Art By KC

zeeke

2012-02-03T00:00:00.002-05:00

meet zeeke! this one goes out to all you fan boys and girls out there. zeeke is the awesomest fanboy donkey you'll ever meet. zeeke is a customized munny that i made for my geek sister recently. see if you can pick out and recognize all the awesome references in this little geek. i tried to tastefully squeeze in as many as possible in the short amount of time i had. he's pretty fantastic.

okay, if you haven't been able to pick them all out yet, there's..... ghostbusters (hat), lord of the rings (foot tattoo and book), star wars (light saber and tattoo), comic con (pass and poster tube), super mario (mushroom patch), simpsons (t-shirt), harry potter (scar, glasses, and book), x-men (comic book), and the hobbit (book). and yet, there should have been so much more geekiness.

pangy

2012-01-31T00:00:00.002-05:00

here's a recent commission i was excited to create. this is pangy, the pangolin (scaly anteater) !

pangy is a customized 3" kidrobot dunny. my favorite thing about customizing toys is trying to figure out new and unique ways to use the orginal platform. in this one, the dunny "ears" turned into a snout and hat. if you don't know what a dunny is, look it up!

cake pops

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

cake pops! the newest "art form" i've been playing with lately. here are my first three attempts. babies (design from bakerella), zombies, and super mario. they make really cute treats, but are unbelievably time consuming. those mushrooms took up an entire day to make. i'd say they're hard to make, but i can't decide whether or not i'm confusing hard with time consuming. a lot more practice and maybe my cake pops will look amazing and not so lumpy !

doggie style

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

some doggie commissions! though not my preferred style to paint, still fun exercises.

chuck

2012-01-26T00:00:00.001-05:00

puppy dog commission !

the dancing goat

2012-01-25T00:00:00.001-05:00

the dancing goat! a recent commission, and actually the very last piece i finished in 2011! this figure was made from the body of a foomi and head of a raffy (i think..) this was made to be given as a gift to the piano and singer the band the dancing goat, hence him being a dancing goat.

check out the dancing goat here: http://www.dancinggoatsband.com

sir flossalot

2012-01-24T00:00:00.003-05:00

sir flossalot! this is a recent commission i did, i believe it was a gift to be given to a dentist or dental hygienist. like my other shark customs (hammy mcchum and dopey), sir flossalot has real life extra sharp shark's teeth. another great white, but this isn't the end of my shark pieces.

cuttleink

2012-01-23T00:00:00.002-05:00

meet cuttleink. cuttleink the cuttlefish is a tortured soul, haunted by his relentless crabby little friend. he can't control himself.

cuttleink is made from the head of a kidrobot foomi, with lots of fun additions and an inky base.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACCEPTANCE!

2012-01-20T11:50:00.000-05:00

**Help us spread the word! Please forward this email to your friends and family. Ask them to do the same.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACCEPTANCE - January 20, 2012To achieve social acceptance of disability.
To honor the late Annie Hopkins, founder of 3E Love and creator of the International Symbol of Acceptance.

3E Love is a social entrepreneurial awareness experiment.

Join the Movement at
http://www.dayofacceptance.com

What is Acceptance?
Acceptance is an Empowered movement that Educates others to Embrace diversity and Love life by seeing beyond abilities.

Friends, tell the world you embrace who you are; a person with social rights, who has an opinion, who has interests, who has goals and who loves life; a person who is empowered to make a difference in the world and not be without a voice in society. You are not living disabled, you are living.

To our supporters, join us in telling the world that you are accepting of people with disabilities. As our parents, siblings, relatives, spouses, children, lovers, coworkers, teachers, personal assistants, friends, and anyone else - you also have a role in our culture and life. And you can have an impact on the future if you demonstrate your acceptance to others.

Let's join together to:
Embrace diversity. Educate your community. Empower each other.Love life.

Start the conversation of acceptance TODAY!

Help promote social acceptance of disability today on January 20th:

Forward this e-mail to your friends, family, and professional networks.
Share the message on Facebook. Change your profile pic for just 1 day!
Tweet about it! #dayofacceptance
Wear your heart on your sleeve or draw it on your hand!

When a person asks about the symbol, "What's that mean?" Well now it's your turn to tell them your story!

And maybe next time they will look at the traditional symbol a little differently.

For more information about January 20th and how you can join the movement, visit http://3elove.com

p.r. burgerson

2012-01-18T21:23:00.000-05:00

meet p.r. burgerson!

this is a customized kidrobot bub toy that i made for my dad for christmas. i'm going to turn everyone i know into a toy collector if it kills me! i ran with the idea from my runts figure with the food stuffed in the mouth. my dad is the kind of guy who loves to eat and watch tv... and those are pretty much the only hobbies i've seen him enjoy. so this is the perfect piece for him. this was a really fun character to make.

chester

2012-01-17T00:00:00.001-05:00

meet chester, the mini giraffe.

hotbreath magazine feature!

2012-01-12T10:04:00.002-05:00

a few months ago, i competed in a live art battle at the taj mahal in atlantic city and created the golden pig trophy for the world's greatest flame off glass art competition. one of the perks of winning the art battle was a feature in hot breath magazine, which is now out and available to read online HERE! the write up for the glass blowing competition starts on page 74-81, but more importantly, my write up and interview starts on page 82-86!

Volume 2 of HotBreath Magazine is available online! Click Here For The Full Online Edition. (Best viewed on a computer versus a mobile device)

disclaimer. warning. by the way. sidenote. ps: the subject matter and content of the magazine is not of my interest. whereas i pass no judgement, it's just not my thing. i'm only here for the art! :)

3e love on january 20th

2012-01-11T00:00:00.004-05:00

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACCEPTANCE - January 20, 2012
To achieve social acceptance of disability.
To honor the late Annie Hopkins, founder of 3E Love and creator of the International Symbol of Acceptance.
3E Love is a social entrepreneurial awareness experiment.

Join the Movement at
http://www.dayofacceptance.com

Wear your heart on your sleeve on January 20th.

Tell the world you embrace who you are; a person with social rights, who has an opinion, who has interests, who has goals and who loves life; a person who is empowered to make a difference in the world and not be without a voice in society. You are not living disabled, you are living.

To our supporters: Join us in telling the world that you are accepting of people with disabilities. As our parents, siblings, relatives, spouses, children, lovers, coworkers, teachers, personal assistants, friends, and anyone else - you also have a role in our culture and life. And you can have an impact on the future if you demonstrate your acceptance to others.

Let's join together to:
Embrace diversity. Educate your community. Empower each other. Love life.

Start the conversation of acceptance on January 20th with the International Symbol of Acceptance: Wear a t-shirt. A hoodie. Use a bag. Pin a button to your jacket, chair strap or backpack. Ink a temporary tattoo onto your hand. Draw it on if you have to! Ask your friends to join us as well. And for a final touch change your profile picture on Facebook to the symbol. Get people talking!

When a person asks about the symbol, "What's that mean?" Well now it's your turn to tell them your story or what its significance is to you.

And maybe next time they will look at the traditional symbol a little differently.

