to send us your $25, that piece will not be qualified for voting. REMEMBER... your $25 goes ONLY towards printing the winning pieces, supporting Urban Decay 3, and building the UAS 2012 Exhibition... None of your money will go to the hoodlums that run UAS or our burger and fry habits!

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Sounds great... but what's the contest?

So you designed this great shirt... now what? At midnight on January 14, 2012, we will post all of the entries we have received in galleries on Facebook and Flickr. Your mission is to get as many votes (Likes) for your piece as possible by having your network "Like" the UAS pages, head to the galleries, and "Like" your piece. You're the most valuable part in building this network, so let's put it to use!!!!
The voting will run until Midnight on January 31, 2012, at which point the votes will be tallied for the following results:
- Grand Prize Winner:

* Limited Edition Full Color printing on American Apparel Zip-Up hoodie

UAS logo on chest, your design on the back (24 Pieces) sold at $50 each

* Limited Edition Full Color printing on American Apparel Organic Ringer-T

UAS logo on the sleeve, your design on front or back - your choice (24 Pieces) sold at $25 each

* 1 11x17 Full Color High Quality Print of design to be displayed at Urban Decay 3 - yours to keep after the exhibit, or you can donate the print to Urban Decay 3 to be raffled off to help offset the costs of the exhibition, reception, and surrounding events!

* FREE Portfolio Hosting at facebook.com/urbanartsyndicate, flickr.com/urbanartsyndicate and the UAS website (once it's all nice and shiny)

* FREE conference with UAS head honchos to get you going (or to give you an extra nudge if you're already going)

* Featured Artist status on all UAS materials for February and March 2012 (archived and easy to view after March 2012 for reference)

* ANNNNND... 50% of sales from your design (after cost) on the T-Shirts and Hoodies... that's roughly a $450 CASH PRIZE, not to mention your own hoodie and T-shirt and free portfolio links available to the entire UAS network!

- 2nd, 3rd Place and Honorable Mention:

* Limited Edition Full Color printing on American Apparel Organic Ringer-T

UAS logo on the sleeve, your design on front or back - your choice (24 Pieces each) sold at $25 each

* 1 11x17 Full Color High Quality Print of design to be displayed at Urban Decay 3 - yours to keep after the exhibit, or you can donate the print to Urban Decay 3 to be raffled off to help offset the costs of the exhibition, reception, and surrounding events!

* FREE Portfolio Hosting at facebook.com/urbanartsyndicate, flickr.com/urbanartsyndicate and the UAS website (once it's all nice and shiny)

* ANNNNND... 50% of sales from your design (after cost) on the T-Shirts and Hoodies... roughly a $100 cash prize, not to mention your own T-shirt and free portfolio links available to the entire UAS network!

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But we're not stopping there....

The designs with the next highest votes, up to our tenth highest ranking design will receive the following:

* Limited Edition Full Color printing on American Apparel Organic Ringer-T

UAS logo on the chest, montage of the top 10 designs on the back (48 pieces total) sold at $25 each

* Each of these winners (5th through 10th highest ranking) will receive a shirt

AND

* 1 11x17 Full Color High Quality Print of design to be displayed at Urban Decay 3 - yours to keep after the exhibit, or you can donate the print to Urban Decay 3 to be raffled off to help offset the costs of the exhibition, reception, and surrounding events!

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So what the hell are you waiting for??? Get to it!!! If you have any more questions, comments, concerns, or just feel like chatting, hit us up at urbanartsyndicate(at)gmail.com!!!

The not-so-fine fine print:

All entrants agree to have their work printed and displayed as necessary to promote the Contest. All entrants agree to have their work distributed electronically solely for the purposes of announcing and advertising the voting process for the contest. All entrants agree to have their images hosted by UAS, with or without UAS watermarks (at artist's request), for the duration of the contest. Prize winners agree to have their images hosted by UAS indefinitely, with the understanding that work will not be copied, reproduced, or distributed without approval of the artist. Further printings of T-shirts or materials will ONLY be done with the approval of the artist, and no distribution of work other than promotional or approved merchandise will occur without prior approval of the artist. Artist retains ownership of the work, and agrees not to reproduce work or produce additional merchandise during the duration of the UAS contest and following sale of merchandise. UAS will not be held responsible for reproductions outside of the scope of this project for artists who do not submit watermarked work or choose to have UAS place a watermark on the displayed image(s) of their work. Winning artists agrees to allow UAS to reproduce one (1) promotional sized poster of their image for display at Urban Decay 3, in addition to the above specified quantities of merchandise. If the artist chooses, the promotional print can be delivered to the artist at the close of the reception. If the artist does not wish to receive the print, UAS will raffle off the remaining prints at Urban Decay 3 as a fundraising measure for UAS & UD3. The UAS T-shirt contest reception will be held as a part of Urban Decay 3, with the formal announcement of winners and runners-up, and a small display for the winning prints. All funds raised at UD3 from T-shirt contest raffle will be split 50/50 (up to $500 total donation from UAS) with curator of Urban Decay 3, to be used for future exhibitions and events under the name “Urban Decay,” or to cover costs incurred during the UD3 reception and exhibition. UAS warrants that all proceeds from the T-Shirt contest will be used for future development of UAS exhibitions and receptions.

Artist Series Post #15: Gregor Gaida

2011-10-10T18:33:00.000-04:00

Gregor Gaida

Its hard to describe that feeling you get. That feeling when you see a work, whether it be in a magazine, online, in a gallery, the feeling that takes you over. When you know you are in the presence of something so big, so important and so phenomenal that all you can do is stare at it and stare at it until your eyes bleed.

The first time I saw Grego Gaida's work, I actually exclaimed allowed"Oh my God."

You see, I was beginning to loose hope. I was beginning to wonder; where are the master artists of my time? Am I missing them? Do these artists just don't exist anymore? Who is going to be the artist the write about and talk about years from now? I think I found him.

Gregor was born in Chorzów, Poland in 1975, completed an Apprenticeship as wood sculptor in Flensburg,Germany in 2002, and n 2010 earned his masters degree. Since before his degree, Gregor has been exhibiting around the globe with amazing success.

Gregor Gaida’s sculptures have something almost unreal; in the first place you get pleasantly stunned, by taking a closer look you find an almost familiar value to the poses of his subjects and in the end you get the impression that something really goes wrong with them. What exactly? Gaida’s creations raise more questions than they answer and this is the deeper value that they possess. And as if that were not enough, the whole feeling is further intensified by the strong symbols, like the flag or the child, that are omnipresent in his work.

The basis of his creations is often formed by photographs he finds in magazines, books and other visual media. The focus of his interest lies on composition and the protagonists’ pose in the images, as well as the openness in interpreting their actions. A special meaning lies in the gesture that indicates cultural, social or political discrepancies. Thus isolated, the images’ original message collapses and turns into a different, or many different, possibilities of association. The found footage is often no more than an impulse that is no longer discernible in the further development of the shape. In the end, the result remains a translation of reality, equivalent to his inner point of view.

Gregor admits that although his subjects have something very dynamic, by taking a closer look they reflect a great helplessness since they are often drowned in their own passion. After all, Gaida is the proof that passionate artists, despite the peculiar or even surreal characteristics they may possess, always find their way to communicate with the spectator. And that makes their art even greater…

Learn more about this amazing artist and see more of his work by going to http://www.gregor-gaida.de/index.php?page=start

Artist Series Post #14: Matt Anderson

2011-08-17T19:30:00.000-04:00

Matt Anderson

WOW....
When work gets busy...it gets BUSY.
Sorry I've been out of the loop Urban Decay Fans. I guess that's the life of an artist for you! You never know when things are going to happen for you. One day your just sitting in your room with a dim light and a pencil, marking up your next custom, and the next thing you know, you're being pulled around by your coat-tails by strangers requesting work to magically drop from your back-side fully customized to their individual wants and desires....I wonder if that's how Matt feels?

Meet custom toy designer Matt Anderson:

I've been in the Urban Art scene for about 2 1/2 years now. Most of my childhood and up until I was about 20 I was always into sketch art and comic art. I would usually do that everyday. I never really picked up on sculpting or 3d art until about 3 years ago. A really good friend of mine had introduced me into the scene. He had collected much of the designer toys we all know and love today and upon mocking his collection I was in turn pointed in the direction of my first custom. I've brought various style customs to life over the last couple years from a smoke blowing "Raffy" dragon to Splinter cell characters with working night vision goggles to my current robotic customs with moving heads and such. Although I have been listed as the " steampunk " style artist I do try to push myself to try other things in the creation world. I have been creating customs ever since and just about everyday. Its very addicting and something that I have grown to love as more than just a hobby.

From the Artists mouth:
With every custom I create I strive to push the envelope on what can be accomplished while creating not only visually appealing works of art but functional ones as well. With every piece I try to incorporate a mechanical working aspect whether it is moving clock gears to lighted elements to robotics. I like to test myself by working on various platforms from 3" to Mega sizes to add a little functionality to each piece. Bringing not only a great piece of art to display on ones shelf, but also a piece of art that has it's own personality. I hope to continue creating customs and collectibles that just don't seem possible to create and one day produce a version of my own creation.

I remember when I first spoke to Matt I was a little shocked at just how "country" he sounded. I thought to myself, man that guy has an accent! Then I met him and I gotta tell ya, his voice does not match his looks. Think : farmhand gets his ass beat by metal-band and dumped in NYC left to survive on his own devices".
And Matt is up to the challenge! HA!
Its nice to see a good-ol-boy from Chester VA keeping the toys alive!
Steampunk or not, I think Matt is on to something here.

Matt has managed to make a quick name for himself in a short amount of time. You can find his customs for sale at Tenacious toys at http://www.tenacioustoys.com/ or specifically: http://www.tenacioustoys.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=matt+anderson and at "Plastic and Plush": http://plasticandplush.com/2011/03/matt-anderson-x-tenacious-toys-custom-anar-qee-series.html
or if you want to check out some video of Matt and his toys in action, go to: https://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=223131531048359 or https://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=223130291048483 or https://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=223129644381881
(all shot at the last Urban Decay II exhibition)

Be sure to follow Matt on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/#!/Matt.Acustoms?sk=photos
and I suggest keeping an eye out for more of his customs.
See ya!

Artist Series Post # 13: Hamilton Glass

2011-06-27T20:49:00.000-04:00

Hamilton Glass

Hello again Art Lovers! I know, I know, I've been a neglectful blogger. What can I say? Urban Decay was a HUGE success and I never got close to talking about everybody participating in the show. But I figured why not just continue?
I mean, hell, its my blog. I can do whatever I want to!

So allow me to introduce Urban Decay Artist Hamilton Glass:

"Ham? is an artist native to Philadelphia, PA and currently based out of Richmond, Virginia. Growing up in Philadelphia allowed Hamilton to experience different cultures and art. As a young child his mother constantly enrolled him in art classes at the Philadelphia Institute of Art. Here he gained a strong foundation that allowed him to tap into his creative side and begin his journey as an artist. After graduating from Arch Bishop Carroll high school, Hamilton started his college career at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, GA. After a semester in Atlanta Hamilton realized that it was not for him and chose to move back north to Hampton, VA. At Hampton University he obtained his Bachelors of Architecture and went on to work within numerous architecture firms in Virginia and New Jersey.

It’s been his journey in Richmond that has allowed Hamilton to introduce his design ideas to the city and the art community. His work serves to create dialog between mainstream and underground art enthusiast. He is one of many street artists who have taken part in the on going debate as to whether graffiti belongs on a gallery wall. In Hamilton’s mind it should be able to belong in both j spaces, which allows two different environments in which to view and experience the art.

Influenced by the memories and experiences with street art growing up, Hamilton Glass tries to infuse the vibe and grit of the city into each piece. What makes Hamilton work unique is the use of architectural elements within graffiti like the line work or ‘drafting’ that creates the dynamic backgrounds of his pieces. Elements that are common within Hamilton’s work are freehand shapes executed with graffiti hand styles, along with unpredictable raw mediums and bold bright colors. The nature of Hamilton’s work thrives with and around the city, which is why he is always seeking to make an impact with his large scale projects and murals."

The mural above caused a bit of controversy not too long ago. Enough to get Ham? on the news. Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IgXVo92QPk

Interested to see what Ham? is up to next? Well he's a much better blogger then I am and actually UPDATES his blog, go check it out: http://www.whosham.com/blog-news

A talented, insightful, artist, I was stoked when Hamilton agreed to show some work in this year's Urban Decay. Until next time!

Artist Series Post #12: RSIN

2011-05-22T23:15:00.000-04:00

RSIN

HELLO again Urban Decay movers and shakers! Allow me to introduce RSIN. RSIN (aka Lonnie) is a self taught artist residing in Pennsylvania, who has made tremendous leaps in the art world in a very short amount of time. I was introduced to his work via Facebook and my brother Derek one day, and have been hooked to watching him turn out work with a staggeringly quick pace.

If you love Vinyl Toys you have to know the name RSIN. He has appeared in dozens upon dozens of exhibitions worldwide and has quickly gained recognition in the vinyl art world.

RSIN will be customizing a toy LIVE at Urban Decay II on June 4th so make sure to come on out and see a legend in the making. :)
Check out his work on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/aguilar1.0#!/Rsinart and more work here http://www.flickr.com/rsinart
Check out his blog here: http://www.rsin-art.blogspot.com/

Artist Series Post #11: Mary Spring

2011-05-15T16:30:00.000-04:00

Mary Spring

Hello again Urban Decay lovers!
Allow me to introduce Featured Artist Mary Spring. Like many of the featured artists this time around, I first encountered Mary's work at one of the many amazing Art Whino exhibitions last year. Easily identifiable, Mary's work has a kind of quiet but almost menacing aura that dares people to look closer. Mainly dealing with the human form, in particular females, Mary's characters stare straight into the viewer's soul and catches you in a voyeuristic state. I imagine this is how people felt staring at the Mona Lisa for the first time. Is she smiling? What is she thinking? Is she looking at me or the person next to me? What does she know that I don't know?

Bio:
Mary Spring’s figures are at once both self portraits of the present and projections of internal hope for the future. Each representation depicts the panoptic range of mental, emotional and physical conditions experienced in a mere snapshot of time, enabling the observer to merge silently into the psyche of the artist.

From ultimate pleasure to unbearable sadness, each expression communicates the profound casualties of insight. The integration of medium and mechanics with design and spirit, lead to the paradoxical enlightenment and anguish portrayed at the moment each stroke is applied.

