Kick-Off @ Lorimoto Gallery for Ridgewood Open Studios October 2019

Heads up. Busy upcoming weekend in NYC. If you’re in the Ridgewood, Queens area, then check out the first ever Ridgewood Open Studios. I will have a painting on display as part of the Lorimoto Gallery group art exhibition.

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 All work exhibited is for sale.

Lorimoto Gallery: 1623 Hancock Street, Ridgewood Queens NY 11385

Opening reception: Oct. 4th, 2019, 6-9pm.

Ridgewood Open Studio Instagram

Lorimoto Gallery Instagram

Ridgewood Open Studios – Oct. 4-9 2019

So Brooklyn Open Studios just passed – and I was very lucky to be part of a group show, if you read the post prior to this. Now there’s going to be the first annual Ridgewood Open Studios. While Ridgewood, Queens is close to the Bushwick, Brooklyn border, it was about time for Ridgewood to stand out on its own. You can check out the website here.

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Flyer for Ridgewood Open Studios, Oct. 4 – 9th, 2019.

Yours truly will have a painting up in a group art exhibit created just for Ridgewood Open Studios, at Lorimoto Gallery. You can also follow them on Instagram.

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You can read an article about the upcoming event here.

See you there. My report on Bushwick Open Studio forthcoming.

Ridgewood Open Studio website

This Week’s Events: Trans-Cen-Der July 2019, Trashland Zinefest II & MF Gallery August 2019.

This is extremely short notice. This Tuesday, July 30th, 2019, I will be giving a small talk about my illustrations and artwork at the monthly Trans-Cen-Der. The event runs from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm. The location is at Brooklyn Fire Proof in Bushwick, Brooklyn NY. There will be four other artists as well, working in all mediums. Admission is free but seating is limited.

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Monthly Trans-Cen-Der artist event/lecture at Brooklyn Fire Proof, in Bushwick, Brooklyn NY.

This Saturday will be a busy day. During the day I’ll have a table at the Trashland Zinefest II, located at The Footlight in Ridgewood, Queens NY. Admission is free, the event runs from 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm. I’ll be selling my comics, greeting cards and other items.

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Poster for the Trashland Zinefair II, taking place at The Footlight NYC. Located in Ridgewood, Queens NY. Event August 3rd, 2019.

At Trashland Zinefest II, copies of my latest comic The Temptation of Squeaky will be on sale. Drop by my table and buy your own copy.

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The Temptation of Squeaky. Latest comic from artist and writer Michele Witchipoo, on WitchesBrewPress. 2019.

On Saturday evening, I will be attending the MF Gallery opening party for their Rocky Horror Picture Show art exhibit. Opening party is from 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Costumes and Rocky Horror cosplay is encouraged. There will be a screening of the classic cut film as well.

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MF Gallery’s flyer for The Rocky Horror Picture Show art exhibit. Opening party Sat. Aug. 3rd, 2019 in Brookyn, NY.

Below is the painting I did for the Rocky Horror art exhibit. It’s classic Dr. Frank-N-Futer. The mediums were acrylic paint and glitter, inside a refurbished vintage wooden frame.

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Painting of Dr. Frank-N-Futer, main protagonist of the classic cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Mediums: acrylic paint and glitter, inside a refurbished vintage wooden frame. Painting by Michele Witchipoo, July 2019. Painting for sale.

If you’re local in the NYC area, then come down to at least one of these events.

Trashland Zinefest II

If you’re local in the NYC area, particularly Ridgewood and Bushwick, then check out this one day event. Trashland Zinefest II. I’m going to have a table there, selling my latest comic, greeting cards and other goodies. It’s at The Footlight. The date is Saturday, Aug 3rd, from  2pm – 6 pm. Admission free.

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Later that same night, come down to MF Gallery for the Rocky Horror Picture Show tribute. There’s going to be by various talented artists, costumes and a screening of the iconic film. Opening event is from 7 pm – 10 pm. Location in Brooklyn. I’m going to have a painting in that exhibit.

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Krampus Holiday Fair Review/Paper Rock Scissors Collective

Craft fairs are common now, but the first one put together by the new NYC collective Rock Paper Scissors was 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.

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It even received some local press such as QNS.com.

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The pop-up Krampus Holiday Fair went fairly well. It took place at The Cobra Club, located in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC.

The vendors were:

A Limitless Win

House of Mars

Jackie Hates You

Lulu’s Homemade Gourmet Dog Treats

Munch Art Studio

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Flower Crowns by Sparkly Churl

Rue 78 Vintage

UltraFresca

Whimsical Art Shop

Witches Brew Press

Rumor has it that there might be a pop-up fair just in time for Valentine’s Day. So check with the Facebook page for future events.

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Krampus Holiday Fair Article

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.

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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.

Made In Ridgewood @ OUTPOST Photos

This past weekend was the opening reception for the Made In Ridgewood exhibit, held at OUTPOST Artists Resources for Bushwick Open Studios 2016. There was a large turn out for the opening night. OUTPOST and Ridgewood Artists Coalition got together, gathering local artists from the Ridgewood,Queens area of NYC.

