I’ve been struggling with whether or not I’d come back and announce that I was ending the comic or whether I was back or what.  The last few months have been a combo of a few weeks of wrist pain followed by just spending all my spare time working in clay, experimenting with ceramic clays, functional art, finishing techniques, etc.  It’s been a journey and an obsession and all of my recent art shows have included new clay works.  I sort of booked myself into a lot of shows and that forced me to work like a maniac and learn a lot through both success and failure.  Anyway, I won’t bore you with details, just trust me when I say I’ve been working my butt off and am incredibly happy.  During this time I just haven’t been driven to squeeze a comic in to my crazy week.  I don’t want to make one just because I feel like I have to because I’m certain the comic would suffer.  So, when my heart isn’t in it and I can’t spare 5 hours, I just think, ‘ maybe next week’ and well that just keeps being the case.  Maybe it’s run it’s course.  Maybe I should put out a book.  Maybe I just needed a break.  I really don’t know.  All I know is this morning I woke up and had a comic for you guys and the desire to make it so I did.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and got a chance to dress up and do scary stuff or are going to do something fun tonight. I went to an live radio theater event and dressed as a dead flapper, checked out some great local haunted houses (Hellview Cemetery and Radley Haunted House – both in St. Pete) and earlier in the month was a vendor at Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend.   I skipped all the big parties and worked instead, but it’s still been a festive month.   Jim and I have been watching scary movies before bed all month long as a tribute to the season.  Surprisingly, this hasn’t led to much in the way of nightmares.  I’ll have to try a little harder.

Speaking of nightmares, how about some artwork that is not only truly scary and haunting but is absolutely beautiful and moving.  Anton Semenov is a Russian artist whose work I’m sure you will love.  I can’t think of a better artist to share with you this Halloween.  His Deviant art gallery (where he goes by Gloom82) is here.  As a teaser, here are a couple of samples of what you’ll find there.

If you like a little pop culture humor with your monsters, check out Drew Daywalt’s latest short film Kart Driver.  Super Mario Bros fans will especially love this one.

Here’s a couple of things I’ve been working on lately…keep your eye on CalanRee.com for more on my art work, including the upcoming art doll figure I’m doing for the Bitchin show at BLue Lucy gallery on Nov 12th.  This piece might just be one of my best.  I can’t wait to show you…but first I need to finish it!

Monster Platter with High Fire Wire Staples and Zombie Monster Shot Glasses – some of the pieces from my monster scar series of functional ceramics.

Here’s a little pot belly skeleton figure – an experiment with a mid fire clay and liquid underglazes -

A bottle using a carving technique called Sgraffito – I’m doing a lot of pieces using this technique lately.  It’s a way my illustrations can marry with clay into functional works -

I’m also working on a series of Skull Bud Vases.  These are some of my favorites of the first batch.  I just picked up another batch from the kiln this week and have a couple of more awaiting bisque fire.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing these for a while, as I’m pretty fond of them.

I didn’t expect to make functional art when I returned to ceramics…I really wanted to continue with my art dolls/figures…and I will, but with experimenting comes failures, pieces that come out awful that  you have to trash and well it’s a bit easier to lose a smaller bud vase than a figure that took you a week.  That’s part of it and the other part is well, because I can!  I am making little dishes and vessels and such because it is very exciting to me to be able to create art work that one can incorporate into their daily life…to be able to do more than just look at it is a new experience for me and I can’t seem to stop making functional work.  Maybe it’s a phase and soon I’ll be dedicated to only figurative but I think both are more likely.  I don’t know much of anything lately, except I’m following my heart and life is pretty damn good.

Happy Halloween!

<3 calan

Artist Spotlight – Pepijn van den Nieuwendijk

I came across this sculpture and thought you guys would like it.  It reminded me a bit of Ennui…mostly because  I think she would really rock that outfit…and her head is kinda huge.

The sculpture piqued my interest so I found his website – Cirque de Pepin and learned  he was also an illustrator and painter.  Here’s a couple of paintings I particularly liked.

I hope you’ll check out this awesome dutch artist’s website to view more of his work!

No News is Good News?

I’m still in a bit of a clay cocoon this summer.  Any spare time I have, I’m working in ceramic and exploring techniques, clays, firing temperatures and so on.  It’s really a great medium and I’m happy to be working in it again after so many years.   So anyway, no shows or projects to reveal.  I’m simply enjoying this time and figuring out how I can execute the millions of things in my head.

That’s all for now.  See you in a week or two….

