Sunday, November 30, 2008

Sunday Sabbatical

Taking a break from the usual Sunday Simulacra to bring you a skull-lovers travel suggestion from Karl Hochsprung: The Beinhaus (Ossuary) in Hallstatt, Austria!

He says, "The reasoning behind the beinhaus was that there was not enough real estate to bury the town's dead in so they would bury the bodies in the cemetery for a decade or so then dig them up. They would then take the bones and the skulls and place them in this chapel. The skulls would be painted on by local artists with flowers representing different meanings. Some would have the date of death and the name on them as well... P.S. a direct translation of beinhaus, would be bone house."


Friday, November 28, 2008

Skull + Squares

Fashion designer/illustrator Janine Lecour from the Athens, Georgia made this excellent piece called "Skull + Squares"! She says, "It's a combination of all the things i love...oil paint, adobe illustrator, weaving, collage, sharpie markers, unicorns, but most of all SKULLS!"

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Crying Skull

Robert Elrod in Parker, Colorado made this excellent illustration titled: "Lament"...

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

[BONUS] Skull-A-Day Stencil In Use

Pdubu in Western Washington gets a special place in the Skull-A-Day Hall of Fame for transforming his "Wagovan" into a wicked Skullmobile with my Two-Part Stencil Skull!

AFTER:





BEFORE:

Yarn Ball Skull

Ashley Becker made this cute skull from her own handspun 100% hand dyed merino wool yarn called "Sugar Skulls"! You can find more of her yarn on Etsy...

Monday, November 24, 2008

[SPECIAL OFFER] Virtual Book Signing

As much as I'd love to do a 50 state book signing tour, the reality of that happening seems pretty slim, so I've decided to offer (by popular request) a virtual book signing for those of you who haven't been able to make one in person!


For $2 US/$3 international (including shipping) I will autograph a 4x4in [10.16x10.16cm] bookplate sticker with a custom message that you can put into your copy/ies of the book!

Just use the PayPal link below. Make sure to include a note saying to whom the bookplate(s) should be signed and if you have any special message requests! Then I'll send them out by First Class mail so you can get them in time for all of your holiday gift giving needs!

Thanks again for all of you enthusiasm and support for this project!

[UPDATE 11/24: Accidental additional shipping charge removed. Buttons should work correctly now.]

FOR ORDERS IN THE USA CLICK HERE...













FOR INTERNATIONAL ORDERS CLICK HERE...


















Vanitas Skulls

Chris Peters of Los Angeles, CA made these fantastic painting, which are part of his "Vanitas" series...



Sunday, November 23, 2008

Simulacra Sunday - Round 17

JD from New York City, discovered this unintentional skull made of bags and clothes!...


Battatter in Indiana discovered this remarkable dried pear skull! She says, "I was out taking photos in my yard, when I followed a butterfly to my pear tree. This is a photo of a pear that the yellow jackets had eaten away.(they love the pears!), well, now there were a couple of flies on it. When I saw this side view of a skull, I thought of you! This is just the way I found it. It kinda looks like he is eating a jalepeno, too."...

And Bob McGehee found this skull hiding near the 6th hole of a miniature golf course!...

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Friday, November 21, 2008

Mouth Skull

Lauren Trudeau of Kennesaw, Georgia made this ingenious "Orthoskull"!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Skull Cakes

Two fantastic cake skull submissions...

Matt Albritton an event and wedding designer in Washington, D.C. created this red velvet fondant covered cake at the request of a bride...



And Mary Kroll of Richmond, Virginia made this one for her husband's birthday. She says, "Beware that 'Ace of Cakes' show, it makes anyone think they can do it too."...

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Illegal Skull

KraKen made this excellent graffiti piece (don't try this at home kids!)...

Monday, November 17, 2008

Skull-A-Day Press: RVA Magazine

Skull-A-Day is featured in the latest issue of RVA Magazine! Read the entire thing HERE.





































RVA Magazine Volume 4 Issue 8
www.rvamag.com


X-Stitch Skull

Suzanne Darige made this terrific original Day of The Dead inspired cross-stitch skull without a pattern...


Here it is in progress (with the skull she used for reference)...

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sunday Simulacra - Round 17: Special Animal Edition

June Kellum of Ocala, Florida found a remarkably skull-like dead Golden Silk Orb-Weaver A.K.A. Banana Spider...


A live one of these skull-y spiders was discovered by Katrina Cristobal in Miami, Florida (seems like a scary state to live in)...


Brandy's California Kingsnake is named Angmar because of the skull on his head...


And Lynn Huckaby in Wyoming owns a foal named Hoss with a rather wicked looking patch of fur on his back end...

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Hemp Seed Skull

Blackboot, NC Pirate AKA Blaire Johnson made this wonderful skull from hemp seeds and peanut butter (on Talk Like a Pirate Day no less!) called "Skull of Hope, Seeds of Revolution AKA Hempen Pirate Skull"...

Friday, November 14, 2008

Skull Cup

Baptiste Ymonet & Vincent Jousseaume from Nantes, France made this gorgeous ceramic demitasse cup featuring a hidden skull (not unlike my own #273 The Skull or The Vase) called "Skintasse". These are for sale, so contact them directly if you're interested (I bought two!).

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Skull-A-Day press: MAKE Magazine


Make magazine gives a fantastic review to SKULLS in their latest issue, which will be on stands soon!











Check out the entire awesome issue via their widget below...

Look Inside >>
Volume 16


Make Issue 16
November 25, 2008

SKULLS events: Seattle, Washington

Good news for West Coast folks I am scheduled to do a SKULLS book signing at Seattle's mega craft fair Urban Craft Uprising in December. Details are as follows...

Urban Craft Uprising
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall

Saturday, December 6th, book signing 2-3pm
Sunday, December 7th, book signing 4-5pm

I will have books for sale there, so please come get a copy (or three) and help me recoup the cost of making the trip (yep, no glamorous author tour for me!). Please spread the word!

Woodblock Skulls

Markus Krueger of Moorhead, Minnesota made this nice woodcut print...



And Dick Mulderick made this fun series of prints giving props to D.I.Y. culture...