dizzy wheelchair bowling?

good day! this is dizzy the giraffe. he's a newbie kaotic kritter, based on the original "atmo" giraffe (five different editions: #1,  #2, #3, #4, and "baby atmo.")  i'm in love with the orange swirlies.  i made dizzy for an upcoming auction with vsa of nj. he's funky. funkay.

i hope everyone had a lovely weekend. i spent my saturday night bowling, where i finally got to use that cool ramp thing that makes it easier to roll your ball down the lane. normally (and by normally, i mean the 2-3 times i've tried bowling in a wheelchair), i'm dragged down by the "light" bowling balls (usually pretty kid's ones) and basically throw my entire body just to have the ball roll painfully slow about 2 feet before finishing the rest of the lane down the gutter. (i've hit a few pins before and got the sweet taste of victory for a few seconds before the next gutter ball.)  so this time i had the fancy ramp thinger, yet of course i still ended up with mostly big fat zeros across the board. i was excited to use it, and they had amazing cheese fries, so life was good. this is what the ramp looks like in the picture.... (but that is not me with the fancy mustache using it.)

come back tomorrow to see my very first woodburning experiment extravaganza!

sneak peek..

sneak peek!

love is in the ARRR!

after visiting my favorite californian cousin on the west coast last april, i promised her a painting. she wanted a romantic moon-lit pirate ship, maybe with some palm trees. of course like everything else i try to do, it has been pushed back further and further on my to-do list and every time she'd come back to jersey, i would fail as a cousin and have no painting for her. we finally agreed on a deadline, and since love stinks, she wanted it for valentine's day so she'd have a pretty present to open.  it was a few days late, but i got it to her for valentine's week! complete with a pirate style love poem, written by me specially for capt'n cindy: 

roses are red.

violets are blue.

sugar is sweet.

and so ARRR you!

 

i'm a poet.

karaoke for the cause

agony! can someone please find a cure for the headache behind my eyes? a cure other than sleep? i lost a lot of valuable art-making time thanks to my what felt like forever sickness, which has thankfully died down a lot.. but there is still way too much flowing out of my nose. gross. now i'm pressed for time finishing up pieces for an auction with vsa, including some wood burnings that i'm trying out. i might be in love with this new technique, which can only mean i'll have that wood-burning smell year round instead of only during the chilly winters! what a beautiful thing.

i'd rather be posting new work, but before i forget, i was asked to donate artwork to the teal wings of hope foundation "karaoke for the cause" silent auction.  teal wings of hope foundation is there to raise awareness of ovarian cancer through education, and provide support for patients, families, friends, and caregivers that deal with the disease while trying to make life easier for people affected by it. they do things such as arrange transportation to chemotherapy, pay for meds, help pay car insurance so patients can drive to medical appointments. i would have liked to create new work for this, but my lack of time and ridiculous abundance of unappreciated artwork hiding away in every square inch of my house cause me to donate pre-existing paintings. a one-eyed girl "floral footprint"(at top), and (the original!) kaotic kritter "gunther" (below).

i wasn't there, but i heard the event went well. i hope whoever was ever so lucky to get my paintings enjoy them.

you can walk!

i really wonder what goes through people's minds sometimes. i know better than anyone that people get awkward. i'm beyond awkward and i've said some really stupid things countless times before.. but my problem with dumb comments is mostly tone. (i don't think i have any control over the tone of my voice. some may call me "insensitive"....) but i feel like i've come across some beyond overboard stupid comments. a few days ago, a perfect example, even the principal at the school i work at was shocked and commented on how inappropriate a man's comment was. don't worry, i assured him that i get comments like this all the time.

