Customized Munny Show at RobotLove

my last munny bit of the week. this past april of 09, i was a part of a show called "In the Heart of My Retro Future" in Minneapolis, MN. the show was consisted of lots of customized munnys, including mine and tim's. it was a challenge to create them sturdy enough to ship over to MN, but they got there and back, both in one piece. mine was okay, but unfortunately the part i love, my favorite (the back) wasn't visible in the show. and tim's was fantastic (scarecrow in 2nd picture). it was a fun show and we wish we could've been able to take the trip over to minneapolis to see it in person. it was exciting to be a part of

but there's no doubt about it. lardsicle is my current favorite "munnyworld" figure today, but i'm sure that will change once i make the many more i have working in my mind. whenever that might be

Munny Highlights in "Day in the Lyfe"

i figure my theme of the week seems to be munnys so far, and therefore it continues! that is the very first (mini) munny i ever made, a few years ago. it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. for those of you (i'm sure most of you) who haven't seen this, my past 2 munnys were highlighted back in october in Day in the Lyfe online magazine.

"Day in the Lyfe is a world-class street art magazine and website that explores all aspects of the exploding street art culture. A creation of highly selective and discerning professional artists and journalists, Day in the Lyfe is the place all top-notch, cutting-edge street artists strive to be seen and heard. Each page is a colorful, funky, sexy adventure into the world of the urban creative class and each issue becomes a collector’s item where readers turn for inspiration, entertainment, and culture again and again."

i'm obviously not quite a street artist, but i was still pretty psyched to see them there. i'm psyched to see anything anywhere. click here to check it out!

i believe i owe a thank you to nicole and mike (www.ovny.org) for that one. as well as of course those who run the 'zine.

Lardsicle

this is lardsicle! he is my dear fatty friend. a little lost and lonely, a creamsicle every now and then is the only thing that makes him genuinely happy. besides that, he's my lumpy grumpy lovable elephant. but don't piss him off or he'll stampede into your eye with his orange horn.

he is pretty much my favorite ever right now. i am longing to make him friends.

more lardsicle views here

Lardsicle SNEAK PEEK!

the SNEAK PEAK of my customized mini BUB for the kidrobot ROYGBIV Munnyworld Highlight Contest



basic process from start to almost finish. my fully completed BUB will be postly shortly! and then you'll hear all about my fat child

KAOTIC KRITTERS

this past christmas, i gave "killer potato" to my dad. if you know my dad, you'd know he's pretty much the epitome of a couch potato. so i made this, in hopes that he didn't die a little inside for my recognition that he's killed every hobby he has ever had. but it's funny!! or i'm a jerk. either way, i'm happy.

i'm posting this because i wanted to post a KAOTIC KRITTER because i am currently customizing a MUNNYWORLD figure (Bub) for Kidrobot's ROYGBIV Munnyworld Highlight Contest . it'd be very neat to win, but i'm really just using the contest as an excuse to customize a figure and put aside other work i don't want to do.

my mini bub figure is the first KAOTIC KRITTER design done in 3D. i'm pretty excited about it. it's just flat out fun to design and sculpt this type of style, and i'm already thinking about how badly i want to do another one. my bub is almost done, just a few more details and finishing touches, and it will be posted later this week

website clean up!

"Nutterwart", 4"x6" 2010

i recently finished a monstrous clean up of my website http://www.kaseytararuj.com/ . i've been wanting to for a long time. there was soo much old, old work that even i didn't ever want to look at. work that didn't reflect me or my artwork. so i went through everything, removed, rearranged.

here's what you need to know:

• 
  
  in the "drawing" and "painting" sections, i kept only what i felt represented me best as an artist. the leftovers were either permanently deleted, or placed in the "sketchbook" section.
• 
  
  my "sketchbook" is now full of work i either really love, or just really want to keep being seen by others.
• 
  
  most importantly, my "Misc" section is devoted entirely to my One-Eyed Girls! instead of seeing them scattered around my site, i have them all, in every media, on one page.