Fore more information about 3E Love, visit http://3elove.com

Spread the word about January 20th on Facebook. Invite your friends to attend.
http://www.facebook.com/events/301700816533492/

dopey

2012-01-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

meet dopey! the lime green tiger shark. i love him for his big doofey mouth and overflowing teeth. made with very real (and very sharp) sharks teeth, might i add. i made dopey by customizing one of frank kozik's prison chumps, a shark figure that i made into my very own.

more sharks on the way!

mr. shroomz

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

this is mr. shroomz. i made him for a friend who likes to hunt mushrooms in the woods and then eat them. (weirdo.) to make mr. shroomz, i customized one of joe ledbetter's finders keepers figures. i would have liked to make more additions to the face to lessen the resemblance to the initial joe ledbetter figure, but my christmas deadline wouldn't allow it. he's still awesome.

they will surf again - virginia beach

2012-01-04T00:00:00.001-05:00

after seeing LRO's video the other day, i got the itch to surf again. as if i didn't hate winter enough already, i am again aching to get back into the icy cold ocean. i love to tell people about my experiences surfing (thanks to life rolls on and they will surf again) because it instantly became truly one of my favorite things to do. after being deprived of playing in the ocean for 11 years, how could it not be? the most common reaction i get from people (though normally awkward and hesitant) is a confused look and the question "how?" i never got a chance to share my 2nd surfing experience in virgina beach in august... so here it is, your step by step for how to surf with no legs. adaptive surfing:

step 1 (top left): be pushed in big, bulky awkward beach wheelchair into the water. hugs and cuddle time with LRO volunteers as they pick up surfer.

step 2 (top right): lots of physical contact with LRO volunteers who gently drop surfer down onto surfboard. everyone is watching.

step 3 (bottom left): more romantic touching while overwhelming fear and panic sets in as the ice cold water takes away any little sensation surfer had left.

step 4 (bottom right): even more contact: hand on surfer's butt for ultimate intimacy... and to ensure surfer doesn't fall off as it's time to head out to sea.

step 5 (below): go team go! team fights the tough angry ocean and pulls surfer and board out. surfer can paddle, but this one does nothing to help... except hold on for dear life, get piercing splashes of salt water up her nose and shivers uncontrollably. gratefully and happily, of course.

step 6 (below): time to ride waves! favorite team member and friend holds onto back of board, kicks, and guides board to shore. ensures surfer does not drown and die.

step 7 (below): about 5 dozen volunteers chase or run after surfer to catch at end of wave. almost impossible to fall off board when there are so many helping hands.

step 8 (below): training wheels come off and time to ride wave all alone like a big girl!

step 9 (below): lack of training wheels leads to near death experience. crash, fear, panic turned into excitement and fun. (it was actually really fun to fall off and bob in the water until someone came to scoop me.)

step 10 (above): honeymoon style. to the rescue! my hero!

step 11: get back on board. ride new wave. repeat again and again and again! happiness on the ocean.

that's it! lots of help from the absolutely amazing volunteers. this wouldn't be possible without them. i can't show enough gratitude.

i can't imagine how simple (perhaps unexciting?) this may seem to many people. even though we can't do it the "normal" way, it's magical. possibly even more magical. life rolls on has given so many of us a chance to experience something i'm sure we all thought we'd never be able to again. i don't get emotional over many things, but thinking about this and how i felt gets me all warm and happy on the inside.

blizzy

2012-01-03T00:00:00.003-05:00

happy, happy new year! i hope everyone had a lovely new years. i ended my year and started the new by watching lots of 60's romantic comedies. i also have a newfound love for elvis presley and i am open for any great classic movie suggestions. please. my new obsession has brought me to some fun art ideas, which i'll have to work on in the hopefully near, near future!

this is another custom i did for the holiday season. this is blizzy, the hippo-dino-thing? he loves to play in the snow, but unfortunately for the snow, he also likes to eat it. poor snowflake.

i made blizzy using kidrobot's kracka figure, but i turned the head backwards and worked with it that way. i thought it was a better shape for a wide mouthed kritter.

poor little snowflake. think about him the next time you feel like catching those little tiny delicate snowflakes and melting them on your tongue.

christmas cheer

2011-12-30T02:50:00.001-05:00

before the spirit of christmas fully fades, here's one last christmasy post for the year. a few months ago, my mom and i took a two-day glass blowing class. a new form of art i have always wanted to try. i did experience some glass blowing while making the golden pig trophy, but that method was a bit to much and seemingly physically impossible for me to do on my own. this class we took was much easier and really fun... despite the horrible lack of skill for glass blowing i realized i have. we made ornaments.

it's very simple, but don't quote me or takes notes because i'm not giving very accurate or informative directions here. you start off with a clear tube with a long bubble on the end (as seen in the photo above.) pour in one or several colors. spin it around over a torch flame until the colors start to glow. blow into the end of the pipe. and repeat! if you're like me, you'll blow the worst shapes of all time. or you'll leave it in the flame too long and break them. after you blow the glass and it cools, you'll cut off the long tube and have a beautiful ornament! or in my case, just an ornament.

there are 2 of my ornaments. i tried to hide them well in my childish mess of a christmas tree. i'll have to try again in the future, it really was fun to experiment with. unlike me, some people in the class really came out with some gorgeous ornaments. i reccomend it to anyone, artistic or not, who wants to try something new and fun.

secondly. i took 2 seconds out of my busy schedule to make cheesy custom ornaments this year. i "customized" (if you could call it that) a kidrobot dunny to be a sparkly little piece for our tree. i wanted to create something really unique and special, realized i had literally no time, resulting in this glittery little mess.

third and finally! my christmas cupcakes this year. melted different colored candy, and while they're still liquid hot, sprinkle some sprinkleys on them. add green icing and you have christmas lights.

hope everyone had a merry christmas, happy holidays.

and have a happy new year!

the snake

2011-12-29T01:46:00.002-05:00

my version of a laughing boy comics character.

i had doubles of a snake-like figure by nathan jurevicius, so i put it to good use.

madam sandy

2011-12-28T02:21:00.000-05:00

this is madam sandy. the ultimate beach bum. she squeezes her sexy voluptuous figure into her tiny polka dot bikini and is not afraid to get a little dirty as she searches the sandy beach for treasures.

i made this customized kidrobot bub specially for my sister, who lives at the beach and spends every moment possible hunting for her "treasures", which mostly consists of sharks teeth. my special addition to the figure was real sand, real sharks teeth and tiny shells.

customs

2011-12-27T00:00:00.002-05:00

it has been a busy, busy month. the busiest. christmas is over, so it's finally time to start sharing my most recent pieces !

life rolls on

2011-12-26T00:00:00.001-05:00

watch this video: http://vimeo.com/30918014

We are LRO from Life Rolls On on Vimeo.

time to find out how to get myself on some skis.

merry christmas!

2011-12-24T10:46:00.000-05:00

last year i gave my family a calendar full of crappy but amusing family portraits designed for each month. i've been posting some each month for each holiday. here's december! merry christmas!

gingerbread men

2011-12-23T14:48:00.001-05:00

annual tradition with my long time best bud ! we've been making gingerbread houses/men every year since... a long time ago. i think we started sometime during my early college years. love it. the top row is mine. see our other gingerbread men from the past 2 years here. merry, merry christmas

winter bulletins

2011-12-21T00:00:00.005-05:00

this is the first year i've had to juggle my massive overload of christmas art-making with a full time job. it's not fun.

but i still love my job and the fact that i get to make these to brighten up the office! i love using neon paper, which doesn't come across so well in the photos, so take my word that the almost blinding bright colors are what make these even better...

i made these adorable bulletin boards after sketching these little ones below for our work holiday party invitation.

paper doll romance giveaway

2011-12-19T00:00:00.004-05:00

it's that time again. paper doll romance's 12 days of christmas giveaway. this is the drawing i did for some lucky, lucky winner. for a chance to win my pretty one-eyed girl or one of the many other awesome gifts, you need to comment on any post, "like" them on facebook, or write on their wall. good luck!

about paper doll romance: We are Jen & Saira - two best friends from central New Jersey who happen to be obsessed with all things "girly". This includes everything from purses and jewelry to wedding dresses and beyond... consider yourselves warned.

update: my drawing was given away today, visit pdr's post today to read a short interview of yours truly.

sonic generation art show

2011-12-15T00:00:00.003-05:00

earlier this month, the sonic generation art show opened at brave new worlds in philly. i regrettably missed the opening, but here are some photos of the show. absolutely love the sonic border along the pedestals and bottom. huge thanks to chris beaumont for putting this fantastic show together!

check out some coverage from TSSZ News (http://www.tssznews.com/2011/12/05/inside-the-sonic-generation-art-show/) and Destuctoid (http://www.destructoid.com/classy-sonic-art-at-the-sonic-generation-show-in-philly-217423.phtml).

lastly, don't forget to check out the site full of the show's artwork: http://sonicgenerationart.com/

my little guys.

