new Neil mailbox & doodle time...

Thanks to everyone for the love on the David Mack silkscreen of Neil's poem I WILL WRITE IN WORDS OF FIRE. Happy to be able to send a solid check to the @CBLDF.
In between printing out labels and preparing for when they arrive,
I just bundled off a big heavy box to The Fabulous Lorraine (@Fablor) full of all manner of reader-sent gifts and books to our Neil.

Here are some of the things old & new that have arrived in the magical #339 mailbox here in LA:

a gorgeous graphic novel from Nick Hayes, taking on Coleridge's Mariner poem.



a look inside:



i love the handwritten letters from the younger readers.
Imogen from London sends a "goth duck".



here are two books, gifts for Neil, both look fascinating.



this came in awhile ago but looking through my past Neil mailboxes, i realized I never put the photo up.
@Budjette Tan, a wonderful artist, has been very generous w/Neil.
(Boss, this is in the box that shipped to Quiche)

Another book, with a letter from an inspired author, "May your inkwell never run dry..."

 to follow Joshua on twitter @JLAJones-- 

 and this beauty came in for me, just in time for Record Store Day: David J's new vinyl. Bauhaus is a once and current favorite and when David J  announced his Kickstarter for his new record, i was all over it.  His birthday is in 2 days, HBD DJ!



Mari, over at Gillian Anderson's charity to support the fight against the genetic disorder, Neurofibromatosis,  got us started on charity doodles several years ago.  It's so important for us humans to get  artwork out into the universe. You just feel better! Neil's sketches are hugely popular and this year, I didn't even pester, he did two of them on his own. #proudpepper

to see Neil's Sandman doodle, click here.

This year, there are  so many good ones,  by the likes of Robert "Walking Dead" Kirkman, Shirley Jones, John Landis, Billy Bones/Christopher Lincoln,  Michael Sheen (click for this wonderful detailed sketch)

and my hero Chris Carter (his sketch i WILL be bidding upon, so game on!) (notice how i don't link to it, imma secret squirrel, you have to find it yourself)

Here is a mini view at what I did this year: 

series called  "Lucky"

 i took a page out of my sketch book and tore it into three panels:



each panel got stamped.



then i flat-black spray-painted them, blocked out the areas i needed for watercolor with tape and stencil.
Selina Kyle supervised. (but not near the spray-painting, of course)



then i tried to sketch a salt-shaker, a ladder (ouch) and a horseshoe.



it's true, i am so lucky, i can walk under ladders....
the three will be auctioned as a set.

also donating one of my comic book magnets from a flood-damaged Sandman issue #17 (7/1990), where Calliope thanks Oneiros/Morpheus for his assistance.
 (It's good rule to be grateful when dealing w/dream kings.)



I leave on the Rob Zombie tour in a couple of weeks, a very short run. If anyone is curious about my life on tour, it's all up over at the FurryTiger blog.

NEIL GAIMAN/DAVID MACK "I will write in words of fire"..

It started when a gentleman named Burton Olivier requested a poem from Neil. A poem that he might illustrate with the help of a willing artist. Something that he may be able to have and call his and his alone. Written on his skin---

Anyone that knows me, knows I am a fan of the tattoo. I have always said, it is only for those that can truly commit.  I have lost count of mine, truth is I never counted them to begin with. However, that is the question that i get asked the most. Why, i will probably never know...

Anyway, commit he did, our Burton. There he is, being tattooed by Farsyde Kauai, a very handsome fellow. I know that  backpiece didn't tickle, but he got the first sitting under his belt. We will wait patiently for the next batch of photos.

Meanwhile, Neil introduced me electronically to DAVID MACK, he of the Kabuki comic and the simple beautiful lines. David said he would try his hand at an illustration. What he produced, both haunting and delicate. David came out to LA, we had sushi w/ Drew and Amatosan and Kent Williams, we all went to a stellar art opening, and I even introduced him to that gorgeous pinup doll OLIVIA that same night. 

Then I went out on tour and turns out, David was a fan of Puscifer--He drove more than a couple hours to come see the show. He brought some of his beautiful books and signed some to me and some to Maynard. 

