Dr. Ogelthorpe's Great Anguish

Rotofugi Designer Toy Store & Gallery, established in July 2004, is located on the border of Chicago's Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods in a beautiful vintage building. Since opening, Rotofugi has grown to become one of the world's premier sellers of designer toys from artists all over the world. Rotofugi features a diverse selection of vinyl figures, capsule toys, plush and more from both eastern and western designers. The adjoining Rotofugi Gallery features monthly art exhibits by a range of both local and nationally known artists. Beginning in late 2007 Rotofugi partnered with Chicago based product development specialist Squibbles Ink to begin producing artist-designed figures by the talented designers located in their home town. Click here for more information on Squibbles Ink + Rotofugi projects. Rotofugi is owned and operated by husband and wife duo Kirby and Whitney Kerr. You can find the couple in and around the store on most days. They love to talk about toys and art. Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the dried film. Oil paints have been used in Europe since the 12th century for simple decoration, but were not widely adopted as an artistic medium until the early 15th century. Common modern applications of oil paint are in finishing and protection of wood in buildings and exposed metal structures such as ships and bridges. Its hard-wearing properties and luminous colors make it desirable for both interior and exterior use on wood and metal. Due to its slow-drying properties, it has recently been used in paint-on-glass animation. Thickness of coat has considerable bearing on time required for drying: thin coats of oil paint dry relatively quickly. Joe Scarano was born in Warwick, NY in 1975. He was raised alongside a litter of sisters in Miami, FL and later in Bethpage, NY. During the day Joe works as an online art director for a non-profit consumer advocacy group. He spends his nights painting characters and environments that recall the odd early days of animation and the dingy despair of the 1930's. With their popsicle stick bucktoothed grins, hollow heads and dead eyes his characters often straddle the lines between funny, tragic, grotesque, and sad. He currently lives in Orange County, NY with his wife Marci, son Mason, and several furry creatures.