Blog
He’s gone, and there’s no turning back.
It seems like just yesterday that Andrew from Malone and Co. took the photo above. I’m talking about the one on the left from BEASTBOX. Cuz the one on the right is a crappy picture taken by me.
But that crappy picture means so much now. McPaul Therman the Four Foot Octopus is on his way to Australia, to his new home. I’m trying to pretend we’ll see him again, but I know the truth. That poorly-framed shot of McPaul getting his first bath as a real octopus is one of the only ways I can cling to his memory.
Look at Charles. Just learned McPaul is leaving. He’s Grief Stricken. Incredulous. Horrified even. Maybe just fat.
And look at that warm, welcoming face peeking through our front windows. Who are we gonna come home to now? A sad St. Bernard, two squirrelly cats, and an grossly obese puggle. That’s who.
Criminy, McPaul. We miss you.
It’s time! Rob and I will open our doors for the Hot Shops Spring 2010 Open House next weekend. Here are the details:
Hot Shops Art Center, 1310 Nicholas St.
Studio 222
Saturday May 1, 12pm - 8pm
Sunday May 2, 12pm - 5pm
After the success of the little monsters, baby blocks, and bird purses at the last open house, I have decided to stay small. I have a new batch of birds, baby blocks, monsters, and undies.
And hummus. I’m gonna make you hummus.
So, you know Brigitte, right? She’s the friendly one above on the left in the really cute outfit. If you didn’t catch her at an art-related venue lately, you might have caught her in her gorgeous paper goods shop, PULP. Well, it is sad news that PULP has closed up shop, but Omaha’s loss with its closing is our gain in that Brigitte’s talents will be applied to curating the Bemis Underground! You can read more about PULP and Brigitte’s newest endeavor with the Bemis Underground here. It is sure to be an amazing pairing. While maintaining PULP, she kept a steady stream of artists’ work on exhibit in the shop’s gallery, and also sent out updates as to the goings-on around town art-wise.
Brigitte McQueen’s PULP is a local shop that I am proud to have worked with. The Wrenny Wristlet bird purses and fabric containers that were for sale there will still be available through me and my Etsy shop, and hopefully Brigitte and I will be working together on fun new projects soon. Keep an eye out, and I’ll post any news here. In the meantime, if you want to see more, you can see the bird purses and fabric buckets in action here.
Knuckles before sassing me about getting her hair brushed:
Knuckles after sassing me about getting her hair brushed:
You know what? Don’t sass about getting your hair brushed.
It’s not something I MADE, but I figured it involved natural fibers and a cutting implement, so it applies.
Sorry this post wasn’t up way way earlier, but I think you’ve probably heard about it already anyway. Cuz it’s gonna be huge.
And so is the reason why I haven’t posted earlier: Insanely huge PlaiderPillar creation for the upcoming DESTROY REBUILD REPEAT show. I’m not going to ruin the HUGE surprise I’m making for this show. You’re gonna have to come to the show and find out. And you better come, cuz I’m gonna light it on fire and destroy it at the end of the night.
Just kidding. That’s a ton of fabric.
Here’s the skinny:
DESTROY REBUILD REPEAT will be a one-night group exhibition consisting of 12 artists all sharing their work on the walls of 3 separate buildings: one that has been abandoned, one in a state of remodel and one that has stood the test of time as a business in the community. This will be an evening to celebrate purpose being brought back to some of our community’s vacant spaces and storefronts. The participating artists are Jeff King, Amy Morin, Nolan Tredway, Miss Cake, Josh Powell, Brett Anderson, Rob Quinn, M!GHTY, Weston Thomson, Machaela Morrissey, Kevin Rooney and Lucille Rae. Destroy Rebuild Repeat will be curated by Josh Powell and Joel Damon. The exhibition will be sponsored by Barley’s Bar, who will be hosting the after-party.
Saturday 12.12.09
Exhibition 7-10pm
After Party 10pm-2am
116, 114, and 156 West Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA
Roveralls. ROB and OVERALLS. Together at last.
I made him overalls.
He can rock a pair of overalls like NOBODY’S BUSINESS!
If you think you can do better, you guys can have an overall strap fight.
But he’ll beat you with overalls.
Plus, his have a map in the overalls pocket.
Do your overalls? No. They don’t.
Go home and get yourself some REAL MAN overalls.
You big overalls baby.
Plus, his come with a polydactyl cat.
Really? It’s time for Hot Shops’ winter open house already?
Yeah. It is.
That means cleaning the studio (thanks for shredding a bunch of skeins of yarn, Charles), gathering up all of Rob’s and my pieces in one place, and getting some new merch ready for upcoming gift-buyers. I felt like I had been in a rut as far as getting product cranked out lately. There have been lots of fun things going on in Omaha, and lots of not-so-fun things going wrong at the house, like broken freezers, broken windows, destroyed ceilings, and failing wax rings on toilets.
Have you seen my insane destroyed room and ceiling tiles? That’s what happens when your copper pipes freeze just a teeny bit, my friends.
So, it’s time to get some new things made for you guys. I’m thinking bird purses, fabric containers, monsters, garments, toadstools . . . Keep an eye on my Flickr site, and I’ll try to get some sneek-peek pics up soon. Rob has been working full-time at Kaneko, but has managed to sneak in some really cool new pieces. Look for his new ceramic animal-esque work and lots of new paintings.
Hot Shops has gone through some big changes, too. There are new artists, new gallery exhibits, and they have been working with the Omaha Creative Institute to bring you ‘Come Create It’ workshops (some of which I’m teaching). And then there’s us! Little ol’ studio 222. The one packed with stuff you need.
Come and get it.
Don’t be fooled by her caught-off-guard stance. Jessica Wynne Plymate (that’s her on the left) knows what’s up. You know how you can tell?
1. She has been an Etsy featured seller, been the focus of numerous magazine write-ups, had her creations published (she’s in a brand new book), as well as many other accolades, I’m sure.
2. She can sew. Awesomely. Did you see her Scout in the Ham Costume skirt? Tell me you saw her Scout in the Ham Costume skirt. Barfing deer girl? The “Let’s French” shark? You better.
3. She situated her shop, Aorta, at the heart of a hip art scene in Lincoln. She’s up on the second floor at 116 North 14 St., by Tugboat Gallery.
There’s more, but I’m just going to link you to all of her photos here to view the rest.
Jessica let me set up the PlaiderPillar stuff last week for First Fridays in her shop, and it was ca-razy! Tons of people. I was totally freaked out and socially awkward, as per usual at those sorts of things. Crowds make me weird and I still had a blast! If you haven’t had a chance to hang out in Lincoln for First Fridays . . . do it. Jessica is a pro at displaying the merch, and knows just where to situate her masked mannequins so wine-sippers and beer-swillers don’t mow them down as the artsy masses approach.
Have you met Andrew Marinkovich? Well, he’s pretty handy with a camera. Andrew shoots for Malone & Co. He stopped by during BEASTBOX to document our Empty Room month. And these are just a couple! He has documented the Empty Room as it changes from month to month from monster wonderland, to compact living, raw foods restaurant, collaborative art project, old-school social networking, and beyond.
Here’s a link to the photos Andrew took during BEASTBOX: YES, PLEASE MELT MY FACE.
Wanna read more about his work? Right here.