Self-realization emerges from the artist as the feminine heart, the kinesthetic demands of performance and dedication, and the consequential strength are unveiled in each expression. Pain synthesized into passion. Time united with eternity.

Why I Stay

Untitled

Stutter in your confidence

6% fearful

i blame your wish

Laris Sparrow

Mary has been involved with a great number of group shows, some of which include:
2010:
12.11 : "Inked Souls 3" : Art Whino Gallery : National Harbor, MD
12.2-4 : The Takeover - Art Whino invades Art Basel : Awarehouse : Miami, FL
11.13 : FIND Issue #5 release show : Find Art Gallery : Costa Mesa, CA
11.6 : group show : The Hive Gallery : LA, CA
11.4 : "Modus Union Salon Party 2010 : The Yards Park : Washington, DC
10.2 : group show : The Hive Gallery : LA, CA
8.7 : "Beerotica 3" themed show : The Hive Gallery : LA, CA
7.3 : group show : The Hive Gallery : LA, CA
4.24 : "Nex Gen Twenty Ten" : Ronin Gallery : LA, CA
4.10 : "rebornz room n board show" : Rothick Art Haus : Anaheim, CA
4.3 : "Love in Hiveland" : The Hive Gallery : LA, CA
3.1 : "G40 The Summit" : Art Whino : Arlington, VA

And that's just last year! (busy girl!)

Mary Spring graduated with a BFA in Fine Art from Florida State University in 2006 and currently shows in LA and beyond. Spring draws upon her upbringing by a mother in the mental health profession and a father in the military paired with her lifelong obsession with physicality and the female figure (she has practiced ballet for over 24 years), to create portraits of the feminine spirit with consequential strengths unveiled in each expression.

untitled

See more of Mary's work at :http://www.maryspring.com/home.html
Find her on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/maryspringart#!/maryspringart?sk=photos

And as always, come to Urban Decay during the month of June and see it for yourself, live and in person! Mary has customized skate decks that will be hanging and for sale!

URBAN DECAY: OPENING RECEPTION SATURDAY, JUNE 4th!
-Cheers

Artist Series Post #10: Emily Greene Liddle

2011-05-01T22:31:00.000-04:00

Emily Greene Liddle

Hello again Urban Decay readers! Allow me to introduce the first female artist I will discuss as a featured artist in Urban Decay II this June: Emily Green Liddle.

I first saw Emily's artwork at the Art Whino G40 Exhibit in Washington DC last year. The exhibit itself though full of amazing art, wasn't as well put together as I was expecting, but Emily's work really stood out to me and I knew I wanted to have her work displayed at the Workhouse as soon as I could.

Here is a little info and background:
Emily Greene Liddle was born and raised just outside of Baltimore, MD before moving to Washington, DC in 1999 to attend college. She graduated cum laude from the Catholic University of America in 2004 with a dual bachelors degree in Fine Arts and Art Education. Emily currently lives, teaches, and paints in the DC metro area. Working mainly with oil on canvas, Liddle uses classical academic technique to portray modern pop imagery. While her paintings initially appear light and playful, her subject matter plays
on deeper themes of contrast and contradiction in form, function, and perception in modern Pop culture.

Security Blanket
2009
oil on canvas
48 x 36

Bear Trap
2009
oil on canvas
40 x 30

Hooked
2008
oil on canvas
24 x 12

Pincushion II
2009
oil on canvas
36 x 48"

Murmur DC writes: Emily Greene Liddle is an extraordinary talent within the DC area that is more than a little known painter. She’s actually a blossoming artist that is becoming well recognized for her work. The subject matter has a pop art feel, and is able to bring into perspective the contracting patterns that play into our culture. Her Strange Fruits series portrays common fruits and innocent objects into comprising situations. Although her subjects appear playful at first glance, there is a deeper meaning behind them that portrays the contrast we can all find value in.

Smoke Signal
2009
oil on canvas
40 x 30

Unfinished Business
2009
oil on canvas
36 x 36"

"Virtue" 2007
oil on canvas
24 x 36

Recently Emily has Participated in DC's new Art-In-Hand Project: The Washington DC Project is a unique deck of playing cards showcasing the wide range of extraordinary artistic talent found in the Washington area. Each of the 54 cards in our deck (52 playing cards plus 2 jokers) will be transformed into a one-of-a-kind work of art by 54 local artists who will create one card each in their own distinct style.

In a recent informative yet easy to read interview from "The Fifteen Before Fifteen" (a small company founded by artists in Washington DC. whose primary service is to provide a website hosting Journal 15 online and the Artist Database. Their primary goal is providing local artists an outlet for greater exposure at no cost to them) Emily was given a great chance to talk about her work, her inspiration and much more:

"It's true -- everything is a contradiction... It's torture." These are Emily Greene Liddle's words. They were offered about two-thirds of a way through a lengthy interview which I thoroughly enjoyed. Her words need to be slightly explained and they will be. Before we begin I want to tell you that Emily has a great laugh. Now I promised Emily that some information would stay off the record, but I don't think she'd mind if I told you she has a wicked sense of humor that tends towards to be a bit dark at times -- in a good way. When we first met I was immediately impressed with her sarcasm, not mean-ness, just pure wit. She is the first artist to bring out Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies mid-interview. She is also the first to bring out two beers and then finish one quicker than I do. Maybe that should have stayed off the record. I'm going to fight to leave it in. You'll see why at the end. It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you Emily Greene Liddle.

Emily Greene Liddle is incapable of breaking her training. Oh yes, she's trained. She is also exceptionally professional about her work and her methods, and yet still able to be silly once in a while. She went to Catholic University specifically to study art. She knew she was an artist from a very young age. Says she, "I feel really lucky in that sense because most people go through their entire lives and never really know for sure what they're meant to do. I've always felt like I was going to be an artist. Growing up it just kind of got stronger." She went to school to find out what she was interested in and to strengthen her voice. She found that she liked working with oils because they're "buttery, soft, and gushy," but also because they're a necessity. "Acrylics dry to fast," she says. Her paintings are photo-realistic with subject matter not traditionally found in photo-realism. She abhors painting landscapes -- they do nothing for her. What she enjoys doing is painting large pieces, technically done, with a lot of research behind them. The subject matter of these paintings? Well here's where we begin to glimpse the contradiction that Emily is so fond of.

Read the full article here: http://www.thefifteenbeforefifteen.com/content/2009-05-13_01.asp

Bed of Nails
2009
oil on canvas
40 x 30

You can check out all of Emily's work, old and new, by popping over to her website here: http://www.emilygreeneliddle.com/index.html
But don't forget to see it first hand, live, and in person by coming to Urban Decay II this June at the Workhouse Art Center. See you there!

Artist Series Post #9: James Walker

2011-04-22T13:20:00.000-04:00

James Walker

Hello Again everyone! I bring you the third installment of the "get to know the Urban Decay Artist" blog series. I realize now that I have been slacking in this area and plan to pick up the pace in the month of May. My "grand plan" was to have all the Urban Decay Artists talked about before the event on June 4th...but...well...you know how it goes. Work, sleep, life in general happens and things get pushed aside.

So I might not get to every artist before the big event, but Urban Decay II is happening all month long so why the rush anyway!?

On with the show!

What intrigues me most about Artist James Walker is his dedication and work ethic. Though its hardly work for him. This man is a machine. The pure amount of work he produces in the span of a breath amazes me. A photographer, a painter, an amazing drawer, a dog lover, a life lover, this guy just oozes "art" out of his pores. Its almost like he was born to do this one thing-create.

You can view his website at http://www.organicdebris.com/. Which in itself is a thing to be marveled.

In James' Words:
It all starts with photographs.
I make pictures of everything.
All the time.
Snapping photos and drawing pictures and painting and collaging and collecting and gathering information is my way of being enveloped in every second of every day.
I try to take as little for granted as possible. There are no projects.
It's just my life.
It's all one big documentary.
Thanks for looking.
-James

In an interview with Shine DC:

"Tell us a little about yourself and your work"
-My creations come from an insatiable need to catalog and document the world around me and by doing so I hope to become as fully enveloped as possible in the concept of existing. My art is a combination of photographs, paintings, drawings, collages, handmade books and assemblages. I don’t specialize in anything other than making the best art I can. I went to school for photography but never took any painting or drawing classes so in that facet of my work I’m self-taught. All of my non-photo art is based on pictures that I have taken, which is a very important aspect of my work. I’ve often thought that a photograph shows a so-called “reality” and a painting not only shows that reality but also the dream behind the reality.- James

What inspired you to become an artist?

I’ve been making art for longer than I can remember. I’ve always maintained that any decent artist never really decides to become an artist, it’s just who they are. There’s nothing they can do about it except to work hard and do their best to create work that will be a positive addition to the world.- James

Why DC? Why not any other city?

I’ve lived in 18 different locations in the past 32 years but I always seem to be drawn back to DC. I’m not really sure why, maybe because I have a lot of family and friends in this area. It’s a unique place and I feel strangely comfortable here.- James

Have you seen a shift in momentum in DC’s creative scene in the past 5 years? Where do you think its headed/what’s the biggest change?

I think anyone doing anything outside of the mainstream art scene in DC has always had to keep a real DIY attitude about things, which is one of the things that makes the DC scene unique from other major cities. Although it seems like this area is definitely starting to have a more open embrace for art that’s a little bit “different” than what most people are used to seeing. I see the scene progressing in this direction.- James

Is there a particular DC movement/event or artist our readers should look out for?

The thing I like about DC is you can’t really classify the art movement here the way you can with other places like LA or NYC. Keep your eye on Drew Storm Graham; (Who BTW will also be showing at Urban Decay II in June!)I suggest buying his work now while it’s still somewhat affordable.-James

If you could accomplish anything through your work, what would it be?

I would like for someone who views my work to be inspired to feel a little bit more deeply about his or her own existence.-James

As an artist, as a collector and as an dog lover, I can't help but feel a special connection to James' work. Its natural state no matter what it is (photos, drawings, sketches,etc.) to me is a celebration of life and of the earth itself. I guess you could say I feel better about this world when I view James' work. It makes me appreciate the little things that make this giant rock we call home an exciting place to live. Every insect, every mammal, every gust of wind seems to contain meaning and awe.
When an artist and his/her work can inspire awe inside you, you know it's a special thing.

So don't miss James Walkers work at Urban Decay II this June and definitely go check out his blog and website next time you're surfing the web. Consider it your "feel good" moment of the day.
See you in June!

Artist Series Post #8: Graham Franciose

2011-03-22T22:54:00.000-04:00

Graham Franciose

Allow me to introduce yet another talented artist that will be displaying work at Urban Decay II in June 2011. Graham Franciose (thats fran-chose, not fran-swah) grew up in a very artistic and creative family, and credits them with his decision to pursue art as a career. When he was in college getting his BFA in illustration he was trained in photo-realism; however, after noticing that everyone's work looked very similar he decided to veer off and find a style of his own. Growing up skateboarding, he was always influenced by "low-brow" and "street" artists who really inspired hm to do something different which is why I felt Graham was a natural choice to be a part of Urban Decay.

beauty and the beast
12" x 12"
oil and ink on pine

sometimes it's better to let go-her
12" x 10"
oil and ink on pine

flying lessons
8" x 6"
oil and ink on pine

isle of the sleeping giant
18" x 24"
ink and acrylic on paper

Graham Franciose graduated with a BFA in Illustration from the Hartford Art School in 2005. He has exhibited his work for the last five years across the United States and has been published in various art publications and children's educational books. When he is not painting he is probably riding his skateboard, rolling skeeballs, spending time with his girlfriend, or wishing he was doing any of those things. If you see him, high five him.

Graham: "A lot of my work deals with the quiet moments in a story, between the excitement and action where characters deal with internal conflicts, doubt, loneliness, wonder, apprehension. My work often comes across as sad and melancholy, but there is always a sense of hope that I am trying to portray."

Art Whino's comments about Graham's work: Relatable and honest, Graham's works are some of the most gentle, yet emotionally evocative works ever featured at Art Whino. His imaginative illustrative paintings are small in size and big on emotion, each depicting its own little narrative, often dreamily reminiscent, reaching deep into the human condition and showing us all little pieces of ourselves along the way.

You can take a look at more of Graham's beautiful work on his website at: http://grahamfranciose.com/#home
And he's even a fellow blogger!: http://grahamf-art.blogspot.com/
Interested in purchasing his work? Try out his etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/grahamfranciose

OR just come to Urban Decay II in June at the Workhouse Art Center, drink some wine, eat some great food, listen to some great music and buy it in person! :)

See you all there!

"Someone To Relate To"
9" x 12"

He Missed That Sprawling Tree, With All His Heart
ink and acrylic on paper
16" x 20"

Artist Series Post #7: Josh Taylor

2011-03-02T16:14:00.000-05:00

Josh Taylor

With URBAN DECAY II on the cusp of happening in June 2011 (shameless plug, mark your calendars) I started thinking it might be a good idea to introduce you all to the talented artists that will have work on display this year. So in no particular order I started with Josh Taylor.

I first saw Josh's work at an exhibit called G-40 in DC (several posts ago) where he was painting live. The work blew me away and I immediately became a fan of his style. I vowed then and there that I would get him to display work at my next exhibition. Luckily for me, he agreed and all is now right with the world. :)

Josh has a pretty awesome short video here: http://current.com/entertainment/89353399_artist-josh-taylor.htm that helps explain the birth of his artistic creations. But even without the video, anyone who is a comic book fan or urban art fan should know his name and immediately enjoy his work.

Josh Taylor's Work at G-40

Owl

Josh has a pretty interesting history I'd say:

Josh Taylor died in the year 2037 at the young age of 57. It is still unclear the exact cause of his death, but there have been a couple of people who were close to Josh that started noticing weird things. While Josh was a private person throughout his life, young Tim McAllister (a neighbor) was sometimes allowed into Josh's house. Josh had Tim run to the store to buy groceries or to mail out some prints. When asked if he noticed anything strange in the days prior to Josh's death, Tim replied, "Yeah, a couple days before Mr. Taylor died, I had came in the back door and found Josh at his drawing table. He had his arm shoved elbow deep into his mouth. It really freaked him out when he saw me, and he tried covering up all the weirdness. He sure was strange." This is important though, because when the autopsy was being performed, Josh was completely cut open. On the inside of his body, it was discovered that Josh had been using his innards as a canvas. While only seen by a handful of people, it has been reported that the art INSIDE of Josh is leaps and bounds greater than anything else done by anybody, anywhere. Unfortunately, the Government seized control of all works of art in the year 2012 (music was seized around 1985), so it will not be issued until the Government decides what to do with it. It is doubtful that it will ever be seen, because his art is dark and controversial. It challenges all authority. It inspires people to question, it inspires people to seek change. One can only wonder what was created inside Josh, perhaps someday we will all be so lucky to see.

