Pretty and Dirty Together ~ Scott Radke

I cannot recall what Interwebs chase led me to the work of artist Scott Radke, but I am absolutely transfixed. His sculptures are creatures from another reality, unraveling strange stories to enchant me.

(Tutu #1, 2009)
It's the faces that are most striking. With the most subtle hint of a crease, a sideways glance, a slight turn of the mouth, Radke creates poignantly expressive characters.

(Untitled Egg, 2009)
I am reminded of the human-faced sphinxes of MirrorMask, and also a bizarre Dreamcast video game called Seaman that obsessed my husband for some time, where one is obliged to care for a creepy half-fish-half-man. What is it about animals with human faces that makes them both so compelling and so disturbing?

(Octopus, 2010)

Like the beasts in Spike Jonze's interpretation of Where the Wild Things Are, Radke's creations embody the most raw of feelings, the very roots of emotion. Angst, frustration, boredom, jealousy, bliss... all play out in the textures of their features.

(Swan #40, 2009)
What are their stories? What has befallen these fragile creatures, with their stirring human-like faces and organic beastly forms? What gives them such sturm und drang, such beautiful fragility?

(Hats #3, 2009)
I read a 2006 interview with Radke where, when asked where he got his inspiration from, he replied, "something pretty and dirty together," and I understood. His creatures are the perfect marriage of both the lovely and the ugly, the tragic and the comic, the playful and the serious.

(Koi #1, 2009)
See more of Radke's work on his Livejournal blog, Flickr stream, and his Web site.

Everything that Creeps: Elizabeth McGrath

I've long been an ardent admirer of Liz "Bloodbath" McGrath ~ woman of innumerable talents and one of my aesthetic heroines. Equally comfortable in a gallery, on a stage, or wearing a dress made of candy wrappers.

(Portrait by Darla Teagarden)
You see, as if it weren't enough to be an auspiciously brilliant pop surrealist sculptress and artist, she also fronts the theatrical L.A. outlaw rock band Miss Derringer, along with her husband, Morgan Slade. Liz creates all of the album cover designs, naturally.

She sings, she paints, she draws, and she sculpts. But my true love is for her compelling dioramas. Like so many artists I'm drawn to, she finds the loveliness in the grotesque, the magic in the wicked, and binds it all together to craft dark and whimsical little worlds for us.

(Sailor's Valentine, 2001)
I'm mad about McGrath's meticulous attention to detail and her penchant for the macabre ~ the unlikely bedfellows of preciousness and freakish oddity. Many of the pieces have a carnival side-show feel, like she's built a tiny stage for a character with a story to unfold...

(Detail from Honey Creeper, 2006)
I'm fortunate enough to own a copy of her lovely and sadly now out-of-print book called Everything That Creeps, which contains gorgeous full-color images of her work, so one can get close to the haunting creatures she's created.

(Detail from Queen of the Inanimate, 2001)
Wide-eyed blue-lipped waifs and mournful two-headed fawns, winsome skeleton birds and tutu-wearing insect girls, they're all in here.

I hope to see her work in person, someday, to peer into the vast reaches of the twisted universe of her imagination.

(Portrait by Mark Berry)
Until that day, I'll content myself by reading about her adventures on her new blog at my favorite underground art mag, Juxtapoz.

Things That Please Me: Enchanted Dolls

You may have guessed, faithful readers, that I have a deep appreciation for meticulously detailed work. So you can imagine my excitement upon discovering Enchanted Doll, and the exquisite art of Marina Bychkova. Here is her most recent work, a vision of Alice.


I am transfixed by these dolls. Painstaking bead-work! Miniature accessories! Hand-cast porcelain! Anatomical correctness! For many of them, Marina crafts phenomenally detailed costumes, with actual gemstones and precious metals, and the finest velvets, furs and silks... as for Dunyazade's and Scherezhade's lustrous dresses.

The steampunk in me fell head-over-heels for this one ~ the helmet she wears is actually cast bronze.

Marina sometimes goes to elaborate lengths to photograph them in creative environments. On her blog she details building a miniature lotus pond so her boyfriend can photograph Kia, her russet-haired, henna'd, water naiad doll.


I'm absolutely floored by Marina's work. These are more than just dolls, they are high art. They are at once sensual and innocent, disturbing and stunning. As someone who began my journey in costuming by hand-sewing tiny Victorian dresses for my dollhouse dolls as a child, I have nothing but admiration for someone who can elevate my childhood passion to such heights.

If you're intrigued, read this interview with her. And of course, take some time to get lost in her world. You'll be blown away.