See Wertz Pull Prints in Public!

My Darlings,

my presence has been requested as part of the All of Us or None poster show at the Oakland Museum, and I’m eager (yet full of trepidation). A good friend recently pointed out that my current level of neurosis is rather high, and I think it’s because I keep on making public appearances in very public places. Like, for instance, in museums and bookstores. And I don’t just appear, darlings, I do things in public. Like sing, or, in this case, pull screenprints that will be given away to the gathered masses for free.

I usually spend a good deal of time by myself with just a pencil and some paper and my dog to talk to, so you understand. Things could go wrong. Terribly wrong. My good friend (and collaborator*) Jim Winters will be there to help out if we have to clean out a screen or extract a squeegee from my eye socket, so that’s good.

I’ll be pulling (about 50) prints in the gallery from 5:00-6:30 pm on Friday, April 27, 2012, in the galleries of the Oakland Museum. It’s free, I think.

Here’s the mantra for the evening : IMPERFECT = REAL. Write this on your hand with a sharpie, and come on down to the galleries to see me pull prints. Directly afterwards, I’ll be signing the large Peace Sign OMCA Prints at the OMCA Store. See below.

Hope to see you there!

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Here’s a preview of the print I’ll be pulling:

Here’s the OMCA Peace Sculpture Print:

Here’s how messy the process can be:

* Plus the guy is an amazing artist, and got me on the road to silkscreen – I should be there supporting him, not the other way around.

new prints & books & tees up in the shop!

Hey kids,

It’s been a busy summer in the silkscreen studio, and finally I can share some of the work I’ve been producing. There’s a mess of new stuff to peruse on the shop page: the collaborative book by Mister Jim Winters and myself, Queen for Two Weeks, numbered and signed and packed up pretty in a cellophane wrapper. The super-tall-and super-fifties Sutro Tower screenprint. The longer-than tall Lake Merritt (featuring the also-longer-than-tall Lake Merritt Monster). There is also a photograph of an attractive young man modeling the t-shirt design (it looks just like the Sutro Tower print) I did for therethere.

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Dazzling Dogs Release Recap

Frenz,

I’m totally overwhelmed by the positive response – we packed Diesel Books! It was SRO! We also sold out of copies of A Dazzling Display of Dogs (but not to worry – if you want a copy, you can order one here).

For those of you who braved the rainy weather and [maybe even] came out with your kids on a Wednesday night – I thank you! I hope you had as much fun as we did. Thanks also to Tricycle Press (this is, sadly, one of the last books they will publish), Suki and Andy for the music, and Loriana and Carolee for helping out and setting up. Thanks to Betsy Franco for making the trip to Oakland, and to Diesel Books for being so accommodating. If you’re in the Bay Area, go buy your books there! It’s a great shop.

Here’s a little video that Michael Zelner shot (thanks Michael!):

What’s next for the book? Well, The Mutts are going to be recording these songs for real sometime soon. Betsy and I are going to be making a book trailer or two for the two books we’ve published together thus far. There are also rumblings about another collaboration. Stay tuned.

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It’s fun to play at the OMCA

Hubbo Frubends.

Yesterday I spent a long, lovely afternoon at the OMCA taking photographs and sketching. For those of you who have not yet seen the newly-curated and mixed-up Oakland Museum, this is me giving you a gentle nudge. Go do it. It’s so worth it.

Here’s a taste.

First things first: Barry McGee and a gorgeous California landscape. This came from that.

This is a snap of my favorite piece at the museum: Michael C. McMillen’s “Aristotle’s Cage”, a mixed media installation from 1983. There’s some interesting interviews with Mr. McMillen here.

A sketch I did of the same. I could have stayed in there for hours. Good news: Michael McMillen has a few more installations at the museum right now! Go see them!

The door to Elsewhere. At last!

There’s this cool portrait wall that you can add your own portrait to. I did it, and your portrait shows up on the wall with the others. Such a cool idea. Be kind, I did this with a tablet and my fingers.