live painting

2011-12-14T00:00:00.004-05:00

the night before thanksgiving, i did my second live painting. i was a little less prepared for this than the last one, the freezing wind through the open doors caused uncontrollable shivering, and the turnout wasn't quite what we'd hoped, but it was fun. i do think the time limit and pressure is what made it so great last time! i have been using my recent one-eyed girl paintings as experiments for ways to play with and apply paint. i tried a thicker outline on this one, which i'm not sure i'm a fan of. along with my live painting, i had a very random assortment of artwork on display in the shop. despite the small turn out, i was happy with the positive feedback i received.

with my live creation.. and some kind of weird smirk.

tree pump

2011-12-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

my 6th and final piece in the rise up gallery art exhibition! this is possibly my favorite, but it's a toss up between this one and the bees knees. wanted to paint several more of these "tree" paintings and i plan to once my christmas art rush is over. i'm anxious to share a ton of new work after the holidays!

once again, feel free to stop by 280 grove street, jersey city to check out the awesome show of artwork by artists with paralysis for the entire month of december. www.riseupgallery.com

the bees knees

2011-12-12T00:00:00.011-05:00

the bees knees. 24"x 30"

my 5th of 6 pieces in the rise up gallery art exhibition, which opened this past thursday at city hall rotunda gallery in jersey city. this painting is one of my personal favorites in a while.

the opening was fantastc. i met and chatted with the other artists and lots of other cool people. more on that later, with photos to come. stop by 280 grove street, jersey city to check out the show for the entire month of december !

www.riseupgallery.com

drink n draw 1EG

2011-12-09T00:00:00.001-05:00

recently, a friend put together "drink n draw." a fun night of drinking and drawing. i got to the bar to find shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and as usual, my awkward personality pushed itself to the surface (which is not far)... so i felt too self conscious to draw very much.

here's my sad n lonely, one n only drawing from drink n draw!

rise up gallery art exhibition!

2011-12-08T00:00:00.002-05:00

earth air fire water! earth air fire water!

TONIGHT!

"Rise Up Gallery will be showcasing art at the City Hall Rotunda Gallery in Jersey City for the entire month of December and Thursday, December 8th will be the opening night reception! Come support an amazing organization and help us reach our goal of opening an ADAPTIVE ART THERAPY STUDIO in April 2012!"

6-9 pm

280 Grove St

Jersey City, NJ

www.riseupgallery.com

facebook event

"Rise Up Gallery is a collection of artwork created by artists with disabilities. Proceeds go toward Quality of Life Grants for individuals living with paralysis, Research Grants to Medical Institutions searching for a Cure to Paralysis, and an Adaptive Community Art Space."

water

2011-12-07T00:00:00.001-05:00

water. 24"x 30"

4 of 6 pieces in the rise up gallery art exhibition, opening this thursday!

6-9 pm

280 Grove St

Jersey City, NJ

www.riseupgallery.com

facebook event

fire

2011-12-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

fire. 24"x 36"

3 of 6 pieces in the rise up gallery art exhibition, opening this thursday!

6-9 pm

280 Grove St

Jersey City, NJ

www.riseupgallery.com

facebook event

air

2011-12-05T00:00:00.002-05:00

air. 24" x 36"

2 of 6 pieces in the rise up gallery art exhibition, opening this thursday!

6-9 pm

280 Grove St

Jersey City, NJ

www.riseupgallery.com

facebook event

earth

2011-12-04T02:11:00.002-05:00

earth. 24" x 30"

1 of 6 pieces in the rise up gallery art exhibition, opening this thursday!

6-9 pm

280 Grove St

Jersey City, NJ

www.riseupgallery.com

facebook event

sonic generation

2011-12-02T00:00:00.005-05:00

sonic generations opening TONIGHT at brave new worlds in philly! my two customs for the show. visit yesterday's post for more photos of my 4" figures.

visit http://sonicgenerationart.com/ for more info and other pieces in the show!

sonic and tails

2011-12-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

two custom toys for the sonic generation show opening TOMORROW at brave new worlds in philly! i decided to try something new with these pop-culture based shows by customizing kidrobot's foomi and trikky figures into the sonic and tails characters. it's the first time i've created popular existing characters, and i now have a better idea of what i want and how i want to go about it next time for future characters.

visit the website and see some other work for the show: http://sonicgenerationart.com/

pappy

2011-11-30T00:00:00.010-05:00

meet pappy the platypus. a few years ago, i sculpted him. a few months ago, i painted him. a few weeks ago, i glued him together. a few days ago, i photographed him.

or something like that. this happens a lot with the pieces i want to make for no reason, for fun. but he's finally done!

and he's spiffy.

the original figure and my additions:

(customized a free vinyl toy i once received)

feature in tcnj magazine

2011-11-29T00:00:00.002-05:00

i was recently featured in tcnj's magazine, where a brief story of my recent and current life was told beautifully from the magazine's writer molly petrilla. i'm normally horribly embarrassed when i read or look at anything with the focus on me, but this was very well done. take a look and have a read by clicking the image above or following the link to the article here.

snugglepus (finished)

2011-11-28T00:00:00.001-05:00

i finally finished my snugglepus piece. he couldn't stand on his own so i had to make a base for him. here it is:

happy thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T00:00:00.002-05:00

november's sketch for the ridiculous calendar i made for my family of us at thanksgiving

...with my dad as the turkey.

why isn't it safe for turkeys to do math?

2011-11-23T00:00:00.001-05:00

this is my funny funny bulletin board at work i did for thanksgiving. i couldn't have done it without the 2nd grade teacher and her turkey joke book! hilarious.

live on thanksgiving eve

2011-11-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

coraline

2011-11-21T00:00:00.002-05:00

i am really itching to make my 1EG coraline painting..

rise up gallery art exhibition

2011-11-18T13:21:00.000-05:00

princess 1EG's

2011-11-16T00:42:00.000-05:00

after recently posting my princess painting, i realized i've never shared princess series on my blog. i made these in the very beginning when i first started my one-eyed girl series. each princess, with some sort of relation to the background. i think you can tell how early on these are, especially seeing as my version of cinderella has 2 legs. one of the only 2-legged 1EG's i've done (if not the only one). i will always love this series.

i've been wanting to do a villain series for quite some time, in the same way as these. you can see some sketches i've done already here. i'll get to painting them one of these days... so much i want to do, so little time!

custom pez

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

new custom pez commission !

hershey's hotdogs!

2011-11-11T11:08:00.000-05:00

last year, i did a commission of someone's pup, hershey, who loves coffee. they wanted another, this time showing his love for hot dogs. it's always more fun with that little extra thing!

lbc pin up 4

2011-11-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

my last of 4 pin ups for laughing boy comics! check out 1-3 here.

then go read some laughing boy comics.

live painting at the taj mahal

2011-11-08T00:00:00.008-05:00

as i briefly mentioned, i recently completed my first live painting at the casbah nightclub in the taj mahal in atlantic city, nj. not only was it the largest painting i've done in years, but it was also timed while i competed against other artists. only an hour and a half for a 3ft by 5ft painting. it was nerve wrecking considering i've never done anything live before or a painting of that size in such a short time. the pressure made it more exciting and it was an absolute blast. seeing as the canvas was about as tall as me, i was worried about being able to physically paint it. i was grateful to have my handy dandy helpers pick it up onto the easel so i could paint the bottom, and drop it to the ground so i could paint the top, and back and forth and back and forth. i couldn't have done it without them! thank you team lavarubber and sister dearest nicole!

competing against 2 other artists in the "art battle," we each had 45 minutes with a 15 minute break, followed by the final 45 minutes. crowds of people surrounded us, but luckily i had my back facing so i had no idea just how many people watching me there actually were. i surprisingly ended up finishing with a good amount of time to spare. i painted a one-eyed girl genie, i felt it would be best considering the size and time limit. plus, i have been wanting to make a larger scaled painting of a 1EG for some time. people loved it. the crowd voted for the winner by giving their favorite painting a card, whoever received the most cards wins. i was thrilled when at the end, people were just tossing them at me and showering me with compliments. i did end up winning, which was awesome. the best part about this was for the remainder of the night and the following day, at the club, the casinos, the hotel, tons of people came up to me to talk about my painting. i was thrilled to have my artwork, especially my 1EG (my favorite to paint), get so much positive attention. it was pretty amazing. i am looking forward to my next live painting (thanksgiving eve...? details soon!)

the finished piece:

the following day, the 3 paintings were set up at the expo for a silent auction. i was psyched to have my piece quickly bid on and sold :)

a fresh take

2011-11-07T00:00:00.003-05:00

this thursday, i'm participating in "a fresh take" where artists take a fresh look at a classic. i'll be showing my piece above, which is my take on the classic disney princesses. it's not a brand new piece, but i thought it was perfect for the show. info for the show below!

happy halloween !

