Pat Keck: Genius and Best Artist Working Today!

A few years back, friend of friends Steve W. and I went to the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park to see an exhibit of an artist whose work I was excited to see and which turned out to be one of the very best and most memorable art exhibits I've ever seen...and I've seen a LOT of exhibits. Pat Keck carves beautiful and intricate figures out of wood that she saws and sculpts herself in her own sawmill. They are painted in a highly glossed paint with beautiful decorative patterns and many are interactive or automatons of different types.

She has a full size figure of the alternative singer Klaus Nomi reclining on a crypt. When you stand at the foot of the crypt and step on a lever... the figure rises up.

Then, there are 4 small figures sitting at a table under a sign that says "Messages". You put a coin in a slot and one or another of the figures taps out a message which then drops out a slot. Brilliant!!!                                   

Above is one of the messages I saved from this sculpture.
Another reason I feel so connected to Ms. Keck's work are some of her influences, one of which is actor Conrad Veidt who played an eerie yet captivating somnambulist in the early German expressionist silent film "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari".

 I am a huge fan of  German expressionist films many of which I saw as a teen in NY, including "Dr. Caligari" and Fritz Lang's "Dr. Mabuse" films.

(me painting Caligari's landscape in a High School art class)

I wish there were a permanent collection of her work established somewhere where I could take occasional pilgrimages to see it... because it haunts you, even years later and I would love to see it in person again.

Happy Easter plus More Bunnies!

Happy Easter! I hope your baskets were filled with chocolate and jelly beans and here are some extra Easter treats to make your day even bunnier . Two more bunny photos and two more bunny cartoons.

Easter Bunnies for All!

Who doesn't love spring and Easter and bunnies? Every so often I take Nico's bunnies out for some fresh air.
And, of course, every year I do new Easter bunny cartoons.
Here are two new cartoons and some new bunny photos.
I'll post more bunny mania tomorrow!

My New Book Review Blog

I have created an exciting new blog, "The Militant Recommender". I know, you're saying "she can't keep up with THIS one, how can she possibly keep up two?"
The answer is... I don't know. but hopefully I will be blogging about books once a week.
Please check it out when you have a minute!

My Career and a Great Title!

My friend, cartooning pioneer, and great writer Roz Warren, did a wonderful retrospective of my career called Books, Cats, and Love  for Women's Voices for Change. What a great title! It really sums it up in that perfect sentence!

 Almost all the women cartoonists I know owe a lot to Roz and her wonderful Laugh Lines Press and the immortal Women's Glibber series. She published two of my books "Men! Ha!" and "Caffeinated Cartoons" and used my work in almost all the Glibber books. Roz made creative women aware of all the other creative women working in the humor fields waaaaay before the internet. When I first saw the Glibber books I thought "Wow! Look at all this fantastic work!" I got to know Isabella Bannerman, Rina Piccolo, Ann Gibbons, Alison Bechdel and countless other fabulous women through those pages. I would LOVE to see Roz honored with the Reuben of the Year Award or at least The Silver T-Square. Hopefully that day will come!

NOMINATED!!!

I just heard that I've been nominated for the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award in the Newspaper Panel division!!!! This was such a surprise and a huge honor as it is a nomination that comes from your peers, and when your peers are some of the most diverse and talented people out there it means that much more!!! I got a call Thursday night from Sean Parkes who is the current NCS National Representative. I am sure I babbled at him incomprehensibly once he told me... so, thank you, Sean! This is the first time in my pretty long career that I've been nominated, but I've been a judge for the New England chapter many times and I know the thought and discussion that goes into judging each submission. So, a big, big thank you to the Canadian Chapter who judged this division. The set of cartoons I entered were from the feature I've been doing for 18 years for the Rochester Times called "Smile". It even predated "Fair Game"! Now, John and I are going to Vegas!!!

So wish me luck! I know there are two other incredible cartoonists nominated as well, Mark Parisi, who is also the head of the NE Chapter and famous, famous Wiley Miller. At least we don't have to go into an arena and fight each other to the death (Hunger Games style), though as we like to say in Panem: "May the Odds Be Ever in Your (in this case, My) Favor!"

Happy Birthday, Nico!!!

Cheers! Have a most fabulous day! Here are 28 photos that will have GREAT and IMPORTANT meaning for you...but probably nobody else! And some  cakes thrown in there in celebration! Real cake in 2 weeks!