My new book Unstuck is in stores today!

My new book Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio is officially in stores as of today!

It features 52 creativity boosting projects, that are arranged by time commitment from 30 seconds to several hours, and is designed to be used by anyone, regardless of age, profession, or level of skill. 

The book also features interviews with a dozen of my favorite inspiring people and how they deal with their own roadblocks to creativity.

In addition there are sidebars with even more projects to get your creative wheels turning.

And it includes plenty of blank space to use as you see fit!

I hope you'll pick up a copy today. As always I recommend supporting your local independent bookstore if you still have one, but if not you can also order online at Powells, Amazon.com, Qbookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Chapters/Indigo.

Cemented Nut Skull

There's a local artist named R. Hayes in the land of 10,000 lakes(Minnesota) who invested a fair amount of time and effort to prove how nuts he is about skulls.



If you're nuts about skulls, and I know you are, then you have to admit that this skull is worth it's weight in concrete. I'm sure it took a lot of time to create the smooth finish. The look is great, very machine like, yet very scuplted and natural. Not to mention it's probably pretty hefty as well. Thanks for the heavy metal(and concrete) submission!

Skull Case

Krista Moreno stenciled skulls onto her hair roller and make-up case.

I love seeing a customization of a case that many of us use to store our makeup and hair styling supplies. Stencils are nice for a repeating pattern. I like the simplified style of this skull design. I bet the contents make for a hair raising good time.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 5.24

This week's set of skull hunters were especially quick to catch these temporary skulls.

Jane Capellaro submits this monumental find. "This skull is an actual image that I shot when I was at the Colluseuum in Rome in 2009. It is simply the effect of the light and shadow. I do not know if anyone else ever saw this or if I am the first."



Katie Longworth captured this snowy skull at a car park in Warrington, Cheshire, United Kingdom.



And Kipp Sully of Holbrook, MA, "Saw this beauty on my grill cover when I took the dogs out this morning."



Once again we have an excellent assortment from some keen skull hunters. Help us keep this tradition alive by submitting your skull simulacra. You never know where they'll show up.

Skatin' Skull Lady

Norwegian graphic designer/visual artists Tone Emblemsvåg created this seductive skatin' skull lady as a skateboard deck design.



It would be an awful shame to grind on such a beautiful design, but a skaters gonna do what a skaters gonna do. Thanks for the great submission, Tone!

[Flashback Friday] 5.23- Remembrance Day

Welcome to another addition of Flashback Friday.** This year the guest editors, Tatman, Azurafae, and myself, Citizen Agent, are taking turns reflecting on 17 of our personal favorite skulls from the previous four years of postings. So please join us as we visit the archives and add our additional commentary on some of the original pieces.

In celebration to all those who fight, fought, or sacrificed for the causes they believed in.

“In Flander’s Field*” approx. 20" X 20" composed of 51 handmade cloth coquelicots

more from the branches of the US Military:

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”


From Khandahar, Afghanistan PFC Rupert Valero has sent us some outstanding action figures and other skulls with his email: "I started assemblage toys here while I am deployed in with the U.S. Army. I love skulls and incorporated some on some of my assemblage toys.”


From Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan SrA Sean Richardson wrote: “I'm an F-15 Avionics Technician; serving in the United States Air Force. I was strolling through the shop the other day and noticed this old piece of equipment, and decided it needed a skull on it.”


Representing the Navy, our very own Tatman from Michigan, who has proudly served his country in the past.


* Links In Flander’s Field , Remembrance Day *

**Flashback Friday was a weekly countdown of the fan selected top 52 skulls of Skull-A-Day 1.0. Each week during year 3.0 The Skullmaster posted the 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 3.0, all 52 can be found here. During year 4.0 the editors had their chance to countdown their favorites Azurafae HERE, Citizen Agent HERE, and Tatman HERE.

Digital Paint Skull

Jessica Brooks from Kaufman, TX told us: “I absolutely LOVE your site! Here's a drawing that I did in mspaint, with limited tools, but it actually came out in a way I wanted it to.”


Old School C says:

Oh the days of DOS it seems like such an eternity ago. Yes kids there was really a time before Adobe, Corel, or AudoCad became the standards by which we measured digital art with. You truly did an amazing job with the “limited tools” on this piece. Thank you for submitting your work for us to share.

Carra Rose - “The Beginning of the End”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Carra Rose - “The Beginning of the End” $270.00

Please visit the artist’s exhibit page for information on if this work is available for purchase.


The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Rag and Paper Skulls

Victoria Goulden made this "hand hooked Rag Rug work and mixed media/papier mache".

I love the look and feel of latch hook. This method that Victoria used works with long strips of fabric, vs the short sections of yarn that many of us are used to. This method also allows for a more freeform design, as you are hooking through fabric, not a grid canvas. I love the details that can be achieved with this style of latch hooking. These two skull pieces make me want to try this method my self. I'm sure my knuckles will prefer it over the canvas style.

