Candy Wrappers As Art

I'm always on the lookout for neat things that inspire me to create. And when I find said objects, I hoard them like a magpie. Grocery stores are like treasure boxes filled to the brim with endless illustrations and neat packages. Whenever I go out to buy another loaf of bread, I always end up in the gourmet candy aisle, scoping out designs and cool packages that catch my eye.

This candybar caught my eye on the last trip. I love the illustration (and there's a whole series of these bars, each with a different mind-numbingly beautiful illustration) and the fact that it was a Chai Tea chocolate bar completely cinched the deal. Okay, so it was $4--big deal. Look what I got because of it! A gorgeous wrapper that's getting framed and some kick-ass chocolate. A win-win situation, folks.

Zombie Submarines

So, I may not have any new merch for the shop right this week, but look! A quickie sub drawing! Look at the cute portholes! Behold the adorableness!

I don't know why this came out, really. It just...did. I doodled it in a couple seconds while watching a zombie flick, and it wasn't until a solid 15 minutes passed when I realized that yes, I had actually drawn a cute little submarine while watching zombies gorge themselves on bloody human flesh.

Huh.

I still don't know what posessed me to do that. The creative subconsious is a mysterious abyss, I tell you...

More Movie Talk

I've felt kinda chatty about movies lately. Therefore, I haven't gotten any more new designs done for the shop. Sigh. But it's not like I haven't been busy or anything--I've been raking in the hours at work and I'm feeling pretty burned out. Yay for the holiday season...

Anyway, a friend of mine lent me "Tetsuo: The Ironman", which I watched tonight and enjoyed. Those who don't appreciate surreal/arthouse flicks should stay far, far away from it--but if you're anything like me and love to watch not only the mind-numbing entertainment flicks (...like Pirates of the Carribean...) but also films that challenge the cinematic industry and what you perceive as art/film, then you should check this one out. It's older, came out in the 80s, and it's so....crazy. I honestly don't even know what to say about it. Seen "Eraserhead" by David Lynch? Did ya like it as much as I? Cool. This movie is kinda like that. Only faster, darker, much more graphic (...it's not rated for a reason), and more mysterious. It's pretty intense, but boy could I ever appreciate how it was filmed! The camerawork (it's all in b/w, by the way) is perfect and edgy and fits right in with the futuristic man vs. machine theme of the flick. Oh, and did I mention that there's also stop-motion involved? My absolute favorite form of animation. So, overall a really neat flick. Worthy of another watch to absorb it all.

This year there were two magician-themed movies that came out: "The Illusionist" and "The Prestige". I'm in a bit of a conundrum. The Illusionist comes out to dvd first (apparently this week) and I'm debating which of the two I should end up buying. They both looked really good (though I wasn't able to see either in the theaters) and got decent reviews. However, I'm not entirely sure I want to own them both (from the trailers at least, they just looked a little too similar--both being period flicks about magicians). So, I either buy The Illusionist, or wait for The Prestige to come out. I was told The Prestige rocked, but none of my friends went and saw The Illusionist, so I have no way of comparing the two. Ugh. Decisions suck.

I think I'll go lock myself in my studio and try to get some artwork done instead.

Christmas List

After the constant urging of family members, I put together a little Christmas list of stuff they could get me if they felt like it. Honestly, I don't really want anything. I'm happy just to see everyone (and my brother will be home for Christmas this year--yea!), but I also don't want to be a royal pain in the ass when it comes to buying gifts. I know all too well how hard it can be to figure out the perfect gift for someone that doesn't want or need anything. So, here's my list:

Books:
* "Gregory Crewdson"--a collection of photographs and production images of his photographs from 1985-2005. Probably one of my all-time favorite photographers. He has such a wonderful surreal/dream-like/cinema look to his images and I love the amount of thought and work that goes into making them. I know that seeing them in a book pales in comparison to seeing them in real-life (you can't squish all that awesome detail down onto an 11x10" page) but it'll have to do and is head-over-heels better than drooling over a pixelated internet version.

* "Twilight: Photographs by Gregory Crewdson"--all 40 plates from the Twilight photo series by Crewdson. Love 'em all.

CDs:
* "Castaways and Cutouts" by The Decemberists--I. Love. This. Band. What I love even more is that a lot of people surprisingly still don't know who they are. I have all the other albums, but ran out of money when it came to buy this one.

* "Notes from the Underworld" by Persephone's Bees--Such a happy, sing-along, get-stuck-in-your-head cd. I'm sure everyone's heard them by know from the commercials, but there's so many other awesomely good songs on this album that haven't been hyped up yet.

Movies:
* "Pirates of the Carribean II"--doesn't everyone have this on their holiday list this year?

* "El Mariachi"--I already own Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (which I love dearly), but the first flick in the series is harder to come by. It's not in any of the stores near me.

* "Pulp Fiction"--I love this movie but don't own it yet, and it's shameful. I'm extremely embarassed.

* "The Red Violin"--for some reason, the Best Buy near me doesn't have this in stock and hasn't for the past year. It's such a great film and I'd love to own it.

Other:

* vintage black typwriter--saw my dream typwriter at a nearby antique store but, alas, it was $40 and I didn't have enough money to buy it. Seemed like a little too much to spend on one...But it's so gorgeous! I'd just want to sit it on an end table and stare at it all day.

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And so, those are the items I came up with. I'm giving almost everyone I know handpainted pottery this year. Mugs, cups and saucers, chip & dip plates... They all turned out great too! Couldn't be more thrilled.

Walkin' In A Winter Wonderland

Here ye, here ye! Holiday charms are listed in the shop and ready to go to new homes. I do have multiples available of both the Mr. Frosty charms and Lollipop Guild Charms--let me know if you're interested in buying more than one and I'll set ya up.

I'm completely and madly in love with the lolly charms. Sigh. Peppermint lollipops make me want to smile all freakin' day long. They're just so...cheerful. Unbearably so.

Anyway, the Winter Wonderland Charm Theme Pack (pictured above) is one-of-a-kind and I won't have another set available before Christmas--just so you know ahead of time.

As far as other stuff is concerned... The weather here in the Sound has been insane this past week or two. I'm no stranger to cold weather--I lived in central Washington for a few years while in college and we had some killer winters there. The Seattle area doesn't get bad winters, trust me. Usually a snow storm or two every year, but they're pretty mild (and last year I don't think we got one snowfall, oh the humanity!). But this past week we got caught in a cold snap and the temps plummitted. Then came the snow. And the ice. No one was prepared for it, which meant lots of bad, bad traffic problems. And then we all woke up one morning and the temps were 20 degrees higher. Huh. So, the snow is melting, the ice is long gone, and things are going back to normal around here. Most people around here hate the snow and complain when we get our measley 4".

I for one, love it.