This in-store Halloween decoration project for a national chain of stores was super-fun to work on. I sat in at Imagehaus and under the creative direction of Jay Miller, I created “Ween the Candy Fiend”, who lurks in the candy aisle, ready to share has last piece of candy with you. Ultimately, the client went with one of the other designer’s “safer” directions, but I still loved the project, and I had a great time at Imagehaus.

See more in this Flickr set.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

My wife and I welcomed our baby girl, Susanna, on Thursday, August 7, 2008, at 2:09 am. She was 9lbs 1oz and 21.5in long. Both Mama and baby are doing fabulously!

Thanks to all of you who have written to congratulate us– I may or may not be able to get back to you all individually, but know that we hear you, and we appreciate your support!

Much love,
David

(via BB)

This is just a quick note to my brothers (and sisters, real and in solidarity) out there who loved Legos growing up in the 80’s. There is a tantalizing sequence of Lego sets starting around the one-third mark of the movie– beginning with the space sets and moving through the castle and pirate sets. That era pretty much covers my childhood obsession with Legos.

Pictured above is (one of?) the first space sets we had around the house, from which the coveted “LL928″ brick arrived. My brothers and I would always find a place of prominence for the “license plate” on the space ships we built. The back of the ship, when you built the set from the instructions, opened to release a small moon buggy. There are other gems and triggers for the memory in the photo gallery as well. I can smell the musty basement and feel the rug burns on my knuckles from swooping our creations around.

Nostalgia is such an insidious elixir! I will not buy more Legos until after my daughter (due any day now) is born!

(at Gizmodo, via BoingBoing)

(via Coudal)

It’s been an amazing year! From finishing grad school in North Carolina to the summer in a remote cabin in the California mountains, and now back in the “Middle” teaching and working in the Twin Cities. Thanks to all of you who have been a part of it and helped make it all happen.

Now it’s time to go have a long winter’s nap, drink some ‘nog, and rip into some wrapping paper (not necessarily in that order.) Thank you all for visiting, and expect a lot more excitement in 2008.

Oops, I’ve been negligent in my duties! If you are in the Chapel Hill/Raleigh/Durham area this weekend, be sure to check out the Infinite Folio at Fort Grunt. Lou Joseph organized 8 of us to create a pool of images based on clouds and smoke, and then we all remixed the images to create a series of digital collages. They will be projected in a continuous stream throughout the exhibition. This weekend is the Durham Art Council’s biannual Art Walk, so they will be open today from 10am-6pm, and tomorrow from 1pm-5pm. Here is the list of players:

Micah Bornstein (Chicago, IL)
Grayson Cox (Brooklyn, NY)
Ben Fisher (Durham, NC)
Jerome Grand (Chicago, IL)
David Huyck (St. Paul, MN)
Lou Joseph (Durham, NC)
Mario Marzan (Chapel Hill, NC)
Mark Rice (Bloomington, IN)

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ALSO! If you are in the Twin Cities this evening, be sure to head over to Franklin Art Works to see my friend Nicola López’s installation, Constriction Zone. The reception runs from 6-8pm, and admission is free. Her HUGE installations of woodblock prints are pretty amazing– even the MoMA thinks so, so they bought one. How cool is that?

So GET OUT THERE!

Ed. — Up till 3:33am, and totally worth it.

I’ve decided it would be silly to take all these pictures and not share them. I’ve started uploading a bunch of new pictures to my Flickr account. Enjoy!

Also, if you are interested in arty updates from me from time-to-time, I’ve added a new mailing list to the site. Please sign up for the Bunch of Monkeys Dispatch!

I graduated with my MFA in May, and now I am off into the wild world, ready for anything. I have finally posted most of the new work I made while I was in grad school. There are a few odds and ends coming soon, but you should have plenty to catch up on for now.

I am starting my summer in Mendocino County, CA, and I should end it in September in the Twin Cities. The drive from North Carolina to here was pretty awesome. The first beautiful stretch is the winding section near Richmond, West Virginia. And if you haven’t driven the stretch of I-80 up over the continental divide, across the desert and into the salt flats of northwestern Utah, you need to get in your car now. Continuing all the way to the California coast, it is like one alien landscape after another. You can tell why people make movies in these weird places. Speaking of movies, Mendocino is covered in redwoods, which makes me think of the home of the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi. I’ve been here almost three weeks now, and I am still surprised by how beautiful it all is.

Now that the site update is finished, I’m heading back to my sketchbooks. There is a ton to look at and draw. First up are the caddisfly larvae. These amazing little critters make cocoons out of detritus in the river– rocks, sticks, shells, whatever– for their protection. They’re everywhere here!

It is on! A bunch of fabulous and crafty artists will unleash their creations on the Seattle public tonight at the second annual Plush You! show (a.k.a. Plush You II!) at Schmancy Toys.

I’m working on updates to the site over the next few days and weeks, so keep an eye out for new (old) work on the pictures side of things. It’s been a while since updated, so it will have to trickle in slowly…

My favorite thing about living in North Carolina is the little town I live in, Carrboro. It’s this funny blend of Hippie and Yuppie, where the center of social activity is the food co-op, Weaver Street, full of organic foods and aromatherapies, but even the tiny mill houses cost upwards of $250K and everyone is driving Volvos and Subarus. Convenient, since I both drive a Subaru and eat organic veggies when I can.

Anyway, I’m not the only one who likes Carrboro for its various unique charms. The above image is a bad screengrab from the new video for the song “It’s Carrboro!”, and this particular shot is from my favorite gallery/toy store in town, Wootini. Say it with me, party people: “It’s Carrboro!”

School is winding down, and I am on to thinking about summer plans. So far I have a show at the end of June to plan for and work towards, I am working on pulling together the Lions, Tigers, Bears, Etc. show at Wootini for July, and I will be attending a week-long workshop regarding the life of a university professor in May. Otherwise, I am looking for freelance work in web programming or illustration and design, so let me know what you got.

Needless to say, grad school has been all-consuming, so this summer I should feel a little more available to the world. I’m really excited about the artwork I am planning on pursuing, so that should help me keep things rolling through my solo show this fall and beyond.

Speaking of inspiring art work, I just got back from Minneapolis where I saw two amazing shows. At the Juxtapoz anniversary show, up at OX-OP and Soo Vac, I got to see a lot of my favorite artists’ work in-person for the first time, including people who I have invited to the Lions, Tigers, Bears, Etc. show. This is going to be good! I also went to see the Kiki Smith show at the Walker Art Center. Just amazing! It was great to see another artist working across so many mediums and still stitching a central idea thread through all the works. Something to aspire to, for sure.

Anyway, there is much to catch up on, in life and here on this site. Expect to see new work up in the coming weeks, and possibly even a new look for the Bunch of Monkeys Workshop…

I have a lot I am looking forward to this year. Come back to see all I am up to…