Messy Manifesto


Collaboration

Turns that ..

..into this!

Photography / Electrical Storm ~ Kencredible

Model / MU ~ Liilii Lipstick

Sketch / Clear Sculptures / Hotpants Provider ~ Messydress!



It’s “Mr.” To You

Imagine my jealousy when I saw this shirt on some random toddler! How come kids always get the best clothes, it’s so unfair! Well, the coveted shirt is now mine, thanks to General Mills! Take that, toddlers!

We’re talking transfers, cats! Different cereals have different characters – Mr. Messy comes with the Cocoa Puffs.

It came out really good, I think! I used a 100% cotton shirt in that shade they call dollskin, despite the instruction to use an “all white poly/cotton blend” only. My shirt worked just fine, & made for a faded vintage effect.

The box provides a second transfer as well .. a smelly sock! These photos didn’t show the sock though, so you’ll have to go nab a box yourself to check it out!

The warning is hilarious right? I suppose someone, someplace, is sitting home right now with a bowl of Coco Puffs & a burnt boob!



Old Playgrounds

playground_HeightsRocket

I love old playground equipment! Unfortunately, as a child existing in free & blessed ignorance, I really took these fantastic structures for granted! I mean, they look like stuff!

Like dinosaurs ..

playground_triceratops

..and tugboats!

playground_tugboat

Did I mention dinosaurs?!

playground_trex

I never thought there would come a day when I’d have to trade these wrought & welded behemoths in for cold, slippery, safe plastic structures. I miss the feel of thick,  globbed-on paint & warm iron bars on my bare palms & knees!

I miss old McDonald’s equipment the most!

playground_mayormccheese

Those crap plastic climbers, you can’t get to the top without falling! You’re not supposed to climb on top .. what’s the fun in that?

As soon as I get a yard, I’m starting a collection! Or maybe re-creating some myself .. anyone out there a decent welder? Serious inquiries accepted!



Uninspiration

fuck_you

Since I’ve been so uninspired lately, I’ve decided to perpetuate the sad fact with the following list of responsible uninspiring online topics :

  • What you’re wearing, & where you got it.  Not only have you provided evidence of your outstanding ability to put on clothes, but your flickr stream proves once & for all that you are A) not colourblind, B) know your way around Target, & C) totally under the impression that you’re doing something artistic. Looking awesome is a public service, like driving inside the lines. It’s not effing architecture.
  • Woah, you’re psyched to see Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, arncha?! Doesn’t Johnny Depp totally not look like his Willy Wonka character? Besides, who could mind all those really bad special effects when the makeup looks so avant garde? So this is what tripping must be like!
  • Oh snap! Lady Gaga is making waves with her stage costumes & political agenda, what on earth is stopping you? Nothing apparently! You’re a talented singer/songwriter, you just never had the guts to drop an Itune before you saw “Poker Face” in Gagavision! Now there’s a whole club kid community to support  your prancing about in a bra with 3D glasses on! You look cool, & you’re doing something epic! Kudos, superstar!
  • Fuck that pumpkin milkshake from McDonalds, tastes like soapy puke! Sorry, no sarcasm in that one.

(**excerpt added later : excuse the nastiness factor of this post; I chalk it up to having spent five days inside with swine flu)



Messy Mouse Clubhouse

clubhouse_set

Photography ~ Kollin Bliss

Mouse Hands ~ Messydress

I have been dying to shoot in these awesome Disney issue Mickey hands for like for ev! What can I say? Toons are a such a big part of my art!

Inspirations for this set include classic cartoons, 90’s raves, & Disney !

clubhouse1

Photography ~ Kollin Bliss

Mouse Hands ~ Messydress

Mickey is the only male cartoon character I’ve been paid to mimic professionally. Not Minnie – Mickey !

Elmo doesn’t count cuz he’s a puppet, not a cartoon .

jeremy scott7

A huge-hand hi-five to Jeremy Scott’s Mouse Trap collection !! It was the only fashion reference that came up when I searched “Mickey gloves” (after shooting my set with Kollin Bliss, I might add) !

jeremy scott 6

Coincidence !? ^_^

I think Gaga has me beat on her choice of “ears” though, also a JS  item.. can’t compete with the scene machine !

lady-gaga-marvyn-quetzal

clubhouse06

Photography ~ Kollin Bliss

Mouse Hands ~ Messydress

<3



Moon Boots

moonshoos_marsboots0

Proper footwear is required while treading the rocky surface of our Moon..

moonshoos_spacepanda00

Sticker stars & clear vinyl windshields are essential! But the glitter-shaker bubble & rainbow racing stripes are more or less for show!

moonshoos_pteradactle0

Sike!

Me & Freshy didn’t wear these to the moon! I bet you really thought we’d put on these moon-boots & flown up in a spaceship, to the moon! With my fear of heights?

flips2_marsboy0

It was the Flaming Lips show!