Before Josh Taylor died, however, he was born. That is usually how it happens in the game of life, and Josh's life was no exception. Josh was born in a canvas in the town of Ridgewood, New Jersey. The year was 1980 and he was zero years old at the time of birth. He landed on the canvas with a loud "THUD", and Jack yelled out, "Christ, Pat it's a boy, let's call him Joshua". Pat thought that was a wonderful choice of a name, and they went back to lover's land, to start working on the creation of their second piece, which would be finished a few years later, entitled "Bronwyn." Eventually Josh got tired of being stuck in a canvas all the time, so he broke free. He started making puppets, painting, drawing, and being a shithead, as soon as he was liberated. By the second grade the Government was alerted of this talented Josh Taylor. Spies were sent to Chardavoyne Road in Warwick, NY (where the Taylor family had moved) and his house was bugged. Jack and Pat were followed every where they turned. However the spies were not noticed. Government spies are good. Regardless, Josh grew up to be a normal artist. Starving sometimes, catching a break other times. Eventually, the Taylor family started to get paranoid about being followed all the time,so they went to North Carolina and Jack and Pat split up. Pat , Josh and Bronwyn stayed in North Carolina and Jack went to Honduras or Saturn or Spain or something. He acquired a lot of expensive cars in the process. Josh continued with the arting and eventually ended up at the fictional art institute called Pratt in Brooklyn, New York, where he studied Illustration and minored in something art related. He graduated at the top of his class in 2002 and was asked to speak at the graduation ceremony. Josh accepted the invitation and went on for about 25 minutes how he felt the Government was starting to get too closely involved in the art community. Josh had been drinking heavily though, so nothing was really understood. Everyone thought he was insane, and they applauded when he was finally finished.

After Josh graduated from Pratt, he moved into a tiny hermit town in Alaska and painted everyday, sending his work via DHL to his friend Todd Kurpel who was supposedly selling it to art collectors/dealers. However Todd was really selling all of Josh's art to the Government. Todd was making a fortune and only sending Josh enough cash to stay broke. More time passed and then eventually the Government passed the law claiming that They own all art work. Whether it be your child's kindergarten finger painting or Josh Taylor's "The Egyptians". In the year 2012, when the government took over the art world, Josh lost whatever little their was left of his mind. There have been a few people to have claimed to have seen Josh swallowing his hand as far back as 2012. It's a shame really. Another tragedy. Another talented artist to never be seen. With his greatest creation trapped inside of him.

Words by Todd Kurpel

Bluebelss Rang

Death Smoke

Freighting of Ophelia Macintyre

Dora

Chopsticks

Bird Face

Blue Hair Worms

Walter

I think my love of rabbit imagery lately will have to make "Walter" My favourite!

So if you like what you see here are a few sites that sell Josh's work:
Tag Gallery: http://taggalleries.com/index.php?cPath=28_64
Distinct Artist Studios: http://www.distinctionart.com/inventory.php
Art Whino: http://artwhino.com/_catalog_99588/Josh_Taylor

But you could also just come to URBAN DECAY II in June 2011 at the Workhouse Art Center and buy his work in person...I'm just saying...you'd save on shipping! :)

Josh will also have work on display here:
1) On March 1 , 2011

    Show called: Nerd Appeal

    Gallery: Verlaine in New York
2) On April 9 , 2011

    Show Called: Big Trouble in Little China: A Tribute

    Gallery: Dragatomi in California

Hope to you all at the next Urban Decay Exhibition in June!

Artist Series Post #6: Charles Krafft

2010-12-13T16:48:00.001-05:00

Charles Krafft

Charles Krafft is a self-taught painter based in Seattle, Washington USA. His work in the Delft ceramics tradition was inspired by his friendship with American motorcycle and hot rod hero Von Dutch. In the early 1990s, Krafft began a series of natural and socio-political disasters painted on found china plates called Disasterware™, with the logo designed by Von Dutch. In 1995, Krafft traveled to war-ravaged Bosnia Herzegovina with the Slovenian industrial rock band Laibach. Moved by the plight of the besieged residents of Sarajevo, he returned to Central Europe and created an arsenal of Delft weaponry. The Porcelain War Museum Project premiered at the Republic of Slovenia Ministry of Defense headquarters in Ljubljana in 2000, and has subsequently been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world.

Using all the traditional materials of Dutch Delft painting, Charles Krafft brings the art solidly into the 20th century with the creation of art works that reflect our modern realities. Floods, fires, murders, Nazi atrocities and artistic angst rise up from these plates rather than quaint windmills and skaters dressed in ancient costumes. All art should be relevant to our lives and experiences or it will not extend our sense of reality and truth.

From Charles Krafft's lips to your eager eyes and ears:

“CHARLES KRAFFT IS MY NAME, AMERICA IS MY NATION, SEATTLE IS MY DWELLING PLACE, AND ART IS MY SALVATION.” For the last 15 years I have been working in ceramics, before that I was a painter. I am considered a pioneer of the "low brow" or Pop Surrealism movement. This is an alternative visual arts scene that has its roots in California custom car culture, surfing culture and in '60s era underground comix. It’s a streetwise aesthetic that has been evolving and spreading out across the globe while remaining almost entirely unnoticed by most mainstream critics, museum curators and art historians. It exists on the Internet and by word of mouth in it's own parallel universe of events, magazines, galleries, shops and studios in America, Europe, Australia and Japan. I’m also the inventor of SPONE - human bone china - or more precisely porcelain made with “cremains.” The word SPONE is a combination of “bone” plus “Spode.” Josiah Spode was the l8th century English inventor of bone china which is actually named for its cow bone ash content, not its white color. Armed with Spode’s old clay recipe I’ve set out to revolutionize the funerary arts by creating custom reliquaries out of human bone ash porcelain from crematoriums. My other work isn't as functional. I use clay to comment on violence, power, capital and catastrophes. I am self-taught. The only art credentials I have are the "astral apprenticeships" I served under the reclusive painter of startled birds, Morris Graves (l910-2001) and the crackerjack Hollywood hot rod hero, Von Dutch (l926-l992). I can get down with any militantly aesthetic easel painter, multi-media maestro or wooly potter, but when it comes to the mechanics of art making I prefer the company of criminals, undertakers and blue haired grannies. Visit my cyber- tarded website: www.antiquesatoz.com/artatoz/krafft/.

You see kids, ceramics can be fun too.

Artist Series Post #5: Frank Kozik

2010-10-19T16:49:00.000-04:00

Frank Kozik

Hello Art lovers!
It's hard to believe it's already post time. I've been so busy with my new house, learning new software for work and preparing the next Urban Decay exhibit that the month has almost passed me by completely!
But fear not, I have returned with another interesting artist post about none other then the godfather of Vinyl Toys: Frank Kozik.

If you are an Urban Art Toy collector like myself (and if you aren't, you should be!) then Frank Kozik is a household name. He's been designing toys for years, even before the vinyl art toy phenomenon really hit the U.S. And he's still going strong today!

Here's a little history for ya!

Frank Kozik was born in Madrid, Spain in 1962. At the age of 14, he moved to the United States and settled in Austin Texas.

Credited with single handedly reviving the "lost" art of the concert poster, Frank's creative career grew largely out of his enthusiasm for Austin's growing underground rock scene in the mid-eighties. Starting with black and white flyers for friends bands posted on telephone polls, his reputation grew as an artist who's work was graphically compelling as well as culturally gripping. With hundreds of full-color, limited edition, silk screened posters under his belt for such renowned artists as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Beastie Boys, he has also been the subject of many magazine articles such as Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Spin, and Details.
Not limited to the rock world, Frank has also done work for Nike, BASF, Slim Jim and MTV. His newest venture, fkozik.com, is an interactive site dedicated to creating a place for fans to go as well as purchase his art, both of which are firmly dedicated to producing the ultimate in collectible show posters and prints.

Kozik has retired from poster design and is currently involved in the designing and production of vinyl toys. He has teamed up numerous times with such entities as Kid Robot, Toy2R, Adfunture, Muttpop, Jamungo and others and is credited with such creations as Smorkin' Labbits, the Hate Dunny, Dr. Bomb, Mongers, Chumps and more. He is currently one of the most prolific and popular designers in the genre. He has also done hand painted editions of several RealxHead Kaiju toys.

Kozik founded a new company, Ultraviolence, in 2007 and regularly releases higher priced limited art editions of vinyl sculptures.

Most recently in 2008 in collaboration with Draven Shoes, Frank has issued a line of Footwear that bears his name and art work. The collection for now can be viewed as some items purchased on Draven's Official Website.

My boyfriend Aaron picked up this little fella for me about a year ago. He is lovingly called the "Christraper". Yup, that's what I said.
But perhaps most people know Frank for his ever so popular smorkin labbit designs like below.

But if you can make a rabbit smoke, why not a grenade...a banana...an apple...etc.

One of my favorite toys by Frank is of course the Dr. Bomb series:

And I desperately want one of these to live in my house:

It's kind of hard to be an art toy lover and not know who Frank Kozik is. The man is legend. And now you can even buy directly from his own art store at www.fkozik.com.

Like all good vinyl toys, even the smorkin labbit has become prey to DIY artists:

And for those of you artists who think that Vinyl Toy Creations will get you nowhere, perhaps you would be interested in hearing about Frank's amazingly popular, sometimes sold-out gallery happenings:

Read the full article here:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.vinylpulse.com/vp_pics/from_windows_live_writer/SeenFrankKozikHubris_DC2D/1DSC_8536_500.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.vinylpulse.com/2009/10/seen-frank-kozik---hubris.html&usg=__VhUtYFyVjP4BCwixBsLtyYWjN1o=&h=500&w=460&sz=67&hl=en&start=190&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=kwRhjtt7nyq32M:&tbnh=130&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfrank%2Bkozik%26start%3D180%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1

So here's to Frank!
P.S.- If anyone is looking to get me a great birthday/christmas present; anything by Frank Kozik is GOLDEN. ;)

Artist Series: Post #4 Scott Radke

2010-09-08T14:40:00.000-04:00

Scott Radke

Hello all my art loving freaks! So here it is, Art Series Post #4. I know you are as excited as a fat kid in a candy store, a cop in a donut shop, and any other wierd cliche I can't think of right now.

This month I chose to focus on Scott Radke, a Cleveland, Ohio artist who has had one hell of a career. The great thing about Scott Radke, is that #1 he works in clay which I love for obvious reasons, #2 he always answers his face book and live journal questions promptly, and #3 even though he has a long history of interviews, sold work, exhibitions, his art featured in movies and more.... no one I know seems to know who the hell he is; which of course feeds my ever growing need to feel smarter then my friends, other artists and the general public.

Thats right, I'm "Worldly" and " all-knowing"... so suck it. :)

Now a little bit about Scott:

Scott Radke was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in the nearby suburb of Strongsville. Radke has experimented with various media throughout his life and currently focuses on the creation of sculptural hybrid creatures with an extraordinarily innocent, yet dark twist. In 1999 the popularity of his marionettes allowed him to leave his mind-numbing job at a bed-frame factory to pursue his creative passion on a full-time basis. His marionettes have been featured in films including /Voices In My Head,/ a BBC documentary directed by David Malone; /Desolation Sound/, starring Jennifer Beals; /God in the Machine/, starring Thomas Jay Ryan; and Birthday Massacre’s music video, /Blue/.

Radke’s work has been published internationally in magazines including Bizarre (England), DPI (Taiwan), Refused, and Skratch. *He has* shown his work at BLK/MRKT Gallery (CA), M Modern Gallery (CA), Strychnin Gallery (Germany), Jonathan Levine’s former Tin Man Alley (PA), and CB’s 313 (NYC) among others.

Radke currently lives in Cleveland where he has created set designs, costumes, and masks for choreographer Sarah Morrison. Sarah and Scott married soon after their first creative collaboration, and their home has grown over the past ten years to include their daughter Isabella, 4 cats, and a lot of goldfish.

You can see a full list of Scott's exhibit history, list of videos, interviews, magazine and book publishments, and of course more of his creepy-cute-creatures at http://www.scottradke.com/.
Feel like chatting up with him? I wasn't kidding about how quickly he answers questions: http://www.facebook.com/pages/scott-radke/60152397243?created

I found a pretty great online column from a writer for monkeygoggles.com that I think sums up what alot of people think about Scott's work:

When asked to explain some of his artwork during an interview with Arrested Motion, Scott Radke said, “A lot of what I do is like daydreaming. If you’re a writer, I imagine you would daydream in stories and words, but mine are more image oriented — shapes, colors, animals, faces, and textures. I just clump them all together and add and subtract along the way until something feels balanced and complete.”

Scott Radke draws, paints, and creates marionettes and sculptures that are haunting and utterly unique. Some people might be quick to describe them as otherworldly, but I think they’re perfectly at home here in this world. They simply inhabit spaces that most of us don’t even notice, let alone occupy. Actually, I think the best way to describe creatures made from daydreams is to daydream about meeting them myself.

While I can easily envision some of Radke’s creatures inhabiting urban environments, I think a firsthand encounter would most likely occur in a more natural setting. Perhaps I’ve lost my way while hiking in the woods or perhaps I’m wending my way through an overgrown labyrinth. Maybe I’m just out exploring some sort of crumbling, mossy ruins, as one does. Wherever I might be, Radke’s creatures wouldn’t simply pop out of hiding and greet me; Instead they would keep themselves out of sight, well aware of my presence, occasionally peeking out from safe shadowy spots, observing me with interest to see if I merit concern or closer attention.

Eventually I would begin to feel like something was watching me. Perhaps I would just barely discern a presence or slight movement in the periphery of my vision, but nothing would be visible when I turn to look. Assuming Radke’s creatures found me sufficiently interesting, they would follow me discreetly and study me carefully, taking their time deciding if I was approachable. Being alone would be key — alone and quiet.

