Spilled Blood Skull

Brent Kallenbach from Peculiar, MO drew this image titled "Spilled Blood".

With death, there is life. It's a cycle that is ever fruitful. I like seeing the mix of dead things with the live things. The skull and the tree stump, with the flowers and snails is a great way to show this cycle of life. It's a beautifully drawn piece. Thanks for sharing it Brent!

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.33

Today's skulls were found on food.

Felipe Raveau from Chile, found this skull on the top of Great Value Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream.

Samantha Ellis Dietz from Atlanta, GA found this skull on the bottom of an eggplant patty pan.

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.

Custom "Upcycled" Skulls

Sonja Richey is a custom skull maker for all occasions. Her passion is creating unique pieces of art, custom personalized signs, and useful decor from reclaimed unwanted items.

Truly upcycled materials create some of the best works. The melding of the individual pieces come together to become a new entity of art. Sonja has a lot of other skulls, and other stuff, for sale over at her etsy shop. Thanks for the sweet submissions, Sonja!

Skull Assemblages

California based assemblage artist Dan Levin shared with us a pair of his "Objects of Curiosity" that he created using found animal skulls.

"FLYING FOX"  2012
14h"h x 13"w x 3"d  gray fox skull with misc. objects

"SENTIENT BEING"  2012
23.5"h x 14"w x 6"d  misc. bones

Collected C says:

I am just blown away by the body of your work.  It truly is amazing how you are able to find the most interesting items and assemble them into art that is rather thought provoking in their silent commentary on the world.  Thank you for sharing your work with us.

Be sure to check out more of Dan's non-skull work at the link at the top.

New Skull-A-Day shirts...

I've added several new Skull-A-Day products to my Society6 store including a couple of fun T-shirts (which are available in a variety of colors)...

Googly Skull Shirt

Creepy Crawly Skull Shirt

Visit the store HERE.

[BONUS] In-Use Skull Desktop Wallpaper - Google Chrome Theme

Ian Anderson used our Skull Desktop Wallpaper from #32. Interlocking Skull, to make a Google Chrome Theme in our honor. The theme can be found here, where you can install it if you use Google Chrome.

As a user of Google Chrome, I love seeing this as a theme. I hope some of you find this one handy, or learn how to make your own.

We love seeing how you all use the Free Stuff that is available on Skull-A-Day. There is always a great variety of ways to use the different skulls we offer. If you have made something using any of the Free Stuff skulls, please submit it to us.

Lovely Bones

Malcolm Fisher from Sheffield, England, created this illustration "Lovely Bones" with the words "I Will Follow You Into the Dark".

If you are familiar with the band Death Cab for Cutie, then you will recognize the phrase as the name of a song of theirs. It's actually one of my favorites about love and death. There are stories of couples that die short of each other. It's said the last one to die had a broken heart. While some my die of a broken heart, there are many that live on even if their heart is broken. If you believe in the afterlife, your mate, family, and friends will be there to great you when ever your time is up.

Broken Skull

Eric Dinse from Naperville, IL told us about his drawing.  He said: "I have enjoyed the many drawings and artwork seen on your site, so I would like to submit one of my own.  I am an artist who works with colored pencils and markers"

Fixed C says:

I am a huge fan of creating art on black paper.  There is just something out of the ordinary about it that allows you to push the boundaries of what you can achieve.  Thank you for sending in your work and allowing us to share it.

[BONUS] Body by Asa Nonami

I'm delighted to share that my Ornamental Skull is on the cover of the new collection of horror stories Bødy by Japanese writer Asa Nonami...

Thanks to art director Peter Mendelsund for selecting my art for the cover. You can get you own copy HERE.

[BONUS] Skull Scavenger Hunt

Carolyn Louth recently shared with me her experience of going on a skull scavenger hunt in San Diego this past Halloween and it sounded like a lot of fun! Here are a few of her finds:

See all of the pictures from her experience HERE.

Need a fun challenge for the New Year? How about going on your own Skull Scavenger Hunt! How many skulls can you find where you are in one day? If you give it a try, post the pictures online and send us the details! 

Dia de Los Muertos Glass Pendants

Holly Schineller has been making these glass pendant skulls since 2009. Each one is different and there are nearly 100 out there.

I like the quirky faces that each skull possesses, but the best part is that each one is different. Unique with it's own personality, shared with only the person who wears it. Thanks for the great submission, Holly!

[CONTEST] Win a Copy of the "I See Skulls" Book

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. Thanks for participating!

Do you see skulls everywhere you go? If so, you're not crazy. You're one of many amazing skull fans. You've probably even photographed your found skull or simulacra skull and submitted it to us. A couple years ago, the four of us started compiling a few of our favorites into a book based on simulacra submissions we had received up till that point. We've received a hundred more since then, because you all are amazing dedicated fans. After much hard work, we present to you the "I See Skulls" book. It is available as a printed book and an Ebook. To show how much we love our fans, we're giving away one printed copy to one fan!

Here is a preview of a few pages from the book. If you've been following our blog for a long time, you might recognize a few of them. Information about who photographed each simulacra skull can be found in the back of the book.

Cat in a Skull Box and a Skull of Windows.

Muffin Wrapper and Coffee Grounds

Chicken Neck Bone and Sand

Orchid and Ice Cream

PRIZE INFO: One copy of the "I See Skulls" book

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment below telling us what's your favorite place to look for simulacra skulls. For example, I love looking at my food and nature for them, because it's where I've found them most often.

CONTACT INFO: If you win, we need to contact you. With your comment, please INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!!! Entries are only valid with this information.

WHERE TO ENTER: All entries must be made on this blog post, on Skull-A-Day.com. You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

CONTEST CLOSES: 11:59:59 PM Eastern USA Time Friday, January 11, 2012.

