ORIGINAL ART : Crazy Castle!

"Crazy Castle"
wood blocks, laser-cut frame pieces, assemblage, acrylic and spray paint,
German foil scrap, and various mixed media
by Tommy Kovac
     We had all these extra little square wood shelves from some media shelving we keep CDs and DVDs on, and they've been sitting in the garage for years, because I kept thinking I could use them for some art project. So this is the project.
     I used all of the little square shelves, and then started sawing off pieces of other long shelves I got from my aunt, using my jig-saw to make the turret thingies.
     I had sooooo much fun with spray paint, acrylic paints, and these rad paint markers I ordered on Amazon! Not to mention weird little found pieces of shit I used to hang in the windows.
     Here are some detail pics:

It's one of those baubles from a chandelier, but now it's a NOSE!
Isn't that just the SILLIEST?!

Broken piece of wind chime I've been hoarding for about a decade.

Tiny baby with chandelier bauble head! CRAZINESS!
     And here are some pics of the various stages of construction, and my cluttered work areas:



This was really where most of the magic happened, right on the living room floor in front of the TV. I make messes like this all over the house, and leave stacks and piles of paint tubes, colored pencils, spray paint cans, shavings of stuff, etc. Then Anthony has to come along and vacuum when I'm done because I'm allergic.

ORIGINAL ART : The Ballad of Tubert

"Tubert"
extra-thick cardboard packing tube, paint markers, duct tape, ric-rac,
adhesive gem thingies, pipe cleaners, feather, cake decorating hat, and craft foam
by Tommy Kovac
     Why Tubert? Why not, I say.
     When we unpacked a big box with an unassembled exercise machine, there was this random super-thick cardboard tube in it that seemed to serve no purpose. It wasn't keeping anything in place, it had nothing inside of it, it was just kind of... there.
     But now it is Tubert, and has purpose, meaning, and personality.
     Here he is in the nude:
The nude form is nothing to be ashamed of.

FERNS

The following is a guide to my ferns, with brief commentary.

Fern #1
     Fern #1 is my favorite. Prehistoric and lush, it stands guard at our front door. I don't even care if the other ferns KNOW Fern #1 is my favorite.

Fern #2
     Fern #2 is the newest. It's a "Mother Fern," according to the little card thingie. It's delicate, leafy, and just an all-around dear. (And yes, that's a Chihuahua leg on the right.)

Fern #3
     I would like to give Fern #3 the "Most Improved" award. It's had some hard, brown & brittle times over the past year, lurking there by the front steps, beaten down by the harsh sun. But I don't give up on it. No, sir.
     I mean, it's not my FAVORITE, like Fern #1. But it's nice.

(Fern #3's fernhole)

Fern #4

     Fern #4 is kind of a disappointment. I mean, I've TRIED. God knows, I have. It started out in Fern #1's pot and location, but just couldn't handle it. Didn't THRIVE. Know what I mean? When I dumped it out of the pot in favor of the more robust and charismatic Fern #1, I almost just dropped Fern #4 in the trash. But I'm not a monster. So I gave it another try at the back of the house, in the shade.
     It keeps withering, though, like a bitch.
     I suppose there's a bit of hope, though, because right now it's on the upturn. Could it be a candidate for "Most Improved" for next year? Possibly. But it better really step up its game with the leafy, and the prehistoric, and the frondy.

Ferns #5

     The Asparagus Ferns at the base of the blue gazing ball in front of the house are like the Borg in that they share a hive mind, which is why they are collectively "#5." They are tough and green and lanky, no matter how much direct sunlight they get. I don't know why I don't consider them "my favorite," like Fern #1. Maybe it's because I'm a little wary of them.
     #5 is hardy, and thrives on little attention. 
     Full sun? No sweat. 
     Scant water? Fuck you, Human, I/we don't need you anyway. 
     Am I/Are we creeping a few feet closer to your front door? Maybe so. Maybe you better watch your back.

SOME OTHER FERNS:

Fern Gully
     Fern Gully was an animated movie about a rain forest that came out in the 1990s. I did not see it.

Best-selling romance author, Fern Michaels
     Fern Michaels writes romance novels, and I've read none of them. The dogs look nice, though.

ORIGINAL ART : The Mustache

"The Mustache"
Colored pencil
T. Kovac

     The only thing I can figure is that this sketch is probably inspired by the growing number of transgender kids and adults in my sphere of acquaintances. Not sure. It also reminds me, now that I'm finished with it, of Dorothy and the Wizard In Oz. That's the book where they go down into the earth and discover the Mangaboos, a race of vegetable people.

ORIGINAL ART : Color Pencil Sketches

The following are some color pencil sketches I've done in the month of June.

These first two were done in the last week or two of school, when the teachers were really getting on my nerves, and I was feeling pretty anti-social:

"Alienate Everyone"
Colored pencil
T. Kovac

"'No' Face"
Colored pencil
T. Kovac

And then this is when I was finally on summer vacation. It must represent freedom, psychologically. I guess. Or not. Or whatever.

