Working Hard? Or Hardly...Sober?

Random Sample

2009-02-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

Random sample drawing... Still many more projects to upload, but this isn't related to anything so...you get to look at it. Bask in my genius.

Open in a tab to actually get any idea what it actually looks like... This isn't a work of art, just a smattering of techniques of India ink on paper.

A Slightly Disfigured Update

2009-01-10T09:17:00.000-08:00

Well, not in Davis anymore, was in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for a month, and now living in Chicago. Wow...what an update, here's some illustrations of disfigured folks:

This character is from a series of illustrations outlining a highly allegorical lightly absurd minimalist narrative. I may have my bachelor's in art, but I minored in being obnoxious. All the figures he encounters are in someway "enhanced" to bring out whatever their vice or flaw may be...

There are 37 characters in the series. These are India ink on Tea stained paper and have yet to be mounted. Each character illustration is featured with a couple of notes that will be mounted as well, further explaining and illustrating the story. Here is a glimpse of all the characters that will be featured.

Here's the first series of ink illustrations I've done. Look for updates soon of the finished product of these guys and a few other sets of illustrations. Still doing ceramics too, and have some paintings in the works. Whee...

Of Complications and Metals

2008-07-04T18:32:00.001-07:00

Been in Northern California for awhile...been hectic, crazy, poor, and am pretty sure that my superpower is to make electronics die in my wake.

Here are a few glimpses at what I have been up to on my productive days.

I started doing lost-wax casting, which is way too much fun. This is a sampling, hopefully new pictures soon. Made a handful of larger pieces in bronze and lots in silver--some very very small pieces in silver that'll have images soon I hope. Above is a bronze handlebar mustache with a stand. About four inches long.
Mustache sans stand.
A rather large cicada pendant.
This piece is about one and a half inches long and some what heavy, I can make smaller, but the weight and size were somewhat important on this guy...he's a big bronze bug.
Currently worn on a string around the neck of a coat-rack friend of mine.
So...a smidge too much bronze in the crucible on this try...it was an experiement and frankly, still pretty happy with it.
Ummm...so half a frog you say...?
a Coqui, for a friend...hope he wasn't planning on a whole frog...I know I wasn't.
A large silver tardigrade, about an inch long--that's huge for silver so you know...
An assortment of Japanified sea critter charms. Anemone, tunicate, crinoid. All a little under a half inch tall...quite a lot of detail on these folks. And I made some much smaller silver blokes too.

I had been working on a gallery show for awhile, and here are the images of some of the pieces--they have not yet found a home...umm...interesting complications with that one...but anyway... So they are still searching for a home...and may get abandoned as I must now set off against...first stop North Carolina and then...ending up mid-August in Chicago...exciting but scared shitless...

the image above is the three finished islands as of when I last photographed them...there is just a little more work needed on the unfinished large island. They are made with salvaged wood, stained and sealed for a dark, slick, wet look and the forms are done with wire mesh, sculptamold and then sand while still wet. They then receive another coat of sealant so the islands are actually touchable...they have a really interesting texture because of how the sand was sucked and fell into the wet sculptamold. All the figures are done in ceramic, with oil stains, and articulated using wire to combine their moving parts. There are 80 completed, all different, with many different forms and moving parts. Sort of a trip to make...

All the islands sitting in a...clump. Two still show their skeletons underneath.

It is I...on the dome floor, busily building more fisheaters.
A close up, there is a plant, and then a figure with a moving periscope and one with a working chain.
More little fellows...if it looks like a piece can be removed or moved...it most assuredly can...the average is four moving parts, a few with less and a few with more.
A better view of a smaller island
The project also has many little fish done in the same process for the fisheaters to eat, there is also an mountain, a puddle, some rocks, and more plants. As this show may end up shown in a damn field somewhere and photographed unsure if it will get the remaining fisheaters (23 which are already kiln-ready greenware and about 60 more planned and mapped) and two large trees with individually attached leaves...

Karate Chop Action!

2008-02-28T16:53:00.000-08:00

As promised, my four complete articulated works ( a lot more in the process but still not fired yet, look for more articulated works in a couple weeks). Each is done with a different technique...oddly not on purpose. These have full movement and limbs are attached using wire.

Horseshoe Crab Thing--The ancient fossil crab thingy. Hollow body (sort of formed like a cup), 7 legs (three on one side and four on the other), and a tail. All done with oil staining, a bit of a difference from the original bisque pictures I posted before. It's a really nice effect on this one.

Flying Helper Bucket--Had just been zooming through the atmosphere to find some poor soul in need of a helping bucket! Now calmly resting in some branches, being...less helpful...for a change. The handle is wire and attaches the free-moving wings to the bucket figure. Underglazes with no clear coat, but still slick because of the thickness of the coats. Very cute.

