Something To Do Tonight

If you are in the Carrboro, NC area (which I now am), there is something that looks like it will be fun and toy/art related going on tonight. Tonight is the re-opening of Wootini at their new gallery space (not in Carr Mill Mall anymore) along with the opening of the Wootini Gallery Roadshow, featuring works of art by the likes of Steff Bomb, Fish McGill, CHema Skandal (apparently the "H" is capitalized, this is not a typo), Mike Ski, Evoker, Shawnimals, and other people with equally ridiculous names. There will probably be music, possibly by Family, and maybe even some beer or wine or other drinkies for the folkies. And of course, they got toys! Anne is going to a wine tasting, but I prefer an art opening, so this is where I will be. Maybe not from 7-11pm, but at some point.

But I Never Win!

This past Saturday night was the Rotobox Vinyl Anatomica Ganmetall Celsius Custom Show at the Toy Art Gallery right here in LA and for some reason I didn't know about it! How can something like this happen where I live and I don't know about it? Rhetorical question, but I will answer it anyway. It is because LA is huge and there is just no way to know about everything that is going on. Of course, being in general contact with the toy community at large and toy customizer and participant-in-this-event Tony Nakanari specifically, I should have known about this. Somewhere in the bottomless pit that is my e-mail inbox there is probably an invitation or two to this show. But I didn't know all that. Nope, I was completely oblivious. Until I walked past the show on the way to see one of my roommate's friends perform improv at the Comedy Sportz Theatre which is right next door to the Toy Art Gallery. There was a Kogi-ripoff Korean BBQ taco truck parked right outside, and my roommate and I both wondered to ourselves what it was doing there. We noticed the throng of people gathered around and as we walked past I peeked into the gallery window and to my delight saw several customized art toys. I convinced my roommate to venture into the gallery with me because we were quite early for the improv show. As we entered, we were both handed raffle tickets for prizes that would be drawn later that night. I really didn't think much of it, I didn't think we would be back at ten o'clock that night for the drawing. I didn't think the improv show would go on that long. But it did, and as we were waiting for my roommate's friend to change clothes after his performance and meet us to see what we were going to do, we went back to the gallery for the raffle drawing. To my amazed surprise, bemusement, thrill, and shock I was the first raffle ticket picked for a prize. I won a pre-release Ganmetall Celcius figure, Overheat, which I guess will be released sometime later this year. I'm not sure, there isn't any information about it on Rotobox's website other than that there is just one of them and it was the raffle prize. The new Jadon G.I.D. Exclusive Debametall Fahrenheit figure, which was released for public consumption at the show, was the other raffle prize that was given away. Spencer Ong of Rotobox even signed the feet of my prize Overheat Celsius figure for me! It was pretty sweet! And I normally never win anything! You can see pictures of most of the customs here. You can see the two that were given away below.
This is the one that I won.
This is the other one that was given away.

Art March Again

My artwork will be featured at an exhibit at Gallery Godo in Glendale, CA starting next Friday, March 26th. There will be a reception from 7pm until midnight and the exhibit will be up until April 2nd. I have a couple of new paintings that I just completed that I will be showing. So come check it out if you are in the LA area.

Update: Unfortunately, I didn't sell anything at that exhibit, but you can still take a look at pictures from the gallery opening night here. I now have three of my paintings in an ongoing group exhibit at Artisan Venice in Venice Beach, CA. If you are in the area, you can check it out. It is located at 80A Windward Ave.

Mike Mignola Y'all!

I know it has been forever, but whatever, get it while you can.

Anyway, the artwork of Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy, will be featured tonight, one night only, at Secret Headquarters in Sunset Junction from 8-10pm.


Secret Headquarters will also be offering a limited edition Mignola illustrated letterpress print made specifically for this show. The prints feature never before seen Hellboy artwork by Mike Mignola with color supervision by Dave Stewart. These 3 color letterpress prints have been beautifully made by Aardvark Letterpress of Los Angeles.


Complimentary wine provided by Bear Flag.

Also, Kwong Dynasty: Noodle Fantasy will be parked in front of Secret Headquarters for all of your delicious noodle slurping needs.

Now get off my back about posting stuff, y'all! I needs my beauty sleep!

Aye Me Beasties!

