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Colored sloth
Normal workflow: 1. doodle on post it |
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creative differences
This is how most of our conversations go 70% of the time. Other times we talk about wombats eating popsicles. P.S. Happy New Year Monofreens! P.P.S. We will have new stuff soon, this is not a lie like how sometimes we say that and then Tom plays Mario Galaxy and I read comic books instead. |
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Fall is here, ring the bell, back to school, show and tell....
Fall blew into Seattle quite suddenly this month! Though, I suppose Summer never really made its full appearance this year to begin with. Regardless, work at the Monocol Lab is finally winding down after a busy busy three months. I can't believe we actually had three shows in two months! Monocol officially turned one-year-old in September, and we can't wrap our heads around people letting us put up "art" in their stores! Seriously, the next round of cakes are on us...
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote up an article on the Anne Bonny and Spencer, and they even mentioned our show! I never imagined Mt.Plushmore making it into anywhere but the funny pages. Not enough thanks and gratitude could go out Spencer, who so graciously let us set up in his space, provided Oreos at our opening, and generally was just the definition of "pawesome" for running one of the most amazing antique thrift operations in Seattle. THREE CHEERS! Even though Summer is gone, Monocol is happily here to stay! We're excited to regroup after our shows and will be coming out with lots more sloth-inspired, plush-driven, happy-fun-time seeking items for the site and for our Etsy store. See you all soon! Wom-to-the-bats,
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END OF SUMMER SHOW!
 Monocol has been working hard with fellow Ballard!Attack freens Chris Smith and Demian Johnston to bring you a PAWESOME end of the Summer show!
   Fold up your Monocol posters into paper hats, put your slingshots in your back pocket, and head down to the Anne Bonny TONITE! RALLY AT THE FORT, MONOFREENS!!! MONOCOL THE ANNE BONNY
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Hallo, hallo there! We hope everyone had a great 4th of July (well, those who are from the US, otherwise, we do hope that you had a good day last Wednesday as well)! We sat around in the front yard, grilled food, and watched Ghostbusters until it was time to go see fireworks (if left up to me, I would do a 30 minute firework show of just those smiley-face fireworks). We've been scurrying about in the summer heat to put together everything for the next few shows. Tom has painted a few more Woodgills which have already been snatched up, much to my dismay.  Where global warming and DIY meet in a moral battle, recycle or start knitting those mittens. Quandry!: We get rather attached to every single Woodgill, but know that other people like them, too. Solution!: You can now buy high quality matte-photo prints of any Woodgill you may want! Tom presented me with one of the prints of "Ugh, Not Another Ice Age" because I was inconsolable after the original was sold and would not come out of my room to eat Otter Pops or sushi. If you want your very own global warming dino (Al Gore, are you reading this?) or any other Woodgill print, direct yourself to Etsy. For 15 clams you will still have money for a box of Otter Pops and a down payment on a hybrid car. Hope your summers are progressing nicely! SNOCONES FOR ALL, NO SLIP-N-SLIDE LEFT BEHIND! Love,
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We love at-Bay ig-Pay!
That's BatPig in PigLatin, duh!  Its Summer and we've got schooners of Manny's, popsicles, and new projects churning away at full steam at the Monocol Factory. We've got our Summer schedule booked with shows - the first being a group show next week on July 3rd at the Anne Bonny in Capitol Hill. It's a great little store with every nook and cranny of the downstairs crammed with vintage treasures and a beautiful little gallery loft space upstairs. Spencer was kind enough to ask us to create our very own show in September, we are going to make it our end-of-summer spectacular show. We're also working on entries for a Summer/Pool themed group show at Ballard mainstay 20Twenty in August. We're also booked in August for Coffee Animals in Capitol Hill ... Obviously, we are the busiest of Bees (unrelatedly: have you heard of the concerning bee extinction? We are concerned)! No fear, though, Monofriends, be comforted that Tom and I aren't toiling away too much to forget the important stuff: looking for agates on the beach, planning camping trips, cooking out, riding bikes, learning the ukulele, and singing Kenny Loggin's "Danny's Song" with Meghan at the top of our lungs. We will be updating the site with all of our new works very soon, so stay tuned! HUP SUMMER!!
