Second Adult Swim Cubee Bumper

Chris alerted me to this clip being shown on Adult Swim that features the same image of my Early and Molotov Cubees that was used in the previous bumper, as well as all the newer Adult Swim Cubees that have been produced since the first bumper aired.

Streetworks Auction

The auction for the banner pieces I mentioned a few posts ago was last Sunday and it was an amazing success.



The banners were hung all along Washington Street, and the auction took place on a blocked off section of Elizabeth Street next to Bluegrass Kitchen. All the pieces went for high prices, but the surprise of the night was that my piece went for a whopping $675, the highest price for a single piece lot at the auction. I was blown away, and still can only sort of believe the bidding war that took place.



Yes, that is a drag queen auctioneer. Her name is Ms. Vikki and she did an amazing job, and as it turns out also cuts my girlfriend's hair. I couldn't have been happier with the auction or the project as a whole, but more important to me is what it meant to my family and friends that could be there. They were all ecstatic when my piece went for such a high price, and I think it was because this was something to do with my art that they could really get excited about and participate in, rather than the usual "Hey, I designed some T-shirts and they sent me a check." I've been just as proud of many T-shirt designs as I was of this banner piece, and I've made plenty more money from shirts, but this just seemed to mean so much to everyone, almost like a validation of my career as a professional artist. I guess that just goes to show that it's all in the presentation.

Also, in what I consider a very Kyle Quinn move, I approached all the losing bidders for my piece and gave them my contact info, and I already have several orders for more prints. I think I'm going to only offer unframed prints, though, as that only seems fair to the gentleman who spent over half a grand on the first one.

Ernie gets published

This is a picture of a book called Play All Day: Design for Children that collects uniquely and creatively designed products for kids such as toys and furniture. Originally designed Cubees are featured, and among them is my Ernie Cubee. Chris asked me about this last year and it just sort of migrated to the back of my head in the meantime, so it's great to see that it came to fruition! I had to steal this image from him at the Cubeecraft blog as I don't have a copy yet. Maybe parents who only want to buy designer toys for their kids can afford to throw down $60 for a book without blinking, but I have to work up the nerve.

East End Main Street Banners

I wasn't sure how or when these banner designs were going to be revealed so I held off on posting this piece, but since my banner was featured in paper earlier this week I figure I'm in the clear. East End Main Street is an organization with the goal of constantly improving and accentuating the east end of my hometown, Charleston, WV. The east side of Charleston is typically known as the more historic side, and is also home to the state capitol complex. They began a program this year called the Streetworks Project that asked local artists to create banners of what the east side meant to them, and I was lucky enough to be invited to participate. The banners will be displayed on the streets of the east end for a year starting in the next few weeks, and then the original pieces will be auctioned off on June 21.

The original artwork for my piece is below, just click for a bigger version. Simply put, the east end means childhood to me because it is where I attended daycare, grade school, and juior high. I wanted to make an image that displayed the historic visual appeal of the east side but at the same time show how historical significance isn't necessarily something a child notices; they tend to just want to have fun and nuts to the rest.

Tooth Table

In four days my girlfriend will be a full fledged Dr. of the dental variety. Since I can't do anything as amazing as fixing people's smiles, I decided to go back to the woodworking well that I visit from time to time and make her a tooth table for a graduation present. The origin of this project goes way back to before we were an item: on my first visit to her dwelling in Morgantown I promptly (and accidentally) broke a very nice table in her living room that was covered in hand-made glass items. Somehow she still decided to go out with me. Process pictures below.

And just because I have a few left, more pictures.

Even more pictures