The Mariachi, The Girlfriend, and Her Cat Skulls

Laura Bartholomew of Raritan, NJ made this cute couple of wood burned Mexican style skeletons "El Esqueleto del Mariachi" and "Katrina con su gato"! ...

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Shawn S. who is the official winner of the Skullvenger Hunt and will be getting a skull lamp in the mail soon! Four additional randomly chosen folks will be getting signed bookplates as well. Winners will be notified by e-mail so keep an eye on your inbox.

And in case you're wondering here are the correct answers:

1. "Oh, my god, Becky, look at her skull." = #3 Sir-Skull-A-Day
2. Your psychiatrist may help you find this one. = 24. (A Sense of) Closure Skull
3. Your spork is afraid of this guy. = 25. Introducing The Skoon (skull + spoon)
4. This was cut, not burned, like it usually is. = 36. CD-R Skull
5. This must represent an evil idea. = 45. Skull Bulb
6. A doctor's recommendation for your daily skull fix. = 64. Take Two Skulls...
7. "Hello, front desk? I think my room here in Winston-Salem is haunted!" = 77. Skull Sheet
8. This is the center window piece in the Skull-A-Day cathedral. = 126. Stained Glass Skull
9. This one had plenty of cushion for his brain during shipping. = 133. Bubble Wrap Skull
10. We expected a new skull everyday from Noah, but this was the only one that was expecting. = 146. Baby Belly Skull(y)
11. Holy Guacomole! This skull is ripe! = 179. Avocado Skull
12. Take "note", Noah didn't draw this one, he erased it. = 188. (Back To) Skull Notebook
13. Your dentist's worst nightmare. = 197. Tooth Skull A.K.A. Cavity Creep
14. This skull makes the most cents. = 200. Two Dollar Skull
15. Don't ask this skull any questions. It won't be able to tell you. = 207. Stump(ed) Skull
16. From Florida to Idaho, the "views" of this skull are masterful. = 219. Skull-Master
17. "I don't know, Doc, personally all I see are skulls." = 222. Rorshach Skull
18. The ingredients caused this skull to rise to life. = 241. Skull Bread A.K.A. Night of The Living Bread
19. This skull could pass through the eye of a needle easier than a camel anytime. = 260. Thread(ed) Skull
20. All the links forged in life are used to make this skull. = 267. Skull Chain (Gang)
21. Noah took his time to put some loyal readers on the map. = 268. Skull Island
22. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? = 302. (Who Watches The) Watch Skull (?)
23. See inside the mind of the Skull-A-Day creator. = 329. Skull-Ray
24. Circles of light, shaded right, captured out of focus. = 346. Bokeh Skull
25. You get a "raw" deal if you order this skull to GoGo. = 352. Skull Roll

Thanks again to everyone who sent in answers and to Justin AKA Tatman for writing all of the clues and donating the lamp as the prize! Stay tuned for more contests and giveaways soon!

Big Blue Skull Truck

John Kinnee says about this ultimate skull-lover vehicle, "I’m an artist living and working in the armpit of the universe, Toledo, Ohio. One of the few things that keeps me sane is working on my 'art truck'. I started 2 years ago with just some stencil work and then things got out of hand...By the way, Her name is Big Blue Skulltruck."...

Sunday Simulacra - Round 36

Aimee in Asheville, North Carolina found this scary looking cookie...


Dominik N. in Germany discovered this skull-y tree...


And Enrico in São Paulo, Brazil says he, "found this in the sky of where I work... I was taking a snack break, by the end of the afternoon, when I saw that through the window's glass, and just took the picture using my cellphone."...

Scratchboard Skull

Denise Dion-Scoyni in Kaua'i, Hawaii made this fine clayboard scratch art skull...

Laughing Skulls

Sandra Hong in San Francisco, California shared this intense illustration...

Monoprint Skulls

Lyndsay Ross at Syracuse University made these two lovely mono-prints while studying abroad in Florence, Italy! She says they were inspired by my Cocoa Skull stencil!

[BONUS] Two-Part Skull Stencil in Use

Trouble Farren did a fine job using my Two-Part Skull Stencil to decorate a couple of iPods and even provided images of the process...

Skullistrations: Scare Jordan & Skull Kid

Reza made this set of fun illustrations...

"Scare Jordan"



and "Skull Kid"

Embroidery Skulls

Doro Brode&Roll a Belgian textile artist specializing in "numerical embroidery" made these fantastic pieces...

[CONTEST] Skullvenger Hunt Extended!

