Lollipops and Clowns...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are doing well out there. I have a lot to share as usual. To start, I finally got my new business cards in for my photography business and I think they came out really well. I used a full bleed image on the front and very spare information on the back. I'm trying to keep it simple. What do you think?

And, I had more adventures in the studio this past weekend. I photographed two toddlers and while they were a handful and a half, I got some good shots and some really good experience. With most of the folks who model for me, I have an agreement where I will discount the sitting fee if they help me create pieces for my portfolio in addition to their shots. In this case, I shot these little guys in their normal clothes and then I put them in my costumes and shot a series of 4 photos you can see on my Flickr page. So much fun... Here's a teaser:

And speaking of babies, I went to a baby shower over the weekend and I put one of my clown cupcake toppers to good use as a present topper! I think it made the present... take a peek:

Also this past weekend, I got a chance to see the Shanghai Circus at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH. First of all, the venue itself is really fun and historic with old wooden floors and velvet curtains, it's beautiful. And the acrobats/performers?! Wow. I've never seen anything like it. I was blown away, literally. If you ever get a chance to see them perform, go.

And speaking of bright, colorful and inspiring things, have you seen the photo styling of Rebecca Thuss? First of all, her site is beautiful of course and apparently, there's nothing she can't do. She's a crafter, a photo stylist for Martha Stewart Living and Wedding among others, and she's a designer. Her photos are so bright and cheery, just go to the site and take a look, or take a gander at these:

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Wee trains and big knives...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well! It has been warmer (40's) in Maine this week and I got out there and shot some stuff despite the muddy flood conditions. I think I'm starting to get a feel for my new camera and I truly love it. I posted some of my new shots to my Flickr album for your enjoyment. One of my favorites is the top one, I don't know if that's gum, or candy or what, but it had melted through the ice and I thought it was beautiful for some reason...

Oh, and this shot, entitled Real Toy Train, is actually being sold as a print in my shop!

I have started using Stumbleupon lately and I have found some great things out there you guys. First, the art of KeFe, a creative duo out of San Francisco blew my mind. I truly haven't seen a woman depicted in this particular way ever. I love the eyes. And they sell originals on their site too. Beautiful work that almost made me sell my dignity to come up with the money to buy a piece...

And while we're on cute, feminine art, allow me to introduce you to another artist I found recently: Mizna Wada. Why do I love her work? Oh, because she mixes cute little girls and murder seamlessly and with a real eye for composition and color. I mean, take a look:

And to completely switch gears (you're used to that by now, right?) I have a movie recommendation for you: Machete. Now, this movie is really violent and some people hate that, so if you're one of those people, you may stop reading. For the rest of you, who, like me, realize that Alex Rodriguez is merely mocking slasher flicks and 70's grind house features, this is a good one. Between the male lead's face, the gratuitous sex and violence and the soundtrack, I was laughing during the entire thing. Maybe there's something wrong with that. But if that's wrong, I don't want to be right you guys... Check it out.

Because the only thing worse than the violence are all the bad wigs.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Phantomas...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well. So much to share this week as usual. To start, I have completed my Mustache Ride Series and it ended on a strong note for sure. As you can tell from the shots below, there were many laughs. My sides actually hurt when it was all said and done. So much fun.

Remember Lovelies, I'm always taking new clients... :)

Some exciting news! I mentioned my new collaborative blog project entitled Phantomas in my last post. A good writer friend and I are doing weekly posts that combine photography and short fiction stories. The first post is up to give you a taste, follow along if you want to take the journey with us... it should be interesting.

Oh! My photography was just featured on the Sasquatch Magazine site out of Australia. It's a great magazine and I was flattered to be featured. Stop by and support the site, or better yet, subscribe and keep the cool art coming!

And speaking of cool art, have you seen Liz Wolfe's work yet? Holy smokes. I found her via StumbleUpon and uhm... I was blown away. She combines candy and bright colors and just a little bit of darkness to create a look I've never seen before... I know I'll never look at chicken feet the same way again. Or candy canes for that matter.

Strange news time. Did you Kiddies read about the frozen pig knuckle that flew off the back of a truck on the German autobahn and damaged a man's car? At those speeds, I imagine a fly would damage someone's car. Thankfully he was fine, but talk about when pigs fly...

It was kinda like this, only more knuckle.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Studio 'Staches...

Hello Lovelies~

Hope you are all well! As I mentioned several posts ago, I now have a photography studio and I am shifting the focus of my work and Stapelia in general, to just photography. I am in the studio shooting every weekend now and I've created a new Flickr album for these exploits. Candids, studio and location shots will all be housed here, including my humorous new series that turns a dirty phrase on its ear entitled Mustache Rides. You have to see it to believe it, here's a peek:

In addition to the studio work, next week, I am starting a second blog in collaboration with a writer friend of mine entitled Phantomas, that mixes photography and fictional writing to create weekly forays into the unknown. If all goes according to plan, the first post will go up the 28th. It should be interesting, so set your feeds now!

