Shing Khor

Sept. 7 at Stranger Factory: Shing Yin Khor’s new book, The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 signing as well as An Afternoon Of Creative Conversations.

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Join us for the release and signing of Shing Yin Khor’s new book, The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 as well as
An Afternoon Of Creative Conversations
Saturday, September 7th 1-4PM
Conversations and snacks curated by Shing Yin Khor

1-2pm
Queer Comics and Southwest History
A conversation with Melanie Gilman
(with book signings to follow)

2-3pm
Building Creative Careers
A round table conversation with Ryan Singer, Melanie Gilman, and friends, moderated by Shing Yin Khor.

3-4pm
Divinations for a Creative Path
with Leslie Levings and The Oracle Bird

“If you ever plan to motor west
Travel my way, take the highway that is best
Get your kicks on Route 66.”—Bobby Troup

Route 66 covers a total of almost 2,500 miles, famously winding from Chicago to LA. Established in 1926, it’s been called the Main Street of America, was dedicated to Will Rogers and is an essential part of Americana. Even those who’ve never traveled its roads know it from pop music, the 1960’s TV show Route 66, the Cars franchise, and John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath.

As a child growing up in Malaysia, Shing Yin Khor had two very different ideas of what “America” meant. The first looked a lot like Hollywood, full of beautiful people, sunlight, and freeways. The second looked much more like The Grapes of Wrath—a nightmare landscape filled with impoverished people, broken-down cars, barren landscapes, and broken dreams. Those contrasting ideas have stuck with Khor ever since and help explain their fascination with Route 66. In the spring of 2016, 10 years after moving to LA and 4 years after becoming an American citizen, Khor embarked on a road trip along Highway 66 in a 2010 Honda Fit, accompanied only by their trusty road-trip adventure dog Bug.

On sale from Zest Books on August 6, 2019, Khor’s graphic memoir The American Dream?: A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito allows readers to ride shotgun for a deeply personal and playful pilgrimage of roadside attractions, abandoned towns, diners, and motels. Like the very best road trips, the book relishes in unusual sites and roadside kitsch, with detours providing arcane trivia and profound observations alike. We visit Oatman, AZ, a former gold-mining town where several Hollywood films were shot. We stop at Two Guns, AZ, the abandoned site of the former tourist trap known as The Apache Death Cave. We take in plenty of iconic landmarks, from Holbrook, AZ’s dinosaur statues to Oklahoma’s Blue Whale of Catoosa.

The American Dream?: A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito is already receiving accolades:

Khor takes that ‘feeling of desperately searching for something better, for a new start,’ and adapts it to their own ‘pilgrimage’ as immigrant and artist traveling historic Route 66…in whimsical full-color detail.—Booklist (Starred Review)

Breathtaking.—School Library Journal

Offers important perspectives on being an immigrant and American identity.—Kirkus Reviews

Shing Yin Khor’s trip preceded the 2016 Presidential Election by a few months. And as Khor writes, “This comic feels like a record of a time when a brown girl could drive America fearlessly.” It is both the document of one cartoonist’s trip on the open road and a portrait of a constantly evolving America. Khor’s journey echoes the Joad family’s desperate pursuit of a better life out West, and the book takes stock of both the myth and the reality of the American Dream. We invite you to join us on the ride.

Shing Yin Khor is a cartoonist and installation artist. Their work has been published in The Toast, The Nib, Upworthy, Huffington Post, and Bitch Magazine. They make the road trip adventure comic Tiny Adventure Journal, and the tender queer science fiction comic Center for Otherworld Science. They are also the author of The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito published by Zest Books. They live in Los Angeles.

Melanie Gillman is a cartoonist and colored pencil artist who draws positive queer and trans comics for young readers. They are the creator of the webcomic and graphic novel As the Crow Flies, published in 2017 by Iron Circus Comics. As the Crow Flies has been named a 2018 Stonewall Honor Book, won the 2018 Excellence in Graphic Literature Award for Best Middle Grade Graphic Novel, and been nominated for an Ignatz, Eisner, and Dwayne McDuffie Award. In addition to their comics work, they are also an adjunct professor in the Comics MFA Program at the California College of the Arts, where they teach classes about making comics and professional practices.

