Psychotically Dressy Dance Party

House of Skrink Productions hosted their second themed and costumed dance party in Milwaukee over the weekend.  I joined them for a "Psychotically Dressy Dance Party" and set up a Portland-esque photo booth between the two sets of burlesque performances.

I brought home a pile of fun party favors at the end of the night including a paper lion mask, plastic eye ball rings containing soap and a bubble wand, and a black stick-on beard.  As I mentioned there were burlesque performances by the Brew City Bombshells as well as DJing by DJ Dicknurface and DJAllnitlong.  In my opinion, the highlight of the party was House of Skrink's trademark pile of costumes at the entrance for the few guests who did not show up already in costume.

Ode to Collaboration: Jamie and Alexis Soup

Many years ago I started my now epic artistic relationship with what I call surrealist self portraiture.  I was feeling impulsive and playful and animal all at once.  I sat on the floor in the bright afternoon light pooling beneath my western facing third floor windows.  I threw a piece of blue cloth over the chair behind me and photographed myself as I applied and then obscured layers of make up and plastic gems and exaggerated facial expressions. It was revelatory.

2006

A few days later I tried to recapture the same surrealist energy by adding intoxication and my good friend and fellow poetess, Jamie.  New magics were accomplished and what I expect to be a lifelong partnership was forged.

2006

2006

Jamie and I have now been partners in mischief for almost a decade, and our greatest collaboration is no doubt a friendship which has survived and thrived throughout all manner of trials, tribulations, and adventures (including being roommates in 2007 and 2008).  We have also produced a diverse body of collaborative work with many other wonderful artists and poets, chief among them fellow surrealettes.  We've left a paper trail of post-it haikus, artist trading cards, and exquisite corpses.

2011

And our digital trail is twice as long and infinitely detailed.  We've generated more pixels of us as a pair than any other duet I know.

 

2007

2008

2011

2012

I sometimes note, with hints of both jealousy and pride, that Jamie has taken inspiration from our exchange of ideas and then outdone me.  After I made a series of self portraits on my work's photo copier, she did a series using her home scanner that exceeded mine in both creativity and aesthetic.

2008

2010

It is quite easy to make art when that act is one of play, and in Jamie I have a like minded playmate.  We both know and love the same games: dress up, mad libs, and idea jar (and then later, idea jar in an envelope, and then even later, idea book jar house).  Rarely do the two of us meet without art ensuing.

During the years our friendship has been long distance, we've exchanged magic through the United States Postal Service.  Jamie is among the world's finest pen pals.

Jamie currently sells handmade steam punk jewelry in her etsy shop, Jamie Demolition and the Mysterious Tinker (the photo in their shop banner was taken by yours truly).

 
I am currently encouraging Jamie to increase her online presence; she has a deviant art account under the name jamiedemo that is filled with some of her past work.  I am currently encouraging her to join instagram.  We also have a collaborative blog that we fully intend to actually begin posting to one of these days: Jamie and Alexis Soup.