February 27, 2012
February 26, 2012
February 22, 2012
February 14, 2012
October 31, 2011
October 11, 2011
July 10, 2011
July 5, 2011
On-X: A Horse of a Different Genetic Makeup
In this case felt. And ecofil fibre stuffing.
Handsewn by Sunflower Skins using felt, embroidery floss, and ecofil
As a lifelong fan of Rainbow Brite, I recognize the show’s inherent lameness; in particular, stemming from its only remotely cool good-guy, a motherfucking robotic flying horse whose downfall is the complete lifelessness of, well, a robot. Unfortunately On-X only manages to sound the obvious alerts—“Danger! Danger!”—and pull off the occasional amazing feat (see his delivery of the colour belt in “Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer” [1985])—it’s a shame, really.
So I decided to make an awesome On-X plushie, partly to give the character some likeability amongst my peers (the Sunflower Skins/Sweater Eyes crew usually has hearty, sarcastic laugh at my mostly good-natured Rainbow Brite ramblings, agreeing, at least, that On-X would be pretty perfect if he weren’t a bit of an idiot; Starlight would still barely be tolerable even if he weren’t such an obnoxious asshole). Mostly, though, I made him just for myself, to add to my Rainbow Brite collection. Somewhere in the rafters of my mother’s house is a bag full of Colour Kid dolls and Murky and Lurky plushies, a child-size costume complete with wig and boot-covers, a sleeping bag, and a bicycle; in the kitchen you can still use Rainbow Brite plastic cups and placemats, and if you look though the old records, you’ll find some coloured vinyl and a Christmas album that continues to bring joy to my family each season (“The best thing about Christmas is it’s only once a year!”). In spite of all the Rainbow Brite paraphernalia I grew up with, I never had an On-X anything. At 24 years old, finally fully graduated and needing to do something for myself, it seems about time.
I fuzzed his tail-jet in hopes that it would look like it’s glowing; it does. I also love that his head is angled a little to the left, as though he’s in perpetual zooming-mode—veeeeer this way! Danger—Danger!
May 3, 2011
Shock Stock 2011
This past weekend Vagrancy Films and Grimbrothers Entertainment hosted Shock Stock, a celebration of horror and exploitation subculture. Guests included Dyanne Thorne and Howard Mauer; Betsy Baker, Ellen Sandweiss, Theresa Tilly, and Hal Delrich from The Evil Dead; Linnea Quigley; Thor; Molly Dunsworth and Nick Bateman from Hobo With a Shotgun; and Robert Skipper, as well as a variety of vendors: Troma, Twisted T’s, The Butcher Shop, AAH! Altered Arte & Handicrafts, City Lights Bookshop, Suspect Video, and many more.
Sunflower Skins and Sweater Eyes made their collaborative public debut with great success, sending off Catopuses and Bulimic Belugas into the world and being, without a doubt, the most adorable table at the convention.
Thanks to James Bialkowski, Jake Grimbrother, Dr. Duke, and Sonny Baker for a fantastic time; special thanks to Scotty for buying the very first comic book; and extraordinary love to my cohorts and family for pulling it off. This is only the beginning.
April 10, 2011
Final & Future Days
Final Days of university. Five years later.
Have we been celebrating? Yes, we have.
And what have we been making?
Sunflower Skins at Shock Stock, London Ontario, April 29 – May 1, 2011.
Visit here for expo information; visit here for Sweater Eyes, who will be sharing our table; and visit here for the FaceBook event page.
February 12, 2011
February 5, 2011
Blub Blub
Sunflower Skins presents Feed the Whales plushies!
Blub Blub! A cute bowlful of whales! Each has FTW embroidered on their side, and they need your love. Photograph by Katie Vanderhaeghe.
Feed the Whales = FTW! Photograph by Britani.
