All Hallow's Eve ( the there-abouts)

It's gotten to the best time of year for me. I ride my bike whenever I can, and anyone who has ever set foot in Chicago knows the joys and pains of the CTA, which is why, although if just for general mood, springtime rules, it's wet enough to be considered generally unreliable. Summer is grand, but I've always argued cold over hot weather, as you can always put on another sweater, but once your naked, that's as cool as it gets. I am so much more a fan of autumnal attire (read: layers).

Also, as if I almost forgot, HALLOWE'EN! It truly is the MOST wonderful time of the year. Dark beer, the start of pie season, two to three shirts on any given day. All that and this bag of chips: it's the only holiday that TRULY hinges on arts and crafts, and how good you are with a glue gun or sewing machine. Which, if you are like me, is a lot more gratifying than throwing down in basketball or a push-up competition, or, you know, ANYTHING MASCULINE. Here are the things I had the pleasure of making this year!

First up: The Canadians!

I got an email via my ETSY shop, and took the commission because, one: flattery and an inflated sense of self-importance (INTERNATIONAL FAME). Two: The order itself... I love Futurama. It never gets old.

I made Leela's eye and armband, and Zap's whole costume. I sent some boot covers that they ended up not using, because even laced up tight, they were too loose.

I just hope this guy had a voice to go along with the costume. I can only dream of the fun of dropping Brannigan quotes all evening.

"Kiff! Have the boy lay out my pants."

"In a game of chess you can never let your opponent see your pieces."

"Men, you're lucky men. Soon you will all be fighting for your planet. Many of you will be dying for your planet. A few of you will be forced through a fine mesh screen for your planet. They will be the luckiest of all."

So many great lines!

I spent a little time tarting up their package, to make it more exciting.

Martha had some words with me over the excess of red velour fluff floating around the innards of her sewing machine after this one, but she had no IDEA what I was going to put that thing through once I started on my costume!

Which brings us to Sesame Street! Or, more accurately, the Muppets in general.

I went with Oscar after thinking on which much-loved Sesame Street resident was both aweomely cool, and wearable. My first thoughts were on Grover, then SUPER Grover, but I moved away from it on the realization that most of Grover's charm lay in his round head and thin, flailing arms. Same deal with Kermit. I knew it's have to be a muppet with 'fat hands,' and I always was a little afraid/intrigued by Oscar, the only homeless on sesame Street. So I went for it, and it was great. So many people thought I was Kermit, though. Maybe Kermit fallen on hard times? I htink it was just because I was rolling with Martha.

Martha, here in Piggy guise, whose original plan was (awesomely) to be the always distinguished Ms Piggy, as Tippy Hedron from the Birds (one of Martha's favorite movies). The concept was eventually scrapped due to time and investment. She made a great pig! Don't tell her I said that... wah-wah.

From left to right you have Me as Oscar, Mary as Big Bird (brilliant), Martha as the ham, and the always fantastic Rachael as Dr. Teeth, magistrate and leader of The Electric Mayhem!

Before Hallowe'en, heck, before Renegade, my oft-mentioned pal Heather put in an order for some adorable little peg people of her and her wife, Tina, her parents, and her sister and the sister's husband.

They turned out totally cute, and she reported family wide swooning over my tiny brushwork. They stand two inches high, and each has a personal accessory on display to add a little personality.

Beyond that, I shipped both Bender and Calculon off to the state of Washington after letting them both out about six inches, took the job to make some theater posters for a troop here, and started talks with a puppet show in it's infancy. I like making puppets, so we'll see where that goes.

here are some bonus photos from our Hallowe'en party and outing. Our friends rule at costumes!

The talented and hilarious Stephen stole the show as a chair. To really experience it, you had to see him transform from 'guy hanging out', to 'chair'. It was, like Stephen himself, a beautiful thing to behold.

The ladies of the partay. Jenna (with the umbrella) was a wonderful jelly-fish, and like her counterpart Stephen, so much better in motion. She really made that thing swim, Also, LED's, and greatness.

Muppet love!

There was almost an epic battle of history-bending proportions, but they chilled out and high-fived instead. Thank the jeez - I don't think our renter's insurance covers epic battles. Great costumes.

Oh! And I updated my ETSY shop with abunch of new and semi-new things for sale, so check it out if you're short on gifting ideas. Only forty-three shopping days left!

To close - a little something for the ladies!

Notes from Renegade Craft Fair: Chicago 2010

I'm still so pleased that I was lucky enough to be accepted into the top third of applicants to this summers Renegade Craft Fair. Being as it was my first art/craft fair, I didn't know what to expect. Being that it was Renegade, easily one of the most hip and largely attended in the City, I was caught COMPLETELY unawares at how exhausting it would be! What fun, though.

Check out our tent! I split with charming and talented Heather Muenstermann, owner of Green Genes here in Chicago, and possessor of the crafty-goodness of Big Girl Art, her catchy name for all her wonderfully stuffed things.

That's Heather on the right, womanning the booth with my lovely wife, Martha.

Heather's Sweater Dudes, Gals and Pals made a real FUZZ at the fair. They really WOUND UP the competition! Really made them SWEAT! She was the KNIT big thing! Haha... heh... sorry.

Ahem - Mary helped on the first day. She hates this picture, but I wanted to give her a shout out as my continuously most reliable side-kicks. We forgot the rain flaps on the morning we were to set-up, and good old Mary went the extra twenty miles round trip to get them from my dining room. Thanks, Mary! We couldn't have been even REMOTELY dry without you!

Martha came along to lend a hand on day two, when things really got moving. I couldn't BELIEVE how many people were at this thing - it was shoulder to shoulder all day Sunday.