We really did have some of the best shoes ..

moonshoos_us

I finally heard Bad Days live! Also Enthusiasm for Life Defeats Existential Fear which isnt’ that old but one of my faves anyway ..

flips2_us

But, based on this set list from early last month, they’ve apparently been playing Mountain Side, my favourite. flips song. ever!

Why not for us ??!!

I know they heard me screaming “mountainside!” over & over again!

flips2_us2

See?! Screaming like a fool!

You can always spot me at DC concerts .. I’m the one in the crowd who’s actually making noise! That’s just how it is with shows around here! Barely any energy sometimes !

Gogol Bordello once walked out on us .. You know it wasn’t my fault!



Hands
August 26, 2009, 5:54 pm
Filed under: Living Art | Tags: , , , ,

embroidery_glovesfullcut

I’ve finished my first big embroidery project! They’re made by hand, for hands!

embroidery_butterfly

embroidery_glovessnail2

They’re a Christmas present for my Aunt Kim… last Christmas! They took 4EV!!

The knit gloves themselves are from Target, with Peruvian finger-puppets sewn on.

The embroidery is all by me!

embroidery_glovesvinesBEST

These are important, because they’re a Homage to Handmade! My Aunt Kim has made for me some of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry I own, all strung & assembled by hand.

embroidery_glovesfleurs

Kim was diagnosed with Scleroderma, a condition that causes the blood vessels in the skin, especially in the hands, to turn hard. Her hands are always cold, and worse .. she can’t use her hands for anything, not even to string jewelry.

embroidery_glovesbunn3

So I made these gloves for two reasons: One is to keep Kim’s hands warm when the blood can’t get to them.

embroidery_glovestomms

The other is to remind myself, never to take the creative potential of my hands for granted! All the art I love, & all the art I hope to make, is at least the work of a steady hand.

embroidery_glovesworm

Many hours condensed into one small, impressive display is the triumph of handiwork! Imagine what the world would look like if everyone put their hands in? I want to find out!

embroidery_glovessnail

<3



Artomatic In Macro*
July 27, 2009, 5:59 pm
Filed under: Living Art | Tags: , , ,

art_o_glassfleurs2

art_o_daleset

Art-O-Matic, ah! How fondly I remember thee .. Your narrow halls, your open doors – like classrooms, rowed, chocked-full of lessons! ..

art_o_PEEPS!

I still recall the astro-turf laid space where bunnies, different colours, endured the nearing onslaught of the great & ridged cardboard monsters!

creature

Who could forget the smell of crayons around them from the wax exhibit? Each Room a different universe, like Farnsworth’s Parabox!art_o_angelsetIt’s different now, though justly so! .. as many more do seek asylum ( for what is art, not for the eyeless struggle towards Capacity? )

babysnakes

Instead of Rooms, we all contribute to a sea of endless bounty! I gravitate by instinct toward the pieces I find most enchanting!

art_o_shroomset

On smaller scale the Rooms remain, but so that I can barely count them! Here’s the ones I photographed (thank heavens for the macro setting) !

art_o_torso

<3

*All photography is from Artomatic 2009 ~ If you’re responsible for these installations please contact me for credits!



DC = Versailles
July 13, 2009, 6:49 pm
Filed under: Adventures, Whimsy & Fantasy | Tags: , , , ,

fountain_Versailles_cut

Every time I’m in the city, I feel like royalty!

Perhaps it’s the tourists, snapping pictures energetically of the stuff I look at day-to-day. Or maybe it’s the groups, organizations, and protesters that gather right here to get their voices heard.

DC_bear

Maybe it’s the landscape. The roaming lawns showcasing monuments, the classic architecture framing courtyards, carousels, and sculpture gardens. There are fountains everywhere!

fountain_arches

You never know when a random Elephant Parade or jazz festival will start up! Just driving down Constitution Avenue, I see displays and demonstrations to beat the band! Get out of your car, and you’ll stumble upon some of the most beautifully tended courtyards you ever laid paws on!

DC_1

It’s because I guess, like Louie XIV, we know we’re being looked at! We imagine any moment, some king, queen, or dignitary will step on any given sidewalk at any time, and proclaim to America’s polished seat of power, “Impress me”!

We deliver with gusto ..

fountain_spit22

I like to pretend I’m that visiting queen .. seeking allegiance, shouting, “Show me your pools,  & your well-tended walkways! Show me your power with cherry-blossom strewn paddle boat rides!”

Yep, every time I’m there, I pretend that!

fountain_kois

It’s fun! :P Try it!



Mess-tivals

Ah .. fests!