This is how prints are born.
I thought a small personal run of this piece, priced moderately, would be the best approach.  

this means.....PRESALE! I will have these posted up at $25.00 for the next 48 hours, until Saturday night at midnight west coast time, when they will go up to $38.00 and stay there, until we dwindle in stock.  ORDER THEM HERE and a 50% chunk will go to the CBLDF. We expect to have these in hand to ship these in about 10 days or so.

These 3 color seriographs (8.5" x 11") are hand silk-screened by artist Brian Rise in Austin, Texas. He chose a thick creamy 70 weight recycled French paper, these prints will ship flat, in their own little recycled kraft vessels, from me to you. I will be interviewing Brian, a friend of mine from the dark ages in Baltimore, my old Charm City buddy.

Here are some photos Brian took during his printing process. These 100 blue variants will be split up and sent out to David, Neil, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and to Burton to do what they please, the grey version (seen at the very bottom) will be the ones available here at Neverwear.

here is the entire text of the beautiful poem Neil composed:

I will write in words of fire.
I will write them on your skin.
I will write about desire.
Write beginnings, write of sin.
You're the book I love the best,
your skin only holds my truth,
you will be a palimpsest
lines of age rewriting youth.
You will not burn upon the pyre.
Or be buried on the shelf.
You're my letter to desire:
And you'll never read yourself.
I will trace each word and comma
As the final dusk descends,
You're my tale of dreams and drama,
Let us find out how it ends.

a small Neil mailbox...

One of my favorite parts of the job is seeing what people send on to the Boss...
countless letters, questions, gifts...so much appreciation for his stories.

I have to catch Neil when I can, somewhere in his uber-busy life, to answer this mail. When I do, he writes the most thoughtful answers to the questions of writers-to-be, damsels-in-distress, school-kids-with-plot-suggestions....etc.
this is an example of one of his replies, i have removed the name of the questioner, but I think almost anyone can benefit from the words on the card:

when i opened this beautiful Encyclopedia Gothica, by Liisa Ladouceur, i knew he would be happy. (and he shares a page with one of my heroes, Diamanda Galas....)

these pint glasses came in, sand-blasted by Zack T.
One for each of the Sandman Endless family members...with the corresponding Kanji character etched on the backs.
Once Zack figures out if he can make them for sale, we will put up his information. I think these are so clever and they are sturdy and they are making me think of re-visiting the Shoggoth pint glass we once considered. Shipping glasses? Not for the faint of heart, and the delivery services are manned by butter-fingered ogres it seems sometimes...but these glasses gave me new hope.
Neil holds one up while we are sitting at the airport, waiting for his lady love to arrive.

here Neil sits in his rented convertible Mustang, ready to drive off into the sunset with Amanda.
(subtitle: American muscle, British steel)

The Fabulous Lorraine packed the signed Olivia prints into Neil's suit carrier and they survived his airplane ride beautifully.
Here you can see, this new batch has Olivia signing in golden Sharpie:

while Neil signs with his fountain pen:

so we have a new batch of double-signed prints, they are HERE.
We also have unsigned prints available (but still artist embossed) for a lower price.

signed OLIVIA prints BACK IN STOCK & a new interview.

That dreamboat scribe, Mr. Gaiman has been busy signing more of the gorgeous creamy rich prints illustrated by miss Olivia.
There are about 50 of them this time.

Get them here.

I did a quick interview with the husband half of the Olivia team, the motor behind Olivia's boat, Joel Beren, one of the funniest men I have ever met.

Q: what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: less clueless

Q: tell me about the first time you laid eyes on miss Olivia….

A: when we met Olivia had a boyfriend, and I was just looking to maybe buy a painting

Q: How has the art world changed in the last couple decades?

A: internet/digital world changes everything.

Q: Anything you miss and would like to see brought back?

there were a few good psychedelics...

Q: Anything you are glad is no longer happening?

A: polio

Q: The prints you produce are so very beautiful and rich. Was there a great deal of trial and error in the beginning? Or did you know exactly what you were trying for?

A: we have been working with printers for decades-I ask a lot of questions...eventually I figure out what works for us.

Q: Hand-torn with that rough edge, I love that detail so much.
Can you tell me more about this: (is that an industry practice or something you came up with?)

A:
it's a detail that helps to elevate the prints beyond posters...not unusual in the fine art print market.

