This weekend my friend Demi (DemiGod Studio) and I did some live body painting at Cafe Hey. Here’s our lovely model Tammi rockin’ her pirate outfit made almost entirely of acrylic paint. Everything you see except the hat, sword and boots is paint.

I met an awesome painter by the name of Adriana Tomassi whose work I really fell in love with. I bought two of her minis which she was letting go for practically nothing. I don’t have photos of those but here’s a couple of paintings which reflect her loose, imaginative style.

A friend of mine bought this painting which was one of my favorites, as well:

I also met part of group that makes up Calavera Comics. Calavera is an indie comic force that does a little bit of everything including cool comic anthologies. It was refreshing to see some comic art at an art show. Here’s a shot of their wall:

It was a fun night. Other than that, I haven’t done too much. I’ve been sick for like 10 days now with some days better than others. Maybe it’s allergies from hell. I don’t know. Oh, wait I did complete this Day of the Dead couple that I’ve been working on little by little for ages now. They are on hold for someone already in case you’re wondering, but more day of the dead art dolls are in progress.

day of the dead duo by calan ree

Oh, I also saw Burton’s Alice in Wonderland this weekend. It was what I expected. I’m not super fond of the cgi-ness but I got over myself and just enjoyed it. The costumes were phenomenal. Depp plays 3 different personalities rolled into that Mad Hatter which was cool to watch. Plus, there are these upright frogs in fancy attire that made me squeal with delight. So, all in all I liked it very much. Would I have loved a less Disneyesque, darker Alice? Hell, yes. But, it certainly is imaginative and filled with enough eye candy to make it worth seeing on the big screen.

That’s all for now, haiku away and I’ll see you next week!

<3 calan

So this weekend I went to a fantastic art show (Black and White) at the new studio and gallery of Blue Lucy. Blue Lucy is the collaboration of Chad Mize and Phillip Clark, two talented guys who I adore, not only because they are really nice and I love their work but because they aren’t afraid to let their sense of humor find it’s way into their art. They are respected in the art community and have not an ounce of pretension. Instead, they have on more than one occasion encouraged me or offered advice. To see them have this fabulous new space and a bunch of sales while be surrounded by not only fans, but friends was a beautiful thing.

What’s even more beautiful is the sense of openness, support and general camaraderie pretty much describes the St. Pete art scene. Johnny Vitale’s studio next store stayed closed so instead of feeding off the overflow of the Blue Lucy show, he was at the Blue Lucy show showing his support. Yet when the two studios opened a few weeks ago they scheduled it intentionally for the same night to celebrate together and share their friends and fans with one another.

I had a chance to chat some more with Blue Lucy Black and White album on Flickr where you can see more.

Phillip Clark and Chad Mize of Blue Lucy

Blue Lucy Black and White Show

I bought the two headed guy on the far left third row from the bottom. So cute!

Maggie in a robot love pendant and me in my anatomical heart locket. If you are wondering, yep there is a picture inside. It’s one of me and Jim taken at Lafayette cemetery in New Orleans.

**News**

This weekend I’ll be at Cafe Hey in Tampa live body painting with Demi of DemiGod Studios. I’m actually just assisting Demi this time so I’m not even sure what we’re doing but I’m sure it will be awesome and loads of fun.

So I owe you pictures from the ArtPool Muse show, don’t I? Our punk cabaret cupcake girl came out pretty damn cute. Our model Tammie’s patience and awesome bod didn’t make it too difficult.

Here’s our muse – photos by ArtPool owner Marina Williams:

Here’s a few of my favorites from the event. More photos by Marina…

Demi and I were having a hat party in the back of the shop when we met Mary Geraci, a documentary filmmaker and photographer who took the following photos. Before you ask, hell yeah I bought the military hat. The mask was already mine. Demi didn’t buy the Lady Gagaesque hat even though she rocked it.