2011-11-04T00:00:00.001-04:00

a few days late, but i guess this has to be the last (of too few) halloween posts for this year. i'm sad to see halloween go once again. i almost forgot about this drawing, but absolutely felt the need to post it. last year, i made a drawing for each month of the year illustrating my family for each season. this was my brilliant october/halloween illustration. and it's awesome.

i've really been slacking off on some significant posts about disabilities. i really feel as though i have a lot to share and inform lately, but instead, here's my wheelchair costume this year. excuse the goof face. the flintstones car has been done plenty of times before, but i had planned to make it more exciting by adding fred's giant ribs to the side. unfortunately, not only did i not have the time to finish the car, i didn't even get to start the ribs. but it was fun nonetheless, and seeing how ridiculous tim looked in my homemade dino costume made it worth it as well.

how to:

the car is made of cardboard, paint, and some ginormous tube from home depot. the roof of dowels with torn fabric glued to it. fred: oversized orange shirt with painted black triangles. torn apart blue fabric glued together for tie. dino: matching pink/purple pants, shirt, and sweatshirt (for extra fabric only). sweatshirt sleeve torn off and filled with stuffing and pinned to pants for tail. black spots painted on sides and back of shirt. for collar: blue fabric with painted yellow tag. for head: white foam sheets spray painted skintone and glued to visor in shape of 3D snout, with pink foam tongue hanging down. styrofoam ovals with black paper for eyes surrounded with fabric from sweatshirt, draping down the back and sides to velcro under chin for hood-like piece. three black paper "hairs" glued to top of head.

if anyone ever wants to give it a shot, feel free to email me with any questions, because that was the worst explanation ever.

so a bit of a disappointment this year, but i'll get back on track next year. make sure you check out my costumes of halloween past. though nothing will ever beat my amazing peewee and chairy costume from a few years ago. which i happily won runner up (and some goodies) for in the strange kids club halloween homemade costume contest this year. thanks to SKC, you rock.

(the runner ups)

i hope everyone enjoyed their halloweens. show off your homemade costumes!

golden pig

2011-11-02T00:38:00.000-04:00

here is the finished GOLDEN PIG trophy i made for the flame-off glass blowing competition. see the completed competing pieces and vote for the winner here. i had no doubt i could make an awesome greedy pig, complete with pure gold accessories and golden highlights. i got together with glass blower jason harris at hotsand to create the base. not actually knowing anything about glass blowing or what could be done with the medium, i was caught offguard when i was asked to design the base. the outcome was pretty, but not quite what i envisioned, so i got a little worried when i had to turn it into a trophy. i almost didn't even use it, but i'm glad i did (with some extra additions) since i was a part of it's creation and i think it means more as a trophy for a glass blowing competition. i hope and i think i worked it out well and had a great outcome.

(it looks better in person. but i guess, doesn't it always?)

some photos of our glassblowing session at hot sand with jason harris. brainstorming:

the original platform of the pig, before i got my hands on it:

about to start blowing some glass:

photo of the trophy at the actual event, with some awesome glass blowing going on.

thanks again to jason harris and lava rubber!

next up will be photos of the event's afterparty, where i did a live painting battle against 2 other very talented artists! and won :)

happy halloween cupcakes!

2011-10-31T00:00:00.002-04:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! here are my halloween cupcakes this year. you can tell i had no time by the looks of these cupcakes.. store bought candies, toothpick zombies, and messy pumpkins. but they are festive and i love halloween! everyone go celebrate with a horror movie and trick or treaters!

so i obviously should have added some gravestones and brains.. but i had no time. next time. i have plenty of zombie toothpicks left over to do so.

my rushing resulted in messy pumpkins, but they are pumpkin cupcakes (made by sister dl!) so i had to try to make them look like pumpkins. design is from "hello, cupcake" book with some alterations (lack of materials). i like to think these looked better in person.

i would have loved to make my own candies for these, but no time. again. these i just wanted to try out the color spray mist. definitely a fun addition to cupcakes that i'll have to experiment with in the future.

halloweeny

2011-10-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

october has brought me a lot of unexpected and wonderful things to keep me overly occupied. i didn't get to do much halloweeny stuff this year, like haunted houses and pumpkins, as i usually do. i had to make up for it by spending a few days at work making halloweeny bulletin boards! i work at 2 schools, so that means 2 bulletin boards. hey, at least i get to incorporate some artsy fun sometimes into my non-art related job.

leela

2011-10-26T17:10:00.001-04:00

those of you who are anxiously wondering why i haven't posted, this precious tiny little face is the reason. this is leela, my 6 month old australian terrier, the cutest, sweetest, most snuggley puppy of all time. daily posts will resume as soon as possible, but bear with me while i adjust to our new life together !

THE ICONOCLASTIC DEAD PREMIERE

2011-10-21T00:00:00.001-04:00

a video of the show i recently participated in, the ICONOCLASTIC DEAD premiere by Rafael "Dr Charro" Morales below. a great video, with amazing music. a video that i'm excited shows every piece of artwork! we can all feel like we were there in mexico to see the for the show ourselves :)

READ THE AUTUMN SOCIEY'S POST HERE:

It is with great pleasure and honor to announce the beginning of the Autumn Society Mexico. For starters, The Autumn Society's "THE ICONOCLASTIC DEAD" show was a big success in Mexico City! So much so, that we have signed on for several more shows to take place in Mexico City between 2012 & 2013!

At this point I'd like to thank several people for making this dream a reality. German Orozco for his leadership, friendship, the marimba, and for taking this show above and beyond! Jorsh Pena, for providing some stellar special guests and artists. Jorge Gutierrez, Rhode Montijo, and Alberto Cerriteno for sharing their wonderful art and accompanying us on the show. Guru Galeria y tienda for all the love and goods that they provided for the show (papel picado, t-shirts, postcards, ads, tequila, and all the rest!). Another big thank-you to Rosario Ruiz, Manuel Lugh, Romero Chagoyan, Bere & Bere, POGO, and all of the Hula Hula gang! Gracias a todos who came out that night!

tar zombie

2011-10-20T00:00:00.012-04:00

i made a super quick last minute piece for the RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD charity show this weekend. i decided to practice some more woodburning, with stains and touch of acrylic, illustrating the hilarious TAR ZOMBIE!

1. 2.

3. 4.

1. sketch 2. woodburning. 3. acrylic 4. stains

Mini art show based on the cult-classic 80s movie "RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD" (http://youtu.be/wylpeAXYcBQ). The show is being set up as a charity fundraiser for actress, Jewel Shepard (who played Casey in the movie), who has been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. This show will take place on October 22nd @ Dark Delicacies (Burbank, CA). Clu Gulager (Burt) and Jewel will be at the show, and rockstar Illustrator William Stout (www.williamstout.com) will be donating an original illustration as well.

enjoy it.

2011-10-17T00:00:00.002-04:00

i've been swamped with all different types of fun and exciting things lately, but until i get myself together to share them with you, here's a sketch inspired by the greatest scene in the greatest movie of all time! (made for a fellow eternal sunshine fan)

disabled dogs

2011-10-13T21:49:00.001-04:00

my hunger for my puppy-soulmate continues to grow, even more after seeing these amazing photos of amazing dogs by photographer carli davidson. the concept and execution are out of this world. see the photos here!!

While pet photographer Carli Davidson may be known for her awesome Shake series where she uses high speed photography to capture dogs in motion, she's recently turned her attention to another project that deserves some much needed attention. Pets with Disabilities was an idea that started two years ago while Davidson was walking alongside the Canon Beach in Oregon.

As she tells us, "There was this totally beautiful German shepherd in a wheelchair playing fetch with its owner. It was so happy, a dog doing what dogs do, totally undeterred by its disability. I felt inspired by the whole scenario. The owner made this choice out of love, to do a little extra work every day to make sure his friend was happy and comfortable.