Mummy Doll--Well...he's seen better days... Arms, legs, and head move. Comes with assorted wrappings so you can wrap your own mummy. These photos may need to be redone...it was very bright when I first got outside...I had to check if the flash was on because the pictures looked weird... This guy is done in washes of underglaze rubbed away for slick creases but the outside is matte. Oh and the eye is glossy. Gee kids, doesn't that sound like fun?!

Little Flower Girl--A little blond girl with a flower body and dangling feet formed from the stamens of the flower, meaning, she's made out of a male flower. She's a little tranny flower girl. Made with underglazes and then a clear coat of glaze for her happy shiny look, much more colorful and shiny than the prior images.

Stains, My Baby Has me Locked Up with Stains

2008-02-27T20:59:00.001-08:00

That would probably kill me, those being sort of harmful and most places you lock someone up in would not have great ventilation. This is why we don't have nice things.

I used a different technique on most of these, oil paints as stains. Very messy, will probably kill me someday, but looks really cool.

I did mostly more simplistic staining on these--I mixed the colors myself usually and could add hints all over it, but...specified areas of color were quite tricky--so i reserved that for eyes for the most part, the the last piece shows just how complex I can be--the eye is just careful staining, sort of like doing a lithograph, only in a really slow, stupid, careful, hand done way.

I have four articulated characters that are not posted yet--the flower girl and horseshoe crab I showed before coloring, and two others yet unseen. These should be posted tomorrow as I didn't have time to photograph today.

The first three pieces have both parts that are glazed and some using stains. The rest are only done using stains.

So...it's a little green squat body...and a cow skull that can be worn as a face. This...makes sense.

Little Ruskie: Tiny Russian, big fuzzy hat. Could you ask for anything more...? Well you can...but it is not advised.

Vacuum for Evil Brain Ghosts: One magic vacuum, three evil alien brain ghosts. This totally makes sense. Ask L. Ron Hubbard and his followers--they agree.Vacuum--specially designed for sucking up evil alien brain ghosts.
Evil Alien Brain Ghosts...yes this story does involve a volcano--thanks for asking.

Meat Buddies! Beef Brisket, Chicken leg, and Lamb Rib. All adorable and all meat!

Interchangeable Face Stone Character--body built sort of like a flower and there are three expressions--happy, sad, angry--the basics... That can be put in and viewed through the little face opening.Angry Face stone.

Little Bull...thing...it's a bull, little feet on the bottom, big horns, built like a muppet pear...there is really no excuse for him.

Not-So Helpful, yet All too Anxious, Helper Llama--He's happy, not terribly helpful, and not terribly...llama...ey... Sort of a tough one to decipher due to his shape. The head is back, tail against the top of the head and ears against the rump. The top is open and is the happy mouth. not too certain about the staining here...possibly going to try again with stronger colors and more mottling...not certain...comments...?

Uptown Fetus, a debonair man about town--well...fetus. But he has a top hat. A stylin' freaking top hat.

Probably my most surreal character to date, no name yet or even title. Just this little guy, whose body is a sack, that wears jeans fastened with a belt. And his head is...a smidge disembodied, and flies...or hovers and is made out of moon or whatever. And he can ride it. As you can probably guess from the many photos, this is one of my favorites.

This is how the fellow travels, sitting on his flying moon face. Most of these photos were done with flash due to the setting sun.

Body, an old sack...wearing jeans...kept on with a belt.
Flying Moon Face
Face and body united at last.
Dim light--the sun was going down as I was photographing--this was the last character I got to do.

Whales, Minimalism, and Mr. Polyp

2008-02-27T20:12:00.000-08:00

Here are a few new pieces done in underglaze and clear glazed (except for the first set which is just underglazes, and sparsely done at that).

My tribute to minimalism. Four tiny characters with underglaze only--it fired smooth but the bodies are all buffed unglazed ceramic. The set includes (from left to right): Sleepy Cone, Deceased Sphere (comes in three pieces), Homicidal Cube (with a bloody knife taped to his...head?), and Lusty Oval Thing (no comment).
Flapjack Whales--these little whales evolved into being flat...sounded like a good idea at the time. Each comes with one, two, or one and a half barnacle friends.
Mr. Polyp and Two Dumb Stupids That He Hates A Whole Freaking Lot--This is Mr. Polyp, he has two friends that go everywhere with him--and he hates them a whole freaking lot.
Difficult to adequately photograph, three heads on one little body

Idle...Playthings...Are the Devil's...Hands...? What!?