If a few of them drew closer so that I was able to clearly see their full forms, my eyes would immediately be drawn to their striking and enormously expressive faces — with features similar enough to our own to feel familiar, yet so unusual as to demand extra attention in order to fully understand their expressions. Their heads might tilt and turn in an owl-like fashion as they quietly scrutinize me while I do my best to remain perfectly still. I don’t imagine that Radke’s creatures would be likely to speak to me. It’s not that I fancy they’d be mute, but I do think that speech would be something reserved only for interactions with each other. Theirs would be an arcane, earthy language spoken softly and without hurry.

So while their voices might be silent in my daydream, their faces and, when they have them, their hands seem to be incredibly expressive. Radke’s creatures have simple bodies. When not in some sort of animal form (and I’m inclined to believe that these creatures would be fully capable of shape-shifting), they tend to be rudimentary and impish. If not a fish’s fins, bird’s talons or rabbit’s paws, they’re as likely to have small vestigial limbs as they are delicate hands with which to gracefully gesture or tenderly wield a precious object.

Because Radke’s creatures are so quiet, reading their facial expressions is very important. At a glance one might find their faces to be quite similar to each other. While I think they do often share a sort of sage world-weariness or melancholy, it’s important to examine each face carefully, because each actually has a very unique expression. Some appear sorrowful or worried, while others wear less guarded expressions and look inquisitive or even amused. Perhaps they are bearers of primeval wisdom. I think they could be keepers of secrets, both secrets that are theirs alone and secrets whispered to them by strangers such as myself.

If I was lucky, perhaps one of these mysterious little beings would eventually decide to draw very close, look deep into my eyes – almost daring me to look away. If I didn’t, if I was able to hold its gaze, then it would cock its head to the side, extending the invitation of a patient, receptive ear. I would slowly lean over, close my eyes, and begin to share my secret. And I wouldn’t have the faintest idea what I was going to say until the words began to leave my lips, almost of their own accord – as though they were being drawn out of me by the very presence of Scott Radke’s rare and wonderful creatures.
- maika

I hope you all enjoy his work as much as I do! Leave your interesting comments below! :)

Artist Series: Post #3 Beth Cavener Stichter

2010-08-23T15:17:00.000-04:00

Beth Cavener Stichter

I'm Baaacccckkkkk!!!!!
Artist Series Post NUMERO TRES, for your viewing and reading pleasure.

I'm actually kind of shocked I hadn't thought of Beth for the first post. She has been a major inspiration to me as a sculptor since I began to study clay sculpture in College.
I was lucky enough to meet Beth at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia PA in 2005ish when my graduate class took a day trip together to check out the Gallery. She was so gracious and so informative. I believe she was a guest artist resident at the time we visited.

Let me tell you something about this woman's process. IT IS INTENSE. She sculpts smaller versions of her rather enormous sculptures and then pain-stakingly guts them and compresses them so that even her small sculptures are amazing. Her larger-then-life sculptures are literally hundreds of pounds of clay slammed together over steel frames . She literally smacks the crap out of the clay with a two-by-four to get it into place, and then again she guts the whole thing and compresses every inch of it.

I wish I had a quarter of her talent and patience.

Strange Attraction
Stoneware with
Taupe Porcelain Slip
18" h , 22" w, 28" l

Artist Statement:
There are primitive animal instincts lurking in our own depths, waiting for the chance to slide past a conscious moment. The sculptures I create focus on human psychology, stripped of context and rationalization, and articulated through animal and human forms. On the surface, these figures are simply feral and domestic individuals suspended in a moment of tension. Beneath the surface they embody the impacts of aggression, territorial desires, isolation, and pack mentality.

Both human and animal interactions show patterns of intricate, subliminal gestures that betray intent and motivation. The things we leave unsaid are far more important than the words we speak out-loud to one another. I have learned to read meaning in the subtler signs; a look, the way one holds one's hands, the tightening of muscles in the shoulders, the incline of the head, the rhythm of a walk, and the slightest unconscious gestures. I rely on animal body language in my work as a metaphor for these underlying patterns, transforming the animal subjects into human psychological portraits.

I want to pry at those uncomfortable, awkward edges between animal and human. The figures are feral and uneasy, expressing frustration for the human tendency towards cruelty and lack of understanding. Entangled in their own internal and external struggles, the figures are engaged with the subjects of fear, apathy, violence and powerlessness.
Something conscious and knowing is captured in their gestures and expressions. An invitation and a rebuke.

Object Lesson: Apathy

Stoneware
black porcelain slip,
glass tank, water, steel
Tank:
30” l x 22” w x 30”h

"Humiliation by Design" in the rough solid state
during a demonstration at the Archie Bray Foundation workshop with Tip Toland

A Rush of Blood to the Head, in progress

Rush of Blood to the Head, finished

Yup....those are pretty big penis's....yup...I just wrote penis.....
Why do I feel dirty posting this all of a sudden? ...*shudder*...

Beth writes about her recent body of work below, and describes her concept and ideas behind the large penis sculpture...I MEAN, "Rush..." sculpture...sorry.

“On Tender Hooks”

Writing about the ideas and intent behind the recent body of work including “A Rush of Blood to the Head”

The first thing I like to make clear when talking about my work is that the images I create are visual questions that I am asking of myself, and by extension, all those who come in contact with them. They are questions, rather than statements of opinion, because I am constantly struggling to reevaluate my own assumptions about human behavior and motivation- my self as the primary subject of scrutiny. This ongoing internal investigation allows me to delve into subjects I find deeply uncomfortable and personal, using the sculptures I create as a means to speak of things I find impossible to put into words.

Contrary to the perception many people have initially of my work, I am not out to shock or confront the viewer with the images I create. Instead, I am taking material that is already uncomfortable and trying to recreate it with an element that keeps people engaged despite the disquieting nature of the subject. I take moments of stress and try to point out the humor of the situation; feelings of rejection and loneliness and transform them into universal feels that are shared; moments of suffering and transforming them into situations where we can see how unnecessary and avoidable they are. I really want to make these uncomfortable aspects to our humanity and make them somehow beautiful, poignant, sensitive and above all, something that I can overcome through understanding and empathy. I shyly reveal my vulnerabilities and deepest insecurities in the hopes that I will be understood and forgiven.

What really drives the work is the attempt to lure others into confronting these same issues. This is the main reason that I shifted from using the human form to the animal figure. In my experience, I found that most people empathized more readily with animals than humans. There is an assumed moral and emotional innocence that we associate with the animal image which allows me to delve into territory which we normally find too uncomfortable to dwell on. I want to create images that address some tough questions, while at the same time addressing why we find these questions uncomfortable.

Themes of Recent Work
The last element that I feel is important to the work I create is the fact that these sculptures- while remaining individual characters are essentially part of a group of characters that were created for a specific body of work. This past year and a half I begin a new series of work, based of the history of scientifically categorizing human behavior. I was most interested in a particular way of understanding/misunderstanding human psychology that was practiced by the Greeks, founded by Hippocrates. As the Wikipedia entry describes:

“Essentially, this theory held that the human body was filled with four basic substances, called four humors, which are in balance when a person is healthy. All diseases and disabilities resulted from an excess or deficit of one of these four humors. The four humors were identified as black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood…. When a patient was suffering from a surplus or imbalance of one fluid, then his or her personality and physical health would be affected.”

Simply stated, each of the four types could be characterized in the following way:
· Sanguine Too much blood Passionate, Bold, impulsive
· Melancholic Too much black bile Depressed, anxious, moody
· Choleric Too much yellow bile Irritable, hostile, bitter
· Phlegmatic Too much phlegm Passive, introverted, rational

I was intrigued with the idea that people could emotionally and physiologically evaluated based solely off of how much fluid they contained in their bodies. Looking into the idea a bit further, I discovered a work of fiction written by Rupert Thomson, Divided Kingdom, in which society has been divided into four separate quarters according to the inhabitants' dominant humor. The grouping of characters that I created for my exhibition, “On Tender Hooks” this past fall was an exploration of that idea- on the surface, treating the humors as a serious method of categorizing human behavior, while questioning the legitimacy of over-simplifying people in this way and more importantly, investigating the very human need to understand each other in this way. Our need to label, categorizes, and distinguish ourselves from one another through gender, race, religious affiliation, body image, sexuality, or politics is a reoccurring theme in my work.

“A Rush of Blood to the Head” in Context
I began the working on the cast of characters with the idea for the portrait of the Sanguine personality- those who are afflicted with an excess of blood and characterized by intense passion and impulsiveness. Following from my work on the exhibition, “A Modest Proposal,” in which I explored aspects of human sexuality, I still felt that I was struggling to understand and relate to certain aspects of gender identity. I remembered reading an account of an antiquated view of homosexuality as being described as ‘aberrant and unnatural behavior caused by a rush of blood to the head.’ The phrase ‘a rush of blood to the head’ was also used as a legal defense to describe ‘a crime of passion’ for which the person could not be held accountable. It made me think about the desire to ascribe anything other than ‘accepted normal behavior’ as a fault of one’s own irrational body…an excess of blood in the body. I find it curious that the same aversion does not necessarily apply to the idea of women sharing intimacy with one another- in fact had the two figures in ‘Rush’ been female, then the result might have had more similarity to a beer commercial than a controversial image. Is it because we associate the feminine with ideas of nurturing, affection, and intimacy, while the male image is traditional grounded in images of independence, power, and virility? I wanted to explore the more fundamental and conflicted views we have that lie beneath these social political issues, and many of the works in “On Tender Hooks” address multiple assumptions about gender identity.

"A Rush of Blood to the Head" is the centerpiece of the entire exhibition, because more than any of the other pieces, the sculpture of the two kissing goats deals with something that is profoundly human. The kiss is specifically a gesture of human intimacy. The passion and tenderness of the embrace is likely to provoke a sentimental response, despite the fact that is completely unnatural for two animals to display affection with their mouths in a kiss. When you are just looking at the upper half of the goats, you are dealing with issues of human intimacy and passion that are identifiable by almost anyone. But then we come back to that initial reaction - why does viewing the sculpture in its entirety so often change the viewer’s reaction? When you are viewing the sculpture as a whole, it addresses a complex and controversial social issue which everyone is familiar with. Out of all the forms of intimacy, this one seems to me to be the hardest one for most people to accept, regardless of what side they come down on personally or politically. My goal was to make this piece as alluring and passionate as possible, so that there’s always an element that calls to people to remain engaged despite any uncomfortable feelings with its sexuality.

The initial impulse for creating these sculptures is the struggle to overcome my own assumptions about the thoughts, motivations, and feelings contained beneath the surface of the people around me. I am often tangled in a mess of frustration with my own limited experiences, inhibitions, fears, and prejudices that create a barrier between understanding and communicating with the people around me - whether they be strangers or my closest acquaintances.
- Beth Cavener Stichter
March 2010

Husk

"Humiliation by Design"
Stoneware,
Steel, cast iron gears, rope
The handle to the right turns the cast iron gears,
slowly rotating the figure on the center shaft

Figure: 38 in. h x 58 in. l x 21 in. d

Mechanism: 82 in. h x 83in. l x 52 in. d

2009

A Second Kind of Loneliness
Stoneware, paper pinwheel, internal mechanical breathing device
Every 8 seconds, a breath is released from the goat's mouth, causing the
pinwheel to spin slowly

Impressed?

Well if you would like to see more and/or know when and where she will be teaching next then visit her website at http://www.followtheblackrabbit.com/index_main.htm

I would love nothing more then to go to her workshop in Italy. It's been a dream of mine for a long time to go back to Italy and now that I know she will be hosting a workshop there in Tuscany next summer, I want nothing more then to go. BUT, I went and bought a house this year, so that dream is now shot....I should have planned that one out better.

Artist Series: Post #2 Alex Pardee

2010-08-03T12:26:00.009-04:00

Alex Pardee

Artist look series #2 has arrived! (I know, you just couldn't wait) Today's post is about none other than Mr. Alex Pardee. One of my all time favourite artists.

Hard to believe he's an all time fav considering I have only known about his work for maybe 3 years, but that's how fast he grows on you. He's like a virus, but not the itchy kind.

What I love about Pardee is his self-proclaimed influences include 1980s horror movies, pop art, and graffiti. Artistically, he adored The Garbage Pail Kids, The Maxx, Spawn and Tales from the Crypt. Basically he loves everything I loved growing up, so I guess I feel a kind of kinship with him and his work.

So here's a little info about him:
Alex Pardee (born February 5, 1976) is a freelance artist, apparel designer, and a writer (which by the way, he writes the most entertaining blog I have ever read. I look forward to his posts constantly) born in California, USA who is best known for illustrating The Used's album artwork. He has also done works for Hurley International, Twenty Twenty Skateboards, Bay Area rapper TopR, Upper Playground, Street Drum Corps, Aiden, Kid Robot, and lately the cover of In Flames's ninth studio album, A Sense of Purpose, and its first single, entitled "The Mirror's Truth". He is a member of the groups Cardboard City and Zerofriends. He runs the website EyeSuck Ink which includes links to his blog and store. Through his art he has admitted to overcoming depression and anxiety disorders along with emotional struggles. He uses pens, ink, watercolors,dye, and is trying to use more acrylics, oils, and latex. Pardee has recently finished working on his short, but amazing motion picture "Chadam" as well as various art shows and products. Pardee released his first official art book, titled Awful Homesick in October 2008. Recently he has started to donate his proceeds to needy charities, including Purple Heart and To Write Love on Her Arms. He also designed the artwork for Zack Snyder's movie, Sucker Punch which was introduced this July at Comic Con in San Diego.

Of Course trying to find a Bio or an artist statement on Pardee is next to impossible. But I did manage to find a "not-so-self-written" bio on his My Space page which gives you an example of just how entertaining his writing can be:

I'm a freelance illustrator, apparel designer, writer, and i do some other artsy stuffs, which includes loving movies. I have a HUGE pancreas. I like back pain. I draw. And kiss. And eat. All at the same time. I like you. Unless your name is Simon Birch. In that case, you are a frog. If i am not creating, i will die. here is my "official" bio, which just means its a bunch of stuff about me that sounds weird cuz even though i didn't write it, i am posting it here, and it seems like it is in the third person, but check it out anyway. i contemplated changing all of the "alex pardee"s to "me" or "my" but then it sounded even more pretentious. ps. i love LOST, late 80's horror movies and soundtracks to extreme sports movies like Rad and Bloodsport more than i love you, but there is still room in my heart for you. I promise.