i'm still planning on getting a brand new website with easier and faster navigation, but until then, i think this is much more efficient for what i want to show. :)

Princess of Flavored Bubbles and Lady of the Light Spectrum

this is my submission to Autumn Society "Adventure Time" Art book in tribute to the show. Adventure Time is an animated series on Cartoon Network, starting in March i believe. i didn't think we were supposed to post them until the book came out, but everyone else is... so i did too. see more submissions here. i drew them and pasted them on spray painted masonite, but in layers so it is 3 dimensional. it is fun and reminds me of a pop up book. kind of.

Cartoon Network has granted The Autumn Society a gallery show for march their gallery space inside the studio, along with artwork from the show. My piece will be one of many featured in the show, over in California. Fun!

i haven't seen toooo much from the show yet, but i found this clip that made me laugh hysterically... so please watch it and laugh with me. feel free to watch all of it, but i'm talking about 1:10 until 1:40. hilarious...

"Enabled" Exhibit

on sunday afternoon, i went to see the "Enabled" exhibit at the Arts Guild of Rahyway. it was very nice. spacious and i really liked some of the art there. i'm happy to be a part of it. it will be up until march 12, but since i realize no one wants to take the hike, here are a few pictures.. of the side my work was on at least! i can't wait until i'm married so people will start spelling my name correctly. tarauj... err...

CYBORG!

i can't wait to become a legit cyborg in the future. this whole "wheelchair" thing isn't robotic enough. i feel like having that would make me look even more like a freak but i kind of really want it. hopefully it actually gets on the market and becomes more developed and less obnoxious in the future..? to find out more about rewalk, click here . there's another better video there.


i made this a few years ago out of boredom. technically it's tim and i as robots. it's adorable.

Bride of Peterstein

this was a commission for everyone's favorite holiday, valentine's day. a couple painted as frankenstein and his bride! it was tough and i was worried it wouldn't look like them without their normal hair color/style at least, not to mention having green skin. but i think it looks like them. it's kind of on the goofy side which i like, and hope they do too! you might remember my previous painting of them as zombies: refresh your memory by clicking here!

"Enabled" Exhibit - Controllers

"controllers", Acrylic, 20"x 20"

this is the last of of 4 pieces that will be shown in the "Enabled" Exhibit from February 19 - March 12, 2010. "Enabled" is an exhibit of art created by artists with disabilities, at the Arts Guild of Rahway. 1670 Irving Street. Rahway, NJ

i didn't think i'd care for this one when i started, but i'm kind of obsessed and don't really want to stop looking at it right now. it has some serious connection to me and my craziness. i realize i sound ridiculous to say i connect to my own piece of art because that's a little redundant, but the amount of crazy in me is growing with every day i'm locked unemployed in my dungeon of an art studio every single day and every single night with neverending art that don't necessarily want to, but need to do and i'm losing the tiny bit of sanity that i have left!!!! not sure where i was going with that last sentence. CABIN FEVER!

.....enjoy

"Enabled" Exhibit - Wind up

"Wind up" (you can't tell so much from the picture, but parts are layered to give it a bit of a 3-dimensional look) 10"x 14"

this is 3 of 4 pieces that will be shown in the "Enabled" Exhibit from February 19 - March 12, 2010. "Enabled" is an exhibit of art created by artists with disabilities, at the Arts Guild of Rahway in Rahway, NJ.

along with being a new piece of art, i designed this as well for a tattoo; a back piece that i plan on getting on or around my 10th year anniversary of meeting my lovely little handicap (september 1010). we'll see what kind of alterations i make to, if any, in the next 7-8 months.. it'll be a constant work in progress until the day i get it

