Fear Me, 2012!

I'm horrible! I'm rotten! I NEVER UPDATE! What kind of a person am I?


I very busy person working on their thesis show, which happens to go down in May.

Still, I should be more diligent! It's the end of the year, and that always means (aside from copious amounts of alcohol and drunken groping in the closet) New Years Resolutions. Now, I'm always hesitant about making resolutions because I know most of them are B.S. Turn on the TV and you're already bombarded with ads for weight-loss plans, smoking help, all sorts of quackery. It's a racket, I tell you!

But I'm prepared to share with you a few things I'd like to accomplish in 2012, before the sky rips open and Quetzalcoatl comes down from the heavens to smite us all in a flurry of feathers and rainbow horror. God, I can't wait for it.

Shit I'd Like to Accomplish in 2012

-Go to Mass on Sundays. This one will probably come a shock to some of you. Why do I want to go to Mass when I've been known to run around bars screaming "GOD IS A GIANT, COSMIC FELINE!" as well as refer to lawn Nativity scenes as "plastic idolatry". Well to be honest I enjoy the ritual and history of the Mass, the beauty and Mystery of the Communion and the overall experience of taking part in something that has been going on for almost 2000 years. I'm a sucker for good theater, and we all know theater has its roots in religious rituals. The incense, the music, chanting, stained-glass...There's something about it that appeals to me. Besides, what can it hurt to have some crackers and wine once a week?

-Put Together a Bad-Ass Thesis Show. I think this one is self-explanatory.

-Lift More Weights. I love weight lifting. I love it. Unfortunately this past semester I didn't have the time to go to the gym due to my schedule. Luckily this coming semester, while busy, isn't as blocked out like the last one so I can go to the gym at 10 AM before getting to class. That way I can get in before it gets to busy with all the other people trying to stick to their resolutions. Fact: The time from January 1st to Valentine's Day is the most hectic and busy time in any gym.

-Lose 5 lbs. a Month. 5 fucking pounds a month. Is that too much to ask?!

-Find a Job Teaching. Adjunct, full time: I don't fucking care. I need a job.

-Volunteer at Tails. This is going to have to happen after I graduate, but I'm gonna give back to society and help out those who need it. Puto has decided to help out at the local homeless shelter, Hope Haven. Both of these places are great facilities that do some good, so if you feel generous please donate!

-Start a 401k. You can never start too soon, but if you're gonna do this make sure it's with a credit union. Local credit unions = local investments.

-Update this Blog More. Seriously. I have to update this more.


I think these are reasonable goals. The main thing is to not get discouraged if some of these things don't come to pass. Ultimately, I just want 2012 to be a good year not only for myself but for everyone. Make good prints, have good times, and see new things. So from DumbKat Press to you and yours have a Happy New Year!

More Videogame Goodness: Kirby's Adventure

Okay so....

....I got a Wii and one of the things I love about it is the Virtual Console that allows me to download shit-tons of classic games (at a price, of course!). Even thought I have a functioning NES with dozens of carts, I can also download SNES, Sega, and even Turbo Grafix (remember that?) games. So, I've treated myself to a nice glut of wonderful NES classics. Of these glittering gems I have been revisiting one of my most favorite games for the system: Kirby's Adventure.

This shit. Oh yeah.

Ole Fatty here would play this game for hours on end, hypnotized by the magical, candy-coated dreamland that Kirby, an ever-hungry Marshmallow of a hero, was eating his way through to defend from King Dedede and the looming horror of The Nightmare.

That's right folks: this entry is going to focus on the beauty of Kirby's background designs.

Much like the Sonic series, I think Kirby's Adventure has had a major impact on my own style and color choices. It's a very soft, pattern-filled, cloud castle world with glittering, starry skies and pink oceans of bubbles. Everything is curved and round, and for being an NES game the attention to detail is stunning. Of course, this was near the end of the 8-bit era ( "Star Tropics: Zoda's Revenge" would be the last game released on the system) so things had changed since the days of Duck Hunt.

So sit back, relax, and take in some yummy, dreamy beauty.

This is just a small part of the beauty. I suggest you get your hands a copy of this game (bet physical or download) and lose yourself for a good few hours. I know I'm gonna.

Speaking of Video game design and color, Superflat World devoted a whole entry to Kirby's Adventure which is quite a treat. Also, they're into the background art of the Sonic series as well. SCORE!

There's one more game which I feel is a major influence on my work...but I'm kind of ashamed to share it. It's one of those guilty pleasure "shovelware" games...You know what I'm talking about. I'll just post the cover and you can start throwing the eggs at me:

Yep.

COMMENCE EGGING!

Images courtesy of DrShnaps Productions

Sake, Fatties, and Jell-O

I am horrible, rotten printmaker! I know, I haven't updated since April and blah blah blah. Yours Truly has been running all over the place: interning at Evil Prints, two weeks of insanity at Frogman's, and then next week I'm going BACK to EP to help with the Boot Camp! I think The Postmarks said it best in their song "Summers Never Seem to Last"....

So: less talky and more prints! YES I STILL MAKE PRINTS!

The Calling of St. Fatty 2 x 4

multiple block, color reduction

18 x 24

2011

Our Lady of the Fatties

Inkjet on aluminum flashing

7 x 10

2011

Perfection Salad

Inkjet on archival paper

6 x 6

2011

Social Problems/Family Problems

Inkjet on aluminum flashing

11 x 11

2011

Printmaker's Ball

Inkjet on archival paper

18 x 24

2011

Hens and Chicks

Inkjet on Archival Paper

6 x 6

2011

Untitled

inkjet on archival paper

6 x 6

2011

Fat Girls' Diets

Inkjet on Archival Paper

7 x 10

2011

A Charming Chubbie

Inkjet on Archival Paper

11 x 11

2011

So I guess it's pretty obvious that while at Froggie's I took the forbidden jump into "digitial printmaking": something that I always said I'd never do. Well....I did it and apparently everyone really dug the imagery. I'm not going to lie: it was really fun to mess around on the computer and make these in Photoshop. I'll probably continue making digital images and incorporate traditional techniques on top.

