3115)| +! |(3121 East Colfax Ave.

MAD KING  In Transit  2011

Running the gallery at GroundSwell with Danette Montoya has been immensely enjoyable for me in the months since we opened in May 2011.  I find that I have more fulfilling and inspiring conversations with artists around Denver than I would have thought available to me.  I happily do this work and I'm inspired to keep on with my own art work.

The current show at the gallery with MAD KING is definitely worth a visit.  GroundSwell is open daily from 10a - 7pm and this show runs through November 8th.  If you're like me, you may find yourself brightened by MAD KING's layered patterns, colors, textures and characters.  I especially invite those interested in enriching their visual promotion and representation materials with the skillful and soulful imagery of this artist.
http://www.madkingproductions.com/

Finally, I want to share, through pictures (below), the happenings between 3115 East Colfax and 3121 East Colfax (GroundSwell).   Artists working this week, and pictured in the first photo here are Denver's own Max Kaufman and Nice One, Denver native, now working from Chicago. 

Max Kaufman and Nice One work out the details of what will be a very large mural on the side of GroundSwell Gallery and Cannabis Boutique

newest stencil in the past month

This wheat pasted painting appeared in the past month as well.  We're into that on our unpainted brick wall, but the stencil to the Right is totally inconsiderate of the brick material.  Boo.  Also, see left, part of Paul Langway's mural from last Summer on the low wall bordering the alley.

"Own Your Soul, Monster."  We're especially into the painting, being not the expected xerox, and the poeticism of this wheat paste.

In closing,
Thank you Denver Artists.

Sammy's Substitute for High Fashion

When I spotted Sammy outside of Macy*s, Herald Square, I noticed a single line of numbers just below her neck.

Intrigued, I stopped her and asked about it. It was then that she revealed that the one line of digits, from 0 to 9, was only the top of the tattoo. Here's the whole thing:

Sammy explained that this is a body art version of a clothing tag from the high-end clothing designer, Martin Margiela:

 

She told me that this was her "favorite design label" and said "I want to illustrate ... it's really expensive so I can't buy anything." She added that having the label on her back serves "to control my desire for buying it."

That's certainly a new functionality for a tattoo, in my opinion.

Sammy credited an artist in Los Angeles named Baku at a shop whose name I can't find, so I will go out on a limb and credit Baku Watanabe, who works at Freak Chic Tattoo on Melrose.

Thanks to Sammy for sharing this unusual tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Quotable Tom Ford

As a new season of Project Runway premiered last night, I thought I'd share a fashion-related tattoo. Working on "Fashion Avenue," I see a lot of ink on people in the industry. Here's one from Megan:

This is a quote by the fashion designer Tom Ford:

"Beauty is an illusion/It is here only for a moment/Then it fades/But in the brief moment of existence/It has forever/impacted the world"

Megan read these words in one of Ford's books, in a section about evening wear.

"I love Tom Ford," she told me, "and I think he's a very smart man."

The tattoo was done about 2-3 years ago at Ink Candy in Hollywood by an artist named Angel.

Thanks to Megan for sharing this inspirational quote with us here on Tattoosday!

Microclimates!

An installation art exhibition by
Rob Mack &
Samuel Schimek

Ripped from Microclimates' Info Page:  "The Super Ordinary Gallery in the RiNo art district of Denver, CO will be transformed for two months into a large scale graphic art environment. Three distinctive microclimates will lead the viewer on an exciting visual journey using life scale graphic installations. Denver Underground artists Samuel Schimek and Rob Mack have come together to manifest this exhibition and will be using their skills in graphic design, found object, and the collaborative art experience. Leading up to the exhibition, viewers are invited to become involved from the ground up by following the online campaign via facebook, twitter, and the website. Followers will have the opportunity to experience exhibition production and see how this exciting collaboration will come together. 

During the opening of this exhibition on June 4th, event attendees will have a chance to see the full collaborative power of the Denver art scene. In addition to the exhibition there will be a live fashion show by Denver Designer, Hol Sum, special music project integrated with the graphic environment, and special art POP-Up store containing purchasable pieces of the graphic environments."

This is the work that I'm working on! Hol Sum will produce garments that are integral to the graphic, thematic and environments of the Microclimates exhibition. We are even having fabric printed with graphic elements directly related to the designs produced by Rob and Samuel! Working with these two is a great opportunity for me. Microclimates is a challenge that we're all excited for because Denver needs it's artists and designers to stand up, stand out, and represent this awesome city of creative industry!

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our project on Kickstarter!! Anything you can give will contribute to the Kickstarter grant program - if we can rase our minimum, then Kickstarter doubles it! If we can't raise our minimum, we get nothing. Let's get the minimum!!! Thank you for your help, and please pass on our information to anyone who supports the arts, supports real culture in their cities, and wants to support people who work very hard at what we do!

Jenn's Ink Celebrates a Seventies Vibe

On a day that found me unsuccessful with inkspotting the 5th Avenue Festival in Bay Ridge, Fate walked me past Jenn, sitting outside a laundromat a block away from my home.

She happily shared the work on her upper left arm:

These stunning colors encircled her biceps.

She said this piece, inked by Jared Stomber at Kustom Kulture Ink in Baldwin, New York, is an "ode to 1970's fashion". This is one area of interest to her that moves her artistically and she wanted to express it through body art.

Fictional character Rhoda Morgenstern (from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and spin off Rhoda) was among the cultural icons that inspired the design.

The inner part of Jenn's arm also features artwork that recalls the animated birds from the opening sequence of The Partridge Family.

Although her birds are much more elaborate.

Thanks to Jenn for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!