Interviews & Studio Visits

A Vagaries chat!

We’re so excited for the Vagaries opening on Friday! I caught up with some of the ladies featured in the show for a very short interview, and despite their insane work schedules, they were happy to oblige me. Read on for my chat with Carisa Swenson, Michele Lynch, and Allison Sommers.

Circus Posterus: How did you come up with the title and theme for the show? What does “Vagaries” mean to you?

Carisa Swenson: Given the varied nature of our mediums, styles and voice we each lend to our pieces, we felt it was best if we presented a title that didn’t trap us in a particular theme, giving us all freedom to create and follow our ideas wherever they took us. After tossing a few descriptive titles back and forth, we felt the word “Vagaries” (derived from the Latin “vagari”—wandering) best accomplished this. Using the definition helped push me to create new characters and forms as well as work with cast resin pieces.

Work in Progress by Kelly Denato

Work in Progress by Kelly Denato

CP: Did you all know each other already? If so, how did you meet?

Allison Sommers: Carisa and I know each other through mutual artist friends, she comes out to shows in the city every now and then.

Carisa: While both Allison and Kelly are NYC based artists, I only personally know Allison. We first met at a show opening in Brooklyn last year which we both had work in. As an admirer of Allison’s paintings, especially the altarpieces, it was quite exciting to finally chat with her.

Michele Lynch: I didn’t know anyone in the group, but I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone!

Work in progress by Allison Sommers

Work in progress by Allison Sommers

CP: Where do you draw your inspirations from?

Allison: Constant sketchbooking.

Michele: I’m inspired by fairy tales, flea markets, antique stores, a feeling, something someone says, Victorian society, so many different things!

Carisa Swenson: Animals and nature are huge sources of both comfort and inspiration. The works of Beatrix Potter and illustrator Bill Peet have always enchanted and influenced me, as well as the films of directors Jeunet and Caro (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children), the Brothers Quay and Ray Harryhausen, to the music of Kate Bush. Mythological tales of the trickster, and the desolation of old houses and abandoned buildings are never far from mind.

A delightful mole, by Carisa Swenson

A delightful mole, by Carisa Swenson

Allison, how long did it take you to perfect your colour palette(all those wonderful greys!)? 

Allison: Over the course of the last two or three years– there was a point a few years ago where I was fed up with the palette I was using then– it was rather garish and story-book-ish– and decided to try to strip myself down to (near-) monochrome and build up again. I ended up staying with the greys (and their related greens) for the most part, and later acquired the particular reds I use now through a serendipitous art-material-accident.

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Works in progress by Michele Lynch

 

Michele, how did you come across the steampunk influence in your work, and does it permeate the rest of your life as well?

Michele: The steampunk influence came about because when I first envisioned the sculptures, I could see them as half human and half mechanical, working for someone that had made them half machine, so adding machine parts to them came naturally. I wish I was active in the steampunk community! I think it would be so much fun to dress up in all those wonderful costumes! But sadly I just haven’t had the time.

Work in progress by Carisa Swenson

Work in progress by Carisa Swenson

Carisa, you’ve been branching out from your standard doll body shape, and it is delightful! Have you encountered any specific challenges with these newer designs?

Carisa: Thank you! Well, the sculpting isn’t an issue, but sewing up the bodies and clothing them has presented some challenges, most notably with the rabbit/bird hybrids due to the set of their wings and legs. Avian proportions add a whole new layer to the pain of sewing for me!

“Vagaries”  opens June 6th and run through July 6th, with an opening reception on Friday, June 6th from 6 – 9 PM.
Stranger Factory
109 Carlisle Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-508-3049

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Behind the Scenes at Obitsu

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You may already know that Obitsu is the brilliant toy manufacturer behind the Circus Posterus+Tomenosuke line of sofubi – and if you know that, then you also know that their workmanship and detail is pretty much unparalleled!

The Circus Posterus crew was lucky enough to visit the Obitsu factory, where they got an up-close look at the vinyl manufacturing process and store manager Mikee Riggs realized a life long dream of pulling vinyl(hey, we all have slightly weird things on our bucket list, okay?). Here’s some pictures from the trip!

The Circus Posterus artists, sketching for Obitsu.

The Circus Posterus artists, sketching for Obitsu.

A metal sofubi paint mask.

A metal sofubi paint mask(for Super7’s Visighost!).

Steel sofubi molds.

Steel sofubi molds.

 

Mikee, pulling a vinyl kewpie doll from its metal mold.

