This website is about any and everything that sparks the creative genius in all of us. By profession I am a Graphic Designer, and enjoy all aspects of design. From traditional to urban from resin to vinyl, these are all great mediums and deserve to be explored. On top of that everything from music to movies from guns to graffiti.
It has been a year in the making and for the second go around all the artist involved pulled out all of the stops. We showed you all some amazing pieces in a preview post HERE, but that really could not even prepare us for the amount of customs that were on hand last Saturday, January 16th 2010 at Super 7 SF. Amongst the awesome Star Wars wall paper were 2 fully jammed packed shelves of customs created from the Skullbrain community... some amazing airbrush control going on here. The show was packed full fans and collectors alike, looking for just the right custom to purchase.
From what I understand is that a ton of pieces sold, but some are still looking for good homes, and there are some amazing pieces that are really priced to move, you can view them all HERE. A huge thanks for the rad pictures courtesy of The Kaiju Chronicle, where all the posted pictures came from!
I had the amazing opportunity to finally meet Jay222 at this past years Designer Con, he is super cool and a totally genuine guy, but boy does he make some hideously awesome custom creations that have been infecting all the vinyl toy shows this past year. So who is Jayy222, and where did he come from all of a sudden, what is his background, and why does he create the monstrosities that he does... CLICK THROUGH and find out all of these things, plus much more, in an exclusive SpankyStokes.com interview... enjoy! 1. First off, please introduce yourself, where did you get the name Jay222, and what does the 222 stand for? Hi, my name is Jay222 and I'm highly addicted to making toys. I choose "222" in 2006; the "222" stands for 1/3 evil.
2. How did you find out about the art/vinyl scene? I have been collecting toys and comics since I was a kid. My pops used to take me to the comic shop every week, he collected comics like the Tick and Brotha-Man. I believe that started my obsession with this awesome world.
3. I hear ya on that, I used to go to comic shops all the time, so when did you first start to customize figures, and did it start with vinyl or other platforms? I first started sculpting in elementary school. I made my mom a otter and a bunny in a ninja suit.
4. Haha, a total 180 of what you create now... speaking of... so your style is... um... unique to say the least :-) Where did this spur from? My style comes from a fascination with monsters. I try to think if humans became extinct and over time, the toys that were left behind evolved into living creatures. I never know what a piece is going to look like until it is done being sculpted, I never sketch them out. I try to let them make themselves, in the end its exciting to me because its kinda like a surprise.
5. So most of us have seen your awesome timelapse videos, how did you get involved with Jack Passion and DJ Qbert? Both these guys are very inspiring and awesome people. I first met Jack Passion at my work. I complemented him on his kick-ass world championship beard and from that moment we became buddies. I got into skratching because of Dj Qbert, and from skratching I learned a lot about hip hop. Hip hop taught me to take ones passion and to be the best you could be, by practice practice practice. If it wasn't for Qbert I would have never been into hip hop. So I had to contact him, and make him a toy to say thanks.
6. What materials do you use to create your monsters, and how long do they normally take to make from start to finish? I use a lot of polymer clay. Roughly 8 pounds every 2 weeks. And I have found that Golden paint really gives my pieces the color they need. If I make a big toy that requires real clothing, sometimes I will go into Ross, with the toy, and try to find clothes for it. I have had some pretty funny conversations doing this. Each toy, takes an average of a week.
7. That takes alot of time, how do you find time for life, what do you do for a day job? I take Friday night off and Saturday. Then the rest of the week its Trader Joes 2-10pm and work on the toys 10:30 to 4am.
8. Awesome, I love Trader Joes... so tell me what can we expect to see from you in the future, toys, shows etc. Gonna work on collaborating with more artists. I find each individual really grows when working with another artist. I will be putting out a series of prints and a limited run of shirts. (not because limited is cool, but because that's all I can afford) haha, and an upcoming group show on January 29th, 2010 at Thud Rumble Gallery.
9. Trust me, I am in the same boat with the shirts... so tell us something about yourself where fans might be surprised to find out! I went to Paul Mitchel cosmetology school in San Francisco to do hair. At that school, we had a special 2-day class on horror make-up. So I learned how to cut hair, and how to make a open neck.
10. Oh man, so you can totally cut my hair next time we hang out...DONE! So is there anything else you wanna say to the kind folks that read this blog? I would like to say thank you for taking the time to read this. It has been a awesome ride, being involved with all these "Toy Fiends". Feel free to contact me anytime.
"And... All I know is that this Lo Pan character comes out of thin air in the middle of a goddamn alley while his buddies are flying around on wires cutting everybody to shreds while he just STANDS there waiting for me to drive my truck straight through him with LIGHT coming out of his mouth!"
