In a case of history repeating itself, many of the statements made on the comics below are amazingly easy to relate to still. Not sure if that's a good thing or a sad slap of reality.
Feb 17, 2014
Calendar Comics 1989
Scribbles was 10 years old when we created our first annual calendar way back in 1989. The design for our first years made displaying the calendars a bit inconvenient (something we rectified a few years later) but the silly original comics made it all worth while.
In a case of history repeating itself, many of the statements made on the comics below are amazingly easy to relate to still. Not sure if that's a good thing or a sad slap of reality.
In a case of history repeating itself, many of the statements made on the comics below are amazingly easy to relate to still. Not sure if that's a good thing or a sad slap of reality.
Pets
You can almost see our pal Steve Sauder's dog Farfel dreaming, in this amusing photo. Based upon his expression, whatever Farfel - a 6 year old Basset Hound - IS dreaming about must be pretty relaxing.
To give you a little reminder, we've included a pix from 2010 showing what Farfel looks like when he is awake and standing on all fours.
Such a lovable little animal, I see he takes after his 'daddy'. :)
Feb 16, 2014
Kids
Sound like there's lots of Valentines in the Blythin household. Our friend Neil Blythin recently added these pix of his 3 daughters to his facebook page, referring to each of them as his Valentine.
Then there's Neil's son William -who I guess would be more 'daddy's little man' than his Valentine.
But when it comes to Valentines, Neil would be nowhere without the Mother of all Valentine's (which in this case can be taken quite literally) his beloved wife Ginger.
Neil and Gingee, you made cute Valentine's, and they come in all shapes and sizes!
Inspiring Video
Sure to be a hot topic in many a sports bar and locker room, and the subject of much negative press, Michael Sam can count on at least one anchorman showing him some support.
Dallas sportscaster Dale Hansen's on air editorial about Sam's announcement has "gone viral", and for good reason. Here is Hansen's take on the subject.
Feb 15, 2014
You
My nephew Graham Clark is seen here with his Grandma Storie, at Joan's birthday last weekend.
The birthday party was only part of the action. We also played my home made version of the Family Feud, which was a big hit.
We hope to have a video of the Family Feud game soon.
Kids
No matter what the occasion, our little friend Alina Dennis [above] loves to dress up.
It's no surprise that she was looking like the little princess she is at her recent 3rd birthday!
Alina is accompanied by her brother Kade, who's looking mighty fierce.
Happy belated Birthday Alina, you know you will always be one of Scribbles top child stars :)
Feb 14, 2014
You
Merry Christine has the proper Valentine's spirit, as she posted this pic of her and her special Valentine Cotton.
Merry said she read Scribbles editorial about Valentines's being for everyone and was inspired to create this.
Love
Judging by the posts I've seen of you on facebook and the longevity of so many of your relationships, it is obvious you treasure your loved one and appreciate each moment with them. And in all seriousness, I am truly happy for you.
There are also many other Scribbles fans out there who do not have a special Valentine. Some may be recently separated, divorced, or widowed, others may find themselves single for so long they've forgotten what it is like to be in a relationship and still others may have never been involved with anyone ever before.
And while I would never usually show favourtism towards a particular segment of our Scribbles gang, I'm making a slight exception today. This one's for all of those who are single, a group I find myself in this year.
Valentine's Day is for lovers, happy couples celebrating their special bond. It's for school kids who send cute Valentines cards to each other. But we should also make it about the love we have for our family, friends and pets. Those relationships aren't the same as that of a couple, but certainly worthy of celebrating as well.
So here's to us, the Scribbles "singles" who may someday meet someone special and who may not. Either way, you are loved and appreciated here and you always will be.
Happy Valentine's Day Everyone,
Ken Leavoy
Feb 12, 2014
Design
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| Above: An indoor herb garden for your kitchen |
Click the link below to check out 33 freaky or functional design ideas for your dream house. Some of these are pretty awesome, others just absurd, but each in very interesting.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT PAGE
Feb 10, 2014
Kids
Dylan's New "Hab"-it.
He may live in the Ottawa Valley, home of many Senators fans, but our pal Dylan is clearly a Montreal Canadiens fan.
Although this jersey may seem too large for little Dylan, what he currently lacks in size is more than made up for by his big spirit!
Feb 8, 2014
You
The Ice Man Cometh
Kyle Whittaker posted this pix on facebook last week after he has come in from shoveling snow. Kyle said his beard felt a bit heavier and as we see here, there's a very good reason for that.
I've told Kyle many times how envious I am of his killer beard. Mine is back to a trimmed goatee again. (Yawn, how boring) I just couldn't get my beard to grow in like Kyle's.
[Sigh] An old "50 plus" year old beard just can't compete with the non-conformist facial hair of today's youth...LOL!
