Sweet + Toxic were made for the Robots + Monsters group show at Ayden Gallery in Vancouver, BC. Opening Reception: Friday, October 22, 7-11pm. Exhibition runs until Nov 14, 2010
Sweet + Toxic follow their hearts with full force. Their intense love brings them both the most sweetest joy and the most toxic pain. Most of the time the candy coloured duo have a happy outlook on life with their strawberry pink palette and kawaii fabric details. Their favourite dessert is Strawberry Shortcake and they fight over who gets to eat most of the whipped cream.
I just wanted to say thanks to my Bro who helped me with the finishing details due to my injured hand. Thanks Jess! 🙂
These plushies of mine will be on display at Plush You this year. The opening reception is this Friday from 5-9pm at Schmancy in Seattle, WA. Stop by if you’re in the area!
Animus + Euphoria
Animus’s name was influenced by ‘Animus Vox’, one of my favourite songs by Glitch Mob. As well as symbolizing masculine energy, Animus also means ‘strong dislike’ which I find a contrast to really liking the song Animus Vox! So I thought it was fitting to call the sad-faced sister ‘Animus’, while the happy-faced sister would need to have a positive name — ‘Euphoria’. Their contrasting names were also inspired by the rabbit print on their bellies. The print shows a happy idealistic union of two rabbits. I wanted the sisters to reflect the reality of this union — happy and sad. One cannot know happiness without experiencing sadness. There are two sides to every coin and these sisters know that very well. Sometimes Animus leads + days are sad. Other times Euphoria makes all the decisions and days are happy. They don’t always agree with where they are going, but they must work together to find a balance in order to move forward. Animus + Euphoria remind us to take each day one step at a time, and to embrace the ups and downs in life.
Strawberry Death Cupcake Deer + Cherry Death Cupcake Deer own the gothic lolita themed cupcake shop in Deerville. They decorate their cupcakes with tiny plastic bats, hissing cats and smiling jack-o-lanterns. Their favourite holiday is Halloween and they cannot wait for it this year because they love dressing up!
If you’re in Vancouver tomorrow night come stop by Ayden Gallery for the opening reception of the group art show Animalopolis. There are some really cool artists in the show and I’ll have some plush there too!
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ANIMALOPOLIS
Opening Reception: Friday, June 11th, 2010, 7-11pm @ Ayden Gallery, 88 W. Pender St, Tinseltown Mall, Vancouver, BC.
This weekend I got my plushies ready for the group show Animalopolis at Ayden Gallery. I’ll be showing 9 deer and 2 dolls. The opening is this Friday at 7pm, and the show lasts for a month. Come check out the show if you’re in Vancouver! You can even RSVP on Facebook.
Here are some pics to follow up my previous post about the Freaks + Geeks art show @ The Fall Tattooing in Vancouver. There are only a few more days left to check out this show! It’s located at 644 Seymour Street between Georgia + Dunsmuir.
There was a great eclectic mix of artwork from paintings to photographs to clothing and plush. My favourite piece was (unsurprisingly) a white rabbit hand-cut out of paper. The detail the artist put into creating this piece was unbelievable.
My deer were displayed in a glass case next to a gorgeous handmade Steampunk-esque outfit with corset + furry neck ruff.
I thought these pieces below were pretty dope.
Vanilla Deer sold to a lovely lady on opening night, leaving Strawberry + Licorice Deer standing together under a plush Tooth Fairy doll (with a bottle of real human teeth!). To the right is 3 small illustrations by tattoo artist/illustrator/curator Nomi Chi (www.nomi-chi.com) and just to the right of that is Megz Majewski‘s (www.deadkittie.com) siamese twins painting.
These 3 plush deer will be in the Freaks + Geeks art show @ The Fall Tattooing (644 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC) this Friday, April 9th @ 8:30pm! There will be over 20 artists showcasing their work, as well as live painting, music + drinks! The show runs until April 30th, 2010. If you’re in Vancouver, come by and check it out! 🙂
Vanilla, Licorice + Strawberry run a cupcake shop and sell what they think are very delicious flavours. Marshmallows with crickets, Raspberry Tarts with ant legs, and Blueberry Pie with bee wings are just some of the flavours they’re offering. For some reason their shop isn’t that popular, although they don’t care. Less customers means more tasty snacks for this trio!
