Where the Wild Things Are

1980s Moishe
Dude, he is so awesome!

It is no secret to my friends that I have a slight obsession with stuffed animals from the 1980s. I own a few E.T.s, Multiple Alf dolls as well as a few others I deemed rad enough to keep the others company.

For a long time I have coveted a certain series of stuffed animals. They are the ones based off of Maurice Sendak's childhood masterpiece Where The Wild Things Are. One of the rare finds can be seen above. As rare as they are they also fetch a pretty penny when they are sold. Hence, my hesitation in collecting them. Luckily, fate has given me a second chance.

Due to the upcoming release of the Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers film based on the legendary book the toys are being released as well. Although they are not as awesome as the vintage ones. (Rarely things ever are) Crocodile Creek is releasing the line in seven, twelve, and fourteen inch sizes. Some are puppets and some are just stuffed. All I am saying is that I can't wait for these to flood the market and then drop in price so I can buy these things. I mean they are not vintage, but at least I could have them without breaking the bank.

What the Heck? Fest

An Exquisite Corpse done by Josh and Myself

Well, I have been away for the past couple of weeks. Some of my friends from Minneapolis came out and visited me. We then drove up to Anacortes, WA to attend the What the Heck? Fest. WTH? is a music festival put on by musicians local to Anacortes and all of their friends and fellow musicians/artists/film makers. Some of the people that played were Mt. Eerie, Mirah, Karl Blau, Calvin Johnson, LAKE, Grouper, Earth, and many others.

Many of us attended the event two years ago. So this was a sort of reunion road trip. We made sure to drive through a tree in the redwoods, visit the amazing Crater Lake, Umpqua Hot Springs, the Pacific Ocean, and Orcas Island while we were on our way up there.

Kyle at Crater Lake

The trip was amazing. So much laughter, love, and lightness. We spent a great amount of time together catching up on the last year. We shared our future goals and dreams of what is to come. We promised to see each other soon in a less transient setting. We made all back to our perspective homes all in one peace and possibly more whole than we were before the trip.

Tina in the Drive-Thru Tree

The music was good too. I especially loved seeing Grouper and Mt. Eerie. Anacortes offers some great attractions from Cranberry Lake, to Adrift restaurant, and, if you are lucky enough to be there on the third Saturday of July, Shipwreck Day.

Sunset on Orcas Island

The trip was amazing. I accrued great memories and a lot of stuff that, in the moment, I could not go without. I will be updating more as the Summer turns Indian. Until then, you can see more pics of the trip on my flickr.

Double Dose

So this one is kind of a double dose of inspiration. Its a married illustration duo. Both of them hold their own under their own namesake.

Jillian Takmaki has work that you would probably gaze over in any magazine or newspaper and not think twice, but what impresses me is the line work that is done before all the digital touch ups. She also does some very nice comic work.

Alice in Wonderland

Even many of her finished products keep the eye bouncing around with the composition while being entertained the pseudo story line already contained within the peace.

Totoro Forest Project

Sam Weber's work shows the same promise in it's raw state. His work is a little harder to miss though. Striking contrast and bold use of color really catch the eye. He has a series of work that makes it seem that he has a facination with falling.

Chrysanthemum

Sam's work has much more texture to it. He also seems to have much darker themes. But his work strikes me the most when the brush strokes naturally imitate clouds or tree branches, hair or feathers.

Robot

And on top of all that they are Canadian. Who would have known. To note, when it comes to illustrators I have to mention Tomer and Asaf Hanuka, Sean Morris, Matthew Woodson, Jason Thielke, and many others hosted on Booooooom!, Lost At E Minor, and Fecal Face.

Sugar Packets

I created these a feow years ago. Another discovery from my old journals. I used to do little doodles like these whenever I was in a restaurant. Then I would redistribute them back into the mix for someone else to find. These were some that I kept. I drew on the backs of them later.

I also remember writing obscure queries on some packets or miscellaneous words. I wonder whatever happened when someone reached for their little sweetener to add to their coffee and saw what I had put there.

Breaksea Caravel Tour Part 5

The new van courtesy of Groundstaff

For the last part of the tour we went back to Germany. We went to Hof then to Cologne and then back to Hof. In between shows we took a little vacation. Some of us stayed in Cologne and others went elsewhere in Europe. To Scotland and Portugal. Diego obviously went back to Switzerland. Why wouldn't he?

Motoki

Leaving Switzerland we ran into a bit of trouble. We broke one of the mirrors on the van we borrowed as we attempted to squeeze ourselves into a tunnel. We also seemed to acquire a parking ticket. This led to a little bit of stress. Combine this with a long drive and arriving late to the show in Hof. It was one of the less pleasant days on tour.

Motoki with Judith and Willi

We parted ways for a few days. Noah, Isaac, Christa, and I decided to go early to Cologne. We also took a day trip into the Netherlands and Belgium. We had a great time, but I think that I will leave that for another post.

Motoki

While in Cologne we stayed at an awesome place called Motoki. Our friends who are in a band called Lingby booked us a show and set us up a places to stay. The show was coincidentally also located at Motoki. This was my favorite show that we played. The people there were so great and welcoming. It was a joy to be there.

We played two more shows in Hof before the tour ended. The shows were great. The people at Hof were great. Most of us left over the next two days. But I decided to stay longer. First in Switzerland and then in Germany. Altogether the whole tour was amazing. I loved it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Much love to all my bandmates across the globe. I hope to see you again on the road soon.