.

By Mortimer Black

History is full of figures that transfix our imagination and inspire a host of emotions, and yet there has never been a more unusual individual then Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. Rasputin is unusual not so much for his life, although his story is a fascinating one, but more so for the legendary way in which he allegedly died.

Born on January 22, 1869 in a small village in brutal Siberia, Rasputin became a well known healer and mystic. He was believed to have acquired supernatural powers at a young age and his charismatic yet curious nature brought him notoriety.

In the early 1900s Rasputin was sought out by the Russian royal family to heal their ailing son. The mystic was said to have helped the boy in 1905, who doctors had said would surly die, and as a result he became a close friend of the Tsar and his family.

Rasputin became an extremely controversial figure in all areas of Russian life. The aristocrats were fascinated by him, yet not openly, and the public became quickly suspicious of his influence over the ruling family, particularly during the volatile beginnings of World War I. As propaganda and rumors spread about the mystic’s involvement with secret religious sects and his power over the tsar, two attempts to assassinate Rasputin were made.

Led by Prince Felix Yusupov, who had demonized Rasputin in his own publications, a group of men lured the mystic down into the cellar of Yusupovs’ Moika Palace and gave him red wine and cake. It was reported that these items included enough poison to kill five men.

Concerned that the man was not dying quickly enough to conceal his body, Yusupov shot Rasputin in the back. The group left the mystic to die, yet Yusupov returned yet again to check on the body. It is said that Rasputin leapt up and grabbed the prince, whispering into his ear, “you bad boy,” and then attempted to strangle him . Upon hearing the struggle the others returned and allegedly shot Rasputin three more times in the back. He fell to the ground, and yet as the men approached him they found that he was not only still alive, but attempting to get up. It is said that the men then began beating and mutilating him, even going as far as castrating him before wrapping his body up in a carpet.

Before the night was over the group took the rolled carpet to the Neva River and tossed it into its icy waters. As it sank into the frozen depths, Rasputin managed to brake free from his bonds and claw his way out into the water. His body was found three days later, the autopsy report establishing his actual cause of death as drowning.

To add to the mystery and supernatural element surrounding the Russian mystic, a group of workers from Saint Petersburg uncovered his buried remains years later. They took his body to the nearby woods and burned it. As his body burned the workers reported that Rasputin sat up for a horrifying moment.

Although the mystery lingers surrounding this unusual man, there is strong evidence suggesting that much of his murderer’s story has been fabricated. Despite this and his openness about the crime, Yusupov was never charged with Rasputin’s murder. As for the mystics postmortem motions, this is believed to be caused by improper care of his body. When the fire heated his remains, the tendons in his legs shrank and caused them to bend. This would have forced his body into an upright position, giving him the appearance of being “reanimated”.

.

By Meitte Noir

There are few organisms on the planet that can incite such a spontaneous repulsion by just their mere appearance as that of the teratocarcinoma. This creature is a true monster that can only be found originating in our own bodies.

Literally meaning “monster tumor”, the taratoma is a tumor that lives inside the human body and contains complex mixtures of human cells. Disturbingly they have been reported to contain such random elements as cartilage, skin, hair, teeth, bone, eyes, limbs, brain tissue and even rudimentary nervous systems.

Although these tumors are indeed monstrous in appearance, they have also been the inspiration of some unusual items ranging from hand made crochet models, to a remarkably adorable plush toy.  In 2005 while working as a graphic designer in the media department of a large medical institution Jessica Stone began to make monster dolls as gifts for friends in her spare time.

“I received a commission to create a taratoma doll,” Jessica explained. “Of course I had never heard of a taratoma and was a bit disturbed when I found out what they were…I wasn’t quite sure how I could make that into something cute and cuddly! The first one I created was more tumor-like in shape with eyes and a little nest-like opening at one end revealing the hair and teeth.”

Jessica was approached by one of her co-workers, who was deeply interested in medical oddities of all kinds, and had seen the first tumor. She hired her to make a new but more doll-like creation.