<3 calan

I read that they are telling kids who dream of becoming astronauts that they shouldn’t give up on their dream because in 20 years or so when they are finally through with the necessary training to become an astronaut there will (probably) be new means of space travel and exploration.  It sounds like there will definitely be space travel through public companies in the future as companies are already gearing up, so I’d imagine those same kids can save the gazillion dollars and 20 years of time that an astronaut education will cost and just buy a trip to space. 

Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before, like most things that are for the elite, even space travel will become no big deal.  Kind of like having a cell phone.  Remember the enormous car phone contraptions that only super cool spies or super rich people had?  Me neither, but I’ve seen photos.  Now they give cell phones to homeless people.  So, if space travel might be in our future, perhaps we should brush up a bit on our knowledge of outer space.  Here are some freaky facts:

1.  The ancient Greeks called our galaxy the Milky Way because they thought it was made from drops of milk from the breasts of Greek Goddess Hera.  (That still seems like a reasonable explanation to me.)

2.  The moon is floating away from the earth and inching closer to Venus.  It gets nearly 4 cm closer to her each year.  Mister Moon is shy but persistent.

2.  In zero gravity space, all liquids form into a sphere.  I think this will be great for trendy nightclubs.

3.  The sunlight we see today is actually 30,000 years old.  It struggled to get from the core to the surface of the sun.  Once it hits the surface it takes only 8 minutes to reach us.

4.  In space, we’re a few inches taller.  Our spine is all elongated and stuff.  I like the sound of this personally.

5. Cold welding occurs eventually by merely pressing two pieces of uncoated metal together in space. (It doesn’t happen instantly though as was once believed)

You know who would love to cold weld in space?  Jim.  He’s been pretty obsessed with metal lately…well, he’s always been into metal, but he’s gotten pretty serious and began sculpting.  His first big projects were hats.  We are both hat lovers and collectors so it didn’t surprise me.  It’s a pretty daunting object to try to cut, hammer and weld out of steel though!

I’m totally impressed and proud of him.  Here’s his mad hatter (or Wellington) hat fashioned out of steel and blackened modeled by our  beloved Betty:

I took a little break from ceramics to finish up an art doll I had started a while ago.  She’s a new addition to my lotus pod girl series. and is now available on my Etsy store.  You can meet Wander and read her back story on my art blog.  Here’s a sneak peek.

Her hat is inspired by Jim’s hat sculptures. It’s made out of a honey tin which i delicately ‘hammered’ and rusted with iron and acid and embellished with a rusty smashed bottle cap, a scrap of fiber and some acrylic paint.

THE ODD LUMINARY

I’m thrilled to announce that my GingerDead cards are now part of the Odd Luminary’s library and my Love Endures Dolls and Forgotten the Tiny Elf are in his lovely parlor awaiting a new home.

Love Endures No. 5 by Calan Ree

Who is the Odd Luminary?  Oh my, you’ll have to visit TheOddLuminary.com to meet him and his faithful owl companion, Bubo.  Be sure to explore his extraordinary home and I bet you’ll fall in love with a curious ‘this’ or ‘that’ for your own.

Sometimes, Terry leaves his little sculptures in public places to be discovered by passersby.  Check out this Georgia peach he left in Atlanta on Peachtree Street:

In addition to the blog, you can get Terry Border’s book – Bent Objects – the Secret Life of Everyday Things on Amazon, etc.

That’s all for now.  Nothing much new to report as I’m still engrossed in ceramic work and allowing myself this time to simply explore and enjoy the medium without pressure to produce serious art or works to sell.   It’s good to allow yourself to play.  I hope you are finding time to play this summer in whatever way makes you smile.

<3  calan

Speaking of stars, this week I caught a bit of a PBS special about the world’s ‘ugliest’ animals.  Of course, I found most of them adorable.  One of the animals featured was the Star-Nosed Mole who has a nose made up of…get ready for it…tentacles!  Tiny fleshy tentacles- 22 to be exact- that create the shape of a star.  How cool is that?  The nose tentacles help them to feel around for yummy worms which they gobble down within milliseconds of feeling it.  They also blow bubbles out of their nose when they are underwater.  They sort of blow the bubble and let it touch something nearby which imparts a bit of the smell of the object when they suck the bubble back up their nose.  This again, lets them find food.  The nose is sort of their eyes and extra fingers.  Cool, huh?  Did I mention his little front paws that look like monster feet?  A little extra awesome, in case a bubble blowing tentacle nose wasn’t enough for you.

Here’s another that shows his wee, rather useless eyes:

Check out this origami star-nosed mole, designed and folded by 16 year old Charles Wilson I came across on Origami-USA.org.