In their rollicking queer western adventure, Stage Dreams, acclaimed cartoonist Melanie Gillman (Stonewall Award Honor Book As the Crow Flies) puts readers in the saddle alongside Flor and Grace, a Latinx outlaw and a trans runaway, as they team up to thwart a Confederate plot in the New Mexico Territory. When Flor—also known as the notorious Ghost Hawk—robs the stagecoach that Grace has used to escape her Georgia home, the first thing on her mind is ransom. But when the two get to talking about Flor’s plan to crash a Confederate gala and steal some crucial documents, Grace convinces Flor to let her join the heist.

Leslie Levings,Shing Yin Khor, and Patt Kelley return to Stranger Factory this September!

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THE SAVAGE – Leslie Levings
A MEMORY OF BEASTS – Shing Yin Khor
SOULMATES – Patt Kelley will run from
September 6th – September 29th, 2019

Opening Reception with the artists: Friday, September 6th from 6-8 PM

Book signing and An Afternoon of Creative Conversations Saturday, September 7th 1-4 pm


Stranger Factory is proud to present The Savage, a new feature show by Leslie Levings!

The Savage is new collection of myths, in which our avatars confront the inadequacies of the world, the relentlessness of destruction, and the hopeful beauty of what comes after. These are Just So Stories for the end of the world, or maybe for the end of a world that never existed to begin with.

Stranger Factory is happy to present Shing Yin Khor in her new feature show at our gallery, A Memory of Beasts!

A Memory of Beasts is a show about the objects we hoard in order to remember our lives. It’s about the keys we keep adding to our key rings, the small rock with a hole in it that we fidget with in our pockets, the shells, the worms, sticks and bones we pick up on our hikes. It’s about grounding, collecting, and keeping.

This body of work also features new critters that are signature to Shing Yin Khor’s work and stories, as well a meet and greet with the artist the following day!

Stranger Factory is happy to present Patt Kelley in his latest feature show at our gallery, Soulmates!

Some people believe that everyone has a soulmate. Another person so suited to you that they must have been delivered by fate or divine intervention. In this show, each piece has a soulmate. A perfect counterpoint. The subject of each work is the destined partner of another subject within the exhibit. Some pieces may go to a home with their soulmate piece, but Kelley likes to think that even if separated, perhaps the pieces will be rejoined at some point in the future.

All shows run fromSeptember 6th – September 29th, 2019
Opening Reception with the artists: Friday, September 6th from 6-8 PM

Join us for the release and signing of Shing Yin Khor’s new book, The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 as well as
An Afternoon Of Creative Conversations
Saturday, September 7th 1-4PM
Conversations and snacks curated by Shing Yin Khor

1-2pm
Queer Comics and Southwest History
A conversation with Melanie Gilman
(with book signings to follow)

2-3pm
Building Creative Careers
A round table conversation with Ryan Singer, Melanie Gilman, and friends, moderated by Shing Yin Khor.

3-4pm
Divinations for a Creative Path
with Leslie Levings and The Oracle Bird

“If you ever plan to motor west
Travel my way, take the highway that is best
Get your kicks on Route 66.”—Bobby Troup

Route 66 covers a total of almost 2,500 miles, famously winding from Chicago to LA. Established in 1926, it’s been called the Main Street of America, was dedicated to Will Rogers and is an essential part of Americana. Even those who’ve never traveled its roads know it from pop music, the 1960’s TV show Route 66, the Cars franchise, and John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath.

As a child growing up in Malaysia, Shing Yin Khor had two very different ideas of what “America” meant. The first looked a lot like Hollywood, full of beautiful people, sunlight, and freeways. The second looked much more like The Grapes of Wrath—a nightmare landscape filled with impoverished people, broken-down cars, barren landscapes, and broken dreams. Those contrasting ideas have stuck with Khor ever since and help explain their fascination with Route 66. In the spring of 2016, 10 years after moving to LA and 4 years after becoming an American citizen, Khor embarked on a road trip along Highway 66 in a 2010 Honda Fit, accompanied only by their trusty road-trip adventure dog Bug.

On sale from Zest Books on August 6, 2019, Khor’s graphic memoir The American Dream?: A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito allows readers to ride shotgun for a deeply personal and playful pilgrimage of roadside attractions, abandoned towns, diners, and motels. Like the very best road trips, the book relishes in unusual sites and roadside kitsch, with detours providing arcane trivia and profound observations alike. We visit Oatman, AZ, a former gold-mining town where several Hollywood films were shot. We stop at Two Guns, AZ, the abandoned site of the former tourist trap known as The Apache Death Cave. We take in plenty of iconic landmarks, from Holbrook, AZ’s dinosaur statues to Oklahoma’s Blue Whale of Catoosa.

