Sunday Simulacra - Version 3.8

Today's round of simulacrum comes via the insect world. There are many bugs out there that can resemble skulls and some of our readers are here to help out:

Dwayne Carpenter from Richmond, Va. found this creepy looking fellow


David Jaskiewicz from Perth, Western Australia overcomes fear to bring us this moth. He tells us, "Here is a photo I took a couple of years ago from the inside of my kitchen window. Just letting you know I have an unexplainable phobia of moths (however - totally love skulls), so I had to work up the courage to photograph this moth, which appears to have little skulls on the underside of its wings. Thought you might like it.


Long time viewer and first time submitter Jax Easton found what was most certainly a bug at some point. "This is a splotch of bird poo on a park bench outside the Kelvingrove art gallery in Glasgow...It hasn't been modified at all, and was taken by me."


Plus, a bonus this week from Colin Greenleaf to help remind us about the current contest. "This natural coral rock was found on the beach of the Big Island of Hawaii off the Kohala Coast. The black lava rock called A'a (ah-ah) made this white treasure stand out clearly. As soon as I saw this piece of skull booty, we knew it needed to be found on your website. My wife and I are huge fans. Keep up the good work!" Colin took Skull-A-Day with him on his vacation to Hawaii. Thanks, but next time Noah, Citizen, and myself would prefer actual plane tickets. Just kidding. Thanks for sharing everyone!


If anyone knows what type of bugs these are then feel free to leave a note in the comments. Thanks.

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Apt Pupil Skull

Tim Rodgers Jr. is a former student of the Skull Master at VCU in his Design Rebels class. He submits his skull and wishes everyone a good weekend.



Tim's blog is full of great looking doodles. Not just skulls either. Thanks for sharing, Tim. We hope your weekend is great as well.

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[Flashback Friday] 36. CD-R Skull

Flashback Friday is a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.o. 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...

#45: 36. CD-R Skull
When I decided to make a CD-R skull, the first trick was to figure out how to incorporate the hole, once I decided it was an eye, I had to figure out how to make the rest of the skull fit in the limited space available. It took a couple tries to get this cut out using a scroll saw that I've owned since I was in high school, and really hadn't used in years before I started this project. The biggest issue was that the silver material inside the CD would flake off where the disc was cut. Rather than photographing this I actually just put it on a scanner and captured the image that way. This is one of the pieces that is currently on display (and for sale) in my show After Life.

P.S. This skull has been added to the Facebook Send-A-Skull application!

Blu-Tack Skull

Sean Steele from Liverpool, U.K. said: "Here is a skull i made from blu tack*, hope you like it."

*Blu-tack from wiki

Fun-Tak C says:

That little blue adhesive goes by many different names, but it keeps the world together. Thanks for submitting your skull to us. I checked out to Blu-Tack home page in order to find out more about this product. Did you know when not making skulls with Blu-Tack that it can be used for holding toll money to a motorbike. I read it on the internet so it must be true. Thanks again Sean and you should consider submitting this skull to their creative page.

[BONUS] Googly Eye Skull In Use

M@ says, "I was playing around with the laser cutter at Techshop and made this little acrylic skull puzzle. You'll recognize the image from your googly eye skull of some months past." Be sure to check out his other cool creations HERE.

Mirror Mosaic Skull

"Hi there! This is is a mirror mosaic skull I made last year", writes Jasmine Milberger from Loganville, GA. "The frame was an ugly fake bamboo style that I carved a little and painted to look like bones. My goal is to do a series of different skeleton parts in different frames, i.e., ribcage, arm, pelvis, etc., that can be hung to form a whole skeleton. Still collecting mirrors to break and trying to find interesting frames to alter for this project. Enjoy!"


I don't know how many years of bad luck you'll encounter with a project like this, Jasmine, but it's definitely worth it. Be sure to update us if you ever get the full set completed. Thanks for sharing this super cool and creative method of recycling.

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Needle Felted Skull

Caroline Jones from Virginia wrote: "This is a needle felted skull I just recently made." Caroline went on to tell us that this was a prize she had made as part of her "100th post blog giveaway". The winner had a choice of the skull or a needle felted pumpkin, and of course the winner choose this skull.


Barbed C says:

Thank you for submitting such a wonderful skull for us. The winner of this piece was one lucky person, hopefully you will make some for other skull fans out there to purchase. Please check out Caroline's other amazing work she has posted on her blog, and remember to support independent artists when you can.

