Happy Holidays!
23 Friday Dec 2011
23 Friday Dec 2011
06 Friday Nov 2009
Posted Babushka, Matryoshka, Stacking Dolls
inOne of my biggest pet peeve growing up, because I was born in the Year of the Rabbit, was that everything I owned either resembled a rabbit or had a rabbit motif on it. Bunny slippers, rabbit coin banks, pencils with a jaunty checkered rabbit eraser nub poised on top…you name it, I had it. I was even made to eat carrots at every meal because, apparently, there’s no difference between a rabbit and someone who was born in the year of one. This brought to mind my favorite episode of “The Tick” cartoon wherein our hero encountered a villain who called himself The Deadly Bulb but was really named Pigleg because of the surly swine attached to his right foot. He had a curio cabinet filled with pig-related paraphernalia given to him by friends. I know his pain all too well.
I was pleased that when I started painting the matryoshka dolls, I was able to divert people’s interest away from rabbits and hares and such…that is, until I found out there were literally scores of matryoshka-related merchandise out there for gifting.
Sheets: (left) Happy Sheets (right) Urban Outfitters
Chocolates by Viktoria Richards
Pupa Cosmetics “Puposka”
Babushka light from Mathmos
Flower by Kenzo and Vodka Matryoshka
Well, at least they’re a lot better than plush bunnies that household pets kept mistaking for a toilet.
29 Thursday Oct 2009
Posted Babushka, Glimpse of the Past, Matryoshka, Stacking Dolls
inNori, Mochi and Natto are gearing up for the third of the five Battles of Kawanakajima re-enactment. Their samurai armors are buffed to perfection and they all have their onigiri (lovingly made by their wives) tucked into their pockets for lunch.
Playing the role of Takeda Shingen, Nori is ready to capture the katsurayana fortress with his army!
Some details…
A Haiku:
To participate
in Kawanakajima
need more days off work.
22 Thursday Oct 2009
Posted Babushka, Fun and Recreation, Matryoshka, Stacking Dolls
inWith spring here and our daily viewing of “American Chopper,” my life is now inundated with motorcycles and that’s given me an itch to paint yet another set of bikers.
Meet the Daughters of Beelzebub, the all-girl bike gang who roams through lonely highways and are always up for a good bar brawl.
Some details…
I love the idea of sidecar (not the cocktail, mind you…it tastes like solvent with a twist of lemon). And of course, the occupant HAD to be a bulldog, whom I’ve modeled after my brother’s auxiliary bulldog, Yama. The tattoo (right) is in honor of my Bully, who left us much too early.
The girls are keen to showcase their gang logo on the backs of their jackets and vests.
Yama…the poster boy for braces.
Painting such highly detailed work could’ve given me a sever case of voluntary Torette’s, but I found that if I only paint, say, two wheels and part of a helmet a day, it was quite Zen.
17 Saturday Oct 2009
Posted Babushka, Celebrations, Children's Corner, Fête and Soirée, Matryoshka, Stacking Dolls
inAre Woolly Mammoths, Pygmy Hippos, Pterodactyls, and Dodo Birds really extinct? Apparently they’re all still around and getting ready to celebrate the birth of a brand new Gigantspinosaurus.
(Clockwise from left) Sherrie and Mimi, the Pygmy Hippo; Gregory and Wooster, the Woolly Mammoth; Neal and Nestor, the Pterodactyl; Stevie and Barry, the Gigantspinosaurus, still in his shell; Catherine and Trixie, the Dodo, who’s having a go at the birthday cake.
Some details…
16 Wednesday Sep 2009
Posted Babushka, Family Circle, Matryoshka, Stacking Dolls
inI’ve always told my prospective suitors that if I have to choose between them and TV, I will inevitably opt for the boob tube. This is simply for the fact that you can always turn off the set when it gets too annoying or, god forbid, wants to “talk.”
Of course I had to include a bulldog into the mix. They ARE the couch potatoes of the canine world.
A comfy chair is not comfy without the requisite crochet blanket.
This is my ultimate tribute to the one friend who has seen me through the thick and thin: The wonderful TeeVee Set.