BIO: "Alex Pardee’s unique style is one conceived through watching years of horror movies, writing graffiti, and listening to gangster rap. His work best represents that of a circus sideshow cemetery. Final pieces are often brought to life by translating random shapes and colors into signs of torment and absurdity. By juxtaposing these two conflicting moods, Alex makes his works more personal to his viewers, forcing them to project their own feelings and emotions onto each character in his twisted universe. After months of hospitalization and many futile attempts at seeking out professional help, Alex finally overcame his battle with severe depression and anxiety through his own form of therapy: art. His love for drawing and painting spawned from his fascination with the grotesque images of Garbage Pail Kids and Tales from the Crypt comics. For years Alex used sketch drawing and graffiti as an emotional outlet. He started photocopying collections of his sketches and scattering them around the Bay Area. He began placing his homemade books between the pages of tattoo and porn magazines, in clinic waiting rooms, and in public bathrooms.

With the help of street canvas and Kinkos, Alex was able to overcome his emotional setbacks and move forward in the world of artistic expression. In 1999 Alex was convinced by other artists to reprint his books professionally. He began working long shifts at a local toy store to finance this reprinting, and later that year My Book of Colors was released. Since the release Alex has devoted every minute of his life to creating an entire universe of characters and monsters. In the past five years he has continued to release books like The Secrets of Hollywood and the popular Bunnywith series. The comics have spawned an entire plush line, calendars, and art exhibitions. Alex Pardee’s devotion to his art has gained the attention of Warner Bros., Reprise Records, Freeze Management, Hurley International, KidRobot, Twenty Twenty Skateboards, and more. In 2004 he was tapped by the gold-selling rock group The Used to design the artwork for their album, In Love and Death. Alex’s designs were not only applied to record, but also the band’s merchandise, Website, marketing campaign, and the music video for the single “All That I’ve Got.”

More recently, Alex Has been working with Def Jux recording artist CAGE, as well as STREET DRUM CORPS, TOP-R, EL-P, and high-fashion designer Dr. Romanelli. In addition to demeaning celebrities, Alex continues to use his art as a means of self-medication, creating emotionally charged images on canvases, sketchbooks, and any other surfaces he can cover with his bizarre characters. to see more of his work go to http://www.eyesuckink.com/

I also recommend checking out his wonderful series "Chadam" found here: http://www.thewb.com/shows/chadam

You like what you see? Check out his My Space page (yeah he is on Facebook, but he barely updates that) to see more video's, live sketching, crazy commercials he's directed, and more artwork. http://www.myspace.com/alexpardee

Artist Series: Post #1 Greg "Craola" Simkins

2010-07-24T20:59:00.000-04:00

Greg “Craola” Simkins is in the midst of final preparations for his show titled “The Pearl Thief”.

Today marks the beginning of my Artist Look Series of posts. Basically, I have been so friggin busy with work and life in general that I feel like my knowledge of art, culture, and even my abilities and talents as an artist have begun to slip away.
That's pretty depressing when you're an artist.

So! My solution is to get my head back in the game and do a little research for myself in hopes that I may spark some interest for my readers, relight the eternal-art-flame in my mind, and maybe even learn something in the process. It's the academic in me taking over I guess.

So my first victim is none other then Greg Simkins, aka CRAOLA. For those of you who know me, you know what a huge fan I am of his work. I figured that would make him a good starting point.

So sit back, and learn something.

Artist Statement of Greg "Craola" Simkins:
I haven’t always liked stretching canvas and never thought I would be doing it on a regular basis but these days, it has become more of an adventure than a chore. It is the sponge that soaks up all the thoughts going on in my head. Having an overactive imagination since a very young age, it has always made sense to me that any artwork I develop should be composed of these vivid thoughts. What used to take form in crayons and pencil, evolved into pen and ink drawings, spray painted murals and computer graphics, and has further morphed into the acrylic paintings I create these days. My childhood obsessions with Disney cartoons, Lorne Greens’ New Wilderness and books such as Watership Down and The Phantom Tollbooth have become fodder for my work as it develops today.

I have become increasingly interested in the rabbit holes we fall down when daydreaming. So many have created worlds in their art in which to escape and inhabit, and for others to enjoy. We have seen glimpses of them in Narnia, Wonderland, Middle Earth, Neverland, and Hanalee. As homage to these types and shadows of other lands, I have attached the all-encompassing title, “The Outside”. As our imagination takes over, we tend to leave what is ordinary and go outside of ourselves to visit these places. This is why I paint and what has inspired me over the years to grow as an artist. It is the constant search for what else is on the outside.

After a family trip to Hawaii, I was struck by the beauty everywhere - from the flowers and the trees, sunsets and clouds - to the incredible colors of the fish and wildlife in the reefs just out front and buried in the ocean. I swam where fish and sea turtles where everywhere and I couldn’t feel more blessed to be interacting with such beautiful creatures. Upon watching a documentary shortly after on Yellowstone National Park, I was amazed at the number of different elements in nature that are so familiar to me but will never be realized by each other. We will never see snow covered coral reefs inhabited by butterflies alongside moray eels. Deer will not gallop beside killer whales and birds will never share their nests with a family of jellyfish. Of course, it is now my job to make some introductions and see where they go. These are some of the symbiotic relationships that are going on peripherally in the world I paint into. They are what make up the eco-structure of “The Outside”. My characters that live there find nothing foreign or strange about their surroundings and introduce them to newcomers as one would to their backyard garden. “The Outside” just…is.

At the end of the day, when the paint is hardening on the palette and the final coat of varnish has been applied, I sit back and lace my fingers behind my neck and escape into what was once trapped in my head. It is no longer the blank canvas that I cut my fingers assembling. A mass of wood, staples, linen and gesso the acrylic brush strokes are barely noticeable. The long journey from blank slate to finished piece is now finished and I now get to enjoy a glimpse of what is going on inside “The Outside”. To have your own viewfinder into this world, I invite you to explore my artwork.

Click the link Below for a look at Greg's Paintings
http://www.imscared.com/gallery/paintings

“Finder’s Keepers” is a 16 x 20″ giclée on velvet cotton rag

Artist Bio:
Greg Simkins was born in 1975 in Torrance California, just south of Los Angeles. He grew up with a menagerie of animals including a number of rabbits, which often emerge in his paintings. He began drawing at the early age of three and was inspired by various cartoons and books. Some standout books that still find their way into his art are Watership Down by Richard Adams, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.

Simkins’ art continued to progress to the age of 18, when he started doing graffiti under the name “CRAOLA”. Graffiti art became his impetus for creating and gave him the confidence to paint large works. In addition it taught him perspective, color theory and further developed artistic skills, which later translated into his work with acrylics.

After receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art from California State University of Long Beach in 1999, Simkins worked as an Illustrator for various clothing companies. He later moved on to Treyarch/Activision where he worked on video games including Tony Hawk 2X, Spiderman 2 and Ultimate Spiderman while attempting to paint with every free moment he had.

In 2005, Simkins pursued his desire to paint as a full time artist. Since then, he has been featured in numerous group exhibitions has had successfully sold out solo exhibitions. His art is seen in a wide variety of industries from clothing to video games and has also come to life in the form of toys. His client/collaboration list includes Disney, Mattel, Upper Playground, Juxtapoz, To Die For, Vans, Converse, AFI, Saosin, Gym Class Heroes, Pennywise, STRANGEco, Ningyoushi, Kid Robot, Zero Friends, Epitaph, Dark Horse, Iron Fist and Pulse International.

It is his careful weaving of pop culture, the old masters, nature, carnival kitsch, and (most importantly) his warped imagination, that makes Greg Simkins a sought-after surrealist painter today. Simkins’ artwork currently appears in galleries throughout the world.

DC 101 CHILI COOKOFF 2010!!

2010-05-31T11:54:00.006-04:00

May 27th marked the day of yet another DC 101 Chili cook off in the RFK stadium parking lot. I try to go to a chili cook off every year for two reasons: 1) the chili and 2) the music.

This year was no exception! The Bands: Anberlin, Switchfoot, Cage the Elephant, Alice & Chains, and the mighty Stone Temple Pilots!

The Chili: AMAZING

The gas afterwards: well...at least we could roll down the windows. :)

2010-05-18T13:30:00.003-04:00

Toy2R 15th Anniversary Qee Show - www.toy2rusa.comToy2R is celebrating their 15th anniversary of the Qee figure. As part of the year celebration, Spaghetti Project was asked to host a custom Qee show.

This show will feature customized 8 inch Qee figures from 42 artists in theme of "The Civil War and Our Founding Fathers"20% of the sale proceeds from these custom Qee figures will be donated to a Veteran/Military Charity TBA.

Opening reception will take place on Saturday, July 10th from 7-11pm with some artists in attendance.

The exhibit will be on display through July 31st.

Featured Artist:

Lief Storer

Cope2

Burn 353

Bryan Collins

Lou Pimental

Brent Nolasco

Joe Simko

Chris B. Murray

Paul "Blokt" Beresniewicz

Josh Taylor

Ashley Voss

Imani K. Brown

Travis Cain

Sergio Mancini

Tyler Coey

Task Oner

Valeri Gudell

Ian Ziobrowski

Drew Storm Graham

"Toy Factory (Sam De Buysscher)"

Slic is Nutz

Mike Die

Melody Llewellyn

Herberth Romero

Scott Sketo

OsiRisORion

Nasty Neil

WuzOne

Deb Yarrington (Thats ME!!! YAY!)

Jason Castillo

Sylvia Ortiz

Hamilton Glass

Jenna Anderson

Toni Hitchcock

Arijit Das

Cita Sadeli Chelove

Brandon Hill

Peter Chang

MikEyG

Greg Crawford

B.A.L.DA

Little Stranger

So, how does one design a toy around a theme like this one? Well...I did some research on old civil war toys, little army men, etc. but still came up with no good,solid ideas. Until I came across a pic of Abraham Lincoln killing Zombies.

OF COURSE! I can make honest Abe anything I want!

So the ideas have begun to sprout and I think I may go ahead with a Time Traveling Abe Lincoln. Thats right, Honest Abe is a time traveling superhuman from the year 3012 who has traveled back in time to settle the scuffle of the Civil War.

Yes i said scuffle in reference to the Civil War.

I may even inlist his "muscle" in the form of a giant Yoka DIY Bear...But I'm not sure yet. :)

Thaoughts? Suggestions? Hand um' over!

Urban Decay a Success

2010-05-18T11:41:00.008-04:00

Now....Aren't you mad you missed it? :)

NCECA Conference 2010

2010-04-14T13:33:00.005-04:00

NCECA CONFERENCE 2010 IN PHILADELPHIA, PA!

AT the beginning of April I attended yet another awesome NCECA conference; this time in the town of my favorite city, Philadelphia, PA. (And I'm not just saying that because I went to school there. The city is literally my favorite city in the U.S.)

For those of you who are not in on the inner workings of the Clay educator realm (and lemme tell ya, it's a hip, happening, realm. Filled with crazy hippies and dirty artists...or is that the other way around?) NCECA stands for the "National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts". Meaning a thousand plus clay enthusiasts get together once a year in a different city and go buck wild in everything clay.

I know, your jealous.

So the real reason I go to this conference each year is three-fold:

One: I like to travel and get away from home as much as possible. So this gives me an excuse to go to a new city every year for about a week. Plus I love to fly. 911 has not scared me one bit, so I try to fly anywhere I can whenever I can. In fact, I love airports so much, I usually book a flight with an extremely ridiculously long lay-over so I can enjoy the airport...I'm sick, I know.

Two: I love free shit. NCECA has what is called an exhibitors hall that showcases non-profit arts organizations, clay distributors, etc. who often give away cool toys/ tools/ random crap. And I eat that shit up. Plus it's a great place to but anything in the way of clay tools/equipment really friggin cheap and avoid shipping costs.

Three: I'm a clay artist and educator so It's nice to surround myself with other like-minded people who actually enjoy having long-winded conversations about kiln sizes, favorite sculptors, new ideas, gallery exhibitions, curatorial opportunities, new workshops, wheel prices, clay books and how-to manuals, slip-casting, mold-making, and anything else really nerdy like that.

But my absolute favorite thing to do at at NCECA conference is hoof-it to all the local galleries exhibiting clay artwork specially for the conference. I love it. No matter how long the walk, how hurt my feet get, how many stops I make for touristy crap along the way, I FRIGGIN LOVE IT.

This year proved to be a pretty good year for such an adventure!

Not only was I in Philly, which I know how to navigate pretty well, but I had my friend and student Terri Huck hoofin-it alongside me, the whether was AWESOME, and the work was amazing.

Probably the coolest part about this particular trip was the last day. On the last day of the trip, after the emerging artist's talk, we went to Eastern State Penitentiary for a peek at one more art installation and got to walk away with our very own art piece!

This wasn't my first trip to Eastern State; it's a pretty infamous prison:

One: Built by Quakers (makes you wonder...Quakers...who'd a figured?)

Two: Al Capone once resided there.

Three: The only completely solitary confinement prison built in the shape of an Octagon. (makes for one hell of a maze!)

If you've never been to Eastern State, I highly recommend taking the trip up there. It's a hell of a great tour and a creepy, fun, experience.

Here is a description of the installation/performance I was a part of on that last day:

Artist: Rocky Lewycky: The ESP Project
Eastern State Penitentiary held prisoners for over 140 years. Many of those prisoners took something from others: possessions, money, sometimes even life itself. The ESP Project “reverses” this history and energy through the act of giving and release. The Project involves both an installation and performance.

On April 3rd, 2010 nine hundred and eighty (980) urns will line Cell block 10. All of the urns will be given away to the public on this day. In form, the urns echo the interior space of the prison cells. All have 23-karat gold leaf gilded on their backsides as well as a number on the front, 1 through 980, representing the number of individual cells in the penitentiary. Participants will be escorted through the cell block with an ESP Project guide. Once a participant has selected their urn, the guide will escort them outside and release the urn to the participant.

I was lucky enough to pick number 458 and now I have a creepy, urn all my own! :)

Seriously though, it's pretty cool. And it falls into my "I like free shit" category of why I attend NCECA every year. :)

So below you will find a few selected pictures from the event. I took around 330 pic's but this blog would be 3 miles long if I tried to list them all. And frankly, I'm supposed to be working right now, so that's not gonna happen. :) ENJOY!

One Installation at ESP.
Clay Crosses and Star of Davids in piles

to look like bones.

MY URN!! Hehehehe

My urn, Terri's Urn, and Erika's Urn above.

Below: REALLY COOL INSTALLATION.

