August 2013

Stan Manoukian’s “Freekfrak” for Monsters & Misfits III

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Freefrak1One of the additions to this year to highly anticipated Monsters & Misfits III is Paris based Circus Posterus member Stan Manoukian. Stan brings rich back story and sci-fi elements to the exhibit with his amazing creations. For this, one of Stan’s pieces known as Freekfrak is making the journey to Japan’s waters.
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Freekfrak is a highly regarded master of thieves and collectors. He is always trying to steal your little objects or just move them around so it gets you mad. The thing is, Freekfrak is so good you’ll never get the chance to catch him in the act or even see him. Even with the development of Freekfrak, you can see him conniving the entire time on what he can get his tentacle-like appendages on.
Freefrak4Watch out guys because I fear what this guy might do when the lights go out when Monsters and Misfits III opens at the Kusakabe Folk Museum September 13th to 26th in Takayama, Japan.

 

 

More from Jean Labourdette

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Jean Labourdette “Turf One” has floored us once again! We keep on looking at his paintings, and he just does not stop impressing us.

Soul _1 For his show Tiny Theater of the Absurd at Stranger Factory opening September 6, Jean has created a wide range of sizes of his work to appeal to just about everyone. Above, we have just that.

You aren’t looking into an almost perfect view of a peephole or an eye exam, but a perfectly painted eye wrapped in an exemplary circular frame. Even at a miniature size, this shows the detail and precision Jean is known for.

With a title of “Soul”, Jean allows us more depth than just a human eye. Eyes are the most expressive part of your body. A person can pretend to be happy or excited but if that’s not reflected by a light in your eyes, someone who knows you really well will be able to tell.  Whatever you’re feeling inside is mirrored in your eyes as in a mirror into your soul. Well done sir, well done!

Jean Labourdette and Travis Louie’s Tiny Theater of the Absurd runs September 6th – 29th, with an opening reception on Friday, September 6th from 6 – 9 PM.

Terror Boys are out to play

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Fresh off the last sold out release of  TERROR BOY – OOZE no.00, we are dropping the second installment of horror filled chaos with Brandt Peters X Ferg – TERROR BOYS OOZE [OILISH] in the Circus Posterus store on Friday, August 30.

Creeping into the shop tomorrow, this oilish terror boy is primed and ready to stir the streets with panic. The Oilish terror is made of 6″ vinyl, ABS and cloth. It includes: 2 sets of arms (classic and 2.1), 2 sets of lenses (black and red), worn wool shirt, dual machetes, and a removable hood and helmet for $105 signed by Brant Peters himself. Also just so you know, 10% of the run will feature a random alternate ooze helmet color.

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Shing Yin Khor’s Fabulous Boxes

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khor_s_kelpyfrilledfattybugboxShing Yin Khor is most definitely living up to her pseudonym “Sawdust Bear” with her show “A Nervous Harbour” at Stranger Factory this September. Straight out of zoology class, Shing has cut, constructed, and stained several shadow boxes for diorama displays containing her lovable and yet sometimes grumpy creatures and bugs.

Shing takes her post-mortem creatures back to their natural settings with her fabulous displays. You might find a “Kelpy Frilled Fattybug” nestled among its natural kelp and driftwood (above) or a snailbit in a coral study (below).

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Shing also takes her work a step further down the museum path with a shadow box detailing the life cycle of the kelpy frilled fattybug. Three stages of cute and wonder, but are these polyp, ephyra, and medua stages? If you are as curious as we are on her creations, you can ask Shing herself at the opening September 6th, because she will be on hand to talk all about her delightful sculptures.
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Ragnar update for Monsters & Misfits III

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A few weeks ago we brought you some development details out of Ragnar’s camp on a delightful creature from the sea making his way to Monsters & Misfits III. We are pleased as a sea cucumber that we got a finished image of this beast.
Ragnar finishedThe colors are extraordinary and small details on the figure really make it pop. We can’t wait to see what else Ragnar has for us and the folks in Japan.
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A Monster Mash!

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4b98e95a0ed511e38b9a22000a1f9d42_7It looks like all the suspicions with that header card teaser are correct!  A Heathen Snake Skelve sofubi is coming! All the signs are pointing to VERY SOON because Brandt and Kathie are having a blast monster mashing all the other Circus Posterus x Tomenosuki sofubi with parts from the Heathen Snake Skelve.
c37862800de411e3902022000a1ddbd3_7The Heathen Snake looks to be a tad different from its smaller cousin in the Wandering Misfits series. This is great because it gives the sofubi version a whole new persona. The sofubi Heathen is modular just like Stingy Jack and Calliope so you can interchange the head and body. Our dynamic duo is truly loving the ability to swap out parts to create new sofubi!
f78770400f4511e3875622000a1faf68_7Even though these are just early prototypes, the snake head really stands out for all of us with antlers, a top hat – and those eyes! The final version is going to be amazing to review and see!