Finally, one of my favorite photos taken by some random passerby that came out grainy and weird but I am in love with. I manipulated it in Photoshop. I love how we are all engaged in our own individual experiences of the same moment in time. I suppose this is always the case but it’s illustrated so beautifully here.

If you are thinking you’d like to try to body painting but aren’t sure how to go about it, it’s simple. Get some cheap non-toxic acrylic paint – NOT oil (yikes!) or Tempera (it turns to powder and falls off very quickly). Acrylic paint will crack up a lot but it stays on for the most part. You can mix a little moisturizer in the acrylics to help keep it from cracking…but it still will as far as I can tell. Oh, keep the acrylic out of hair. You can protect facial hair or hairline with a little vaseline. Acrylic washes off of skin with simple soap and water. Easy peasy.

Alternatively, you can be professional about the whole thing (lets face it acrylic paint isn’t meant for skin even if I’ve seen it used and have used it myself plenty with no problems) and invest in some body paints. If you have a good costume store in your town, you can find some I’m sure. It comes in pancake and liquid forms. I’m not talking about the crap they sell for kids at Halloween. That junk fades in about 3 minutes. If you have one of those big party store chains nearby, they sell a line of pancakey style body paint by the name of SnizzleSnazzle or RazzleDazzle or something silly like that and it’s actually really good. You just need to spritz it with water and apply with a sponge or brush and keep on spritzing as you work.

Finally before I go, let me show you my new bestest friend in the whole wide world. Her name is Millie and I adore her. I passed up a free ticket to Busch Gardens so I could stay home and take another stab at art doll making. She is, of course, Dia de los Muertos inspired because every day is the Day of the Dead in my studio.

Millicent - Art Doll by Calan Ree

That’s all for now. Haiku away. Use the comic or the body painting or little Millicent as your inspiration.

<3 calan

p.s.
in honor of this week's comic i created a zombie sock monkey pendant now available in the GingerDead Shoppe on Etsy…

Some days nothing goes right and nothing is going to go right no matter what you do. When I have days like this I’ve learned the only way to deal with them is to acknowledge it’s happening and resolve to do nothing. That’s right, I give up. Not in a self-pitying way but in an accepting way. My personal choice is to watch a movie or two. There is very little you can screw up by laying like a slug in front of a screen. To help get you in the ‘I’m over this crappy day’ spirit, there’s nothing like a pair of jammies! I think the brain associates the pajamas with rest and you automatically shut down a bit and begin to relax, heal, let go.

So, here’s to jammies and here’s to doodling in jammies in a semi-conscious state without which you’d have no comic today. Hoo!

NEWS

- This Sat, Feb 13th I’ll be downtown St. Pete body painting with my friend Demi at the ArtPool Muse show. Some of you might recall us doing this last year when we did a dia de los muertos theme. Because everyone is expecting dark, we are going with something unexpected and sweet. I’ll definitely post photos.

calan demi and muse

More photos of last year’s Muse Show here.

- The new ‘Love is Strange’ artwork is now officially a GingerDead Greeting Card available in my etsy store.

-I took a grassroots approach to silk screening (taught by the Crafty Hag) and am in love with the idea of hand screening t-shirts. Expect that cafe press store to burn down soon and be replaced eventually with very small batches of hand screened tees which I’ll sell through etsy, at very select shops and at shows.

Me and my jammies are going to go have some tea now and see if we can shake the remnants of this never-ending cold.

See you next week!
<3 calan

I mean it’s a new Terry Gilliam film that happens to have Tom Waits playing the devil and Heath Ledger starring in it despite passing away before the film’s completion. If that weren’t enough Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell step in as Heath Ledger’s character with ‘altered appearances’. This deserves at least a little hype, no? Yet, so many people haven’t even heard of it let alone know it is in cinemas now. I just don’t get it.

So, I’m making it my job tonight to implore you to go see this film. It’s brilliant. A masterpiece, even. Seriously. I had a huge grin and a dropped jaw through much of this visually stunning, highly amusing, imaginative, well acted film, just-go -freaking-see-it film.

