Craft fairs are common now, but the first one put together by the new NYC collective Rock Paper Scissorswas a success. The collective, based in Queens, NY was formed recently to promote local work of artists, artisans and writers in the Queens and Brooklyn boroughs through group exhibitions & pop-ups.
It even received some local press such as QNS.com.
The pop-up Krampus Holiday Fair went fairly well. It took place at The Cobra Club, located in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC.
Just a quick reminder. If you’re in the NYC area, particularly Bushwick and Ridgewood, then don’t miss out on the Krampus Holiday Fair happening tomorrow, Saturday Dec. 17th, free admission, from 4 – 8 pm. It’s happening at The Cobra Club, located at 6 Wyckoff Avenue. You can take the L train to Jefferson Street. The event is for 21+.
The event is being put together by the newly formed Paper Rock Scissors Collective. You can check out the FB invite here, and check out the FB page for future PRS events there.
This fair got a bit of press from QNC.com
I’ve created some one of a kind tree ornaments exclusively for this fair.
Cthulhu ornament created by Michele Witchipoo. Dec. 2016
Hermetic Holiday ornament created by Michele Witchipoo Dec. 2016.
Christmas angel ornament created by Michele Witchipoo Dec. 2016.
These other ornaments I’ve created will also be available for purchase. Not many of the Krampus ornaments left, so grab them while you can. The same goes for the David Bowie ornament. My comics and greeting cards will also be available for purchase, in particular, my popular Krampus card.
Black glitter Krampus ornament created by Michele Witchipoo, Nov. 2016.
Glitter David Bowie (Aladdin Sane era) ornament created by Michele Witchipoo, Nov. 2016.
Plain black Krampus ornament created by Michele Witchipoo, Nov. 2016.
Red glitter Krampus ornaments created 2015.
My comics and greeting cards will also be available for purchase, in particular, my popular Krampus card.
Two of my greeting card designs. Photo Dec. 2016.
Don’t forget to check out the other vendors as well.
There was a mention about the upcoming Krampus Holiday Fair this Saturday, happening over at The Cobra Club in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Free admission. You can read about the write-up over at qns.com. You can also check out the Facebook invite here.
There will be talented vendors selling various crafts and artisan goods. Check out the Facebook invite for details. I’ll be there selling my handmade tree ornaments, greeting cards and comics. See you there this Saturday.
For those who hate the elf on the shelf. So does Psycho Bunny.
This week’s Psycho Bunny sketch of the week.
Psycho Bunny as Elf On A Shelf. The Psycho Bunny Sketch of The Week. Based on the comic by Michele Witchipoo. Dec. 12th, 2016.
This week I will be at the Krampus Holiday Fair Saturday. Dec. 17th, from 4-8pm. Free admission, at The Cobra Bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The event is put together by the new Paper Rock Scissors Collective. The Facebook invite is here. It’ll be my last vending event until next year, 2017.
Don’t forget to click like on both the Psycho Bunny and WitchesBrewPress Facebook pages as well. Till next time.
One last fair to close out 2016. Alright, so 2016 was a bust universally. Especially with Trump, aka ‘Cheetos Man’ as the U.S. President Elect. Yuck. You can still find some cheer at the upcoming Krampus Holiday Fair.
The Krampus Holiday Fair will be at The Cobra Club Sat. Dec. 17th, from 4 – 8pm. Free admission. If you’re in the NYC area, you can take the L subway line, getting off at Jefferson Ave to 6 Wyckoff Ave. The fair, put together by the Paper Rock Scissors Collective, will have vendors selling various crafts and artisan treats. I’ll have a table selling my comics, greeting cards and tree ornaments.
Some good news. For those in the NYC area, especially within Bushwick and Ridgewood. You can now get my Krampus greeting cards. Without having to order online, or find me at a comic con, you can now head over to Catland Books.
Krampus cards designed by Michele Witchipoo. Now available on sale at Catland Books. Dec. 2016.
Catland mostly caters to the esoteric, but occasionally they have the Crimson Hand Comic Arts festival. They support local artists and crafty heathens. Catland also puts on various events, so definitely check them out.
This just in. I’m going to taking part of this one day comic con in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The location will be at Catland Books.
The Crimson Hand Comic Arts Festivalwill return on Saturday, Dec. 3rd, 2016, starting at 1:00 pm. I will be selling my own self-published comics, greeting cards and a brand new batch of Krampus holiday ornaments.