i forget the exact words, but it was along the lines of "you can walk" followed by "i know you're just faking it" with a smile on his face. sure it wasn't meant to be cruel or vicious, but just a joke (or something?) out of awkwardness... or stupidity. the guy said it as he gave me a really awesome light up pen (after the laser light show assembly where i got to watch some fun kung fu panda, spiderman, wolverine, jack skellington, etc laser images while the song "thriller" blasted! best day ever.) the guy said it almost as if by giving me this amazing pen, i was healed and could magically walk! i have no idea where his head was. luckily, most of the comments i get aren't as direct and flat out stupid as this one (though they are close enough.) i'm never offended nor do i care, if anything i find it humorous and love to share my awkward people stories. "is that what you use to get attention?" was one of my favorites. clearly, in my grand scheme of being the world's center of attention, spending a couple grand on a pretty purple wheelchair so i could fake a disability was at the top of my list. then there was that kid in high school, some random kid, who asked, "are you, like, a cripple?" but that one is easily forgiven since we all know how dumb high school boys are. there are so many great stories and comments i'd love to share, just because of how how funny they are, or how completely baffled i am, but i always seem to forget them... hence this fancy little post's ultimate purpose in life!

"you can walk!" ...really?

the sketchbook project

if you're wondering what my 1EG sketchbook was all about (the 88 characters for the contest), here is some info. the sketchbook project:

Thousands of sketchbooks will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the country. After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view. 28838 artists from 94 countries around the world are participating. The tour starts February, 2011. All books will be included in an exhibition that tours the following cities: Brooklyn, NY Austin, TX San Francisco, CA Portland, ME Atlanta, GA Chicago, IL Washington, DC Winter Park, FL

Our Exhibitions are Interactive. The goal of the Project is to get blank sketchbooks into the artists' hands and then completed sketchbooks into the world for viewers to enjoy. We've taken the Project to task four times before, and our fifth go-around has some awesome improvements. We know where your book is at all times, and we're collecting statistics on who's looking at what - and where. We want you to feel connected to your book and the Project as it travels around the country.

It's a library. We'd like to think we're like librarians, wrangling with your book as you release it into the wild. We give the viewer a library card. They check a few books out, peruse through them, and return them to us. Wash, rinse, repeat. We make it easy for you and easy for them.

How we handle thousands of viewers and thousands of books. We use barcode scanners along with unique barcodes placed carefully on the inside back cover of each sketchbook. We hand-wrote a custom library system to catalog all the books, track the library cards, and handle viewers checking books out and returning them. No need to worry: we're professionals, and we've got it under control.

when i received my sketchbook, i was given a theme to run with, however i wished. my theme was "greatest story ever told." i picked it beforehand, and i thought it was a great one. i intended on coming with some kind of ongoing story, but of course as the deadline approached, i had less and less time and far too many pages to fill. i solved my problem by filling the pages with my 1EG's, since they are fast, pretty, and fantastic exercises. 1EG's, all of different characters from some of the greatest stories ever told: disney, tim burton, comics, greek mythology, cartoons, movies, so many more, the best of the best. what i love even more is that it has inspired me to continue making sketchbooks full of more of them. they're extremely therapeutic to draw, and i continuously lost myself for hours on end creating these favorite characters in my own special style. i'll never see my sketchbook again, unless i visit it at the library, which is sad since we all know how attached i grow to my art.. but it was a blast and i think many of you had fun figuring out who they each one was for my contest. (don't forget to email me with your address and which character you want a sketch of if you played.)

feel free to check out the set of 88 1EG characters on my flickr if you would still like to try and figure who each one is for yourself. i will eventually label each 1EG from the sketchbook, for anyone who's curious who exactly they all are. i should have kept to the "greatest story" theme with the front and back covers (photo at top) but i was pressed for time, which caused a lapse in judgement. i don't know what i was thinking. they are still pretty though. i have a ton of favorites, but two of my favorite outcomes (not necessarily the characters themselves) are gadget (rescue rangers) and meg (hercules). i should've given gadget a second arm, but i really love the way the two of them came out:

 obviously, i had to end the sketchbook with a one-eyed girl of myself! ...since i am clearly the epitome of "the greatest story ever told."

