Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Art Attacks to Make You Grin Like a Big Goofy Kid

I like my art to make me happy.

These'll do.




LOVE.


X-Babies by Skottie Young
Submitted by Mary B. via The Curious Brain

Those expressions! Ha!


The playful side of Big Daddy:


By Jonathan Case

Awesome.


How about a little steampunk Portal?



The Gentlemanly Escort Cube by deviantART user *Risachantag
Submitted by Paige A.

"Steam pipe" with a twist. ;)


I cannot NOT giggle every time I see this:

By DeviantArt user kibou87

Don't you just want to squeeze him?

This next one is made from spools of thread, and you have to view it through a special glass to see it right side up:

Superman by Devorah Sperber
Submitted by Lucy M.

Nifty, huh?


Something fitting for Jim Henson's birthday this week:

ID17 Series 2 by Andy Awesome Art
Submitted by Marisa R.


Which is a perfect segue to this amazing trailer for the new film Being Elmo, which I desperately want to see. Just these few minutes made me so happy I actually teared up a bit - and I dare you not to do the same:


I had no idea there was only one main performer for Elmo! Amazing, inspiring, heart-warming - seriously, I have a whole new respect for "Elmo" now.


Is your grin now firmly in place? Good, good. You may now proceed with your work week.

What art makes you smile, guys? Links in the comments, please!

45 comments:

  1. You should watch this interview with Kevin Clash on Rove! It's amazing!

    http://youtu.be/IY_sl1R3KJQ

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  2. I love watching Elmo with the geekling because I know that just beneath him is a linebacker-esque looking dude :)

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  3. If you look at Elmo's earlier stuff, back before this guy was his puppeteer, you can see that they were really struggling with the character, and that Elmo was basically considered a failure. It's amazing.

    I also just assumed the muppets were played by different people when they were on tour, and I never knew the puppeteers also did the voices.

    Hey, have you noticed how Kermit the frog never shows up on Sesame Street anymore? I've been wondering if Disney acquired Kermit when they bought the Jim Henson Company, because I know that Sesame Street Workshop is an entirely different entity.

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  4. If you had asked me to describe what kind of person played Elmo, Kevin is not who I would have described! I'm not really much of an Elmo fan, but I really want to see this documentary!

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  5. I was good until Elmo's giggle at the end. I do love him, and so does every kid who knows him.

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  6. James Hance and his relentlessly cheerful art makes me grin!

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  7. The Elmo video and those adorable pics just made my day : ) thank you bunches!

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  8. hahahaha! Love it! Especially the 'gentlemanly escort cube' that is so sweet! I didn't know Elmo was only one man either. That's going to be an amazing movie.

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  9. I hated Elmo...until he made my baby smile. And THAT's what makes me smile. Totally want to see the movie.

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  10. The first and last were my fave. I can't wait to watch that documentary!

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  11. http://www.pantsareoverrated.com/05_10_2011/hobbes-and-bacon

    AND

    http://www.pantsareoverrated.com/05_12_2011/hobbes-and-bacon-002

    Made me smile and thought you'd enjoy.

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  12. My 18-month-old has recently entered his "Ehmo!" phase. Can't wait to see that documentary.

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  13. Looks like the only release in my area so far is when I'll be on a biz trip. [:-( ]

    Let's hope they add more dates.

    Release calendar posted here:
    http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/being-elmo-a-puppeteers-journey-to-finally-hit-theaters-in-october/

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  14. Kermit is owned by Disney and not Sesame Street Workshop as he is a muppet. However when Henson owned Kermit he was free to use him as he wished and used variations of Kermit or his voice for Many projects.

    I want to see the Elmo movie too. He kind of drives me crazy at times, but my two year old loves him, and he buys me enought time to take a break from chasing her all day. Also there are some really hilarious video's of him being not so elmo on you tube, Like the one where he bites Ricky Gervais.

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  15. That trailer made me tear up. I have always been a Jim Henson fan, and I think that Kevin really is the kind of guy that Henson would want carrying on the legacy of the Muppets. How awesome!

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  16. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6169709

    Kevin Clash did the "Not my Job" sections of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me ( the NPR news quiz) It's hilarious! ( 9/30/2006)

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  17. Love the elmo trailer! Made me cry

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  18. Oh to win the lottery so I can fund my WANT list. Much happiness! :)

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  19. Jen - if you're looking for a good read, Kevin Clash's autobiography is amazing too. I read it earlier this year when I heard about this movie at Sundance and it was awesome...and have you seen this?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLS_ZnsA0fc

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  20. Did not know about the Elmo doc, but knew Kevin Clash was the only one who is Elmo! Gotta see it!!

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  21. Apparently when I was a kid, I hated Elmo. My favorite was character was Slimey. However, my favorite song was "Batty Bat" by the Count. It was the only song besides the ABC's I remember from that show, and I still sang it for years after I stopped watching the show.
    Batty Bat
    There's no way to not smile while watching that.