Mikee, pulling a vinyl kewpie doll from its metal mold.

The whole group, in the Obitsu showroom!

The whole group, in the Obitsu showroom!

 

Chris Ryniak’s Monster Spirits

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Chris Ryniak’s brain is a limitless fountain of monster making ingenuity, and the recent appearance of a happy little lumpy idol on his Instagram feed made us all squeal in delight. These brightly coloured little doofuses are all set to wreak havoc and mischief, but we’re likely to forgive them because sitting at just 3.5″ high, they’re just so damn cute.

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Despite being busy putting the finishing touches on some creatures for Monsters and Misfits III, and even busier hustling the others into shipping crates, Chris took the time to answer a few questions about these little Monster Spirits, and his upcoming trip to Japan!

Borbogule: Monster Spirit of Mischief

Borbogule: Monster Spirit of Mischief

CP: What’s your point of inspiration for these little monster spirits? 
CMR: My creatures are inherently invisible to humans, so it only makes sense that something exists that is invisible to them.

The Nuggleworts carry effigies of them on their heads to celebrate mischief and fun in the night parade.

CP: Besides Mischief, what other spirits do you have lined up?  
CMR: I hadn’t thought that far ahead, you may have just given me an idea!

 

What are you looking forward to the most on your return trip to Japan? 
CMR: Besides the food? The time worn architecture and strong sense of culture. Oh, and MANNERS, everyone is so polite!

What was your favourite experience the first time?
CMR: There were so many amazing experiences the first time, some of which took me by surprise.

We followed the Spring festival parade at night down a quiet street, when all of the Yatai floats stopped moving and everyone, including the crowd, started singing in unison.  It was haunting and beautiful, like something from another world.

Your larger sculptures are jawdropping. Will we be seeing more of those in the future; are you finding yourself drawn to larger formats?
CMR: THANKS! I have always wanted to work big…like BIG big, like 20-feet-tall big!  Working large has some real challenges and limitations, but it’s something I plan on doing periodically in the future.

Until someone offers a room with 20-foot ceilings and a cargo truck, I may have to keep the pieces between 3 and 4 feet high.

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An Interview with the Fabulous Valency!

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Valency, one of our new Circus Posterus artists, has been a fixture at Stranger Factory, and her wonderfully whimsical art and ridiculously loud personality is a true Albuquerque treasure. Valency’s brilliant faux-taxidermy sculptures are an exploration of natural history meets surrealism, and we’ve been excited to see her collector base expand and her current body of work evolve into the fantastic display we have been hanging up on our walls right now.

However, she is sadly leaving us to join her family in London in just a few days, so please come to her show FAUNA, opening tomorrow, at Stranger Factory, to give our favourite fabulous lady a proper send off!

Of course, even in the mess of packing boxes and rolls of tape, Valency took the time to answer some interview questions about her upcoming show, her inspirations, and herself. Read on!

Valency_Bunny

CP: You’ve told us this already, but please, let the rest of the world know where in the world a name like “Valency” came from?
After my mom had my two older sisters, who are 11 months apart, I came along four years later – being that I weighed 12 lbs., 2 oz. at birth, my mother was HUGE during her pregnancy and thought that I would FOR SURE be a boy – all of the baby shower décor & gifts were boy-themed. She had only been picking out boy names… when I popped into the world, she had to scramble for a suitable name – that week, a made-for-TV science fiction movie starring William Shatner was televised, and one of the female characters was named “Valency.” There has only been one individual who immediately knew the name of the movie when I told this story – and that would be the amazing Travis Louie!! (The movie is called The People)

CP: Tell us about Fauna! What does this body of work represent?
I have been called an ‘animal freak’ for as long as I can remember… I am luckily married to a very tolerant man who just shakes his head when I add to our ‘mini-farm’ of animals, which currently consists of four cats and one 4-lb. Chihuahua (it would be a much larger collection if we weren’t a ‘mobile’ military family). In my childhood, I had worm-farms, massive pillbug collections, ant farms, cats, dogs, and many varieties of lizards, birds, frogs, and rodents – I was definitely a bit of an Elmyra Duff, which was somewhat difficult considering I grew up in urban Seattle. Fauna is really a chance for me to let that part of me loose – each and every creature I create is absolutely so much fun for me! Giving them color and character and bringing them to life is my joy.

Read More »An Interview with the Fabulous Valency!

Shing Talks a Lot.