"I thought a lot about this pair in the following weeks, and decided I wanted to create a project showcasing differently abled pets, telling their stories in order to show the world that they are happy, thriving companions. They are not sad, they are not in pain, and the owners and animals continue to be of great value to one another."

All of the dogs pictured here are from Portland, Oregon. Davidson started this project by asking people on Facebook to submit their handicapped dogs as models and word of mouth has spread the idea so far that she now has people approaching her on a regular basis, asking her if their dogs could be added to the series. Davidson is currently working on a book.

What does this photographer want others to get out of this series? "I really hope that what people take away from these stories is information to make decisions for their own pets, an appreciation for the resilience of all animals, and ultimately a sense of normalcy from the photos and stories," she says. "Technology continues to advance at a rapid rate, and our relationship and compassion towards animals continues to evolve. I think this book is simply following a natural path towards a greater acceptance of these pets."

golden pig preview

2011-10-11T00:00:00.003-04:00

sneak peek of the GODLEN PIG TROPHY for the winner of the flame-off glass blowing competition at the C.K 2011 wholesale expo. i'll post the full trophy later on (complete with a glass blown base and photos of my first wonderfully awkward experience blowing glass). i was super excited to have the opportunity to create the trophy (thanks to jason harris and mike at lava rubber!)

i'll be doing some live painting at the event afterparty, also battling against 2 other painters. my first

live painting..

puppy sketch

2011-10-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

sketch!

fear of the dark

2011-10-06T00:14:00.000-04:00

halloween month. time to get scared.

fish stix: gold penguin

2011-10-04T23:57:00.001-04:00

who has a cool router name for their internet? the ones they choose for you that are always just nonsense, random letters/numbers. well i've never heard of a fun one, but i was asked to paint a piece inspired by one specific person's wireless internet name. gold penguin.

with an awesome name like that, how could you not want a gold penguin at least somewhere in your apartment? well they got fishstix. the gold penguin. (he's a little more shimmery gold)

busy busy busy, lots of things going on so, trying to stay on top of things, but i'll fill you in, dear blog, soon enough.

iconoclastic dead preview

2011-10-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

saturday night was the premeire for the ICONOCLASTIC DEAD show at guru gallery in MEXICO! i was worried when my piece almost didn't make it there, but it got there and i'm excited to see some coverage since i'm not able to be there myself.

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE

GET A SNEAK PEEK PHOTOS OF THE SHOW HERE
VIEW SOME PIECES OF THE ICONOCLASTIC DEAD SHOW HERE: (http://www.theautumnsociety.com/search/label/The%20Iconoclastic%20Dead)

grand opening (square peg round hole)

2011-09-29T23:44:00.002-04:00

earlier this month was the grand opening of square peg round hole gallery in bordentown, nj. it was a full house, with some unique and fantastic art, lovely live music, an amazing facepainter (not me, for once. so i had to take advantage and get my face painted), and fun company. my work was spread out throughout the cute little (but surprisingly big) gallery, a gallery i'm honored to be on display in since it's one i highly respect and legitimately enjoy the work being showcased. i have to thank the incredibly enthusiastic owner cindy for inviting me to join in her gallery. i admire her passion and excitement for what she's done/doing.

not award-winning photos, but it's a great place at a great location in bordentown, nj. 212 farnsworth ave. say hi to cindy, she's great to chat with.

check it out.

dia de los burton

2011-09-26T00:00:00.005-04:00

we hit france, and now we're heading to MEXICO! the autumn society is having the amazing "the iconoclastic dead" show at galeria guru in mexico city! the show premieres october 1 and runs to the end of the month, october 31. i'm honored to be one of 40+ artists participating in this phenominal show.

the iconoclastic dead is a "Dia De Los Muertos" themed show where artists celebrate someone famous they admire that is either dead or alive in the "Muertos" fashion.

i chose to illustrate tim burton. although i initially grew as an artist admiring and looking up to salvador dali most of all, tim burton has slowly been advancing a step ahead in my heart. i'm beyond inspired by all that tim burton does. his vision and his ideas are unique and dark and confusing. everything i love. growing up, i was obsessed with his movies and when i became old enough to realize that there was much more to tim burton than movies, i was able to start appreciating his art and his mind. it's like a weird distanced relationship that evolved from childhood to adulthood. this is just my weird, long, unnecessary way of saying he inspires me.

i designed my piece as a 3-dimensional piece. burton and the white border on one piece of glass, the floral pattern on another piece, are all raised about an inch above background with tge sandworm and skull. an additional bit of dimension is the swirly hill silhouette, which is placed about halfway between the top and bottom layers. basically, there are a lot of layers going on and it looks pretty amazing in person. these photos absolutely do it no justice.

initially, i wanted to include several characters from tim burton movies and his artwork, all designed in the day of the dead style. to keep a better flow to the pieces, i only featured the sandworm and some jack skellington heads.

trying to show the dimension in the piece, you can see below with the shadows..

Gurú Tienda Galería

Colima 143, LA ROMA
Mexico City, Mexico

facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143476422403056

rat puppy

2011-09-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

i'm indescribably puppy-hungry right now. there's a huge void in my life and i feel empty inside without one. so here's a drawing of a dog.

this is from an old mini sketchbook (2006). i wanted to sketch out an frequent interaction between a rat and a pitbull i once knew. rats are adorable and the pitbull was a sweetheart. they were hilarious together.

lbc pin up 2 & 3

2011-09-20T00:00:00.003-04:00

more pin ups for laughing boy comics. back cover #2. i don't see any strips of these guys (above) online, so here's a little reference point (below). you'll just have to go to laughingboycomics to find/buy the comic for more!

back cover #3 of intergalactic gary:

intergalactic gary is rad so check out his strips here.

(revisit #1 and my favorite here).

8-BIT CHAMPIONS coverage

2011-09-19T00:00:00.012-04:00

( Thomas Olivri (geek-art.net) gets interviewed about 8-BIT CHAMPIONS)

video coverage of the autumn society's 8-BIT CHAMPIONS show at flaq gallery in PARIS, FRANCE!.. although i don't understand a word he's saying. anyone want to translate? :) huge thanks to chogrin and thomas olivri! i wish i could visit prettiful paris to check out the show

(read my post about my piece inspired by bubble bobble, best game ever)

for some photos,

(photos borrowed from Pauline Acalin)

visit geek-art for some more photos

wedding bells!

2011-09-16T14:00:00.003-04:00

wedding bells for my long-time friend from 6th grade and his soon-to-be wife tonight !

congratulations joe and ashley !

symmetry exhibition

2011-09-16T00:07:00.001-04:00

opening tonight is VSA NJ and Arts Unbound's first joint exhibition "symmetry"

i have 5 pieces in the show including these three (plus paintings her celestial body and blue storm). i'm excited for another opportunity to share my art.. but i regrefully will miss the opening.

the show runs from sept 16 - oct 14 !

Opening reception on SEPTEMBER 16 at 6-9pm

Arts Unbound and VSA, New Jersey

are Featuring TheirFirst Joint Exhibition, Symmetry(at the Arts Unbound Gallery)

Arts Unbound and VSA New Jersey are featuring a joint exhibition highlighting their commitment to promote and support gifted artists living with disabilities. The exhibition titled Symmetry will showcase the diverse and outstanding works of Amy Charmatz, Stacy Crawford, Jon Gabry, Gabriella Gonzalez, Greg Smith, Kasey Tararuj, Tom Wade and Anthony Zaremba. Artwork will be exhibited from September 16 to October 14.

