Studio Fantastic

In 1993, an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation featured an android cutting into the shoulder of a female character with a knife. Her body was depicted as a cake and her real, talking head appeared atop the cake. This scene remains disturbing, cheesy, and iconic more than thirty years later. The casual sexism of the scene ought to remind us that there's still a lot of work to do in order to vanquish patriarchy.

Recently, I discovered a cake pan in the shape of a t-shirt at Value Village. It immediately reminded me of the scene from TNG. Right now, it's hanging on my wall surrounded by jelly molds and mirrors. Obviously, it needs to be repurposed and readorned. I want to recreate it as a reminder of and a push towards feminist politics that will contribute to our culture's liberation. I don't have any ideas yet, and would like to hear your thoughts on how to make it better.

Link to the TNG scene in the comments.

"Cat." Acrylic on Plywood, 6x8.

Read the back for a pleasant surprise. It was a gift for a friend who wanted art that refers to Alice in Wonderland. She pointed out that it's also a reference to Breakfast at Tiffany's, which she likes as much as she likes Alice.

A couple of weeks ago, someone offered a free Jesus portrait on Marketplace. I decided to reach out and aquire it.

It took me a while to figure out what to do with the portrait. Finally, I decided to transform it into found art by adding a frame and a caption.

The caption is intentionally multi-layered and ambiguous. Obviously, in the most literal sense, I framed Jesus in a picture frame.

But I also metaphorically frame my conception of Jesus every time I think of him as a man and a symbol, as does everyone else. Thinking of it this way gives viewers of the art agency to frame Jesus as they see fit. Everyone becomes the "I" in the caption when they read it, and I always like to empower people with my interactive art. Giving my viewers agency like this is one way of doing so.

Moreover, phrasing the caption like this suggests uncomfortable questions. In what ways have we framed Jesus (the man and the symbol)? What ideas and actions are layered on Jesus through cultural and historical scripts that may be unfair?

I hope that my sense of respectful play comes through here, and that I don't offend those of my friends and acquaintances who are true believers. Similarly, I hope that the ambiguity of mounting a captioned portrait of Jesus on my wall doesn't offend those of my friends who have had profoundly negative experiences related to Church and Christ. If you are offended, I hope that you're offended in just the right way -- and that we can have a respectful conversation about it.

Or maybe I'm just legging you on. 🤷‍♂️

Jesus Portrait with Caption, Framed. 11x17.

In honour of these weeks of Pride, I present "Friends of Dorothy - A Triptych":

Self Portrait of a Coward, 2021

Scared Crow, 2024

Tin Lineage, 2024

All three are acrylic on plywood and 8x10.

Coming soon to a wall near me.

Moon Rising on a Burning Planet II. Acrylic on Plywood, 6"x8".

Studio Fantastic now has a second record storage cabinet, which we affectionately (or affectedly) call Spiral Vinyl.

Acrylic on Plywood. 26"x7".

Reflections on a House of Mirrors.

Last summer, I bought a mirror. I made a visible repair with metallic paint on the frame, and then continued the colour all around the front.

The back is taking me longer. As I reflected on living in a house surrounded by mirrors on almost every wall, I decided that I wanted to refer to the other art in my house.

Gradually, I started adding a few hand drawn figures. Then I pulled out some old stencils dating back to when I first became an artist -- and then rendered them in new colours. So far, it's an incomplete hodge podge. But it holds up well to the lesson that we learned from The Town Band of Bremen: it is better to have a bad plan than no plan at all.

There are other lessons here as well. The pigs teach us that we're all artists, especially when they fly. At the base of it all, the hard working goat reminds us that it's actually better to be red than dead. Meanwhile, the moon is rising on a burning planet -- which is nowhere, now here. Etc.

Studio Fantastic wishes you very happy holidays.

"This Is Not A Mug."

Acrylic on Plywood, 6x8.

A birthday gift for someone who definitely does not like pipes.

During a neighbourhood walk many years ago, I stopped to take a photo of a picturesque fire hydrant covered in rust and peeling paint.

An eighteen month old child who was with me explained that she didn't understand why there were devices that spew fire on every street corner. I got to explain to her the mechanics and social significance of these indispensable pieces of infrastructure.

We were both better off for that moment.

Years later, I commemorated that story in these signs. They appear in two kitchens, beside a front entry, and in a garage. Like all my art, they serve both practical and aesthetic purposes, by enhancing our safety and embedding beautiful stories in our daily lives.

"Fire Extinguisher. Do Not Spew Fire." Acrylic on Lumber, 12.75" x 2.25".

This sign was for sale at Value Village this afternoon. It caught my eye, because... I paint signs. I am having trouble thinking of a use case for these two instructions in such close proximity.

Toque Shade.

Acrylic on Plywood.

12x16.

Studio Fantastic, 2023.

Nowhere. Now Here.

Paint Pen on Paper in Guest Book. 8.5"x11".

Groovy Records. Acrylic on Plywood.

Moon Rise on a Burning Planet.

Fire Place Screen.

Acrylic on Plywood.

36" x 48"

Work in Progress.

Up Next: a second coat, some more copper fill at the bottom, and a silver moon rising.

Recreating this sign might be one of my next projects. It would go in my front lawn.

Supported by efficient battery power, the past few years have seen a resurgence of cargo bikes and trikes. But there's a delightfully long history of urban mobility using human power, multiple wheels, and boxy construction.

A few years ago, I read Harriet the Spy (published in 1964) to a kid. In the book, there were a few casual mentions of grocery delivery by cargo trike, like it was no big deal in Manhattan in the 1960s. I was surprised then how much we had forgotten about how to live human centered lives in cities, and I've been delighted since then to see so many more people riding them.

Now cargo trikes are even showing up in my sign painting groups, reminding me that I'm not the only one painting wonderful images and text on mobile canvasses.

Flamboyance, Tutu and I salute you!

Studio Fantastic's new electric cargo trike is going to be naned Flamboyance Too Two, after its human powered predecessor. It'll go by Tutu for short, and probably feature a flamingo wearing a tutu on the front. Stay tuned for progress shots!

Studio Fantastic received 100 stickers today!

Chart of the Moon.

Transformed at Studio Fantastic into a Memorial Object for Día de los Mu***os.

Poster from Urban Source in Vancouver. Acrylic paint supplied by friends and family.

Feeling cute. Might hand craft an asterism.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism_(typography)

Family Friendly Places. Acrylic on Plywood. 12x16. Handcrafted at Studio Fantastic.

Part of a series celebrating environmentally friendly mobility and fine grained community building.

Studio Fantastic created these signs to celebrate sustainable mobility, family friendly spaces, and walkable cafes (or shoe closets).

At Studio Fantastic, we were thrilled to find out that today is National Ampersand Day. Celebrating the important part punctuation plays in our life, this 8x10 piece is part of a set called Punctuated Triptych (which also includes an interrobang and an octothorpe). It sounds like we may need more National Punctuation Days!