2008-02-27T18:19:00.000-08:00

This work is based on a sketch posted by [ idle. ] on the Rotofugi forums:

Find more [ idle. ] work at: http://www.idleware.com/

and check out Rotofugi at: http://rotofugi.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc
or just try typing rotofugi.com

Charles : 5" H, 4" W, 6" L Stephane : 5" H (6" with hat) , 5"W, 7" L

Both are painted with washes of underglaze on the faces, the hats, Stephane's collar, and Charles' smoke plume have stronger gunderglaze coats, highlights, and clear glaze.

Charles and Stephane

Another view of the duo
Charles side
Charles back
Stephane side
Stephane front view
Stephane without removable hat

UVoD Figures!

2008-02-24T16:55:00.000-08:00

I recently did a whole troop of the characters from Goomi's Unspeakable Vault of Doom, a web comic taking a lighter, yet still adorably morbid, look at the characters from H. P. Lovecraft's writings. Check it out! Hilarious stuff--and read the weblog and check out the other fan art.

http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault251.html

These vary but are around 5" tall, done in ceramics, and various sorts of underglaze washes to add some strange mottling effects (though Yogzotot is stronger coats and then white underglaze over it) and then quite a few of them have white highlights.

I am considering putting some of these on sale at my online shop. I may make articulated dolls of these characters and others...depending how things go...and as always, I'd love to do an installation. These are approved by Goomi and a portion of the sales go to him, so this is totally on the level.

Cthulhoo, big, angry, likes to eat folks, surrounded by delicious cultists--Yum Yum!
Nyarly, cynical, more of a hands on evil god...
Dagoon, he's sorta dumb, but at least he lives under water. He is highly revered by the deep ones, that are also dumb and live under the water. Birds of a feather... Comes with handy monolith...no idea why...I think it's like a security blanket--security monolith? Fish folks find rocks cuddly...I guess...
Shubby, she's fuzzy, has horns, and numerous progeny.
Shoggies, numerous eyes, mouths, and blobby selves, and are...gross and really dumb...and yet...so cooooooool!
Tindaloo, a hound, a companion, a slight dimensional snafu. Also: hates curves.
Ygo, small, crude, grayish, and a mouth on each hand... Like the beach boy song: Two mouths for every Ygo! Though...I would not like to hear the version for the shoggies... or really most shoggy related things.
Zathoth, giant, cosmic, powerful, and vastly stupid. Favorite song: G! Favorite movie: G! Favorite show: G! Favorite shape: Horrid.
Yogzotot, the gate, the key, and a great many other things. But not soap!
He is called many things, because you can't say his name--or else your head will go sbloorsch. "This is your brain, this is your brain on Lovecraft--SBLOOORSCH!!!"

My shop is now up!

2008-02-20T21:22:00.000-08:00

I now have a shop on etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5093001

If you have anything you see on here that isn't up that you want--contact me. Anything custom--contact me. Always willing.

YAY! Hahahaha...yeah...so...I have a shop now. That is all...

Little to Do Other Than Play with Dead Things...

2008-02-11T17:12:00.000-08:00

So...after quite a bit of work and many strange processes, the skeletons are now finished and photographed. These are ceramic, then coated with first a thin light coat of undergalze and then some thicker splashes of assorted colors but no clear glaze other them, so the thicker applied coats are slick and glassy but most of the light parts--though colored, are matte. Then they are assembled over a dark, somewhat thick and strong wire... The spines can be posed, the legs and what-not less so. They look like really morbid wind chimes. They are 18 inches long (though the flippersaur is only 17). They turned out to be quite photogenic, thus I have a lot of images to choose from...it was tough...
They all apparently came upon some misfortune...not only did they find themselves here...but...apparently didn't do too hot... There were no survivors...
Scratchy Feet--light green, yellow...and some brown--I have no clue what a scratchy feet is but they apparently didn't last too long. In the question of chicken, or egg, I think the scratchy feet was indeed first and then the chicken pecked it to death. Oh, and the egg helped.
Flippersaur--has a bit of teal, light green, and yellow...and some purple too--I have no idea how an aquatic dinosaur got out here (in my front yard) but the fact that it ended up in this condition shows...whatever reason it was a bad idea. Because it died...and I took a picture...and tried to sell its corpse...and make a profit...off its misfortune...want one? If I don't sell these soon I may begin to resemble them. Like when owners start to look like they're pets. This is only ok if their pet is not dead...or obese...or a pug. I am really glad I don't have an obese dead pug. But if I end up looking like my cat...I may die alone...
Cow-- yellow, brown, and dark purple--this is a cow, thus titled cow, though my friend Tom decided that MoooMoooMoooMoooMoooMoooooooooMooooMoooMoooooooMooo is indeed a more appropriate name. There are always the old skeleton cows in westerns. How do these cows end up in the desert? And if they always do so poorly...why are there so many...? Also...I think this particular cow...was just dumb. I get this feeling...because when I reflect on how I got here...I feel pretty dumb...and I am not even a cow.