Q: Any business advice for aspiring artists?

A: art's not for sissies...

Q: Who would play you in the movie of your life?

since Pierre Clémenti is no longer available, gotta go with Crispin Glover.
(interviewer note: C. Glover played the best Grendel ever!)

Q: if you had life to do all over again, anything you would change?
A: I would grow up in California.

Q: the question I should have asked you is:

what do you want to be when you grow up?

______________________________________________

a Q & A w/miss Olivia

There are few things that give me greater joy than finding out one of my idols is as clever and delightful in person.
Read my interview with Olivia, see if you don't agree. She made me laugh on a day when i really needed it. Bless your watercolor heart, you gorgeous artiste.


Q. Now you are teaming up with Neil Gaiman to illustrate POEM, his poetic take on what might be hiding under a woman’s clothes. What inspired you to work with Neil?

A. Well Cat... you did.
You put it out there- suggested it in your blog after we met at my Soap Plant signing.

(here we are at that very meeting, photo by Adriane Biondo)

I've tumbled through the creative wormhole into Mr. Gaiman's lair.
In 2009, we were sent to see Coraline by our friend Leonard Maltin, who said it was incredible and we must see it in 3-D. A few months later at SDCC I met Martin Meunier, the stop-motion designer of much of Coraline characters and faces.. Martin and his wife Nika have become great friends and we are working on many projects together. He invited me to his wedding where I met Henry Selick, director of Coraline. So, Neil's universe has been intersecting with mine for a few years.
I am currently reading/loving American Gods, I'm particularly enthralled by the consuming character, Bilquis, in chapter 2.

Q. did any work in your past direct you to the style of Neil’s POEM?

A. In his Poem, Neil is writing about nudity and the mysteries of concealment. I used one of my favorite models, Bella, who has an intense presence, perfect as this "Gaiman" woman casting her aware eyes back at the viewer. The tentacles Neil imagines reminded me of a painting I did in '79 of a heavily tattooed woman. She had tattoos of tentacles reaching up and outward, wrapping around her body. It was inspired by a famous 1841 Shunga print by Hokusai which depicted a woman engaging in sex with a pair of octopuses (octopodes). The concept in my version is reversed, the implication is that the imagined head of one octopus is her vagina, the uncontrollable Id within her, it's illustrated tentacles reaching outward.
In creating paintings of women, a Neil Gaiman woman is so very different from the woman I paint for Hugh Hefner. I love that I have been able to create for them both.

Q. You are an east coast girl, relocated to Malibu. Anything you miss being out west?

I was born in Long Beach, CA. but spent half my life back east. I went to NY School of Visual Arts in the late 60's and stayed in NYC for 20 years. We love New York, never thought we'd leave.
There are trade-offs being in the distant reaches of Malibu. We don't get into town much, so we miss out on a lot of what's going on in the art world.
I'm an obsessive worker. When I walk the beach, the dolphins, pelicans and parrots tell me what's going on at MOCA.

Q. You and your husband produced these prints, instead of sending to an outside printer. Can you share what you have learned doing this further step?

A. If you want something done right... do it yourself.

Q.. If you could meet any of Neil's fictional characters, who would you like to have a conversation with?

I'm not sure I'd survive long after meeting them.

Q. Who would play you in the movie version of your life?

A. Call Helena Bonham-Carter. She could mimic my obsessiveness and tics and make it all seem normal.
A few people have come to me wanting to do some kind of film about me. They don't have a real concept of who I am or what I do. The scripts inevitably --"First you draw this girl…and she's naked!.... your character is standing there with her paintbrush...and she's naked!"

Q. Do you have any upcoming projects you are especially excited about? New directions?

A.This Neil Gaiman "poem project" came to me at a time in my career where I'm starting to shift my focus. Of course, women are my subject-same as it ever was, but I'm returning to some themes that I worked on years ago. Over the last decade of my nearly 40 year career, I've been creating the pinup page for Playboy Magazine, with captions written by Hugh Hefner. I've loved working with him. But I'm restless and need to stretch. Visualizing Neil's Poem is a perfect beginning to this new chapter. I'm thrilled to be doing this with him.

