Skull-A-Day: 2008

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Skulls in Iraq

I was truly honored to get these images and note from Al Asad, Iraq, "We are a small team of Marines and one civilian who have been operating under the Skulz name for the past five years. We thought it was appropriate to use one of your templates on our HMMWV. We wouldn't dream of destroying or altering US Government property, so we used foot powder...Other pictures are from a modified dinning facility plastic spoon covered with hand sanitizer and set on fire."

I was so happy to know my work was entertaining and inspiring the USMC Skulz that I sent them a signed copy of my book, which arrived just in time for Christmas. They kindly sent this photo of themselves with it on their base...

Here's hoping that they're all home safe and sound in 2009.

Happy New Year everyone.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Skull Mural

Zapatoverde from Guatemala made this fantastic mural. Check out more of his work HERE.

Monday, December 29, 2008

[BONUS] Skull Stencil In Use

Chris made a spooky Halloween decoration with my original Skull Stencil. He says, "I traced the stencil on clear plastic and put in on an overhead projector. I traced the projection on a piece of Masonite and cut it out with a router. Then I painted it black, and put it in the window, using a red light behind it. To diffuse the light a little better, I put tracing paper behind it."...

W.T. Raschendorfer created a romantic (in a Goth way) headboard with it...

And Matt Renegar used the stencil to decorate his welding gear...

Burnt Wood Skull

Laura Bartholomew of Summit, NJ did a fine job making this piece with a wood burner...

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Sunday Simulacra - Round 20

Al Frank of Austin, Texas says, "I found this print on a dusty cart used for hauling scenery equipment. It looks like it was made by a boot print, and a sandbag."...

Bubu Romo from Mexico spotted this sneaky skull in Palenque an archeological zone...

and Katie discovered this creepy visage at Hanging Rock in Victoria, Australia...

Saturday, December 27, 2008

French Fry Skull

Chris Musto carved this fantastic potato skull and it was cooked by Garret Bryant at Ted's Montana Grill in Raleigh, North Carolina...

Photograph by Stephanie Varela

Friday, December 26, 2008

Decemberween Skulls

A couple of great pumpkin skulls from this past Halloween:

Brad made this pretty Dia de Los Muertos inspired one...

And Jose Miguel Alvarez of Miami, FL did a fantastic job making a skull on the inside of a pumpkin!

Don't know what Decemberween is? THIS probably won't help much.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Happy Skullidays

I couldn't resist posting a few recently received Christmas themed skulls today...

Chris Z./Flaming Atheist says, "In the spirit of a Skully Christmas I've made a skull related creche scene - my Skulltivity Scene. Made the heads with Jovi modeling past, Sharpied the features, chenille stems for skeletons/support and felt for the coverings, cotton balls for the sheep wool. Lil' Skully Jesus is in a cardboard coffin wrapped in felt. Sacrilegious? Maybe. Fun to make? Definitely!"...

WEB in Bayswater, Victoria, Australia decked out one of their pieces for the holiday...

and 7 year old Sarah Grace Scott from Florence, Kentucky, made this magnet skull donned with a Santa hat as well...

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

O Christmas Skull

Foobella did a remarkable job making these Christmas tree light skulls by moving her camera during a long exposure! She says, "I have no idea how many pictures I actually took to get these six, but I'm sure it was close to 50 or more... It took me a while to figure this out, so let us all learn from my many mistakes. When creating this effect, you are tracing a skull shape in the air with your camera BUT you actually have to "draw" the skull upside down to get it to be right side up in the picture. I still can't quite wrap my brain (or skull) around this concept."...

You can see the original tree and more of these pix HERE.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

[BONUS] Skulliday Decorations!

I was delighted to learn that my Papercraft Skull has been used for Christmas tree decorations in at least two homes:

Jason wrapped his in fabric for a lovely color coordinated tree...

And Charles put about 15 light-up "Skullies," as his son calls them, on his tree...

Are you having a very skull-y holiday? Send me pix!

Mac Skull

Luis Espinosa a graphic designer in Scottsdale, Arizona made this fun Dia de Los Muertos inspired illustration...

Monday, December 22, 2008

[CONTEST UPDATE] And the winner is...

After much careful consideration Katrina has announced the winner of the Tattoo Contest...

Congratulations to Tim Phelps at Eternal Expressions Tattoo in Rome, Georgia!

Katrina says, "I think he captured almost exactly what I had in mind! I love how the skull is whimsical, feminine and yet not perfect. The crack in the bone of the left eye socket is great!"

Tim will get a framed print as well as a Skull-A-Day T-shirt of his choice. And Katrina will be making her tattoo appointment soon.

Honorable mentions (who may choose from the remaining prizes):
1. Mike Antes of Cocoa Florida. "Mike really had a great handle on what I had in mind and it was VERY difficult to choose a winner! Love the details!"
2. Anonymous "Love the whimsy of this skull! Was my son's fave. :o)"
3. Dean Denne "The girly skulls are great! How did he know what my hair is like?"

Since this was such a tough choice and everyone did so well, Katrina has decided to send a surprise prize to all of the additional participants as well!

Thanks again for participating everyone. Stay tuned, there will be more contests in the New Year...

Faux Sugar Skulls

Miss Charley Jo Landers a disabled US Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm makes and sells these lovely pieces. She says, "I make these from polymer clay, using Day of The Dead sugar skulls as inspiration. They are scented with clove essential oil, baked right into the clay. They are made as pendants, and can hang from a necklace using the copper wire coil at the top of each skull." You can find more of her work for sale on Etsy...

She even did a version on her own hand in henna!...

Sunday, December 21, 2008

School On A Sunday

Pausing from the usual Simulacra Sunday to bring you two great skull themed school projects that were inspired by Skull-A-Day:

Stephany Gardiner head of art at the JACK Art club in Kingston upon Thames, (London) England used my papercraft pattern and the work of Damien Hirst for a lesson with 6-11 year olds. She says, "It was one of the most successful lessons we have ever done"!

And Heather Brosman, an art teacher and artist in Rochester, NY, says, "I was so inspired by your work that I did a quick skull project with my 7th grade advisement group for Halloween. McQuaid Jesuit is an all boy school, so I knew it would be a hit!" See more on the process HERE...

Saturday, December 20, 2008

[UPDATE] LOL Skull: Skulking

Lisa Vollrath sent in her take on the LOL Skull ...

[CONTEST UPDATE] Final Tattoo Submissions

Here's the last batch of Tattoo Contest submissions!

Mike Antes from Cocoa, Florida made this rough sketch of his idea (a finished version is in the works)...

Tim Phelps at Eternal Expressions Tattoo in Rome, Georgia made this lovely piece...

And Suzanne Berhow made this Sylvia Ji inspired submission with Prisma Color pencils...

Thanks to everyone who submitted. It's now up to Katrina to decide the winners and award the prizes, I'll post when she lets me know the details. And of course we'll all be waiting with baited breath to see the end results (assuming she loves one of them enough to actually get a tattoo of it!).