New Year!

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this Monday finds you all in good spirits and ready to start a brand new year. I am excited about all the things on my horizon this coming year and I hope you are too. I have just discounted the rest of my Venomous Vixens 2012 Calendars to a mere $7 each + S/H. Only a few left, grab them while you can!

Those of you who have been reading my blog awhile know that I'm an avid junker and thrifter. I love finding new treasures and cleaning them up and using or selling them. It's a tradition for my Sweetie and I to go thrifting all New Year's Day and this year was no exception. We went to a ton of places and after climbing around in some dirty basements and dusty barns, we found some great things, including a vintage adult-sized clown costume. That's right. And I already know how I'm going to use it in an upcoming photo shoot. Take a look at what else we found below and here.

Clown costume!

This bull head actually goes on a bottle and you can pour liquor out of the mouth! Amazing.

I love ocean-related stuff and these Disney 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea puzzles were the bees knees.

I'm sure most of you have heard of Stanley Kubrick, he's the director of Clockwork Orange and 2001 a Space Odyssey, oh, and The Shining. But did you know he was also a photographer? Yeah, neither did I. And he was quite good at it. Check out these amazing shots! The rest can be found here.

And speaking of amazing things, in my travels through cyberspace recently, I found Stranger & Stranger, a package design company specializing in alcoholic drinks. As you can see from the examples below (just a few of their designs), their look is distinctive and seamlessly melds vintage fonts with modern class. I would buy these bottles just for the labels, Folks. Not kidding.

And while we're on the topic of vintage-inspired class, let's talk about Bonlook, a site specializing in fashion glasses and sunglasses. Well, I wear glasses myself and I love vintage-looking frames, but the few times I've bought a pair, they've been bent or bowed or scratched to the point where I can't actually wear them. Enter, Bonlook! I have earmarked 3 of their styles already and event that was tough... I love them all. Here are a few examples:

Until next time: Unpleasant dreams...

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

Hello Lovelies!

How are you all doing this fine Monday? Things are moving at a mad pace over here as usual. Over the weekend, I helped install the window decorations my art co-op designed for the holidays. There is a window contest Portland-wide each year and we're hoping we win. We decided to do a twisted take on Christmas with killer toys, Gift-Safe Kid Traps and a Santa worm train. The worm train (which will actually run when it's done) is the last piece to install this week. Take a peek at our windows and if you're local, come out and see it in person December 3rd for the First Friday Art Walk! I'll show the train in action next post... he's really cute.

Santa Worm Train unpainted

And, the Zom-B-Vex calendars are coming in this week! These 15-month calendars feature every shot in the Zom-B-Vex series professionally printed in hanging wall format. They're hilarious and unique (much better than the calendars at the mall). Supplies are limited, so get them while they last!

Speaking of great gifts, I've decided each week in December to post both a neat gift and a neat store that I've found for that hard-to-buy-for person your list. Hope it helps!

This week's great gift is for sci fi and classic movie fans. I'm sure you've all heard of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. (If not, you're going to want to get on that.) Some of the movie was lost for years, but it has recently been found according to this article and now the film is complete. This complete version has been restored and remastered and you can now buy it for the geeks on your list! I personally can't wait to see it...

...even though this robot may well be the best part of this movie.

The shop of the week is the Museum of Unnatural History. This retail storefront is actually attached to the Washington DC location of 826 National, a non-profit that helps 6-18 year olds develop their expository and creative writing skills. (The products of course support the centers, there are 9 nationwide.) With great packaging and design, creative product names and unique store fronts, this non-profit is doing great things in a great way for a great cause. Stop by if there's one in your city, or browse online.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Candy Apple Darkness...

Hello Lovelies!

Well, fall is in full swing, and the wind definitely has a bite to it. I hope this Monday finds you all doing well out there.

I have finally completed the Zom-B-Vex series! With 15 pieces in all, it is my largest (and most popular) series so far. And, due to a number of requests, I have decided to offer a 15 month calendar featuring each piece. I will list this calendar in the coming weeks. It would make a perfect holiday gift for those who like to laugh... and/or kill zombies. Take a look at some of the final pieces!

I posted few weeks back that I sent a Halloween illustration to my sister in Oregon. Well, she's framed the piece and she sent me a pic to share with all of you. I love seeing my pieces framed in their new homes, so if you ever buy a piece I'd love to see what you do with it!

Well, fall means fair season and I look forward every year to one fair in particular up here. The Fryeburg Fair has been around for years and it really offers the full fair experience. (And by fair experience, I mean crowds, food, rides, cheap souvenirs, livestock, music and freaks. And by freaks, I don't mean of the sideshow variety...) I was not disappointed this year on any score. It was a beautiful fall day and I took tons of photos. I will be posting most of them on my Flickr page this week, but here are a few good ones.

So, I have found yet another very creative photographer out here. Oliver Scott's work spans several different subject areas, including still life, cinematic, and people. But one of my favorite series of his, mixes books and 3-dimension elements and cut paper to create photo illustrations. Sort of like Thomas Allen's work. Hard to explain, but some examples are below. Neat stuff.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...