Friday, May 31, 2013

Any Old Iron: a little UK in the LES


Any old iron, any old iron, any, any, any, old iron?
You look neat – talk about a treat,
You look a dapper from your knapper to your feet.
Dressed in style, with a brand new tile,
And your father’s old green tie on,
Oh I wouldn’t give you tuppence for your old watch chain,
Old iron, old iron?


"Any Old Iron" is a lovely shop in the LES...They specialize in UK designers and carry Westwood.. Sons of Heroes...Horace...Child of the Jago...Delusion...Red Mutha...and also NY designers like Scooter LaForge who have a decidedly UK twist....

I wandered in awhile ago hearing from a friend that  they carried some of my fave designers from the UK who are near IMPOSSIBLE to get here in the US and was NOT disappointed!!!! It's very British...filled with amazingly delightful things....basically i want EVERYTHING....



So i was approached by Andrew, the owner, at POP SOUK who wanted to carry my pieces in the store.. Needless to say i was Gobsmacked!!! It just seemed like a perfect fit for my pieces...an amazing compliment to the fabulous clothing he carries!!!!

So i went in yesterday and actually got to help set up a little PUREVILE! moment in the shop!!!! My aesthetic is complimentary to the stores and my pieces fit in effortlessly!!!!


SO if your in the neighborhood PLEASE stop in!!! and say Hi to Andrew!!! He's one of the nicest people I've met recently!!! Oh and play with Monkey...the stores mascot {a  Boston Terrier} he loves to fetch.....and look around and SHOP!!!!

Any Old Iron
                                                       149 Orchard St New York, NY 10002‎ 
(212) 254-4404 


XOXO







Thursday, May 30, 2013

PUREVILE! Process: Jockstrap "Company of Wolves"/ "COCKtopus"


So...how does one turn a pack of tightey-whiteys into anthropomorphic jockstraps??? Perhaps the better question is ....WHY!?!?!? But you've all known me long enough not to ask why....don't you????

Well if not...I'll explain...Ive always had a fascination with jockstraps...I just find them super sexy and somehow both modern and old fashioned....I also enjoy the idea of anthropomorphic objects....So i combine the two et ViolĂ .....Something both sexy AND strange...and honesty you CAN'T get better than that......


So "Company of Wolves" was the first one i started with...i got the idea from watching the movie of the same name and loved the part when the wolves come ou of the party-goers mouths...i thought...I could do something like that...and i did...well sort of....but THAT is what sparked the idea for theses....

So first i fitted the skull to the jock both with glue and with screws to keep it extra secure




i then covered the skull in Poly Fill to give it its shape and musculature


i added more detail with an eye socket


i then began covering the cotton batting in the underwear...pinching, cutting and stitching where needed to create detail and shape!!!!





i then inserted a glass taxedermy eye for "realism" and added sinisterness.... 



Then i got a VERY willing subject, Matt Stewart, to wear said jock to an art opening {BANZAI!!! to be exact}...as you do!!! He looks quite animalistic and virle n'est ce pas?!?!?


next is COCKtopus...which was a very similar process with less photos I'm afraid....

Again my love for cephelopods cause me to create this...plus you know the saying ,two heads are better than one??? well then what about EIGHT?!?!??!


i purchased these mini camer tripods that are flexible and i used them as the legs...i screwed them together and fastened them to each other and also to the jock...{which was not at all as easy as it sounds} again i used glue and screws to secure them...they needed to be secure not only because they are a bit heavy but because the reason i chose the tripods was so that they would be flexible and MOVE!!! And perhaps even hold things..... {hmmm}


i then covered the "legs" in more Poly Fill to make them soft...


Then i used the underwear to cover the legs and the face...creating details with stitching and the use of extra scups of elastic and once again taxidermy eyes for creepy realism.....


And again the furry and sexy,  Matt Stewart, wore COCKTOPUS {aka COCKTHULU} to BANZAI!!!! and attracted ALOT of attention with this one....the moveable tentacles are an added attraction and i think even held a wine bottle that night if I'm not mistaken!!! This jock was particularly heavy so some braces were added for extra support....



So thats it...Hope you once again enjoyed a  little peek inside my process....below is a photo of the three jocks i made {including the deer one not included above}....All of which Matt wore that night {THANKS AGAIN MATT}!!!! 

Stay tuned for MANY new jocks on the way....and defiantly some more process photos as well!!!

