Jhoanna Monte Aranez is one of those women with so many talents that you could spend hours browsing through her blog, her flickr in awe and admiration at her skills and seemingly endless inspiration. But then, of course, this is what inspiration should always be about, an endless round of springing ideas and creations.

I had wanted to blog about that Doddi Bear for quite some time now - every time I came across it in my favorites it really stood out, it has everything I love - and when I settled to write about it yesterday I realized it was no longer available, and couldn’t find it in the sold items either. It turns out that Jhoanna “recently sent her off to someone as a thank-you for a wonderful thing they did for her”!

She has made 5 Doddi Bears and only one is still available in her shop :

Doddi Bear #3.

But - among other things - she also makes the most amazing doll-girls such as this one (sold too) :

Woodland Girl Ayumi.

I could go on and on and post many of her creations and really had to stop myself from posting more photos for I tell you she is such a creative woman, so I beg you, check her blog, check her flickr and of course her Etsy shop for there are wonders ahead…

It seems artoyz has recently widened their range of products to wooden toys - not just any wooden toys mind you but a small selection from the Artists’ catalogue of Vilac.

I’m not so fond of the Keith Haring’s chairs or the “Raymond” pencil holder/pot by Hervé Di Rosa, but I discovered “My Sweet Dog” recently when writing my article on Nara and it is simply perfect.

Furthermore, Vilac is located in the Jura (France) where my family comes from (both my parents were born there) and the toys are manufactured with great care there, which are all good reasons to buy those toys…

Love all the “felt creatures” by Olivia Ew, some of them creatures, some of them people, some “mutated”. You can see more in her Flickr gallery.

The two below are for sale @ Etsy :

Once in a while you stumble into something that simply sweeps you off your feet and it might just as well be because I love SF so much but those little aliens are the cutest ever ! But the real thing though is the flying saucer or UFO, for they would not be as interesting without it. This whole set totally rocks !

It is OOAK and an original creation by Dana Dunn and had I a little bit of money I would have bought it right now.

Michael Rouah from Artoyz has recently returned from a trip in Hong kong with a few vinyl rarities in his suitcase. Among them some hard-to-find be@rbrick sets, a rare early Michael Lau figure dating back from 2001 called “Lamdog Prototype Kiss”, “Spookiez” (Comix Box, 2006) a strange set including a girl and a dog, the Kaws x Bounty Hunter Kun Red Christmas version, etc.

A lot more followed by plane, including quite a lot of Blythe dolls - unfortunately they are mostly “Petites” - but thay have the Neo Blythe Mod Molly (December 2007, SBL) + Welcome Winter (January 2008, RBL). They are a bit expensive comparing to eBay, but since it is definitely hard to get Blythe in France - or in Europe for that matter although CWC and Takara are working on this - it’s great to have them here.

You will find all of this listed in the News or the Asian Designers sections of the shop.

I must say I particularly like this funny Monkey figure called LauLau designed by Tak and released by How2Work in June 2007.

While Gary Taxali’s new vinyl figures “Oh No” + “Oh Oh” are on the verge of being released by Bigshot Toyworks, you can still find some of his Toy Monkeys. The yellow version (500 numbered pieces signed or unsigned) is the regular one and not many people are aware that a green version was also released in a limited edition of 200. It was at one point sold by some museum - I think it was the MOMA but I am not sure now - and I just found that Kung Fu Toys has it for $150 dollars.

You can still order the Original Toy Monkey Deluxe Edition @ Chump Toys or @ Orbit Gallery space.

Also see the Original Hand Painted “Toy Monkey” on Gary Taxali’s website.

Oh No + Oh Oh by Gary Taxali - sculpt by Scott Wetterschneider

Note that you can buy the Oh No Bronze Statue along with some artwork by Gary Taxali @ Magic Pony.

OH NO Bronze Statue - Gary Taxali

Gary Taxali

I am not sure yellow toys are even sought after by collectors - some people collect black or GID toys for instance - but they are favorites of mine. This Pascagoula by Michael Lau has been on my wishlist ever since it was released about a year ago and since it still is a winter of financial discontent for me, this will be just for the fun of it…

400% & 100% Be@rbrick set Genevieve Gauckler

Shikito in Yellow by Superdeux

Rolitoboy - Gloomy Pity Boy by Mori Chack x Rolito

Onion Love Invader by Jaime Hayon

Astronaut Jesus by Doma

+ Ecstasy of Gold by krysto_O on Flickr.

