tat work-in-progress

These are some shots of my in-progress inking. -C

For Amy

My friend Amy just lost her mom unexpectedly. I felt really sad for her. So what do you say to someone who is going through grief? I'm not that great with words, but hopefully this piece that I made for her will remind her of all the good feelings only a mom can bring.

My Tattoo

The path from life to death, the surreal and the real being one and the same, and the concept of time are all topics that way heavy on my mind. My arms have already been inked; designated for life and death in my family. My right arm represents my heritage and birth, my left arm represents those who have passed. I had this concept to tie in both arms with a piece spanning my chest, using symbolism to tie in the above mentioned themes. Here's the outcome. -C

Jake's Tattoo

A good friend of mine wanted me to make him a tattoo consisting of three components: A cephalopod, bones, and machinery. Here's the outcome. -C

Ukrainian Egg Painting

A friend at work gave an Ukrainian Egg workshop recently. I had taken it last year and loved it, so I signed up again. It's a very interesting technique that requires some planing and steady hands. I have neither one of those qualities, but I still enjoyed it enough to buy my own kit and do some at home. I just love how bright the colors turn out. Enjoy! -m

Life's Bitter Ironies qotd

Shoeboxblog. -C

Monsters & Robots Workshop

Mirna and I recently taught a workshop to my son Alex's 3rd grade art class. Based on some basic art theories and Ed Emberly's teachings, the goal was to get them to see that you can make anything out of basic shapes and lines, in this case, monsters and robots!

First we provided pre-drawn water color shapes and asked them to add facial features, arms, legs, and any other parts they think would enhance their monster/robot.

Next, they went freestyle and painted their own shape using water colors, adding on any lines they wished.

Lastly, they were challenged to finish someone else's creation by painting a shape and switching with a buddy.

bOObs qotd

Shoeboxblog.-C

"Sunglasses At Night" Guy qotd

Shoeboxblog. -C

Secret Ingredient: Chocolate

Mirna surprised me with an all chocolate meal for our first year wedding anniversary. She even made the menu on a slab of dark chocolate. She's nuts. Meal was nuts. I'm a lucky guy. The menu:

1. A simple red wine vinaigrette salad with cocoa nibs.
2. A crepe with chocolate dipped bacon and pistachio crumbs.
3. Hand made chocolate pasta tossed together with the meat and broth of short braised ribs.
4. Chocolate covered fruit balls with almond shavings. The balls consist of dates, dried figs,dried apricots and walnuts.

Meat Loaf qotd

ShoeboxBlog. -C

Sushi qotd

Times are slow at work, so I've been cranking out these little blog posts for the Shoeboxblog. Random Russ' writing is the best. -C

Flying Spiders qotd

ShoeboxBlog. -C

Jonas Brothers qotd

Here's another "quote of the day" I did for the ShoeboxBlog. -C

Silly Portraits

3.5" cube with 1.5" weird little block

I'd love to do a series of these! The cube is about positive thinking. The little lady is just a fun experiment. Chris took some nice pictures of them for me. -m

Regrettable Words

6.5" x 9.25 x .75"

Here's a little painting I did last night. It's an idea I've had in my sketchbook for a while. Enjoy! -m

Mail Me Art piece

This is a quick little painting I did for the "Mail Me Art" competition. It's really a fun idea. I decided to send them a "snail male." -m

life's put hair on my chest

8"x8"
Finally! It's been so long since I've done a piece JUST BECAUSE! We've spent all day in the studio today. Chris scanning an endless amount of vintage magazines, and me painting. We have a lot of art plans for 2010, and today was just the beginning. More to come, soon :)
This piece has been on my mind for a while. I just thought it would be something many people can relate to. Hope you enjoy! -m

Al's bedroom makeover

Our main gift to Al this Christmas was to makeover his bedroom. Here's the before and after. -C & M

Bowie/ Costello/ Yorke

Mirna painted those dear to me, with plans on expanding the series. -C

FRAMES OF MIND

This is a collection of different quotes from those close to Mirna I put together for her main Christmas gift. -C

Holiday Magic

To all of our family and friends. -C & M

Kanye vs Taylor

09 recap highlight. For full recap, visit ShoeboxBlog.-C

Cage Cuddling

For a laugh, visit Shoeboxblog.

ShoeboxBlog Halloween Posts

I recently joined the Alternative Humor studio at work. This is a series of Halloween themed "quotes of the day" I contributed to the ShoeboxBlog. -C

Cake decorating

After designing my own Wedding Cake (which is really not that involved, so I'm not posting it), my friend Tobe asked me to collaborate with another artist friend (Amy Kligman) to design her Wedding Cake. Amy and I wanted to do a test cake, so we decided to make Tobe's Bridal Shower Cake. Tobe picked the colors and we just went with it! It was a lot of fun. I could see myself doing more of this in the future ;) -m