Chevron Clown

Chevron, mixed media assemblage art doll clown

Decked out in chevrons & harlequins this clown is ready for the limelight. Kinda reminds me of Klee's amazing hand puppets 'tho only in shape--mine is quite rigid.

Peppermint Stick

Peppermint Stick, mixed media assemblage

What can I say....another clown....and this one kinda looks like a stick of candy.

Mary Jane

Mary Jane, mixed media assemblage

Just so happens that Mary Jane loves to wear Mary Janes. Funny how that happens sometimes ;) Hope it's not too obvious I had a hard time coming up with a title for this one.

Number One

Number One, original collage on old arithmetic textbook cover

Home Sweet Home no 2

Home Sweet Home no 2, mixed media assemblage

Another version of this theatrical rendition of the "Home Sweet Home" theme. This one is more of a 'house-within-a-house-that-kinda-resembles-a-cuckoo-clock-without-the-clock'. Its even got a swingin' pendulum....

....tick-tock, tick-tock. Welcome 3rd week of 2013!

Little Red Riding Hood

Our Little Red Riding Hood filled her basket will all kinds of yummy treats tonight but that pesky Big Bad Wolf (on a stick) was up to his old tricks. Thinking of all you 'lil ghosts 'n ghouls on the East Coast. Hope everyone had a fun & safe Halloween.

The Juggler

The Juggler, mixed media assemblage

He's a bit on the scruffy side this juggler. If you look closely there's a five o' clock shadow under that goofy grin.

Not sure exactly how he manages his juggling act with just the one hand but as a hand it can come in quite useful...holding rings 'n objects or maybe his new proprietor will find him another ball to juggle.

I put one of these old croquet mallets to use for his body. It makes for a fun clown suit dontcha think?

Nosedive

Nosedive, original collage on First Aid book cover with found heart doodle

Guess I've kinda been inundating you with all these new collage pieces. This is the last one for now. Maybe I'll get around to making more this weekend. Seems like time is so precious these days and heading into summer I find more and more of it needs to be spent outdoors flying kites 'n running in the sprinkler (or at least watching a little someone run through it).

Clown Assemblages

Things have been super busy in the studio recently. I've just finished up a handful of custom pieces including these silly fellows. Looks like I'll be assembling clowns for a while yet.

Ring-Around-The-Rosy

Ring-Around-The-Rosy, mixed media assemblage

Another (slightly satirical) narrative assemblage depicting the popular children's rhyme, "Ring-Around-The-Rosy". We all played this game as a child and now play it with our kids (it's a fav of Lizzie's), but it seems every one of us has been taught a slightly different version. I know the chant I taught Lizzie is slightly different than the one Patrick remembers. And...it looks as if this old rhyme's origins are debated to this day. Whether or not it is a morbid reminder of those who suffered through the Bubonic Plague in the 14th century or just a lighthearted sing-song of youth it will always remain a popular reverie of childhood memories.

1920's Valentine Scraps

First off I just wanna know where the heck the month of January went?! Did it completely pass you by too? I was still recovering from the holidays and then realized the month was over. Guess I'd better get it in gear (mentally speaking) at least. It's been kinda hard with the weirdly warm winter 'round these parts. The bank sign on the way to the post office today stated it was 66 degrees!

I did have grand plans to make up a whole bunch of Valentine-y ornaments and such for the shops but with 2 weeks 'till that special day I'm behind on those plans. I did manage to purchase these charming Valentine scraps to use in the pieces, but I think they will be added to the ephemera files for next year. These particular scraps were manufactured by the Carrington Company of Chicago, Illinois circa 1920's. Super sweet paper bits aren't they?

Happy February all!

Pops Of Color

New pops of color in the vintage shop this week including some old school tin clickers (great for that New Year's Eve party!) and another set of color cubes.

Vintage Toy Love

Collection of Tin Toy Shovels

This is just a sampling of the vintage toy goodness currently available at Sushipot Parts. And...for the love of vintage toys I want to offer YOU a special coupon code which can be redeemed on any of these lovelies between now and Christmas Eve.

20% Coupon Code:
VINTAGETOYLOVE

Collection of Tin Toy Saucers

Tin Toy Drums

Color Cubes by The Embossing Company

Collection of Junior Elf Books

Tin Wedding Tray by The Ohio Art Company

Alphabet Blocks by Halsam

The Star Paint Box

A Christmas Assemblage

We really got into the holiday spirit over the long weekend. All the totes with decorations were pulled out of storage, we set up the tree and unearthed the Christmas books 'n movies that stay packed up 'till this time of year.

I'm guessing that reading several versions of "The Night Before Christmas" spilled over into my studio time and this candy-cane striped shadowbox assemblage, Over The Rooftops, materialized.

Also, I want to say thank you to each and every one of you who shopped my Holiday Sale over the weekend. It was a huge success and I promise to have all the packages on their way later today!

French Embroidery Rings

I used up a few more tidbits from this booklet of French embroidery patterns. Instead of brooches, this time I created a handful of over- sized rings. Aren't they festive? I think so.

Triangle Trees

Yes, I've blogged these old color cubes by The Embossing Company before. I'm always on the look out for more of these as they are such a unique design toy and they never sit around collecting dust in the shop. I did something different with this latest group and created several mini sets of 6 cubes. Now you can create your own little red 'n white triangle tree for the holidays.

Embroidery Brooches

Remember this old French embroidery book I shared with you a while back? I finally did something with it and created a handful of brooches embellished with snippets from its pages. Some are square and some round--you can take a closer look at 'em right here.

Little ABC Book

My heart melted when I found this endearing Little ABC Book! From its jewel-toned cover to each brilliant red letter of the alphabet, I knew this was a treasure. After a bit of sleuthing, I've discovered that it was published by the McLoughlin Brothers of New York in the early 1880's. What sweet child turned the pages of this linen primer while learning their letters? It's tattered edges tell the tale of true love in its past for sure!