The American Dream?: A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito is already receiving accolades:

Khor takes that ‘feeling of desperately searching for something better, for a new start,’ and adapts it to their own ‘pilgrimage’ as immigrant and artist traveling historic Route 66…in whimsical full-color detail.—Booklist (Starred Review)

Breathtaking.—School Library Journal

Offers important perspectives on being an immigrant and American identity.—Kirkus Reviews

Shing Yin Khor’s trip preceded the 2016 Presidential Election by a few months. And as Khor writes, “This comic feels like a record of a time when a brown girl could drive America fearlessly.” It is both the document of one cartoonist’s trip on the open road and a portrait of a constantly evolving America. Khor’s journey echoes the Joad family’s desperate pursuit of a better life out West, and the book takes stock of both the myth and the reality of the American Dream. We invite you to join us on the ride.

Shing Yin Khor is a cartoonist and installation artist. Their work has been published in The Toast, The Nib, Upworthy, Huffington Post, and Bitch Magazine. They make the road trip adventure comic Tiny Adventure Journal, and the tender queer science fiction comic Center for Otherworld Science. They are also the author of The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito published by Zest Books. They live in Los Angeles.

 

Monsters & Misfits IV:A Circus Posterus Exhibition at Shibuya Hikarie, Tokyo

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blog sized

Monsters & Misfits IV

A Circus Posterus Exhibition at Shibuya Hikarie, Tokyo

Tomenosuke + Circus Posterus (T+CP) is delighted to announce Monsters & Misfits IV, an exhibit of new work presented in collaboration with Tomenosuke-Syoten. This is the first Monsters and Misfits in Tokyo (Japan) and will be on display at Shibuya Hikarie at Creative Space “8/” from April 1st – 7th.

Monsters and Misfits IV will feature returning artists Brandt Peters, Kathie Olivas, Amanda Louise Spayd, Chris Ryniak, Andrew Bell, Stan Manoukian, and Carisa Swenson. Shing Yin Khor, Leslie Levings, Lana Crooks, and Kevin Titzer join the returning exhibition as new additions to the roster.

This museum level exhibition will bring you through a parade of strange and fantastic creatures and characters from these top contemporary designers, toy makers, and fine artists. This year’s group of Circus Posterus’ artists and guests present a hand-made sideshow of beady eyed night critters, devils, reptilian oddities, mouse kings, kappa skulls, ghost children, and more that promise to leave you awash in starry-eyed wonder. The fourth installment of this show features primarily hand made toys and sculptures inspired by cryptozoology and an idealized, re-imagined  animal kindgdom. Andrew Bell, Stan Manoukian, Kathie Olivas, Brandt Peters, Amanda Louise Spayd, and Chris Ryniak will be attending the opening reception on April 1st.

To purchase original artwork and, or view the Monsters and Misfits IV exhibition online, please visit www.tomenosuke.com on April 2nd (11 AM local Tokyo time) when the web preview is launched. Please contact Tomenosuke.com directly for any Monsters and Misfits IV purchase related questions.

Press images and additional promotional artist information are available upon request from our Press Manager.

The exhibit will run April 1st to 7th at Shibuya Hikarie in Tokyo, Japan, with an opening reception on April 1st.

Shibuya Hikarie (Creative Space “8/”)
2-21-1 Shibuya
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo, Japan
150-8510
03-5468-5892
http://www.hikarie.jp/en/

www.tomenosuke.com
www.circusposterus.com

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Winners of “Dubious Monsters Around You” contest!!!

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IMG_8308

Time to announce the winners in our
“Dubious Monsters Around You” contest!!!

1st Place: constanceflux

2nd Place: _Richone_

3rd Place: arttoylife

Congrats to the winners and a big THANK YOU to all that entered.
More contests VERY soon!!!
If you are a winner, please direct message us!

 

And get ready for Dubious Beasts: Life Cycles opening this Friday at Stranger Factory!

