The Year of the Dragon 2012

Part of the series Divided Dragon. Demon Eyes 5"x7"

I have heard that the most popular tattoo worldwide is a traditional eastern style Chinese Dragon. Who knows if this is true. This tattoo is said to embody strength power and good luck. In China, the Dragon has been the the bringer of rain, hurricanes and floods as well as the national emblem of the emperor.  Some scholars believe that the Chinese dragon form originated from totems of different tribes in China. Huangdi, the first Emperor of China used a snake for his coat of arms. According to the myth, every time he conquered another tribe, he incorporated his defeated enemy’s emblem into his own, this may explain why the dragon appears to have features of various animals. Separating mythology from a China’s politics has been challenging in creating this series.

The series Divided Dragon is a tribute to the 9 animal resemblances of the dragon in Chinese mythology as documented by The Han Dynasty scholar Wang Fu :

“... as to the nine resemblances, they are the following: his horns resemble those of a stag, his head that of a camel, his eyes those of a demon, his neck that of a snake, his belly that of a clam, his scales those of a carp, his claws those of an eagle, his soles those of a tiger, his ears those of a cow. Upon his head he has a thing like a broad eminence (a big lump), called chimu. If a dragon has no chimu, he cannot ascend to the sky.” 

You can see the rest of the of this series here

On view at The Bennington Arts Guild 103 South Street, Bennington, VT. reception May 12, 5-8 pm

Ergot

Ergot. 8"x10" or classique on panel. My painting for the show Made in Medway

Made in Medway: Exploring Medway’s Past Through Contemporary Art
is in partnership with the Medway Historical Society and The Stone Mill Art Gallery, both located in Medway, Massachusetts.

Participating artists chose one of a select number of historic artifacts related to the historic industries and livelihoods of Medway, Massachusetts, to respond to through a contemporary artwork.  These contemporary works will be on display at The Stone Mill Gallery from April 7 through June 8, 2012, with an opening reception to be held on Saturday, April 7, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Upcoming:

  Programming related to the exhibit includes a gallery talk with exhibit curator Kate Laurel Burgess-Mac Intosh on Saturday, May 5, at 6:00 pm, and a discussion with staff from the Medway Historical Society on Saturday, June 2, at 6:00 pm, both at The Stone Mill Gallery.  

From the collection, straw braids and hats from the 1880s got me thinking about Ergot.  something not in the collection, but a curious fungus effecting wheat and related grasses. certainly something farmers then and now deal with. Ergotism proves to be more that a painful trippy ride.

 From Wikipedia: 

 "Ergotism is the name for sometimes severe pathological syndromes affecting humans or other animals that have ingested plant material containing ergot alkaloid, such as ergot-contaminated grains. The Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony (monks) specialized in treating ergotism victims with balms containing tranquilizing and circulation-stimulating plant extracts. The common name for ergotism is "St. Anthony's Fire", in reference to monks who cared for victims as well as symptoms, such as severe burning sensations in the limbs. These are caused by effects of ergot alkaloids on the vascular system due to vasoconstriction of blood vessels, sometimes leading to gangrene and loss of limbs due to severely restricted blood circulation.

The neurotropic activities of the ergot alkaloids may also cause hallucinations and attendant irrational behaviour, convulsions, and even death.

Happy Valentine

Backlight magic pick- up line card. 2012

That's right, you rock. xoxo

Valentine <3 of the past click here

Beard Show

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Emulsion & Aviary Present : BEARD SHOW

As Jesus and Santa battle it out for their annual beard monopoly, as the men occupying Wall Street let their facial hair grow long for warmth and political change, as we enter the cold dark tunnel of New England winter, artists from all over the country unite to bring you a show about... beards. Emulsion Apparel and the Aviary Gallery teamed up with artist Fionn McCabe to organize a showing of more than 25 artists.

Reception from 6pm to 9pm on December first at the Aviary Gallery in Jamaica Plain.

The show will be up from the 1st to the 29th.

http://www.emulsionapparel.com/ // http://aviarygallery.com/

FACEBOOK EVENT

______________________________

featuring..

