Strychnin, Berlin... Keep a Breast

Strychnin - Keep a Breast - C.O.P Magazine
present...

"Strawberry Rodeo"
acrylic on plaster

The Chest cast of the awesome Jane Wiedlin
-mm

Oh July.....filled to the gills!

First Things first!
Comic-con Signing: Come and play with me n' the gang at
'The Color Ink Book' ... BOOTH # 5569
Saturday

12pm – 1pm: Miss Mindy
1pm – 2pm: Luke Chueh
2pm – 3pm: Brandi Milne

I'll bring my red pencil.

Next Up!
Here's a new show my sister and I are in- A bunch of super artists have painted wooden custom toys inspired by the shape of The Washburn Brothers "Rayola" character... very fun! I hope you'll join us at the opening: WWA gallery- July 29th!

Next Next Up!

Strychnin Gallery
Germany
group show
'Etiquette' & Keep a Breast foundation benefit "bust"
Opens August 12th

Fun Up!
HERE.

My latest Sketch Theatre: inspired by my newest art piece for Europe...
"Mild Mannered"
"Young Ladies should always preserve a modest demeanor in dancing, for it throws around them a halo of light & purity..."
excerpt from : Daisy Eyebrights Manual of Etiquette & good breeding-1884

________________

Book In!
Wow, This volume 1 of sketch theatre is amazing!
I was just blown away by the talent these folks have...
and chock full of 'em too!

Both My husband Rick O'Brien & I are in it! awww...

So stop on by the BabyTattoo Books/Sketch Theatre booth--
new location: booth # 4712

*Who knows, maybe my sweet Ricky-dee and I will be sketchin' away!
(I'll 'tweet' le times---oooh-so modern!)

-MM

Whisked Away....

Sorry for the non-blog updates-- My Facebook & Twitter seem to be getting more of the love lately.

Surprise! My lil' gal sold in 30 seconds!
Yeehaw!
Keep an eye out for more customs this year.... same bat place, same bat channel.. hmmm what'll they be?

A Special Thanks to my pal Brandy Trigueros for her excellent Photography skills!
Visit her brand-new site to see what she's up to! CottonCandyCatWalk.com


Finished up an amazing new 'Saddlemate-Spring Rider' for the Super Awesome Couple of Duirwaigh Studios
-
Angi Sullins & Silas Toball... Wonderful creators of Inspiration!

Here's their Mousey, Zeus-- readying to board Southwest.. bring your Air mask!


Home at Last--- in Lovely Taos... "The Fun House" of Duirwaigh.
I don't think I've ever had art pieces this happy in their new home--- seeing them get there safely was a big load off, and the look on Angi & Silas' faces when the boxes were opened--- was insanely electric.
I needed a cigarette after...

So off to paint a Jalopy and name her Moxie...

-Till my next visit -
:)
____________________

AND NEXT UP!
drum roll.......

I was chosen to teach a wonderful Artist retreat up in Washington Next April!



What is this cool art thing?

Artfest takes Place at Fort Worden, WA
March 28th - April 1st 2011
It's Workshops, It's a retreat, It awesome artsy-ness- all weekend long!


The workshop I will teach on Sat & Sunday is a full day, 6 hour sessions (with a 90 minute lunch break.) They're designed to provide not only several techniques learned throughout the day but time enough to actually work on what has been learned so that it can sink in and a nice chunk in the middle of the day to renew yourself.

The teachers come from all over the United States, Canada & Australia and represent some of the best in their fields.


See these links for sign up & more information:


INFO
SIGN UP


I've heard it sells out quite quickly-- so be on yer toes!

_____________________

And Last but CERTAINLY not least...

My Mom's Huge art show this Saturday!
Please Join us..

June 4 - July 3, 2011
Opening Reception:
June 11, 2011 from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm



Linda Johnstone Allen & Toros Tngrian will demonstrating various ceramic techniques using a potter's wheel and incorporating slab work, press blocks, mixed media, handbuilding and mask making.

Artist Demonstration
June 26, 2011 from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

___________

Love to you..
MM

Disney Vinylmation Process/signing May 21st!

Welcome to my Giant Toy Post!
I'm excited to announce....

The 9″ Pirates of the Caribbean inspired
Vinylmation Release & Signing
Saturday, May 21, 2011
2pm – 5pm

D Street, Downtown Disney® District, Disneyland® Resort
Miss Mindy, Javier Soto and Scott Tolleson

will be on hand for a special appearance and signing of their custom Vinylmation™ figures themed to Pirates of the Caribbean. more info to come on the Vinylmation site!

and on the Disneyland site

I hope you'll join me in unveiling this little original Vinylmation -entitled 'Cutie Pirate'

My pal Brandy Trigueros was kind enough to take some stellar shots of the little lass...