Entertainment
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| SEE THIS PIX IN FULL SCREEN MODE - CLICK ON THE BEATLES |
The Birth of BeatlemaniaAlthough they were already enjoying success in their native England, The Beatles made their first U.S. television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.
CBS will air a special tribute to the Beatles this weekend, appropriately enough in the exact same time slot The Ed Sullivan Show once aired, 8 pm Sunday night. The pre-recorded show will feature music by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and an all-star cast of performers.
HERE IS THE AUDIO OF THE BEATLES ON THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW...
Me
The rumours are true, I will be moving back to St. Catharines at the end of March. The building I will be living in has only 3 units (one per floor) and I will occupy the lower unit (not quite a basement, but it is a few steps down from ground level.)
I have my dear friend Shelley Stewart and her connection with co-op housing for helping set me up with the place.
Prior to seeing the place in person, I went on Google Earth to see the street view of where I will be moving and I was a bit surprised. From the front, the building is somewhat dull. But as we have been told, time and time again, one should never judge a book by its cover.
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| SHELLEY STEWART |
I have a door at the main entrance in front of the building and a back door which leads out to a small back yard and will be perfect for Timmi.
The rent is quite reasonable but I do have to pay my own hydro bill, so I guess it's time to be a little more aware of what's turned on and what should be turned off.
There are a few things about this move that I am sad about. I really do like my current apartment and I am truly going to miss it, the neighbours and some of the parks and places I like to go in Welland.
I use an indoor antenna for my TV, which currently sits on my third floor window, facing Buffalo and receiving many great channels. The new place is ground level, further away from Buffalo and the living room windows face North. What's that all mean? It is very likely that my antenna will be useless at the new place, but with windows on all sides, I will be moving the antenna from room to room and seeing if there is a spot where I can pick up the most stations.
Of course what I will miss most about my Welland apartment is having my ex Rob close by. We are now good friends and see each other frequently since he is in the apartment on the other side of my bedroom wall and this is something that is really going to be difficult to adjust to.
But everything changes and it is essential that I return to St. Catharines where all my doctors, therapist and family are. Once I am settled in. I am hopeful I will feel happy with the big move.
Here's a glimpse of the layout for my future home. Definitely has lots of windows and on all 4 sides of the building, that's a new one for me!
Feb 3, 2014
Pets
Take one hyperactive kitten, add one breakable gargoyle statuette along with a scented candle, that I had placed on my kitchen table as a centrepiece, and you have the perfect combination.... for disaster!
I was sitting at the table, so I had a front row seat, when JJ decided to fly over the table and in the process knock everything to the floor with a crash so loud, it frightened the lady who lives in the apartment beneath us.
The candle and holder were fine, but my gargoyle pal was suddenly missing the bottom of his body. The smashed portion of the gargoyle was in pieces too small to glue back together, but his upper body still looked good.
So what to do? Obviously Mr Gargoyle couldn't be used as a centrepiece anymore and with no legs it would be hard to sit him up anywhere. Then I looked up at my potted plant and thought "Hmmmm, maybe what's left of the gargoyle would look ok in that hanging basket and people wouldn't know he was a jagged mess from the waste down.
Through trial and error I quickly discovered that I would need something to prop the gargoyle on and an empty jar worked perfectly.
It could be have been much worse. It could have been his bottom part that was salvaged and his face that was smashed up or he could have been completely destroyed.
I guess half of my favourite little gargoyle is better than no gargoyle at all.
Art
But that's only one of Rene's many talents. She is also an artist and currently enrolled in art school where she is expanding her skills.
We asked Rene if we could feature an interview and some of her moseix's in Scribbles. Not only did Rene agree, she provided both the questions and the answers for the exclusive interview below (now that's a first.)
Check out the time and effort that goes into each piece Rene Rowland creates. It reminds me of the passion I have for Scribbles....only on fabric, instead of online.
What inspired you to create this art form?
The very first art that inspired me in this direction was Pointillism, which I was first exposed to in the third grade. I was fascinated by looking at the dots, which were meaningless up close, and then seeing a real picture from afar.
Later, in college, I saw a hand-torn paper mosaic of Abraham Lincoln at a museum, done in shades of grey. I do not remember the artist, and I have not been able to find it. That was the seed of what I now call "moseix."
...Not long after, my brother sent me a picture of my nephew, and the photo file had a little icon showing my nephew's face. Well, I copied the icon and pasted it into my desktop program, then enlarged it, and A-HA! I had my very first "Photoquilt."
The finished size was only about 30 x 40 inches, but the squares were large and it was hard to see the image unless you were at the end of the block looking at it! It was all a kind of happy accident.
How do you actually make your "moseix?"
Through a lot of patience and eyeballing! But once I found Photoshop in the late 90s I had the key. It was then possible to take an image and decide exactly how many squares to use. Ah, genius, that Photoshop, it pixelates!