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Summer! Monocol yard sale! Huzzah!
 Namaste, MonoFreens! We hope you had a great Memorial Day Weekend, we seized the opportunity to take a very relaxing weekend from the Monocol Factory to start enjoying the warm weather in Seattle. We had such a great time at the show at Cuginis during Ballard's May Artwalk. Last I heard all but one of Tom's Woodgills had been sold! YIKES BIKES! We really appreciate the support, as proceeds from this last show will probably be going towards funding our favorite Pacific Northwest summer tradition, What The Heck Fest in Anacortes. Indie rock summer camp with K-Recs and Know Yr Own artists as your camp counselors (but without the posion ivy on your butt -- but I did start crying last summer when I saw my first banana slug -- we don't got those bitches in the ATL!). SO KEEN. For all of you beard-sportin, flip flop wearin', Go Green recycling Seattlites, Monocol will be teaming up with America's beloved evil mastermindChris Smith of the Free State and throwing a huge Yard Sale in the next two weeks at Team Ballard HQ! More details to come! OneLove!
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DAHMN!
Thanks to everyone who came out to support Ballard Art Walk and dropped by Cugini's on Saturday - we were completely overwhelmed by the response! Within a few hours all but a few of our Woodgill behbees had been sold. Seriously, you guys rock! Tom and I would step away to eat cookies or get into a slap fight about stuff like "who would win in a cage match, Mighty Mouse vs. Danger Mouse," and another Woodgill would be sold!
Seeing Woodgills go to new homes is always a bit sad for us, as we get attached to them rather quickly. However, we know they are going to bigger and better places -- we push them out of our dank, smelly Monocol studios to make something of themselves in this big world. I am still secretly hoping that Gibbon Visits the Artic does not ever get sold so I can hide it under my bed and sneak it dinner rolls when Tom isn't watching.
We will be working on new ideas and I will be standing over Tom bossing him on the correct amount of idyllic cuteness that is required in every painting. We are prepping for a new show in August that will be a departure from the prints and paintings we have been doing recently, and of course, there are more fabric freens coming as well. We are working on setting up an Etsy story so everything is more easily purchased on the web. Thanks for all of your support!! P.S. I totally vote Danger Mouse, though you never know what Mighty Mouse has in his diaper ....
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A true story ...
 Well, semi-true, Tomocol had a dream that I grew to epic, angry proportions and was eating the powerstation across from his house, shaking the hill we paint on, and being a general nuisance. It is also true that I get very cranky if I am hungry. Also true -- I often feel like I am going to Hulk Out when I am really cranky. However, its 100% true that mini pizzas are often the dinner du jour during Monocol Art Club. Here is the breakdown of our agenda: 20% Art Please send us your favorite snacks, we'd love to publish a Monocol Snacks Zine! Wombats,
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Plush-a-go-go
 I am finally done, thanks to lots of episodes of Fresh Prince (as noted in my delirious entry from before), wearing this little fleece hat with bear ears that I have come to call Thinky-Bear Hat (made by MonoFreen Chris), and sewing in a Morrissey t-shirts and underpants until 3am. I've submitted my entries to Plush You. As we say in Monocol Land, its up to the gods now.