I hear that Dr. P may have a couple of Oscar nominations, so perhaps after the Awards everyone will run out to see it or rent it when it’s released on DVD like they did with Pan’s Labyrinth. I hope so. It deserves some recognition and most of all to simply be seen. If it’s playing in your area I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen over waiting for the DVD. It’s that kind of movie. To those of you that trusted me and rented or even went and bought MirrorMask and loved it, trust me one more time. It’s in the same vein, I think.

Here’s an interview with Terry Gilliam on the film’s support site.

That’s all for now. Haiku away…

<3 calan

This will be a super short post because I got lost in a pile of graphic design work that suddenly piled in and my wrist and arm are about to fall off. Okay, maybe it’s not that bad but it’s incredibly ouchy.

The highlight of my week was making finger puppets. The lowlight of my week was parting with them. They are now at the Florida Craftsmen gallery in St. Pete peppering my jewelry selection and available (eek!) for sale.

Okay I’m seriously having trouble typing here but I’ll upload a pic of my finger puppet friends before I go. Currently they are only available through Florida Craftsmen.

I can be a little harsh of my own work at times but I truly love those three. I nearly ran back to the gallery to take them back after dropping them off. I had a fleeting episode of separation anxiety but I’m okie dokie now. If they sell I’m sure it will be to good homes. If they don’t I will get them back and hug them and squeeze them and store them in my mouth for safe keeping.

Okay, I’m getting away from this evil puter! Have a great week.

By the way, just because I didn’t haiku this week doesn’t mean you can’t.

<3 calan

the brooch / pendant :

I’m a bit over worked at the moment, so I’m going to have to keep tonight’s post brief. I will leave you with a link to a fairly new and pretty awesome blog by the name of The Goth Aesthetic. This week they took a look at the new black for Goths…or the new bat…basically, they note the emergence of the octopus in recent dark art, fashion and decor. My octopus bracelet is one of the tentacle-a-licious items featured. The article reflects upon the mysterious ways of the octopus which may just explain why it keeps popping up in the work of dark artists. It’s a nice little article with plenty of eye candy so check out: Get Your Tentacles On Me.

I’d like to add that squid and jellyfish are equally fascinating but don’t seem to get the same attention the octopus is gets. Well, myself excluded. I love them all and pay homage to them all in my work.

jellyfish necklace

squid necklace

That’s all for now. It’s your turn to haiku. Use the comic art or tentacled creatures as inspiration. In case you are new or aren’t sure how, a haiku is composed of 3 lines, generally in syllables of 5,7,5 respectively. Number one rule: have fun.

<3 calan

THIS IS JUST TO SAY by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

I invite you to write your own ‘this is just to say’ poems. There are no syllables to count. It’s more about the sentiment and frankness I think. As usual, just have fun!

Before I leave you to it, I have to tell you about my awesome weekend shopping spree. You are going to be so jealous when you see what I scored.

Ready?

It’s a rusty can!

But this is no ordinary rusty can. This rusty can has old cloves powder or rust flakes or something still inside and it’s like a zillion years old or from the 1930’s or something and the snazzy label is all discolored and peeling off. Yeah, it’s pretty special and it’s all mine!

Antique Can of Rajah Ground Cloves

In addition to the can, I bought some vintage Barbie doll clothes. I know they wont fit, but I’ve been working out and maybe one day…or I’ll use them on future art dolls. They were more pricey than my beautiful rusty can was so I only bought one badass, beat up jacket and a pair of black lace tights. Check it out:

Vintage Doll Booty

I scored these goodies at a big antique fair that came to town. It was really fun and incredibly inspiring. My purpose in going was really just to invite my mom out for the day to something I knew she would really enjoy but I ended up like a little kid squealing with delight at all the crazy weird old stuff.