"Devil Astride Hippity-Hop"
Colored pencil
T. Kovac

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2015 SKETCHES & PICS


     The nice people at Big Red Comics in Downtown Orange invited me to sell books and sign autographs as part of their Free Comic Book Day celebration. (FCBD is always the first Saturday in May, but it has taken me many years to get that straight in my head.)
     www.freecomicbookday.com
     Incidentally, I did not make that name plate for myself, the nice people at the store did. I would not have referred to my own comics as "awesome," although mayhaps they are.
     See the free bookmarks with tassels? I gave away 60 of those motherfuckers! Anthony cut out and hole-punched every single one of them, and we put the tassels on together at the kitchen table the night before. I'm a fan of tassel-related projects.
     I did a lot of doodling that day, beginning at breakfast and continuing at the event.

Sketch inspired by Anthony's "bananas foster pancakes" at IHOP.
Bananas Foster's randy gay brother.

Alice and the Cheshire Cat, just because.

Sketch done for a really cool kid who suggested I draw a wizard monkey. Because wizards are cool, and monkeys are cool,  so, "a wizard monkey would probably be REALLY cool."


I was challenging myself to see if you could draw the Cheshire Cat NOT smiling. As you can see, it's mostly unsuccessful and unsatisfying.

     Right as I was drawing that hideous spraying Cheshire Cat, which is very wrong and regrettable, this cute family came up to see me in Wonderland-inspired costumes. I quickly flipped my sketchbook to a less offensive page.
     The mother had hand-made a Queen of Hearts dress for herself and a Mad Hatter outfit for her daughter. They were there to get a signed copy of Wonderland, and it was very flattering and fun. Dad was a cool guy, too, and told me about this website called Spoonflower that his wife uses to actually have her own original designs printed on fabric, which she uses for the outfits. Pretty cool idea.


     All in all it was a very successful day. I sold some prints, some copies of Wonderland, Stitch, Skelebunnies, Royal Historian of Oz, Smells Like Library Vol.1, and Smells Like Library Vol.2. I was there from about 10:30 to 5pm.

Tater.

PRE-WONDERCON 2015 EVENT AT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

Me staggering to the car with a box full of my books.
Very cool poster to advertise the event
     So I was invited by Anat Herzog at Chapman University to participate in their first "Salon," in conjunction with Anaheim's WonderCon 2015. The topic was "Comics As Social Change," which I thought was a great topic.
     Chandra Jenkins spoke first, introducing the topic and giving a brief overview of the history of comics and graphic novels, particularly as agents of social change. Then I spoke for about 10 minutes, then Andrew Vo, and then David Brown. Andrew is a student who did an award-winning thesis on comics as propaganda in WWII. David won an award from the NAACP for a black superhero comic he did, inspired by the L.A. Riots.
     One coherent and possibly on-topic thing I said was that if ideas are like viruses, comics are an ideal vector for spreading them fast and efficiently. Comics are usually cheap, and because they are largely visual, the ideas can be processed quickly by the reader, and handed off to the next person with a, "Hey, check this out!"
     I also talked about how people sort of EXPECT comics to contain controversial or edgy material.


     Part of the evening's program stated that Tommy Kovac (that's me) would be visually documenting the discussion. So I made sure to doodle on the butcher paper table-cloth while people were talking about stuff, and while I was thinking of what to say.

     And here are some close-ups of some of the doodles...








Group shot of all involved. David Brown, Anat Herzog, Andrew Vo, Me, Chandra Jenkins, and Ahmed Younis.

WONDER-CON 2015

Tommy & Skeletor (?), BFF!

"Fairy Dust" Gays & Disney panel discussion. Some... colorful types there.
What am I doing here? I mean, other than being gay and having blue hair, why the fuck am I on this panel?
One of my favorite former students (in the middle), and her friend (on the left. because obviously that's me on the right. duh.)

Some notes to gather my thoughts, even though that gigantic scary drag queen did most of the talking.

Jotted quotes from the discussion. And other impressions.

This is actually completely true: my friend Angela and I used to sing this horrible song when we were in high school, referring to any guy who identified too much with Disney, because that meant GAY. I was still in the closet then, and a total hypocrite. Angela doesn't remember this song, but I SWEAR it's true. Somewhere there's a VHS home video tape of her singing it. We were terrible people back then, but now we are ANGELS and never say or do anything mean.



My WonderCon purchases. Adorable blue ram & Ghostface from the Scream movies. BFF!

ORIGINAL ART : "Art Friends Are the Best"


     Received a really cool envelope from a friend, highly-decorated with special postal stamps and such. Inside was a print of Little Nemo-inspired artwork my friend had done recently, and a nice little note about inspiring each other artistically.
     So I did this drawing last night, and plan to put it in the mail as a lil' thank you.
     Long live snail mail and spontaneous art!