Flyer for the Crimson Hand Comic Arts event at Catland Books Dec. 3rd, 2016.
Still trying to get back on track. Stay tuned for photos from MICE, and the return of the Psycho Bunny sketch of the week.
The next day after the opening reception of the Made In Ridgewood exhibit at OUTPOST Artists Resources, decided to spend Sunday checking out the rest of Bushwick Open Studios 2016. After all, BOS is in my backyard.
This year, 2016, Bushwick Open Studios was moved from summer to fall. Rumor had it that BOS was attracting too much of the “frat party” crowd. Therefore it was moved to late September. In a way, can’t say I blame them. Although the tourists have already discovered part of Bushwick. Which means the clock is ticking. At this point it’s just a matter of time. Gentrification really does suck.
My first stop was this tiny flea market on Wyckoff Avenue between Dekalb and Jefferson. I was greeted by this sight:
What is Floraissance anyway? Whatever it is, there’s already haters. Floraissance resistance? Bushwick, Brooklyn Oct. 1st, 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
Didn’t stay too long in this flea market. Having always been a fan of thrift shop curios, there were some things that caught my eye. Didn’t buy anything basically because I have too many items in my home already. Met this lady who has this neat shop on Etsy called Neocronomicharm. The jewelry is right up my alley.
Continuing along Wyckoff. Here was my first official sighting of a BOS showing. Inside a parked car. Nearby that overpriced gourmet market Hana Natural. Hana’s is the only place in Bushwick where its mark-up is more pricey than anything in Manhattan.
Art exhibit inside a parked car during Bushwick Open Studios 2016. Oct. 1st, 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
Due to being busy, I didn’t bother looking up any BOS guides online. My first stop was the popular Cobra Club. Used to spend a lot of time there, meeting the usual dysfunctional characters. One time me and a friend heckled this host doing some lame trivia night. Turns out we knew all the correct answers, but what was the point? So we said “peanut butter” to every question asked. At one point the host requested not to answer anymore questions with “peanut butter” but that only prompted us even more. This was nothing compared to one night in early November 2014. The host doing trivia that night presented a question about The Sex Pistols. Sex Pistols!?! How corny can you get? I was already in a foul mood, so I yelled from the back of the place “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE SEX PISTOLS!?!” The millennial host stood there in silence for about a minute, then dropped the question completely, moving onto a different subject. While it wasn’t fair to assume he didn’t know what he was talking about, it was still a cheesy trivia question regardless.
Despite trivia nights, I still like Cobra a lot. This year Cobra has a music photography exhibit in the back room. This is where Cobra usually has bands perform, karaoke (another thing I hate), burlesque and yoga. The photographer was Jeanette D. Moses.
Photography by Jeanette D. Moses. Cobra Club, Bushwick Brooklyn at Cobra Club during Bushwick Open Studios 2016. Oct. 1st, 2016.
Having only stayed in Cobra Club for a few minutes, I moved on to the next few sightings. Such as the street art and wall murals. Just as I snapped the below photo, someone approached me claiming to be a talent scout. She complemented me on my hair, said I had a “good vibe”, then took a few photos of me. This doesn’t matter as I’m not photogenic anyway. Was this a scam? Regardless, I suspect she was turned off once I revealed my true age.
Bushwick street art. Wyckoff Avenue. Oct. 1st, 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
Continuing onward. Checking out more street art and wall murals.
Then I saw this:
A tour guide giving tourists a lecture about street art in Bushwick, Brooklyn during Bushwick Open Studios 2016. Oct. 1st, 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
A tour guide giving guided walks discussing street art to tourists. A fricken’ tour guide. In Bushwick, Brooklyn. Hey, guess everyone has to make a living. Still prompted me to post this on Facebook from my smartphone:
Saw some more street mural art.
Street art mural in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Oct. 1st, 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
Mextasis Se Habla Arte Mexicano gallery during Bushwick Open Studios 2016. Oct. 1st, 2016.
Once arriving at 1717 Troutman, it was kinda like BOS jackpot. Every studio was buzzing with activity. Exhaustion was starting to come down, so I only stayed on the third floor.
Bushwick Open Studios 2016 at 1717 Troutman. Oct. 1st, 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
Bushwick Open Studios 2016 at 1717 Troutman. Oct. 1st, 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Artist: Allison Demyanovich.
Bushwick Open Studios 2016 at 1717 Troutman. Oct. 1st, 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Artist: Derek Weisberg
Artist Jaclyn Brown uses dogs and cats in her paintings.