    Also, the modern sort of puppets: robots. Adorable robots. If you start watching this video, I swear in 30 seconds you'll find yourself dancing along with the little bot.
    Dancing Robot

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  22. Bear Hug: http://trapdoorlover5.deviantart.com/gallery/9697999#/d35eszl

    Happy Piggy! http://trapdoorlover5.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=72#/d2rw2lx

    These always make me smile =)
    Plus the artist's a friend, and she makes me smile too.

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  23. I saw this site and thought of you. Geek girls of the world rock!

    Neon Movie Posters

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  24. Oh man, the Elmo video made me want to go back and look at clips from the show before Elmo. (Sorry, to Elmo and his Puppeteer, but my Sesame Street memories don't include much Elmo.)

    I found this playlist full of classic Sesame Street videos. Man, that brings me back, lol.

    This is a particularly cute clip.

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  25. Elmo! He was too hyper for my taste, until I had 2 boys. Then he seemed calm. But, Grover will forever be my favorite fuzzy Sesame Street character. This made me smile today He has a sweet side

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  26. Here's another piece of thread spool art.

    The Peabody Essex Museum had an exhibit of optical illusions which included two of these pieces. The other was the Mona Lisa. My daughter figured out that if you got 2 glass balls lined up right, you could flip and shrink the image again.

    They also have some great origami tutorial videos.

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  27. Did you also know that Kevin Clash voiced Splinter in the first two Ninja Turtles movies?

    I live in Utah and when this was being screened at Sundance he did an interview with the local radio station I listen to. He was one of the most charming, sweet and wonderful people. It was awesome!

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  28. I recently spotted James Hance's "The Girl Who Waited" art but I had not seen the Muppet x-overs! Eeee!

    The Gentlemanly Escort Cube needs to start showing up at conventions.

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  29. I'm amazed that a Muppet geek like you didn't know about Kevin Clash! I suppose I will forgive you this once. ;)

    As weird as it sounds, I'm not a fan of Elmo, but I absolutely adore Kevin Clash. My husband and I still joke about the "Not My Job" he did on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. He really is the life of the character. I'm so sad the documentary isn't screening near us. :(

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  30. I had to chuckle at the Batman one. My 10 month old is just that round, so if you put him in a Batman costume, that's what he'd look like!

    Thank you for the Kevin Clash video!

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  31. Dunno if everyone considers it art, but I love me some twisted t-shirts! Typically I go for geekiness, but I ordered this one recently for the "that's just wrong" factor...
    http://www.teefury.com/archive/1373/I_m_Loving_It/
    *WARNING* Those who have a fear of Ronald McDonald should not follow the link, it'll just make it worse... :)

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  32. Wow that is an amazing clip now I want to see the movie too! (I don't even know about it! Thanks!)

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  33. Okay, I REALLY want to see Being Elmo!

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  34. I actually knew that Kevin was the only puppeteer that did Elmo. But I had NO idea that he was the creator.
    I really want to see that film.
    I <3 Elmo and pretty much every muppet I have ever seen.

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  35. I can't start my day without looking at my favorite artist Chet Phillips blog. He has fantastic art and he finds a lot of other cool artists on the web that he posts every day at http://chetart.com/blog

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  36. Thank for the smiles! After this week... definitely needed.

    And a Kermit flail never fails either...

    Kermit Flail

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  37. You should read Kevin Clash's book, "My Life as a Furry Red Monster." Loved it.

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  38. THIS! is totally making me smile today. Cute flash mob proposal at Disney :) Any future husband of mine now has to try and top that for a proposal! haha

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  39. Kevin Clash - elmo - has a book, I've read it. I remember it was pretty good. Anyways, here's a link to it: http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Furry-Red-Monster/dp/0767923758

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  40. Oh yes, I teared up. It was a small moment when Kevin touched Elmo's hand on his arm. That and seeing Jim Henson, of course. Thanks for a great start to my morning!!

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  41. Wow, I hate Elmo with a passion. There is finally something that we do not agree upon. I feel a distance now.

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  42. The first time I saw who was behind Elmo, I was just amazed. He's so good! Whenever I see the muppeteers 'working' the characters, my brain kind of explodes. I logically know they are the ones doing all the work, but I can't help seeing the muppets as real with a person's hand up their hoo-ha.

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  43. I'm torn when it comes to Elmo. I don't like the character (mostly resentful that he takes screen time away from Grover who I've loved since I was a kid). But he's voiced by Kevin Clash who did amazing work as Baby Sinclair on the Henson TV show Dinosaurs. When Elmo laughs, I can hear Baby laughing again. Now if only Elmo would hit Gordon over the head with a pot while shouting "Not the momma!" (I don't think that'll happen anytime soon, though.)

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