A Brush With Talent: The Charity Artist Brush Auction

above: many of the brushes have illustrated images by the artists who used them

above: Mark Ryden's signed paintbrush will be part of the auction




The Rotofugi gallery, a designer toy store and gallery located in Chicago, Illinois, had this wonderful idea of auctioning off the actual used (and signed) art brushes of some of today's hippest lowbrow surrealist, and underground artists and illustrators on ebay to benefit Gigi’s Playhouse.

Each brush has an attached paper tag containing the name and signature of the artist, the date and how the brush was used. Some of the artists have multiple brushes in the auction (e.g. Kozyndan has 10). Some of the artists have multiple brushes bundled as one.

On the backside of the paper tag, some of the artists, Like Mark Ryden and Marion Peck, simply left their signature. But others, like Jeff Soto, Scott Musgrove and Tara McPherson, actually embellished the tag with an original illustration. I took the liberty of adding a close-up of the art on the embellished tags for you.

Here are the brushes up for auction:

Anthony Ausgang:

Bob Dob:

Chris Mars:

Colin Johnson:


Dan May:

Daniel Martin Diaz:

Derek Yaniger:


Jason Limon:


Jeff Soto (4 brushes):







Jeremiah Ketner (2 brushes):



Jeremy Fish:

Lisa Petrucci (3 brushes):

Kozyndan (10 brushes, 1 with illustrated tag):


5 of the other 9 Kozyndan brushes:

Lola:

Lori Earley:

Marion Peck:

Mark Atomos Pilon:

Mark Ryden:

Ryan Heshka:

Scott Musgrove:


Tara McPherson:



To see the wonderful artwork of the participating artists, please click on the links below:

Anthony Ausgang
Bob Dob
Chris Mars
Colin Johnson
Dan May
Daniel Martin Diaz
Derek Yaniger
Jason Limon
Jeff Soto
Jeremiah Ketner
Jeremy Fish
Lisa Petrucci
Kozyndan
Lola
Lori Earley
Marion Peck
Mark Atomos Pilon
Mark Ryden
Ryan Heshka
Scott Musgrove
Tara McPherson

Also said to be participating, but whose brushes are not shown are:
Travis Lampe
Josh Agle (Shag)




GiGi’s Playhouse is a not for profit Down syndrome awareness center. With multiple locations, they offer activities, resources, educational programs and support for individuals with Down syndrome, their families and the community.

The auctions will be held on eBay beginning Saturday, September 26th and concluding on Saturday, October 10th.

The brushes will be mounted and displayed in acrylic boxes at Rotofugi Gallery September 25th-October 11th and will be auctioned via eBay beginning Saturday, September 26th and concluding on Saturday, October 10th.

The first Brush Project auction, held at DvA Gallery in 2007, donated $2,500 to Americans for the Arts.


Rotofugi Gallery
1955 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622

The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company

Ever consider where Wonder Woman got her invisible plane or Bruce Wayne, his manor? Chances are, like all savvy caped crusaders, they found them at the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company.





What exactly is the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co.?
The brainchild of literary celeb Dave Eggers, the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. is a crime-fighting supply retailer whose sales support 826NYC, a non profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 through 18 with workshops in creative and expository writing.

With both a brick and mortar store as well as an e-commerce online site, they sell actual products ranging from capes and costumes to secret identity kits and maps exposing good and evil.





The tongue-in-cheek products are a visual treat (and yes, for sale). Their beautifully packaged generic-looking items, their Aardvark Bothers canned goods and the products packaged under the name Bugayanko laboratories, are hard to resist. Here's just a few for you:












And products under the clever name of Masque, like those below.

Mt. Fortress tights...

and of course, something to keep them from running:


They also sell these wonderful Superhero wall clocks designed by Sam Potts, Marcel Dzama, Chip Kidd, Al Baik and Rebecca Gimenez:




In addition to the tangible wares, they sell hilarious faux products at hilariously outrageous prices. The invisible plane runs $4 million and the mansion, $9 million.

A few more:


A few images of the store interior:




Their website and the actual store are sprinkled with hilarious signage and witty ads:





and you can even get a formal certificate:


all photos courtesy of The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co.

E-mail: supplier@superherosupplies.com.
Telephone: (718) 499-9884.

Street Address: 372 5th Ave. Brooklyn, NY. 11215.

If you can't visit the Brooklyn store in person, at least take a look at the website.

Here's Dave Eggers speaking about it:

 



What is 826NYC? 826NYC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. Our services are structured around our belief that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success. With this in mind we provide drop-in tutoring, field trips, after-school workshops, in-schools tutoring, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications. All of our free programs are challenging and enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student's power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in his or her individual voice. Please visit www.826nyc.org for more information.