Q. You will be at WONDERCON in Booth 942. Will you be signing? Any other future appearances?

A.I will be applying red lipstick, posing for pictures, and selling my wares! (no, not those), at booth #942
We will be launching our Neil Gaiman Poem print at Wondercon! Also, we will be at our usual post at SDCC.

So. To clear up any confusion, we have DO more of the Olivia/Neil prints, and I will have to catch up with Neil again (it's like chasing the wind) to get him to sign some more. If you show up at Wondercon in Anaheim, Olivia will be happy to sign/personalize the print for you as well. Go and see that fox in red lipstick!
you can click here to buy the prints from Neverwear.

and you can click here to see more treasures from Olivia.

like this fantastic tee that she sent me as a gift, which i am wearing as we speak! (i LOVE the cop Bettie on the tag, one of my favorite of Olivia's images)

A Collaboration between Olivia and Neil Gaiman

It was my great pleasure to meet Olivia, that gorgeous pin-up artist deluxe, at a book-signing last winter.
When I blogged that I wondered what she would do with a poem of Neil's, to my amazement, she answered me via Twitter.
(you can follow her here: @OliviaPinupArt)

We began a beautiful collaboration and I am enjoying every minute of this clever and talented woman.

Created by Olivia to illustrate and accompany POEM.
This poem was written by Neil Gaiman, a piece in which he marvels over the mysteries of what might be under a woman's clothes...

The print is hand-torn, printed on rag paper,
all done here in the good ol' US of A.

Size: aprox. 10" x 27.5".

We have a very limited number of prints
which have been hand-signed by both Olivia and Neil.
They are also each hand-embossed with each artists seal--here is a close-up of the emboss/signatures:

The edition is open-ended at this time, we have printed a very small run to debut at WonderCon this coming weekend in Anaheim. Olivia will be there at Booth #924 signing, and personalizing the prints. (at no extra charge)

Look at this face. I can't stop staring at her!

stay tuned for my interview with miss Olivia, an artist I have admired since my kittenhood.
She's just so damn cool. Her work has appeared world-wide---including countless times in Playboy.
She captures that secret heart of the female form, in such a way that the viewer is left wanting...more...

here's a photo of Neil holding the print taken this morning by Drew, who you can see in shadow-form in the lower right corner. Hi honey! (this one is signed in the photo and was taken before Olivia has done her signing, they also come unsigned at $80.00)

here is the poem:

I am continually disappointed by nudity

decently covered breasts could look like anything when revealed,

the nipples might be eyes or snake heads or flowers glowing gold,

they might be anything, but never are.

And as for the rest of it, the whole between-the-legs business,

when I was a boy, and simply wondered about women, why back then

it was the mystery of mysteries, 

and now, grown up

I still think,

I wonder what she keeps hidden,down there, beneath that cloth

imagining miracles and mysteries and dreams

conjuring secret mouths and lips that smile and sing

craving petals, tentacles and stars,

desiring the unimaginable.
The reality of nakedness

makes me mutter Jesus Christ with delight and awe as well, of course,

but still, the revelation is in its way prosaic. 
Just another gentle biped with bumps and flesh and cleft and hair always looking just

a little bit more awkward and less interesting

than when she wore clothes.

-Neil Gaiman © 2006

To buy this beauty, PLEASE CLICK HERE

day off in Kansas City..

yesterday on a day off in Kansas City, I went to their premiere theater.

The line up of films showing was less than stellar. In fact, there was NOTHING i wanted to see, but I had it in my mind, i was going to see a movie and that was it.

plus, the popcorn was popping right there in the lobby….

So.

I spent my afternoon with the new Captain Kirk, Tracy Flick and the cute guy from RockaRolla, aka the new Bane. Can you guess what I saw?

good news, it wasn’t the worst film ever.

Tom Hardy, you are a beautiful creature.

meanwhile in Neverwear business, we will be revealing the NEIL GAIMAN/OLIVIA team up this coming weekend. (I will be on a bus barreling to Canada with this tour...!)
I promise to put up a new post soon, time is flying.
Here are the Neil dollars being born....

every order that has been made since I have been gone gets one of these complete with code on back to take five bucks off anything, save them for your Olivias...!

here is a shot of our stage in Pittsburgh, the shows are brilliant...

photo by Eric Fox.