There's a closer look at my little set up. People really liked my super-hero and Harry Potter inspired prints.

The peg people were popular, too. They really drew people into the tent. I mean, come on, they're so CUTE! The great and amazing Rachael Burs also helped on day two, and proved yet again that life is less awesome without Rachael around. Thanks, buddy!

Renegade turned out to be a great learning experience, and a little lucrative to boot. I'll definitely be applying again in the future. Thanks to everyone who braved the rain-or-shine to make it out and check out our tent - we really appreciate the support!

The FINAL COUNTDOWN!

Or at least, the LATEST countdown. That seems less dramatic, though, somehow.

Renegade Craft Fair (Chicago Edition) is fast approaching, so I've been up late every night getting as much done for the sale as I can manage. Now we're almost down to a week, I had better redouble my efforts, as the British chaps always say in old war movies.

Here are some of the latest pegs I've been working on, and a sign for my booth, (I think) cleverly titled Ben There! Pop Nostalgia.

Some more substantial 3" Potter Pegs!

The dementor was the idea of my brilliant co-worker Jake Minton, playwright extrordinairre . He was right - take the scary (Dementors), slap some cute on it (squee!) and it rule(Z).

This is the latest piece of commission work I did - it's a wedding gift, for a couple out in San Diego, from their very generous and thoughtful friend Simone. That's the bride as Batman, The groom as Supes, and yes, they are under the sea... Which, I was very suspicious about, when Simone requested it, but it turned out pretty DARN cute.

Just look at those jellyfish!

Signing off! I'll write again after the fair! Come see me, September 11 and 12 in beautiful Wicker Park!

A Long Time Ago, In This Very Chair...

... A man regularly updated his art blog. This, my friends, is the future! It's been a BUSY summer! Please do excuse my neglect, dearest readers, as I think of you often, and fall into deep wells of guilt at my long lapses between posts. Here's what's been going on...

Way back in April, my dear friends Mallory (then) Frye and Geoff Wright made with the 'gettins hitched.' It was a great, pretty, fun wedding, and Geoff had a sweet pocket watch and chain incorporated into his groomliness that made the ladies want to scream, 'all aboard!' But, alas, he's a husband now, ladies! This was one of their gifts from Martha and me.

On a similarly marriagey note, our friend Lauren (once Arnold, now Mitchell) purchased this robo-mantic illustration as a first wedding anniversary gift for her husband Phil. Data indicates that it was well received, and I loved painting it.

I hosted my second annual art camp for the children of Lawrence, Kansas! It was an absolute scream, resulting in lots of cute little plushy guys. It was eight against two, girls to fellows, and Drew and I had an almost tangible sense of solidarity, as the only bros in the room. We had a lot of fun - those kids were the best! Here are some photos.

Also, I applied and was accepted to be a seller in this years Renegade Craft Fair! So, um, look for me nowhere but MY DESK between now and September 12th! I'll be selling original paintings, print sets, embroidustrations and MORE!

Lastly, and arguably the most exciting bit of news (and the one that has kept me the busiest I've been in some time) is that I'm illustrating a book for writer and LGBT activist Jennifer Carr! You might not know that name now, but give it a few minutes, and when someone says, 'who's Jennifer Carr?' you can be all, 'that author that hired Ben!', and you'll sound really in-the-know. I'm giving you that one for free...

Here are some behind the scenes shots of the books production, and follow the links above to check out the details on the soon to be break-out, trans-gender phenomenon, Be Who You Are!

As always, look for more, soon(ish) to come! And thanks for reading!

A Peg a Day, Something Something Something.

In preparation for the upcoming Renegade Craft Fair, I've been trying to do a peg for every day. Sometimes I make that goal, sometimes I don't... either way, the results are unanimously decreed CUTE! Here's a shot of a few finished ones, and a few with a lot of potential!

Below, you'll see that the size difference allows for a LOT of difference in style! The big Harry ('big' being 3") is far and away my favorite - he's just so much more 'toy' than the others. I've also, in the last few weeks, switched to a satin finish, water-based varnish, so they'll be safe for the kiddies to gnaw on from this point forward. I purposely left one Harry out of the shot, as to illustrate one of my very favorite chapters EVER: The Seven Potters.

This shot, on the other hand, has less resonance. I don't remember ever regarding 'The Six Chewies as an important part of a great adventure. But then... maybe!

Oh, my... beep-boop-blip!

Quick, SPIDEY! Whallop that zombie!

The last photo was taken on my sun porch, where I do my spraying, because of all of the windows. I thought it was pretty, and it looks like it's from Where the Wild Things Are (the movie, not the book).

DIG! More news soon!

Happy Star Wars day!

Here are some of my newest (and most celestial) pegs!

So Tiny, But So POWERFUL! (OR) " Judge Me By My Size, Do You?"

This morning I finished painting the trio of tiny wizards that I've been working on for a few days. If I may say so, they're pretty funking cute! Here are some close-ups!

Hermione!

Won-won!

HARRY POTTER!

OMG! PETS on BUTTS!

I was bothered by the wasted space on their backsides. What's the point of a piece of 3-D art if it's only cool on one side. Then it hit me: pets. Better still, pets... on butts.

Each of these little guys stands 1 and 1/2 inches tall, and is totally cool in every way. I hope I'm not over-hyping them. :)

As for the pegs, I get mine from an ETSY shop run by a super friendly, prompt and courteous girl named Amy. Here's the link to her shop, My Friend Amy, where she sells pegs, twine and many other neat things. Just this week I picked up a really cool needle keeper (to keep my needles), a set of the slightly more substantial 2" pegs, as well as a handful of the 5" pegs, which I'm REALLY looking forward to painting!