To be enveloped by trees & tunes, tents and car-tires, I would travel for states .. and this month, I did! ..

roo09_Rooview

.. Twice!

waka_sunset

I first hauled myself to Ozark Arkansas, a lush & looming mountain-ful of backwood-sy adventure! Here, a green cow pasture had been transformed by tents into Wakarusa, the hippi-est hippie fest I ever DID see! There were four stages & cool giant bugs, even hot air balloon rides!

waka_balloons

My camp was right by these! I won’t go on them b/c I’m afraid of the sky ..

waka_habs

Here’s what I wore to the Les Claypool set / costume contest :

waka_pooch

Sir Claypool & H.A.B. rides are pretty freakin’ great, but what I really drove 17 hours for was to play like a gay gnome in the deep, deep Ozark woods!  I brought my flower press, my inflatable whale for the waterfall, everything for wilderness fun-times! But .. I was tired the first day, I had driven a lot, and there was a costume contest to attend! So I decided to wait until day 2 to go on the mile-long, mostly-up-hill hike ..

.. Miss Take! By then some tripping bitch had, well, tripped on the scenic trail & broke a foot, which resulted in the trail being closed for the whole rest of the fest! So in the end, I did not get the woodland adventure experience I’d so been so looking forward to ..

waka_gnomehutneighborino

Big messy BUMMER! :(

I did however make the most of it,  & had a very nice time making new friends!  I had the best neighborinos ever,  from OK City! I’m convinced Oklahoma is a haven of cool folks! Here’s what camp looked like :

waka_Kara&Me

A good deal of my free time was spent chasing the lethargic Arkansas butterflies into my & other people’s tents. They’re so slow! Its’ like they want to be caught! This one spent the night with me! ..

waka_tentmate

And also on the 3rd night, I saw a UFO! No shit! Mike O’Brein saw it, too! Crazytimes..

So, despite the lack of forest exposure, despite my disappointment of there not being much else to do at this particular festival, DESPITE the fact that only ONE of the many scheduled performers really interested my musical tastes (I’m not a jam-band kinda gal, K?), I still had a great time at Wakarusa and felt 100% satiated by my one and only festival experience for this year .. NOT!

waka_sourpuss

I was pissed, kids! And on the 17 hour drive home, I decided remedies must be put to work on my super summer escape that was here-so-far HUR-TING… I did what any self-respecting pseudo-youth with a lack of personal responsibility would do: I fucked right off to Tennessee for Bonnaroo!

roo09_sonic

Now, there’s a festival! Fine antics, mud holes, & costumes galore! A trippiness borne of invention, not just well-balanced chemicals! Sure, it’s tourist-y, maybe even a bit commercial.. but this year Ani D, Karen O, & David Effing Byrne played back to back to back .. on the same day! And I was there! Lela came, too!

roo09_collage1

My absolute favourite thing about Bonnaroo is the performance artists .. the Buskers, the Such N Such people ..  I find myself wanting to run at them, screaming “Take me with you”!

I’m totally in this Busker parade! You can see me & my nu-rave smiley-face backpack, right before the camera man yells “what the fuck!” ..

Then, the very best shows began! I growled like a metalhead to YYY’s (to the chagrin of surrounding hippies)! At Ani I cried along to the grand old songs I’d grown up with! Between Lela & I, we bought six pairs of “I love” shades! We wore them at night while watching fire shows at the Such N Such stage ..

roo09_ferrisinshades

Then, there was Byrne! Like an angel in white, he soared through songs I never thought I’d hear live: Houses In Motion, Crosseyed And Painless, etc, etc, etc… the interpretive dancers never missed a beat! I interpreted them! Every movement was planned, perfectly choreographed, shot from the stage like a hot bullet. The whole thing is a blur .. there were tutus involved .. This show was brilliant.

roo09_angelByrnestage

I could have danced and sang and screamed for encores until I died! I’ve never wanted a concert to go on forever! I acted a fool! I sang with strangers, I swayed and stomped, I even gave the widdley to some drunk guy in the audience (it’s not what you think)! In the end, I still had energy. David Byrne is pure light energy!

roo09_angelByrne2

So here’s what I learned this year at festivals .. my experience would’ve been much more magical for these seemingly unremarkable tidbits :

Fest-y Tips

1) Never underestimate the severity of jet lag. If I had left more time for traveling, I might not have been too tired to play in the woods the next day.

2) Even if you are too tired, do the things you want to do most the first day regardless! You can never be sure when some tripping bitch will RUIN your opportunity for fun later!

3) Did I mention it rained a lot in Tennessee? Unless you’re a good swimmer, splurge on an air mattress!

4) Keep on your person something joyfully interactive at all times: a tambourine, bubbles, cowbell, all three .. you never know when you’ll pass an impromptu parade! Don’t be a voyeur!

5) In case you’re left with nothing to do, bad music and a closed trail, be prepared to pass the time between your eyes .. Remember your science lessons kids!

6) Nothing, nothing, nothing is more precious than community! Do what you can to enhance & rejoice in your own, temporarily erected or otherwise :)

roo09_rainbowwheel