Arts Unbound Gallery
544 Freeman St.
Orange, NJ 07050
973-675-2787

adult swim mural

2011-09-15T00:00:00.003-04:00

in my search for photos of a different mural, i got a little reminiscent and nostalgic when i found photos of this mural. during my freshman year of college, my sister and i were roommates and spent many memorable nights laughing to the cartoons of adult swim on cartoon network. with the help of our adoring parents, we painted a mural tribute to our favorite adult swim characters. ok joe wasn't our favorite, but we stuck him in anyway because he's in a wheelchair and wheelchairs were all the rage those days.

it was family fun time and a very fond memory that i'm sure i won't ever forget. it was a group effort where everyone helped out. even my dad... who just went out to buy the pizza to stuff our faces with while we did all the real hard work. for those of you wondering how one paints a mural in a wheelchair, here's the unsafe, non-recommended, horrifying way to do so:

lbc pin up 1

2011-09-14T00:00:00.003-04:00

my first (and personal favorite) of 3 pins ups for the back cover of some laughing boy comics! featuring the marshlander, dick hack goose, and my hunky favorite dreamboat, hunker down. lbc is my favorite web comic (so what if it's the only one i read..) and it's hilariously fantastic so check it out at http://laughingboycomics.com.

more pin ups and comic info later on.

liberation skate

2011-09-13T00:00:00.003-04:00

a while back i met kelsey arcoleo at a show i participated in. kelsey is the wonderful head of liberation skateboards. we chatted about his company and my art, and i'm psyched to get to collaborate with him. as part of their first "collaborative artist series, 2011" i made a design for one of their new boards. i can tell kelsey's always got his brain going with great ideas and constantly has things going on. i'm honored to be a part of something so genuine and passionate!

"liberation skateboards is an east coast bred label in skateboarding that is branded to represent freedom of expression through individualism and originality. we strive to provide a sense of release from the falsities that are given to skateboarding and a look at the creative and fruitful nature of it. we believe skateboarding is the soul of innovation, determination, and construction. skateboarder run and owned, we've come to the scene to deliver satisfactory freedom through honest and merit. out ethics are focused on keeping the true essence of skateboarding alive and nothing less."

browse around liberation skateboard's wesbite. there's info, news, products, etc and don't forget to check out the "TEAM" page, where you'll find the "ART" page, where you'll find a beautifully written (by kelsey) bio about me. i was touched by it and it makes me happy to read a bio about myself that i don't get embarrassed by.

i'm not going to lie. i was a little nervous designing this since i've never done anything like this before. but i just kept to what and how i'd normally paint. hopefully i can continue to do this type of thing in the future, where i'll become a little more loose and get a little more frisky risky.

Pro Skateboard Shop now has Liberation Skateboards's "Collaborative Artist Series, 2011" boards at 1108 Main Street, Belmar, NJ and 702 Arnold Avenue, Point Pleasant, NJ. Swing by and get the one of a kind collection designed by the talents of Doug Z, Kasey Tararuj, and Mike Sledziona!

Now at Standard Skate Shop, 76 Main St., Woodbridge, NJ is the Liberation Skateboards "Collaborative Artist Series, 2011" collection! North Jersey skateboarders, you should be visiting this finer skate shop to get these new rides while you can!

more info on the boards and liberation skateboards soon !

happy 11 year!

2011-09-12T11:14:00.019-04:00

(drawing from 2006)

i've reached my special anniversary again today. 11 years since i've been able to walk. i usually think about this day as it's approaching, but i completely forgot about it until literally maybe a day or two ago. i've been too busy with creating art and going back to work after a nice fulfilling summer, (you know, having and living a life), that it's completely slipped my mind. which i'd say is a very good thing.

so, instead of babbling off about old, painful memories, struggles, and nonsense, like i did last year, now might be a good time to share accomplishments and how much more i do than i had originally thought i could 11 years ago. i have a full time job and my own apartment. working and living on my own are two (of the many) things that have caused me stress and depression for years and years, seeing as i didn't know if i could physically do it on my own.

working has proven to be everything i've feared, but expected: indescribable back pain, embarrassingly fat swollen feet, awkward interactions with strangers revolving around my disability. what i never considered are all the willing people who jump to help me when i can't do, can't reach, can't move. the past 11 years have been full of people who thought i was the special glass child, going to break any second. being young, and in a wheelchair, it's the natural response (i guess?) but it's something i've always despised. the job i now have is the first time i feel as though i'm almost a real person, made out of real people-parts. no one treats me like i'm going to shatter to pieces. it's a professional environment where people actually realize and acknowledge that i'm an adult and treat me that way. people offer help at times, but in a completely different manner than the other baby "help" forced on me for as long as i can remember. only opening doors, reaching what i can't , moving chairs... that's about it. there is no babying, only courtesy and it's amazing not to feel so small and helpless. finally.

as for living on my own. i've been aching to move out of my parents house for years, basically since i graduated from college (sorry mom). i couldn't just rent whatever was available, or the cheapest, or anything. i had to consider what level it's on, if i can fit through doorways, bathrooms, parking, boring nonsense that i'm tired of dealing with. luckily i found the complex made specifically for people with disabilities. my parking lot is lined with handicap spaces. convenient ramps. my apartment is flat and open. low sinks, low counters, low windows, low oven. high outlets, huge shower, sliding doors. it's beyond perfect for wheelchair users, such as myself, and i immediately felt at home. i knew it was going to be hard to adjust being on my own, and my past depression always wandered to what it might be like... but it's not nearly as hard as i thought.

this complex saved me a lot of struggle and i'm unbelievable grateful for that. nothing's ever hopeless, things can always get better. go team go.

above: oversized shower. (complete with dinosaur decals. i'm a child.) bottom left: low sink, able to roll slightly underneath. (complete with too many clean/dirty dishes. i'm lazy.) bottom right: low counterspace, able to fully roll underneath. may not seem to be a big deal...but these things, such simple, yet beautiful things.

square peg round hole GRAND OPENING

2011-09-10T15:19:00.000-04:00

i have a bunch of paintings and figures on display at square peg round hole in bordentown, nj. their grand opening is TONIGHT. a random assortment of my work, including those above plus some. fun!

GRAND OPENING tonight at 6-9 PM

Square Peg Round Hole Art and Recovery!

212 farnsworth avenue. bordentown, nj.

see the works of over talented and wonderful local 50 artists. with will "kasso" condry create art while you watch, face painting by cheryl, the music of "black & blue acoustics," door prizes, light refreshments, and more.

animals and carnival cakes

2011-09-09T00:00:00.009-04:00

last week, i showed you my cartoony half of the too-many-cupcakes i made at the end of my summer vacation. this is part 2 with the rest of the time/life consuming cupcakes i made at that same time.

i attempted the shark cupcakes from "hello, cupcake." it didn't work out so well. twinkies dipped in hot icing where i burnt my fingers like crazy. fruit by the foot that for some reason were sliced into 3 small strips, causing troubles for the sharks' mouths. basically i got frustrated and just let whatever was going to happen, happen. when all was said and done i loooked at the mess of "sharks" and i added some goldfish with googly eyes and i felt better. i was amused.

for the owner of a nice black cat, i took "hello, cupcake's cat design, originally meant for halloween, and with less yellows and oranges, they just look like nice little black kitties. made of melted dark chocolate with black sprinkles on top, the cats were kind of delicious.

my sister gave me the coolest cake pan ever for my birthday. animals, where you could decorate however, with the option of putting scoops of ice cream in their mouths. going to try these again!

my aunt asked me to do a carnival cake for my cousin's birthday. i warned her it was going to look very homemade... but she agreed, so here is my very homemade-looking carnival cake. i stole the melted candy with sprinkles idea (from the black cats above) for the lion's mane. it looked furrier.

along with the carnival cake, were a ton of "popcorn" cupcakes. marshmallows with x's cut in them, yellow mist spray, and yellow gel spray for kernels. unbelievable hand cramps from cutting x's in a bag and a half of mini marshmallows, luckily i had my fantastic mamabear helping and cutting with me (most of them..) i've seen popcorn cupcakes, but the best i found and fully copied was from my fellow tcnj/facebook friend susan hoppe, who i stalk because she makes awesome cakes!

jessface and randy go to the grand canyon

2011-09-07T00:27:00.000-04:00

after seeing my little photo paintings of tim and i, my friend jess wanted one of her and her boyfriend at the grandcanyon. she sent me a photo of the canyon and i painted their cartoony portraits on top for a cute combination of their own personal memories/photos and original painting.

how cute. to refresh your memory, look back at my past photo paintings here!