And now...7 "Quick fire" questions: 1. What is your fullname and/or nickname? Jason Sawyer
2. Where were you where born? Daly City, Ca
3. Who taught you the most in life? Everybody, we are all students
4. Who is your current favorite band? Balzac, for about 10 years now
5. What's your favorite movie? Big Trouble in Little China
6. What's your favorite food? If I'am in a crowd of people, anything dairy, simply because I'am lactose intolerant
7. Who would win in a fight, pirates or ninjas? Ninjas, Remember, to be a true ninja you must become one with the shadows. Darkness gives the ninja power, while light reveals the ninja's presence.
Troy Stith recently finished up a custom Marshall (posted HERE) for art/toy store Dragatomi as a collaborative effort, and he mentioned he hasd a second piece in the works, yet to be revealed... well here it is, introducing "Namaskara" a custom Cat Kid and the 2nd and final collabo custom he's doing with Dragatomi.
Tory says that "My inspiration for this one revolved around the Namaskara Mudra that the cat is doing. Keeping with the welcoming (which the namaskara mudra represents) good luck theme that the cat is known for, I surrounded it with red to welcome Good Luck to anyone's home it lands in. I really liked the Cat Kid toy so I didn't want to add or subtract anything to the toy. Rather I wanted to enshrine it's meaning and looks." The concept behind this custom is seriously sick and very well executed I might add... this piece unlike Barkley, will be shipped out to Dragatomi to live in their store in Sacramento until it sells, so pop on in and check it out in person, and if this is something your diggin, pull the trigger and make the purchase!
We posted about the really cool resin figure titled "Deinos" a while back HERE, and now the new 5" resin toy created by Bard Hole Standal has been released in limited quantity in the colors above! This custom creation was printed on a rapid prototype printer and molded/casted at his home in Norway. The first batch of toys was released and sold at his solo show called the "The Birth of Deinos" which was in New York on the 14-17th of July, 2009 at Ouchi Gallery. You can get your hands on these HERE and they are all ranging in price from $100 - $300!
Remember when we posted HERE about the new blog titled "Whatup Gangstars", that featured postings made by a puppet named Jay... well their second episode went live, and is a really cool look into skateboarding with Jay's homie Gab Ekoe... these videos are very well produced and in association with artists 123Klan, you can't go wrong, so sit back enjoy :-)
Atlanta, Georgia artist Kelly McKernan has us floating on air this week with her winning Open Submission Suspension. The original artwork was created using watercolors and by sewing string into the canvas. Kelly drew her inspiration from the songs of Emily Haines and the Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements to create her melancholy masterpiece. Available to jazz up your laptop, iPod and iPhone from $14.99.
Stefan is a super talented artist, and a super cool guy to boot! You can now follow all of his updates via his Twitter profile HERE, not on Twitter yet? Get a move on!
And a post-graduate degree gives Monster No.23 the right to call himself Doctor. But a doctor of what? What (presumably evil) experiment is he cooking up? Why does he need a cane? What are those spikes on the back of his neck for? Was he always this short? Or did his legs fall prey to an experiment gone wrong? Simon, Sam... I'm counting on you. And, Laura, what music should be playing when #23 enters the room?
Loving this design... the little guy is kinda Domo-Kunish, and I love how the positioning of this make it look like he is saying "OMG" to that FAT HEAD of yours! TeeFury is an awesome website that sells T-shirts for $9 a pop...the only catch is that it is only on sale for 24hours and then the next T-shirt is posted up! I have seen awesome shirts by some amazing artists on here and the total purchase price is $11. So that is $9 for the Tee and $2 for the shipping...that is an awesome deal that can't be beat! I will try and post the shirts up daily, or you can go visit the site yourself!
Money does go back to the artist and after today, this t-shirt will be Gone FOREVER! Today artist earns $1 for every tee sold. So make sure you get over there if yer diggin the design!
Rober Ingellis aka OsirisOrion has been keeping super busy for his upcoming solo show at at the David Apuzzo photography & art gallery on 1/22/09. This show is going to feature all kinds of new works from Rob including painting, sculptures, customs and I am sure some surprises. Stay tuned for more updates as they come in as well as sneak peeks at some of the work :-)
Last time we saw the work of Steven Erst aka III he had released his "Mr. Odobenus" resin walrus figure... and now above is a sneak peek at the first pulls of his new resin figures, titled "Sam Sickmen" on the Left and "Pizza Man" on the right. Sam stands 5" tall and Pizza Man 5.5". Each will be a run of 4 and will retail at $30 each. There is no set release date, but stay tuned for painted pictures... coming soon... and will most likely be released in the online shop HERE! Both characters have awesome features and would make for some fun paint schemes, great stuff Steven!
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