Tuesdays With Tatman #7

Today's offering is somewhat of a new hobby I picked up. The technical term would be a petroglyph skull. I have seen skulls in rocks before, but now I am finding myself creating them on other rocks that just seem to want them.



2 3/4" wide x 3 3/4" high. I carved this with an engraver. He seemed to appear to me as I drew it. This is by far one of my favorite of my small collection of other rocks.

Don't forget that there's only a little more than a week to submit your "I ♥ Skull-A-Day" entries for this month's contest.

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).

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Bobcat skull

This great sketch was shared with us by Cody Miles. He adds, "Here's something I did a few months ago, it's a still-life in graphite of a bobcat skull I bought in SF".

I also noticed that Cody had a few more skulls on his blog amongst various other paintings and drawings. A couple of the images may not be SFW(according to where you work), but they are all tastefully done. Thanks for sharing, Cody!

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C-Rations: 0C111

This week's offering is Construction Cone (toy)

"Caution: Envy at Play" Plastic toy Construction Cone approx 3" X 4" carved with exacto. Black paper added to inside

Also an alternative view of it in placeSafety Officer C says:

I was inspired by the recent work being done near where I live on a new sidewalk. Surrounding the 10' x 5' work area is a forest of 34 orange cones. I was originally planning to make paper skull faces on them, but it has been done before. Then I thought about cutting skulls into them, but then remembered this guy. I finally settled on purchasing my own cone to cut up. It's ok little skull, you can hang out with the big guys.

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.

And the Wiskullsin winner is...

Congratulations to Denise, who was the randomly chosen winner of the Wiskullsin T-Shirt giveaway! And thanks again to everyone for their awesome suggestions for the Wiskullsin state motto. Just for fun (sorry no additional prizes to give away) I went ahead and asked Josh, the creator of the shirts, to pick out his own favorite to be the "official" state motto. He couldn't pick one, so the co-winners are:

"America's Scaryland"
by Rebar

and

"Cold Beers, Colder Hearts"
by John E

Don't forget you can still get your very own Wiskullsin shirts HERE.

Skull-A-Day Press: After Life in Street Anatomy

My art show After Life got a nice mention on the super cool Street Anatomy site...




Street Anatomy
July 19, 2009

Storm Drain Skull

Jea from Miami says: "...found your book "Skulls" at Barnes & Noble in South Miami today and added it to my favorites collection. we just had a major Thunder storm roll through and leave a lot of debris near my abode so I thought you might enjoy these images as Skulls are every where!! "
A detail
Tropical Depression C says:

"Skulls are everywhere!" indeed. I like that you were inspired by the Skullmaster's book and decided to go and make a skull for yourself. Your use of found materials to build upon a permanent object is amazing, and I am glad you took pictures before the next storm came through to wash it away. Thanks for sharing your work with us.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 3.7

Around the world in 80 seconds (that's 3 skulls to you and me)

We start our skull adventure in London, England
Tomato from Italy shares: "Walking in London (London near Holloway Station) and looking around I found in the ground this odd metal skull shaped plates.. are these for electricity or other plugs?? I thought of electricity because it looks also like a light bulb.. immediately after I saw them, I thought of your site..."


Our next stop brings us to Hangzhou, China
Sarah wrote: "I live in a city called Hangzhou, and pictured here is a three wheeled trash container. Workers bike them around and sweep up litter."


And finally we arrive in Chicago, USA
Robyn says: "On state and harrison in downtown chicago."


Passepartout C says:

Thank you all for submitting your pictures. As you can see hunting for skulls is a worldwide phenomenon, and the next stop may be your neighborhood. Make sure you have your camera ready, Happy Hunting!

Just a Remider: While you are out and about in the next two weeks be sure to submit a picture for our "I ♥ Skull-A-Day" Contest. The details are here.


Keep sending those pictures in to our submissions address. Just keep in mind that since we only do this once a week it might take a little longer to have it posted.

Hard boiled skull

Edith Zimmerman has cooked up a great skull for us today. Edith tells us, "I do food art occasionally, and recently I carved a hard boiled egg into a skull. One of my readers turned me on to your site, and it's awesome."



