Red Monkey

New to this world, this monkey is looking for a loving home-- though of course always welcome at mine. It's just that sitting on a shelf with like 40 or 50 other monkeys tends to make one either shrink or try to find a way to stand out. This one jingles like a pocket full of spare change. His Chihuahua like eyes seem like they could look around corners. This monkey could be comfortable on the bottom of the sea, where there is only a hint of the sun, or in the treetops, sparkling with morning dew, screeching in a language more understandable than English.

Mysterious!

I found this picture of this monkey sitting on my radiator. It looks a little uncomfortable, or maybe about ready to leave. I don't know if I sold this monkey to someone, or it's a my house still. I no longer am able to keep track of things like that. I wonder about that mark on its head, like a birthmark. I like those red eyes. They remind me of candy I used to eat when I was a little kid over at my Aunt Anna Marie's house.

Super Scope

EIGHT of these new collages will be exhibited in the John Riepenhof Experience mini-gallery which is in the Green Gallery http://www.thegreengallery.tk/ tonight-- with the Peter Barrickman opening, which is quite spectacular. I am very happy to be able to show these small collages at this unique venue! If you are in Milwaukee come by this evening. I will be spending most of my time in a little mousehole like room with a dinner roll for a door handle.

New Collages!

I just finished 12 (twelve) (one dozen) new collages-- here are a few of them!

Hard to Describe

"Natty" would be the word I would use to describe this monkey, with its black and green checked design, along with the casual tilt of its head. Okay, I will use the word natty.

Fashion Leader

Upon closer examination you might notice that this marshmallow white monkey has a golden elephant for one eye. Very soon people will be able to do this, too, but right now, I guess sock monkeys beat us out on this one. It doesn't mean anything-- the golden elephant eye-- I don't think. It's just meant to be attractive, and I think it is.

Watch out!

Don't let that one milky, pale pink eye fool you, this monkey is solid and strong. I can't be entirely sure from this picture, but I think this may be one that had a large rock inside of its head or body, or both! Very heavy, and maybe not for small children. But substantial!

Friendly

Friendly is the best way I can think of to describe this monkey. It's like he was genetically designed for friendliness, from the dog-like appearance (these aren't really monkeys, after all) to the one red eye and one pink eye. There is no doubt whatsoever about her friendliness. I'm sure there is more, however, going on than just that.

Perfect in Every Way

Simple, elegant. Everything you could possibly want in a sock monkey. Intelligence, and a piercing demeanor. Not just a sock monkey... but also... a friend.

Soulful

This is a very handsome monkey, even though I don't normally like the color blue. It has very nice eyes, and a nice argyle pattern. It seems to also be saying: I've been through a lot. Long drives, long walks, east coast, west coast, natural disasters, laundromats, fixed elections, shoes, boots, sock drawers, mismatches, and mending. And here I am, today, saying: take me home.

Where is my dictionary?

There is something just LOVEABLE about this monkey. Am I wrong? Just LOVEABLE!

Or is it LOVABLE? LOVEABLE? Or LOVABLE?

If you say LOVEABLE (or LOVABLE) enough times, it seems to turn into a product name, like a brand of soap or something.

The same can be said for... dare I say it... LOVE.

Beautiful Green

This monkey's head was filled with food coloring bottles, those little ones with the pointed caps. Eventually it leaked out, sometimes with the help of a loving individual. It was kind of messy, and I had to wash it. It kept changing, evolving. I wish most people had as much going on as this monkey.

This is not a happy collage

I feel terribly guilty for being responsible for this collage, and for all the unhappiness it brings, and its generally disturbing nature. I can't blame the makers of the original images, really, I have to take the blame. For example, what was once a simple peperoni pizza now feels to me like a heart being ripped from, not only the chest of the person in question, but from their entire experience.

This monkey says HI!

I've lost track of the monkeys that I've made, and given away, and sold, and found new homes for, and photographed. For all I know they could be getting up on their own power and walking out of the house and going out on their own. I am particularly fond of this one, though he may already be living with someone else. It may be a she. He or she may have a name, now. Or maybe this monkey is still at home, with the other monkeys.

It Takes T to Tango

This is a small collage. I'm not sure of the exact measurements... but it’s small. I think it's called "T." Can you guess why? If you guess right, and I'm wrong and that isn't the title, I guess that implicates us both. This is a shape that reminds me of a particular movie screen shape. It's not quite as severe as CinemaScope, but it's more wide than normal. This is "Wide Screen." Talking about movies, I see a scene from a famous movie in there. This shouldn't be so obvious, but I guess I couldn't help myself. Will I never learn?

"N"

I think the title of this collage is "N" -- though I don't know if it has quotation marks around the N -- or why I felt compelled to do that now. I think that it's because one letter feels kind of naked by itself, and those quotation marks make it seem less lonely. Maybe the N stands for naked. It's a gold N that looks like it was added on later, though it wasn't. Maybe the N stands for No, it wasn't added on later. Is that the actor Tom Cruise standing in front of an American flag? I can't believe I included such an image. Maybe it works, though-- it's beyond me to decide. Maybe the N stands for Nicole Kidman, the actress. They used to be married, but Not Now. Maybe this collage is about all or Nothing. It's about everything being either forever, or Never.

Creepy

This is a fairly new collage. I feel like I was sinking kind of low with this one. Not that I think it's bad-- I like it. It's just that it's kind of obvious. And it doesn't look like something that I would do. I don't know. Maybe someone knocked me out and made this, and when I came to, I thought that I had done it. That's a creepy thought, and this is a creepy collage. But I really like it.

Olden

New Art Vs. Craft Date

http://artvscraft.com/

101

Thanks to all the people who came by the Art Vs. Craft last weekend and said hi, and thanks to everyone who bought stuff! It's really exciting to make something that someone actually wants, or wants to give to someone else. I counted the number of cards, magazines, monkeys, and collages I sold, and it came to 101, total, which is kind of a magical number.

On Saturday night, after the first day, I made a new sock monkey, a pretty weird one, but with a certain lovable quality. I forgot to take a picture of it, and someone bought it, so it's barely even a memory now. But that's okay, I don't need to have pictures of everything, and I don't need to remember everything. It's nice to just think of things like that monkey going off alone in the world.