“Thus Tabitha was born,” she continued, “and to this day she resides at the reception desk of said media department. Tabitha is made of fleece with a poly-fill stuffing. She has yarn hair and “veins”, and her teeth are made of polymer clay.”

It is interesting to note that the teratocarcinoma had an early role in stem cell and embryonic carcinoma cell research.

.

By Jesse Horn

There is something elegant and whimsical about Mike Libby’s art. It captures the core essence of boyhood fantasy, combining two unlikely, yet perfectly matched concepts: Robots, and bugs. His masterful unification of these very different ideas bring to life a magical, delicate, and strange world where he meticulously weaves fantasy and reality together.

Oddities spoke to Mr. Libby about his unique form of art, and about some little known facts regarding his other pursuits.

“I studied in sculpture,” Libby began. “I originally went to school to major in illustration, but saw there being a more hands on appeal doing sculptural work. But I think strangely the illustration is still kind of fit in as far as the designing and composing in a whimsical manner.”

Mr. Libby explained that the process itself is pretty laborious and requires an abundance of patience. “Obviously because the insect, the framework I am building upon, is so fragile in the first place. But it’s gotten to the point now where I’ve developed kind of a strange instinct for the materials and for the design. Its pretty intuitive at this point.”

Because of the fragile nature of what he is working with Mike revealed that there are plenty of times when the insect might fall apart or loose a limb.

“There are stupid mistakes all the time,” he laughed, “or just basic accidents.  Usually the things that break are not the parts that I add to them but usually the insect bodies. I’ve glued legs on and different antennas on. There have been bumblebees that I have done that done have any of their original legs. I always say, yah, I know there is someone out there who is counting to see if there is actually six legs…I better make sure there are six legs. I believe in being thorough,” he laughed again.

Libby said that there is really no secret to how he works or what he does other then patience.

“I’m not going to give away a recipe or something, I’m not concerned about that. It is basically glue, because if I was to use any heat method like soldering or wielding…one its too small to weld, and two, the heat itself would burn the insect bodies. So I’m kind of the antichrist of metal smiths…using glue to hold my stuff together…but it works, and its durable and I’ve found some pretty strong glues that also marry the metal and the insect bodies well.”

As far as the insects themselves, Libby says that he gets them from specialized licensed dealers and these individuals work with people who are trained in finding specialized insects in different regions.

“The suppliers have a good visual menu and the past couple of years I have learned enough species type and nomenclature, and a little bit of Latin is applied to insect names, to know more or less how to search for things. It kind of goes with my visual nature basically to look at something that esthetically looks cool…you know, especially if I get into something big, or if I get into maybe something that isn’t really so big but has really beautiful colors or patterns on it.”

Libby also illudes on his website that he is involved in other areas of art. Oddities asked him about this and how it relates to his other work.

“Its kind of the thing that I am constantly trying to balance, with InsectLab and the production of that, is my other work. My other work doesn’t make any money, and its not in the commercial field. It’s not fashion or ceramics or anything like that, but it’s still what I consider kind of a pure studio investigation of just playing with materials and assembling things. I know that sounds pretty vague, but I’ve been thinking about it and thought, you know I think that’s mostly what artists do: They take materials, rip them apart and then put them back together…no mater what they are. Even with illustration your taking pigments from one area and putting them back in another. Yah, my other work is kind of sculptural in nature sometimes, it depends on the piece and it depends on the idea. Sometimes it’s collage work.”

He went on to say that even with its indefinable form, it still does not fall into the category of abstract.

“That’s the other thing,” he continued, “You know I can’t get into abstraction. I feel the need to get into things that are recognizable. If you look at the work at InsectLab, it’s kind of an illusion. I’m making these things that kind of look like real robotic insects. Some of my other work for example, I have been working on this piece for years that hasn’t quite manifested it self the way I want to yet…It’s a big sand castle made entirely of sand paper. I’ll be playing with materials in kind of a joking manner, but also playing with fantasy or daydreaming, or a reference narrative of some sort. Other pieces…doing a video projection of a ship inside a bottle. I’m actually putting the ship inside the bottle. I’m playing with the tricks of tricks.”