New Batch!

2008-02-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

A variety of critters... mostly a little smaller than usual. Oh and some of these photos are to prove we have trees around here. Though this is a dead joshua tree...but still totally counts and to be fair...the closest I could find in my direct vicinity...

There are a lot of pieces I did based on the work of others...those will be up...not now. And no articulated works up yet--I ran out of wire last time. Haven't picked up new yet, hope to have those soon...they look great--though in a thin layer currently...much more colorful...hopefully not too much though...

These are the amber pieces... They are a separate series...and pretty strange... They "contain": some long bug teasing a little brown bug with a big ant head he found--meanie; a trapped bog man in a funky amber cube--totally seemed hilarious when we came up with it; a grey spider sitting on a toilet, just seems like if you were going to get trapped in one moment for all time it'd be when you were doing number two; a little big head bug; a confused tadpole--a tadpole...in amber...? Man...sucky day for a tadpole (note: the bog man was not doing too hot either, nor any of them really).
Not sure what this little guy is...he's a worm of some sort...about 2 inches long...and...has a bad case of head lizard...there's a tiny lizard that lives on his head (lizard is not attached but very obnoxious)
Beaked Bear...that is green...and friendly... Though he cannot fly he is in the top of a tree...not sure how he got up there and...getting down does not look promising...
This creature has no limbs, a working yet pretty useless drawer, and a little parasite guy... And I thought my life sucked...
Some weird flipper guy...who's making a face...Mayor Spudzington, he has a hat, and a friend in the hat. The friend is also evil. I'm kidding, he's not evil...just misunderstood.

Small angry mouth bear thing guy thing
The Ducksprouts. 5 small duck...sprouts...
I have no idea what this is. Some little phallic guy...?
Weird moose things...looks like a muppet, no legs...just mouth, eyes, antlers, and a tail--all the necessities.
Cute Shrimp...apparently hiding...cute, but shy.
Message Puppy--a puppy who gives messages. No idea...

Man, That Blows!

2008-02-04T16:24:00.000-08:00

This is the last of my pieces (save a handful of smaller odds and ends...). There was an INSANE windstorm...dunes...inside of the house covered in dust...COVERED. So yeah...decided to take advantage for some of the images of the weird texture and dunes. Also found a weird little corner that I found really interesting and I decided to use a bit... The new pieces should be coming out of the kiln today--hopefully take pictures soon (tomorrow if the weather will allow). Also a around 15 really eccentric pieces...odd stuff...still in greenware form hopefully to be fired some time at the end of this week...

Hope to start an Etsy shop soon...not certain how to work things... Some pieces may be kept in vain hope of some how being to do a gallery set-up thing someday... Still deciding...
A blue demon--custom made for a friend. Who gives it up to all the boys.
Pointy Eared...thing...who likes to wear lipstick (in private--there's a 4x4 depicting this fact).
Moai critter
Blob Gnome
Animal Effigy Bug Vessel Blob Slug...bad location I'd say...

Weird black cat thing with sock tail friend
Japanese style octopusGreen sort of Japanese style bat

Back and now outside for some fresh air are this trio of ghost, shrub, and cloud.
Grizzly Bear Trap Bear Trap...Bear...Trap Bear...
Walking Mustache guy with Hat.
Walkman Puppy--part puppy, part salamander, all rocker.Monster Space Explorer and three specimens of alien life.Capsule Critter, featuring three small ghosts inside...no idea why...

Three little lip monsters"I Need a Hammer Like I Need a Hole in the Head"
Slug with pack and three slug babies

Hamster Riding a Jellyfish

Trio of Blob CrittersWaste Paper Basket Head Fellow with Litter Friends: Empty Chip Bag, Crumpled Can, and Crumpled Soda Can. The big guy's face is inside.

The rest of the Skeleton Gang

2008-01-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

Here are the other two skeleton characters--they come in a set--all three different characters can be made at once, or something horrid. There is enough for all three to be constructed at one time though. Each character is fully articulated and over a foot long when assembled. That is three whole articulated characters in one complete set. Or whatever else you can imagine.

This one...I have no idea what he is...but he has little scratchy feet...so...I call him scratchy feet...

This is the mesosaur, he has flippers and a big toothy face.

YAY ! Preview!

2008-01-23T21:49:00.000-08:00

These are not finished, they will be disassembled and then have various treatments done to them--they will have colors, moderately striking colors.