One of the new additions to the Circus Posterus artist roster, Shing Yin Khor or Sawdust Bear, has a show opening this weekend at Leanna Lin’s Wonderland, and we(Kathie and Brandt) took the opportunity to throw some questions at her.

We’ve seen her hungry, we’ve seen her drunk, and now we all get to see her talk a lot!

(editor’s note: Shing also edits the Circus Posterus blog; all self deprecating comments are her own. er, this is Shing’s own note. Ugh, third person.)

CP: Please tell us about your educational background and creative journey. Did your parents talk you into getting a real job or were you smart enough at a young age to figure out how to best fund your creative alter ego?

Shing: Well, it’s… diverse. My degrees are in Technical Theatre and English, where I focused on scenic design and medieval literature. Then I went to grad school for scenic design, which I quit halfway through in a blaze of “artistic differences.” I learned how to sculpt, paint, draft, build, weld, mold, cast in theatre; I can fabricate all sorts of weird things, but the hard part was getting things together cohesively enough to have any sort of an artist’s statement. That part came organically, as I started to pursue a varied slate of interests and went through a quarter-life crisis state of trying to figure out who I was. Basically, I just didn’t have anything to say, until I did, and now I won’t shut up.

My parents – they’re very supportive. They just wanted me to be good at something, even though they have never hesitated to tell me when my work sucks. If I had been a lousy artist, I am certain they would have insisted I go into computer engineering. We compromised on the English major, which was an “at least you can teach high school” option. They are both artists too (Mom’s always been, she works with clay and bronze. Dad took up painting and woodworking in retirement). I very clearly get my love of experimenting from them. My mom randomly texts me things like “I built a gas kiln in the backyard today!” Fortunately, they’re a bit more competent and safer than I tend to be; I haven’t gotten a message like “your mom blew up the garden with her gas kiln” yet.

CP: Did the Center for Otherworld Science come to you in a dream or were you in a sweat lodge? For the unintoxicated collectors out there, can you explain this concept?

Shing: The Center for Otherworld Science has been evolving in different forms and into different names since I was…10? When it first started, it was a straight rip off of Brian Froud’s Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book and Wil Hugyen and Rien Poortvliet’s Gnomes (so much of my work still owes a debt to those books, I think). When I was 14, it expanded to being a research institution that investigated mermaids, fairies, gargoyles, other mythical creatures. There were a lot more fantasy tropes mixed in there when it first started out, because y’know…I was a huge nerd. Well, I still am.

I’ve always loved monsters, so it was logical to bring them under the Center for Otherworld Science umbrella when I started sculpting them. They were meant to be props, basically just the work product of the Center. I started filling out the narrative around it a few years ago, with the intention of working it into a novel, but the response to the artwork was more than I had anticipated. Now, I just try and write bits of it when I find time.

Basically, the Center for Otherworld Science is the “heart” of most of my work, and encapsulates most of my themes. I don’t think my work is quite so much about weird little critters, than it is how they got to the point where they are preserved and displayed for all to see. It’s about what humans do to them, especially at the Center – we preserve them, we stuff them, we record possibly inaccurate things about them. So, it might sound like a cute idea, the Center for Otherworld Science, but there’s a lot of well intentioned, but very fallible, human beings behind it all, and they do bad things to these fairly hapless critters. The unseen people of the Center for Otherworld Science are sinister because they’re kind of clueless about the whole new world they’ve stumbled upon – they’re the bumbling backbone of my world. God, humans are assholes!

To see the rest of the awesome interview, click more.
Read More »Shing Talks a Lot.

An Interview with Doktor A and Chet Zar

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So, we really love Doktor A, and we really love Chet Zar over here at Stranger Factory, so our hearts are exploding with anticipation for their two person show, Oddfellows, opening in less than a week! Both of them come from diverse professional backgrounds in film, television, music and design, and their uniquely beautiful personal work is sought after by collectors worldwide.

This time, we turned to our friendly forum elf helpers, to crowdsource some interview questions for Doktor A and Chet Zar. Read on to learn more about their collaboration, their processes, how they met and more!

CP: How did your collaboration come about? When did you first find out about each other’s work and how did you meet?

DOKTOR A: I can’t actually recall where I first heard about Chet and his work. I think it was probably Juxtapoz magazine, around 2006. I know I was annoyed I couldn’t get to his Ugly American show at the Strychnin gallery in London 2008, but I purchased a programme which I pored over for ages. We were both in the Noxious Fumes show at Rivet in October of 2008 as well, and that was a big thrill for me. It was a gas mask themed show, which was great fun. I actually ended up purchasing two of Chet’s paintings from that show.