Ok, we don't say that. People in Greek mythology do, but what do you want from me? I've been sewing in underpants and a bear hat for two weeks. Bah,
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Thunder Chunky
Much like how He-Man calls on the Power of Grey Skull to gain his fabulous powers, I also have a secret weapon when confronted with difficult creative tasks like fighting Skeletor's Wolf Bats or finishing the first set of Mt. Plushmores for part of a hopeful submission to Schmancy's Plush You show. I raise my pinking shears high above my head and call upon the Power of Fresh Prince. Yeah boiii -- I am talking about West Philadelphia born and raised Will Smith. If I have the Freshie-Fresh on in the background while sewing and constructing, I can literally work on a project for hours without getting distracted or feeling tired.  It's an inexplicable phenomenon. I have even been laying in bed with Nick-at-Nite on the sleep timer and a ferry ticket to the Land of Nod, but upon hearing the opening theme to The Fresh Prince I will feel the need to finish a project or spontaneously come up with a great idea I have to jot down. (Though, peculiarly, the clothes and objects I've sewn speak nothing to Will's early fashion choices of Fly Boi neon crop tops and Hammer Pants ...) Between the fact that I somehow casually watched the show every week as a 14 year old and my new found muse in my mid-twenties, I have seen and remember every single episode of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in existence. Every. Single. One. Within the first 3 minutes of the teaser, I can tell you the plot, hilarious moments to watch for, and if they do a dance routine. Please feel free to challenge me whenever you feel the need. In short, I am working on several plush additions to the Monocol family, so look for that update. Cocaine? LSD? Crystal Meth? Naw son, I just need Will, Carlton, Uncle Phil, and (the original) Aunt Viv. I'll leave you with a Fresh Princeism I've coined myself after many years of observing the master: You may attract more flies with honey, but you get more honeys when you are this fly. ~MonoGwynne p.s. I hate almost every thing Will Smith has done post-Fresh Prince. For the record.
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Wombats to your moms, we came to drop bombs!
 Yeah we completely suck at blogging, but we've got a few new things. First ... We are really proud to present our FIRST SHOW at Sugartown Vintage in Ballard. It will be this Saturday March 10th from 6-9pm. For all our Seattle Monofreens, Sugartown Vintage is a new store in Ballard across from Archie McPhee. I am super proud of my Monocol partner in crimes, Tom, and his Woodgills. A selection of them will be on display at Sugartown through the month of March. On Saturday there will be free beer and booze (holla back to our main man, Kev -- AKA Man About Town AKA Dewars Rep), snacks and tunes, and most importantly Tom's amazing art. Doncha ya wish your moms was hot like this show? We've also updated our website and got ourselves a MonoSpace (A/S/L???? -- me: 24/F/Continental Shelf). TELL YOUR FRIENDS! DRINK FREE BOOZE! LOOK AT WOODGILLS IN PERSON!
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Happy Belated Sinterklaas, Monofriends! We hope you too wrote your friends terrible, scathing, little poems and wrapped up fun presents in syrup like we did over at the Monocol factory (thanks to resident DutchBoy and co-creator Tom). We know, we know, things have been greatly amiss since our LJ interblogging debut this summer. So much has happened since we lasted interblogged: the good, the bad, and the pink sweat suited walrused. Here is a short little recap ... The Good: Our dear pillowed labor of loves, Darwin and Finchy, found themselves new homes! Here is Darwin kicking it outside the Harvard School of Law (look Mom, we made it into Harvard!) and making photocopies of of his backside (oh, dear!) at the office of
And chillin' on the bed (play on, playa!) with Finchy at Crystal's house.
AWESOME!! Where will our evolution minded friends end up next? Hopefully your house/apartment/winnebago/covered wagon ... drop us a line, make it happen people. The Bad: Gwynne borked her arm back in October, hence the lack of Monocol updates, but is doing much better and can sew Darwin and Finchy pillows with the speed of her new, metal-plate infused bionic arm! AWESOME!! The Pink Suited Walrused: A preview of prints to come.
We hope you have a safe and happy holidays -- we are coming out of 2006 swinging like a Wii controller playing the new Zelda. |
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Bumber? Shoot!
