Fiddlesticks

Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct visual art media. For example, a work on canvas that combines paint, ink, and collage could properly be called a "mixed media" work. When creating a painted or photographed work using mixed media it is important to choose the layers carefully and allow enough drying time between the layers to ensure the final work will have integrity. If many different media are used it is equally important to choose a sturdy foundation upon which the different layers are imposed. Many interesting effects can be achieved by using mixed media. Often, found objects are used in conjunction with traditional artist media, such as paints and graphite, to express a meaning in the everyday life. In this manner, many different elements of art become more flexible than with traditional artist media. 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. Amanda Louise Spayd’s mixed-media work combines the textures and colors of antique domestic objects, the natural world, and an obsessive attention to detail. At once endearing and unsettling, her fabric creatures evoke ideas of cast-off children’s toys and ill-conceived taxidermy experiments with repurposed human teeth. Because of their aged, antique appearance, one is left to wonder about the origin, past experiences, and past lives of these creatures. Do they look like this because they were abandoned, or because they were literally loved to pieces? The idea of an unknown past story, combined with the possibilities of their future, is a central theme of her work. Her work is highly sought after by collectors around the globe, and she has exhibited her work in galleries, boutiques, and conventions across the United States.