Baby Tattooville '07 Wrap Up

The first edition of Baby Tattooville, a limited-edition art retreat, held on October 5th and 7th has come and gone.  Organized by Bob Self, the owner of children's book publisher Baby Tattoo, the event stands out as something unique, experimental and daring. The impressive list of artists for '07 included Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Gris Grimly, James Jean, Frank Kozik, Ragnar, Tara McPherson, Jeffrey Scott, Jeff Soto,  Amanda Visell, Luke Chueh and Lola.  Now that a week and change have passed it's time for a final look at the event and also for some overall impressions. 

The number one question people ask about this unique event is "Was it worth it?".  That's a tough question because it's quite subjective. I do recognize that's it hard for me to answer this completely objectively as I received a complimentary pass to the event courtesy of the organizers. In my opinion, the worth and value of the event is directly tied to one's personal art tastes.  If you're a serious art collector and a fan of most of the participating artists, then odds are good you're likely to feel it's "worth it".     Some have negatively characterized the event as paying to hang out with artists.  While that's certainly part of the draw of the event for some (especially those not  living in SoCal), the social aspect was very free form and casual.  It didn't feel forced at all.  As a collector, I'm going to focus more on the tangible value of the event -- specifically the "goodies" attendees received at the event. 

I've taken the liberty of using Ragnar's excellent picture of the full contents of the goodie bags handed out to attendees on the final day (see his Flickr for more).  The highlights of these items are the limited-edition art collectibles created specifically for Baby Tattooville including a 12-in-1 art print (ed. of 100), Tara McPherson screen print pulled by Tara herself (ed. of 100), a Jeffrey Scott digital manipulation print (ed. of 60),a hand-customized Amanda Visell print, a hand-cast Spooketto resin figure from Ragnar (ed. of 36), a Severed Possessed resin figure from Luke Chueh and Dave Bondi (ed. of 100),  an original James Jean sketch,  and a large 1:1 scale Artist Jam giclee print on unstretched canvas. 

You may remember that each of the twelve artists worked separately and sometimes collaboratively on a single shared canvas over Friday and Saturday of the event.  From 10:30 PM Saturday night to roughly 8AM Sunday morning, the insanely dedicated folks at Pop Cling captured the original canvas and created 75 giclee on canvas prints.  Each of the twelve artists then signed the print on Sunday morning.  Pretty remarkable especially considering the caliber of artists involved.  In addition, attendees also walked away with the Amanda Visell artist colorway of her Baby Eating Crocodile figure, the numerous Baby Tattooville books, the Dark Horse stationary and several other smaller items. So if you factor in all these items including many that were only available at this event, plus the experience of watching artists create, plus the 2 night stay at the very cool and upscale Mission Inn -- the value  is  high assuming again that the selection of artists matches the attendees' art tastes.

All in all many of the paying customers (20+) and many of the artists seemed to enjoy the experience.  I definitely got the sense that Bob Self and Baby Tattoo  have created something special which has a good chance of growing and evolving into a premiere event for art collectors.   The challenge is to continually attract high caliber artists and find  means of increasing interactions between artists and attendees while still maintaining a fairly laid-back atmosphere.  Based on Bob's passion and dedication to the event, we're excited about the long-term prospects. 

Finally (whew! this is a long post), early bird registration has opened for Baby Tattooville 2008 to be held  on October 3rd - 5th, 2008 at the same venue -- the Historic Mission Inn in Riverside (amazing hotel/resort).  Registration is $1500 through December 31st, 2007 -- a discount of $500 off the full registration fee of $2000.

Live @ Baby Tattooville - Jeff Soto's Studio

Following the afternoon session, Baby Tattooville shifted down the road to Jeff Soto's studio.  After a quick Bus Ride narrated by Jeff  pointing out  stunning landmarks such as the Union Bank of California on the corner, attendees got a first hand look at his studio.  While many people were drawn to prints on the wall, partially finished paintings, and design notes -- we (and other toy geeks) couldn't help but notice the two Walker protos over in the corner.  Ater a quick Q & A, the BT artists got in one final Artist Jam session and wow, what a difference it made.  In came a cool yet slightly disjoint piece and out came a much more tightly integrated work of art.