"Enabled" Exhibit - Pricked

"Pricked" 11"x14" mixed media

this is 2 of 4 pieces that will be shown in the "Enabled" Exhibit from February 19 - March 12, 2010. "Enabled" is an exhibit of art created by artists with disabilities, at the Arts Guild of Rahway in Rahway, NJ. Opening reception: Sunday, February 21, 2010, 1-4 pm

So this painting is really exciting to me. i haven't done a painting like this in a very, very, very long time. almost everything i've done in the past year or two have been carefully planned. in the past, i would just get a basic idea in my head and make it up as i go along, sticking to the initial concept. that is what i did here. i love each individual part of it, and it was a very fun and liberating painting to make. as silly as it sounds, it felt really good to paint this. i need to start painting like this way more often.

I thought it might be cool to show part of the process for anyone who's interested!

happy valentine's day!

Give your heart to someone today! or just eat lots of them. either works, i don't care. i don't care for valentine's but i am going to celebrate by FINALLY watching the horror movie "valentine" which i've been saving for the special occasion for almost a year because i'm weird and amused easily.

but here is a love-ish related painting, based on a drawing i did for tim last v-day (except there was a weird looking 1EG of him too) this version was actually the second 1EG i ever drew, and i eventually painted her for my show in Manayunk over the summer, where it sold.

LOVE!

"Enabled" Exhibit - Constraint

"Constraint" 18"x24"

this is 1 of 4 pieces that will be shown in the "Enabled" Exhibit from February 19 - March 12, 2010. "Enabled" is an exhibit of art created by artists with disabilities, at the Arts Guild of Rahway in Rahway, NJ. I made 4 brand new pieces for the show.. just because i could. i figured since it was for artists with disabilites, i would go back to my past subject matter (pre- kaotic kritters and one-eyed girls) that i haven't done in quite some time. so the first one, still a 1EG, but with actual meaning: spinal cord injury (whereas most existing ones are characters or themed)

Opening reception

Sunday, February 21, 2010

1-4 pm

Zombierific KAOTIC KRITTERS

This is Deaderella, a zombie i made for zombie-obsessed sister for christmas this year. she's pretty awesome if i do say so myself

And this was a birthday present of and for the same zombie-obsessed sister. i created her as a badass zombie hunter with all the essential weapons to kill zombie man. she loved it....so she says

visit http://kaotickritters.weebly.com/ to see more! or contact me to order your very own

combined animals!

"jellypus"

"pandark"

"searaffe"

"snangangler"

"capideera"


I did some sketches of combined animals sometime last year, and i finally decided to do something with them. i made black and white ink drawings of each of them and pasted them on spray painted masonite. i kind of love them because they aren't just flat on the boards, they are raised a bit so they are more dimensional. they are fun, don't deny it

1EG cut outs

I had some cut-outs of 1EG's lying around (you might remember them from here, so i decided to paste them on spraypainted masonite. They were real quick, and i figured it was better than just having no use for the floppy cut-outs. So now they are pieces of art! ...kind of.

"Connect" Exhibition

Two of my KAOTIC KRITTERS were accepted into the “Connect” exhibition, cosponsored by VSA arts of New Jersey and ThisAbled at Artworks, Trenton’s downtown visual arts center. The dates for the exhibition will be March 19 to May 1, 2010.

19 Everett Alley. Trenton, NJ
"Peter" the bunny, and "Jugs" the orangutan!

Artistswanted Contest

Please visit and rate my portfolio. 5 Stars would be greatly appreciated It only takes a moment and you can do so once a day.

http://www.artistswanted.org/kctararuj Copy and paste this into your internet browser (sorry i don't know why that won't turn into a link)

This is why need help:
The People's Choice winner will be decided by the rating your portfolio recieves from your friends, family and the general public. Gawker Artists will award one winner a publicity push with hundreds of thousands of visits acrosss a network of dozens of website, plus $1,000 cash.


I think I'm a little late in the game for voting, but it doesn't hurt to try. Thank you to anyone who can help!

The grand prize is a whooole lot more. but i try not to get my hopes up with these things..