Friday the 13th
at Secret Headquarters
Rain or Shine
Booze and beasts!

If I am not out seeing
Prince Paul and Peanut Butter Wolf
at the Echoplex that night,
I will be there.

A Couple Of Things

Going on this weekend, I think as I sit here fasting and reflecting on the past year. First, Kicks Sole Provider in Sunset Junction is having a party this Friday night from eight 'til midnight to introduce a new clothing brand that they are carrying, Insight. 30% off Insight clothing that night, free drinks and gift bags, so this is definitely not to be missed. For some reason they were closed today when Seth and I stopped by to pick something out for Seth to wear to the NYC premiere of The Elephant King on October 17th, though. Maybe they were at Synagogue atoning.

Also this weekend, Saturday night is the inaugural exhibition of the new Cerasoli:LeBasse Gallery, the merging of project:gallery and Lab 101. They will now be in a larger space right across the street from their old location in Culver City. The opening reception features work from Deth P Sun, Mari Inukai and Melissa Haslam [work pictured above]. I definitely want to check this one out. It will be going on from 7 to 10pm. Although I'm not sure about the gallery name, a little hard to remember, but I definitely like the content and the website looks real nice. Anyway, back to fasting and reflecting. Fasting and reflecting. I can't wait for pizza at break fast tonight.

Secret Headquarters

I got e-mail from Secret Headquarters [pictured below] on Sunset that Andrice Arp [pictured above] has an exhibit opening this Friday, tomorrow in fact, September 19th, my brother Seth's birthday (happy b-day, bro), from 8-10 pm. I really like the Secret Headquarters. It is cozy, they have a wide selection of comics and the staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Anyway, I will try to make it out for this. I am moving this weekend, so it might be a little tough. I do have tomorrow off, though, because my boss is heading to Las Vegas for the Art Expo. He invited me along, but I have to move and Seth is coming back this weekend and it is his birthday and he needs a good clown-raping. I think I've said too much. Anyway, check out the art of Andrice Arp tomorrow night if you are in the Sunset Junction area. Maybe I'll see you there.

Moving Right Along

This past weekend Anne and I traveled 3,004 miles (twice) at an average air speed of 452 miles per hour and ground speed of 45 miles per hour from Los Angeles, California via Atlanta, Georgia to Fenwick Island, Delaware. It was a grueling trip that began at 12:55 am (PST) Friday night in Los Angeles and concluded at 3:05 pm (EST) Saturday afternoon on Fenwick Island, but it was worth it. Somewhere in the Atlanta airport, I lost my mind. Luckily, I didn't sleep Friday night, so when you factor in the time change, I was awake for 38 hours straight. Sleep deprivation and traveling across time zones rapidly does some strange things, especially when you add alcohol, which I promptly did upon arrival at our palatial beach house, mere steps from the beach.
I didn't make it to the beach that first day, but I did eventually make it to bed. Before that, though, I was treated to the finest of foods: corn on the cob, hamburgers and Frogmore stew. The second day began with a trip to the beach for a little boogie boarding, volleyball and getting sun burnt as hell. Sunday afternoon, Seth grilled up some sickly delicious lobsters for lunch [pictured above]. They were indescribably good. After lunch we set up the horseshoe pitch and threw some shoes. That was fun. Sunday night I made a huge pot of paella with grilled chicken, sausage and shrimp for the family. It was delicious. I think some of the family might have had their doubts, but I know what I'm doing when it comes to paella. After dinner we had what everyone had been waiting for, Mama's chocolate bourbon pecan pie a la mode. I went to bed drunk and full again Sunday night. The sunburn and jet lag didn't help, though.

