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Thank you everyone for making 2009 a very successful year for me and this wee blog. Thank you dear readers for being loyal. Thank you dear artists for making great art. All the best to all of you from me, Karl Diesel, Brent Sparr, Jilian West and Taro Kern. We will take a rest and will return in 2010 with new energy and a stuffed belly. Cheers!

Never let the looks deceive you of the character that lies beneath. Makkinoso’s newest character may look all friendly and welcoming but he has a heart as hard as metal. Matter of fact “Steelheart” is his name and he come and gone already. So if you feel like you should own one of these you either need to track down one of the lucky three buyers or you can pester the artist himself. Maybe he’ll make more…

Look at this. This is what I get for not checking all my sources regularly. Turns out this and a few other figures by skullbrain board member GERMS have been announced already more than two weeks ago. I totally dig these wild and weird creatures that look like humanoid aliens. This one has the odd title “Hobo Heart” and to my amazement it is still available. Check the store because there is even more for very little money - especially considering these are hand made and unique.

Wow, look at this. What is it? Is that a bear that swallowed a wooden rocket that his beaver friend is going to ride to the moon? I do not know. The sculpture is titled “Rebirth” so maybe there is something different going on… Either way, that textured surface is maddening. It must have taken ages to complete. Mr. Mathew Plater aka map-map must have an incredible amount of patience for such kind of work.

You cannot deny the fact that toy figures have become quite popular in the last few years. Just as well you cannot deny the fact that riding fixed gear bikes has become rather hip. So why not combine the two facts into a third? You cannot deny that this is a pretty amazing sculpture of hipness. Not only is the toy articulate like every good toy should be but every part on this bike work just like in RealLife™. Visit the blog of coolrain for more of all the aforementioned.

Suppose you were still lying on the aforementioned beach enjoying a white russian (because the white coldness of winter has to be celebrated somehow, right?) and then suddenly you feel a soft bumb in your lap and you look in a combination of amazement and disgust at this incredible nightmarish ceramic sculpture by Kate D. MacDowell. And then you wake up and everything is still grey, cold and rainy outside.

Did you find yourself wishing for a white Christmas recently even though global warming got in the way and now you’re sitting at a beach with palm trees because soon enough everything will drown and you will be hunted by smokers on jet-skis? Well, consider this instead. A limited edition of 10 snow white kanjis by Jared Deal to be had via the prolific hands of Eric Nocella Diaz aka Argonaut Resins. Hurry or these will soon be gone like 2009!

From one hound to the next. The “perrodragons” by Federico Klarich look like they would feel at home in the cruel world of greek mythology. At least in this mysterious backlit photo. As there is no further information at hand I have no idea if actually any such background thought exists with the dog sculptures Federico creates.

There is something quite ephemeral and ghost-like about the creatures of Polly Verity aka polyscene. This paper and wire sculpture which also includes a scolopax rusticola skull is particularly impressive. It is titled “The Sharp-beaked hound of Zeus” which is a quote from Aeschylus’ “Prometheus Bound” dating back to the 5th century BC.

Many people clain that the internet is not like a record store. You just cannot stumble over new things the way it may happen in RealLife™. Yet time and time again I happen to find unfamiliar art by just following the favorites and links of the artists I feature on this blog. Such is the case with Beth Cavener Stitcher. In her work she aims to reveal basic human interactions and emotions through sculptures of animals. Sometimes deformed and exaggerated and sometimes almost minimalist in her approach. The one pictured above is titled “Loneliness” and every 8 seconds a breath is released turning the little pinwheel. It is interesting for me that the pose looks almost weightless which contrasts the heavy to bear emotion of loneliness. Then again, it might just be the photo which is always a crutch when talking about sculptures.