Libby stated that he has a fair amount of these pieces completed, but stressed that its been a matter of balancing the work with InsectLab, self promotion, and the exhibition of the other work. He stated that he keeps the works very distinct.

As far as purchasing his work it is also a personal experience.

“Primarily it’s through me, direct person to person contact. I don’t put up a shopping cart feature because I want to engage people and want to have conversations with them. I do craft shows which is kind of a strange venue for my work to be in. It’s fitting because I don’t have to constantly look for galleries.”

Libby said that the response to his work has been very positive.

“People are pretty tickled by what they see and I’ve done maybe 12 or 13 of those shows in the last 3 or 4 years, so there are some people in certain areas who may have seen my work before or have seen it online and are anticipating it. Then there are others who have never been to a craft show or this is their first time back in a while, and come across it. Some times they are grossed or creeped out, but the majority of people seem pretty enchanted by it.”

As far as the style and inspiration, Mike stressed that he is not into shook, only into creating what he enjoys to see.

“I’m not into doing anything that seems grotesque. I think very often its a card played with a certain type of subject matter that’s easy. It’s like making some kind of jakalope or chipmonk type creature, you know, it’s not appealing to me.”

.

By Jesse Horn

In the world of fantasy there is nothing more exciting then seeing the dreams and ideas of a world that could be, realized in a way that you can actually put your hands on. There are few with the skill capable of producing these wondrous creations, and Oddities had the privilege of speaking to Christopher Conte, master artist. His work is of a mechanical precision that gives us a real life view into worlds we could only imagine.

Oddities: What is your artistic background? Where are you from, what inspired your interest in art? Did you go to school for art, and what all areas or mediums do you work in?

Conte: Well I was born in Bergen, Norway and moved to New York when I was 3. Actually, my parents moved so I went along for the trip.

I grew up in the suburbs of New York and attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn for Illustration after receiving an art scholarship in high school.  While the vast majority of my early work was painting and drawing, I began the shift towards sculpture in my junior year at Pratt. After seeing this new direction, my instructors encouraged this transition despite me being an illustration major.

My previous experience as an artist included oil painting, charcoal drawing, pencil drawing, airbrushing, acrylic painting, and watercolor to name a few. I even spent the summers in High School painting heavy metal album covers onto demin jackets both at home and at a local flea market.

After graduating college, I worked in the prosthetics field for 16 years making artificial limbs for amputees. My career as a Full–time Prosthetist made me very familiar with exotic metals such as Titanium as well as space age materials like Carbon Fiber.

In 2008, I left the field to become a full time artist.

Oddities: Where did this particular form come from, or what inspired you to do this?

Conte: My earliest inspiration most likely came from films such as Star Wars and Television shows like the Six Million Dollar Man. I often found myself fascinated more by the mechanical effects used by Hollywood than the storylines or action sequences. I began reading books on the “making of” many films and found myself captivated by the mechanical genius behind many of the effects I had seen.

For a while, I seriously considered becoming a special effects artist but at that time, the emerging computer generated effects were beginning to threaten the future of that profession. Being that I had no interest in making digital facsimiles, I decided to keep the spirit alive with my own creations, strictly as fine art.

Oddities: What inspires each piece you work on, do you have a concept you are attempting to achieve or is it an organic progressive process?

Conte: Yes to both. I always have an image in my head and rarely make a drawing before I start. Once I have an idea I set out to find (or make) the parts I need to see the vision through. Quite often though, an interesting find can lead to a shift in direction or, at the very least, add details beyond my original vision. The inspiration for an idea itself comes from a wide range of visual stimuli. While the natural world is an incredibly vast resource, everything from antique brass science instruments to Apple computers can get my wheels turning.

Oddities: What are the pieces made of and can you describe a little about what the process of creating one is like?

