LotsaPotsa's Super Ceramic Skull Saturday

Holly Murphy of Zanesville, OH is rockin' tons of skulls in her ceramic and pottery works with lots of different designs and a diverse offering of items.  This is just a sampling of what she's been up to(see more of her LotsaPotsa stuff here), but of course these skulls are our favorites.  Holly's works are fun and functional, and we thank her for sharing them with us.  Keep up the great work, Holly!

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.6

While I was in Philadelphia, PA for Skull Appreciation Day 2012, my husband and I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We were happily wondering around, when I noticed these decorative plates in an alcove. They were created in Pennsylvania by John Leidy I. I thought the decorations looked like skull faces. Around the plates are sayings about life, and marriage. For you curious people, I've included the related translation that accompanied each plate.

"Fortune or misfortune is our breakfast every morning." - c.1796

"Rather would I single live than the wife the breeches give." - c.1797

"If one wishes to keep a secret, he may not tell his wife." - c.1796

Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy- if you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.

Super Stoneware Skull Saturday

When was the last time you got two Super Saturday posts in one day??? Never! That's why Skull-A-Day 5.0 is gonna rock this year with the help of people like 'skull'ptor and potter Gary Rith who makes his own dinnerware and teapots with a classy touch of skull design.











Thanks for serving up these great pieces, Gary. I enjoyed seeing more of your stuff on your site, and I noticed that you like pigs. Ever thought about sculpting a pig skull??? Just think about it....

Sunday Simulacra - Version 4.37

The skull hunters continue to collect their trophies from far and wide and we still have the pleasure of displaying them for you.

Amanda Hicks writes, "I saw this guy while visiting my folks in Ft Collins, Colorado."



Tiki from Southern N.J. spied a sneaky lurker. "One evening when I was sitting in on my boyfriend's band practice, I looked up at the basement ceiling and found this little guy."



And NUNeighbor spotted this eerie skull on campus. "I was walking through Evanston, IL last week and out of the corner of my eye I noticed that, at night, the doors to the Woman's Club looked uncannily like a skull. I certainly couldn't skulk away without taking a picture!"



Thanks for sharing these terrific finds. It's a proven fact that there are hidden skulls everywhere. If you're lucky enough to capture one of your own then please submit it. We love to share the wealth!

Sunday Simulacra - Version 3.52

As the last Sunday in 3.0 brings this year to an end I wanted to post a few simulacrum that were actually made instead of being found naturally. This is a dedication to all of the contributors who have kept Skull-A-day rolling into the next year of 4.0.

Tim Grueschow of Oshkosh, WI writes, "I'm a Graphic Designer, and we are wrapping this 2002 GSX-R 750 .. The fairng laying on top of the wrap material caught my eye ... Holes in the fairing produce eyes and nose... And the pattern on the wrap beneath.. teeth. Purely serendipitous."


John Karpinsky tells us, "I've been perusing your site for a while, it's always entertaining. Not sure if this counts or not, maybe I'm just seeing things, but this looks like a skull to me."

RAWR!

Eric Vinyard and Lauren Jennings were skull hunting together when they found this one lying on a shelf at Diversity Thrift. "I think it's a wall socket component, but they sure put the bar code sticker in the right spot."

Thanks again to all of you who kept our Sundays filled with images of skull simulacra for this past year. We plan on keeping this tradition going into year 4.0 so keep your skull eyes open and continue to submit them for the rest of our readers to see. Just remember that since we only do this once a week it may take a bit longer to get posted, but it's always worth it. Thanks!

Super Saturday Skull Fest

Well, Skull-A-Day readers, this all started out innocently enough, but after a few emails back and forth it has gone full blown Skullmageddon! This is definitely not the norm for Skull-A-Day so please enjoy all of the pics. Hopefully it won't overload your skull.

Instigator and craftivist, Carrie Reichardt (aka The Baroness) has set out to cover London with all of her wonderful works. The first glimpse we got of her awesomeness came in the form of the "Tiki Love Truck". Carrie, Mr. Spunky, and the treatment Rooms Crew took what was a boring old truck and turned it into a rolling work of art that is still legally drivable.







In case you're wondering where she gets her skull tiles for the sweet mosaics- she makes them herself.



The mosaics can be seen at various locations in London covering entire walls of buildings. These skulls are the centerpiece of a mosaic wall mural titled "The Revolution Will Be Ceramicised".



Carrie also does a lot of work in ceramics including decorating them with transfers and adding her own skull touches to them. Currently she is helping to curate a show called "Renegade Potters and Extreme Craft" at the Ink-d gallery in Brighton, UK. It's running from March 12th-April 14th. She recently opened an Etsy shop for any of you who might be interested in purchasing something from the "Renegade Potter".



And last, but definitely not least Carrie is working on a beautiful elephant that I will let her tell you more about. "I am also very busy covering a huge resin elephant in mosaics. I am working with Nick Reynolds, and it is going to be part of the Elephant Parade , London in May. Nick has in fact, cut away half of the elephants head, and is setting back in a skeleton and I am making a foot bracelet in ceramic skulls to go round one of its feet. This event is being billed as the biggest ever public art event, when over 250 decorated elephants are exhibited around London in May. Further details can be found at Elephant Parade London 2010."





You can see a short video here that scratches the surface of the making of "Phoolan".

So in conclusion, thank you to Carrie and all of her crew for bringing us some of London's best skull makers. The art you do and the message you send is taking skull art a long way, and Skull-A-Day will be forever grateful for the creators like you.

Ceramic Plate Skulls

These ceramic plates come from Bob Bianco. The skulls are actually on the backside, but we know were to focus our attention.

Back


Front


Back


Front


Thanks for sharing these, Bob. Since you were nice enough to provide the plates for your friends, perhaps they'll be nice enough to provide the food.

Bookplate Skull

Mark B Hill, a past contributor from Middleton, WI sent us this: “I can't help myself, I did another linocut skull! This is a bookplate, which is a label you stick inside your books to say "this is my book." In fact, that's more or less what Ex Libris means. I Photoshopped the color in, although most bookplates would be black and white.”
Possessive C says:

It's mine! The art of the bookplate is not something that you come across very often anymore. It brings me great joy to be looking through old books and come across one. It gives that book a tangible place in history, and connects you with a person of the past. Thanks for submitting another Skull-A-Day inspired design, and hopefully you will receive many requests for them. It would be a perfect addition to a copy of the Skullmaster's book.


“Countdown To Halloween”
15 more days and counting...

46. Soy Sauce Skull

Soy Sauce on Plate arranged with Chop Stick. A tricky medium as the liquid kept slowly moving towards the center of the plate.