Svartkonst— the Swedish curators of art and culture whose magazine and website we refer to constantly for inspiration—has now released Grim Pseudonym, a zine by artist Patrick Kyle. The full-color publication comes in a numbered edition of 99 and is available for order from the Svartkonst page. Another thing: it looks rad.
Introducing two new Wild Things renditions from the wilds of the web! First up (above), a pair of artfully-rendered stompers by the talented Evan Schultz.
Second (below) a Wild Things cake that is either ten-feet tall or photographed in such a way as to look GIANT. Either way, cool beans!
The best part of a childhood rainy day was, without a doubt, the fort-making part. The second best part (maybe the third, after hot chocolate WITH MARSHMALLOWS) was the crafts. Usually these involved things like paper plates, popsicle sticks, yarn and googly eyes. Also glue. Glue was crucial. For an update on past diversions, check out this DIY Where The Wild Things Are mask tutorial from Spins and Needles.
We’ve written about the considerable charms of letterpress recently, but we’ve hardly exhausted the field. Witness Smock, a letterpress outfit whose workshop boasts 20 antique presses, 50 tons of equipment and 17 employees, and occupies a former John Deere Factory in post-indusrial Syracuse, New York. Their mission statement is ridiculously appealing and worth quoting at length. Here’s a snippet:
Who are we? We are faithful lovers of historic craft. We have letterpress ink in our veins. We are idealists. This means we believe in things. We are trying to make the world better right now. This affects everything we do. We read Walt Whitman (he was a letterpress printer too, by the way) (Stuff’d with the stuff that is coarse and stuff’d with the stuff that is fine). We fall head over heels for heavy cast iron presses. We believe in the creation of beautiful things. And we want, like you, to feel good about where our beautiful things come from.
Kinda makes you want to quit your job and move to Syracuse to dirty your fingers with some of that ink, doesn’t it? Not to mention Smock’s designs, which are amazing. A mixture of whimsy and sheer delicate loveliness, they include things like beetles and reindeer and ducklings and vintage tennis rackets and rocketships, all printed on bamboo paper in the most carefully-chosen hues. We are in love!
We’re suckers for letterpress. There’s something about the old-tymey (15th century!) process that lends a sense of craftsmanship to what otherwise would be produced on shimmering machines in sterile conditions. You can feel the handwork involved, even in something as simple as a notebook or thank-you card.
Brooklyn-based outfit Letters Lubell prints their cards on an antique press, and the teeny imperfections that result lend to the charm of the paper goods. We especially like this card, which exists at the unexpected four-way intersection of Tetris, Navajo textiles, Space Invaders and Rorschach blots.
Craft marketplace Etsy boasts a surplus of awesome handmade doodads dedicated to Where the Wild Things Are, and here are a couple of our favorites. User Roadkill’s immaculate silver pendants of Max and Carol are only one inch tall but the detailing is impressive. You can even see Carol’s shiny sharpened teeth and the tiny buttons on Max’s wolf-suit!
If you crave a more hands-on approach for your DIY Wild Things homage, check out CraftyisCool’s brilliant crotchet pattern for the same lovable pair of Maurice Sendak characters. Complete with removable crown and wolf suit hood! Adorable, but perhaps not for the novice knitter.
There’s something seductive about toys that have to forcefully announce that they are NON-TOXIC. Such is the allure of the Amazing Do-It-Yourself Magic Tree—which, indeed, is a distant cousin of the Magic Garden.
This delightfully bizarre toy involves assembling a cardboard Christmas tree (complete with faux cranberry garland, glitter and gold tree-topper ornament) and squeezing an included “mystery liquid” into the base. In six hours a vibrant chemical fuzz will spread across the branches, replicating the appearance of a healthy Douglas fir. Voila: an economical and festive decoration in less than 360 minutes.
Finally, a culmination of our interests in chemistry, DIY, and the holiday spirit. Next up: Magic Menorahs!
Oh hey, who’s cooking crawfish? NO ONE! That ain’t no sink full of crustaceans, its a sink full of costume “hair” made from twine and dyed with red and brown dye for the ultimate wild things costume experience. Arrivings slightly too late for Halloween (but useful nonetheless) is the definitive How To Make a Wild Things Costume tutorial, courtesy of Tim.
All you need ares some hula hoops, tape, mesh, dye, hot-glue, fur, foam, wire, plastic tubing, paper mache, glue, and an insane attention to detail.
Seriously. Insane.
For all you craft-inclined Where the Wild Things Are fans, the very useful how-to site Howcast pictures of your homemade digs. Happy trick or treating!
Spike Jonze’s feature film rendition of Maurice Sendaks classic story Where The Wild Things Are has hit movie theaters worldwide.
The film represents years of work from hundreds of different artists, writers, photographers, musicians, actors, and creators of all degrees.
This place has been established to help shed some light on many of the small influences that converged to make this massive project a reality.
Site designed by Landon Metz, developed by Ricky Irvine, in cooperation with Matt Rubin.
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