if only my wheelchair really looked that cool.

contest WINNER!

contest winner announcement time! first off, i have to be honest, i was delightfully surprised at how many people actually played my game since i know it was a little overwhelming how many characters there were. what i was even more impressed by were some of your answers. i was willing to accept somehat vague answers, as long as you prove to know who they are (meaning nick names, etc) but some of you gave such descriptive, accurate answers, and full names of the characters that even i didn't previously know. ha! some even researched. bravo. you've made me a giddy little lady. it was a pleasure looking through everyone's answers, seeing who knows which characters (and then judging your level of coolness based on which ones you know!) clearly, you are at the top of the coolness charts if you knew all of them, especially my two personal favorites (which seemed to be the toughest):

martian girl from mars attacks!

and gozer from ghostbusters

now for what we've all been waiting for. i did the old school pick a name out of a hat.. who gets an original 1EG painting of their favorite character from the contest??!?!?! the winner is........

chris arcari!

congrats! email me at kctararuj@gmail.com with your address and which character you want, and i will send you 8"x10" painting free of charge. 

as for the rest of you who played:  i want to give my thanks just for trying! anyone who tried, email me at kctararuj@gmail.com with your address and which character you want, and i will send you a free sketch, of the highest quality of course.

EVERYONE WINS! except me because now i have all these paintings and sketches to do.. for free.. who's idea was this anyway?  there will be more chances for free crap in the future, once i get started on my 2nd sketchbook full of brand new characters that will be even more difficult to figure out! :)

mutant of absorption

back in december, for paper doll romance's christmas giveaway, you might remember i donated a painting of a one-eyed girl for them to give as one of their prizes. the winner got to choose which character she wanted, and though i would've been happy to paint anyone, it does get tiresome to paint the same thing more than once.  it's something i try to avoid, but i am willing to do so as long as i can switch it up a bit and make some changes to make it unique. i was more than happy with the winner's decision for a rogue painting! i was eager to paint someone i hadn't painted before, and rogue was a very fun choice. i took this as an opportunity to play around with some techniques for painting the background. it ended up looking pretty typical (but still pretty, if i do say so myself) but it was a good little practice session.

and tomorrow, i'll be announcing the winner of my fun little game of naming 88 1EG's! be sure to find out tomorrow if YOU won, and you could win a painting as awesome as this!

valentine's and packers

i guess this week is valentine's week here on my blog.  today is my second day home from work sick, but i'm starting to feel a little better. thank the gods above! i tried so hard to fight off the sickness by keeping up my painting duties (mostly because i didn't have a choice.) and even though on monday, i felt absolutely horrible, i forced myself to decorate these adorable little cupcakes. i justified my stupidity with the argument that if i could sit through a whole day of work, i could make these. probably not the greatest judgement on my part, but i had been looking forward to making these on valentine's day for weeks, and i wasn't about to just shove them off because of a little sickness (okay, a big sickness.) sure, no one is going to want to eat my infected, germ infested, diseased cupcakes, but everyone can still admire how cute they look!

this idea came from the book, "hello, cupcake."  16 mini cupcakes placed in a heart-shaped candy box, decorated like chocolates and candies. i didn't even know valentine's candy corn existed until i made this. these were definitely fun and very easy to make, despite my head spinning the entire time.  my favorite part, of course, was making the "chocolates," which were cut up marshmallows dipped in and decorated with icing.  fun fact: i did not know how to spell marshmallows until about 30 seconds ago when blogger's spellcheck corrected me.... i spent 24 years thinking it was marshmellows.. my whole life has been a lie.

next up, i made cupcakes for the superbowl! i was rooting for the packers, since my darling boyfriend is one of those weirdos who have undying devotion to a team they have no connection to whatsover.  i'm talking about those people who get legitimately angry when things go wrong to the point where it ruins his entire day, and also refers to it as "his" team as if he had any part in it: "we did it!"