My gingerbread doghouse 2009!

i decorated the house and snoopy.. tim made charlie brown and the tree !

Merry Christmas!

First 1EG in 3D !!

the very FIRST of hopefully many 1EG's in 3D !! i'm really excited about making sculptures of my girls. this one was made in only 2 days due to a deadline, and i learned what to do and what not to do. i'm hoping my next one will be more advanced seeing as i'll have more time and have some knowledge of how to attack it.

you can see it in person at my Red Horse Gallery Show TOMORROW, THURSDAY DEC 3 at 6-8 pm! Or until Jan 8, 2010 from 10am-4:30pm Mon-Fri! (Freehold Raceway Mall, upper level next to Sears!)

blue inferno

"Blue Inferno"

8"x10"

acrylic, 2009

I am going to be in another one of The Autumn Society's art shows, this time to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Mike Mignola's Hellboy. this is my piece for the show: liz sherman as a One-Eyed Girl, with little 1EG toothfairies. i'm not very familiar with the comic, so i stuck with the movies, which i'm a huge fan of. it was a fun one to paint though! Apparently, Mike Mignola (creator of hellboy) was informed of the show, and would like to see our pieces. The Autumn Society will be sending prints of each of our pieces to Mike and also Guillermo Del Torro. very cool

the reception is

First Friday, December 4 (5-8pm)

Brave New Worlds Comics.

45 N. 2nd St. Philadelphia.

difficult tasks

two things that are very hard to do:

1. paint while eating ice cream simultaneously. i put my paintbrushes in my mouth.. a lot.. i keep getting confused with my spoon and brushes..

2. having a cup of drinking water while painting. i confused it with my dirty painty water.

Red Horse Gallery sneak peeks! part 4

sneak peek:

"Inked Affection Infection"

18"x24"

colored pencil

(one of my favorites, doesn't look so hot on screen)

Kasey's 1EG show!!

Red Horse Gallery

Reception Dec 3, 6-8 pm

Freehold Raceway Mall, upper level next to Sears

Red Horse Gallery sneak peeks! part 3

sneak peek:

"Marine Freebooter"

8"x10"

Acyrlic, spray paint

Red Horse Gallery
Reception Dec 3 6-8pm
Freehold Raceway Mall, upper level next to Sears
Be there!

Red Horse Gallery sneak peeks! part 2

sneak peek:

"Osteology"

one of my favorites

my Red Horse Gallery exhibit

dec 3, 6-8pm!

freehold raceway mall, upper level next to sears!

Red Horse Gallery sneak peeks!

everything is all set for my show at the Red Horse Gallery in Freehold Mall! i'm taking this time to do some things i've been wanting to work on for a while, but haven't had time to. i know this makes no sense, but it's kind of exhausting to (even though you also want to) work on only things you HAVE to do. i've been sketching out personal paintings as well as a whole bunch of KAOTIC KRITTERS . (all to be seen here in the future). getting as much of this in as i can before having to "go back to work" and do only pieces i HAVE to do for a million weeks again. either way i'm painting, so i'm happy!

anyway the next few posts will be sneak peeks of what you'll see at:


Red Horse Gallery !
Reception Dec 3 6-8 pm.
Freehold Raceway Mall, upper level next to Sears!

check it out :)

1eg cut outs

i'm getting everything ready for my show in the Red Horse Gallery! but in the mean time here are some doodles:
this one done on cardboard, with pen and oil pastels. you may not be able to see in the picture, but the cardboard is cut out in layers so it has a teeny tiny bit of dimension... kind of. these are just some random doodle cut outs. i had planned on doing more with them (or at least the designs) but i haven't gotten to it yet. they're done with pen and oil pastels

remember, my show at the Red Horse Gallery in Freehold Raceway Mall: Reception Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 6-8 pm. The show will be up from November 24, 2009 - January 8, 2010, full of lots and lots of One-Eyed Girls!