Tag Archives: aceo

My Favorite Haunts

17 Apr

I’ve been a member of Etsy and DeviantART for a few years now, and have amassed quite a collection of favorite artists and shops. There are some that I like to visit periodically to see what’s new, because I simply love everything they create and can’t wait to see what they’ll have next. This week I thought I would share some of the artists and crafters I stalk (in a good way!) and maybe they’ll become a favorite of yours as well.

DirtyandDistressed is one of my favorite shops that I have yet to buy something from (eep!). They’re your outpost for the perfect clothing and accessories to complete any post-apocalyptic cosplay.

Men's One of a Kind Radioactive Yellow Dirty and Distressed Wasteland Tank Top by DirtyandDistressed

Men’s One of a Kind Radioactive Yellow Dirty and Distressed Wasteland Tank Top by DirtyandDistressed

Kenneth Fairclough has a gallery of gorgeous environment and character concept art. I would want to play anything that these scenes were used in.

Frost Kingdom by KennethFairclough

Frost Kingdom by KennethFairclough

Discomedusa sells gorgeous and unique gauges for your lobes, as well as regular earrings and rings.

Small Gear Blade Hoop Earrings by discomedusa

Small Gear Blade Hoop Earrings by discomedusa

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Book Art

20 Mar

Before  I made a living creating art, writing was my life. I went to college for a writing degree and worked on a novel in my free time. Life has a funny way of changing directions on you, though, and I now find myself sans a degree and selling my jewelry and art as my day job instead of novels like I thought I would. I love my life the way it is, but the one thing I regret is never finishing my novel. I’m rather embarrassed that I’ve been working on it for 15 years and it’s not at the point I want it to be. I’ve finished many drafts of it, but never found it perfect enough. I’ve had these characters in my head for so long, and I feel like I need to tell their story, so I’ve been trying to set aside some time every night to write a few pages.

If I ever do get my novel published (and it’s so easy to do self-publishing and promotion these days), I’d love some artwork to go with it. I’m considering starting some portraits of the characters or paintings of the landscapes. This got me thinking about art in books. There are times when it is needed – giving the reader a better picture of what is being described. And there are times that the subject is simply so interesting or beautiful that it deserves to be seen.

I browsed my usual sources of awesome art and found some amazing pieces from original books and stories, as well as unique depictions of classic literature.

The New World - Book Cover by Victor-Lam-art

The New World – Book Cover by Victor-Lam-art

Alice by tomape

Alice by tomape

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Art Cards

12 Dec

Midna ACEO by TheThirdRLM

I love to collect art, but it’s not always practical to buy large prints or spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on original pieces. Fortunately, that’s where art cards come in. Artist Trading Cards or ATCs, started around 1996 when artists began trading original works with each other, each the size of a standard baseball card (2.5″x3.5″). They can come in any medium, from the standard painting or drawing, to yarn, metal, clay, or object collage.

ACEO PSC Original Green Lantern by ComicBookBoo

ACEO PSC Original Green Lantern by ComicBookBoo

ATCs spawned ACEOs (Art Card Editions and Originals), which are sold to the public instead of traded, and include prints of originals works and photos, also in the required trading card size. I have amassed quite a number of ACEOs over the years, as well as sold quite a few, and I’ve found collecting them to be highly addictive. They look beautiful framed, inserted in cards as gifts, or collected in a scrapbook. I’ve featured some beautiful art cards here from Etsy and DeviantART artists, as well as from some of my favorite Ebay artists.

ACEO Rainbow Fairy by schin

ACEO Rainbow Fairy by schin

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Art for a Cause

19 Sep

Many times, art is more than just something made to look pretty. It can be an expression and reflection of the artist, created to send a message, or made to help a cause the artist is passionate about. Mom’s Basement has it’s own donation shop, and I’ve found many generous artists on Etsy and DeviantART creating items for selfless causes. Not only do they offer awesome, geeky art for purchase, but they help you feel good about yourself at the same time.

Portal Illustration Retro Print by BearandRobot for MomsBasementCharity

Last year, Mom’s Basement raised $150 for Child’s Play, a gaming industry charity devoted to providing consoles, games, books, toys and other entertainment to hospitalized children. The Mom’s Basement Charity store on Etsy is open for the holiday season once again and accepts dollar donations as well as offering awesome geek merchandise for charity.  It’s our hope to raise more money this year!  If you are interested in donating your handmade geeky items, check out this thread on the Mom’s Basement team.

Basement dweller SliceofOrange makes buttons and magnets featuring your favorite video game and anime characters. Also available are adorable cat pins in different breeds – the total price of each is donated to Forgotten Ones Cat Rescue in Toronto, ON. Visit SliceofOrange to see all the cute kitties available.

Brown Tabby Pin for Charity by SliceofOrange

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Protecting the Basement

22 Aug

Since this post is a little different than the norm, and isn’t based on a theme or medium, the gallery in this week’s post exclusively features members of the Mom’s Basement Etsy Team. Enjoy!

Melvin disapproves of art theft… Melvin Sprite by YumesPixelCrafts

It came to my attention this week that someone on deviantART was using a of photo of mine, featuring my jewelry, without my permission. They posted it in their gallery and claimed to have made it themselves. I responded that this was my work and I would report them to admin, which in turn caused them to again insist that they made the jewelry in question and barrage me with a series of badly-spelled, juvenile insults. The photo was subsequently removed, however, all of the other photos in their gallery were also infringing on other artists’ ownership.

This seems harmless on the surface – just some tween’s boredom, or a troll trying to get a rise out of people. However, this person also claimed they could make custom orders or do trades for customers based on the pictures in their gallery. I would hate to think my or any other artist’s work was misleading people into thinking that’s what they were going to get, only to receive something sub-par, or worse, nothing at all.

Fall Impressions Pendant – Geek Atom by FaerieGardenFancies

This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with people using my designs for their own gain, but it caused me to think harder about what can be done about it. I know artists that have had similar experiences to mine, and many of us geeks that frequent the MB site are crafters and artists as well, so I hope the following information is useful.

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Mermaids and Monsters

25 Jul

Mermaid by Pascal Blanche

I’ve been a fan of cryptozoology since I was a little kid. So the other day, when my husband happened upon a documentary on the Discovery Channel about scientists finding the remains of an unknown sea creature, I was intrigued. These scientists claimed the remains, which they found in the stomach of a shark, included a strange tail flipper, a partial humanoid skull with large eye sockets and a cranial ridge, and the hilt of a hand carved weapon. Basically, they had found a mermaid. The show was two hours long and included eye witness accounts, photos, DNA testing and other substantial proof that an intelligent, humanoid marine creature existed.
So I was very disappointed the next day while Googling the title of the show, when I discovered that there was a disclaimer at the beginning of the “documentary” (we came into the show after it had already started and didn’t see it) that stated, “this two hour special is science fiction based on some real events and scientific theory.”

Mermaid by Gonzalo Ordonez Arias

The scientists featured were really actors. The only evidence presented in the show that I know isn’t completely fabricated is the “Bloop” caught on sonar in the south Pacific Ocean.
I feel duped and I know I’m not the only one. On Sunday the 15th, “mermaid body found” was the number one search term on Google.

Even though this show was a faux-umentary, it doesn’t necessarily mean a creature like that doesn’t exist. Remember the coelacanth? It was believe to be extinct since the Cretaceous, only to be found off the coast of Africa in 1938. The oceans are vast, largely unexplored areas where anything could exist. Based on that, and some artists’ amazing talent and imagination, I give you a gallery of amazing underwater creations.

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