Justin Novak's Work:

I think at this point I might continue the pictures later. Expect more to come!

G40 Summit Exhibition in Arlington

2010-03-04T15:17:00.009-05:00

G40 Is here and it is groundbreaking! I have to admit first and foremost that I am a little biased to the aesthetic of New Brow art, but a critic is a critic and I am allowed to "like" something. SO EAT ME.

But Seriously, this show is something not to be missed. Five floors of Crystal City's shopping district in Arlington, VA have been literally invaded by over 500 artists from all over the world. That's 75,000 square feet people....that's allot of space to fill, and they have done so, not only with art hanging on the wall but murals, performances, and even hands on workshops.

You CAN NOT call yourself a lover of contemporary art and NOT GO see this show. You'd be lying to yourself, and to me...and frankly I don't like to be lied to. I bite.

I don't need to tell you the "logistics" of this show. Just go to http://www.artwhino.com/g40/ for all the info you could need. I'd rather talk about the actual work involved in the exhibition. And I have to say that the work spans everything in between well established and well-known artists like MONK ONE and Angry Woebots to up-and-comers Brandon Hill and Luz Del Mar Rosado.

The one thing that almost all of these artists have in common is that they all come from some background associated with underground comix, punk music, hotrod street culture, Kustum culture, Street Art, Graffiti, Graphic Design, Tattoo, Surf Culture, Tiki Culture and other sub-cultures. Quality takes lead over quantity and just because they cover a wall in art doesn't mean its gonna cost you an arm and a leg.

In fact, I have my eye on an image called "The Crime Scene" featuring a decapitated Gummi Bear surrounded by mournful onlookers also in the form of Gummi bears. $70. Though I don't have a picture of that particular one, here is an example of the work:

GENIUS.

In Fact, I could talk all day about the art I saw at this exhibit, but I'd be taking away the awe-inspiring feeling of those yet to see the work in person, and I am not a spoiler of a good time.

So get off your asses some time this MONTH (That's right, now you really have no excuse, because this exhibit is up the entire month of March) and get over to G40 The Summit. What the hell else are you doing?

Urban Decay Exhibition is-a-comin'!!

2009-12-18T15:43:00.007-05:00

You might remember from my earlier posts that I was trying to gather enough artists to create an exhibition here at the Workhouse that focused on Vinyl toys and contemporary art forms.
Well ladies and gents, the time is here!
URBAN DECAY will be open to the public from April 28th to May 9th with an opening reception of fun and debauchery on Saturday May 1st

Here are a list of the artists to whom I have solidified to exhibit their work:

Gabriel Pons
Kenny Brown
Imani K. Brown
Jack Labadie
Jeremy Gann
Sean Donlon
Peter Chang
Brandon Hill
Drew Storm Graham
James Walker
Jorge Guillen
The Spaghetti Project (co-sponsor)
Shawn Huddleston
Rejuvenile (yeah that's me bitches)
Of these ever-so-talented-and-awesome-people, the following will be demonstrating customizing their very own Vinyl Toys LIVE! at the event:

Gabriel Pons
Imani K. Brown
Jack Labadie
Jeremy Gann
Sean Donlon
Jorge Guillen

But wait! There's more! The VERY talented James Walker will be painting LIVE! as well! I have asked him to commemorate the night with a personal painting showcasing the exhibits title: URBAN DECAY, which will then be for sale at the exhibition.

James is the "little" guy. :)

I have also lined up some pretty amazing talent to play live music, including the New Rock Church of Fire, Junior Astronomers, and Caverns. The music should be pretty loud, pretty awesome, and really set the mood for this exhibition. Some of you may remember the bands from the MAIMFest event in October.
There will be a cash bar set up selling delicious drinks, and free food throughout the event. Did I mention that it was FREE to come to this amazing event? WELL IT IS. So you have NO EXCUSE!

Some of you on campus may have already seen the fliers around the buildings calling for artists to submit their very own vinyl toy customizations. (See above pwease) Any information you think you may need to know about how to submit to this event is listed there in black and white, but if you would like me to send you a pdf version, I would be more then happy to do so.

The best part is that you are guaranteed to get in! You heard me right, no jury process! (You're welcome) So all you have to do is create, submit, and sell!
(By the way, to my left is a work by Shawn Huddleston...swiggity sweet)

So let's see, their will be free food, loud music, yummy libations, cool art, and live demos from the artists themselves, not to mention an array of vinyl toys on sale from The Spaghetti Project (the best sponsor ever, and the coolest shop in all of Downtown Fredericksburg)and submitting artists. ALL FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ON SATURDAY MAY 1ST.

Artwork by Gabriel Pons

It has also JUST LITERALLY COME TO MY ATTENTION that Urban Decay will be having a closing reception on May 9th with a special performance by the Osedax! SWEEEEETTTTTT!

For those of you who have yet to see this band in concert, you are sorely missing out and I highly recommend you get your asses to that FREE event. I say in full confidence that this exhibition will be the best EVER showcased here at the Workhouse. (Sure I am a little biased since I'm the curator, but hey, can you blame me?)

Custom Vinyls in Fredericksburg ?! CALL TO ARTIST'S

2009-11-02T14:45:00.005-05:00

I remember when I first heard of a store called "CerealArt" in Philly, PA. A professor of mine at the time suggested I go to the shop and check it out because I had begun making toys out of clay. So I went, and I was blown away.
There were works there by artists like Yayoi Kusama, Kenny Scharff, Alan McCollum, and so many more that I had been studying about for ages. And they were all in the business of making multiples.

So I got to thinking about toys and multiples and what it meant to reproduce an image. Then another professor of mine told me to check out a store in New York called Kidrobot. A two-hour bus ride later and I was purchasing my first vinyl collectible toy. I was hooked.

The rest of my graduate studies suddenly took a 180 degree turn towards multiples and the rest is history.

You can imagine how shocked I was to come across a postcard announcing a custom MUNNY show here in Dead-Fred Virginia. It was by chance that I happen to glance at the cork-board outside the Fine Arts Department at UMW and this postcard was starring me in the face, beckoning me to take a closer look. I was ecstatic.

I immediately tore it off the board, pocketed that bad boy, and made plans to go to the exhibition. Upon further investigation I recognized a few names plastered on the back and knew this was going to be a great event.

I was not let down. The show was awesome. Loud music, droves of people, awesome customs, cool art and good beer. Everything that makes a good show!

I have since investigated a little deeper into the "Spaghetti Project" the group that organized the event and found out that they have a retail store in Downtown Fredericksburg. I AM SAVED.

I often go to the Kidrobot website pleading them to open up a store in DC and now all I have to do is drive ten minutes north to get my vinyl fix.

I have also put the bug in my bosses ear to have our own custom MUNNY show here at the Workhouse. And to my utter disbelief he has agreed! So I am now on the lookout for interested artists who would be willing to take on this amazing art form and customize their own vinyl toy.

As I work out all the little details, I'd like to build a list of artists names that would be willing to purchase, customize, and sell their own vinyl DIY toys. For those of you who have no clue of what I'm talking about, here is a list of some great websites that may get your creative juices flowing! Remember: Vinyl is the new canvas!

http://www.kidrobot.com/munnyworld/

http://www.kidrobot.com/2008/dunny/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fredericksburg-VA/Spaghetti-Project/150074955637

http://strangeco.com/

http://www.strangekiss.com/

http://www.myplasticheart.com/c/008DIY/DIY+Corner.html

http://toysrevil.blogspot.com/2006/05/vinyl-is-new-canvas_26.html

So email me or post here that you are willing to customize a toy and maybe even do it live at the exhibition on opening night! Either way!

Once we take a closer look at the 2010 calender and figure out the best time to have this exhibition, I will email you all back with the details.

Even if you've never done anything like this before, I definitely recommend giving it a try. Here's a little history for you!

A typical example of designer toys are the Qee series, produced in Hong Kong by Toy2R. The standard size of Qee figures is 2" high, but 8" and 16" figures are also produced. Qees vary in their design, usually with the same basic body type, but with head sculpts that may be of a bear, a cat, a dog, a monkey, or a rabbit. Variations of the Qee are the Toyer with a head that resembles a cartoon skull; the Knuckle Bear, which was created by Japanese character designer Touma, and resembles a graffiti-style caricature of an anthropomorphized bear; and the Qee Egg, a bird's egg with arms and legs. Blank Qees are produced in 2" and 8" sizes; these figures may be of any Qee sculpt, but are packaged unpainted, as do-it-yourself pieces. Each piece is designed by an artist and carries its own aesthetic theme. Each 2" figure is packaged with an optional keychain attachment.

Another example of designer toys is the Dunny series, produced by the American company Kidrobot. Dunny figures may be considered the Western counterpart of the Chinese Qee and the Japanese Be@rbrick. Dunny are a series of figures that resemble anthropomorphized rabbits in a cartoon style (a design originally illustrated by graffiti, stencil, and comic artists) which are produced as 3", 8", and 20" figures. There is a variation of the Dunny figure called a Munny, which resembles a monkey, and is only sold as an unpainted do-it-yourself piece.

Some creators of designer toys are Hong Kong-based Michael Lau, credited with the establishment of the Urban Vinyl movement; Devilrobots, a five-person design team from Japan, known for their television character named TO-FU Oyako; American concert poster artist Frank Kozik's Mongers series and Labbit character; and British illustrator James Jarvis' cast of characters, produced as vinyl figures of varying sizes.

Most vinyl toys are produced in factories in China, though some designers have shifted production to Japan where higher quality materials such as clear vinyl are used. Designer toys are rarely produced in the United States due to environmental restrictions on the production of vinyl, some exceptions are resin and plush toys.

Urban vinyl

Bigfoot, an example of an urban vinyl toy, designed by San Francisco artist Bigfoot One, produced by STRANGEco in conjunction with Fifty24SF GalleryUrban vinyl is a type of designer toy, featuring action figures in particular which are usually made of vinyl. Although the term is sometimes used interchangeably with the term designer toy, it is more accurately used as a modifier: not all designer toys can be considered urban vinyl, while urban vinyl figures are necessarily designer toys, by virtue of the way in which they are produced. Like designer toys in general, urban vinyl figures feature original designs, small production numbers, and are marketed to collectors, predominantly adults.

The urban vinyl trend was initiated by artist Michael Lau, who first created urban vinyl figures in Hong Kong in the late 1990s. Other creators of urban vinyl figures are Japanese artist and designer Takashi Murakami whose work has been exhibited in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Australian designer Nathan Jurevicius's Scarygirl, based on characters from his comic of the same name, and produced in conjunction with Hong Kong company Flyingcat, and former graffiti artist KAWS. Los Angeles based musician and designer Craig Anthony Perkins created the Broken Heart Robot character.

Urban vinyl figures are designed primarily by musicians, DJs, illustrators, and graffiti artists from urban areas in Asia (especially Japan and Hong Kong), North America (especially the United States), and Europe.

An offshoot of hip hop and youth-oriented popular culture, urban vinyl often depicts real-life figures from Asian and American culture, particularly artists who perform in a hip-hop or related styles. Two examples are Lau's depiction of the LMF rappers from Hong Kong, and figures based on the members of the virtual electronic band Gorillaz, produced by Jamie Hewlett and made by Kidrobot.

Urban vinyl is commonly designated as either Eastern Vinyl, including anything designed and produced in Asia or Australia, or Western Vinyl, encompassing pieces which are designed and produced in North America, South America, or Europe. Urban vinyl figures have become collectible items. Rare pieces may sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

MAIMFEST Halloween 2009

2009-10-07T16:30:00.004-04:00

MAIMfest !!!!!!!

Its almost here! Halloween! By far the most superior of holidays!

And with it this year comes the very first Mid-Atlantic Independant Music Festival here at the Workhouse Arts Center.

After months in the making, I can not wait for this event.

We have lined up some great music and ordered some amazing beer. PLUS, we'll have costume contests judged by the bands themselves.

This is sure to be a great event. The fun starts at 12:00pm and runs until everyone has either morphed into a glazed-eyed zombie or passed out cold.

All the galleries will be open for business as well, so plan to look at some cool art!

Hope everyone has a chance to make it out!

Check out some more details including some info about each band at http://www.workhousearts.org/. Just go to Calender and click on "complete list" down at the bottom of the screen. Then scroll on down until you see "MAIMFest".

Exhibition at the Workhouse Gallery Five!

2009-09-26T12:18:00.002-04:00

Hello there! I have had the pleasure of being asked to exhibit some of my work in Gallery Five of the Workhouse Arts Center for a short period of time in October.

Turns out that October is a pretty busy month for the Arts Center and the Artists themselves. Studio 509 artists Marni Maree and Traci Oberle will both be exhibiting elsewhere which leaves there spacious studio empty and wide open during, what will hopefully prove to be a very packed event here at the Workhouse: Art, Wine, and All That Jazz. Lucky for me, they have asked me to exhibit while they are away!

Then, the week after they return from lands afar, Hsi-Mei Yates of Studio 514 has asked me to exhibit in her studio, right across the hall.

So for the past week I have been setting up sculpture and yes, even some paintings, in Studio 509. It's truly awesome to be part of an arts community that encourages each of it's members to excel in their arts career. I am pretty lucky to know people like these artists, and I will not soon forget the opportunity.

So come on out and see some artwork! Here are the dates:

Sept. 28th- Oct. 7th : Studio 509

Oct. 8th- Oct. 16th : Studio 514

I hope each of you can take the time or make the trip to Gallery Five sometime during those dates and as always, thanks for the support!

COOLEY an Artist? WOW

2009-09-18T17:41:00.004-04:00
So my boyfriend is a huge Redskins fan. I should say that he is also a huge Chris Cooley fan. Not "stalker" huge, but he likes the way the guy plays the game and has lots of respect for him.

The other day, he was listening to a very popular radio show called Elliot in the Morning. Elliot, the host, has Chris Cooley on his show almost every Monday talking about the game or the Redskins in general. Well, Aaron (the Boyfriend) overheard a comment made by Cooley about an Art Exhibition and fundraiser coming up in October.

I'm an Artist...so he thought of me. (Awwwww....shucks)

Apparently Chris Cooley, besides kicking ass for the Redskins, likes to throw pottery...

I'll wait for the shock to set in....

Yes, Chris Cooley likes to sling mud. Who knew?!

So, this "art exhibition" will include a number of Cooley's own pots and some paintings as well.