i mostly just wanted to make the little football cupakes, but added the green bay symbol thingy and some chunks of cheese for fun. the footballs were an idea i found on the "hello, cupcake" newsletter, where they share a different cupcake design every month. each football was made from a snickers and tootsie rolls dipped in and decorated with icing. they looked and tasted yummy

very happy the packers won because that made tim very happy. so happy in fact, that i strongly suggest you watch this pleasant little video that our friend tom recorded of tim's  reaction when the packers won....

mushy kaotic kritters

more mushy paintings.  these are the 3 kaotic kritter paintings that went along with the mushy 1EG's for the "love on bangs" art show in asbury.  i based them off of pre-existing kritters with a lovey dovey twist. 

 i hope everyone had a lovely valentine's day. i for one, did not. i spent the day dizzy and sick at work, followed by a night feeling even worse than the day before. i know i complain a lot, but i usually have a high tolerance for pain and sickness. i can't remember the last time it has lasted so strong for this long. i swear, i have had probably every symptom you could possibly have when sick, except maybe vomitting (knock on wood.) i just can't seem to get any better at all. i'm going to die.

back on a happy valentiney note, i got my very first valentine from a student at work! sure it was hanah montana, which kind of ruined it, but i was overjoyed when a little girl gave it to me. i will keep it forever. it says, "to ms. kasey."  the kids call me ms. t usually, but either title is just the cutest thing to hear ever. AND i did get to watch my movie, valentine, finally! unforunately, i was only half conscious the whole time and coudn't enjoy it at all.. but i finally watched it damnit, which is a step closer to my valentine's dream. maybe next year i'll be able to actually enjoy it.

mushy 1EG's!

happy valentine's day! love love love! here are 3 of the 6 "mushy" pieces i did for the "little bit of love on bangs" art show at the bdc in asbury park!

while i couldn't care less about valentine's day, i still like to pretend i celebrate it, as i do with many other holidays. seeing as i'm a sucker for mushy romantic crap, you'd think i'd be all about it. valentine's isn't cool anymore. my favorite part used to be picking out adorable little valentine's cards to pass out to my classmates in school. it would have been even better if it were like in the movies, where you give them to the boy you "like" and hope for them from the girl you "like".  

to celebrate valentine's day this year, i am going to continue drowning myself with pills and drugs to get rid of this nasty cold, make valentine's cupcakes after work (where i will hopefully have somewhat of a voice back and overcome my nonstop dizziness from the past few days), and most importantly, watch the horror movie valentine because who wouldn't want to see some ficticious murder on such a glorious day? oh, and i might hang out with tim for about ten minutes before i go to bed early.

i remember complaining last year about this stupid movie, valentine.  here's the story: two years ago, i wanted to watch it on valentine's day, so we went on a hunt at the movie store with no luck (probably because it's a crappy movie.) last year, i purchased it in advance from a used dvd store, saved it for months and months, and the night of february 14th, we were all ready to watch it, opened the dvd box and it was empty! my heart was crushed, and it was the worst valentine's disappointment of all time. i found it again, bought it (with the actual dvd inside this time) and i am prepared to watch it tonight and enjoy the hell out of it. i've been waiting 2+ years to watch this movie..who wants to bet that i fall asleep halfway through? .....stupid valentine's day.


(don't forget, today's the LAST day to play my game/contest and win free art! )

from the bottom of my heart

sunday is "from the bottom of my heart," an art show focusing on the darker side of love, going up at timeless tat2 in bordentown. art and tattoos are two of my favorite things ever, if not the two favorite things ever, so naturally i was determined to be in this show. i submitted my "shared" piece. i can't wait to see all of the artwork. we all should know by now how much i love dark and romantic, so this show sounds like it's right up my alley. i would have loved to make a brand new piece for this since i adore the theme so much, but i haven't had the time (big surprise.)  timeless tat2 is the lovely shop where i get all my beautiful tattoos! everyone is super nice, the shop is awesome, and they do amazing work, especially chris stumpf who has done all of my favorite tattoos. this is probably going to spark up my addiction and inspire me to start designing a new tattoo right away...

