I was intrigued and rather delighted when I saw Jacob Gagnon’s tea and cupcake display…populated with miniature giraffes and ladders (of COURSE they need ladders! How would they reach the top teacups otherwise?).
In his portfolio we find all kinds of creatures strangely interacting with household items.
In fact, I can safely say I’ve never seen such a proliferation of wild animals and fine china.
And I adore the way he skews the scale of his subjects.
Pumpkinrot recently featured the work of Matthew J. Levin.
My favorite piece in his portfolio:
His strange creatures twist and turn at unnatural angles…
Most of them seem as if they were caught in the middle of movements.
Monsters await you.
If it’s time for your child to begin his or her foray into surreal, existential literature, why not start with My First Kafka?
Ah, so uplifting! (*wink*)
I’m actually quite intrigued by this concept and would be VERY curious to see the author/artist interpretations.
What literature would YOU like to see illustrated as a children’s story?
Five years ago I saw Mark Ryden’s Gay 90’s exhibit in NY (wow…has it been five years already?). It was an incredible show filled with Ryden’s trademark wide eyes, kitschy color schemes, symbolism and American icons of bygone days.
The Gay 90’s West just opened in LA, featuring a gigantic new piece:
Ryden states:
One of the main pieces in this show is a large automaton diorama, titled Memory Lane [see video, above]. It is an eight-by-four-foot enclosure housed in a circus wagon-like structure. It is a bustling city street scene full of a combination of altered found objects (toys and dolls), sculpted, and painted elements. In an overarching way, it combines all of the themes and ideas I have been working with.
See an interview with Ryden about this show here.
I stumbled upon Wibbley World in a random google image search, and found a collection of sweet, strange little animals.
I would love to see a plushy model/toy of this one.
And this.
Most creations are just a tad askew; not exactly cute, just shy of a nightmare.
I’ve been following Emi Slade’s work for a while, but was freshly impressed by this taxidermy project (featured at La Luz de Jesus in the 3rd Biennial Taxidermy Show).
It’s all in the teeth.
Double your taxidermy pleasure:
She takes artistic liberties with existing creatures…
…or invents her own.
The Deck of the Bastard is a hybrid tarot deck that draws from a number of antique/vintage decks.
The creator says:
I always wanted a vintage deck. But they were so expensive. I saw them on eBay (over $500) and even then, the old decks did not have the same cards we use today (no Hanged Man, & with odd cards like “Birds & Animals” & such). As an artist, over the years I tried to design a vintage – looking deck…but, I could never make anything I was happy with.
In frustration, I finally bastardized several vintage decks, including the Egyptiens Fortune Telling Cards by Delarue France in the 1890’s, the Dames deck and the Rider Waite deck for most of the pips. I added vintage edges in the borders and photo-shopped antiquing onto each individual card (NOT dropped into a single TEMPLATE! ), and unified them with similar colorings. For the back, I used an antique book cover that I edited.
The cards look beautiful and are “aged” quite well for an authentic appearance. While $70 is too steep for me at the moment, I do think these cards would be a great collector’s item.
The gorgeous intricacies of Chinese dragon and phoenix mythology have really caught my attention this past year. Dragon represents benevolent strength and vigilance, true embodiment of positive male (yang) energy. Phoenix is female (yin) energy, a symbol of grace, transformation and rebirth. Together, they dance in a powerful, harmonious intermingling of forces that epitomizes the perfect balance of male and female. Beautiful, isn’t it?
I found these lovely dragon and phoenix coffee cups while searching for a gift over the summer (they even come with matching spoons, shown inside the cups here).
Truth be told, I’d probably find some way to break or injure myself on these things if I were to use them daily at home (I’m a tad on the clumsy side). But I think they’d make an amazing addition to a wedding celebration, given their poignant symbolism. Cups for the bride and groom when it’s cake time!
Where were these when I dressed up as a (slightly mischievous) doll for a holiday card photo, circa 2002? Bead Borg makes fantastic hand-airbrushed stockings that look freakishly like ball jointed doll legs.
How wonderful are these?
I’m definitely a fan of the cracked versions (for the vintage/antique feel). I think this would be my top choice if I were to order a pair:
Some are android/robot parts.
SheWalksSoftly 