I can’t mention origami without recommending the documentary Between the Folds.  It doesn’t matter if you like origami or not.  It’s absolutely fascinating and will blow your mind a bit too.  Who knew?  Not me until I saw that film and now I have a huge respect for the art form.  I think I’ve mentioned it before, but if you haven’t seen it, check it out!

An update on those monsters…

I’m finally all moved in and pretty much unpacked.  Jim and I are cleaning and just nesting a bit and are super duper happy. I still have a zillion things to do, but the madness of moving is done.  The kitties will move in next week and hopefully that will go smoothly.

That and having the illustration submitted for the upcoming Welsh Alphabet book and Welsh Festival of the Arts being organized by A Raven Above Press has me feeling a bit more relaxed and quite satisfied.  Yay!

Art News

You might have noticed a slowing down of art doll creations and art posts.  I have a couple of dolls started but had to put them aside for a bit.   I’ve started a ceramic class to reacquaint myself with real clay, firing, glazes, under glazes, and surface design.  It’s really an early love of mine..since I was a small child, again in high school, later in college, and something I’ve just dabbled in a lot and for some reason haven’t worked with in many years.  The experience is profound to me as an artist.  I feel like I’ve come home and am taking time to focus on this medium. I’ll have access to the teachers, kiln, glazes for another 3 or 4 weeks, so I need to take advantage of that and sort of throw myself into it with some intensity.  I can’t wait to see where it takes me! 

That’s all for now.  See you in a week or two…

<3 calan

Best News Story of the Week

Here’s an example of life imitating art.  Ever see the film Lars and the Real Girl?  It’s about a lonely guy who develops an deep meaningful relationship with a one of those ‘real dolls’.  It’s not about him being physically intimate with this adult toy but more about fulfilling his emotional and social needs.

Today I read about a real life Lars.    Ned Nefer came across a wooden head years ago when he was delivering a mannequin to the Children’s House in Jefferson County.  This is where his relationship with Teagan began.   Ned went on to build a wooden body for Teagan’s noggin and eventually marry her.  (I’m really curious if someone actually performed a ceremony for the pair or if Ned just sort of claimed they were married and no one is going to argue with a guy and his mannequin).   Currently Ned is walking 70 miles to return to to the Children’s House where he first met Teagan.  He’ll be strolling along, pushing Teagan in her wheelchair and taking photos of signs, rock formations and cemeteries.  They enjoy the outdoors claims Ned and are hoping the weather holds up so they can get good photos of their journey.

Pages are popping up on facebook dedicated to sightings and interviews and speculation on the two like  Syracuse Mannequin Man and Ned and Teagan.   It seems some folks are offering Ned some help in the form of PBJ sammiches and such.  They seem to be gathering fans and supporters as well as a few name callers.  Lets face it Ned is at the very least a bit nuts, but I can’t say I don’t understand how one can feel a bond to an inanimate object…especially the kind with faces that you create yourself.  I’ve felt emotional attachment to a few art dolls and they definitely seem to project a personality of their own.  I might not talk to them (much) and build a life around them, but in a very small way, I get it.  I wish Ned and Teagan a safe journey free of blisters, splinters and naysayers.

Oh that Teagan is much too much! o.O

Wow, okay. That ought to hold you all over for a week or two.  I’m off to tackle my monsters!

<3 calan

So, heart gardens have been floating around the back of my head for some time now and recently so has growth.   There’s about a zillion different sayings about growth in relation to happiness.  I’ll spare you quotes.  The thing is, lately I’ve been feeling really pumped and excited and Jim’s been the same way.  I was writing to a friend and felt like I had this great news or something to share and realized not much had changed but yet…something felt like it had.  There’s this newness in the air and it isn’t spring…well not here it isn’t, we skipped spring and launched right into boiling hot summer…so it’s not simply the weather.

What I realized is that both Jim and I are seeking out some knowledge and skill sets in various creative realms.  He’s exploring metal art which is something that he’s always been drawn to.  I’m about to revisit working with more traditional clays…ceramics, kilns, glazes, that sort of thing.  We’re both spending time reading and researching and experimenting and we’re learning that there is just so much to learn, lol.  But, rather than be overwhelmed, we’re just excited and glad to have something so vast to dive in to.  I realized that my news was not really that big because it mostly had to do with the internal effect of growing as an artist and a human, for that matter.  Any type of growth is a beautiful, invigorating thing.  In a relationship, if you both can keep growing and cheering each other on in the process…well that passion you have for your own interests and life goes on to fuel the love and passion in the relationship.   So anyway, all this stuff has been in my mind and the idea of growing hearts both literally and figuratively culminated in this week’s comic and most likely future greeting card.