I like the smooth features of this skull. Paper mache can be very rough and bumpy with the multiple layers. The sugar skull or Catrina decorations make for a perfect Dia de los Muertos mask. The beautiful designs would be a warm welcome to the awaiting spirits of the dead. Flowers are popular in the celebration. Marigolds are thought to be a pleasant smell to the spirits and guide them back to earth for the celebration. I can definitely see this mask being worn during the celebration and hanging in a house till the next year of festivities.

Alyssa Salomon- “All the Same under the Skin & After it All”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Alyssa Salomon- “All the Same under the Skin & After it All”

Alyssa Salomon- “All the Same under the Skin & After it All” $75.00

Alyssa C. Salomon is an compulsive, albeit late rising, bird watcher, a frequent kayaker, an obsessive bread baker, and under the alias "P Swann", the host of the satirical, weekly radio show, Can’t Stop the Music, on WRIR 97.3FM. She lives and works along the Chickahominy River in Providence Forge VA.

Please visit the artist’s exhibit page for information if this work is available for purchase.

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.

Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Edible Skulls

Today we have a collection of skulls that are so good you will just want to eat them up.

First up is Eric in Middletown, CA who made this skull pancake for his daughter Zoya.



Next Amy Jackson told us: “I was making a pizza and created this mushroom skull with a tomato beret... he was delicious!”



Last from Thessaloniki, Greece Alina Hoover shared: “I have followed your project for awhile, and I thought of you as I was drawing on some marrons @ work ;) ”


Growling C says:

Edible art is one of my favorite past times. I enjoy playing with my food as much as you all do it seems. Thank you for taking the time to capture these moments of creation before they disappeared forever to a better place.

Unstuck Book Signing: NYC

The first book signing event for my newest book Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio will be next week in NYC!

Friday, November 18th

6-8pm 

@ Kidrobot New York

118 Prince Street
SOHO, NYC
212.966.6688

Hope to see you there!

Joshua Poteat- “Landscape with skull and Mockingbird”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Joshua Poteat- “Landscape with skull and Mockingbird” $100.00

For information on purchasing this work please contact the exhibit curator at:

Originally from Hampstead, North Carolina, Joshua Poteat lives in Richmond, Virginia, with the writer Allison Titus and their two pugs. He works as an editor of assorted texts, including art history monographs, junk mail, and TV/radio scripts.

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.

Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Skulls in NYC

Krause Gallery in NYC will be exhibiting a selection of objects and images from my original Skull-A-Day project this month!

The show opens Thursday, November 17th with a reception from 6–9pm.
If you're in the area I hope you'll come by and say hi!

The show runs through mid-December so even if you can't make the opening there'll be plenty of time to see the work in person.

Krause Gallery
149 Orchard St.
Lower East Side, NYC
212-777-7799

Wed-Sun 12-6pm
Mon-Tue By Appointment

image: Nude Skull

Skull Lightyear

Brazilian designer, Eduardo Gomes, sent us this (un)animated bit about a slightly less lively character than the one you might have seen somewhere else.



I don't know how many kids out there will actually like this, but mine did(of course). Regardless, I'm still digging the idea of a skeleton spaceman roaming the galaxy searching for awesome skull artwork for us to display...for eternity, AND BEYOND! Sorry, I couldn't help that. Thanks for setting our eyes to stun, Eduardo!

Cat Skull

Savannah Grant of Northampton, MA made this cat skull in Photoshop CS5.

This reminds me of Egyptian depictions of the feline goddess Bastet, but in skeletal form. I imagine this is what she would look like if she was a real creature and buried in a tomb. What would scholars think to unearth a skeleton of her. I suspect the cats we are familiar with, would be looked at much differently.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 5.23

Months may pass and seasons may change but our skull hunters remain ever vigilant in their quests....

In Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Tone Cold caught this semi famous find. "Not sure if this has been brought up before or not, but the cloud in the opening credits of CSI Miami looks like a skull."



Craig F. Ellefson tells us that he, "Took this photo of my nieces and nephew playing with sparklers, up in the right hand section is a skull that I have circled. We noticed it right away on the camera, it's even more noticeable on the larger screen!"



And finally Julien hopes that we'll enjoy this.



Another wonderful round to celebrate on another Sunday. Be sure to submit your finds and we'll keep posting your trophies. Thanks, everyone!

"Death By Consumption" Skull

Philippe Debongnie is a Belgian illustrator and designer who should be striking a real chord with consumers everywhere with this collage about consumption.



"Less is more" is a statement that comes to mind when I think about this piece. This basic skull is left with nothing except for the material items that clutter it's mind ultimately leading to it's demise. If we put our thoughts on more personal desires then our lives will be enriched beyond our wildest dreams. Thanks for the reminder, Phillipe!

Inspired Skulls

To finish up a week full of festivities here are another pair of artists who have been inspired by the Day of the Dead genre.

First up is Jim Traub who sent us a picture of his paper mache painted skull.


Next is Serena who made these skulls out of clay. She said: “My friend, Gemma, is an art teacher and runs this as a project with her students. The pieces are inspired by Day of the Dead celebrations but seem to develop their own personalities during modelling and painting.”