check out the show:
sunday, feb 13
4 pm - 9 pm
5 mission road unit #3
bordentown, nj

feel free to visit the facebook event page. or stop by the shop to see the show any time until april 1.

also, you still have a few more days to enter my contest! hurry up and identify all 88 of my 1EG's! get it done fast for a chance to win a free painting or sketch of any one character from the series. click here for details and rules NOW!

hi-ho, silver!

commissioned back to the future paintings ! the second of two, both are 11"x 14" layered acrylic paintings, which unforunately doesn't come across well in the photo, but keep in mind there is some dimension to it! the deloreon, 2-3 indians, and some "dust" are on glass raised about an inch above the landscape background. got to love that depth!

photos of each layer:

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=

this scene is from the third movie, when marty's being chased by indians immediately upon going back in time. i was dreading painting the little indians, they were a pain, but i got it. this time, i got the right version of the delorean on the first try....

1.21 gigawatts

commissioned back to the future paintings ! the first of two, both are 11"x 14" layered acrylic paintings, which unforunately doesn't come across well in the photo, but keep in mind there is some dimension to it! the deloreon, flames, and lightning are on glass raised about an inch above the town background. got to love that depth!

here are some photos of each layer to give a better idea of how it really looks.

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=

this scene is from the first movie, when doc and marty go back to the future! with the famous clock tower and of course, the delorean (which i almost gave a die-hard fan a completely incorrect painting by painting the deloreon from a later movie... thank you tim..)

i wish you could see these in person!

back to the future art !

who's ready for some awesome back to the future art?! i am! after the autumn society's recent fantastic 3G show at gallery 1988 in los angeles, i was contacted by a pop-art collector, specifically of back to the future. he is clearly a very serious back to the future fan, and after seeing my glorious 3-dimensional 3G pieces (take a look back if you haven't seen them!), this nice fella commissioned me to make some back to the future art in the same 3D style. considering how much i loved working on those pieces and even more how much i loved the outcomes, i jumped on the opportunity to make more. basically, for these, i painted them in layers: the background, and the second layer raised above about an inch on glass. it's really tough to get the true vibe of the painting in these photos. they are infinitely cooler in person.

he gave me a lot of freedom, which is always nice. he basically just stated he is a sucker for anything dealing with the delorean and thought the indian scene would be cool. i rewatched each movie looking for good screenshots with the delorean somewhere in the picture.  as much as i do enjoy the movies, i'm not a fanatic for them and i don't know them all that well, so luckily i had my handy dandy boyfriend help me with little details and suggestions.  i sent over some concepts and sketches and he chose which ones he wanted. and viola! a million years later, i finished.

they were a blast to make, and i can't help but obsess over the 3D look. please check out the individual posts dedicated to each painting, with some info about the painting and photos of each layer to get a better feel for the piece. it is vital that you do so! "1.21 gigawatts" and "hi-ho, silver!"
there are so, so so many more movie scenes that need to be recreated!

hello my name is !

this past saturday was the "little bit of love on bangs" art show at the bdc in asbury park! i was highly impressed by a lot of the artwork and stoked to have the chance to be a part of it.  i figure what better way to celebrate than by (finally) posting photos from the last (and first) show i participated in with them in january, the"hello my name is" art show!

my six pieces along the wall! the show had a great turn out, and i happily got some good feedback from people at the show. some crazy girl put a deposit down on my "in tatters" painting, but she ended up flaking out because...she was crazy. no big deal, i'm always secretly relieved when my art doesn't sell. i have this unbreakable bond with each and every piece and i become torn when something sells. (but i'd rather have my soul crushed and sell it, since i want everyone everywhere enjoy my pride and joys!)

the artwork on the right are some of rich falkiewicz's pieces, who curated and allowed me to participate in this fine show. his pieces were actually my favorite in the show. he has a really fantastic style, which you'll see again later in photos from the "love on bangs" show.  

there are timmy's 4 pieces on the right. his lego man sold! congrats to you, tym!

and a few more photos of the show. ta-da!  fun show. fun times. thanks to rich, tom, nick, etc at the bdc! photos from the valentine's show coming soon! (soon meaning eventually.)