Thank you Brandola!
As you can see, she LOVES her bubble gum- and is in mid-blow- ;)

I've had a lot of people ask me about my process lately,
and where my ideas come from...
I honestly adore circus motifs- and when I was asked to do my take on 'the Pirates of the Carribean'- I rolled with my love for color, and bizarro-fun girliness to the extreme. Who said stripes and dots don't mix? Pleather? you bet. You should see her Pirate ship.
She maybe cute, this little firecracker...but she's one tough cookie!
(More stories on how she got that peg-leg later..;)
----------------

OK Toys... Lets get going!
My first Toy was 'Dink' made by Mindstyle toys
This little vinyl beauty sure was a sell out!

also on my 'toy plate of the past'.. was this 'Custom Stitch',
which was shown all over the world....( one of my favorites)

Kokeshi Dolls also became a part of the Miss Mindy steady diet of Toy making....
From Gallery Subtext, to The Japanese American museum in Los Angeles.
entitled: 'Chicken Boyfriend'


Commissions have always been a sweet treat, because you never know what form you

may be painting next. (Keeps you nimble!)

______________________
PROCESS

How do you begin?

I'm always finding out about new ways to modify

and create..but this time around, here's how she came to be:

-------------------

Blank. - better get to work....sketch a tad on it-

These suckers get oily, so I scrub my down really well...

Little bathtime and dry- & she's ready to go

Better look at my sketch and modify..Chop Chop!
Off goes the nose and foot. sorry pal.

Next up--Magic Sculpt till my hearts content- I sanded the figure to give it some grit -and
then added my shapes...Poofy sleeves, little bird, peg leg -
bubble, new arm to hold gum wrapper...etc.
( next time I'll get a clear bubble! - not enough time to figure that out- this time around)

Wet sanding takes forever! used about 10 different #'s of grit to smooth her out...

Once sandings done-- It's time to prime.

And paint...(finally)

Figure 3D elements

She's coming along..Trying to make it look the concept sketch as much as possible..

Then, the box last minute..Painted white and gloss on flat black,

Cutie Pirate approved of her new home...

Her Mother is so Proud..

I hope you enjoyed seeing my process for this particular toy...
She now has her own personality and story- and is ready for her big Disney Debut.

Hope to see you Saturday!

-mm

Anniversary Time....

Ready to celebrate with me?
----------Then come in our little round door....
pretty yourself up....

& I'll force you to look at some pics of Rick and I as kiddos....

And show you our mushroom house after we got it "wedding ready" - (workin' on it still..;)

and a couple shots of the 'before'---- whew! (midway..mind you---yap!)

Now I can talk your ear off about a special time...
2 years ago today.... we had a hobbitland wedding--

Fairies and elves, Centaurs and gnomes, beasts & belly dancers..even the sun and moon attended our wedding at the same time. Married at heart for 11 years, we wanted this to a be a celebration of life for all - and not just about us solely. Indeed...to give some hearty cheer to our friends and family too... a proper Hobbit Bash, witha keg of brew, meat pies, cheese- and of course...Rick's favorite, movie theatre popcorn all around.

Rick and I are two completely different artists that found common ground in our passion to create against all odds,- and stay true to our own visions. To inspire one another...even when you feel like you want to give up or become something that's 'steady' forever....Nope. It's there. the drive to create with our own two hands is our blessing and our curse. Always learning new ways to create whats in our wild minds is a journey in itself. It's hard to relay the feelings you can go through as an artist- day to day....To go beyond the 'survive' of it all and find something that can drive you into happiness and madness at the same time.

I thank you for taking the time to read about such a special day in my life. We worked so hard to make it what it was - and for the rest of our lives, because you never know how long you're going to be here. I've been finding that out -all to well- the last few years...

Take the time to enjoy your friends. sit- and don't check you phone for an hour--or a day. Real life is out there- not just in cyber space- and I have to remind myself to stop. and feel- and just look.

I wish us all calmness and passion all at once... to stop and notice the little things - and then dance for hours on end.

*Thank you so much to our friends and family who attended our wedding 2 years ago - and to those up in the sky who could only BE- in spirit. I'll be posting a link to some of our wedding pictures HERE later today...Bear with me- it's only been two years... ;)

Much Love, Miss (Mrs.) Mindy
( sorry guys- too hard to change my artsy name to Mrs. Mindy - makes me sounds way too sophisticated.-- ;)

Doodle for Springtime...

I've been doing a lot of woodcut artwork at the moment for shows, and will post some progress pics in my next post...but in the middle of it all-- I sketch n' doodle about what ever makes my brain happy in this circus world. Soooooo-- drunk happy beetles and a yappy Bunny girl for Easter found it's way onto my sketch pad menu this week....AND into my new section on my crazy lil' Etsy store! ETSY: "Spontaneous Randoms" - I'll be posting all sorts of fun stuff here that doesn't go to galleries-- like little dolls, sketches, wigs, underpants - whatever i feel like---painting cartoon shoes is up next. yay. :)mm

New art workin'