...We interrupt your regularly scheduled animal updates for a late breaking concert review...
...We interrupt your regularly scheduled animal updates for a late breaking concert review...
Posted at 11:08 AM in Music! | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Ryan is getting annoyed right now because I'm supposed to be working on cleaning up the animals we will be releasing tomorrow but somehow I've completely distracted myself by looking for great duets to bulk up our iTunes folder of the same name.
Posted at 05:41 PM in Music!, Those who share | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Come one, come all to tonight's opening of Ryan Berkley's Dream Circus at Redux in Portland!
Redux is at 811 E. Burnside and the show will run from 6:30 to 9ish. Featuring (mostly) new art from Mr. Berkley including your favorites: animal portraits, Kenny, and other surreal scenarios.
While you're there you'll also need to check out the opening of the Grass Hut's Four Way Make-Out (just two doors down!) which includes work by the totally awesome Dawn Riddle. We've never met her (I don't think - maybe Ryan has) but we do have an excellent shark painting she did and I hear rumor more sharks may be in store tonight.
After that fun we're headed to see TV On The Radio as part of MusicFest Northwest. Man, so many great bands are playing in Portland this week it's really tough to have the ol' "busy" routine. We're both practically crying because we're missing Built to Spill play "Perfect From Now On" in order today.
Sorry that nothing about this post has anything to do with Action Figures. We just couldn't get it together this week. Yeah, I know. It's becoming way too much of a trend. After Renegade (a week from Saturday!) I promise we'll get it together better.
-Lucy
P.S. Happy Birthday Mom!
Posted at 12:14 PM in Art, Goings on, Music! | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Today we're really sad about the news of Isaac Hayes's passing.
Posted at 02:45 PM in Music!, On the road | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Something I'd like to do on this sharing blog is to highlight other artists/musicians/humans who create via sharing. There is just something so nice and inspiring about couples working together. The other night we went out to see the Handsome Furs (yes, that's two concerts in a week which is a record for us these days!). Not only are they an engaged duo band but they were literally sharing the drum machine at one point. So adorable.
Sorry those are a little blurry but considering we were in the balcony and I was zoomed in all the way I'd say they aren't too bad, actually.
[Also, please note that I was typing this a song by the married couple Mates of State came on my iTunes and it was immediately followed by the theme song from Batman, the TV show. That is really weird. I swear that kind of weird coincidence always happens to me. Or maybe I read into things too much.]
Posted at 11:16 AM in Goings on, Music!, Those who share | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Picking up where I left off...
Sunday was much more of an indoor day than Saturday which worked out well considering that Portland started to do that crazy ol' rain thing it's known for.
We spent much of the day at Crafty Wonderland in our corner bunker.
It was the second anniversary of the event and I can't believe time has gone so fast (cliche, I know). We sold at the very first sale and really that was the first time Ryan started doing the animal portraits. So, happy two year anniversary to you, animals!
Here is our first booth two years ago...
...and here is the first animal portrait Ryan drew. He's come a long way, no?
[*Fun fact* (For Oregonians) - Oregon Art Beat was filming that day for a segment on the Portland Craft Scene which will be airing on OPB in September!]
Somehow we had enough steam to make it out to the Cat Power show later that evening as well. My camera batteries died right when she took the stage but here is a pic of her opening act, Appaloosa.
We were a little confused when we walked in and saw this pretty lady in a sparkly green tube dress was singing alone with an electronic box. We thought perhaps we had stumbled into Open Mic night by mistake. As she went on, however, we really got into her and even bought her CD. She mentioned later in the set that the other member of the band was held up in London (presumably this was the person who usually controls the electronic boxes) so we have to give her serious props for going it alone. She kind of reminds me of Nico from the Velvet Underground mixed in with a little Stereolab.
Cat Power was grand, of course. Very intense. But concert going citizens of Portland - why must you talk so loud during quiet songs? Why?????
Now that the weekend is over, onto the Etsy business at hand! Here is the sneak preview of the originals we'll be listing on Ryan's Etsy site tomorrow evening. Please enjoy!
Posted at 08:23 PM in Animal Round-Up, Art, Crafty Wonderland, Goings on, Music! | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Ryan and I love associating new music we acquire with the season we're in. Right now I'm loving the beginings of spring with the new She and Him album. The album features the always lovely M. Ward and the equally lovely Zooey Deschanel. The whole thing has a retro vibe to it but it seems pretty clean and contemporary as well. It's a little bit country and a little bit R&B in the best possible ways.
Now, at the risk of ruining my indie street-cred, I first fell for the voice of Zooey Deschanel in some movie featuring this guy named Will Farrell. I believe it had something to do with Christmas. I even went so far as to look up the soundtrack on iTunes just so I could buy the song that Zooey sang. I was foiled by the common iTunes brick wall known as "available on album only". Though the album has some decent Christmas classics, I opted against laying out $9.99 for one song.
I waited patiently for the day that Zooey would release a non-Christmas Movie Soundtrack song and that day paid out very fruitfully. And she even teamed up with one of my favorite musical men to boot! While I'd love to hear a little more M. Ward singing along on the next album, this one is treating the beginning of spring very nicely indeed.
Is it obvious to point out that the name of the band works well with the whole "Let's Share" thing we've got going on here? Oh, it is? Sorry.
~Lucy
Posted at 03:37 PM in Music! | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)