Tuesday With Tatman #29

It's still that time of year again. I hope all of you are having the happiest of Skullidays!



I used mini candy canes to make this cheery fellow. My 4 year old son only ate two of them in the process.

Each Tuesday in the 3.0 year will bring a new Tuesday With Tatman. As a tribute to the Skull Master's astounding feat let's all get creative and try something new(and hopefully skull related).

Skull-A-Day on Tour: Skulls & Teens

I did three talks to teenagers about skulls this month!

 The first one was at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for their Teen Symposium program. I was one of several invited artists asked to speak to about 100 students and art teachers from across the state. In addition to a lecture on the Skull-A-Day project I also led a workshop in which people were asked to do a mini-project on a subject of their choice. I loved all the creativity on display. A few people even chose skulls as their subject matter!...

The other two talks were for the New York Public Library (which included my book Skulls as part of their Stuff for The Teen Age 2009 list). The first was at a branch in the Bronx and the second at one in Manhattan. I enjoyed meeting the young people that came out and seemed to have make an impression on at least one, as evidenced in this doodle that was drawn while I was talking...

I am available to do talks/workshops in other cities, so if you know of a university, museum, or group that would be interested in bringing me out please get in touch.

For The Love Of Candy Skull

This delicious looking piece of confection comes from artist Royalsteez. He tells us, "Last year Damien Hirst exposed his 'For the love of God' in Amsterdam. I immediately was inspired to cover a skull with yellow handmade sweets (passionfruit flavour) and exposed it not more than a mile away from the real deal. I gave it the name "For the love of Candy".



Here's the creator:



Seriously, that is pretty sweet. Excellent work!

C-Rations: 0C11101

This week’s offering is Caramel.

“Sugar Great-Granddaddy” 8.5" X 6" handmade Caramel Candy, molded.

Sticky Fingers C says:

I wanted to explore another Christmas tradition this week and decided to choose the experience of making candy. Wow! What an experience it was. I commend anyone who does this on a regular basis. Caramel is a temperamental item to cook and to play with, but it you want to give it a go here is the place I got my info from. Just a word of warning, watch out for boiling sugar, and don't worry, great-granddad will find a good home this holiday season.

Remember each Monday during the 3.0 year I am posting an original skull design. My weekly offerings are nothing compared to the one-a-day massive project done by the Skullmaster in 1.0, but hopefully you will find some nourishment in these weekly offerings.

Another 365 Skulls!

Skull-A-Day fan Eric De La Fuente in Los Angeles, was inspired by my work to start 365 Skulls, his very own year long skull making challenge! He's already a month in and doing some amazing work. Here's a sampling of my favorites so far...

You should definitely add 365 Skulls to your daily reading list if you need more skulls in your life!

Skullflakes

Gloria from Sacramento, CA said: “ I love skulls and all things skully. Here are some of my holiday skull creations. I use polymer clay to hand sculpt each skull and then I adhere them onto purchased snowflakes for a festive holiday look.”



Six Sided C says:

With today being the official first day of winter I thought these snowflakes would be appropriate to share. I really like the look of these skulls. They fit in very well for their intended holiday use. Thank you for sharing them with us.

If any of you get the desire to start making your own snowflakes on this first day of winter, here are great instructions of how to fold the paper to get the correct number of sides. Also to our friends in the Summer Hemisphere, happy first day of summer, but think cool thoughts with some snowflakes.

Skull-A-Day Press: Bent Objects Interview

My friend Terry Border recently interviewed me as part of a new series on artists he's doing on his fantastic Bent Objects blog!

You can read the entire thing HERE.

[BONUS] C-Rations: 12·19·09

This week’s [BONUS] offering is cold

“Global Warming” 18" x 18" snow with coal pieces

Copenhagen C says:

We had a little bit of snow here, and being inspired by the Skullmaster’s 373. Snow Skull I set out to make my own. I had no idea that when I got home last night I would find 374. Wow how can I top that?

Today's skull is dedicated to all that has happened this week in Copenhagen, did anyone else find it interesting that President Obama left the conference early to avoid the pending winter weather? I left this skull where I made it for others to find. If no one disturbs it, the coal will remain after the snow is gone a fitting commentary on the future of our winter enjoyment if we don't act to seek out energy alternatives to coal and cut our greenhouse emissions.

Remember each Monday during the 3.0 year I am posting an original skull design. My weekly offerings are nothing compared to the one-a-day massive project done by the Skullmaster in 1.0, but hopefully you will find some nourishment in these weekly offerings.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 3.29

You are going to love today’s simulacra a bushel and a peck.

Lexa in Richmond, VA shared this with us: “Tonight's dinner, [stuffed butternut squash local, from the Farm to Family bus], was made on a whim using ingredients already on hand. One half of the finished product inadvertently appeared to me as a skull.”




Miranda Benham in Riverside, CA wrote: “I found this skull while peeling potatoes for dinner!”