Little flower girl--top will be glazed, unsure about feet but they will be colored. The legs dangle and are the stamen of the flower. Yes, she is a male flower. That cracks me up...but...I am strange.
Horseshoe crab-like fellow. 7 dangling bug legs (8 holes one extra...it looks interesting if the missing leg is in the middle...I'm stange) and a dangling tail too. Going to use a dark, smooth, oil treatment.

An assembled skeleton critter, the cow version
Here is cow with the other pieces, enough to make three complete characters, cow with hooves, mesosaur with flippers, and dead thing with scratchy feet. These will be coated with a rubbed off underglaze and fired, it should give some varied slickness and a lot of splotchy color variation. Enough for three individual normal-esque skeletons or...something quite unholy.

Lying, and probably disheartened...

Yay...More Critters...

2008-01-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

These have all been shown before but these are new better images--more descriptions can be found in earlier posts.

Handstand Squirrel
Impromptu Conjoined Twins, Stubble-Pear, and that little shark-dog fellow... These may be my favorites...
Little Fire Ball Fellows
Elvis Duck
Lump with arm...

Bundle of...Yeah...Devil Mailbox, inside a mailbox.
Christ Bunny
Green Beaver...
Little Witch Doctor
Flock Of Sheep
Ape thing with huge arms--tiny body is in back
Horned Beast with Bird Friend

Admiral Puddle, the bottom picture has less detail but it made me bust up...it's a puddle in the road...

Really, really ugly mouth guy...Squid-o-potomus
Whale-fish-blue thing...mostly blue. And yes--there are water critters...in the dirt... It makes so much sense my head spins.

Here's some more!

2008-01-10T17:38:00.000-08:00

mmmm...goat...
Jackalope
Hoopsnake
Snake Eating Cow

Mugshots so to speak of the unconfirmed suspects...

2008-01-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

Furry Trout
Vegetable Lamb Of Tartary
Drinky Lying Snake and his best friend Jack...oh and Louie is running around back there apparently too...he is not a cryptid...his existence is in no way controversial...

Death Worm
Disconcerting Log and Disconcerting Frog
Trunko
Skvader
Mothman

Axe Handle Hound
Yeti
Loch Ness Monster
Demon Duck

Various Wildlife of Tenous Reality

2008-01-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

This is a group shot of the cryptids in my front yard...they're playing... I have individual pictures as well...but loading is not what they like to do...

A Long Hazardous Time At Sea

2008-01-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

I went on a long and smelly adventure far away. In a boat. And I came across the odd island of Insignificantia and its small, deformed, shiny inhabitants.

*Note: The "Island" is a part of a fountain my father made that I stealth-appropriated and is also ceramic with underglaze.

Birth Of The Puke Bunnies

2008-01-02T00:35:00.000-08:00

A recent painting, a 6x4'...so it's a bit more menacing in person... I used a special glazing on the puke...really makes it shine. I am full of class. And this is how puke bunnies are born--puked out of a tentacle face monster. I am a true romantic.

Monster, Pita, and Squid

2007-12-20T00:49:00.000-08:00

These are images of my work as displayed in my class's thesis show that was in June.
This is the main body of my work--four major paintings with measurements ranging from 3 to 4 feet. Hand stretched canvas, the background is textured gesso with the figures: Pita Pocket, Attic Monster, Ian the Squid, and the lettering in oil paints. Highlights and shading are done wet on wet. Actually most of it is wet on wet... The text reads, from left to right: I floss with your hopes and dreams, Antipsychotics cannot stop me; I love you, Love between a squid and pita cannot be; Without you I'd be almost normal; I am inescapable-you are delicious.
These are the sculptures, Pita Pocket, Attic Monster, and Ian the Squid. These are ceramic with oil paints to mimic the paintings, and it's the same basic technique. The actual sculptures are smooth, it is the paint job that is so gloppy.
These are close-ups of the 8x8" close up images between the larger images and gives hints of the texture on the paintings and technique. First is Attic Monster's teeth and then are the tentacles of Ian the Squid.
Here is a close-up of the teeth on one of the paintings.
This is showing scale.

This is a view of the room my work was in--I had half and the other half was another student.The people crouching are looking at my sculptures.

Some Old Smelly Paintings

2007-12-19T23:03:00.000-08:00

The first was done three years ago, the others are two years ago--I have a lot of more recent paintings--and still making them--but no images yet. The new paintings are much more like my sculptures--for the most part. This is just a glimpse of where I've been and how I got to the works you see now. I've been doing art for a fairly long time considering that I haven't lived all that long... All are oil on hand stretched canvas.This is around 4 feet tall and three-ish wide. Glazing technique on the skin... The eyes are actually very realistic

Monster and Pita around 2x2' based off a sketch one night, this was the precursor to many other projects including a 2 1/2 foot tall sculpture and my entire thesis project.Lonely Anteater around 3 1/2 x 3 1/2', it's fairly self explanatory...anteaters get lonely too...
KKK Fish, around 3x3' it's based on a sketch I did elaborating on a joke about the pet fish some friends had that was turning white (white with racially motivated hate). Also it wore a hood and hated Jews, queers, and blacks, and most people really...but because of race and what-not, not good reasons
Composition with Pig, Squirrel, and Noodles, also around 3x3' and there is no meaning...this is the second in a series, the other having noodles a hippo and a goat on teal background...the picture was somehow lost but I do still own it.