Monocol went to Bumbershoot on Saturday. Bumbershoot is Seattle's annual mosh pit of humanity, featuring hundreds of bands, crafts, readings, arts, and cultural crap. We don't use the word "throngs" liberally, as "throngs" is an uncomfortable word, but at any Bumbershoot you will inevitably encounter and wade through throngs of people, many of who seem to be going nowhere slowly, sweatily, and haphazardly. This particular Bumbershoot had great potential for entertainment and enrichment. First there was a talking and singing event featuring Dave Eggers (author, and founder of the great McSweeney's, the Believer, and Wholphin), Sarah Vowell, Lemony Snicket, John Hodgman (author of the best book ever, "The Areas of My Expertise," and also "Giraffes? Giraffes!" and "Your Disgusting Head") and some music type folks. It would have been great, but we missed it. Then there was the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy show Asssssscat. UCB is/was a bizarre and underrated comedy troupe, with several hilarious seasons of sketch comedy television under their belt (until they were cruelly canceled) and a regular improv club on each coast. Highlights included the Little Donny Foundation, the story of a boy with the serious medical condition of having an Enormous Penis and Not Being Aware of It. We missed it. So we ran across the Seattle Center to catch a reading by Chuck Palahniuk and Charles Burns. We missed it. Comedy band "Tinkle" lead by David Cross? Missed it. All this missing-of-things was entirely due to the throngs of people. They were just everywhere, those people. People seemed to stand in endless lines that went nowhere, just in hopes that perhaps they might end up somewhere entertaining and enriching. And usually they did, but other times the lines looped in enormous figure-eights, a kind of mobius line. Those people may still be in line to this day. We had no patience for such waiting, and subsequently missed many potentially entertaining and enriching events. Save one: Flatstock! Flatstock (the 10th) is/was a huge band and concert poster show. Huge! Thousands of posters and their artists, all screenprinted and for sale. We spent hours browsing the booths, slack-jawed, dispensing praise like kittens and incoherently spreading the word of Monocol. Well, the potential of Monocol. Everyone was very nice though and did not doubt that Monocol would have its own booth next year. Some of our favorites: Diana Sudyka (Bought an amazing Modest Mouse poster from her. She was very nice, and listened patiently as I blabbered on about Monocol and how infinitely cool her work was.) Push Me Pull You Design Dan Stiles 33rpm Design Ramen Royale (Bought a great poster called "Apocalypse Pittsburgh" of a giant fly attacking a building.) Flatstock made the day worthwhile. It was incredible to see so much talent gathered in one place, and to have the ability to go up to and talk to the artist of any piece you admired. It was also inspiring - most artists also began small scale of course (well, perhaps not in musty possum-infested basements), and hearing them speak of their processes and successes was exciting. Monocol will grow, we will make more neat things on paper and fabric, and maybe someday we can have our own booth at Flatstock. A young man or woman will approach, struck dumb by the Infinite Awesomeness of our posters and crafts, and they will stammer on about their own makeshift screens that they print in their dusty spider-infested attic, and how they and one of their best friends are starting an art collective called "Robot Poop." And we will glance at each other, nod, and smile knowingly.
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Ahoy-hoy, friends!
Monocol is on the intarweb! We've been hard at work (via Google chat, tea drinking, and Deadwood watching) churning out sad animals, scenes of infanticide, and evolutionary biologists to share with the young at heart and the feeble of mind. During these harried hours of photo emulsin', screen floodin', and heat settin' (and Fresh Prince dance mimickin'), we noticed that Christmas had indeed come early. And in piles.  Exhibit A Thats right, Monofriendules, Exhibit A is what we at Monocol have come to refer to as The Mystery Poops of the Mystery Beast. These Mystery Poops magically (black magically??) appeared for days after Tom or Gwynne had closed up shop after late nights of screen printing. Gwynne had her suspicions that it was perhaps an ne'er do well prank of Tom-foolery, fueled by the late nights he spent soaked in PBR whilst playing Grand Theft Auto and fiending for double zout black licorice in his own apartment. However, after a night of standing guard by the front door, cloaked in the flickering light of the Degrassi: The Next Generation marathon, without sight of a drunken Pooping Tom, she abandoned the theory (with reservations). Thanks to our in-house biologist, Meghan, the Scientific Method (read: Google Image Search) was used to analyze the Mystery Poop to narrow down the possible Beasts which could have left Monocol such dastardedly insulting Poops. And at the eleventh hour (read: before Project Runway began), we came face to snout with the Beast. Monocol presents to you the Mystery Beast and its Mystery Poops:  We are going to trap that fucker if its the last non-rabies induced hallucenation we do. Because here at Monocol, we will work under any conditions, rain or rabies, to bring to you crap you can't live without. Keep checkin' our site (like how Tom checked your moms last night) for some hot shit -- and we don't even mean the possum's. Thank you, good night and good luck. Monocol
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happy
ecstatic
hot
workybird
lethargic
surprised
tired bitches!
contemplative
PUGS!
jubilant
Skulduggery