I can't help but say, "Eggcellent work, Edith". Thanks also to your reader Eric Howe for suggesting that you submit it. It's another tasty addition to the food skull collection.

P.S.- Don't forget to show your love for the daily skull art blog you think is best with this month's contest. There are prizes!!!

[Flashback Friday] 365. Birthday Skull

Flashback Friday is a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.o. 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...

#46: 365. Birthday Skull

It was such a relief to make this piece knowing that I would finally have some time off from my daily practice of skull making after a full year (of course I made one more the next day, but it was a much less intensive piece). After decorating the cake, I brought it with me to my own birthday dinner and my friends helped me celebrate by eating it! The last bit was left for the staff of the restaurant to enjoy.

Of course since then there have been a whole bunch of great skull cakes shared by the awesome Skull-A-Day fans. There's always room for more, so definitely keep them coming!

And speaking of cakes, if you aren't already, you should absolutely follow the hilarious Cake Wrecks blog!

P.S. This skull has been added to the Facebook Send-A-Skull application!

Lampwork Glass Skulls

Eliza Zelachowski from Pompano Beach, Florida says: "I am a lampwork glass artist in my spare time. That means I melt rods of colored glass about the size of pencils with a small torch into works of art and glass beads to be used in jewelry, home decor, and collecting. I have made many calaveras (day of the dead skulls). Each calavera is made one at a time with primitive tools such as small knives and pointed metal rods to shape the glass. There are no molds or presses involved. "


Murano C says:

Thank you for sharing your amazing work with us. One of my favorite parts of being a guest editor on Skull-A-Day is being able to experience the vast diversity of art forms that are practiced by our loyal fans.

SKULLS Book Signing - Richmond, VA

If you're in the Richmond area and have yet to see my Skull-A-Day show After Life at Quirk Gallery, here's one more excuse to stop by...

I'll be signing copies of my book SKULLS
Saturday, July 25th 1-3pm
@Quirk Gallery
311 W. Broad St.
Richmond, VA 23220
804.644.5450

ALSO mark your calendar for these additional events at the gallery that are coming up...

First Friday Art Walk: Friday, August 7th 7-10pm
A fun way to see the show with a big crowd along with lots of other gallery openings on Broad St. More details on the event HERE.

SKULLS FOR KIDS: Saturday, August 8th 10am-noon
A great opportunity for kids to engage with the project by making their own skulls from a wide range of craft materials. I’ll be on hand to talk about the project and document the results.
FREE for kids of all ages.

TEA PARTY: Saturday, August 15th 2-4pm
Enjoy a spot of tea while giving the show another look before the closing.
I will give a short talk about the history of the project and be on hand to answer questions.

And of course Quirk also has regular gallery hours:
10-5 Monday - Friday & 11-4 Saturdays

The show runs through August 22.

War Suit Skull

Comic artist Rob Marsh invades Skull-A-Day with his robotic bad guy from his all ages webcomic December Sun. Rob tells us, "I've got a skull/robot/battle suit image from a webcomic that I draw that I'd like to share. I penciled and inked this myself for the comic. Basically, it's a war suit worn by enemy characters in the webcomic in an upcoming issue."



That's a pretty killer looking war suit. I'll definitely be looking for the next issue of December Sun to see this in action. Hopefully the other skulls that we post won't be too intimidated to appear.

Or maybe there's an army of these skull warriors invading your favorite vacation destination. Get a pic of them along with an "I ♥ Skull-A-Day" sign of some type and submit it for this month's contest.

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Skull-A-Day Press: Design Sponge

My art show got a nice shout out on Design*Sponge as part of their guide to Richmond, Virginia...


Design Sponge
July 14, 2009

Ides of Skull Fanatic: WoOpeR

As you can tell from the title, on the 15th of each month during year 3.0 we will be featuring another fanatic who makes Skull-A-Day so special for all of us. Sit back, grab your favorite soothsayer and enjoy a part of Skull-A-Day that even Caesar himself would not be fearful of.

This month's über fanatic is Alan Trallero (WoOpeR) from France. He made a private room in his home "with a lot of skull" as he says. Here are the pictures of his private room.





Peeping C says:

Thanks for opening up your private domain to us. You have truly earned the title "Fanatic". I wish I could have shared all the amazing detail shots you sent in, but that would take a week.

Perhaps WoOpeR would be happy to share them with you if you leave a comment. Unfortunately, his blog is NSFW/K so he will need to come up with an alternative place to post them for us to share it.