My favorite categories were the old tins of medicines and bug poison and such. They have great artwork and fonts and the wording really strikes me as funny. I also fell in love with the toys, particularly the old tin ones with very simple mechanics and the beat up odd dolls were pretty amazing too. If I decide to start collecting anything it will be one of these. The Rajah can of cloves I bought is not for a collection. It was really cheap because it is so beat up (and full of character!) that I thought I might work it in to an art piece I have in mind. As of yet, I am not a collector of anything.

So, if you ever see an Antique show come rolling in to town, you might want to check it out. There are old guns and bullets and strange dusty books and creepy sculptures with clocks in their bellies and eyes that follow you and thigh shaped nutcrackers and primitive folk art and fancy hats and…well it’s probably safe to say there is something for everyone. It was like a museum that you could run around in and touch everything and nobody would scold you.

Here’s the sort of medicinal tins I fell in love with:

makes your liver shiny!

Here’s an example of an iron mechanical bank that fell under the ‘toys’ category I liked so much.

News
This Friday I’ll be at Tempus Projects, a gallery in Seminole Heights Tampa for an outdoor art vendor market from 7pm – 10 pm. I’ll have GingerDead cards in plenty of time for Valentine’s Day and a large assortment of illustrated polymer jewelry including lots of anatomical heart pieces. It’s supposed to finally warm up here by then, so it should be a lovely evening. Come say hello.

illustrated heart locket

Please have a go at writing your own ‘This is just to say’ spoof. I look forward to reading them and shall see you next week!

<3 calan

Wunderkammer has a delightful collection of vintage lab and medical equipment, bones, fossils, insects, maps and ephemera. They even have a perfume library which contains the unexpected scents like that of human breast milk, sex and swamp water.

If you want to snuggle up to your computer for a nice read, I suggest visiting the Natural History page where you will learn all about ‘parascientific theories of the mind and hypnosis during the Victorian era.”

I wish the site was filled with more imagery and articles but I guess we’ll just have to get there and see it all in person. Still, the site is definitely worth a visit, so please check it out!

Visit Wunderkammer

Before I go, I’m asking kitty owners to consider this. Who would win in a staring contest: Your cat or Ennui? I think Ennui would beat mine, only because my kitty can’t resist winking which I’m pretty sure is a disqualifying move in a staring contest.

Haiku away! I’ll see you next week…

<3 calan

According to Uncyclopedia, the saying is a paraphrased version of a part of an 1810 William Blake poem entitled ‘the Liar’. Here’s the Blake Poem:

Deceiver, dissembler

Your trousers are alight

From what pole or gallows

Shall they dangle in the night?

When I asked of your career

Why did you have to kick my rear

With that stinking lie of thine

Proclaiming that you owned a mine?

When you asked to borrow my stallion

To visit a nearby-moored galleon

How could I ever know that you

Intended only to turn him into glue?

What red devil of mendacity

Grips your soul with such tenacity?

Will one you cruelly shower with lies

Put a pistol ball between your eyes?

What infernal serpent

Has lent you his forked tongue?

From what pit of foul deceit

Are all these whoppers sprung?

Deceiver, dissembler

Your trousers are alight

From what pole or gallows

Do they dangle in the night?

It seems the poem is a likely origin and the original phrase might have been ‘Liar, Liar, pants on fire, Hang your britches from a telephone wire’ and the long nose version morphed came later probably pulling from Pinocchio’s misfortune.

Do you remember any other childhood sayings used as taunts or accusations? I only can recall one other myself which is a pretty weird one at that. It was done in a sing song voice at whomever was acting like a baby (ie: whining, crying, being a scaredy cat, etc.) It went like this:

Baby, baby

wash your hair in gravy

wrap it up in bubble gum

and send it to the Navy

I’m not sure what the heck that is supposed to mean but it would usually make the aforementioned baby cry a little harder so I guess it served it’s purpose.

Happy New Year Everyone! I’ll see you next year.

<3 calan