Okay, I’m off to fused glass class with my mom again.  I am way less of a skeerdy cat now and am making some cute simple dishes for my kitties.  It’s nice to try something that you aren’t that concerned with being good at.  There’s a freedom that comes with just being playful and abstract that I don’t often experience in my illustration or clay work.  Still, I’m chomping at the bit to start my hand-building clay class.  Less than a week away!

Ciao for now…

<3 calan

— Street Art—

Everyone loves tentacles!  Am I right?  If you answered yes than you are going to love this incredible street art by Phlegm – ‘The Harnassing of Giant Squids’.  The piece was done in an empty canal in Sheffield England.  Once they get some good rains and the canal fills up some, it will probably cover some of the art yet add to the illustration rather than detract from it.  I appreciate street artists that think about not only their art but where they are placing it.  I especially love the Phelgm’s classic illustration/pen and ink vibe.  It’s something I’d expect to see in the small page of a book rather than on an enormous canal wall.  Awesome.  More pics and info on Juxtapoz Magazine’s site, but here’s a couple of shots:

Here’s a close-up of the squid, to give you a better idea of the detail.

–NEWS–

This Saturday, you can find me along with 70 other artists at ART ON THE BAY : A Live Painting Event.  I’ll probably be working on some pen and ink on polymer clay jewelry.  I’ll have some jewelry, art dolls and GingerDead greeting cards for sale.  I’m sharing a tent with my friend Sarah Thee Campagna of CyberCraft Robots.  The event is probably the largest live painting / live art event this city or possibly this state has ever seen and it will take place on the grounds of  the Museum of History in beautiful downtown St. Petersburg – 335 2nd Avenue N.E.  Hope to see you there!

Parasitic fungi isn’t exclusive to ants.  There are lots of types and many of them are downright stunning to look at as they sprout out of their host’s body.   I was literally mesmerized by the beauty and the horror of these parasites.  I knew I’d have to do a comic about it! When I sat down tonight I had an entirely different comic in mind (with GingerDead groaning for leaves instead of brains and an accompanying haiku), but the saying popped into my head and when I paired it with a sketch… well it just screamed greeting card to me so I switched gears.  This one will definitely be a new addition to the line in a couple of week’s time.

Oh, I should share some photos and articles in case you want to learn more!

‘ZOMBIE ANTS” controlled by parasitic fungus for 48m years

Zombie Ant with head bursting fungus:

Mind-controlling parasite dates back millions of years

Here’s some images on other insects and even plants!

Fungal Parasites of Plants

Okay that’s enough homage to the creepy wonderful parasites.  I need to get back to making last minute jewelry and figuring out the best way to pack these dolls.  I leave for ART ROCK / West Palm Beach on Friday and I still have a bunch to do! I don’t get back til Sunday or Monday and I’ll have some graphic projects piled up by then so I doubt I’ll be able to squeeze in a comic in time for Wednesday’s update.   If not, I’ll see you the following week.

Btw -I made a new doll.  Her name is  Basha.  You can read about her and see more pictures here.  She has a little hand sewn quirky hat.  Maybe she’s hiding awesome fungus beneath it! 

This week’s comic is obviously a design I’m working on for a new greeting card.  I’m trying to add a few new ones for the new year.  This one and the smile card should be available in the next few weeks via my Etsy store.

— Artist Spotlight –

Wow, check out this mixed media art installation  entitled Transcending the Material by Ben Cuevas:

The skeleton is knit!  Here’s a description of the installation from his site:

“The installation piece Ben Cuevas chose to showcase at The Wassaic Project features a knitted skeleton seated atop a pyramid of Borden’s condensed milk cans and a cloud of screen prints on Plexi glass suspended above it. The knitted skeleton is seated in the lotus position. The prints are of disembodied anatomical parts photographed in high resolution with diagrammatic illustrative overlays. Ben conceives of the piece as a reference to material culture and Wassaic’s local history (The Borden Company had a condensed milk factory in Wassaic) and a meditation on transcendence.” -Bora Mici

And a close up of that skeleton:

Even closer…

Check out more photos on Ben Cuevas’s blog.

— News—

Still getting ready for Art Rock (West Palm May 7th)  I finished an art doll I call Jool and am now working on a new doll in this lotus pod inspired collection.  Here’s Jool if you missed her on my art blog.  She is an urban girl with a tribal spirit.  I might know someone a bit like her.

That’s all for now.  See you next week..

<3 calan