The exhibition is $100.00 to get in, which buys you hang out time with the Redskins, food, and drink all night and proceeds go to a charity of Cooley's choice. Pretty nice!

Naturally, my boyfriend wants to go desperately. However, I couldn't take a day off now if I tried.

But I thought this story intriguing, because how often do you think of a professional football player who gets paid to hurt people, wrapping his big hands around a lump of clay on a pottery wheel?

And, he's not half bad. Check out the link below to Cooley's page and watch the video.

http://chriscooley47.blogspot.com/2009/09/october-20th-art-show.html

Hmmm, maybe we could get him to come to the Arts Center and throw some clay with the native potters!

To prove what a huge fan my boyfriend is of the Redskins and Chris Cooley, check out these photos. The dog's name is Cooley. :)

Awwwwwww

New Work

2009-09-02T22:00:00.005-04:00
OK! I promised I'd have new work eventually so here it is. As I've been saying, it is getting harder and harder to get into the studio to find time to work. On a slow day at the Arts Center, I bought a canvas and went back to my roots. I have been looking at a lot of Alex Pardee (notice the link to his blog to the right!) so I had this need to make a drippy painting of something kinda scary but kinda freaking awesome. So this "cwazy wabbit" is what popped into my head.

Oh, and my students were also on a weird rabbit kick in sculpture class, so maybe my psyche was trying to tell me something...like PAINT A CWAZY WABBIT. So I did.

It's Watercolor on Canvas, which yes I know is a no-no because it doesn't stick to canvas well. But it's what I had and I'm too broke to buy nice paint. Plus, I liked the way it turned out. I did have to put 1000 coats of sealant on it though...nobody light a match please.

So since I kinda liked the way the first one turned out and I managed to do it pretty quickly, I said to myself, "Hell, why not do another one, and make it even bigger". Back to the supply store on a cold rainy weekend. Bought canvas, had my ink and watercolors and went to town. Knocked it out in two days, considering I was supposed to be working and all.
Another cwazy wabbit.

Some people think he's doing inappropriate things to the teddy bear...I didn't plan that, but hey people see what they want to see right.

The Teddy bear is DEFINITELY Alex Pardee's influence. I was looking at a piece he painted of a Teddy Bear with a weird Goblin creature spewing from it's head. I thought the bear was cute, so I used it.

Sorry about the glares. These are hanging in my room.

SO, I did manage to finish those two sculptures from way back. I think I posted them some time in May or June. But I never posted the "finished" works. Check'm out.

Again, sorry for the crappy light job. I had ordered bulbs to take good shots but they have yet to come.

So there ya have it ladies and gents, hope you enjoy the work.

Virgin Mobile Festival Part Two!

2009-09-01T18:50:00.016-04:00
Alright! More pics, more music, more video...part two, enjoy!Did I mention earlier that JET was there as well?
For a couple of guys from Austrailia, they can sure rock!
I "think" it was the 4:00 hour, we needed FOOD!

JET! JET! JET! With "Cold Hard Bitch"
We were partying it up on the lawn this time around. Though I am a firm believer in getting into the general -standing -room -only -right -behind -the -"pit", ...we needed booze...so we had to leave! It's good to have priorities!
FLAVOR FLAAAAVVVVV!!!!
YES, Ladies and gents, I saw Public Enemy. Very surreal. I still remember the video for "911 is a joke".

So at some point, these parachuters landed right in the lawn.
Not sure if it was staged or what.
Oh, my...I nearly wet myself with excitement. The true highlight of my evening. WEEZER. The line to get into the pit was so fucking long that there was absolutely no way to get down there. I was pissed. But at least I managed to get some good shots. I will see them again...oh yes...Rivers will be mine...
How could you not LOVE this guy!?
Hashpipe. One of the best Weezer songs ever.

Words can not describe the pure happiness of seeing this band perform live....for FREE. You just had to be there.

So by this time it was really dark out. Please excuse the crappy shots. We did manage to make it into the pit after WEEZER. A small window opened up and we were right up front for Blink 182. But the darkness just fucked up any good shots. So, the best shots were of the screens again.

This was another awesome stage show. These guys have been performing together so long that everythign they do is seemless. They had a blast up there on stage and totally got the crowd pumping.

I also took video of thier "signature" bunny cartoon that always seemed to appear, either literally on their album covers, t-shirts, in video, and even on stage as a sculpture.

I love mascots! :)

Blink closed out the show at Merriweather and was the perfect ending to the night. All that was left for Aaron and I was the long drive back....and a pit-stop at Wendy's.
Over all, awesome show, glad I was there, loved the crazy people, art, and music as always and am already looking forward to next year! Enjoy.
Travis barker doing his thing.

Virgin Mobile Free Fest 2009

2009-08-31T14:16:00.010-04:00
Another year, and another awesome festival. Yesterday marked the annual Virgin Mobile Festival that goes on every year in the DC, Baltimore area. But this year was a true treat. Because of our crappy economy, Virgin Mobile decided to make this usually highly priced ticketed event absolutely FREE! You heard me right, tons of music, crazy acts, weird art, and vendors galore, all for the price of NOTHING.

Naturally, I had to attend, because I haven't missed a Virgin Fest since I started going two years ago. Plus the headliners this year were two of my all time favorite bands: Blink 182 and WEEZER. Thank you Jesus.

I have been a WEEZER fan since they appeared well over a decade ago. If Rivers wasn't married, and I was the stalking type, he would be mine...oh yes...he would be mine. I'm such a sucker for a dorky guy in thick black-framed glasses. Bonus cause he can sing and play guitar! In all seriousness though, WEEZER has never made a bad album and I will remain a true fan for life.

Blink 182 was more of a "phase" band for me. I did highly enjoy their popish, punkish, ridiculous lyrics and every once and a while they came up with a kick ass melody and sound that would circulate in my head for days. I even enjoyed their side projects and post Blink bands: Box Car Racer, Plus 44, and Angels and Airwaves. It was pretty awesome to see them reunited on stage and totally rock the house.

Of course, the festival had it's share of other amazing acts as well. Taking Back Sunday never fails to put on an amazing show. Their on-stage antics is what makes me love them.
But I have to say the real shocker of "reunites" if you will, went to the one and only PUBLIC ENEMY. I cannot believe I saw PUBLIC ENEMY on stage. I think I was in a blur the entire time...of course that could have also been the alcohol...hmm.
All I know is, this festival rocked. This was also the first time I had been to Merriweather Post Pavilion (usually the festival is at Pimlico Race Course and lasts for two days)and I have to say, awesome venue.OK, enough chatter! Enjoy the pics and videos. Sorry about the "quality" of the video, but it was FUCKING LOUD. That and I refuse to not be in the pit when I can....I think I like being pushed around a little too much. :) ROCK ON!!!!!!

Ravers...Gotta love'um...crazy back packs and all.

This lovely pink bicycle-wielding individual was a pretty scantily-clad woman..well until he turned around and I saw the beard. Nice legs man.
The art installation was called "Ruff choice"...ohhh the humor...

This was a very thirsty, and soon very drunk Bee.....and this is a Giant Cock. :)

Psychic anyone? Virgin Mobile even provided a "Tree" of connections to recharge your various mobile devises.

When you need a stage for crazy fire-breathing acts of amazement...you make one out of orange cones..but of course.

Converse had a bunch of give-a-ways. And this guy had a nice ass. You ARE the Shit my friend.

Hey Don't I know you? Awww....alcohol kicking in.....niiiceeee

I got myself one of those "dorky-black-rimmed glasses wearing guys" WOOHOO!
And that is a man in a mask and cape playing the accordion...why not..
BAR...there was one every ten feet...
TAKING BACK SUNDAY

This post is so ridiculously long that I will publish the rest later. Enjoy for now! More to come!

WHERE HAVE I BEEN!!??

2009-08-28T14:02:00.002-04:00
Well Hello fellow bloggers. My God, it has been a while since last I blogged! I'll just jump right on in.

My life at the Arts Center has taken a turn for the better recently. I was promoted to Registrar! Now i handle class registrations, refunds, etc. for the over 200 classes and workshops we offer year round. It's a great gig, and I'm having a blast working there.
My coworkers are the best and the amount of Artists I associate with on a daily basis is wonderful. I truly feel I am exactly where I belong.

In other news, I also recently started teaching at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. Talk about exciting! I'm an actual Professor!
I never have been the kind of person who has trouble standing up in front of a crowd and talking, but I was sweating like crazy my first day. Hmmm....I hope they didn't notice....

The first day was a complete disaster to boot. My laptop never linked properly to the projector so the lecture I had planned couldn't happen. Yay. Needless to say, they had a short first day. I went over the syllabus, talked about the calender and that was it!
The next class was much better. I had them all write Artist Biographies and we really got to know one another. And I eventually got my presentation running as well. :)

Of course now my schedule between my three jobs has left me with no day off. And I am feeling it! My days are already beginning to run together in a blurry haze. Here's the run down:
Mondays: Work 10-4
Tuesdays: Teach @ UMW 12-3
Teach at Arts Center 4:45-6:30
Wednesdays: Work 11-7
Thursdays: Teach @ UMW 12-3
Teach at Arts Center 7-10pm
Fridays: Work 11-7
Saturdays: Work 11-7
Sundays: work 12-5
Teach 5:30-8:30

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

You get my drift.

I know what you're thinking: So when do you get to "work" on your art?
I'm still trying to figure that one out. For a short while there I was painting, which moved a little quicker for me. Clay has been hard to keep up with. I do feel like I'm falling behind. The last things I made in clay that I was proud of was back in May.

It's not like I haven't been motivated or inspired either. I've just been too damn tired!
I gotta get back on the horse!

I do plan on taking some pics of my latest paintings and posting them here. But first I have to find the time!

Ice Cream Social

2009-07-08T15:40:00.002-04:00
Hello everyone!
I've been so busy with work lately that I havn't had a chance to really update this blog in quite some time.
But I wanted to get the word out about our awesome Ice Cream Social happening this week.
I personally got to have a hand in this event by making some of the hundreds of bowls and securing several gallons of ice cream from my old watering hole / job; Uno Chicago Grill.

I really hope you all have the time to come to Lorton and walk away with an amazing hand-made bowl! Here's the scoop!

The coolest place to be on a hot July day is the Workhouse Arts Center for an ice cream social and live music on the Quad!

For a $15 donation, visitors will receive ice cream in a handmade ceramic bowl made by resident artists, instructors and students of the Workhouse Ceramics Program.

Purchase of a bowl supports the Lorton Arts Foundation and its Ceramics Program.
All participants are automatically registered to win one original piece of art from a Workhouse ceramic artist.

Visitors are encouraged to pack a picnic lunch and enjoy music on the Quad from the band Point Blank.

Plan also to visit the working artists in each of the studio buildings as well as Gallery W-16 for the kick-off of 2nd Saturday Art Walks!

Art walks are the perfect time to explore the Workhouse and experience the vitality, creativity and diversity of the artists who make up this unique arts community.

FYI: I also have several pieces in Gallery W-16 on the first floor. In fact, they are the finished works that I posted two months ago! All painted up and looking great, I might add!

I hope you all are having an awesome summer! It's going by way too fast!

I Miss Drawing

2009-05-07T17:02:00.005-04:00

I miss drawing.

I have been focusing so much on creating a finished, polished, piece that I forgot how much I used to just love to draw in my sketchbook. Isn't that what sparked it for all of us? A drawing, a sketch, a doodle; something that we enjoyed so much that we decided to take it to the next level and get that degree in art.

I remember drawing on EVERYTHING when I was in high school. I would fill sketchbooks up with stupid little creatures or doodles of swirls. I would write my name over and over and over again in sharpie to colored pencil just to try out the many different fonts & styles.

I would see pictures or paintings and say to myself, "I bet I could do that" and then I would!

I miss drawing.

When I was in fifth grade, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were huge. The "Heroes in a Half Shell" had cornered the market with a kick-ass cartoon, numerous toys and had just finished their first motion picture. Not to mention the sheet sets, curtains, bath towels, swim suits and a full clothing line. BIG.

So naturally I was enthralled. And so was every other fifth grader. I had a couple coloring books I remember...so I began to draw them. One after the other, each drawn the same but distinguished by their "individual colored bandannas". I had it all down. I could even draw their weapons: Leonardo (Blue bandanna and katana blades), Raphael (Red bandanna and sais) , Michelangelo (Orange bandanna and nun chucks) , Donatello (Purple bandanna and bo staff) and who could forget the lovable Master Splinter — The Turtles' sensei and adoptive father.

Those were the days. I would draw them all day long. In class, at recess, at home after watching the cartoon. I got to be pretty could at it too. So one day I was sitting at my desk in school and a kid saw my drawing of Michelangelo (My favorite at the time) and asked me to draw him Raphael...for $1.00....Hellll Yeahhhh. Next thing y'know, I was taking orders. No exaggeration.

I Miss drawing.

My love of cartoons didn't stop there.

Remember that phase in fashion, in junior high where everything was Looney tunes? Yeah, you know you owned a Tasmanian Devil T-shirt. Observe:

Ring any bells? Suuuurrree.

Well I owned a Tasmanian Devil pillow that had the oh-so-crazy-T-Dog "dunking" a shot in a basketball hoop. Because as you know, at that time, Michael Jordan was also huge and I believe he had just made a horrible Looney Tunes movie entitled: Space Jam

So, I decided to draw Mr. Devil and his sporty-stylings one day in Health class. The kid next to me saw it and offered me $10.00 for it. Nice, I see my skills have improved.

I Miss Drawing.

The rest is history. I thought I was on to something naturally. I mean hell, kids were paying me the money they probably earned mowing the neighbors lawn, just to own one of my drawings. I had found my calling. So i started spending study hall in the art room, staying after school to finish art projects due two weeks away, and assigning myself extra credit art exercises to turn in, just to get a reaction from my teachers.

I never missed a sketchbook assignment. In fact, more then once, I neglected other homework just to make a weekly sketchbook assignment look amazing. I was such an art nerd.

Then came college, and suddenly I was being "forced" to draw. I don't know if it was the professor, the assignments, or the fact that it was suddenly made mandatory, but I started skipping out on classes. I mean, don't get me wrong, I would always turn in my assignments; I just thought the professor didn't know what he was talking about naturally. (Like every other art student...i thought my shit didn't stink) The assignments were a "joke" and I was wasting my time in class not getting the individual attention I always seemed to get in high school.

So I stopped drawing....

Everything became about three-dimensionality. Screw 2D art, anyone can paint.