NUMBER OF WINNERS: One

PRIZE SHIPS: This contest is open to all skull lovers around the world.

IF YOU DON'T WIN: Don't fret, our book is available as an Ebook and a Printed book. You can preview more images from the book before purchasing it.

Two Skull Tattoos

Kastro Sama in Waterford, Ireland did these skull tattoos.

We here are Skull-A-Day are partial to tattoos. Especially skull tattoos. At least 3 of us have 1 or more skulls tattooed on us...which is true dedication to skull love. Though both of these tattoos have skulls, the subject matter is very different. One is a colorful sprinkle cupcake with a skull cherry top. The other is a raven sitting on skull with spilled red ink, which is a tribute to author Edgar Allan Poe. Though very different, they are very beautiful and each have a special meaning to the wearer.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.32

Today's skulls were found on vegatables.

Samantha Griff of Kirtland, Ohio, found this skull on a pepper from her garden.

Thea Brown of Richmond, VA found this skull in her salad.

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.

Mythical Glass Skulls

Percy Echols is a glass sculptor working from Illinois State University.  I feel his description of his work does a waaaay better job than I could....

"Using fictional narrative, I create a mythology in which I deal with human perception and belief. The narrative itself focuses on the presence of corruption in the world. I use corruption analogously with change, influenced by talks by Jan Verwoert on corruption, care, and magic. As a medium, glass is chosen for its translucent properties that lend to the mystical. Through the narrative I draw inspiration from many religious and cultural mythologies, as well as my personal experiences. In rendering this process I use deconstruction and reconstruction of nature to render abstract creatures. These creatures together with other sculptural elements will tell a piece of the narrative."

Title: Solntsedar I: Character Attribute Study
Materials: Blown, Cast, Flamworked Glass, paint, and colored water

Detail view

Title: Syblline Abyss: Ravine
Materials: rolled steel, blown and cast glass, LEDs, arduino hardware

Glass sculpting is still one of my personally favorite art forms. These pieces are works of imagination brought to life by Percy. The mental becoming the physical by way of molten creationism and hand manipulated tools. Thanks for the great work, Percy!

Button Skull

Karl Bentley showed off this button skull.  He said: "Love the site, love skulls"

Sewing C says:

Buttons are such a wonderful medium to work with, their diverse type, texture, color and shape make the possibilities endless on what can done with them. For example, the jagged edge of your skull magically turns into an illusion of a much smoother looking edge.  Thank you for sharing your work with us, and for more button skull inspiration, be sure to check out The Skullmaster's 288th skull from the original project.

[BONUS] Skull Stencils In Use

Over the past few months, lots of you all have been submitting In Use photos of Noah's stencils. Here is a round up of those submission.

Antti Siitari from Finland, used the #9 Skull Stencil on the amp for an electric guitar.

 Marty Busch also used the #9 Skull Stencil. He explained, "I've used the skull stencil on a lot of stuff, really killer stencil! But last month (June 2012) I used it among other stuff on the doors of my '49 Ford F-1 pickup. Built it from scratch... Used the skull, with the lettering on one, used same but different stencil for star - it's all spray paint. Took about 3 hours with an xacto knife to cut both out, but check it out! Turned out good."

Russell Jones used the #9 Skull Stencil on a t-shirt. He "took a short class in screen printing and here is a couple of photos of one of the t-shirts I made.  Kind of prototype at the moment but I think they came out ok."

Avery Dennis used multiple stencils to decorate a skateboard (skullboard?). He used the #9 Skull Stencil, #232 Stylized Stencil Skull, and #38. Quoth the Skull cut out.

Jessica Boudreaux used the #232 Stylized Stencil Skull to adorn a t-shirt.

Stacy Asher, Wisconsin said, "I loved the 'I Heart Skulls' stencil (Skull Appreciation Day Stencil) that you put out over the summer. I had been looking for the perfect place to put it when I realized that I could combine my 2 favorite things. Making quilts and collecting skulls. So this was my result."

We love seeing how you all use the Free Stuff that is available on Skull-A-Day. As you can see, there is always a great variety of ways to use the different skulls we offer. If you have made something using any of the Free Stuff skulls, please submit it to us! 

Double Faced Girl

Simone Ewenz aka Haascore created this girl with a half skull and half fleshy head.

Of course, we all have skulls and skeletons below our fleshy exterior. However, this speaks to the duality of life and death. We could ponder what the point of our lives are, when death is inevitable and our ends are unknown. Instead of going down a philosophical path, do what you can in your life to make yourself happy. When you're happy, your perspective is brighter and you cast positivity on others. Live a way that makes you happy, and you will truly live. Life is too short not to.

Squared Skulls in Sandusky

I will be visiting Sandusky, Ohio this weekend to talk about my work as part of the Squared exhibition at the Sandusky Cultural Center. 25 of my original 100 Painted Skulls will be on display as well! If you're in the area I hope you'll come by and say hi.

Squared Opening

Sunday, January 6

1-4pm

Sandusky Cultural Center

Find out more about the exhibition HERE.

Leaf Skulls

Happy 2013 Everybody!  Hopefully 13 will be lucky for all of us. 

As the cold-wet winter begins to set in I am longing for the golden warmth of a nice fall day, and what better way to capture the mood then with a pair of fallen leaf skull.  Oddly to note is that both our leaf artists are previous simulacra submitters HERE and HERE.

First up is Hope Au from East Sacramento, California, who made this skull one day waiting for her train.

Next we have Daniel Muñoz from Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, Colombia who cleaned up these leaves into art.

Dropping C says:

Thank you both for sharing your original creations with us.  We always appreciate seeing the inspiration that comes about after visiting the site or finding a simulacra in the wild.