Here are the 3 plush pieces I created for the Go Ask Alice show. I am very excited to be a part of this show because of the Alice In Wonderland theme. The show will be held at the Paul Cumes Fine Art Gallery in Santa Barbara, CA, from Dec.5th – Jan7th. The opening is this Saturday from 6-9pm. Stop by if you’re in the area! 🙂
Alice In Wonderland “Well! I’ve often seen a cat without a grin; but a grin without a cat! It’s the most curious thing I ever say in my life!”
I was very excited to create my own version of Alice. I wanted to give her a slight twist from the typical look by putting her hair up in buns, giving her a super frilly collar, and deviating from the traditional blue dress by using a fabric featuring all four card suits. She wouldn’t be complete without a little white rabbit buddy and a golden key! 🙂
White Rabbit “Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting!”
I made the white rabbit so he matches Alice with his card suits and frilly collar. I added button eyes to give him a handmade feel. 🙂
Twee + Dee “I know what you’re thinking about,’ said Tweedledum: `but it isn’t so, nohow.’
`Contrariwise,’ continued Tweedledee, `if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic.'”
Twee + Dee were inspired by the characters Tweedledee +Tweedledum, the card suit soldiers, and gothic lolita fashion. I wanted to stay in the pink/red/black/white colour theme and I wanted them to be conjoined twin girls. I really like how they turned out!
My Mom wrote a nice blog piece about it, and even took a little video of my photoshoot! 😀
Here are the pieces I made for this year’s Stuff This plush show at Rivet! They were inspired by Bear River, the rural town where I’m currently located. Last year I made Madawaska and Petawawa for Stuff This 2, inspired by the colours of nature from my trip to this town. I thought it was only fitting that the plush I create for this year’s show have a nature theme too!
Cora Bella woke up one day in the dark netherworld with a deer and rabbit spirit standing by her side. She wondered how she got there, in the mists between the worlds. Her memory was foggy and she could barely remember her past, but the ghostly deer spirit assured her that although she was dead, she had a second chance. The rabbit spirit explained that she would have to merge with them if she wanted to return to the real world. Cora Bella stood there deep in thought in the darkness for a moment and then decided to take the chance. She closed her eyes and reached her hand out for the rabbit and deer. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing in a sun spotted grey autumn forest. She sensed a second consciousness inside her head, which was the deer, and felt the fuzzy antlers that were now growing from her head. She looked down at the cream rabbit and smiled. She knew that even though she had returned in a ghostly form, she would have these two spirit guides with her for life in which to explore the world with!
Cora Bella was inspired by the gravestone I saw leaning against a tree at the Loyalist Old Baptist Cemetary (1810-1910) in Bear River, NS. The real Cora Bella tragically died at the age of 7, perhaps from a sickness of some sort. I thought her name was so beautiful and delicate, and an echo of a past time. I could immediately see a character based on her name alone! Deer and rabbits live in the forests in this area, so a ghostly girl who merges with the spirit of a deer and rabbit came to mind, and shortly afterwards my Cora Bella took form.
I also made a Gingerbread Ornament for the show, which is perfect for hanging on a Christmas Tree! 🙂
Both plush pieces will be displayed at Stuff This 3 at Rivet in Columbus, OH, from Dec.5th – Dec.30th. Check it out if you’re in the area!
All the available works from Stitch Wars are now for sale in Bear + Bird’s online shop! My R2D2 has already sold, but Princess Leia is still available. There are lots of Star Wars inspired plush creations by other artists, so go check it out! Go HERE to see all the available works!
Stitch Wars opens this Saturday, July 18th at Bear + Bird Boutique+ Gallery! If you can’t make it to the show in person, or if you’d really like to buy a piece in advance, or are just curious, you can get a sneak preview of all the work in the show if you sign up on the Bear + Bird mailing list. This also gives you exclusive pre-show buying rights! So if there’s a piece you really want, you can potentially buy it tomorrow. 🙂 The mailing list will go out tomorrow, so make sure to sign up now!
Stitch Wars has already received lots of great press in the August 2009 issue of Maxim, and the front over of the July 16, 2009 issue of the Miami New Times! It’s going to be a great show. I can’t wait my preview email to arrive! 😀
Emily Bee 