Artist Jaclyn Brown at 1717 Troutman during Bushwick Open Studios 2016.
Artist Jaclyn Brown at 1717 Troutman during Bushwick Open Studios 2016.
Artist Jaclyn Brown at 1717 Troutman during Bushwick Open Studios 2016.
It was time to head back home, passing by the empty PBR cans as if they were hipster crumb trails (as my friend kindly stated). Despite my snarky commentary, this year’s BOS was a good one. Definitely way too many things to see for two days. Till next year, unless I get priced out thanks to the glory of gentrification.
This time there’s not just one, but two Psycho Bunny pics of the week.
The first one is about Bushwick Open Studios 2016. For those who don’t know, Bushwick Open Studios, otherwise known as BOS is an annual event where artists from the Bushwick, Brooklyn area open their studios to the public. There were a lot of good work seen this year. Such as the Made In Ridgewood exhibit. Although I had plenty of snark for tourists who wouldn’t been caught dead in the same area fifteen – twenty years ago, there was amazing work in all mediums by various artists. Despite seeing some guy give walking tours about Bushwick street murals.
Psycho Bunny came by to check out some art – but he was really there for the open bar.
Psycho Bunny checking out art while looking for the open bar. Based on the comic by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 3rd, 2016.
The second one is about the upcoming New York Comic Con. Whatever few friends he had, one of them was nice enough to get a little something. Only Psycho Bunny being the drunk that he is, is not amused.
Psycho Bunny gets a gift from someone who attended NYCC. Only being a drunk rabbit, he’s not amused. Based on the comic by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 3rd, 2016.
Now for some promotional chatter. I’ll be at MICE in a few weeks. So if you’re in the area, come by to buy a comic. I’ll be table C99. Also check out the Facebook pages for both Psycho Bunny and WitchesBrewPress.
This just in. I will be participating in the 2016 Bushwick Open Studios (BOS) event with the Ridgewood Artist Coalition (RAC) over at OUTPOST Artist Resources from October 1 – 15 2016, from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm. This will be a group art exhibit featuring many artists from the Ridgewood, Queens area of NYC, displaying work in various mediums.
Opening night details can be found on this OUTPOST page, from noon to 7 pm.
I’m especially pleased because I’ll be showing something fresh. This is part of a new series I’m working on. The series is still in process but I managed to get the first part in on time.
Reverend Mother. Pen, ink, illustration board. 2016. Loosely based on Frank Herbert’s Dune series. Illustration by Michele Witchipoo.
The new series is loosely based on Frank Herbert’s Dune. For a little over a year and half stone, I’ve been getting back into the science fiction genre. (In fact, the 50th anniversary of Star Trek happened this past Wednesday as of this posting.) Particularly those of a Dystopian nature. Dystopia is very fitting into these times, especially with current world and political events. Also, I think Dystopia forces us to confront some very uncomfortable truths about humanity through fiction. Many times Dystopian fiction is very disturbingly prophetic.
Despite some slight reservations I have about how the women are depicted in the Dune series, it’s still one of the best sci-fi stories of all time. My introduction to Dune came during my early ’80s adolescence. The film adaption finally came to the big screen, which I was lucky enough to catch during it’s original theatrical release. The film was produced by flashy producer Dino De Laurentiis and directed by art house fave David Lynch. It wasn’t the greatest film adaption, but at least it supplied some sort of visualization. It had enough impact upon me to buy the paperback at a local Queens drugstore, with the movie poster as the book cover. Years later gave this copy away, which I came to regret. Since then I’ve re-brought the novel at Topos Bookstore.
Enough details. What drew me back to Dune once again was through personal conversations, and it’s correspondence to magick. There’s a brilliant quote that’s pretty well known. It goes like this:
‘I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.’
You can apply this passage not only as an occultist, but also as any sort of creative. Whether you’re an artist, a writer, a musician, actor, etc. This can apply to life in general. In order to accomplish anything, one must get over, or break away from whatever holds the person back. You will never discover your true Will if you allow fear to overtake you.
Revisiting Dune the second time around, the characters that appealed to me the most were the Reverend Mothers. Otherwise known as the Bene Gesserit. The Bene Gesserit is a very powerful sisterhood that can be liken to witches. So I’ve gone back using symbolism such as alchemy and combined it with the likeness of the Reverend Mothers.
The above piece is for sale. If anyone wants to acquire, you can send me an email.
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