On to the roof garden: the OMCA is a labyrinth, with a three-tiered garden that mirrors the three levels of the museum. This spot has a lovely view of Lake Merritt.

There are giant koi and pidges there. Lots of pidges. Upside-down pidges.

The California collection is literally chock-full of amazing historic ephemera.

A family of settlers from the gold rush era: how serious they are. How difficult their lives must have been.

A collection of native birds and reptiles, which made me think of the California neighborhood where I grew up. When I was young, it was golden rolling hills and orchards. We used to catch some of these lizards in the hills by my house. Now, the same land (most all of it) is filled with condos. Where are the birds and lizards?

Dogs.

A beatnik kit! Impress your friends with your beatnik skills!

The wonders one can create with a LOT of extra time and a hot glue gun. Here’s a completely bejewelled dresser. Fantastic.

Lots of great psychedelic posters on view:

This marvelous getup was worn by José Sarria, also known as “Empress José I, The Widow Norton”. These photos (taken without flash) do NOT do this dress service!

Though I was pretty wiped out by the time I had visited both the contemporary and California collections, there was still more: Splendors of Faith/Scars of Conquest. This exhibit “explores the rich artistic legacy of the Franciscan and Jesuit mission churches in northern Mexico and the American Southwest”.

I was not prepared for the beauty I was about to behold, nor was I prepared for the bloodshed. It’s literally stunning. At this point, I was asked to put my cel phone away (which I totally understand – people talking on their phones in the gallery make me want to yell), so I don’t have any pictures of the larger paintings. You just have to go see them for yourself.

Here’s what I do have: A sweet little statue of St. Francis of Assisi, from the late 17th century. He is the patron saint of animals, and the saint after which our fine city by the bay is named. I gave him back his hands.

Ready? > set > go

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Book launch for A Dazzling Display of Dogs!

Arf,

Arf arf arf arf arf.

Please join us at Diesel Books in Oakland as we celebrate the release of the latest kids book by Betsy Franco and Michael Wertz, A Dazzling Display of Dogs. This book is the follow-up to A Curious Collection of Cats, honor winner for Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, NCTE Notable Poetry Book of 2009. A Dazzling Display of Dogs is already getting rave reviews. It was great fun to make – see a sneak preview of more images here.

We’re super excited to return to Diesel Books for the launch party – the launch for the cat book was super fun.

We are such goofs. There will probably be more of this. Plus pens and books and things. And cheese. There will be cheese. I hope you can make it. Can you? Say yes!

UPDATE: looks like we’ll be joined by Betsy Franco herself at this event! She’ll be sharing images from the book and discussing her creative process. We’ll also “enjoy” some light entertainment by the MUTTS: Andy Cowitt – ukelelelele, Suki O’Kane – Toy Drum Kit, Michael Wertz – vox.

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A Dazzling Display of Dogs on shelves this week!

Friends to the Four-Pawed:

my second picture book, A Dazzling Display of Dogs (written by Betsy Franco – yes, that Betsy Franco), has been released and is available at your local bookstore and online. We’re super excited about it over here, and hope you’ll get yourself a copy!

The book release party has been set for March 23, at Diesel Books here in Oakland. Andy and I will probably, as with the Curious Cats opening, embarrass ourselves in front of you. Just to let you know.

Here’s a great review from School Library Journal:

Starred Review. Grade 1–5 – This follow-up to A Curious Collection of Cats (Tricycle, 2009) is dazzling indeed. Each of the 34 poems features a different animal, most of them engaged in true dog behavior. From farting in the car to wheezing and snoring while sleeping, these pups are funny and lovable even when they’re being annoying. The verses and the book’s design are beautifully matched. In “Emmett’s Ode to His Tennis Ball,” the text is enclosed in a circle held firmly in the dog’s mouth. It begins, “Slobbery, sloppy, slimy, sphere—oh, tennis ball, I hold you dear….” Like the poems, the pictures are funny and dynamic. The pages are definitely full, yet careful use of color, typeface, and detail means they never look chaotic. A note says the pictures were started in pencil and then finished using monoprints and Adobe Photoshop. Overall, a delight for kids, their adults, and maybe even their beloved canine companions.—Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Sadly, ‘A Dazzling Display of Dogs’ is one of the last books that Tricycle press will publish. I am so grateful to my editor Abigail Samoun for making this book happen!