blooming and blossoming

2011-09-06T00:00:00.002-04:00

some one-eyed girl commissions. my favorite kind. there's not much i love more than drawing and painting 1EG's, so i was excited when i was asked to make these for some one's bathroom. the only request made was to have similar backgrounds, colors, and to possibly incorporate their shower curtain design. i didn't want it too obvious or to clash with the curtains once hanging, so i integrated the design into the outfits, with a subtle floral-ish background. i think they are prettiful.

cartoons, comics, cakes

2011-09-02T01:28:00.000-04:00

yesterday was my first day back at work after a long, happy summer off, where i did not regret a single time i was up all hours of every night and fully slept most days away. the perks of working in a school. the last week or two before heading back, i was bombarded by a bunch of cakes and cupcakes to make, almost all at once. here are the cartoon and comic related ones, i'll share the rest next week.

venture brothers cupcakes! tim and i hit our 4-year anniversary and since i didn't do the whole "gift-giving" thing i just made him cupcakes of a favorite tv show of his. brock's face is where you see my laziness the most, but the rest are fun.

spiderman for a friend. how do you make spiderman when you have no time? give him a hunchback..? i apparently wasn't paying attention while i was drawing him, but let's just pretend that tumor on his back is normal.

for my buddy over at laughing boy comics, i made him a cake of his own characters. i kept them black and white to make them feel more comic-y. the snake's my personal favorite character.

here's a funny snippit snappit from laughing boy comics. the gang goes to the aquarium. this is my favorite strip from this specific story. (read the full story starting here.)

more cakes and cupcakes next week!

3 stooges pez

2011-09-01T00:00:00.002-04:00

custom pez seem to be a popular thing people are looking for. i recently made custom pez of the 3 stooges, as well as curly's replacement shemp (x2). same style as my past pez, and i kept them black and white to stay true to the real stooges.

curly

larry

moe

shemp

hammy mcChum

2011-08-31T00:00:00.004-04:00

meet my latest creation, hammy mcChum. i've had this idea for ages and recently felt motivated to get one started: customize a figure into a great white shark, using real-life shark teeth. i did stab myself with the shark little teeth plenty of times, but i absolutely love the contrast between the real teeth and the painted clay. i couldn't have been happier with the outcome, seeing as i didn't even know if it would work at all. this is just the start of using real animal accents on my figures. so many ideas, so little time.

unfortunately for me, i predicted my sister (hunter of sharks teeth) would see hammy and "claim" him and i'd lose my new favorite figure. instead of putting myself through the pain, i stayed unattached as i worked on it, and mentally prepared myself to give it to her for her birthday (although it broke my heart into a million pieces to give him away.) best present ever.

REAL SHARKS TEETH!

sometimes i love my figures pre-paint as much as i love them all painted and finished.

boo, ben, and scout

2011-08-30T00:00:00.002-04:00

ok back to some real art after yesterday's nonsense. i was commissioned to make a painting of 3 pet rats. boo, ben, and scout, snuggly rats who are always in each other's business.

rats are adorable.

hurricane adventures

2011-08-29T01:43:00.004-04:00

saturday night, at 2 AM, our power went out.. which just happened to be perfect timing as i just finished watching a movie, commented on how loud the wind was as our curtains were puffing out despite our windows being closed, and literally the moment i opened the front door to check out the storm, everything went black. the following sketches are my documentation of the remainder of the night. tim only let me light one candle, so i couldn't see.. and i might have had a few drinks to relieve my anxiety.. so don't judge me on my power outage sketches.

the "blackout" night mostly consisted of unnaturally gassy tim pacing around with nothing to do, sitting and staring out our open back door at the insanely loud and world-ending wind blowing the trees over, (with a walkway we share with neighbors) where one of our friendly neighbors walked by in the pitch black and we happily said "hello" while she grunted and kept walking. i love our neighbors.

the fact that i took the time to share these sketches is a little sad. but it was a fun black-out for us and i wanted to draw/document it since i had literally nothing else to do, except sleep and what fun would that have been?

i strongly suggest all to read tim's amazing documentation after the jump:

power out. supplies running low. all access to the outside world is cut off. not sure when or if the sun will come back. jan 23rd 1:23am

food is out. kasey didnt make it. had to let the wild dogs have her. trying to make alliances with the locals. feb 19th 3:56pm

locals have taken me in & fed me from the broken snack machine. all they had was dark choco snickers. worst snickers of all. may 32nd 943am

mutant zombie hybrid dog kasey came back. had to put her down. again. wasnt easy cuz she could use all her legs this time. mar 4th. 512am

locals have turned on me. had to lock myself back in apt. still no signs of help.just me and my turtle now. oct 6 445am

power is back.....so much blood......had no idea it was this bad. july 23 715pm

power is off again. pseg is playing mind games trying to break me. might work if not for my shadow puppet theator. june 26 1004pm

they got 2 my turtle. bastards. had 2 put him down will smith style. not sure how much longer i can take this. hope i wake tmrw sept 8 217am

shell-shock coverage

2011-08-25T03:32:00.001-04:00

some autumn society SHELL-SHOCK coverage from this past june, including images of the pieces and interviews by the artists, including little old reluctant me. we all know i hate speaking. you're only allowed to watch this video if you promise not to mock my awkward nervousness that makes me sound like a complete airhead or that weird eye-rolly thing i do. i should be banned from being on camera. but it's a great fun coverage, so take a looky.

follow this link for the video: http://cinemassacre.com/2011/08/23/tmnt-art-show/

thank you to stephanie yuhas and cinemassacre.com for a job well done

earthquake on the east coast

2011-08-24T02:25:00.002-04:00

i know that all the rage is talking about the unexpected earthquake that happened yesterday, and i know that we've all heard more than enough about it... but i'd like to document my own experience, solely for myself, since i know that i will undoubtedly fully forget about it less than a week from now (not to mention that it was also my first quakey ever.) i was home alone in my tiny, little bathroom when my walls, paintings, shower chair, etc started shaking. i thought i was just randomly feeling dizzy and disoriented, as that actually does happen from time to time. i naively thought there may be something going on only outside my apartment complex, while considering but absolutely ruling out the idea that it was an earthquake. it was a nice day so our windows were open, and after i rushed out of the bathroom, i listened for my normally loud, obnoxious neighbors to see if they experienced it as well. they did and after my phone refused to call or text anyone, i knew something had actually happened and that i wasn't crazy. did i mention i hate being alone? weird day.

this is the painting hanging in our bathroom that i watched swaying back and forth for what felt like much longer than it actually was. this painting (a painting i did for timmy based on an old drawing of mine he liked) is the reason i knew i wasn't making it up or about to pass out. i never cared so much for this piece, but i assume i'll always associate it with the first earthquake i've had the "pleasure" of experiencing.

blue player two

2011-08-23T02:37:00.006-04:00

i'm incredibly excited to take part in my very first international show. the autumn society's going to paris, france at LA FLAQ GALLERY: "8-BIT CHAMPIONS"! (produced & curated by CHOGRIN and Thomas Olivri-in association with geek-art.net ). the theme of the show is to illustrate an 8-bit game... and while the first game i saw on the list was circus charlie, (which instantly became my absolute favorite arcade game once i visited the amazing FUN SPOT in new hampshire,) i chose to illustrate bubble bobble. my favorite NES game of all time.

it was an easy decision to make, but once i tried to choose specifics from the game, it became impossible. i wanted to include the potion. i wanted to include the BIG diamond. i grew up on this game and it became clear to me how obsessed i really was with this game when i went home the other day and heard my dad whistling the entire theme song flawlessly without having played or heard it anytime recently. not to mention it's been my ringtone for months.. :)

in the end i chose level 1. it may not be my favorite level and it's not the most exciting or eventful, but it's the level we always played no matter what. (and by we, i mean my sister and i.) we always started from the beginning. there was no saving, there was no continuing at a later date. level 1 is the level we have seen more than any level. i wanted to include all my favorite items and prizes, but i kept it simple and accurate, something i have trouble forcing myself to do.

i chose to highlight player 2, the blue dinosaur, rather than player 1, the green. the blue dude was always mine. i spent literally more than half my nintendo time watching my sister play or being the inferior player 2. my sister (righfully) hogged player 1 in any game, so no matter what i was player 2, and that blue little dinosaur represents me as a gamer. the epitome of my entire childhood-video game-memories-life-ish.

