08.24.14 Even More Sock Monkeys!

Hey there!
This week was pretty crazy, which is a perfect way to end a crazy month!  I've been packing for a move and so I've been finding little art gems to share with you. First of all, I found a few more of my Sock Monkey Tarot cards that I love!  When some people read cards they like to say that no card is all good or all bad, but when you start researching their meanings and making illustrations of them, I don't know, some cards are pretty tough! These are the cards with the darker meanings, in the Major Arcana:

#12 The Hanged Monkey

 The Hanged Monkey card represents a time in life in which you are required to make a sacrifice of some kind--hopefully, for the greater good.  This is the card whose image was so clear in my mind that it spurred me to begin this project.  FYI.

#13 Death

 The meaning of the Death card is actually about change, not death.  But new beginnings are usually begun from something else's end, so there is a deep sense of loss with this card that is likened to death, hence its name.  

#16 The Tower

The Tower is one of the worst cards to pull!  It's meaning is exactly what it looks like--all your foundations crumbling, things around you falling away.  Though it usually is tempered with the idea of something new coming on the horizon, this card is not happy at all.  It is about being in the midst of destruction.  (notice that the blocks spell out Beckaroo!)  It's so fun, challenging and rewarding to work on a project with such clearly defined narratives and such a huge breadth of subject. Which is why I keep working on it, in my spare time.

  I think building up  a body of work is a lot like making a mountain.  It takes FOREVER, first of all, and most of it is made of up all the same old crap around you, nothing special--however! within the mountain, like gemstones and fossils, there are things that, over time, prove to be more valuable and worth preserving than the crap surrounding it. Haha Anytime I can use a geology metaphor I'm happy! (:  Here are a few little gems I found--this is the very first sock monkey themed project I did:
 Once upon a time I went to coffee shops and house parties and drew the people around me but I replaced them with sock monkeys.  These are just a few and all at The SpyHouse, in  Minneapolis...in like 2005!
  I wanted them to have a photographic feel, so I kept them smaller and tried to compose them as I would a photo.  But they are graphite on paper:

SpyHouse Monkeys, 2

Jordan Monkey

SpyHouse Monkeys, 3

Graphic Designer Monkey

I love these!  I totally forgot about them and when they fell out of a portfolio in my closet I was pleasantly surprised. Sock Monkeys improve everything, I swear!  :)
  Well, back to working, packing and avoiding craziness--with only mild success....Thanks for the visit! More to come...
Now, I'm off!
Love, Beckarooo!