See more images from the book here.

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lake merritt monsters, cryptic posters, and the 2011 dog dreams calendar…

are waiting for you at the wertzateria shop. I just updated the site, and that shop page is jam packed with stuff to buy your friends who have birthdays in January. NOTE: with every order in January, you will get a free 2011 Dog Dreams Calendar! (This offer doesn’t apply to outside vendors, like Oaklandish.)

Those Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker folks (who were nice enough to hire me to do another poster for their end-of-year shows) never disappoint! The show at the Independent in San Fransassy was sold-out, and they said they had some “surprises” in store. Well, turned out their rhythm section was stuck in the blizzard, so they had to improvise. It was still (yet again) an amazing show! The Wertzateria even got a nice shout-out from David and Victor.

I just finished a new tee-shirt design for There There, a spin-off company of Oaklandish. It’s my favorite San Francisco landmark, Sutro Tower.

I am charging a few doll-hairs for the 2011 calendars, but if you’re lucky enough to live close to Cafe 504 in Oakland, I’ll be dropping a few off there that you can go and grab for free. If you do go there, make sure and buy a delicious warm beverage and a home-made sweet. This café has made this sleepy little neighborhood into a community, and we’re lucky to have them!

Many thanks go to my copiously talented sister Julie Wertz for designing the Dog Dreams calendar (and making it happen every year!). Thanks also to Lee Wood Press for printing the calendars, and to Hanson Digital for the scans of the Dog Dreams prints.

Speaking of Dog Dreams, I have 2 or 3 of those little books left. If you want one, get one now. They’ll be gone soon.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a most wonderful Holiday season.

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Inky Oxnard’s Holiday Frenzy!

Dear Friends Who Are Wearing Sweaters,

I’d like to cordially invite you all to my very first Studio Sale at the new silkscreen studio (*Inky Oxnard) in West Oakland. I’ve invited some amazingly cool (and talented!) friends to join me: Isabel Samaras, Dave Warnke, Jim Winters, and Lloyd Dangle.

This is going to be EPIC, people.

The sparkly wonderland of gifts that will await your arrival: screenprints at ridiculously low prices, lovingly printed teeshirts, framed pieces, a few pieces on wood from Super Furry Animals, landscapes, Squirrel Plates, stickers, books, paintings on canvas, wood, and cardboard. There will be gifts to fit every budget. We will make it worth your while, people. PLUS there will be snacks. Oh, yes. You read that right. Snacks.

This is Inky, welcoming you to the studio. Go ahead, have some hooch! If he had arms, he’d hug you. Inky’s had a hard year.

Isabel Samaras is bringing:
* Collector Porcelain Plates (think Hamilton Mint but much, much cooler) of the image “Nutz!”, both signed/numbered limited editions and “seconds” with slight damages at huuuuge discount!
* Fabulous books and postcard books that can be signed and personalized! (Including: “On Tender Hooks“, “Isabel Samaras Postcards” and “Devil Babe’s Big Book of Fun!”)
* Limited edition signed and numbered jigsaw puzzles!
* Signed button sets!

Jim Winters will be selling his stunning silk screened landscape prints:

Dave Warnke is hard at work on some goofy gumdrop paintings. Yes. You can have one. Don’t eat it.

Lloyd Dangle is a master of all things comic:

And here’s a print you might like. These things will be priced to MOVE, people.

Have we enticed you? Will you turn away from Facebook long enough to come visit and have some cider? It will be hard, I know, but I have confidence in YOU!

The Deets:
Inky Oxnard’s Holiday Frenzy
December 11, 2010. 11 am – 5 pm
3264 Ettie Street, Oakland, CA 94608

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* Inky Oxnard is Andy’s Porn Name.