Monday, Seth and Gena left in the morning, then it was off to the beach again for more boogie boarding, walking hand-in-hand with Anne on the beach like two lovebirds and trying to keep from burning any worse than I already was. I wore the wrong shorts for boogie boarding, and lost them in the surf a couple of times, to everyone on the shore's delight. Lunch Monday was hamburgers, hot dogs and barbecue chicken on the grill a la Scotty G. It was delicious, and still we begged for more. After lunch Anne and I walked down to a little skateboard shop called Rebel One to check out their 45% off sale. They had some decent wares, but I don't have any money to spend right now. But if I did, I would definitely get one of these exclusive Limited Ed. Yuta Onoda Wishing Upon a Star prints [pictured below] from the I am 8-bit show that are available from A Paper Tiger. It is a 12" x 16" archival print, signed, numbered, and limited to only 30.
Scott, Magnolia, Hip Hop, and Peter left Monday evening, then the rest of the gang ordered pizza and played Taboo until it was time to go to bed. Anne and I had to leave early Tuesday morning, but not until after a hearty breakfast of blueberry pancakes and french toast bagels. Back in the car, back on a plane, back to the Atlanta airport, and finally home to Los Angeles. It is still a little weird to call Los Angeles home.
Anyway, another Los Angeles, well Culver City, friend of Limited Ed., project:gallery, is moving. After their new exhibit, Fresh Faces [Yuta Onada's Libido, pictured above], which begins this Saturday, September 6th, from 7-10 pm (PST), they will be moving to a larger space just down the street. The new exhibit features the work of Nimit Malavia, Yuta Onoda, Dominique Fung and Martha Chan. I might try to make it there. I will see if I have fully recovered by Saturday.

Speaking of recovery, Lee "Scratch" Perry [pictured above] will be at Amoeba Music on Sunset this evening at 7 pm (PST). I would like to make it out for that, but I don't know if I will be able to. Anne isn't home yet, she will have Kallie the Kat with her and we haven't had dinner yet. It is going to be a mess trying to get everything taken care of before seven. I still might try to make it out, 'cuz I'm a huge "Scratch" Perry fan. Anyway, I am exhausted from work today. Check out my pictures from this weekend here.

Buried

My old pals over at project:gallery have an exhibit opening this Saturday, August 16th from 7-10pm entitled Buried Beneath Me, a group exhibition curated by the Friends United Network. Here's the good word from project:gallery:

The concept for the exhibition is the idea of being "buried" - and not necessarily in a morbid way. The main body of work will be a reflection on the simple beauties which are so often overlooked in our fast-paced lives, emphasizing that we are a relatively small, but important, part of a larger collective consciousness. The hope is that this show will help the viewer recognize the playful joys of living despite being "Buried" under a mound of superimposed social constraints.

This will be the second major Los Angeles show curated by the Friends United Network, and will host several artists that have shown in the gallery including: Rebecca Urias, Derek Albeck, Ken Garduno - as well as new artists to project: Ian Mailhot, Seth Neefus, Tim Karpinski, David Wien, Mark Warren Jacques and Scott Ferguson.

Looks like some good stuff. Project:gallery also has a new blog, here. Anne and I are going to try to make it out for the opening this Saturday night. Culver City is a haul from Echo Park, though, but it's worth it.

Also worth it, if you are in the Sunset Junction area of Silverlake in LA, is the sneaker shop Kicks Sole Provider [pictured above]. Anne and I stopped in there while strolling around Sunset Junction. There is also a Giant Robot store, an Undefeated store and Secret Headquarters [pictured below], a good comic book shop. I could spend all weekend at those four shops. Of course, for sneakers in Sunset Junction, I think Kicks Sole Provider has a better selection than Undefeated. They had some real nice Onitsuka Tigers and some dope Limited Ed. Nikes on consignment. There are also some good vintage shops around Sunset Junction. My kind of area. I think I will be spending a lot of time down there while I am living in Echo Park. It is so close! (Check out my other pictures from LA here)

Neglectin' My Duties

Sorry I have been a little lax with the posts the last few days. I have been busy exploring LA and searching for a job. Yesterday, Anne and I took an unexpected tour of Los Angeles when I tried to find Cedar Sinai Medical Center without my iPod. We ended up in Inglewood. 45 minutes later, we found Cedars, then it was on to Runyon Canyon Park for a little hiking and sightseeing. I will have to bring a camera next time 'cause from up there you can see all of Los Angeles. It is pretty amazing. Today I got a job at Art Territory, a gallery and studio on La Brea and Santa Monica. I start on Monday. It only took me six days to find a job. I guess I can rest tomorrow.