Conte: I’m seriously neurotic when it comes to choosing the materials I’ll work with. I often find myself asking, what will this look like in a hundred years? – How will it stand the test of time? – And will it stay the way I originally envisioned it. I constantly think about future generations viewing my work. I also want my collectors of today to have something of substantial quality that will long outlive me.

For this reason, Stainless Steel and Bronze are two of my top two choices whenever possible. I actually carry around a magnet when searching for parts so I’m not fooled into thinking something that looks like brass is actually steel – or vise versa, as can often be the case.

The process of creating one work is very involved and time-consuming. I use every possible technique from the 5000 year old lost wax casting process to the most hi-tech CNC machining used in today’s aerospace parts. I cast, machine, weld, braze, solder, thread, tap, drill, grind, sand, whatever it takes to make it all look like it belongs together.

Oddities: What kind of reception have you had with your art and where do you show it?

Conte: The reception of the work has been incredible, even from corners not normally synonymous with art. Despite the fact that my work is very mechanical, strong visceral or emotional reactions are not uncommon.

I mainly show my work in galleries but still enjoy passing an insect around a table in a restaurant, for example. The reactions I get, even from people who could care less about art, is usually quite the spectacle.

Oddities: Where can people see your art and how can they order a piece?

Conte: My latest insect will be on display and available at a gallery called Copro Gallery in Santa Monica, CA beginning January 21, 2011. Because my work is so time consuming, I can only produce a handful of new pieces per year. To deal with this issue of supply and demand, I keep an email list of collectors who are interested in obtaining my work and notify them as soon as a new work is available. My last piece sold within 2 hours of being added to my website.

Oddities: Do you do special orders, or are they strictly made as is?

Conte: If someone approaches me with an idea I can see myself doing, then yes, I will consider and have done commissions – on occasion.

For example, last year, I was asked by the lead singer of a well known rock band called Three Days Grace, Adam Gontier to construct two Stainless Steel Biomechanical Arm microphone stands. That was right up my alley. I said yes within minutes of him asking.

The concept would always need to be in line with my greater vision. Under normal circumstances however, I prefer to build whatever comes to mind, then release it for the world to see and judge.

Oddities: I saw that you incorporated an ipod into one of your pieces, what other interesting things have you done?

Conte: Honestly, that was quite a departure for me because I try to stay away from modern electronics that could date the piece in just a few years. I prefer timeless elements of mechanical beauty for this reason. The new 6^th generation Ipod Nano in this case however, served both a valuable function and reached a point where it really can’t get much smaller and still be practical so I might be safe with this choice. I guess time will tell but to play it safe I installed the Ipod on the back of the sculpture anyway.

Oddities: What is in store for the future of your art?

Conte: I’m kinda moving backwards through time, through the centuries. I’m thinking maybe Medieval Times might serve as a nice source of technological and visual inspiration for a while.

Oddities: What is something that your fans may not know about you?

Conte: I recently got engaged to a beautiful little lady named Jacquelyn, on Halloween actually.

Oddities: Is there anything exclusive you can tell us about your art, or that might be upcoming?

Conte: I recently installed a small anti-counterfeiting device into my latest work. This way, if let’s say in a 100 years, an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow wants to verify if it is an authentic piece, there will be a way to tell. Only thing is, I’m not telling what it is.

By Jesse Horn

She has been described as being both charming and eerie, and yet her dark and dreamy fables are laced with comic book humor. Although it is difficult to adequately pin down her music, one thing is for certain about Lily Fawn and her style, it is playfully ghostly and undeniably unique.

Originally from Victoria, British Columbia and never having had a musical lesson, the antler wearing songstress incorporates an eclectic sound and style to each of her musical creations. For example, on her album Brightest Darkest Lily herself plays a wide assortment of instruments including the ukulele, drums, flute, trumpet, theremin, singing bowls, and even the musical saw.

