Pre-opening We = Trouble anticipation and outfit fanciosity

That's it friendos. I'm heading out to meet up with Shea'la for the opening of We = Trouble tomorrow (Saturday) at Secret Project Robot in Brooklyn. If you live in the area, I would highly recommend stopping by and saying hellooooo. The opening block party will be gigantic - BBQs, a million artists, some tremendous bands, including Oneida, Ex Models, Golden Triangle...

I am bummed for you if you will be missing this one. Here's Jay Howell posting about some of the collaborative pieces that were created for the event. Man, ohhhh man.

For those of you who will not be in attendance, we will be unveiling the artwork to the mailing list next week. If you have not yet signed up, hopefully this will serve as the inspiration.

For the Rhode Islanders reading this, I would strongly recommend visiting AS220 this Sunday, September 7. The Print Shop will be unveiling their First Biennial Print Lottery. Tiny Showcase has donated work to the show, as well as some of our favorite printmakers (and people in general) of all time. A few blocks away at the AS220 Project Space, our good friend Pete Cardoso's Ten Years of Rock and Roll Posters Retrospective will be opening. We love the Fall and we love its gallery openings.

Enjoy a hurricane-free weekend.

Let me guess? You want to see more of Ian Dingman's work. We do too. And that is why the internet rules.

Visit Ian Dingman's portfolio site and browse until your eyeballs pop out. He's got a gigantic collection of affordable art for sale in his online gallery. He also just announced that he created original packaging artwork for these vintage camera ornaments, which we think are pretty rad.

Things are a bit hectic at Tiny Showcase this week but a few quick items before we go back to stressing ourselves out by working too much:

Catbirdseat just posted a brand new (spectacular) September mix. He also has some incredibly kind words about WE = TROUBLE, officially opening in just a few days.

Our buddy R. Kikuo Johnson on the cover of this week's NY Times Magazine.

And, of course, Ray Fenwick's "Rad" shirt in organic galaxy-colored cotton. We gave first dibs to the mailing list on Friday and they are available to the rest of the world today.

Ray Fewick's "Rad"

Thank you for all the kind words about "Ray's Life of Mystery." It is such a nice feeling to work very hard on something and get such a positive reaction. We've got a surprise for you tomorrow. In the meantime, here are three mysterious items written for the poster that didn't really make the final cut: The skeletal remains of a famous explorer; An olde-timey carnival ride whose bolts have been loosened; A pair of antique dueling pistols.

And now some links:

Just announced: Fall courses at Providence's Steelyard.

Book By Its Cover talks to Jez Burrows and Lizzy Stewart about their recently-released I Am The Friction, which is amazing and just about sold out.

A photo of Richard Neutra's Maxwell House being driven by Amoeba Music in Hollywood.

And finally, the news we've been waiting on for abouuuut ever since it was my favorite movie ever: The Criterion Collection edition of Bottle Rocket. Aaah! With new, original artwork by our buddy Ian Dingman. Aaaaaaaah! Wait, woah. Imagine if Ian Dingman allowed us to feature another of his pieces of artwork? Wouldn't that be stellar? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Where do I start on this one? Jaw-droppingly beautiful illustrations? Milk-out-of-nosingly hilarious text? We began working on the TS Learning Press wing of Tiny Showcase because we had such fine memories of staring at amazingly detailed education resources when we were children - The Golden Book Encyclopedia; old Richard Scary illustrations; How and Why Wonder books, H. A. Rey's celestial guides. We wanted to create something just as intricate and wondrous without being burdened by pesky things like, say, facts.

Ray Fenwick was kind enough to come up with the perfect contribution to our new branch. I feel like if I were a child and someone hung this chart in my room, it would forever alter the course of my life. I mean, even as an adult it made me want to break out my old Hardy Boys books - and those things have been buried in my parents' basement for years. The shaping of chilrdens' futures, inspiring basement cleanouts - we're talking about monumental life changing events here.

You can, of course, find much much more of Ray's work on his portfolio site. If you scour his news section you will be able to find some of his original artwork for sale. Highly recommended.

Funtown Splashtown Friday! That's right kids. We're locking up the office for the next day or two - gonna enjoy us some sunshine. We'll see you back here on Tuesday for the ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating a whole new branch of Tiny Showcase. Excited? We are.

Some stuffies before we head out:

I See It All, the work of our pal Deth P. Sun, opens tomorrow (Saturday) at Gigante Robot in New York. Those of you who are unable to catch the show because you will be attending weddings along the Rocky Coast of Maine can catch a preview of Deth's work here.

Required weekend listening: Music Go Music

Jay Howell and Matt Furie's Return To Innocence closes with a bang tomorrow at Receiver Gallery in San Francisco. You can catch work from the show right here. I consider "Grey Wolf w/ Burger" to be amongst the greatest pieces of artwork ever created.

Tomorrow evening at Subliminal Projects, Somehow, We All Seem Connected, artwork by Steven Harrington and
Justin Krietemeyer.

"The exhibition will feature handmade multiples and sculptures exploring human connectivity and humorous points of similarity, through our perception of reality, experience, and imagination."

I leave you with this itty bitty sneak peak at something fantastic.

This week we had the pleasure of welcoming Lizzy Stewart to the Showcase with a print + shirt double trouble extravaganza. I first saw Lizzy's work at a Viking Moses show where she set up a table selling posters and totes. Then again leaning up against the walls at the Edinburgh College of Art while heading to the art shop to get my favorite drawing notebooks. Which I am now out of. (I am also out of Tesco's Finest triple chocolate biscuits, and the oatmeal ones with the coconut, Guardian crosswords, and Dairy Milk Fruit + Nut bar, in case anyone is considering a care package.)

If you are on the market for more Lizzy Stewart printed matter, please check out I Am The Friction, a book of illustration and very short stories with collaborator and Friend of the Showcase: Jez Burrows. Lizzy and Jez also have a Running Amok in the works, and I understand it is to be released next week. Please note, TS is DOMINATING the Running Amok blog with two back-to-back mentions. We need to do something real cool real fast to go three for three.

What was the other cool thing we were doing... OH YES - A SHOW IN BROOKLYN WITH A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF AWESOME ARTISTS THAT OPENS (softly) ON SEPT. 4 AND THEN AGAIN (really loudly with bands and open studios and galleries and BBQs and everything) ON SEPTEMBER 6th.

You are insane if you are even considering not being there. I don't understand anything if you're not excited for this show. I had to stop drinking coffee I'm so psyched about it. Or stressed. I am so psyched and/or stressed about this show that I had to stop drinking coffee. My eyes hurt. Now when I want a coffee, I eat a salad, it's no life. Don't even consider it. It's no way to live.

Too bad Ferris let someone steal all the art. I don't care what you say, it's me that loves Liana the most.