Anyway, today, there is no rest for the weary. I got some Limited Ed. stuffeses to share with y'all. First up, Erick Scarecrow's SDCC Kissaki Sandstorm colorway figure [pictured above] is now available at the ESC eBay store. It is limited to only 300 pieces and comes with a signed limited edition print by Erick Scarecrow. This is definitely one of my favorite ESC pieces so far, and I especially like this Tattooine-lookin' colorway.

And the other thing I wanted to share with y'all for right now, Julie West will be showin' an exhibit of her work at the Myplasticheart Gallery in NYC startin' tonight. The exhibit, entitled Sickly Sweet features a wide range of new artwork, from paintings to prints and customs based around her sugary theme. Unfortunately, I forgot I am on West Coast time, so the opening has already ended. You can still see it, though, through September 9th.

Man, it is crazy being out here in LA! I have just been drivin' around gawkin' at people and at places that I done seen in the movies and on the TV. I feel like a regular country rube bumpkin givin' blumpkins out here. I keep yellin' at people in other cars, "I'm from North Carolina, man! I don't know where I am! I don't give a shit! I'll kill us all, dammit!" in Edward's redneck accent from The Dog Prince. Of course, I got the windows rolled up for the AC, so people just think I'm some crazy guy yellin' to himself in his car. They steer clear, though. It's fun.

Everyone We Know

I got e-mail from Yifat over at Urbanix Gallery in Tel-Aviv in Israel letting me know about what's going on at their gallery. Urbanix is the first gallery and shop in Israel dedicated to urban art and vinyl toys. That's pretty freakin' awesome! I am very glad that urban art and vinyl has caught on somewhere like Israel. It gives me hope for the future. Anyway, they have an exhibit opening this Thursday, July 24th, entitled Me, You and all the Others featuring works in different media by five young Israeli illustrators and graphic designers: Gabby Nathan [painting pictured above], Gal Shkedi [sculpture pictured below], Nura Porat, Tamar Moshkovitz and Shlomi Schillinger (the last two are the creators of Plushhood). According to Yifat:

"The exhibition deals with the dialog between the urban (the city) and human texture (the society).

The difficulty of coping with a demanding and competitive urban life, the subjugation to consumerism, money and social status, beside social manifestations like violence and indifference, can be found either openly or concealed in the works presented."

Pretty heady stuff. If you are in Tel-Aviv this weekend, stop by and give them a big Shalom for me!

Turning The Tides

project:gallery in LA has got a new exhibit opening this weekend featuring the artwork of Edwin Ushiro. The exhibit, entitled while tides guide you back home opens Saturday nightz, July 12th from 7-10pm. Apparently, the "Green Truck" will be on-site with organic food and wholesome goodness. Here is what project:gallery has to say about the show:

The concept for while tides guide you back home is inspired by Edwin Ushiro's feelings of regret and remorse for leaving his native Hawaii. Often wondering how life would have been different had he remained on Maui, Ushiro creates a body of work evoking childhood memories real and imagined. He portrays these moments through dreamlike sequences where he re-writes and re-interprets his own childhood memories.

The works in this solo exhibition are a cohesive series of multimedia paintings that confront both memories of childhood and stories of Hawaiian folklore. Ushiro utilizes some truly unique artistic techniques, a fusion of traditional and digital. Ushiro incorporates paint, ink, iron transfers, fabric and other materials into his work in order to achieve the desired moods and emotions.

The unique emotion and techniques that make up Ushiro's work have turned him into one of the most buzz-worthy emerging artists working today. With several recent magazine interviews and shows booked into 2009 from New York to Los Angeles and appearances coming at Art Basel, Ushiro has become one of the most talked about artists in the new contemporary movement.

The gallery is located at 8545 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232. Y'all folks out there in LA can contact them at info@projectgalleryLA.com for more info. I'll be in LA starting in August, so I will be heading to as much of this sort of thing as I can when I get out there, so maybe I'll see y'all there.