You've got one more week to try your hand at the Skullvenger Hunt! The deadline is now midnight ET, Sunday, May 17th, so don't delay! [UPDATE: The contest is over, congratulations to Shawn who will soon be the proud owner of the Skull Lamp!] Details are as follows...

The Rules: The clues below reference 25 of my original skulls. You have one week to e-mail your answers at the new submissions address and then one person will be selected at random from all of the correct entries (or from those with the most correct answers if no one gets them all) and win an amazing skull lamp donated from Tatman himself (and yes he will mail it to folks in foreign countries as well)! I'll even give a signed book plate to the 4 additionally randomly selected correct submissions. The clues can refer to the materials or the titles and can be pretty tricky, so read them very carefully (one extra hint, the answers are in order from older to newer). Remember, DON'T leave your answers below for others to see, instead e-mail them to us!

The clues:

1. "Oh, my god, Becky, look at her skull."
2. Your psychiatrist may help you find this one.
3. Your spork is afraid of this guy.
4. This was cut, not burned, like it usually is .
5. This must represent an evil idea.
6. A doctor's recommendation for your daily skull fix.
7. "Hello, front desk? I think my room here in Winston-Salem is haunted!"
8. This is the center window piece in the Skull-A-Day cathedral.
9. This one had plenty of cushion for his brain during shipping.
10. We expected a new skull everyday from Noah, but this was the only one that was expecting.
11. Holy Guacomole! This skull is ripe!
12. Take "note", Noah didn't draw this one, he erased it.
13. Your dentist's worst nightmare.
14. This skull makes the most cents.
15. Don't ask this skull any questions. It won't be able to tell you.
16. From Florida to Idaho, the "views" of this skull are masterful.
17. "I don't know, Doc, personally all I see are skulls."
18. The ingredients caused this skull to rise to life.
19. This skull could pass through the eye of a needle easier than a camel anytime.
20. All the links forged in life are used to make this skull.
21. Noah took his time to put some loyal readers on the map.
22. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
23. See inside the mind of the Skull-A-Day creator.
24. Circles of light, shaded right, captured out of focus.
25. You get a "raw" deal if you order this skull to GoGo.

About the Prize: Justin says, "It's a ceramic type of material. I am pretty sure it's handmade. On the bottom it says 'To Jim 1980' and 'Mom & Dad'. It measures 5 1/2" wide, 8 1/2" tall, and 8 1/2" deep


Good luck!

Brain-riding Skull

Bob Congee of Plaseebo shared this nifty sketch for what may be an upcoming piece!

Sunday Simulacra - Round 35

Aimee Wise in Asheville, NC had a terrific skull simulacra finding streak:

A tomato from her plate of food that she ordered when she had finished climbing the mountain in Tepoztlan, Mexico...


Her friend Kortney's mother's wedding ring, with little skull-like faces in the sides. She says, "This ring is over a hundred years old, it was bought as an antique. The skulls are coincidence? Till death do us part?"...



And the middle step in the shorter stairway that leads up to her house....

Skull Quartet

Liam Preston made this lovely piece with 4 different skulls scenes all in guache on clayboard...

detail:

[BONUS] Skullphabet in Use

Posterchild a street artist in Toronto, Ontario, Canada found a fine use for my Skullphabet 2 (which is a free download HERE)! *Remember kids, graffiti is illegal, so don't tell anyone that you decided to do it because you heard about it here!

Concrete Skull

Steven Murray a sculpture major at Indiana University South Bend carved this excellent skull out of aerated concrete (1' x 1' x 1')...

Tribal Skull Dolls

Two gorgeous art dolls by Shain Erin in California...

[Save The Date] After Life: A Skull Exhibition July 3 - Aug 22

I'm having an art show of many of the original 365.25 skulls, plus several new works this summer in Richmond, VA! This is the first time that any of the original pieces will be for sale so if you've been craving to own a piece of Skull-A-Day this will be your chance. Details are as follows:

AFTER LIFE: A Skull Exhibition
July 3 - August 22

Quirk Gallery
311 West Broad St
Richmond VA 23220
804.644.5450

There will be several events associated with the exhibition, including a book signing and tea party for the closing. Contact the Gallery for more information and details will be posted here when it gets closer.

P.S. If you are a gallery owner and interested in bringing this show to your town please get in touch, I'd love to have it travel.

Image shown: #316 Black Velvet Skull

Skull Fanatic: Jeff B.

Jeff B. from Palm Harbor, FL is the latest addition to the Skull Fanatics series. He says,

"I've been collecting skull/skeleton knick-knacks for about 20 years. The thing I like about my collection is looking at individual pieces, & remembering where & when I got them. The origins are as diverse as a gift shop in Provincetown, Mass, the Hand Made store in Hoboken, NJ, and a sidewalk vendor in Cancun, Mexico. I got the Pez dispenser on eBay, for a dollar!"