Amy Dilling from Orange County, CA said: “I was shopping at the local farmers' market and snapped a picture of this Heirloom Tomato Skull. ”
Hand Picked C says:

Another round of great skulls brought to us by mother nature. It seems like it has been a long time since the summer markets, but before we know they will be open again. Thank you all for keeping your eyes peeled (especially you Miranda) for simulacra and taking the time to submit your finds.

Keep sending those pictures in to our submissions address. Just keep in mind that since we only post simulacra once a week it might take a little longer than normal for it to be posted.

[BONUS] 374. Snow (Day) Skull (with DudeCraft)

So of course the day after I post my first ever snow skull, it snows nearly a foot in my hometown! Not only is this an incredibly rare thing, but my friend Paul from DudeCraft had driven up from North Carolina on Friday for the express purpose of us doing a skull/craft project together. We had secured a location and had an idea worked out, but then looking out the window this morning realized there was no way we were going anywhere. We scrapped our original plans and decided we needed to do something with the pristine snow that covered my back yard. The end result is around 4 feet tall and took a good chunk of the day to make.

 Paul doing the preliminary grunt work...

Having a Shakespearean moment...

A hard day's work...

Paul's stuck in Richmond for the rest of the weekend, so who knows what else we'll do. The original project is not entirely forgotten, though it may have to wait for a less snowy month to be completed.

Don't forget to check out Paul's excellent blog DudeCraft!

UPDATE: Get Paul's version of the story, with even more process pix HERE.

His & Hers Skulls

The two wicked pieces are from Matt Stove who brings us "Art nonsense from nowhere" over at his blog "I Saw Nothing".

Ladies first...


And the gentleman follows...


I read on Matt's blog that he's thinking of framing these and hanging them side by side. I got a feeling it was meant to be, Matt. Please, don't ever seperate these two. They were definitely made for each other. Thanks for sharing them!

[Flashback Friday] 276. Skull-Brite

Flashback Friday is a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.0. Each week I'll be posting an original skull along with some additional commentary in order from lowest to highest rated, with the #1 skull appearing in the last week of year 3 of the project...

#24: 276. Skull-Brite


I used my sister's childhood Lite-Brite to make this and she made me promise not to sell it! It ended up being harder to make than I planned since I ran out of the colors of pegs that I needed to complete the image part way through. It turns out that while Lite-Brites are still made, they've changed the colors slightly and more importantly they've changed the width of the pegs! I ended up spending almost as much time sanding down pegs to fit as I did creating the pattern for this!

[BONUS] 373. Snow Skull

I finally had an opportunity to make a skull out of snow! Admittedly this is only a light dusting, but believe it or not this was really the first time I've had the chance. There was never a good snow day in Richmond during the original project and last year I missed the one big snow of the year because I was traveling. Luckily when I was in Syracuse, NY earlier this month, to talk about my work and the Skull-A-Day project with design students, I managed to grab a few moments to do this. I drew the image with my foot and the scale was so large that it was hard to tell what it looked like without stepping back a few times (all the while trying to avoid disturbing other snow in the process).

Mixed-Media Skull

The artist “BoneWerx” from Portland, OR said: “I have been enjoying your site for almost a year now and would like to make my first submissions! ”

This first piece is done using staples.


Next is a collage using found objects


Herringbone C says:

I really enjoy the Calavera series you are currently making, and the staple skull is also very good. Thank you for taking a minute and submitting your work with us.

Freshman Skulls

Ms. Cynthia Gorman tells us simply that she did this in her freshman year in college.



Please show your work for the rest of the class to enjoy, Cynthia. Thanks for sharing this.

Send To Phone

Foodie Skulls

Today’s skulls know their way around a kitchen.

Our first skull comes from Marisso Barrio in Las Cruces, New Mexico who wrote: “First off, I have to say I love the Skull-A-Day website and book! I actually found the book before the site. I was eating a Moonpie and had taken a single bite when I noticed the skull-ish-ness! So I took a few more bites to emphasize it. So the bites are there on purpose, but the spots that make up the eyes and nose were there already.”


This next one is from Mauro Bignami who simply states: “My creation: a crunchy skull! Skulladay: my favorite site!”


Our last submitter, Jasmin from Nashville, TN said: “Kitchen aid started the skull with the perfect placement of their vents on the mixer I ordered. It took me about 10 seconds to realize that with a little black nail polish I could make it into a skull. Later when my friend wasn't looking, I painted hers too. :)”


Stove Top C says:

Thank you all for sharing your work with us. I enjoy catching glimpses of all the amazing art that is out there being created for the stomach or the home.

Tuesday With Tatman #28

As all parents know, there are a lot of dirty jobs that have to be done. Anyone with young children will know the tireless task of changing diapers. Well, I have finally seen so many of them that I had to immortalize one in recognition of the odoriferous duties that parents have to deal with.



Don't worry this one was not "dirty" because I just couldn't make a skull from one of those. Even though it would have been the most fitting sign.

Each Tuesday in the 3.0 year will bring a new Tuesday With Tatman. As a tribute to the Skull Master's astounding feat let's all get creative and try something new(and hopefully skull related).