It's Full Of Stars

I was surfing over at Hypebeast for some reason today and noticed that Michael Lau has an upcoming exhibit, cleverly titled CSBOOTH15 coming up. Included in the previews for the release are vinyl versions of Lau's 049 Jordan figure [pictured above], a 2001: a Space Odyssey-inspired figure entitled 2bb1 [below] and another Kubrick-inspired figure, this one from A Clockwork Orange, entitled Black White Orange [bottom].
These are some pretty sweet new figures. I was wondering when Lau would get back on track and present some figures worth adding to the ol' collection. I especially like the two Kubrick-inspired figures, because he is one of my favorite directors and A Clockwork Orange and 2001: a Space Odyssey are two of my favorite movies. I hope these find their way to our shores soon, and there are enough of them to go around. More on prices and availability when i find that shit out. Anyway, the show will go on July 5th and 6th at Michael Gallery in Hong Kong. The address is below.
CSBOOTH15
July 5th - July 6th
Michael Gallery
11/F., Lok's Industrial Building
204 Tsat Tsz Mui Road, Quarry Bay
Hong Kong
p: 852.2811.3111

A Face Only A Mother Could Love

Wootini has a new exhibit opening tonight featuring the work of Brendan Danielsson [pictured above], Jason Murphy, Katie Ridley, and Meagan Ridley of the Art Dorks Collective. The show will begin at 7 pm this evening and will run through August 5th. There will be snacks and drinks at the opening reception and "Family" is expected to bring the music. Here's what Michael had to say about the show:

So who are the Art Dorks? Brendan Danielsson originally started it as a web community which grew into the young artist collective it is today. If they fit into a genre, it would be something between Pop Surrealism, Low Brow, and a 1980's hightop sneaker. Being young artists, they've been collectively bombarded with media since the day they were born and it's bound to influence their work.

Let's talk a little about the contributing artists for this show. The Ridley sisters, Jason Murphy and Brendan Danielsson all attended the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. Like one big giant artist family, Brendan and Meagan have been married for 2 years, and Jason and Katie will wed later this year making them all 'kin'. They all currently live in Atlanta and work (or have worked) for CNN. Katie is a part time designer for CNN and a freelance illustrator while Meagan is a designer for CNN Headline News. Brendan works as a compositor for CNN. Jason is a designer for Mind's Eye, but at one time worked for CNN. But don't judge them with media bias, or confuse them with the "fair and balanced" fox news people. It's just that they need to pay the bills somehow.

If I get out of work early enough, maybe I will head over for the opening. If Anne lets me out of the apartment. She likes to keep me tied up in the laundry room. We'll see!

Death To The Humans!

Our robot overlords are here to oppress us, finally. Well, just in vinyl form, that is. Anyway, M.Heisler has a new Slobot to gawk at and a whole list of upcoming shows. Here's more info about the Slobot Farmer [pictured above]:

Name: SLOMUNNYV4

Type: Custom 7" Kidrobot Munny

Story: Created for the TOY BOX APATHY show in Las Vegas, NV in the upstairs gallery at THE ATTIC LAS VEGAS. Custom 7" munny (approx 12" with new legs) with positionable arms, lucite arms and legs, found objects, recyclable materials, positionable "glider" wings, and traditional artist materials.

"SlomunnyV4 is a Martian Agriculture Robot deployed to Mars before the first settlers arrived. His task was to begin growing desert plant species in an effort to increase the oxygen content of Mars. Even though Mars has been settled for many years now, SlomunnyV4 continues to go about his job with genuine happiness and good will towards Earthlings, Martians, and their respective animals. He happily spends his days bouncing and gliding over the Martian countryside using his wings for added stability in the low gravitational field of Mars."

You can see more pictures on the Slobots website here. The show at The Attic opens this Saturday, June 6 at 7pm. Future Slobot show involvement includes "Monster Mayhem" at Gallery at East Atlanta Tattoo from June 13 through July 28, "16 Inch Qee Show" at APW Gallery in July, "Nonpareil" at NOWhere Limited from July 4 to July 28, and "Summer Munny Show" at Lift Detroit in August. Check them out if they are in your town. Maybe you let me know how they went?

Culver City Artalk

I got e-mail from my friends over at project:gallery letting me know that they will be participating in the Culver City Artwalk this Saturday, May 31st. They will be opening their doors to a group of collectors, friends and press for a pre-Culver City Artwalk preview of their new exhibit "insider trading", a group show of gallery represented artists. "A show curated specifically for the Annual Artwalk, 'insider trading' will showcase new work from Yoskay Yamamoto, Tessar Lo, Rebecca Urias, Nate Frizzell, Edwin Ushiro and Scott Belcastro." The preview is by invitation only, so go to project:gallery's website and sign up for their mailing list if you would like to be invited. Artists will be in attendance and there will be coffee, mimosas and pastries provided for those attending the preview.