Are you a certified/certifiable Skull Fanatic? If so, send an image or two, maybe a video of your personal skull/skeleton collection and tell us a bit about what makes you so crazy for skulls, how many skulls you own, and whatever else you think is pertinent!

[CONTEST] Win an I Suck At Golf Skull Shirt

The folks at ISuckAtGolf.net have graciously offered to give away one of their nifty “RIP IT” skull T-shirts to one lucky Skull-A-Day fan!

(Yes, that is our very own Tatman, showing off the shirt above!)

To be entered in a random drawing for the shirt just leave a comment below saying what else you suck at (remember, kids visit this site, so try to be family friendly)! [If you're reading this on Facebook, be sure to leave your comment on the actual Skull-A-Day.com post]

IMPORTANT: Don't forget to include a way to contact you (either an e-mail address in the post OR make sure your Blogger profile has an e-mail link for you on it). If you're randomly selected and there's no way to contact you, we'll pick another winner.

You have until just Midnight Eastern Time, July 21 to enter so don't delay! [UPDATE: The contest is over. Thanks to everyone who participated!]

Of course you don't have to wait to get your very own I Suck At Golf shirt, you can get it today HERE (they come in both men’s and women’s T’s and men’s tanks). AND if you use coupon code "skulladay" at the checkout you'll get free shipping in the continental US!

Good luck!

Crocheted Skull

Dewey Decimal Crafts submitted the following crocheted skull handmade by her.


Professor C says:

I can solve this case: Dewey Decimal did it in the library with the crochet hook. It was an amazing crime and one I look forward to seeing recreated over and over. Thanks for submitting your artwork, I am happy you shared this with us.

Skull-A-Day Press: Virginia This Morning

For those of you who missed it, here's my recent appearance on local live talk show Virginia This Morning on WTVR CBS 6...



Virginia This Morning
July 6, 2009

Tuesdays With Tatman #6

These two blokes are here today to represent the end result of a lifetime of smoking. Whether it be some kind of cancer or a complication of being ill...SMOKING KILLS! It's not my place to tell you to stop. Heck, it's not even my place to tell you not to start, but I can tell you the place you'll end up if you don't quit. If you're lucky MAYBE your skull will get to enjoy a last smoke like these fellows, but I DOUBT IT.



Since I know that we have some young readers out there, let this picture be a sign to you. If this looks gross; it's because it is. To those who do smoke, just think of how much better you'll breathe, how much better your food will taste, and how much better your clothes will smell after you quit.

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).

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Skull-A-Day Press: LA Weekly

The LA Weekly blog ran a nice interview with me a few months back in their Style Council section. Read the entire thing HERE.


Style Council: LA Weekly
May 26, 2009

Settlers Skull

Steve wrote: "We were playing Settlers of Catan* one day and I was playing with my pieces and this is what I came up with."

Dungeonmaster C says:

I love the archetypal skulls. Some of my favorite submitted skulls are done with items whose original purpose normally are not suppose to be skulls. Happy Bastille Day everyone.

*I had to look it up on wiki.

C-Rations: 0C110

This week's offering is prepared in a Cave painting style with Conté Crayons

"Simulacres de Chasse" 25" x 19.5" Conté Crayon on pastel paper. Imagined detail of unfinished original in a cave located on Skull Island's Mt. Tatman.

Louis the C says:

Tomorrow the French celebrates Bastille Day, and in the spirit of revolution I wanted to do a French inspired post. So I ask, what's more French than being inspired by their famous collection of paleolithic caves and creating it with a byproduct of the Napoleonic Wars?

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.

Modified Skull

Kepa Rasmussen submitted the following abstract skull sculpture he created by modifying a sheep's skull.


Willem de C says:

This skull is frightening great. Thanks for submitting it. Also thanks for reminding us that skulls come in all forms, real and imagined.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 3.6

As skull hunters we are bound to an endless search for skulliness everywhere. Our journey can take us far and wide, or even just a few feet out of our chairs. Let's start today's pilgrimage in Salem, Oregon. Greg tells us, "I work in the health care field taking care of handicapped folks, and the guy that I take care of lives in an older home. I was on my way out into the garage and found this random set of holes drilled into the wood above the door casing so I thought ,"Hey, I actually get to contribute to the cause!"