“All the songs on my solo album are written to go along with a hard cover illustrated story book,” explained Lily.  “The characters in the book are based off a comic book series called The Road to New Orleans, that I do with my other band, Hank Pine and Lily Fawn (www.hankandlily.com).  My album Lily Fawn’s Brightest Darkest Lullabies, tells the story of Lily’s character before she meets Hank. How she came to have antlers and why she grew up in the forest with a penchant for stealing babies.”

Lily indicates that her biggest influences artistically are Clara Rockmore, Billy Holiday, and Bjork.

“I am so inspired by music that is so expressive.”

Lily went on to say that the sounds on this album were greatly inspired by sitting quietly deep in the forest.

“A little place called Sointula…. sometimes I just sit in the woods and listen… then I think, gee it is almost too quiet and eerie. My mind starts to imagine all sorts of noises, wood cracking and wind blowing…. then that seems even scarier so I imagine what it would be like if all the animals were to have a midnight tea party, wearing funny hats and making melodic droning noises combined with the clank of their tea cups and cookie munching.”

Oddities asked Lily about where her “fawn” persona comes from, and she explained that it is based upon her own comic book character.

“Born from a love that knows no bounds and was then shunned by the townspeople for being different.  Part deer – part girl.  I also have a love of the wild little fawn, there are many of them here on the island and when I am patient I can feed them carrots and apples out of my hand!  They are timid and lovely and strong.”

Lily also admitted that in addition to music she enjoys writing and dance.

“…Oh, and of course performing my theatrical story telling songs on stage for you!!!”

Together with her goggle wearing companion Hank Pine, the duo is  currently working on their new album and comic book #4, Crank City – Robot Attack!

“I just finished playing PoP Montréal opening for Swans on Friday night,” she continued, “and then Fred Penner (famous children’s performer) on Saturday.   I intend to book tours to America, Japan and Europe for 2011.”

Lily Fawn can be found online at www.lilyfawnmusic.com.

“I also have a Facebook page called lily fawn music.  Please come find me and share your thoughts.”

Something fans may not know:

My first passion is a love of herbs and medicine and I own my own herb company.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/EarthsHerbal

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

Oddities:Whom have you collaborated with, and who would you like to but have not yet?

Lily: Other than the above mentioned goggle wearing assassin, Hank Pine, I have collaborated with Dante Decaro (of Hot Hot Heat and Wolf Parade), Carolyn Mark, Dave Bryant (Godspeed You Black Emperor) and many other amazing Canadian artists.

I would love to collaborate with David Lynch one day …. or Will Oldham.  Yup, that would be amazing !

Oddities:A few of your videos have themes centering on a conflict with UFOs, can you explain this?

Lily: The UFO encounter was the director, Brian Clement (frontline films) idea, and thus the music video he did for me is a collaboration of both my comic book fables and his own interpretation.  I have never been to outer-space…. though, I am curious.

.

By Jesse Horn

Pocket Full of Posiez is a dark gem in a strange sea of gothic and macabre dolls found on line. Its style and unique character appears to have fallen strait out of a not yet published grim children’s book, and it has not fallen very far from its tree. Oddities spoke to Queenie, the creator of Pocket Full of Posiez about her dolls, her inspiration, and what the future holds.

Oddities: Can you give a little bit of background about yourself and if you have schooling, professional experience, or if you are self taught.

Queenie: As far back I can remember, being “creative” with anything and everything I could get my hands on, was just what i did. As I got a bit older, I didn’t have the confidence to call myself an “artist”. (I thought you only got that title if you actually sold something). I didn’t go to art school and I didn’t hang around other artists, so I just didn’t know how it all worked. All I knew was, I wanted to create my own world. I’ve always done things my own way, and the whole time I didn’t realize that I was being an “artist”.

Oddities: Where did your inspiration for this particular genre come from? Did this come as a youth, or later?