• Brian Willmont - http://brianwillmont.com/
• Winnie Truong - http://www.winnietruong.com/
• Alex Demaria - http://alexanderdemaria.com/
• Todd Ryan White - http://www.toddryanwhite.com/
• Sri Whipple - http://www.flickr.com/photos/9358212@N04/
• Corey Corcoran - http://coreycorcoran.com/
• Rhonda Ratray - http://www.ratray.com
• Mary Toscano - http://www.hankiefrankie.com/Hf/Home.html
• Kevin Burney - http://www.behance.net/DrBurney
• Mark Schoening - http://markschoening.com/
• Joe Keinberger - http://www.giantangryrobot.com/joe/
• Matt Giuffre - http://www.matthewgiuffre.com/
• Tony Bevilacqua - http://tonybevilacqua.com/
• Chad Chesko - http://chadchesko.wordpress.com/
• Cody Hoyt - http://codyhoyt.com/
• Dave Ortega -http://vivaortegacy.com/
• Gina Tuzzi - http://ginatuzzi.com/
• Arthur Henderson - http://arthurhenderson.com/
• Brian butler - http://theupperhandart.com/
• Sean McCabe - http://mccabemccabe.blogspot.com/
• Massimo Mongiardo - http://mmongiardo.blogspot.com/
• Dave DiAngelis - http://www.diangelis.net/
• Mykim Dang - http://flavors.me/yourstokeep
• Kevin Spies - http://kevinspiesillustration.blogspot.com/
• Ashley K Perez

As well as a new, month-long-collaborative, limited T-Shirt by Fionn McCabe // http://fionnmccabe.com/

Beard Love

Yule Beard 2011

Beard Show

Opening reception DEC 1. 6-9pm at AVIARY

http://aviarygallery.com/

Curated by Fionn McCabe http://fionnmccabe.com/ and the guys from

Emulsion Apparel http://www.emulsionapparel.com/

Revenge of the Freaky Fridays

Revenge of the Freaky Friday Nights! FOUR DAYS ONLY! October 28-31

Halloween and SPOOOOOKY ART on view at the :

Fourth Wall Project 132 Brookline Avenue Boston, MA

	SPACE 242, Boston's LowBrow Destination Proudly Presents: REVENGE OF...FREEKY FRIGHT NIGHTS! Annual Halloween Horror Ho-Down FOUR DAYS ONLY! October 28-31

Opening Reception Friday, October 28 7-9pm

Costume Ball/Contest Saturday, October 29, 7-9pm

Gallery Hours: 1-7 Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday

SPACE 242 at Fourth Wall Project 132 Brookline Avenue, Fenway, Boston [space242.com] [fourthwallproject.com]

A Collection of Bostonia Collectives

“A Collection of Bostonia Collectives” curated by Fish McGill

Those who believe artists can thrive toiling alone in their studio are
living a lie. Today’s success stories feature artists from many mediums
coming together to create projects impossible to conceive on their own.
These collections of collectives around the world team up and tackle large
scale public works of art, museum exhibitions, murals and much more.

Contemporary artists ranging from Friends With You to Jeff Koons to The Yarn
Bombers to Banksy and beyond all work in concert with their teams of
specialists to realize amazing projects. Nobody is going at it alone anymore
especially in the Hub of the Universe, the city with the Dirty Water, The
Capitol of the Commonwealth, the fair city of Boston Massachusetts.

Boston is the proud home of a collection of collectives creating an exciting
body of work. Each of these crews hop over the traditional paths of gallery
representation and getting work into museum collections in favor of silk
screened prints and shirts, live mural painting in new arenas for art, salon
style shows in restaurants and bars, knitting up and down sign posts,
creating superhero personas to live out through their art and much more.

You are invited to see this array of talent for the first time collected in
one spot specifically featuring collaboration amongst artists. See the ins
and outs of how they work together on projects. Enjoy their personal
drawings, paintings, photos and more. Get insight into the inspiring process
of working with a crew of fellow artists. Start a team of your own.

****
Featuring work from:

Project SF
Anti Designs
The Miracle 5
Rifrakt Collective
Boston Artists Blog
Dispatch Work Boston Chapter
Paint Pens in Purses
Just Kidding
The Little House Studios
Dance Party Massacre
Ice Cream People
CloudKid Studios
FableVision
Beat Research
!ND!V!DUALS

DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW!

So may people working together and so much GOOD WORK!

a costume closing reception!!

Friday, October 28 · 7:00pm - 11:00pm

Lincoln Arts Project, 289 Moody Street, Waltham, MA

hours: October 5- 29, Wed-Fri 4-10pm, Sat 2-8pm