Cat Assemblage

Cat, found object assemblage with wooden skittle, driftwood, frame scrap & blocks

A cat piece for all you feline-lovers out there. Inspired by the mod cat pieces floating around Etsy like this and this and this. Meow.

Tomorrow I'll announce the winner for the dancing clock collage giveaway. If you haven't signed up yet...there's still time!

Little Big Bird

Little Big Bird, mixed media assemblage

This lil' big bird was the result of puttering around in the studio over the weekend. Had fun playing with this gif generator too. Now you can see his moves.

Elephant Assemblage

Elephant, found object assemblage

His legs & tail are attached with tiny screw eyes so they dangle & move. Had a wee bit of fun posing him for his portrait :)

And...

And...it's June. When did that happen?

And...Patrick defended his dissertation today. 

Lizzie is now calling him "Dr. Daddy" :)

And...we move to Springfield in 2 weeks. 

Time to get cracking with the packing!

And...today also marks our 13th wedding anniversary.

And...the moving sale at Sushipot Vintage continues for now.

And...I'm going to take a little break from this space 'til next month.

And...I wish you a Happy June :)

See you soon.

Twenty-Four Assemblage

Twenty-Four, wood scraps, antique skittle & plastic chicken

Have I ever mentioned I love putting jigsaw puzzles together? I finally got down to business and did something with those wooden bits 'n pieces acquired earlier this month. The ol' skittle clown has been hanging out in the studio since way back when. I was kind of on the fence over the pink chicken but Lizzie was quite emphatic that it be included....after all it is her favorite color. As for the title...there are exactly 23 wooden pieces in the puzzle + 1 pink chicken.

New Wall Dolls

Hope you haven't noticed I've been kinda scarce in this space. No news is good news...I've been busy livin' life, enjoying some slightly less hot summer days (Patrick starts back to school a week from today), and puttering around in the studio. There are a couple of new wall dolls in the shop tonight....a fine Hostess and a 'lil flower child named Nimrod (he's quite the hunter they say!). Next up is another clown so I promise to stop back in sometime this week and show you once he's finished.

Happy August

Happy August y'all! I've been busy sortin' out more junk from my studio. It's a lotta fun to play with.

I See Faces

Found Object Faces at Sushipot Vintage

One of my favorite tags to browse on Instagram is #iseefaces. It's always fun to see the faces that others discover in mundane objects or find obscured in the urban landscape.

I put together this set of faces for the shop. Many of these little faces have been following me around for years--most of them were picked up on the Gulf Coast. Guess it's time to set 'em free!

We have big plans this weekend. Patrick and I are celebrating our twelfth wedding anniversary on Sunday. You can peek at our wedding pics I posted last year but all you get this year is this family portrait of sorts. Hah!

Jack In The Box

Jack In The Box, mixed media assemblage

As I was standing in line to pay for my thrifty finds at The Grand Ol' Trunk a couple of months ago I spotted a lone Indian club. A few weeks later I came across a silly vintage clown head (formerly a piggybank) at MonaCross and instantly knew it would make a perfect match for this comical Jack In The Box assemblage.

Jester

Jester, mixed media assemblage

He's king of the court folks! I know, I know....yet another clown-y piece right on the heels of that paintbrush fellow. I seriously cannot help myself 'cuz it's certainly a circus 'round here some days.

Muse

Muse, mixed media assemblage

What can I say? She looks like a muse to me. That wooden flourish-y object has been hanging on my inspiration board for over 5 years and it was time to say good bye.

Garden Green Objects

Everything is sprouting up green today over at Poppytalk. Jan is hosting a seasonal "Spring Colours Week" and everyone is welcome to join in the fun. You can find out more about it right here and view the daily submissions at this Flickr pool. I collected a group of green objects from around the studio for my submission today and I even documented the collection with a video. Happy Monday!

Bits & Bobs

A lovely surprise package chock-full of these fun bits & bobs arrived in the mail earlier this week. The gift was bestowed by the talented Jo of Cart Before The Horse fame. She and her husband Dylan are the creators of some amazing, quirky folk art dolls. You are in for a treat--be sure to check out Jo's blog and Etsy shop. As for the bits & bobs--they have already been divvied up--Lizzie has claimed some for her doll house and I'm appropriating others to assemblage and to my collection of little things. Thank you so much for this mid-winter treat Jo!

Collecting Color

Several new instant collections were added to the vintage shop last night...brown, green, black, yellow, white and blue. What's your favorite color?

UPDATE: My collections were featured over at Kickcan and Conkers and an interview with The RikRak Studio today!

Peter Blake: Homage

Museum of Black & White 8 (in homage to Mark Dion)

Thanks to a wonderful tip yesterday from Jane, one of my lovely blog readers, I have discovered a body of work that makes me swoon. Imagine my utter delight when I clicked on the link she sent me! Of course I had to share this discovery with all of you. The British pop artist Peter Blake did a show last month at the Waddington Galleries entitled, Homage 10x5: Blake's Artists. The galleries press release described the exhibit:

It is entitled Homage 10 x 5 - Blake's Artists and consists of fifty works that are a homage to ten artists who have interested and excited Blake during his career: Joseph Cornell, Sonia Delaunay, Mark Dion, Damien Hirst, Henri Matisse, Jack Pierson, Robert Rauschenberg, Kurt Schwitters, Saul Steinberg, and H.C. Westermann.

The entire exhibit is worth looking at but I chose my favorite six pieces which pay homage to three different artists. May I venture to say that Mr. Blake may have nearly rivaled those artists to whom he pays homage? Viva la inspiration!

Museum of Black & White 6 (in homage to Mark Dion)


To-night To-night (in homage to Kurt Schwitters)


10D per Pound (in homage to Kurt Schwitters)


Children's Games: Drafts (in homage to Robert Rauschenberg)


Children's Games: Puzzle Compendium (in homage to Robert Rauschenberg)