Buddies of Non-Importance

2007-12-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

Buddies of Non-Importance. Still ceramic but more drab than usual, though the shrub was a popular favorite with my sculptor friends, but that may be due to hostility and the underlying want to stab a piece of clay haphazardly. These are actual non-crap photos...for the most part.
Incorporeal Buddy--closer to 5" and very drab. Fairly depressed because the little ghost is oh so dead.
Foliage Buddy--smallish, lumpy and very crude , around 4". Slightly disgruntled because though being quite impatient, shrubs are not known for speed. Condensation Buddy--smallish...around 4". Somewhat frightened but the buddies of non-importance are not known for self esteem, especially this one...because being a cloud, cloud incontinence is well documented.

Meet the Cryptids

2007-12-16T22:58:00.001-08:00

Meet the Cryptids, there are sixteen here. Cryptids are animals that aren't exactly completely verified as not being bullcrap. And apparently they have somewhat screwed up social lives.
Jackalope, stoic, strong, and the ultimate lady's bunny with antlers. He hangs around with his main South American goat eating critter. He is all business and some antlers. Oh yeah baby, jackalope is in town.Chupacabra, not known for eloquence, but his best friend is Jackalope, possibly because he's known for eating small goat-like animals...which he is currently doing. And he is lime green--lime green is the goat suckiest shade of green.
Yeti. no one likes the Yeti. That's it. No one--you may think you do, but if you do. You are lying to yourself. No one likes the Yeti.
Furry Trout, a beloved American Tall Tale. Also everytime I think of him I think of the line from Shakespeare's Measure for Measure by the beloved Pompey regarding the imprisonment of Claudio: He was groping for trout in a peculiar stream. Get it? Furry trout? Get it? DIRTY! Elizabethan jokes aren't always well received...but that is ok... Because Shelly likes it and she has the power of the hair--behold the power and bow to it. As for Furry Trout, he enjoys listening to upbeat songs that are actually long drawn out extremely long stories. He finds cucumbers imposing.
Mongolian Death Worm, less a cryptid and more...the only viable food source in Mongolia. Also apparently poisonous...Isn't that like Mongolia...silly Mongolian...Giant death worms are for kids. Not big on personality but big on conversation but the acidy spit really makes up for it. I know that characteristic has prolonged many a relationship. That means you Charlie.

Tsuchinoko, an obese Japanese snake who loves to drink and lie and is cuddlying up with his buddy Jack. This is the only case he ever told someone he loved them, and did. That hurts, it just...it really hurts. Creative--yet spiteful, intelligent--but only for evil, and Japanese...which has its own ups and downs. Not a good friend with anyone but the Mongolian Death Worm because someone who has consumed that much tequila is never afraid of a giant poison spit worm.
Loch Ness Monster, little known fact--has type one diabetes. Yeah, bet you didn't know that one. The only one who talks to the yeti, and it's mainly because only he ever knows where the remote is. Everyone else just kick him until he does something. No one likes the yeti.
Disconcerting Log (Taniwha, but Disconcerting Log is WAY COOLER. Take that years of tradition). Not a great conversationalist, but very disconcerting.
Skvader, part bunny and part pheasant and all man...bunny...pheasant...
Snake Eating Cow (Kting Voar), this is a cow that evolved to realize that she could be much more powerful if she harnessed vitamin snake. No one talks to her much because snakes give her hideous gas and she eats...pretty much all of them. But they still like her more than the Yeti. No one likes the Yeti.
Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, obviously British, lambs that grow on a vine and eat the plants surrounding...like if there was a plant that was both cuddly and a jackass. Eats fellow plants and laughs at Mothman's knock knock jokes. Does little else, but seriously--what else would one do...?
Hoop Snake--American tall tale based somewhat on a similar Greek snake whose name I am too dumb or lazy to spell but not too lazy to write and even longer explanation than it would take to simply look up. Much like this cryptid--I'm an idiot. Friends with only the other American natives. Like most animals that roll as their means of locomotion--he's an elitist.
Demon Duck, this All-American duck-beast was pretty quickly deemed unreal, but you can kill the dreamer but you can't kill the dream. The dream of a demonic duck. As much personality as a demonic duck would be expected to have. None.
Trunko, a mysterious and little known but moderately obese creature...sort of like a sea elephant...but fuzzy...like a fuzzy sea elephant--instead of the regular kind. Friends with Loch Ness Monster, and possibly the Yeti. Can't really tell as he can't speak--trunks aren't good for that. But he can give the finger...we think that means he likes you. He really likes the Yeti. no one likes the Yeti.