So this is Day One of “At last you won’t risk getting lung cancer from spending too much time in a café-bar-restaurant-nightclub-pick your choice here” in France and what with the big fuss around that and the so predictable reports on the radio - I don’t watch the news on TV anymore, I got spare the smokers vs non-smokers images - but what it really made me think about this morning waking up was this ashtray based on a painting Yoshitomo Nara made in 2001. (I wonder however whether anyone has ever used the thing as an actual ashtray…)

Anyway, besides the other well-known figures made from Yoshitomo Nara’s work, the PupCup™ and the Little Wanderer™ - my favorite one so far - I recalled that this year another figure in a Limited Edition of 300 had been released by How2Work. It’s called “Sleepless Night” (sitting), retail price was HK$7800 (around EUR 730 or US$ 1,000 at the time back in July), but even though you might have had the money it was still a tough job to get one. But the only thing that really matters is that it is amazingly and breathtakingly beautiful.

“Sleepless Night” (sitting), Yoshitomo Nara, 2007

However, if you happen to be interested in the financial aspects relative to art, while researching for this article - believe it or not I do research before writing - I found out that there has been a recent auction at Sotheby’s Paris about Contemporary Art and that number 276/300 of “Sleepless Night” sold there for 9,850 euros (14,415 US$).

Yoshitomo Nara @ Blum & Poe + Yoshitomo Nara on Flickr

Shopping @
Addict Galerie + Artoyz + Giant Robot + Inhabit [Canada] + Little Fashion Gallery + Museum of Contemporary Art [Chicago] + My Plastic Heart + Raw Space [Australia] + retromodern.com + unicahome

With Brendan Monroe’s solo show “Insides” opening at Richard Heller Gallery, Fecal Face takes us for a visit inside his & Evah Fan’s studio in Berkeley. Besides some great shots taken around the place you can see some of Evah’s work plus of course some of Brendan’s recent work. And there’s a really nice video ending with Brendan taking us inside his giant interactive sculpture titled “Borborygmi” which “represents a giant walk through plush stomach”.

I absolutely love those peeks into artists’ studios and workplaces and I had already mentioned PROJECT S2DIO #049 - BRENDAN MONROE by www.glltn.com.

The show at Richard Heller Gallery has just opened and there are not many reviews yet but you can see some pictures of the works shown on Flickr.

Brendan Monroe
Evah Fan

Fecal Face Dot Com

Ceramic coffee mug by Brendan Monroe on Park Life, go to Homewares.
New in 2007. Very limited Edition of 150 pcs.

Brendan Monroe is an amazingly great artist. I discovered his work at the same time I discovered art toys since his Sour figures were then being released amidst quite a bit of turmoil as I seem to recall. The toys had been shown back in 2005 at SDCC and were first scheduled for October/November of the same year, but as is often the case with vinyl figures the production experienced some delays so that even though they were at some point announced for late January 2006 they were not actually released until April 2006. The release itself was a bit chaotic since it was mostly done through pre-orders and it seemed Glen Liberman from Android 8 was doing pretty much everything by himself. You could find the Green and Brown versions in a couple of shops though, but the Red Sour was a Munky King exclusive and the Orange one which was an Android 8 exclusive was sold solely at SDCC.

These “toys” are truly fantastic figures. They are a bit scary at first sight but they are so unlike anything else and so “strange” and sculptural that for many people - including myself - they ranked among the best and most beautiful toys produced in 2006. I love them. I love their strangeness and mystery. (And, Oh joy, I even managed to buy the Green one a couple of months later from Giant Robot - the Brown one was unfortunately “sold out”).

Indeed they have all long been “Sold Out” and the only way to get one - you guessed right - is eBay. Of course the prices today for those figures are quite insane - not to say totally insane if you are aiming for a complete set (the last complete set of four on eBay sold for a little more than $800 about 2 weeks ago) - so if you really love Brendan Monroe’s work for that price you could as well get an original painting or one of his Microbes. Or for less money than you would pay for one Green or Brown Sour you can also buy one of his Potato Heads at HarnerHouse. And truly it is a mystery to me that these sculptures be still available… (Edit : A friend of mine tried to order these and they are in fact sold out. I am sorry since it was not clear at all on the site. 21 September 2007)

Potato head (large) + Potato Head (small) by Brendan Monroe (2005, resin & wood, signed)

Also from HarnerHouse : In Case of Paper Face, a small interactive book.

Other books and zines :
Sour Leaves available at NOWhere Limited and Rotofugi.
Organelles available directly from Brendan Monroe.

Brendan Monroe
Brendan Monroe’s Studio PROJECT S2DIO #049 by www.glltn.com.
Upcoming exhibition “Insides” at Richard Heller Gallery from October 13 to November 11, 2007.

The Sours by Brendan Monroe :
Sculpted by Dave Pressler
Produced by UNKL for Android 8.

According to Squidoo numbers were as followed :

1. Brendan Monroe Sour Brown 400 Produced
2. Brendan Monroe Sour Green 400 Produced
3. Brendan Monroe Sour Red (Munkey King Exclusive) 100 Produced *At Last Report 50 Actually Sold To The Public*
4. Brendan Monroe Sour Orange (Android 8 Exclusive) 100 Produced *SDCC Exclusive Now* *At Last Report Only 50 Will Actually Be Sold To The Public*