Its Time to Play the Music...

I'm so happy to be able to show you all my contribution to "The Lovers, the Dreamers, and Me", the Jim Henson Tribute show that opens tonight at Gallery Nucleus. My piece is titled "Its Time to Light the Lights", and I thought it would be fun to show Bunson and Beaker getting into some trouble. Poor Beaker never seems to benefit from Bunson's experiments.

Here is some more information about the show:

Jim Henson's accomplishments have left a widespread and enduring impression on generations of admirers since his first endeavors in the late 1950s. From his iconic and colorful cast on Sesame Street to the groundbreaking fantasy Dark Crystal, Henson's imagination and ingenuity have ignited a path that many others have since followed.

Timed with the release of Disney's The Muppets motion picture and news on a forthcoming Henson biopic, Nucleus has invited more than 30 artists to pay homage to this universally beloved visionary whose inspiring concepts and characters have impacted our culture in a monumental way. The collection will showcase a variety of mediums from a roster of professionals who are also genuine fans.

Opening Night Highlights:

• Hourly Raffle Prizes
• Meet exhibiting artists
• Live Holiday & Henson Tunes by Kwortet
• Complimentary cupcakes by Chwa Cupcakery
• Complimentary refreshments
• Celebrate the season with fellow art lovers
• Shop unique gifts for those on your gift list

Exhibiting Artists Include:
*Artists attending reception

Alberto Cerriteno
Anna Chambers
Becky Dreistadt
Brittney Lee
Cat Rabbit
Chuck Groenink
Colin Jack
Felt Mistress
Graham Annable
Helen Musselwhite
*Ian Abando
Isobel Knowles
Israel Sanchez
Jackie Huang
*Jared Andrew Schorr
Jeni Yang
*Julia Sonmi
Lorelay Bové
Lorena Alvarez
MaricorMaricar
Mark Facey
Meg Hunt
*Michelle Thies
*Mike Mitchell
*Mike Peraza
Naoshi
Olivier Tossan
Scott C
Sean Chao
Sebastien Mesnard
TADO
Wool Buddy
Xavier Collette

I will be there tonight as well, so come on down if you can! I hope to see you there!

Comic Con!

I'm back from my first ever trip to Comic Con, and it was awesome! It was a whirlwind of a trip, but totally worth it. Bill, Mayka, Dave, my friend Sean (who flew out from good 'ol PA), and I left for San Diego on Thursday morning and stayed through Sunday. We all saw and did so much that I feel like I am just starting to get back to normal now. Anyway, here are a few pics from the trip:Sean and I Hulkin' out. Doesn't he look like Eric Bana? I think so. Especially when he turns green and rips things apart.

Dave and I gaze whistfully(?!) at the Lego Batman. I don't know why we are whistful. We didn't plan this out very well.

I don't think he meant to stand in the exact same pose as Ironman, but I found it quite amusing.

Upon our arrival in San Diego on Thursday night, Mayka informed me that I had missed Hugh Jackman, who had shown up to promote "Wolverine" during Thursday's convention. HUGH(the Australian love of my life) JACKMAN!?! I was devastated. That is, until I found his Wolverine jacket on the convention floor the next day! Not quite the same, but as you can see, I was still excited. It was probably better this way anyway because if I had known Hugh Jackman was going to be there on Thursday, I would have made everybody leave at 1am to make sure we were there in time to see him. And nobody would have been very happy with me about that.

Oh, and here I am being abducted by a Storm Trooper. Good times.

Spidey savin' the day. I should work on my poses. I'm not nearly as exciting as the rest of the people in these pictures. I guess an elaborate costume would help, too. Maybe next year...

Chris Sanders! I am off to the right distracting Chris with my uber-geeky "I'm such a huge fan!" ramblings while Sean snapped this shot. In my super-excitement over meeting this guy, it never once occured to me to ask to take a picture with him. Someday I'll learn to calm myself down. But it was fantastic to meet him - definitely a highlight of my trip.

Dave's only purchase of the trip, and he couldn't have found a better souvenier. He has been looking for a full-body Kermit puppet for years and I can't accuratley describe how his face lit up when he saw this guy at a used toy booth. It was priceless.

And here is my haul. I just have to say that coming from a small town in PA that is so far removed from any type of industry, you never think that experiences like this are possible. To be surrounded by so many talented people who I have looked up to and been inspired by for years is just awesome. And who knows, maybe someday (when I'm all grown up) I will have a Comic Con booth of my very own. Anyway, I am so inspired from the trip that I hope to have a few more posts of new artwork in the near future, so stay tuned. But for now, thanks for stopping by! I will leave you with this moment of Zen (featuring Dave on lead vocals and myself as" the puppeteer"):