last little detail about this piece, i made my player 2 on a 3-dimensional bubble. an old accessory from a munny figure was a half-sphere with little pegs for "dunny" ears. i took off the ears, added some clay and smoothed it out for a round surface. perfect for a bubble. you can see below the 3-D effect. i just wanted a little more emphasis on the 2nd player, seeing as how much he means to me. i know it's just a video game, but it really feels like a huge part of my memorable little childhood.

if only i could go to france!

figure teaser

2011-08-22T04:13:00.002-04:00

whose sharp teeth are those?

tiana 1EG

2011-08-18T02:19:00.001-04:00

man oh man i have all these finished pieces surrounding me, but i can't post any of them just yet and it's killing me. slowly they will start popping up.

so instead of all the cool exciting stuff i'd rather be sharing, here's a 1EG sketch. i have been watching and craving all the "old" disney movies. i'm at the point were i'm going to buy a vcr just so i can watch and singalong obnoxiously to all the classics. most recently, tangled has proven to be just as good as the classics, so keep an eye out of some sketches of her.

today i have tiana. you should be able to guess what she's from.

time to get crackin' on those disney flicks

chogrin presents "monster creeps show"

2011-08-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

go chogrin, go chogrin, go!!! thanks to chogrin for having me be part of a tubular event!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011
MONSTER CREEPS - VIDEO (by Kris Rubio)

Shot and edited by Kris Rubio (www.krisrubio.com) for 4to4 Productions.

Artist Chogrin (chogrinart.blogspot.com) tribute to the films by Fred Dekker (Night of the Creeps & Monster Squad). The event featured art tributes by selected artists from the Autumn Society (www.theautumnsociety.com) and other special guests.

Tech Stuff:
Shot on a Canon T2i with a 50mm 1.4 prime lens @ 24fps. Audio recorded on Zoom H4n later synced with FCPX. Audio in FCPX was highly enhanced and modified via "Hum Remover". LCDVF viewfinder with D-Focus follow focus.

twsa in VA teaser

2011-08-15T02:09:00.001-04:00

i want to surf every day. this weekend was a tease.

updates on my amazing time in the ocean coming soon. soon-ish. after i go through the wildly large amount of photos.

twsa round 2

2011-08-12T00:12:00.001-04:00

on my way to virginia beach for

round 2 saturday, august 13.

they will surf again

(read round 1 again)

dr suess 1EG

2011-08-11T02:13:00.001-04:00

from my new sketchbook. i designed these some time ago, and recently put some ink and color to them. some dr. suess to spice up the day

MONSTER CREEPS!

2011-08-09T02:01:00.000-04:00

one-night only MONSTER CREEPS art show, tribute to fred dekker's MONSTER SQUAD and NIGHT OF THE CREEPS! appearance by fred dekker himself! followed by a screening of the monster squad with Q&A with fred.

...in california

....so i sat home dreaming of a sunnier life on the west coast. when is it my turn to live there?

my 1950's ax murderer 3D painting

the man! fred dekker signing.

huge thanks to THE man fred dekker and the MAN chogrin!

thanks to dark delicacies for hosting a fun show!

huge thanks to strange kids club / fright rags / dead of night radio / the autumn society and especially chogrin !

i "stole" my photos of the show from chogrin, so check out the rest on facebook.

i fell

2011-08-08T00:44:00.001-04:00

having my own apartment is really great and all, but i've spent years putting a blind eye to certain things i didn't want to acknowledge, things i have "confidently" reassured others would never be a problem. i like to tell myself i'll never have to deal with these things, but of course on my very first night by myself, i felt like an idiot when i finally faced a long-time concern. i don't live alone, but i recently spent my first night of all time completely alone. no parents or sisters upstairs, no roommates or dormmates. which meant, if i just happened to fall out of my wheelchair onto the ground, i would have no one there to help my weak little body get back into it.

needless to say, when my manly man roommate went on his camping weekend man-trip, i ended up on the floor of my apartment at 4am after i lost my grip as my chair slowly slid away from the bed. there was not a soul nearby to help, and the first thought to pop into my head was an argument with my dad only hours before when i was too impatient to fix the brake on my chair that did not work and how convinced i was that i could deal with a non-working brake (hence the reason that you have not heard this story until reading this now, mom and dad...)

it was emotionally draining and i had not a clue how to resolve it, even though it should be one of many things a wheelchairy person should know how and be able to do. i was on the ground and my bed seemed higher than ever. i was a serious mess of tears, emotions, anger, and hopelessness, all those overdramatic feelings. i attemted to lift my dead weight up and onto the bed but i wasn't even halfway. i piled some pillows under my butt to lessen the height back up to the bed, but flattened pillows weren't much of a help. i finally faced my chair head on, raised my legs up and placed them onto the seat of my chair. i figured since i can't lift my lower half myself, it might help to have it already elevated a bit. lucky for me, (though still after much struggle and frustration) i grabbed my night stand with one hand and the bed with the other, and lifted my limp body up and backwards onto the bed. it actually worked.

i've been asked dozens of times what i'd do if i fell out of my chair. my response has always been that it would be fine and that i would never be alone anyway. that is a flat out lie i've always told myself, considering i was often alone even before moving out. but i stayed in my little fantasy world and just assumed i would never have to deal with getting into a wheelchair, from the ground, by myself. reality check. we all need one sometimes.

i'm sure most disabled people must be more prepared than me (at least i really hope they are). and i know it was fully my fault and my ignorance and my stupidity, but i can't help but feel proud of myself for actually succeeding, for actually finding a way to overcome a concern/fear that i've been avoiding for years and years and years. it wasn't so bad...

boomer

2011-08-05T00:00:00.004-04:00

this cute little flesch-craver is boomer: zombie owl. i was comissioned to make a zombie owl, and we had talked about giving the owl the character of a "boxer." sadly after working on it, i made the decision that the boxer addition would likely take away from the piece as a whole. it wouldn't have necessarily made the piece "bad", i just felt the zombie owl holds itself well on its own. what's meant to be will be and he is meant to be solely a zombie owl. and an amazingly awesome zombie owl he is.

boomer is all munnyworld parts: boomer's head is a kidrobot's trikky head with the ears cut off, with the body of a rooz. if this just sounds like nonsense, go check out kidrobot.com and see all the do-it-yourself blank vinyl figures. they will change your life. but only if you're talented and motivated. ok, i guess you don't technically have to be talented.

i felt a little guilty that i failed to turn boomer into a boxer in 3-D form, so i did a quick sketch of boomer as a boxer to (try to) make up for it. not my strongest character design, but a little more work will make him the best zombie owl boxer of all time!

i hope boomer enjoys his new home !

wheelchair hero

2011-08-03T02:01:00.002-04:00

i wish i was a wheelchair hero

alfredo

2011-08-02T01:53:00.003-04:00

THE PIZZA SHOW!

this is alfredo, the sweet dormat of a rhino who can't get enough of making some delish homemade pizza pies! with his greedy friend lix, who can't get enough of stealing and devouring alfredo's delish pizzas.

my piece for the pizza show this THURSDAY! this piece was painted in 3d, with alfredo painted on the glass, with some spots of color (raised 1/4 inch above the background)... and the background of color with even more color spots. nothing crazy. maybe in the future i'll remove him from his black hole of eternity to give him a kitchen/restaurant background to live in happily and healthy. we'll see. maybe he's already perfect right the way he is. who's to know.

"uhh- duuuh"

THE PIZZA SHOW!

Art and pizza have many things in common. Bring your friends, bring your enemies, bring some spices.

Thursday, August 4 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Home Slice Pizza 1030 North American St. Philadelphia PA

facebook invite

Curated by Rev. Eric Clark and Luke Leyden

Work by:
Luke Leyden

Eric Clark

Alexis Novak

Tim Roselle

Kasey Tararuj

Maryia Iaskevich

Derek Byrd

Leah Wishnia

John Mitchell

Matt Dragh

seriously, who doesn't love pizza? pizza art is the next best thing. (at least after all the hundreds of other delicious foods out there)