Good eye for a starting point indoors. As we venture further out doors we find ourselves in Arkansas with our friend Shawn. He found this skull on a nice and dewy morning.



And finally, our pilgrimage this week concludes at what has to be the Kaaba of the skull hunters of the world. Loyal hunter Paul Dilena testifies for us, "On a road trip across the country, a friend and I stopped in Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the whole country. We explored lots of the park including an area know as the “Devil's Garden” which is known for its eerie formations and other worldly atmosphere. We took many pictures, and at the end our trip, we were beginning to catalogue and organize the pictures and were shocked to find an unexpected guest in one of the pictures from the Devil's Garden. A very large skull appeared in a rock formation next to me in one of the shots. I sent two version of the photo, one with a outline around the skull image and one without, but there really isn’t any need to point it out. It’s blatantly obvious and veeeerrrryyy creepy. This photo has not been manipulated or altered in anyway. I highly recommend visiting Arches National Park if you are ever in that part of the country and I hope you enjoy my photo".


We thoroughly enjoy seeing all of the skulls that are found amongst us everyday. Perhaps skull lovers everywhere will flock to Arches National Park now to pay homage to the ultimate simulacra monument.

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Skulls From A Land Down Under

Today's post is a special feature starring long time Skull-A-Day contributor, Kim from Australia. She has been contributing since year 1, and even had her hat and mittens shown in Noah's book "Skulls". While we may not have heard from Kim in a while, she hasn't stopped making skulls. So, without further ado, I bring you a few of the skulls from down under:

Applique Skull: Pink cotton drill machine sewn onto black poly-viscose. This is from a skirt I made quite a few years ago.


Felt Skull: White felt glued on black felt.


Porridge Skull: Maple syrup in porridge. I actually made this during the original project. I have no idea why I never sent it in, I think he's cute! He was tasty, too. Nom.


Samara Jumper: Noah's 8 bit skull makes yet another appearance in my knitting, this time for my friend's baby daughter, Samara. She's still too little for the garment, but I'll send action shots once it fits her.


Toy Skull: Looks familiar? My own take on Noah's toy skull from the original project. Same same, but different!

Okay, Kim, now that we know what you're capable of don't hold out on us for so long. We love seeing your stuff and I'm sure there are others out there, like you, who are waiting on submitting their skulls. Well, follow Kim's example and send them in . If you need an idea there is a contest this month so submit an entry and you might even win a prize. Kim, don't forget to pick up your Skull-A-Day Contributors' Union Card here. Keep up the great work!

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[BONUS] The System Skull

My friend Ross has a nifty webcomic called The System that's celebrating its one year anniversary this week. In honor of this momentous occasion, he made a special Skull-A-Day edition of his main character (which is the classic "man" from office/street signs)...



Thanks Ross! Be sure to check out his comic and wish him a happy anniversary.

Anyone other comic folks feel like giving us an x-ray view of your characters? Send em along!

[Flashback Friday] 134. Army Men Skull

Flashback Friday is a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.o. 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...

#47: 134. Army Men Skull

I specifically went to a dollar store in search of the classic army men that I played with as a kid to make this one. I was impressed to see that poses hadn't changed at all. When I originally posted this skull in October 2007, I mentioned that folks could support our troops by donating to the USO or sending a package via Any Soldier or Books for Soldiers. I wish I could say this is no longer necessary, but as my friends in Iraq can tell you, the need is still very much there, so please show them you care by supporting them in a real way.

[UPDATE] This skull has now been added to the Facebook Send-A-Skull application!

Skullmark

Bram Roza from Gouda - The Netherlands wrote: "I just bought your book[Skulls] at bol.com, (its a Dutch bookstore). As a thanks for the great fun I had looking through your book here is my contribution to Skull-A- Day."

As a bonus Bram even included a file of the "Skullmark" for all of you to make at home. You can download a .pdf of it here.

Biblio C says:

Thanks for the gift Bram. I am glad you were inspired by the Skullmaster's book. I am going to start making these to have on hand. I love how the head is peeking over the top of the page in the spirit of "Skullroy was here."

[BONUS] July Skull Calendar from Dan Springer

It's a week late, but a new desktop calendar from Dan Springer is worth the wait...
(be sure to click for the full-size image)


FYI Dan's in need of work, so do drop him a line if you like what you see.