“Dubious Beasts: Life Cycles” By Shing Yin Khor and Leslie Levings this March at Stranger Factory

“Dubious Monsters Around You” contest

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monstersaroundyou

Presenting the “Dubious Monsters Around You” contest, in conjunction with the Dubious Beasts art show, opening in March at Stranger Factory.

Our intrepid artists and researchers, Shing Yin and Leslie Levings, study monsters that hide out in our world, often in plain sight. Now, we’re looking for some brave citizen scientists to join us in our quest.

Take a picture of a monster face hiding in the wild. Perhaps it is part of a parking meter, on the side of a building, or the front grill of a car. Attaching googly eyes to fruit, or making a monster face of your own is also totally acceptable.

Post the image on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr or our Sideshow at (http://www.circusposterus.com/forum/) with the hashtag#DubiousMonstersAroundYou to enter!

Contest ends March 1 when Shing and Leslie pick a winner!

Prizes!

1st Prize:

A Sluggish Dorbal
Center for Otherworld Science #1-3
A Center for Otherworld Science tote bag.
And a bunch of prints and pins and zines!

2nd and 3rd prize winners will also receive some variation of the above!

The Prizes
prizes

Designer Con Releases Round 3

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More Designer Con goodness for a mid week pick me up!

We hope you all can make it to Pasadena, CA this weekend. If you do, come visit us at Circus Posterus booth #700!

Dril tease

DrilOne will have a plethora of customs on hand.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Albino Anura Leeciferuses
by Leecifer
Edition of 5
$180 ea
Stan print“Summer” fine art print
By Stan Manoukian
Limited Edition for Designer Con and Stranger Factory
jerk
Spotted Dancer Fattybug
by Shing Yin Khor
More exclusives and releases soon!
Designer Con
November 8 and 9
Pasadena Convention Center 
Exhibit Hall A & B
300 East Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101

Designer Con Releases Round 2

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We hit you with a right hook yesterday concerning a few of our Designer Con releases and exclusives, and now we are going for a roundhouse kick with even more!

Circus Posterus Booth #700

Here we go!
10729214_1515901261982721_1509254617_nKathie Olivas/Brandt Peters
Heathern Snake Skelve
Edition of 10
$350

Hathen Micro editionKathie Olivas/Brandt Peters
Heathern Snake Skelve
Edition of 10
$300

Shing DCONShing Yin Khor
Leaf Green Sluggish Dorbal
Edition of 25
$20

unnamedInstinctoy
Crayon Muckey #7
Early Debut Release
Sales start Saturday Nov. 8 at 3pm for this release

More exclusives and releases soon!
Designer Con
November 8 and 9
Pasadena Convention Center 
Exhibit Hall A & B
300 East Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101

Designer Con 2014

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DCon2014cardfront

Circus Posterus returns to Designer Con for the fourth year in a row, and this time, we are going bigger, better, and more epic than ever!

This year’s annual art and design convention that smashes together collectible toys and designer goods with urban, underground and pop art takes place over two amazing days in Pasadena, CA. All the amazing fun goes down on November 8-9, at the Pasadena Convention Center.

In the upcoming weeks, we will bring you all kinds of information regarding what you can expect from the Circus Posterus team which includes partnerships with some of our favorite toy companies. While we are busy finalizing releases, exclusives, and signings, we can at least tell you the artists we have coming in for this historic event:

Brandt Peters

Kathie Olivas

Stan Manoukian (flying in all the way from France!)

Chris Ryniak

Amanda Louise Spayd

Shing Yin Khor

Valency Genis

Tim Lee

DrilOne

Brandan Styles 

Leecifer

Stephan Webb

We have a ton planned, so keep checking back for more info.

If you want to learn more on Designer Con, keep your eyes peeled here.

If you want to talk about Circus Posterus and DCON, join our forum here.
(trust us, it has advantages to be active)

 


Shing goes for a ribbon at The Science Fair

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sciencefairOur lovely Shing Yin Khor has kept herself crazy busy painting, sculpting, and playing with her kitty, and now she is going for a big win at Supahcute’s “Science Fair”! She even contributed to the super awesome poster!

Shing, along with numerous other artists, will have on display at Leanna Lin’s Wonderland an entire genome of amazing scientific related art. The opening is March 8 from 6-8pm. We know Shing loves her science, so we are cheering her on for a blue ribbon with her beasties and curiosities.

Come on down and talk nerdy to Shing!