She explained: “my first attempt ‘Tourettes”, to reflect the amount of foul language I used while making him.”

and “the other ‘Slim’ after the cool skinner in Of Mice and Men. He's a much more confident piece. I cut a clay tile and built him on top I think he looks all sexy in his jewel encrusted hat.”


2nd wind C says:

Thank you both for submitting these wonderful pieces of inspired artwork. We never tire of seeing all the many different mediums in which people are inspired to work with. Although winter doesn't officially start for another 7 weeks, I am sad to see the unofficial end to fall this week. Looking forward to seeing all the next round of seasonally inspired projects that our loyal readers have to offer.

Dana Beaufait - “Treasure of the Minds Eye”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Dana Beaufait - “Treasure of the Minds Eye”  $150.00

Please visit the artist’s exhibit page for information on if this work is available for purchase.


The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Momento Mori Skull

George Downes created this momento mori in an optical illusion style.

I've enjoyed optical illusions since I saw my first ones as a child. This one is particular interesting, because the blurred edge darkens as I tilt my computer screen up. This gives it a darker and more eerie quality. I could see this being a more eerie illusion when seen at different angles and under different lights. The blurring is great on this skull illusion, because the features darken and become more prominent with less light.

Mica Scalin- “Stones”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Mica Scalin- “Stones”

Mica Scalin- “Stones” $150.00

Editor note: As you may already know every artist who participated was given a paper mache skull as a base to create their work with. Ms. Scalin chose to deconstruct that skull down to its original elements and created these hand formed hearts with the mixture. I could not find any pictures that capture this, but each heart has a little skull on it and resembles the Skull Appreciation Day logo.

Please visit the artist’s exhibit page for information if this work is available for purchase.

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.

Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

Remembrance Skulls

Ben Galaviz of Texas shared with us the results of a yearly family tradition of making Sugar Skulls. You can find more pictures of the process of creating them HERE and HERE.


Ben also was kind enough to share with us a painting that was donated by Christa Vaznis for a raffle prize to support the The Zac Galaviz Scholarship Fund which was set up in memory of his brother Zac who passed away 3 years ago. Ben explained: “every year on his birthday, we have a benefit concert with a raffle of items that would represent the type of person he was.”

Moment of C says:

Thank you for sharing all those great pictures of your family tradition. It is wonderful that so many of your family are involved in the creation of these little works of art. Also thank you for sharing with us the information about your brother's annual benefit and highlighting the kindness of fellow skull artists who give when they are able to assist others.

Skull of The Year 2011 Nominations Open

Some of you might know that I won the coveted Skull of The Year trophy back in 2009 and then I helped judge the contest in 2010. Well it's back again and this year they're doing things a bit differently, rather than artists submitting their own work, they're asking people nominate others to be considered for the trophy. Since I've already won, I wanted to give someone else a chance to get one of these super awesome trophies and I thought you all might like to help...

Nominations can be for a person or institution who:

• has forwarded the connection between Art, Design, Science, Technology and the Skull.
• has used the Skull for their projects in a humorous way.
• has used the skull as an ambassador of the energized, creative start to something completely new.
• are nice people, and have finally deserved to be honored

The deed has not necessarily to be done in 2011.
Self-promotion is allowed, but will not be considered anyway.

Deadline for your proposals is December 31. 

And a jury will choose the winner from the suggestions.

Know someone who deserves a super awesome trophy for their skull work? Nominate them HERE.

And get more information & see previous winners at Designers Skulls.

Frank Kostek- “For the Love of Peace”

On June 4, 2011 Skull-A-Day celebrated Skull Appreciation Day with an exhibit of over 100 skulls at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the gallery while the show was up, we now proudly present: "Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition".

Frank Kostek- “For the Love of Peace” $300.00

For information on purchasing this work please contact the exhibit curator at:

The 2011 Skull Appreciation Day - The Exhibition was a collective art show celebrating the 5th anniversary of Skull-A-Day.com and its tremendous audience of artists and readers.

Throughout year 5.0 we will be featuring artwork from the show a few times a week. This is a chance to see all of the excellent skulls that were on display, and FOR SALE. Some of these pieces may still be available and this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original piece of skullriffic artwork. There are many well known artists who have contributed very reasonably priced works and many of them have donated their portion of the sale to benefit a great charity, the Richmond Peace Education Center.

Please take a moment to view all of the remarkable work that was created for the onset of this annual festivity. Your skull will appreciate you for showing it some love.

"The Girl With The Oddment Tattoo" Skull

When was the last time you said, "What a cute baby with all of those tattoos"? Heck when was the first time you ever said that? Leah Palmer Preiss is here to make you say that with her colored cupie doll titled "The Girl with the Oddment Tattoo". She tells us, "Here's my latest Oddment (No.55)-- acrylic on found doll, with pin & bead for belly button piercing, about 3 1/2" tall. It's the 4th piece in a sub-series called Her Odd Materials."



She apparently follows my motto for tattoo sizing, "Get it bigger!" This little inked up imp is just one of the delightfully different pieces at Leah's Oddments & Curiosities blog. Her whole site is full of the kind of uniqueness that our readers will love. Check it out and then GO GET A TATTOO! Maybe one with skull.