XOXO



Monday, May 27, 2013

Dead Horse Beach: Like a Beautiful Dream Ripped From my Head




I had heard whispers from friends about this place...seemed to amazing to be real...but then i saw evidence did some research...and forgot...like you sometimes do with something amazing because it just wasn't time yet......



The yesterday i got a text from my friend Jessica... "Dead Horse Beach Tommorrow???"

that was all i needed

...and thus the adventure began!!!!


Now i have certain aversions to beaches...mostly the PEOPLE....the loud noisiness of them...the greasy bodies slathered and chattering.....but in general i feel they are beautiful places..they can be serene and magical....especially for someone interested in nature and biology such as I am.... So the day was gorgeous...the timing was right...So we packed up the car and set off towards the yet unknown....


From what i had gathered Dead Horse Beach {or Bay}.... was somewhere near Rockaway.....it had been the site of many things, from manufacturing fish oil , to making  fertilizer using animal bones and more "recently" as a landfill  from the 19th to the 20th century.... So because of this  the tides constantly bring in a flow of debris...but not simply garbage...beautiful antique bottles tumbled with time...small rusted metal intricacies... children's toys and ceramic pieces... all kinds of curiosities vomited up from the deep like a treasure trove for someone like me.....apparently now its also a site for sport fishing which we saw many people doing today as well as the evidence of strange fish and many horseshoe crabs and rays....


My friend Jessicas son Auden thought this was a dead crab and was instantly shaken when he "came to life" {I never saw a child run so fast and determined as he did!!! And we died with laughter once he calmed down!!!}  I took the crab back to the ocean so he wouldn't  suffer the same fate as his brethren!!! 







this ray was so alien and flesh...like some otherworldly creature fallen from the heavens rather than evicted from the oceans depths....


there was so much detail and so much texture...things clinging to other things and a lot of life amongst the "trash"....the flotsam and jetsam clinging to pipes and tires created beautiful patterns and small muscles and snails grew and thrived in smashed bottles and soles of shoes creating miniature enviornments amongst the scattered debris.... 









There were almost as many shoe soles as shells....perhaps even more!!! They ceased to be just trash and became these repetitive organic shapes....as varied and interesting as the organic creatures we found... it was amazingly strange



these worn wood posts stood like sentinels  majestically against the sunlight...




One of the most gobsmacking things we came upon was a fallen tree...which in itself was beautiful all twisted and majestic laying in the sand...but people had decorated the tree in bottle on wires and shredded plastic and ropes and the tree became this thing...this being almost...it felt alive and filled with beautiful energies and i couldn't take my eyes off of it...Jessica and I were just so in love with it!!!!


I couldn't stop yelling and gasping at its beauty at every turn and every branch adorned with treasures ....


it glittered and clamored like an enormous chandelier..... it was covered with offerings and treasures from the sea.....it started my mind reeling and inspired me a great deal...this tree and i have more of a journey together indeed.....



playing amongst the branches....



even its roots were filled with magicks....



the trash bags and plastic created this wonderful fringe that blew and danced in the wind and created an amazing rustling sound like fall leaves...










Auden takes a well deserved rest on a displaced slide....





giant metal machinery became a mock reef...


Auden poses next to a tree root that had pierced this piece of stone...mysterious and amazing....



this horseshoe crab was completely covered in tiny barnacles creating an amazing new creature..... like something from a different time....



what looks like a door to a safe became another reclaimed environment....filled with lush sea life.... like a miniature tide pool 




these rocks sparkled and glittered in the sun becoming almost too bright to look at on occasion!



another moment of nature taking back over....These little snails made a home inside this tire....it was fun to watch them scurrying about....


A sea monster of sorts.....


On the way back we stumbled across this beautifully lush path and decided to take it ands see where it went...it ended up bringing us back to the street and the car...but it was fun to take this unknown path and  wander seemingly lost through this magical forest...





taking a moment to take in all the beauty....


so what started as a whim...a simple trip 30 minutes from where we lived...became this amazingly magical adventure...full of inspiration and surprises.... New York has SO MUCH to offer...you just have to look....sometimes just a little longer and a little closer than you are used to...we left exhausted and happy...smiling and talking endlessly...and so inspire... so VERY inspired!!!!!

SO when the day is nice...and not too warm... if you get the chance you MUST go...it really is a magical place....and if you see me wandering around... come say hi and ill show you what i collected!!!!

XOXO