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Reverend Mother by Michele Witchipoo as seen in the Made In Ridgewood (Ridgewood Artists Coalition) group art exhibit at OUTPOST Artists Resources for Bushwick Open Studios 2016. Pen and ink on illustration board.

My work was part of this group art show, debuting this new piece. There were various mediums and styles ranging from painting, sculpture, video, photography and interactive. Of course it helped that open bar was courtesy of Finback brewery, another local Ridgewood establishment. It should be noted that Finback makes some very good beers. So if craft beers are your thing, definitely check it out.

Artists were: Yasmeen Abdullah, Kate Bae, Bill Bartholomew, Ethan Boisvert, Michele Borg (Michele Witchipoo), Daniel Boventer, Mengwen Cao, Campy Dicks, Liliana Dirks-Goodman, Nathalie Di Sciascia, Elizabeth Donsky, Rachel Dove , Danielle Draik, Pablo García, Ida Gavois, Tim Gowan, Huisi He, Georgia Hinaris, Ji Hoon Kim , An Hu, Daniel Iliescu , Liz Johnson (Spadiode), Sandra Koponen, Molly Lambe , Connor Lawson, Deanna Lee, Stephen Lewis, Christina Massey, Varvara Mikushkina, David Nakabayashi, Sharilyn Neidhardt, James Peay, Joshua Pelletier, Kyle Andrew Phillips, Gabriela Rassi , Elizabeth Riley, George Rosa, Christopher Rose , Rebecca Rubinstein, Isabelle Schneider, Sara Schraeter, Farshid Shafiey, Vered Snear, Jeanette Spicer, Kelli Thompson, Jimmy Valdez Osaku, Allison Wade, Tyson Washburn, Chenli Ye, Beata Zalewski, Alex Drewchin, Greg Fox, Winslow Laroche, Jonah Rosenberg, Andrew Sutherland, Caterina Verde, David Wightman, Magin Schantz, and Libby Mislan.

If you missed the opening reception, you can still check the exhibit until October 15th.

Thanks to OUTPOST Artist Resources and Emily Heinz for putting this together.

Next post: Bushwick Open Studios 2016 in photos.

Made In Ridgewood – Bushwick Open Studios 2016 @OUTPOST Artists Resources

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Tomorrow is the Made In Ridgewood group art exhibit at OUTPOST Artists Resources for Bushwick Open Studios 2016 (BOS). The opening reception will be from 6pm – 9pm. The exhibit itself will be up from Oct. 1st – Oct. 15th, 2016. Made In Ridgewood came out of the Ridgewood Artists Coalition, a collective of local artists. This event is also listed on the Hyperallergic guide to BOS 2016. I will among one of many artists showing work at the show.

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Photo: Image courtesy of NUTUREart. “Boots in Balls” Campy Dicks 2016
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One of the cats living at OUTPOST Artist Resources. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Sept. 2016. 

Bushwick Open Studios 2016 – Made In Ridgewood

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.

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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.

See you during Bushwick Open Studios.

 

 

 

Bushwick Open Studios/RAC At Vander Ende-Onderdonk House, June 2015

In the NYC, this will prove to be a busy weekend. Quite a few events are happening. For starters, there’s going to be the Special Edition New York Comic Con at Pier 94. On Sunday itself, there will be a free event at Flushing Meadow Park in Queens celebrating the 75th and 50th anniversaries of the NYC World’s Fair. (Always been fascinated by the history of the World’s Fair myself.)

Ad for the Ridgewood Represent! The Ridgewood Artists Coalition Group Show at the Vander-Ende Onderdonk House, as part of Bushwick Open Studios (RAC), taking place June 6-7 2015.
Ad for the Ridgewood Represent! The Ridgewood Artists Coalition Group Show at the Vander-Ende Onderdonk House, as part of Bushwick Open Studios (RAC), taking place June 6-7 2015.

Then there’s going to be the Bushwick Open Studios, June 7-8th 2015. I will have my illustrations/drawings on exhibit as part of this group show. Entitled Ridgewood Represent! The Ridgewood Artists Coalition Group Show at Bushwick Open Studios, the show will be held at the historic Vander Ende-Onderdonk House located at 1820 Flushing Avenue, Ridgewood, NY 11385. The Vander Ende-Onderdonk House, according to Wikipedia, is the oldest Dutch Colonial stone house in New York City. In the past, the house has been a livery stable, speakeasy, office and as a parts factory for the Apollo space program. Now it’s an historical landmark, open to the public. The event is free, and is part of the new Ridgewood Artists Coalition (RAC) that formed earlier this year. 

I also found out yesterday that thanks to this event, I had a listing on the ArtSlant website. I’ve participated in a lot more shows than listed on ArtSlant, but not complaining. Below is one of the my pieces selected for this show.

Pen and digital color. Drawn and illustrated by Michele Witchipoo, Feb., 19th, 2015.
Pen and digital color. Drawn and illustrated by Michele Witchipoo, Feb., 19th, 2015.