When I was in L.A for Designer Con in 2011, I got to meet Chet via our mutual friend and talented sculptor Neil Winn. We had some splendid pizza, and Chet suggested we should work together on something. When the idea for a two man show came about, we spent a few months emailing sketches of ideas for a collaborative piece back and forth until we came up with something we both liked, was balanced well and would be able to be built modularly as we couldn’t be in the same place at the same time to work on it. I did my parts first and shipped them to Chet who then sculpted his magic around them.

CHET ZAR: I think I first heard about Doktor A from Guillermo del Toro. He is a big collector of both our works, I believe. And it is true- Neil Winn introduced us. He is a great guy and a talented artist. We had lunch at my favorite local pizza joint, Zelo (cornmeal crust gourmet pizza!). After one lunch, it felt like we had been friends for years! A collaboration seemed like the natural thing to do. I think this collaboration might be the best I have ever participated in.

(below, Doktor A, Chet Zar and Neil Winn, in 2011 – pulled off Doktor A’s blog.)
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CP(via jaysea420): What are the major influences in your life that you feel first determined your direction? We’re especially interested in influences that date back to childhood…favorite books, artists, television shows, music, etc.

DOKTOR A: Oh, many and varied! H.P.Lovecraft is never far away. I grew up in the 1970’s on a steady diet of Doctor Who and Ray Harryhausen; they were probably what started it. The first thing I remember sculpting(when I was maybe five) was a Zygon from Dr. Who in terracotta coloured Plasticene. Then , there were the likes of Brian Froud and Edward Gorey. H.R. Giger and Tolkien. Vivian Stanshall and Guillermo DelToro. It’s all in a big melting pot.

CHET ZAR: B horror and sci fi movies, horror comics, Heavy Metal magazine from the 70’s, Giger, Beksinski, Frazetta…it’s a long list that could go on forever.

CP(via dinkycow): Are you a planner? Do you sketch out every detail of a character before you begin or do you just begin creating and let your work evolve as you go?

DOKTOR A: My characters are generated in one of three ways. Sometimes, I come up with the written biography of the character and then work out what they look like in rough sketches or ink drawings and then build them. Or, I sketch a character and then start to piece together the physical sculpture, all the time altering and refining – at this stage, the personality of the piece starts determining their story. Or, I find a particular item or piece of junk which inspires the whole creation, look, story and all.

(image below is Doktor A’s impeccably organized toolkit)
ToolsLorez

CHET ZAR: I am primarily intuitive with my work. I plan things out a bit, but it’s not about logic for me. It just needs to fit my aesthetic. My main criteria is that it is fun to paint and something that I would like to look at. I usually create small studies in oil, sometimes in Photoshop first, and then base the larger piece upon that, always leaving room for a piece to develop during its creation.

(below, a Chet Zar study, paired with a final painting. From his Instagram feed.)

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CP (via dinkycow): You could pick any place to show your work, with a group of artists (dead or alive) of your choosing in any time period– where, who, when?

DOKTOR A: I am honoured and happy to be showing now and with the awesome peer group I find myself in. It’s exciting times for art. Boundaries are coming down. People are re-claiming art from those who want to cloister it and make it elite. Craftsmanship is once again being prized. Its refreshing and exciting.

CHET ZAR: I agree with Dok A – I think today has some of the coolest galleries, artists and opportunities.

CP(via Brad): What are your top three sci fi films? Top three horror films?

DOKTOR A: This is Brad’s question, isn’t it? (ed note: yeeep.) He asked me this months ago and it has been eating away at me ever since . I love sci-fi films but just picking three is torture. First would be “Quatermass and the Pit,” for sure. Although in my mind, a lot of the material from the original BBC mini series works its way into my memory of the film. I think they both have their strong points and the meld of the two gives me my experience of Mr. Kneale’s seminal work.

Second, is probably “Forbidden Planet” It’s such a beautiful, perfect, smart movie which is ageless. It also seems to hint at the same themes that Lovecraft was writing about. (Actually Quatermass and the Pit does too).. which is a recurring thread in things I find of interest.

The third choice is where I get stuck. It would be too obvious to say Blade Runner or Alien or some-such (I never really got on with the Star Wars films and consider them to be fantasy films rather than sci-fi anyway). I love Ridley Scott’s films of course – yes, even Prometheus – but think I would probably finally settle for something like Inception or Children of Men over them…though I still can’t bring myself to choose.