Mothman, perhaps not as ominious looking as one would expect for a harbinger of doom...but...as long as there are no bright lights around he is quite ferocious. Also: Likes knock knock jokes--to an unhealthy degree.
Ax Handle Hound, an American Tall Tale who east ax handles. Don't know why. Don't care. he's a cute little puppy and he's hungry. For ax handles, and what Ax handle hound wants, Ax Handle Hound gets. Adorable and loyal, everyone's friend. Until he betrays them by eating their ax handle and is forced to leave another town in shame.
Chupacabra, The Mexican Goat Sucker, and Jackalope, dynamic duo of justice for all. One has antlers for no real reason, the other is currently eating an entire goat. Inspiring, truly inspiring.
A heaping helping of Tall Tale power.
Totally ate the worm.
Trunko, Loch Ness Monster, and Disconcerting Log, three aquatic beasts of relatively little movement or ferocity.
The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary and Mothman, if you were a horrible hrbinger of doom your only friend would be vegetable sheep too.
Skvader and Jackalope, distant cousins...distant enough to make sex uncomfortable but not so wrong that it feels so right. So I hear...
Disconcerting Log with a Disconcerting frog. Sort of disconcerting...
Loch Ness Monster with a stylish bowler hat.
Furry Trout and his friend, Unfortunately Placed Worm, a lesser known cryptid, less known because I just made him up--right now. But the one thing for sure is--he doesn't like the Yeti.

No one likes the Yeti.

Less Classy Media

2007-12-16T22:10:00.001-08:00

Here is a hand full of sculptures I found images for done in other media. I have done others...but apparently they are lost to the ages. But their descendants will bask in their mysterious and uninteresting glory. This is a small collection of sculptamold critters--it's a combination of plaster and papier mache and the done with a splotchy wet on wet acrylic paint mess. I prefer oils but that was neither the time nor the place. Many of these also have limbs, ears, or protrusions made from plaster that I made from molds from my own fingers...using wax...it was kink day in the art department...I was the gimp.

A small hamster reproducing by budding, as they are known to do--around three inches tall.

Finger Aphid--around 3 1/2" tall
Mealy bug...no fingers for this one...just mealy...and bug--both those. 3"
Yeah...I don't even have a quip for this one. It's a black blob with yellow finger...fingers...4"
Some weird small killer lizard finger beast with a mohawk...common in early cave paintings. 5"
Finger-nosed weevil 6"
Finger eared bunny demon 5"
Insect friends
Monster friends
Site Specific Piece, an outhouse made of old warped scraps found around the sculpture lab. It had a bucket inside under the hole in the seat so it could be used...no one ever did...that disappoints me slightly. For multiple reasons.

Some Small Sets

2007-12-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

Worm with brain surgery and added brain worm.

"I need a hammer like I deed another hole in the head" comes with hat...guy...thing.
Monster space explorer with three alien specimens.

His head is a garbage can and his face is inside and he has garbage friends--empty chip bag, crumpled can, and crumpled paper.
Three fire ball buddies. Fire balls always hang out in threes.
Blob monsters of three flavors: lip, neck, snout.

Slug with pack to hold three small young 'uns
Trio of bipedal lip monsters

Capsule Critter containing three numbered ghosts.
Stubblepear, Porta-shark, and Slap-Dash Siamese Twins.
Ugly Worm Baby and two legged teddy bear. Abour an inch tall.

Behold the awesome power of Handstand Squirrel.
Tiny Hamster riding a jellyfish. About 4 inches tall...and before you ask: Hamsters can't breathe under water the jellyfish is flying. And flying jellyfish don't breathe much of anything due to the fact that they are busy flying.
These are all around an inch tall--Ghost, Lump Wearing Tie, Blue monster with red eyes, Snail, orange weird thing, blue long nosed weird thing, flap jack whale, and snorkel turtle.

Assorted Critters...

2007-12-16T05:42:00.000-08:00

Here are a bunch of other characters...there's a bit...
A bundle of...yeah...
Weird cat thing with sock puppet companion.
Flock of sheep

Bear trap bear. Really tricky to portray in an image...
My amazing new invention: the blob gnome. No idea what it does.
A splotched green beaver...seriously not supposed to be a dirty joke.