Speaking of forays into the unknown, have you guys seen the work of Mike Doyle? Well, I say "work", but for him it's play that he just takes really seriously. Mike is a Lego artist who has fashioned 2 life-like abandoned houses out of only Legos, no paint, no glue and these houses are ridiculous. The detail? The amount of time spent? I'm always amazed when people use materials with strict constraints to make something beautiful... and these certainly are that.

Have I got a movie recommendation for you Kiddies. I can't believe I haven't suggested this one before: PIN. Heard of it? It's pretty obscure. My sister and I read the book years ago and it creeped us both out, and then we found a movie version. Uh uh. It's like Flowers in the Attic meets a life-sized anatomical teaching dummy. I won't spoil it for you, check it out and let me know what you think...

Yeah, PIN looks like a skinless Rene Auberjonois... yikes.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Dark Valentines...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope this V-day finds you all doing well and finding some way to enjoy it. I made a card for my Sweetie this year (as I do every year), inspired by these little guys. I'm also making chicken parm tonight (wish me luck, I've never tried it before). We have a tradition of staying in instead of trying to beat the restaurant crowds and it usually makes for a wonderful Valentine's Day.

In business news, I will be listing what remains of my Okotteru series in the shop this week for your buying pleasure. They look even cuter in person, and people really seemed to be taken with them. So, keep an eye out for those!

I had to share this with you Lovelies. A good friend of mine in the UK sent me a Christmas package literally right after Thanksgiving that just arrived last week because of some ridiculous back up at the post office. Imagine my surprise when I opened my the box and found this unusual (and awesome) assortment of candy. Not sure if they're meant to actually be eaten, I assume they could be. I however, will keep them for novelty purposes only.

Scorpion sucker anyone?

Have you guys seen the hilarious Mamika series by photographer Sacha Goldberger? A little back story, the photographer's 91 year old grandma was suffering from a little bit of depression so he started this series to boost her mood. At first she was reluctant to model, but she eventually got into it and now there are tons of photos and a book based on the series. Such neat work and such a great story...

Ready for some weird news? This is just plain ridiculous... An Indonesian man was arrested in Thailand for attempting to smuggle an entire zoo's worth of animals out of the country in 3 suitcases. Contents included snakes, spiders, squirrels, and lizards. I just don't know how they all survived such close quarters. Seems like an entire food chain going on in there. Yikes.

That's taking Rubbermaid to a whole new level you guys...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well this week. The days here are getting a bit longer and when I leave work now, the sun is sort of up for awhile (when you live in Maine in the winter, it's the little things), so the end of winter is in sight!

Only a dozen or so more blizzards to slog through and it'll be spring... blurgh.

I have been gradually re-designing my packaging to keep things fresh and I just got my new packaging stickers in the mail. They now feature my Little Green Indian bank.... oh, and glitter of course. Perfect for spring!

As I mentioned a few posts back, I now have a photography studio. I have decided to start playing with all of the lighting that I now have access to on the weekends, both to build my body of work and to gain more experience with the different tools I now have at my disposal. In light of this effort (no pun intended... okay, it was intended), I have been looking at different photographer's sites out there who shoot in small studios. Tod Kapke's work caught my eye. If you peruse the Process section, it appears he shoots everything in a garage? Yet look at the wonderful things he creates. I leave his site inspired and encouraged about my own studio...

I have discovered a wonderful book that I wanted to share with you parents out there, but really with everyone, because it's intended for kids, but I'm also loving it. The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme is on my must-buy list. The book itself is beautiful, but the cover really caught my eye. It was designed by Adam McCauley and every time I look at it I see something new. Great stuff.

So, I finally watched The Runaways (the Joan Jett story movie) last night and I was actually impressed. I'm not a huge Kristen Stewart fan, but she was subtle and seemed to embody the role of a rocker (though that's sort of her personality anyway I think). Dakota Fanning was really good too. I recommend it if you haven't seen it yet!

Plus, you get to see Kristen rock a great 80's mullet.

Until next time... unpleasant dreams...

Ornery Glitter Cupids...

Hello Lovelies!

We had a blizzard up here in Maine yesterday and I had a snow day! So, of course, I took that opportunity to paint the little cupids I was telling you guys about on Monday. They're done, they're cute and they're up in the shop. Take a look and tell your friends, I really want these little guys to have a home by February 14th!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...