Ascii Skull

Marcin knows just how to stave off the boredom even at his exciting office job. This bit of ascii art is "a print screen of batch file I wrote for our admin stuff some time ago."



Idle hands are the devil's workshop, Marcin, but I guess that's not too bad when you come up with cool stuff like this though. Thanks for sharing.

C-Rations: 0C11100

This week’s offering is Citrus And Cloves.

“Sarah Cous” approx. 4" X 3" Fresh orange pierced with cloves on a leather hanger.

Pomander C says:

I went looking for information on how to make one of these and in my research I found some great historical Memento Mori related items here and here. If you don't mind your hands smelling like citrus and cloves for a while, this is the site where I learned how to make this. Also, please look closely at the picture and see if you can find another Christmas tradition that is hanging around.

Remember each Monday during the 3.0 year I am posting an original skull design. My weekly offerings are nothing compared to the one-a-day massive project done by the Skullmaster in 1.0, but hopefully you will find some nourishment in these weekly offerings.

Human Skulls

Yonatan Ben-Knaan from Tel-Aviv, Israel sent us these two pieces.

“Human Skull v.1”


“Human Skull v.2”Suveyor C says:

When I first saw these pieces I was immediately reminded of topography maps. The more I looked at them, I was also reminded of the Skullmaster’s 167. Skull. This is amazing work, thank you for taking the time to submit it to us.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 3.28

This week I felt like sticking with the rocky simulacra theme I had from 2 weeks ago, but this week has a little twist.

Massachusetts' own Mitch Lunsford found this bit of pigeon poop back in October and figured, "Nature must be in the Halloween spirit".



Theses next 2 come from Ana at the 20 gigs blog. She writes, "the first one is from Banjaluka, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and another one is from Starigrad Paklenica, Croatia".






They say that a rolling stone gathers no moss, but if it keeps still long enough it might just gain a skull. Thanks for the submissions. Keep them coming to the submissions inbox and don't forget that since we only do this once a week it may take a little longer before it gets posted.

"Death And Dreams" Skulls

This amazing submission is from Bryan Collins. It's a 12" x 16" pastel on illustration board titled "Death And Dreams".



Thanks for the mindtrip, Bryan. You have quite the touch when it comes to colors. I hope everyone will check out more of his work at bryandrinkscoffee.com.

Send To Phone

[Flashback Friday] 108. Shadow Skull #2

Flashback Friday is a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.0. Each week I'll be posting an original skull along with some additional commentary in order from lowest to highest rated, with the #1 skull appearing in the last week of year 3 of the project...

#25: 108. Shadow Skull #2

I had the idea that I could design a compressed skull that would stretch out into a normal skull shape if a light was positioned correctly above it. I just drew what I thought would work directly onto the paper then taped all four variations I tried to a wall in my basement to photograph, where they stayed for over a year. I ended up making more revised versions of two of them for the Martha Stewart Show, but it never got used. If you're interested in making some of your own you can grab the PDF HERE. As always I just ask that you share the results with us!

Skull Cakes

Our first cake is from Silvia Pietrangeli who said: “Two layers cake with chocolate ganache filling and icing. Skull, bones and hearts are made of MMF (marshmallows fondant)”

Today’s other cake came from Jennifer Cook, from Victoria, BC who told us: “What I have for you is a red velvet skull cake I baked for my friend's Day of the Dead-themed birthday party. I made a stencil to dust a chocolate skull on the top... and when you cut into the cake the vividly red cake against the white cream cheese icing looked super dramatic. Mmm skulls... having your birthday on the Mexican Day of the Dead = morbidly fun times.”


Frosting C says:

For the last couple of days I have been having the inkling for a nice homemade cake, It was great to find these in our submission box, they look wonderful. Thank you for submitting your work for us to enjoy with our eyes.

[BONUS] Skull Stencil In Use

Jacklyn Medrano made this lovely painting and used my Secret Skull Wallpaper stencil for the background!

Graffiti Skulls

Sao Paulo, Brasil is the home of graffiti artist xguix. Here's a couple of his skull pieces that are beautifying the scenery of South America.





xguix submitted a bunch of great pics of his work, but there were too many for just this space. You can see more of his work here: xguix flickr photostream

[BONUS] The Original Skull?

While searching through some childhood drawing from my parents' house I found possibly my first official skull drawing! It was dated 1979 which makes me either 6-7 at the time. People always ask me "why skulls" and I generally say something like, "I've loved them for as long as I can remember", so it's nice to have more proof of that fact...

Skull Pill

Eric, an illustrator in NYC, made this piece called “Death Pill.”

Full Work

Detail

Wonderland C says:

Thank You for submitting this wonderful work. I find it interesting that you see this pill as a finishing act. Without reading your comment I initially thought about those pills that makes your head better so it would be appropriate to have it filled with skulls. Lastly, “Remember what the Doormouse said: ‘Feed your head, feed your head’”