Odd little witch doctor with large teeth on his bonnet and little chicken wing arms...apparently.
Blob...with an arm...on its head...helpful.
Whale? I have no idea...but it should be in water...probably.
He's half admiral, half puddle, and all: Admiral Puddle.
Horned beast with pesky bird.
Squidopotamus
Blue Devil--requested by a friend...

This little fellow enjoys sitting on chairs and then jabbing people in the ass when they sit on him by mistake. He also enjoys wearing lipstick. I have a large painting feating this guy.
It's a mustache wearing a bowler hat--not Cousin It's ass...wearing a bowler hat...
Blob slug.
TIny body, balanced on teeth...not very attractive.

Walkman Puppy--some weird blue salamander...with a walkman--the lights on it mean "Go for rockin'", "Prepare for rockin'", and "Don't stop rockin'."
Blue Elvis Duck...no comment.
Devil Dog thing...looks like an evil mailbox to me...
Ape thing with big ol' arms...

Again...I apologize for the poor quality of images. My camera is on the fritz...the software that it doesn't work without is so much easier to lose than the camera...which is good in some ways, but not all of them. Most of these characters are around 4-6 inches tall.

Cultural Throwback? Or Internationally Insulting?

2007-12-16T04:52:00.000-08:00

Not all my pieces come from sets...I like them...but sometimes...I just make weird crap up or fiddle with ideas or styles so here are a few more cultural examples...and they won't be the last. Though they are for now mind you--now as in right now. Tomorrow...who knows?
Odd sort of take on an older style Japanese bat. Very green--not sure why...
My rendition of a Moai...definitely harder to photograph under these condition...
An odd take on the animal effigies of South America...there were examples of bug things being...stuck with a funky fork...the little guy with a smaller bite-size bug on a fork...artistic license--so is the green tongue.

This is a little exploration of some of the styles of octopus in some older Japanese works.
Yeah...Bunny Christ...sort of a "you got bunny in my Christ"/ "no, you got Christ in my bunny"

They Eat...Fish...? Why?

2007-12-16T03:25:00.000-08:00

The answer is always omega 3's. Here is a series I made a while ago...their numbers may slowly grow. My images are currently...not...good...or even ungood if one wants to get all Orson Wells on me. But these will give a rough and somewhat dizzy idea.
These are all the Fisheaters all together and hopefully satiated, they live on a small deserted island and eat nothing but fish. They are my only human characters...but they aren't exactly the best examples of their species...and sidenote: neither am I--we're all good friends. All are ceramics with underglazes and a clear glaze over that. As is most of my work, unless otherwise specified such as "made of shards of my broken dreams and the tears of a million goth kids". Oh and that will eventually show up--wait for it.

This little fellow is sporting a stylish mustache. 4" tall--Stachewick. Leader of the island, not officially, but all obey the power of the stache.

He may be obese but at least he has a mouth on the side of his head/body. 5 3/4"--Myers, best friend and confidant of Stachewick.

Apparently if left alone on an island one can grow bunny ears and have no arms, who knew? 7"--Dewdrop, island bunnies are totally hippies and hippie bunny people that live on islands and do little more than eat fish and be a hippie with names like Dewdrop have no friends. Well known fact.
Conjoined twins, they would probably argue if their mouths weren't frozen in ceramics filled with fish for eternity--it's the little things that make you thankful. 4 1/2" Shrub and Povitch, they were born at the same time but both claim to be older. Apparently--not hideously smart...two heads..possibly worse than one. Maybe by a bit.

Has a huge mouth and eyes beside it--not much more to say. 4" --Dweller, sees little use in friends but often gives advice, because if you don't have friends you must meddle in the lives of a lot of people instead of a select few.
I like stacking--'nuff said. 5"--Perry, Judas, and Gomez--named after Biblical figures by someone who skimmed very quickly. They are utterly codependent yet still seek admiration from others--but they never choose the same person, which has both positive and negative sides--mainly that it often involves a crowd.360 degrees of mouth and no arms...somehow that is fair. 4"--Nameless--No friends, no name, just mouth, a whole lot of mouth.

Sordid Backstory

2007-12-16T03:15:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time there was a guy and he killed people and it was really spooky. Then I sculpted some round, usually somewhat disheartened animals and abortions of nature. Then my cat was obese and sat on them, and all once again perished. Man, someone's a downer.

I just finished my stint at college as an art major, learning little more than when in a critique and you inform the class a student's painting needs a huge penis painted on it, rarely are you wrong. Very rarely. Pretty much never.

I have been doing art since...forever. Thus I am very...stubborn...and...is jackass an adjective? Because if it is--sign me the hell up. I make mostly animals--ok only, or creatures, and of course furniture and objects with faces, and crushed childhood dreams. I have always been obsessed with them and obsessing was my minor.