Liquorice Rope

Today Oli and I made it back to Christchurch to stay with our family for a week. Somehow, we managed to be on the same flight as our friend, and top bloke, Jono. So, naturally, we made a movie with him on my cell phone camera.

You're welcome.

Callum, Paige and the Trust Experiment

I finally convinced Paige to let me cut her hair. I was totally confident, spurred on by that Regina Spektor song, and also by Terry Devlin, my grandpa.

"Do you know what the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is?"

"No."

"Three weeks! (laughs)"

Paige prepares.

AND...

(she was actually way happier when she saw it)

(babe)

    

After trying to make the sides even and ending up cutting it WAY shorter then intended, I decided to go for asymmetry. WAY easier. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but it was a bit touch and go for a minute there.

Anyway, anyone who wants me to cut their hair, step right up. I've got a lot of karma to make up on from the amount of times Steven's cut mine.

SMOKEY GHOST

Oli and Callum have been productive.

Introducing a track by Hans Pucket.

(artwork by me)

Smokey Ghost

Thanks Thom.

Bitch; Please

Both Steven AND my brother Oli made posters for Bitch; Please.

(being our new band. Pretty sweet. We played at Gorgeous George almost a year ago, but are doing our first grown up gig this Friday at WEHQ (yay for acronyms!))

I decided to join the wagon and make one too, and out do them (naturally).

AND I did it in two minutes.

AND I cheated. The wire lettering was made by Steven when we started the band. The picture of the tiger is from Oli's calendar. But their combination... GENIUS!

Like vanilla and coke.
Or cheese and anything.



For tunes: Bitch; Please bandcamp, and the gig page on facebook.

YAY! See you there.

Short Story: Highway Hedgetrollers

Once there was a butterfly who was the happiest butterfly on the planet. He was a monarch which means KING and for him all days were glory days. Except one...

Because on one unfortunate day, the monarch was resting on a garden path when a VILE CHILD came along and touched his wings. It felt like monarch had walked right under a waterfall. He sat on the pavement, felt his spirit seeping out of the blemish on his lovely wing.

Suddenly he was joined by what the Animal Kingdom knows as HIGHWAY HEDGETROLLERS, more commonly known as badgers. Gingerly, the badgers took him in their paws and carried him along the hedge until they reached a trove deep in the forest where bird calls echo like raindrops. Monarch suddenly felt at peace with himself.

The rough badgers placed him on the grass and whistled. On his whistle, a hundred squirrels came and started making a huge daisy chain that they placed in a ring around him, and then squirrels and badgers alike formed a circle around monarch and sang his life into a song.

By now, monarchs spirit had seeped fully out of him but it danced on the breath of the singers. monarch's wings fluttered in the wind as he sighed and let himself go; to forever dance on the breath of anyone who is singing.



***improvised txt short story circa 2009

Alex Varanese

God I hate designers sometimes. Why can't this be real??!

For more: CLICK!

Makes Me Glad

I've been listening to The Magic Kids' album Memphis on repeat (WHAT??) for the past week during extreme arting sessions. It just fills me with painless happy happy glad times and washes away the hours of chair-sitting and neck-bending. They're all for the good times, and are promoters of the gf/bf, hand-holding idealogy that is oh-so addictive this time of year.

I found this video of them playing in a backyard somewhere with dozens of children. It makes me feel less worried about being in a band that children like (although, many of these kids seem to be crying). Kids love happy music. I love happy music. I am mostly a child anyway. Why worry about being badass? Let Mike Dirnt worry about that.

Sleight Of Hand

This year for printmaking, I'm using lot's of old images of stage magicians and the like. Through my research I found this video of Hugh Jackman promoting his blasphemic powers of witchcraft.