ORIGINAL ART : "The Curse of Lopez"

"The Curse of Lopez"
by Tommy Kovac
Ink on illustration board
     I'm experimenting with "illustration board," which is very thick and sturdy, and therefor seems more like a real piece of "art" when you're done with it. I used my regular ZIG markers and Sakura fine liners on this. I'm practicing for a commission piece I'll be doing soon, thinking I'll use illustration board for it. Now that I've inked this, I'm going to try watercolor over it, and see how it looks. If it gets ruined, well... Then I'll know not to try that again.

MY WONDERCON 2015 SCHEDULE



PRE-WONDERCON:

 Thursday, April 2nd, I'll be participating in this (FREE!) pre-WonderCon event at Chapman University, and selling & signing my books:
April 2, 6-8pm, Argyros Forum, room 119A
(Flyer artwork by Ross Loehman)
4/2/2015 UPDATE: Here's the final version of the Salon flyer:
AT WONDERCON:
Saturday, April 4th, I'll be signing from 5pm-6:30pm at booth #809 (Prism Comics).
Then at 7pm that same day I'm participating on this panel:
Fairy Dust: LGBTQ Disney Fandom - Saturday, April 4, 2015, 7:00p.m. – 8:00p.m., Anaheim Convention Center Room 211
Disney is popular around the world.  And Disney characters, films, comics, media and theme parks are especially popular among the LGBTQ community.  Young or old, LGBTQ folk identify with the stories, characters, the fantasy and the imagination. Since you are next door to the “Happiest Place on Earth” join Prism Comics and Disney fans as they explore why the queer community loves all things Disney. Panelists include Dusty Sage (Founder and CEO of MiceChat.com), Tommy Kovac (Skelebunnies, Wonderland), Momma (Anaheim Gay Days; expert on Disney Parks and Disneyana), Jimmy Sherfy (Disney Cosplayer and Animation Enthusiast), Sarah Sterling (Disney Fandom YouTuber, Feminism and Queer Studies Specialist), Joseph Titizian (Disney Historian and Featured Blog Writer) and Barry V (Disney Cosplayer and Animation Enthusiast). Moderated by Ted Abenheim (Prism Comics Board Member).   
     It's kind of a funny topic, because LOTS of people are obsessed with Disney, not just the gays. And I do NOT love "all things Disney." I hate that goddamn Little Mermaid, I hate the "Disney Princess" cult, I find "Finding Nemo" to be a big bland yawn, Cinderella is a passive twat, and I dislike musicals in general. But I think the Prism organizers know this, and have invited me anyway. So I will politely bring my rotten little contrary attitude to the table.
     Here's some Disney I DO love: The original animated "Alice In Wonderland," the Alice In Wonderland ride, the Haunted Mansion ride, Mary Poppins, the movie "Return To Oz," "Sleeping Beauty," the Peter Pan ride, and adorable animated squirrels and bunnies.

Founders' Park in Anaheim

     On the first Saturday of each month, there's an open house at Founders' Park, which is right behind Anaheim High School. Anthony and Mom & Aunt Wanda and I took the tour of the Mother Colony House (very rustic), and the super-beautiful Victorian Woelke-Stoffel house. I want to live in that house dammit.
     Here are some pictures...
This "surveyor's cabinet" in the Colony House is the SHIT, right? 
Look at this adorable corner shelf in the Colony House! So fancy!
Mrs. Clementine Langenberger, whose black eyes stare balefully from the wall in the Colony House.
Why does this creepy doll in the Colony House look more like a tiny lady than a baby?
In the Victorian Woelke-Stoffel House, everything is, like, WAY fancy. Look at this awesome fireplace mantel!!! 
A beautifully carved set of nesting tables, nestled in a corner. (See what I did there?)
Victorians were like, "Bitch, we'll put tassels on ANYTHING."
Victorians will not rest until there are a MILLION tassels.
David Smythe, whose portrait hangs upstairs in the Woelke-Stoffel House, and whose trailing mustaches and peculiar hair streak haunt us to this day...
This is a pretty nice fireplace and mantel, but I like the first one better. This is Plain Jane compared to it.
Ladies, would you like some fans? Why, yes, they ARE ostrich feathers.
Look at that lampshade! It's super nice, you guys. Do NOT rough-house anywhere near it.
Another beautiful piece of German wood-carving.
I just really liked this painting upstairs in the Woelke-Stoffel House.
Peacock feathers! They add Victorian finery to any room.
May I have another serving of Victorian peacock feathers? Yes, you may. Right this way, sir.
This dear little silver water pitcher tilts to facilitate pouring. So genteel!
Pictures hung with medallions and rope and yes, TASSELS.
I'll just sit here and chat for a while. And idly flick the tassels on the curtains.
Love this Victorian wallpaper!
I love THIS Victorian wallpaper, too. Everything should be covered in it. Even cars, and dumpsters.