KAOTIC KRITTER Art Show

happy monday! here is a super delayed thank you to everyone who came to my kaotic kritter show at the redhorse gallery in freehold mall: thank you! here are some photos incase you missed it! which is most of you. (tisk tisk.) i always love to show there, and it was a nice and quiet show. the night of the opening, i sold 3 paintings. the show recently ended and was taken down, with a total of 7 sold paintings... including my baby sugartooth. i miss him already, my life feels so empty without him. sugartooth is my panda, who is easily my favorite kritter of all time. don't get me wrong, i'm beyond psyched that someone else loved him as much as i do, enough to buy him. but he will be missed.

 

the best part about the opening was the girl scout troop who were checking out my work.  this is my favorite picture because she's pointing at the love of my life, sugartooh. the girls were cute. they went around and each picked their 2 favorite kritters. it was fun for me to hear which ones they liked most. being a girl scout rocks. i miss those days. seriously,  girl scouts do the coolest activities and events ever. my mom was my troop leader, obviously making her the raddest troop leader ever. i wish i was still in girl scouts so i could have slumber parties at the philadelphia zoo and liberty science center, all over again. those were the days.

after some pieces sold, i went back and brought some new ones so it got switched up a bit.  the gallery ladies told me i got some good feedback from wandering shoppers. hope to have more shows with them in the future!

update:  might i also mention, thomas castles from patch.com wanted to interview me about the kaotic kritter show.  feel free to read the article here, as long as you promise not to make fun of my cheese-tastic mushy answers.

little bit o love on bangs !

i've been making some valentiney mini paintings to keep myself busy and motivated.... and for tomorrow night's "little bit o love on bangs" ! i've been working on a series of paintings, all in the same color scheme. i like to think of them as my little valentine's series.  they look pretty fantastic together. love these colors. here's a sneak preview above: a new edition of an old kaotic kritter favorite, squiddles!

and here is all the info for the love on bangs dillio:


"Little Bit O Love on Bangs" Valentine's Day Gift and Art show!!!


Bull Dog Clip Productions in conjunction with DougZ, Warren Curtain Realty, Gallery 13, Xstyles Art Studio, and ReBearth Art Supply proudly present a variety of Valentine's Day gifts, kitsch, and themed art from some of our favorite local artists and craftsfolk... You might just find the perfect thing for your special someone, for yourself, or to decorate your house!
Come join the festivities Saturday February 5th from 6:11pm-10...pm!!

You never know what might happen at a BDC event... and this promises to be just as lively!
Music will be provided by Stringbean and the Stalkers!!!!!!!
***********!!!!Participating Artist List!!!!***************

Doug Z, (www.dougzart.com)
Christine Busch (thefix.com)
T.J. Reddick
Ellen Martin
MARS tni
DEZO TC5
BOEN
Meg Jupiter
ZINK (XStyles Studios)
Chris Hartsgrove
Skoti Brendel
“Knowledge”
Chainsaw Ed
K.SO, (www.StinkCheeseMassive.com)
Richard "Fun Angel" Falkiewicz (BDC Art Dept.)
Jonas Exume
Demond Williams
Marissa Woodrow
Dylan Wise
Tim Smracowicz (re
BEARTH Art Supply)
Josiah "Pirate/Ninja" Chenowith (BDC Art Dept.)
DE3, 357 (Bronx Graf artist)
RD, 357 (Manhattan Graf Legend)
Kasey Tararuj



611 bangs ave. asbury park, nj. feel free to visit the love on bangs facebook invite here.