Projecta Selecta Detecta

I got some e-mail from project: gallery and just wanted to give them a quick shout-out. They currently have The Upside of Down, a solo exhibit of work from Yoskay Yamamoto, on display now until May 31st.

The concept for the upside of down is inspired by Yoskay Yamamoto’s own need to express his emotions, personality and frequent feeling of self-doubt. Yamamoto feels as if he is always in a battle with himself or his alter-ego known as “Inskay.” The Japanese word “Yo-“ translates to “light” while “In-“ refers to “dark,” which is where we find YO-skay and his internal struggle with IN-skay. As an artist and as a person, Yamamoto feels this constant struggle of light and dark within himself.

As you may notice by reading my blog, I am a big fan of Asian art and especially anything involving coi fish, so I really like Yamamoto's work.

Keep an eye out here for more from project: gallery.

Soopa Time

The Concrete Jungle & Esc-Toy Ltd. are excited to announce the first ever Soopa Show on Saturday April 19, 2008 from 8PM until 2AM. The event will feature over 30 unique Soopa vinyl customs from artists around the world, complimentary food, DJ, a Soopa raffles, and a lot of guest artists including Erick Scarecrow -- creator of the vinyl toy.

The artist list includes:

• Manny Galan


• Mike Shoop


• Doktor A


• Zane Kozak


• Omar Hernadez & Will Pena


• Andrew Scribner


• Eric Nocella


• Bucky Lastard


• Matt Ayward


• Alec Grossman [hey, I know that guy!]


• Brent Nolasco


• Brandy Anderson


• Anna Chambers


• Brian Slivka


• Ayleen Gaspar


• S4NDM4N


• Jude Buffum


• Massa Mas


• Mike Burk


• Chaotic Unicorn


• Dynomight NYC


• Aaron Thomas


• Dan Barojas


• Mimic


• George Gaspar


• Curster


• Steff Bomb


• Motorbot


• Marka27

The Concrete Jungle is located 70-15 Austin Street, Forest Hills, NY 11375.
Take the E,F,R,G,V trains to 71st Continental Ave.

The Soopa is short for Soopa Coin-Up Bros.; an arcade D-I-Y "Do it Yourself" vinyl toy created by Erick Scarecrow and manufactured by Esc-Toy Ltd. One of Erick Scarecrow's childhood dreams was to create his own arcade games without the gray hairs of a big budget. The 7 inch vinyl toy can be customized with paint, markers, pencils, ink and more.

Back From The Dead

Alright, I didn't really kill myself. Or, even worse, stop blogging. It was an April Fool's Day joke, d'uh. I even made that the label for the post as not to confuse the dumb people out there on tha' internets (G.W., I'm looking at you). Anyway, now I'm back with a vengeance! And vengeance will be mine! With the Black Guard by Mad*L [pictured above]:

New York Comic Con 2008 - The Black Guard strikes myplasticheart

The countdown to New York Comic Con begins and in the coming weeks myplasticheart will be releasing information on all our exclusive events and releases for this awesome show. The first release will be the MPH exclusive Black Guard Mad*l figure by MAD. This is the first production Mad*l figure in over a year and will be made available at MAD's first solo show in NYC on April 17th. "Some Stuff I Made" [flyer below] features the debut of customized 10 inch Mad*ls designed by MAD himself. The Black Guard Mad*l will be made available at the show as well as during Comic Con weekend (April 18th - April 20th). MAD will also be signing at the myplasticheart booth (#866) on Friday and Saturday.


"Some Stuff I Made"
A Collection of Custom 10 inch Mad*ls by MAD
Opening Thursday April 17th 2008 6 - 9pm
Exhibition runs through May 18th 2008

myplasticheart nyc
210 Forsyth St.
New York NY 10002
(between E. Houston and Stanton)
Yahoo Maps

www.myplasticheart.com
www.myplasticheartnyc.com



myplasticheart @ New York Comic Con
Booth #866
April 18 - April 20
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
655 West 34th Street
New York, NY 10001
NYCC Website

3 Weeks