Extreme Craft

A Tale of Two Books: Book 2

Matthew 5:30
'And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.'

Flaming Fire is an amazing New York band who are equal parts B-52s and the Manson Family. Their toga-ed brand of avant doom pop is only part of the story... Several years ago, they started the Flaming Fire Illustrated Bible, a database containing the entire Bible, verse by verse, and chapter by chapter. You can select a favorite verse, illustrate it, and upload your illustration to the site. So far, they have 2,521 illustrations, and only 34,144 to go. Such luminaries as Dame Darcy, Tony Millionare, and...um...me have contributed to the project. If Flaming Fire are coming to your town, they usually set up an illustration party before the show. I just checked, and the Deuteronomy bible verse about crushed testicles mentioned below is still available.

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A Tale of Two Books: Book I

Deuteronomy 23:1
'A man whose testicles have been crushed...'

Today, I'm going to tell you a story of two books. Yesterday, I got Rolling Stone's annual "Hot" issue...generally an excuse to show some almost naked, spread-out actresses from second-tier WB teen dramas. This year's "Hot Blasphemy" category went to Brandon Powell Smith, who has been illustrating the entire bible, one book at a time, since 2001. Like Amy Hughes (who built the lego church featured in XC last month), Brandon has a thing for legos. He's not afraid to get a bit more "old testament" as they say--he doesn't shy away from the juicy portions of the bible. The Brick Testament is filled with murder, rape, bestiality, drunkenness, and deception (not to mention pillars of salt). Smith already has three books under his belt, which you can buy HERE. It's not your Granny's bible! (Actually, it is, but Granny won't admit to dwelling on the naughty bits)

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Lasting Impressions

I've been meaning to do a post on this for a while. Plaster is a magnificent thing. Perhaps you think that the apex of plaster casting was your kindergarten handprint in a pie plate, or perhaps you've followed the exploits of Cynthia Plaster Caster (come to think of it...that just might be the apex of plaster casting). Many of you probably know about the practice of "life casting", whereby actors have their faces cast in plaster so that makeup artists can develop prostehetics. My friend Nick owns a huge collection of masks, and there's something amazing about being nose to nose with Barbara Streisand, or staring down the pores of Ed Wood star Tor Johnson (pictured above). Lifemask afficianados buy, sell, and trade the things with great gusto, and you'd be surprised what you can find on eBay. Deathmasks are also widely traded--you can get Thomas Edison, John Dillinger, or a host of other gruesome souvenirs. If anybody knows where I can get my hands on a Buddy Hackett lifemask, pleeeeeeeease let me know.

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Extreme Loafing

Oh the sweet sweet editors at Creative Loafing, Atlanta's best weekly paper. They've been ardent supporters of Extreme Craft since the get-go. Yesterday, I ran into my friend Spencer, who runs the bafflingly bitchy (and brilliant) weblog www.goldenfiddle.com. Spencer garnered the Reader's pick for best weblog, and informed me that I got the critic's nod! Heartfelt thanks go out to them, even though I know that my mother's little press clipping scrapbook is going to have an article quoting me as saying "Ceramics Monthly can suck my nuts!".

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SuperMario Craft Alert

I was never really a big fan of video games. For one, I didn't have the manual dexterity for them. Secondly, my family (gasp!) didn't own a video game console. I eventually got a Commodore 64 Computer, and could play things like fake pac-man, but I usually buried my nose in a book instead. I still have a keen appreciation of the video game crafts, though, and I have enjoyed the recent explosion in Nintendo music. Here's a great website devoted to D.I.Y. Powerup Blocks and other SuperMario treats. Decorate your town with them, and use them up when you need a little power boost. It's called karma--you should look into it!