The next one I made was a reproduction of a beautiful portrait of my dad at age 27. Not every image will render properly as a moseiq, but a facial closeup with this kind of classic shadowing is perfect for it. It wasn't too hard to find many shades of grey cotton fabric for this piece.
You have made at least two Disney-themed moseix, is Disney your favorite theme?
My brother is the Disneyphile! He asked if I could do a portrait of Walt, like the one of my dad. And so you see it here, and there's even a hidden symbol in the upper right corner, can you see it?
The colors in the photo are not completely true. When you see it in person, it's a whole lot of fun to find the hidden surprise. In the year 2000, Disney released Fantasia 2000. The Rite of Spring segment moved me to tears, with the sprite, and the forest dying and coming back to life. So this moseiq is done with exactly 2000 squares in (I forget how) many shades of green.
How do you find all of those different colors? Do you dye the fabric?
But I need to buy hundreds of colors. And for every hundred used, there are a hundred that were set aside. Finding the fabrics is half the fun of making a moseiq. It's as much fun as it was when I was 10 at the Sears paint shop collecting sample paint cards while my parents picked out their home decor.
When I first got the idea, the obvious name seemed to be "photoquilts," and I established www.photoquilts.com, where you'll see most of these works (The website is an archive only now). They weren't technically quilts though, because quilting is the stitches that run through the patchwork in various patterns of their own. Therefore, I could never display my work in quilt shows.
One day I realized that the pixel art was decidedly contemporary, even though it was through an old medium (the fabric), and so I tried stretching it on a frame as art, rather than finishing it in the old-fashioned way. That's when I changed the name to "moseix," and now I will only stretch the work on frames. I'm much happier with it stretched, and it has added a higher value to my finished product.
Your picture of the Madonna and child is amazing. It looks like something I've seen before.
That's because it probably is! It's a detail from a 16th-century oil painting by Bernardino Luini called "The Virgin Holding the Sleeping Child with St John and Two Angels." The reason this one is clearer is that it has a higher resolution. That's more pixels per inch, just like with photos.
Do you sell your moseix? Are they displayed in art exhibits?
Yes and no. Technically I have only sold one, and I believe I parted with it for too little. However, I donated this horse to an animal helping organization, and it auctioned for $3,000. That was pretty good! It still doesn't really pay for my time, but I was quite pleased that it brought that much. The horse is taken from a gorgeous photo of a rescued mustang, an Arabian Mare. You can also see it at www.moseix.com.
As for museums, I made a replica of the Walt Disney that my brother has, and it's displayed in at the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Marceline, Missouri.
Do you do work on commission? What will you do next?
I have had a few inquiries regarding commissions, but 'til now the cost has gotten in the way. But of course, now everyone at Scribbles will want one, and there'll be a wait list. HAHA
Here's a sampling of Rene Rowland's awesome art. For each piece, we see the original photo or artwork that was the inspiration, a small version of what the moseix would look like from a distance and a closer view of what each piece is actually made up of.
Rene's Father
"A reproduction of a beautiful portrait of my dad at age 27. Not every
image will render properly as a moseiq, but a facial closeup with this
kind of classic shadowing is perfect for it.
It wasn't too hard to find
many shades of grey cotton fabric for this piece."
Walt Disney
"My brother is the Disneyphile! He asked if I could do a portrait of
Walt, like the one of my dad. And so you see it here, and there's even a
hidden symbol in the upper right corner, can you see it?"
Fantasia
"In the year 2000, Disney released Fantasia 2000. The Rite of Spring
segment moved me to tears, with the sprite, and the forest dying and
coming back to life.
So this moseiq is done with exactly 2000 squares
in (I forget how) many shades of green."
Madonna and Child
"[This is] a detail from a 16th-century oil painting by Bernardino Luini
called "The Virgin Holding the Sleeping Child with St John and Two
Angels." The reason this one is clearer is that it has a higher
resolution. That's more pixels per inch, just like with photos..... This 20x30-inch piece has 1,1813 squares in more than a hundred colors."
Horse
"The horse is taken from a gorgeous photo of a rescued mustang, an Arabian Mare. You can also see it at www.moseix.com".
Video
This video was forwarded to Scribbles by our Port Colborne friend Dave Webber. It seems appropriate that someone who's nickname is Animal, brought this Elephant and Dog video to our attention.
You
Our buddy Dave is back. Seen here in a photo found on facebook. "Great Uncle Dave having fun at the Hubbard's" was the pix accompanying text.
Great pix Dave, I mean "Great Uncle Dave", LOL!
Music Video
Ann and Nancy Wilson from Heart salute Led Zepplin with this haunting rendition of Stairway to Heaven.
Feb 2, 2014
Feb 1, 2014
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