Two views of one shelf in Jeff's house...






Are you a certified/certifiable Skull Fanatic? If so, send an image or two 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!

Inky's Skull

A great update of the classic Pac-Man characters by TS Rogers...

Leatherwork Skulls

Two more great custom leather pieces from Allen! You can see more of his work for sale on Etsy.

Skull-A-Day 3.0 Contest & Nomination

NOMINATE YOUR FAVORITE SKULLS
As part of the transition to Skull-A-Day 3.0 Tatman, Citizen Agent and myself would like to find out which of the original 365.25 skulls are your favorites. Starting today we're taking nominations for the contenders. Comment below with your top 3 favorites and in a week we'll compile them into the top 52 list for the Skull-A-Day community to vote on. These skulls will then be showcased through year three and even be added to the Facebook Send-A-Skull application!

CONTEST
And since we're asking you to go back through all of the original skulls to pick out your favorites we couldn't resist offering you a little bonus. Tatman has come up with a list of Skullvenger Hunt Clues that reference 25 of my skulls. You have one week until midnight ET Sunday, May 17th to e-mail your answers at the new submissions address and then one person will be selected at random from all of the correct entries and win an amazing skull lamp donated from Tatman himself! I'll even give a signed book plate to the 4 additionally randomly selected correct submissions. The clues can refer to the materials or the titles and can be pretty tricky, so read them very carefully (one extra hint, the answers will be in order from older to newer). To be clear you have to have ALL 25 correct to be entered to win the prize. Remember, DON'T leave your answers below for others to see, instead e-mail them to us!

About the Prize: Justin says, "It's a ceramic type of material. I am pretty sure it's handmade. On the bottom it says 'To Jim 1980' and 'Mom & Dad'. It measures 5 1/2" wide, 8 1/2" tall, and 8 1/2" deep


The clues:

1. "Oh, my god, Becky, look at her skull."
2. Your psychiatrist may help you find this one.
3. Your spork is afraid of this guy.
4. This was cut, not burned, like it usually is .
5. This must represent an evil idea.
6. A doctor's recommendation for your daily skull fix.
7. "Hello, front desk? I think my room here in Winston-Salem is haunted!"
8. This is the center window piece in the Skull-A-Day cathedral.
9. This one had plenty of cushion for his brain during shipping.
10. We expected a new skull everyday from Noah, but this was the only one that was expecting.
11. Holy Guacomole! This skull is ripe!
12. Take "note", Noah didn't draw this one, he erased it.
13. Your dentist's worst nightmare.
14. This skull makes the most cents.
15. Don't ask this skull any questions. It won't be able to tell you.
16. From Florida to Idaho, the "views" of this skull are masterful.
17. "I don't know, Doc, personally all I see are skulls."
18. The ingredients caused this skull to rise to life.
19. This skull could pass through the eye of a needle easier than a camel anytime.
20. All the links forged in life are used to make this skull.
21. Noah took his time to put some loyal readers on the map.
22. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
23. See inside the mind of the Skull-A-Day creator.
24. Circles of light, shaded right, captured out of focus.
25. You get a "raw" deal if you order this skull to GoGo.

SO TO REVIEW: leave a comment below with your top 3 favorites original skulls AND e-mail your Skullvenger Hunt answers to us.

Good luck!

Plastic Aztecs Skulls

Plastic Aztecs made this terrific art installation with hand-decorated cast resin lifesize skulls...

Sunday Sabbatical

Just had to share a few skull-related travel photos that were recently sent in...

Nathalie Boisard-Beudin from Rome, Italy spotted these lovely angels at the local Church of Sant'Agostino...


and my friend Annie says, "My best friend is a doctoral student at Ohio State and she spent her summer in Poland studying at the Department of Anthropology (Nicholas Copernicus University). Attached is a picture of the office entryway where she worked..."

Polished Skull

El pantro in Cancun, Mexico made this fellow with spray paint and white shoe polish!

Skull-A-Day Press: Blogger Blog of Note

Thanks to Blogger for making Skull-A-Day their Blog of Note for today!

And welcome to all the new readers who found out about the site through Blogger! I hope you'll dig through the site and see all the great things people have submitted over the past year as well as check out my own 365.25 skulls that started this project. And of course I hope you'll take the time to make/share a skull of your own! Thanks for reading!

Stenciled Skull Cakes

Lina in Sweden made these two delicious looking birthday cakes...