LINK via Aeropause

Pom and Circumstance

Technology. Sometimes, it gently swathes us in gossamer layers of benevolence, sometimes it jams its tongue down our throat and touches us inappropriately. Fashion Machines' Pom Pom Dimmers fall firmly into the first category. These babies inject a bit of joy into a thoughtless task. When I was growing up, my father went on a pretty big energy conservation kick, and would wake me up in the middle of the night, and make me turn off every light in the house that was left on. Maybe he would have had an easier time if we had the Pom Pom Dimmers. Maybe he would have even done it his own damn self. From the FAQs:

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The IFM electronic POM POM senses your touch. Just touch the POM POM to control ON/OFF. Hold the POM POM to set dimming levels.

WHERE CAN I INSTALL IT?

IFM recommends installing our POM POM Dimmers in bedrooms, playrooms, halls, foyers, and your favorite living spaes.

IS IT UL LISTED?

Yes! The IFM POM POM Dimmer is UL listed, control number 30-EH.

DO I HAVE TO INSTALL IT?

Yes. The POM POM dimmer is wired into your wall, like your light switchor any other lighting controller. The textile covered wallplate then snaps onto the dimmer unit. Manufacturer's instructions for installing the simmer and our plate are inside the product. The dimmer is to be installed and used with appropriate codes and regulations.

CAN I CLEAN IT?

The POM POM Dimmer is designed to resist stain, dirt, and bacteria. Our patent pending POM POM is anti-microbial and stain resistant and should require no cleaning. The cover is made with stain and wear resistant DESIGNTEX fabric. The decorative cover can be lightly cleaned with a damp sponge. Do not submerge in water.

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(Pola)roid Rage

Athens, GA-based artist Amanda Burke is what you would call a renaissance woman. Born and raised in Iowa, Amanda moved to New York to pursue improv comedy, did some shows with the Upright Citizens Brigade, and decided to conquer the art world next. She up and moved to Athens for printmaking grad school, but she can also craft with the best of them. Today, I created a photoset of an amazing artist book that she created out of fun foam. The book is a photo album of polaroids--every polaroid is painstakingly constructed from layer upon layer of the foam. Subjects range from stark (Brooklyn Bridge) to shocking (heart transplant) to tragic (mustachioed synthesizer-wielding musician). I don't love you enough to show you her yeti polaroid...but maybe someday if you're really good.

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Stop Animation Roundup!

What morose Extreme Crafter worth their salt doesn't go a little weak at the knees at the mention of Tim Burton? Last weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing his excellent new film, The Corpse bride. The whole thing was reportedly shot using a commercially available digital camera! Everything about this film is visually stunning--Burton truly crafts a new world. The costumes! The sets! The colors! Sigh. If you're itching to have a go at some stop animation, check out Kathi Zung's do-it-yourself video. She created all of the latex figures for MTV's "Celebrity Deathmatch. Also, pay a visit to Craftypunk's crocheted Nightmare before Christmas tribute.

Get Bigger Fast!

These are uncertain times. We should all strive to be bigger. Some people's hearts are two sizes too small, but Krissy Harris, a.k.a. Bigger Krissy has a solution. BiggerCritters are just plain bigger...your heart's just going to have to adjust. She has all sorts of advice on her website that will help you be bigger, including my favorite expression of bigness, her Yellow-Bellied George W Bush Chicken Pal. Cuddle hard!

How Bazaar!

Bazaar Bizarre is a cherished Extreme Craft institution. For those of you who aren't yet in the loop, Bazaar Bizarre started in Boston in 2001 as a way for Crafters whose tastes were a bit more "mod" than "mod podge" to sell their wares. Next month, Left Coast Bazaar Bizaare majordomo Greg der Ananian will be publishing a book named after the collective, which will feature a gaggle of punkrock D.I.Y. projects, plus a rogues gallery of alterna-crafters. Extreme Craft was fortunate enough to get our greedy little hands on some sample pages for the book, and we're making them available to you HERE. If you live in Boston, L.A., or Cleveland, events are coming up between Thanksgiving and Christmas--you can find more information at www.bazaarbizarre.org. The book will be available October 10th, or pre-order it from Amazon today.

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