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Bunnies on Parade – an interview with Carisa Swenson and Amanda Louise Spayd!

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Two of my favourite bunny making ladies in the world have finally done what I’ve been dying to see them to do – they’ve joined forces and created a bunny doll tour-de-force of exceptional floppy eared charm. Amanda Louise Spayd has been one of my favourite artists in the last couple years, and after discovering Carisa Swenson last year, and adding one of her gorgeously detailed dolls to my shelf, I’m starting to see the appeal in lagomorphs.

I got to ask Carisa and Amanda about their collections, and their collaboration, and other bunny related things, and they offered up a delightful romp through their shared influences and process!

CP: Tell us more about your fascination with bunnies! As a side note, I would be delighted if somehow one of you had a collection of creepy stuffed bunnies from your childhood.

Amanda: Not FROM childhood, but I do have a small collection of ratty old Easter bunnies, if you want a picture :P

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Dust Bunny, by Amanda Spayd

Carisa:
My obsession with rabbits started with Beatrix Potter’s enchanting stories and illustrations, then reinforced at my grandmother’s, as she lived in an area where rabbits would magically emerge at dusk. I could spend hours watching them.  Not only do I find hares and rabbits visually appealing, their feistiness and fleetness of foot (paws?) resonates with me.  “The Velveteen rabbit” was a favorite story of mine, but reading “Watership Down” and watching the animated film pretty much sealed it. I did have quite a collection of rabbit related trinkets and stuffed animals when young, but most are gone now. They seemed a natural subject to turn to when I began creating dolls.

Amanda:
It’s funny that I’m so smitten with bunnies, since I have never owned one.  But now that I think of it, I can definitely pinpoint some lapine influences early in my life – the first one being Watership Down. My mom was a teacher, and taught that book every year, so because it was around, I also read it pretty much every year. Also I was pretty obsessed with Jim Henson’s “Tale of the Bunny Picnic” when I was a kid. The rabbit thing sort of got revived in high school when I first saw Jan Svankmajer’s “Alice”….so, I guess i do have a fairly rabbit-heavy history. But in terms of rabbits in an artistic format, I think they’re really good as characters because so much of them can be used as expression. The bucky teeth, the ears – rabbits usually look frightened (I would too, if being someone’s dinner was always an imminent threat), and that nervousness is definitely something I use in my own work.  Also, let’s not skip over the fact that they are adorable.

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paper model by Carisa Swenson

Read More »Bunnies on Parade – an interview with Carisa Swenson and Amanda Louise Spayd!

Meet Marvin by Travis Louie

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We would like you to meet “Marvin” by  Travis LouieAnother fine member in the “Tiny Theater of the Absurd” coming to Stranger Factory.

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Dressed in a suit, he looks like an uncle we all probably have. Travis keeps outdoing himself, and the “Tiny Theater of the Absurd” looks to be a testament to that.

The curtains get drawn on the theater for Travis and Jean Labourdette – September 6th – 29th, with an opening reception on Friday, September 6th from 6 – 9 PM. Travis will be attending!

A Header Card into the future

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From time to time, the Circus Posterus Instagram feed will sneak in some gems if you pay attention. Right before the weekend was one of those times!

headerWhat appears to be something very obvious, actually. It looks like a Heathen Snake Skelve sofubi is coming from Tomenosuke + Circus Posterus! This coiled cold-blooded skelve will make many fans happy when it debuts. Speaking of, Monsters & Misfits III is in September, could this be the release day?

More soon!

 

Monsters & Misfits Monday: Andrew Bell is all eyes

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How lovely is is to saunter slowly down a cobblestone path in September’s delicious early evening balm, and end up in the elegant town of Takayama, Japan. This is what I imagine for Andrew Bell’s eye riders.
saunterManeuvering into the night can be a daunting task, but if you have eyeball creatures that utilize their optic nerves and extraocular muscles to get you on your way, you are golden! These blind riders have no problem joining into the Monsters & Misfits III parade because they have their lanterns lit and their transportation wide-eyed for the path ahead.

eye ridersAndrew keeps astounding us with his work for this show, and these riders are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There is so much more to come from Andrew and the rest of the artists, you might want to keep your eyes open like these guys above!