Mwa ha ha ha hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

Wow, I was so naive.

So here I am now, and I....miss....drawing.

In fact, now I seek out other artists sketchbooks. I have been studying Greg Craola Simkins drawings for a few months now:

I am so in love with his work and the work of other artists like him that I have found their drawings making small appearances in my sketchbook.
I coveted a collection of Leonardo Da Vinci's drawings and am looking forward to getting my hands on Joe Ledbetters sketchbook (which may already be available on Amazon!!)
Isn't it funny how everything comes full circle...?
Bell bottom pants, techno-color clothing from the 80's, slap-bracelets, Depeche Mode, drawing.
I guess in the end, we all return to the basics.
I missed drawing.

Ground Control to Major Tom

2009-04-04T12:30:00.003-04:00
So I joined this artist site a few months ago called http://www.spaceelephant.com/ and I thought this would be a good time to talk about the site.

So the "idea" of the site is almost like a myspace for artists. Which is funny, because I hate all that is myspace and facebook. HORRIBLE sites. But, this site, I guess because all the people are artists and I am an art snob, is actually not half bad.

So you join up, you create a profile, you upload images of your work, you can join blogs or create your own, join or create groups, etc. etc. etc.
Then, other artists on the site can view your work, leave you feedback, ask you questions, and you network. You can also sell your work.

As far as I've seen there is quite alot of great work out there on this site....but there is also alot of bad work, so watch out.
The more you use the site, the more"points" you earn. The more points you earn, the better chance you get to "win" a monthly prize, which usually consists of a gift certificate to an online art store or something.
Not a bad set-up really.

Since I've joined, I've met some amazing artists and I can honestly say I do feel inspired to keep working. WHICH I NEEDED after graduating from Grad School.

In fact, true story, I saw this one guys work: nickname "Hore", made a comment on his page how I enjoyed his style and then he viewed me and realized we were in the same area and noticed I worked at an Arts Center. He mentioned how he was thinking about trying to become an artist there and i told him he should definitely try.

Less then a week later he showed up for a part-time job as a gallery sitter. SMALL WORLD right?

So, in short (as if this was short) spaceelephant is a pretty good site for artists. And not just visual artists mind you! There are musical acts and actors on there as well. And the site has major press in one of my absolute favorite art and culture magazines : Juxtapoz.

So, if you are an artist yourself, I recommend trying the site out.

Later!

What a month!

2009-03-17T17:56:00.007-04:00

Wow. Its been about three weeks since I wrote last. And what a three weeks it's been.
I'll do my best to recap:
The first of the month started off with a bang. I was layed off.
I was thoroughly shocked that this was happening to me. For some ridiculous reason I thought being lowest on the totem poll meant I was the safest....yeah, I know...
I went through a series of emotions in about ten minutes. Ya see, I had a "little birdy" tell me before hand that it was coming so I got to experience the shock before my coworkers.

First I was pissed off...REALLY PISSED OFF. "How dare they! I do a great job here! Everyone in my building loves me!"

Then, I was sad. "Man, I am going to really miss all the new friends I've made. Everyone here is so nice, and we all share similar ideals and values....this blows."

Then followed understanding. "Well, I know this economy sucks right now, and we are a Non-profit organization, so I know money is tight. It's not my bosses fault, they don't want to fire me."

So, mentally I was prepared for the "meeting to end all meetings". Ya see, my organization has a really bad policy of having these "meetings" where "if you're included in this meeting, then your job is safe". I've been through two of those already. This is a BAD idea, because word gets around pretty quick that one of these "meetings" are going on, and then those who aren't included obviously get the drift before the official lay-off takes place. So really, you ruin their days...twice.

Anywho, the "meeting" took place with a sort of reversal. Instead the idea was, "if you are in this meeting then I'm sorry but you're being layed off." But like I said, I was pre-prepared for this and took it in stride. By the time this "meeting" took place I had already been looking for work for about a week and a half. Yet, it was still sad, some people got angry, some asked a billion questions, I just sat there, took it in, gave my boss a hug and said, "I know it's not your fault, I'll miss ya." Done and Done. Go out in style.

So a week passes by, still no job in sight and the same "little birdy" tells me he might want to leave and asks me if I would stay in his place. Of course I was a little leery of staying on in a company that is obviously hurting financially, and already layed me off once. But, my only saving grace at this point was a part-time gig for $10.00 an hour at an Art and Framing shop. Not exactly what I would need to pay my bills on time. So, I accepted his offer.

I know what you're thinking, I'm an idiot. I know, I know, I know. My dad has already read me the riot act. The thing is, I have quite a medical history and this "job" has benefits I NEED. Second, I really like it there and really want to see it succeed. And lastly, I have a freaking MASTERS DEGREE and I can't find work! I applied for a management position at a LADY FOOT LOCKER! TRUE STORY.

SO, I accept the new position as Registrar. I keep my benefits, I keep my salary (which mind you, is also pretty lame), and I keep teaching clay classes (which is really all I want to do). Then, I get an email from an old professor of mine offering me an adjunct position for the Fall of 09. SWEEETTTTT.

So, I went from having NO job at the beginning of the month, to three jobs by mid-month.

Who says you can't find work in today's economy?! Oh wait, I did. :)

Don't worry, I know I should keep an eye out for another gig, and I am. But honestly, I really want to stay where I am. I really love the people, the place and the mission of the organization with all my heart. I knew getting an Art degree meant I was going to suffer financially. I never wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer and never saw myself as becoming a wealthy person. I was fully prepared to become the "starving artist" when I chose Art as my life. And I still am.

But, priorities do change. For me, all I want now is to hold onto a job I love, be appreciated for the work I do, teach others what I know....and for the love of god, be able to afford an apartment FAR AWAY from my parents house. :)

To end this on a happy note, below is a pic of my latest creature. I know I promised to have shots of me creating him, but I worked in a hurry on this one. I will next time. Enjoy.

This guys is bent over and has his right leg up and scratching the back of his head. Its a little hard to make out like this. Here's another angle.

And here's a shot from the other side.

New Work

2009-02-18T23:52:00.011-05:00
SO I decided that I've talked a lot about art but really haven't posted anything that I'm currently working on. So below are a few shots of the last piece I made. I'm in the process of making another. I tend to work in series, like ten or more, so I think I'll make quite a few of these guys before I get sick of looking at them. I'm curious to know what you all think.

Keep in mind that they are still in the "just formed" stage. I have yet to fire them and paint them.

I took my camera to my old bar the other night to show some old regulars of mine my new work and the consensus was this: "They look like the spawn of Garfield and an Ewok...set in the land of the Dark Crystal..."

I'll take that.

I am trying to make it look like he's wearing a very lose, ill-fitted costume of sorts...but then it kind of becomes him as well in the feet and hands.

Honestly, I was envisioning a demented squirrel.

Buttons...I thought about adding actual buttons after glazing...but I like carving.

I might add small eye lashes though.

So, they don't have a name yet either. I have a tendancy to name my work with actual human names. I figure they all give off a certain personality that reflects in their name. But with these guys, I might have to stray away from that.

I'm also working on taking shots from beginning to end when I create the next piece. That way I can show you all the various steps I go through in creating one of these guys. More to come!

Covering Up

2009-02-11T13:08:00.003-05:00

I didn't want to start off by saying that I'VE noticed a trend, because I know the concept of the "costume" when it comes to art, is timeless. So I guess I could say that "I finally noticed" how and why the costume has begun to appear in my work and thus I seek out the work of other artists that use the idea of a costume in their work. In case I've lost you, here are a few examples of what I'm talking about:
The art of Scott Radke has really begun to influence my work. Partly because he is a sculptor and partly because he creates characters.

His work tends to be on the "dark" side if you will, but continuously uses the costume. Here, he takes his signature character and morphs the body into that of a swan.
In this example, he uses the same character but in the form of a Meerkat.

The idea of changing the physicality of a character by placing it in a disguise or costume or in some cases new animalistic bodies is something that has really begun to fascinate me. The more I think about it, the more I find examples everywhere I look.
One of my absolute favorite artists, Greg "Craola" Simkins, provides another example in his amazing illustrations:

Craola's early "pop-surrealist" illustrations and paintings usually combined characters from pop culture like Star Wars, Pac-Man, Mickey Mouse, etc. and placed them in surreal/unworldly spaces with snake-like extensions to their appendages. Check out this painting where it seems he's paying tribute to the old-school Atari classics like Centipede and Millipede, Q-bert and Pac-man:

Sam Flores is another artist who uses the costume as a theme in his work:

He has even spawned a limited edition toy line from one of his popular designs.

The list really could go on and on. SO, my question remains: What is it with the costume that continuously fascinates me? Some of the artists I've mentioned have had sorted pasts as graffiti artists. I could see where the need to hide your identity would come up in their work. For years Graf artists were hunted down and arrested for vandalism. Now when you walk into a gallery in New York you're liable to find the same names that were once plastered over back streets on small gallery labels in front of commissioned work. But, the idea of hiding or masking your identity still permeates through their work.
Or maybe its a question of rolls we play. As a woman artist, I can be expected to put on at least six different masks throughout the course of a single day. I'm a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a professional, a teacher, and an artist all in the matter of a few hours.
It could be that I'm projecting my desire to be enclosed in something soft and secure like the old footed pajamas of my youth. (I'm thinking "The Christmas Story" and the Pink Bunny Outfit) The Idea that the costume is a security blanket where we can hide away from the responsibilities of our adult lives.
The chance to be someone else for a short time is also a possibility. Knowing that the costume can be taken off at any time and I can return to the real world. No wonder Halloween is my favorite holiday.
Whatever the reasons, I just can't seem to get away from placing the creatures I create in masks or costumes. Perhaps when I actually finish one I'll be able to place an image on this blog and get some feedback.

Let's get stimulated!

2009-02-03T18:40:00.003-05:00
If you've been living under a shoe for the past 18 months, you might not have a clue to how this economy has been affecting the art world. Just an example, graduating in December of 2007 with a brand new MFA in Clay, I thought It would be no time at all that a great college or university would grab me by the shirt tales and wisk me away to my first higher education teaching job. Now, granted my very little experience in teaching had a HUGE impact on that, but I also believe, and so do millions of Americans, that our current economic stand point also played a part. I found myself asking: "Where did all the jobs go?" Or in my case: "Where did all the art-related jobs go?" Answer: No money to hire, no money to fire.

In jump the Federal Economic Stimulus Package. WOO HOO! WE'RE SAVED! THE ARTISTS ARE SAVED!
Again, for those of you who simply can't bring themselves to watch anything on TV discussing our failing economy, allow me to recap.

To not watch the current debate about the proposed Federal economic stimulus package, especially as it relates to arts and culture, you risk missing an important bit of theater. Most will know that the initial proposal includes a $50 million allocation to the National Endowment for the Arts, which has brought arts and culture into the conversation about what activities stimulate economic activity, and what activities are just along for the ride.

SO, the ultimate question in play is: What does arts and cultural activity DO for us as a society, as a collective, and as a nation? And what type of a lever does it provide, when measured up against many other levers, when we are deep in economic (and social) crisis?

In my most humble opinion, when you fund the arts and arts organizations you create jobs; jobs for techs, gallery sitters, box office ticket holders, performers, musicians, directors of finance, operations managers, etc. What do they do with the money? They buy office and art supplies, artists rent studio spaces, small publishers pay writers who buy new computers who pay editors etc. The list could go on and on and yes none of these examples has anything to do with why arts are important, but why this funding is "stimulative" economically.

Now, there are some who might say that the arts are the least effected by this economic meltdown and not the overarching cause of it either. In that mind-set the money should be used to remedy the areas of the economy that have caused the meltdown. After all, we might remember that the 50 million for the NEA is only 1/16,000th of the 800 billion recovery bill. In that sense, the politicians have already made a statement about how much they think arts funding affects the economy. What's 1/16,000th of a pie chart look like?.....very small

Let's get this started

2009-01-29T16:55:00.002-05:00
Hello and welcome to all! I've been craving a good site where we could all meet and talk about any number of things. So here's to getting this started!
I'd like to start things off with a thought.
I recently took a job at a brand spanking new arts center here in Lorton, VA. The Workhouse Arts Center: www.workhousearts.org which houses around 100 artists on site in studios and 50-60 more artists off-site as associates. The diversity is pretty amazing. There are glass workers, clay artists and potters, painters of all mediums, fiber artists, jewelry makers and more. I feel pretty excited to be a part of this organization (its non-profit to boot!).
That being said, I can't help but feel like I'm stuck in Kinkadeland. That sounds bad I know. I'm not saying that the artists here are boring or superficial or just a plain waste of good paint like the Thomas Kinkades of the world, it's quite the opposite really. The artists I've met in my short time here are more then amazing at what they do and seem to be craving intelligent art discourse as much as I do.
But when I visit galleries like Art Whino : http://www.artwhino.com/ I can't help but wonder: Where do I fit in as a clay artist today? and Why are these artists (such as the subversive/surrealist artists found @ Art Whino)so unrepresented here at what is supposed to be (and is boasting itself as) the newest and leading art space in the DC Metropolitan area? Is it something as simple as our (LAF aka:Lorton Arts Foundation) board of directors is full of old school, Rockwell-loving snobs who can't and won't get their collective heads around this new and ever-growing genre of art?
Frankly, I just don't get it. Maybe I read too much Juztapoz and Beautiful Decay. But isn't this what's "happening now" in the art world; Graffiti writers making toys, the Murakami's becoming company men, comics are "cool" again, sci-fi and hip-hop joining forces to create limited edition candles, major artists selling cheep and unknown artists getting major gallery deals, surreal artists like Greg "Craola" Simkins (http://www.imscared.com/gallery/) making millions and popping up everywhere while the Damien Hirsts fall off the art grid because "we're just sick of that guy"????????
I guess what I'm saying is where is all the conversation about art? I'm not talking about formal qualities, I'm talking thought-provoking/insightful/real opinions about art and society today. Those of you lucky enough to be in school still, consider yourselves blessed. College and Grad School were the last places I remember staying up late having amazing conversations about art. I just think a "cutting edge" arts center should be able to offer more then just visual stimulation.
It seems the small galleries, independent exhibitions, and spaces labeled "Urban Contemporary/Pop-Surrealist are the only true places to have fulfilling art discourse.
AM I WRONG????? Please tell me!
Hell, maybe that's why art-attention-depraved geeks like myself start blogs like this. Because lets face it, its fun to stir up controversy.