critters

New Wintery Friends from Amanda Louise Spayd for Circus Annual, 12.7

  • by

Amanda Louise Spayd is bringing the chill of winter to Circus Annual tomorrow with a batch of new custom plushes, each inspired by the season’s elements. From top, say hello to Blizzard, Drift and Sleet, three of six critters that will be on exhibit. Each is entirely hand sewn, sculpted and painted by Amanda, so every detail is unique, right down to the uber perdy forehead embellishment.

Looking to add one of these gnarly-toothed dudes to your collection? You’re certainly not alone: be sure to sign up for Stranger Factory’s newsletter and keep an eye on your inbox this weekend for the preview and purchasing instructions. Circus Annual opens tomorrow (Dec. 7th) with reception from 6 to 9pm. Show’s on until the end of the month!

A Critter Invasion in the Monster Dungeon!

Production in Chris Ryniak’s studio is in full swing once again, filling up with piles of bulb-eyed pals for us all to squeal over. Watercolour monsters, gouache critters on cardboard, along with a small congregation of little resin critters are all in the works, and the latter has me particularly curious, indeed. Just look at those little bums!

Question is, what ever is all this for? Well, there are a couple notable events CMR is involved in, namely Circus Annual in December and Migration with Amanda Louise Spayd in March (*wink*), but only time will tell when these guys come out to play. So stick around, for plenty more is sure to emerge from the Monster Dungeon!

Chris Ryniak’s Nuggleworts for Circus Annual @ Stranger Factory 12.7

Chris Ryniak is switching things up a bit this year for Circus Posterus’s annual winter group exhibition at Stranger Factory: instead of customizing pre-existing sculpts, he’s casting his very own critters! That’s right, Ryniak has become something of his own production house: the molds, the pouring, the pulling, the cleaning, the painting, all overseen entirely by the artist. So what’s first to come sneaking out from the monster dungeon? Why, Nuggleworts, dear boy! You may recall the brief teaser we posted a couple months back, or the small run he did for Septenary back in July. Well, these little dudes are BACK and a herd of six, 6-inch one-offs are making their way to the Factory next month for Circus Annual. The show kicks off Dec. 7th with a reception from 6-9pm; stick around for more sneak peeks of the exhibit as we draw closer to the date.

 

New Friends from Amanda Louise Spayd for ‘Origins of the Forest’, 9.7

  • by

Amanda Louise Spayd’s Instagram teasers (@amandalouisespayd) continue to trickle out in anticipation of her solo show, Origins of the Forest, opening this Friday at myplasticheart. Faux fur has never looked so good.

The reception will take place this Friday from 6pm to 9pm. Amanda will be there! For those looking to pick up a little guy from this show (who wouldn’t?!), be sure to sign up the for mailing list by emailing: previewme@myplasticheart.com. The critters will have full run of the gallery until October 7th.

Chris Ryniak’s Wonderful Watercolors

  • by

This is easily the coolest thing happening on Instagram right now. A couple weeks ago, Chris Ryniak (@chrisryniak) dusted off his old watercolor kit and took it for a spin with his critters, just for fun. Well ermgahgerd. These things have pretty much set the interwebs ablaze and just when you think they can’t get any better, well, there’s tomorrow’s entry.

“I had been thinking about getting back into it for a few months since I really started ramping up the daily scribbles,” Chris writes. “I haven’t been painting as much these days and wanted to see if I could do something that was a little more immediate than acrylic.”

We’re glad you did. And the plus? Due to the overwhelming response, we WILL see these for sale in the future (unlike his daily scribbles) — so hold tight!

New In-Progress Magic from Amanda Spayd for ‘Origins of the Forest’, 9.7

  • by

With Origins of the Forest just two weeks away, Amanda Louise Spayd’s studio is in full-swing production mode with little resin faces and plush bodies blanketing every conceivable surface. It also means a steady stream of WIP shots hitting Instagram, which always makes us tingle with antici … pation.

I’ll let the critters speak for themselves; Mandi’s WIP shots are nothing short of magical and for a show that seemingly crept up on all of us, it appears we are in for something very special.

Origins of the Forest opens Sept. 7th at myplasticheart with a reception with the artist from 6pm to 9pm. The exhibition is on view through Oct. 7th.

Amanda Louise Spayd for ‘Septenary’ @ OhNo!Doom 7.7

  • by

Pom poms and party hats, polka dots and pretty lace … Amanda Louise Spayd’s trio of critters for OhNo!Doom’s seven-artist sculpture show, Septenary, are straight out of a circus from a bygone era.

Not sure if she’s still sewing life into more dumpy dudes over there, but these three will be in the exhibition, curated by OhNo! gallery mistress, Lana Crooks. The bill also includes fellow Circus mate Chris Ryniak, along with Melita “Miss Monster” Curphy, J.Shea, Melissa Sue Stanley, Jake Waldron and Lana. Show opens July 7th through August 4th.

 

Amanda Louise Spayd’s Antique Pendant Project

Lately Mandi has been indulging in a little creative R&R by experimenting with crafting her own antique pendants. Each is unique and features a mixed media drawing of one of her little dudes, set in resin. She’s considering selling them; I think we all know the obvious answer to this one ;)

Will keep you all apprised on this project and her bee critters as details emerge!

Beware, Kansas City! CMR’s Monsters are Coming for You!

Chris Ryniak‘s pint-sized army of critters for Spectrum is wrapped up and ready for action! The mini Bubbleguts, mini Crumbeaters and regular Crumbeaters are each an edition of six and customized lovingly by CMR. You’ll find them crawling about the CP booth (#919), probably nibbling on the corners of prints or sleeping in a pile of t-shirts. Be early, folks — these are always the first to go!

Spectrum Fantastic Art Live kicks off May 18th through the 20th at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, MO.