Queenie:  I’ve always like the ‘darker’ side of life. I rooted for Darth Vadar and had a crush on Bela Lugosi as Dracula when i was very young. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I discovered a new wonderful thing called deathrock (now referred to as goth). that opened The Posiez dolls are a tiny bit creepy and strange but they are also very innocent and silly, like The Munsters (one of the best shows of all time) or The Addams Family and are appealing to so many different ages. The Pocket Full of Posiez line of dolls are manufactured.  My boyfriend, Hideousboi, a sculptor at Sideshow Collectibles, takes a drawing of my characters and brings their heads to life for me. I take it from there, making the prototypes all by hand. They are then sent to the factory and reproduced exactly the way i made them. The final 8 inch doll has a vinyl head with rooted hair and a soft body. I do make one of a kind custom dolls from the manufactured ones from time to time to sell.

Oddities: What does the future hold for your work, do you have anything planned beyond what you are currently doing that you would like to reveal?

Queenie: My next doll, The deadly cute Delilah is at the factory and in production and will be available in the spring 2011! (Pushed back from Winter 2010) I am so excited about this because there was a major set back after Panzy the Pirate was produced, but I’m not giving up and I am MORE than grateful that the fans haven’t given up. I am a people pleaser and it’s really hard to promise them a new doll and it have to take this long to produce. Things happen in life that you can’t predict and I’m glad that everyone understands.

The future is open to whatever happens. I will continue to paint when I can. As for merchandise, I want to be able to continue my line of dolls, make more books, and so much more. The dolls are the most important to me and have been my dream since the beginning.

Oddities: Is there anything exclusive you can tell or show us?

Queenie:  I’m in love with my new product, a parasol with a bat topper. The idea came from one of my paintings and Hideousboi helped me bring it to life by sculpting it for me from my drawing. I make each one by hand right now, but I am looking into having them mass produced. I also make exclusive brooches and cameo necklaces hand sculpted for me. Also available are stickers, pins, purses, coaster sets, mirrors, etc. These items can be purchased on my etsy shop http://www.posiez.etsy.com as well as the store Halloween Town in Burbank, and Ipso Facto in Fullerton.

Oddities: Where did your inspiration for this particular work (the dolls and related artwork) come from and how did it get started?

Queenie: One Halloween I was in a big chain store and they had their Halloween decorations out. I thought at that moment, “I want to make cute characters like this”. I went home and started doodling out a character Hortencia. I just kept coming up with more and more characters for fun. I kind of hoped it would go this far, but that wasn’t the plan initially. After I had a group of characters that I had named after flowers and plants, Pocket Full of Posiez  seemed to be a really cool name for the group. The story behind the “ring around the rosies” rhyme is a bit morbid and mysterious, yet it’s such an innocent game when you are a kid.  Along with the dark side, I love being surrounded by vibrant colors that really inspire me. Over the years my artwork has become a lot more detailed and fun as I grow. I try not to look at other artists work. That may seem to sound like I’m being selfish in a way, but it really is self preservation for me. I used to compare myself to other people all the time and it did nothing but stop me from creating. I had to force myself to focus on my own little art world only to keep it fresh and original. Especially in the small ‘dark art’ community. There’s a fine line between influence and soaking in too much information from other artists.

Oddities: Can you explain a little bit about the dolls, how they are made and what they are made out of? Are they all hand made, or do you have them produced?

your website or do you have stores that carry any of your work? Do you go to shows and if so do you have any coming up? This issue will be out in Feb, so it would be anything following that.

Queenie: I do art shows from time to time, but I don’t do them as much as I used to.  Right now I am pretty much exclusive to doing them at The Parlour in Halloween Town. There will be a show around Feb/Mar there.  I vend every year at The Bats Day in the Fun Park Black Market. The next Black Market is Saturday May 7th 2pm – 10pm Free Admission Located @ DoubleTree Guest Suites Anaheim 2085 South Harbor Blvd.  I also have an internet live cam chat show with my boyfriend every Wed at 7pm PST on Ustream. We talk about our current art work, chat with fans, and just whatever happens to come up.  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/queenietv