Frogman's is always wonderful to go to. I always feel so refreshed and renewed when I come back...artistically anyhow. Those two weeks of printing and....social hours...can wear a girl down, not to mention Yours Truly happened to come down with strep throat while there. Gah...

But it was fun and I met more friends and saw some bad-ass work and had a great time.

Oh, and back in May Puto and I adopted a shelter cat:

This is Sake. He's 10 years old and don't put up with no shit. Oh, and he only likes Puto.

*sigh*

Wanna See Some.....Etchings?

So I'm taking a small break from the hydra and instead I'm working on some...etchings.

Yes, you heard me right: etchings. Intaglio is something I don't really do, and yes I have been known to run around print conferences while screaming "INTAGLIO IS FOR LOSERS".

BUT this semester I am assisting the glorious Anna Kenar in teaching Intro to Printmaking and right now we're working on plates. Anna, a wonderful intaglio printmaker and familiar with my attitude toward the medium, shoved three small plates under my nose and stated:

"You're going to make some plates with the students, demo them, and learn to love intaglio." (Okay, so it didn't go exactly like that but whatever.) Anyhow, it's been great practice for me to get back into working with copper plates and the etching medium. I've been told that I have made nice etchings in the past, so I guess that maybe I've just let a few bad experiences kill the medium for me. This time around, though, I really diggin' it. Hmm...I wonder why.

Makin' a triptych called "The Pussy Liquors"

First state of the middle plate. Needs more work.

Second state of the left plate. Lookin' good!

I may take to this after all!

Artist-in-the-Window at Uncle Fun

Yesterday I had one of the best experiences in my life. No, not that kind of experience gutter-brains! I got to be this month's "Artist in the Window" at the magical world of wonder known as Uncle Fun in Chicago's north side. Now, if you're not familiar with this joint and happen to be in the WindBag City then I highly suggest you hightail a cab to 1338 W. Belmont Ave. to experience one of the best, non-chain toy stores in the country.
This is just the front counter! Look at all that....wonder! Vintage Mario stickers, googly-eyed lizards, Doremon toys, random postcards of mattresses, glittery shutter shades, New Kids on the Block birthday supplies...You never know what they'll have at any given time!
One major thing about Uncle Fun is that they have this cubbie hole shelves as well as those old, wooden card-catalog selves just full of...random objects. A whole drawer full of white Barbie shoes, Adams Family stickers, plastic babies, Minne Mouses...

Uncle Fun is also staffed by two wonderful, awesome people:

Alicia and Frank! Please forgive the blurry quality of the photo, I must have been shaking from all the excitement. They were quite accommodating when I came to do my stint as the featured artist and made the whole experience quite entertaining and fun.

So what exactly does being the "Artist in the Window" entail? Well they clear out one of the front windows of the store and that gets to be the work space. You get to sit in their front window and make awesome work while people pass by. Hang your work in the window, make an installation, wear a bear suit: as long as it's art! I made small relief prints and spoon-printed them on mulberry paper. I even sold one!
This was my awesome work surface: an old school...school desk. It was the perfect size and fit for Yours Truly. As you can see I was in the process of cutting a block.
I had already cut four small blocks the night before and printed them when I got there, just so I could have some work to display off the bat. Check out the random jogger out the window!
"Pill Head". He actually turned out pretty nice!

Yes, there I am with Alicia in the window! Frank was cool enough to snap the photo for me!

The 5 hours I was there went by too fast. I was actually quite sad to leave but happy to have had the experience. I gave Frank and Alicia a print on my way out; it was the least I could for two wonder folks!

So, like I said: if you ever have the chance to check out one of the best kept secrets of Chicago then by all means....GO TO UNCLE FUN!

SGC-O-RAMA HELL WEEK: St. Louis on FIRE.

Another year, another SGC....NOT!

This SGC was by far one of the most...intense experiences I've ever survived! You had SGC hosted by WashU and running parallel to it was Tom Huck's HELL WEEK. A proverbial clash of the titans, you could say (in more ways than ONE!).

There were times I felt like I was living in a F. Scott Fitzgerald novel (I'm reading The Beautiful and Damned right now), the whirl of galleries and bars and events and friends sometimes overwhelming me. Other times, I felt down-right too old when surrounded by 19-year-old scene kids and hipsters. Mainly, however, I was having a damn fine time.

Fun-time textile and fiber art.

Our hotel, the Chase Plaza, had its own movie theater. Swanky shit.

Found this hilarious. Oh, and the gallery reeked of weed.

LOVE IT!

Once again, Dumbo Press tore it up at Huck's EVIL PRINTS with their newest device of torture: THE SEE-SAW LITHO PRESS.

The beautiful Julia Curran and the infamous John Hancock with the WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE.

Tom Huck reads his biographical zine created by Kevin McCloskey.

This is, of course, only a SMALL smattering of what really went down (hooka bars, tattoo parlors, lost cellphones, printmaking weddings...). Now it's back home and back to work. DKP has some new ideas and new energy to make some PURE CHAOS.

SGC Pre-Game Thunderdome Tiger Blood

With only a day or so to spare before SGC 2011, yours truly is trying to get their shit together.

LOOK AT MY APARTMENT!

Why do I feel so damn screwed?