blog: stuff I made

I work from a small office/studio here in Los Angeles. The previous tenant was a management company of some small repute. Apparently the company did an event with Dick Van Patten (of Eight is Enough and artisanal dog food fame). As far as I can tell, it was a one-off event, and Mr. Van Patten was not a regular client of this management company.

HOWEVER, I occasionally receive letters here at the office made out to Mr. Van Patten, care of the management company. The letter in the picture above, received today, is the fourth or fifth (from different people) since I moved in two years ago. This DESPITE the fact that if I Google “Dick Van Patten mailing address” there are SEVERAL potential addresses that result, exactly ZERO of which are mine. I figure my address got somehow added to a shoddy database somewhere, one that seems to be only accessible to strange old ladies who want to request signatures on ancient trading cards, or notes of encouragement for ailing relatives.

Needless to say, despite any sympathy I may have for their various plights, I am not Dick Van Patten, nor can I speak for him in any way. So I made the following label to return today’s letter safely to its sender:

Hopefully that should clear up any confusion.

As I mentioned the other day, I’ve just released my new holiday cards for the season!

I’ve also just stocked the store with copies of our new, cheap-as-possible Machine of Death Disposable Edition as well as a few copies we have of some of the various MOD foreign editions (German, Spanish, French, and Italian).

And my Hyperbolic Upgrade Stickers make great stocking stuffers!

I’ll get to the point: any order from my in-house store between now and Christmas gets a free RETURN TO SENDER – DICK VAN PATTEN IS NOT AT THIS ADDRESS sticker tossed in as well. That’s right, FREE. Never again will you be powerless to respond when Dick Van Patten’s mail is mistakenly delivered to your address.

oh and let’s keep this real quiet for now

but I put my 2013 calendars up for pre-order UPDATE: They’re all gone!

The fine folks at Hendrick’s Gin kindly asked me to participate in their “Artist’s Box” program, whereby they sent me a blank, unfinished wooden box and asked me to adorn it however I liked (and fill it with Wondermark goods).

The above is the result — and they will be giving the box away to a random lucky person! You can enter the giveaway here. (US residents only, I’m afraid — they’re an alcohol company and have to abide by certain regulations.)

Making the box was a fun challenge. I wanted to try and do a collage in my usual style, but without the aid of computers — this meant hours looking through books for things that already matched each other without the aid of digital manipulation, and then additional hours spent with old magazines (mainly 1880’s Scientific American) and an X-Acto.

The inside of the box is lined with 1850’s advertisements and book pages as well, all varnished to a high sheen, and the opening is rimmed with leather strips reclaimed from the binding of some 1902 Dickens editions that were a gift from a reader.

I’m tremendously pleased with how it turned out. For more pictures of the box, an interview and more details about its design and assembly, or to enter the giveaway, see the Hendrick’s site:

Post 1 – Introduction and giveaway entry form
Post 2 – Interview with me about my work and philosophy generally
Post 3 – More detailed info about how I made this box specifically

I’m curious about the world, of course, but I’m also curious about myself: the reason I gave myself the challenge of doing this piece physically rather than digitally was that I was curious to see what I would make of it. I trust my artistic vision more than I have a clear sense of what the final product will be — so I’m always curious to see what I can do, what I’ll come up with, what the next piece will suggest to me in a way I haven’t anticipated. I wouldn’t have any fun with my art if I didn’t leave myself open to surprises, and that’s why I like working with external elements so much (rather than simply drawing everything from scratch).

Thanks to Hendrick’s for thinking of me, and good luck to the contest entrants! Also feel free to check out some of the other entries in the Artist’s Box series — they’re gorgeous.

Nobody tell Hendrick’s that I am not a trained fine artist like these people please

UPDATE: The box was won by Peter S. of Chicago. Congratulations, Peter! Hope you enjoy!

Brandon Bird has posted all of the pieces from the “These Are Their Stories” Law & Order-themed art show, including my very own (detail pictured above).

I particularly like “Sugar Daddy Suspected of Murder”, “A Rich Man And His Very Young Daughter Are Shot” and Brandon’s own “A Complicated Murder Case”.

The show is on display right now at Gallery Meltdown in Hollywood, but today is the last day!