Horror films I enjoy, but don’t go crazy about. I prefer a good ghost story to an out and out gory horror. Things like “The Haunting” or “Dead of Night” are more my cup of tea. I think “The Stone Tape” is probably the most terrifying thing I have ever watched (Nigel Kneale again). I love “The Mist”; stuff that’s bleak is good. And I also enjoy the early Amicus and Hammer era movies. “The Abominable Doctor Phibes” films and “The Asphyx” are regularly watched in my house.

CHET ZAR: I think we are opposite in that way. I am more of a horror guy but I do love sci-fi as well. For sci-fi, Alien is up there, The Matrix, The Thing…I like a lot of the old cheesy stuff from the 50’s and 60’s as well.

For horror, the original Night of the Living Dead was a big one for me. The original Dawn of the Dead and The Exorcist are also up there.

(below, another look at the collaborative sculpt by Chet Zar and Doktor A)

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CP(via jaysea420): Where do you see this toy-art scene going; how do you think it can be improved?

DOKTOR A: I think its shrinking in size and becoming more grass roots. More people self producing, less larger companies. Its never going to be a place for anyone to make any serious money so it naturally excludes large corporations. They may steal the odd piece is imagery once in a while but they have no place here. You can see in the way that any toy company of any size ( Toy2R, Kidrobot) eventually moves into licensed products as that is where the large sales numbers are. I see more resin and rapid prototyping by individuals selling direct to collectors.

CHET ZAR: I am kind of out of the loop as far as toys go. I think my stuff would make great toys, but I haven’t really had the opportunity yet. I hope this collaboration that Doktor A and I have created will help change that.

Chet Zar and Doktor A’s Oddfellows opens at Stranger Factory on May 3rd with a reception from 6-9pm. Chet Zar will be present.

Getting to know Doubleparlour!

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We are all really looking forward to welcoming Doubleparlour’s new batch of odd, unsettling creatures(humanoid, and i-don’t-even-know-what-noid) to Stranger Factory in a couple weeks. Doubleparlour are Ernie and Cassandra Velasco, a husband-wife team from San Francisco, and maybe from Mars.

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Doubleparlour’s brand of peculiar misfits have been making waves across the art world, and every new turn they take has been startling and fascinating. They’re always full of surprises – some sweet, some sour, some gooey – which is part of the fun!

They were also gracious enough to let me lob a few questions at them, so read on for a bit more insight into their work, inspirations and process!

CP: What is Pink Eye about? What is the backstory for the new group of creatures we’ll be seeing in April?

Doubleparlour: It is about the joys of conjunctivitis of course! Well, not exactly…however, it is the theme that bonds our creatures together.

(CP: Below is an image of a work coming to our gallery! Did you think they were kidding about the conjunctivitis?)

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CP: Your style has transitioned a bit in the past few years, but it somehow feels like your current work is exactly what you’ve been meaning to do. Tell us about how your work has evolved?

Doubleparlour: We are loving the whole creature/monster thing right now…it has evolved naturally from the making of odd ball type characters. Our current work is what strikes our fancy at the moment. With monsters, there are no rules! Our work will continue to evolve as we continue to explore….

CP: How do the two of you collaborate on your pieces? It seems like you both do everything!

Doubleparlour: We do collaborate to a certain extent…in general though, Ernie does most of the sculpting and Cassie does most of the painting.

(CP: below, a piece gets perfectly detailed for Pink Eye)

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CP: You’ve just started to dip your hands into resin casting – can we expect more from you on that front?

Doubleparlour: You noticed. :) We just learned how! Casting is a whole other animal. It was a lot of trial and error to master the silicone mold…but definitely rewarding to pop a complete figure out in 20 minutes. We will make more in the future for limited releases.

Of course, this is just another project, we aren’t going to stop sculpting and making originals-that is where the fun is. For our Stranger Factory show, all pieces are hand sculpted originals.

CP: What are your collective influences? Is that some sort of bargaining process to decide what pieces end up being part of the Doubleparlour world?

Doubleparlour: Horror and monster movies, kaiju figures, cartoons and comic books, coffee and pastries, art and music. We have similar taste in art and slightly different taste in music…Ernie is more metal, Cassie is more bubblegum. There is no bargaining process for what ends up in our world, just lots of ideas that get tossed around and discussed before they come to life.

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Doubleparlour’s Pink Eye opens at Stranger Factory on May 3rd!