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Live @ Baby Tattooville - Luke Chueh's Severed Possessed Head

Baby Tattooville sponsor Munkyking is providing the Severed Possessed Head by Luke Chueh and Dave Bondi to attendees.  These look great with the rough, scratched up Head and the glistening, semi-translucent blood pool.  Luke spent part of Saturday afternoon hand-painting the eyes and head notch on each and every resin piece. Hmm, notice the bloody clump on the left hand of the Possessed ? ;-)

Live @ Baby Tattooville - Ragnar and Dave Bondi

Ragnar and Dave Bondi shifted the focus from painting to 3 dimensional art with their joint Saturday session @ Baby Tattooville.  Both artists discussed the process of casting resin pieces -- Ragnar with his BT exclusive piece and Bondi with several projects including his work on the Severed Possessed head and a crown that fits into the Possessed head slot.    Ragnar and Dave both created casts on the spot with their working molds.  We came away with  a better understanding of the resin casting process and an appreciation for the large amount of work involved from casting to sanding.

Live @ Baby Tattooville - Artist Jam, Day 2

The Artist Jam canvas piece which started off slowly on Friday Night, drew lots of attention from all the artists on Saturday. From an initial background laid down by Lola and Luke Chueh, the piece grew throughout  the afternoon session with each artist contributing signature and well-known characters.  In a giving mood, Gary Baseman also contributed 'creamy white goodness' spread throughout the piece in addition to Chou Chou.    While the piece looked mostly finished as the event shifted to Jeff Soto's studio, last minute additions would transform it. 

The Artist Jam canvas is being captured and printed as a limited-edition giclee for  attendees overnight by the crazily ambitious folks @  Baby TattoovillePop Cling.

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Live @ Baby Tattooville, Tara McPherson - Day 2

We're here in the Galleria Room at the Mission Inn for Tara McPherson's Screen Printing demo @ Baby Tattooville, assisted by Andrew of Diesel Fuel Prints.  Tara's hand-pulling a three-colored print while we all watch.   Check out the curious counterweights... The prints will be given to attendees after they are finished. Sweet stuff.

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Live @ Baby Tattooville -- Saturday Overview

It's day two @ Baby Tattooville.  The morning started with an overview of the event and a preview of  the limited-edition merchandise that will be presented to attendees.  Patrick Lam of Munkyking presented the Severed Possessed Head resin from Luke Chueh and Dave Bondi.  Greg Blum of STRANGEco unveiled the special colorway of Amanda Visell's Baby Eating Crocodile. Continuing the toy vibe, Ragnar introduced his gnarly show exclusive resin figure.

The second-half of the session featured the BT artist print featuring individual images from each of the event artists.  Bob self introduced the print and then the prints made their way down the table for each artist to sign.   
 

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Live @ Baby Tattooville -- Jeffery Scott, Day 1

Jeffrey Scott (1019) blends photography of live models with digital manipulation to produce otherworldly visions -- from nostalgic alternate realities to cyberpunk beauties.  For Baby Tattooville, Jeffery is attempting to demo his work progress from start to end over a single day.  On Friday night, he  worked with a live model to capture the numerous shots and angles required for his work.  Here's a look at the shoot including the work involved in getting just the right pose.   Note: The photos past the jump are NOT worksafe.

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Live @ Baby Tattooville -- James Jean, Day 1

James Jean presented a life drawing session featuring  lovely models for Baby Tattooville attendees on Friday night.  James is an accomplished painter and illustrator with a talent for depicting the beauty of the human form -- it's a treat to watch him work. Note: The pics after the jump are not worksafe.   

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