 

Chris Ryniak’s herd of Dumpy Dollops for “Migration”

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Grumblup_Vungermirk

Imagine hiking in the woods and turning a corner to find Grumblup Vungermirk (above) or Gullop Ficktermucker (below) staring at you. I think most of us would plop ourselves down right there and say “awwwwwwww” as it grins or makes rankled sounds at us.

Well, welcome to the world of Chris Ryniak’s Dumpy Dollups!

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Only 6 of these adorable and expressive creatures with extremely long names have made their way to Migration. Ranging in size from the runts at 4 inches to the aspiring NBA players at 6 inches, these stubby critters made of acrylic, epoxy, and large, soulful glass eyes, are ready for the great Migration to a new home (and away from Chris’ karaoke singing). Speaking of our songbird Chris, we got a chance to ask him some questions about these wonderful lumps –

CP: These Dumpy Dollops are amazing. What corner of your brain do these come from? 
CMR: Does the brain have corners?  I figured it was more of a round-ish thing…well, at least that’s how it looks in the science books.

The Dumpy Dollops are kind of like milestones, they dot the edges of trails along migratory routes of more evolved creatures.  Since they can’t really move under their own power due to grossly underdeveloped limbs, they just sit there and encourage travelers, or just grumble at them.

CP: How should a potential owner keep these little dudes happy?
CMR: Never look directly in their eyes!  Or was it ALWAYS look directly in their eyes?  I can’t remember…

CP: The expressiveness of your sculptures has been really increasing – is that a direction you’ve been enjoying(we love it)?
CMR: I find that the more expressive the character, either through action, facial expression, posture or a combination of all of them, the more I can relate to them.  It’s not enough that they are just monsters; it’s important to me that they connect in some way to the human world.

(ed. note: Chris’ ability to render expressions is unparalleled by most, but he’ll be dropping a whole bunch of tips on how to draw them in his Stranger Factory workshop: Creating Expressive Characters)

CP: Can we expect to see more of these lumpy, expressive critters from you, both for Migration, and in the future?
CMR: The answers are yes and yes!  There is one critter who has the biggest grin you’ve ever seen…and he happens to be my favorite piece in the show.  I have lots of plans for happy little dudes for upcoming shows.

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(maybe it’s this guy?)

To see the rest of the Dumpy Dollops, and the rest of Chris’ happy, grumpy, lumpy menagerie, be sure to sign up for the mailing list on Stranger Factory’s homepage to be on the preview list.

Chris Ryniak and Amanda Louise Spayd’s “Migration” opens March 1st through the 31st at Stranger Factory (109 Carlisle Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106).

A Chat with DrilOne.

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The opening of three shows at Stranger Factory this past Friday has come and gone and it looked AMAZING. Today, let’s take a look at some of DrilOne’s gorgeous contributions to the show. We chatted with him a bit about his art and influences, and we’re delighted to give you a quick peek into his rusty world.

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DrilOne: My addiction used to be photographing old abandon buildings, amusement parks, psychiatric wards, and decommissioned military bases. I would photograph them to preserve the history of the building. I like creating my work to have that feeling. I want people to feel like they own a piece of weathered historical artifact.

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DrilOne: I was always into the military; I loved the machinery, weapons, fighter jets. I also enjoyed military models too! It definitely was/is a huge influence. I grew up in Queens, NY and started writing graffiti in the late 80’s. Now, I am combining graffiti, model making, signage, and weathered rusty textures.

gasmask mimic

CP: Your customs are as always, beautiful, but we also love that you’ve been working with more original sculpts lately, like the Drones! Are there more to come? Do you think that making originals sculpts is the “next step,” or do you think you’ll still always customize toys?

DrilOne: Yes, I’m hoping to sculpt other characters that I have drawn that are part of the Drones world. I also would like to create some pieces in vinyl. As for customizing – I want to only customize certain pieces. I love customizing other peoples pieces like the ones for this show; I took a box of Jason Limon resin pieces and had a ton of fun. It helps me grow as I learn new ideas and techniques.

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CP: What piece or series were you most excited to make or work on for this show?

DrilOne: I love the giant Empty World retro sign. It was probably the hardest piece to do, but rewarding. I enjoyed most of the work I did for this show, though. I tried several new paint techniques and even sculpted and casted micro Drones for the show.

DrilOne’s micro Drones will be made available for people buying originals during today’s preview window (only if buying an original).

To purchase DrilOne’s beautiful, atmospheric work from Empty World, visit our preview page. The online purchase inquiry period begins today at 12 Noon, PST.