Severed

Rarely do I become entangled with demons in nightmares but often fears of hurting the one i love most. I never want to be that person. I want to cut the old me out from my soul, then can i truly be severed happily.

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Untitled by Stephen Kasner, truly haunting made with pieces of magic from nightmares.

I HEART

My home is filled with odd things, and odd things I covet and collect! Having a fascination with anatomy prints, books and art, I thought I'd share some lovely March Medical Madness finds for the studio or just around the house

~ Discrete Gentleman Pt. 1

~ Vanitas - Set of 9 Ephemera Art Blocks- 1906 Anatomy and 1940s Floral Illustrations

~ Vintage Skeleton Handmade Lampshade

~ Inside My Heart Original Art

A Little Bit of Heart & Soul

I love stepping into other artists worlds filled with clutter, inspirations and a place where magic happens! Not often do we get to see these worlds, so I wanted to share my space where I create. I live in a brick town house from the late 1800s, it used to be a train station at one point, so the place is really old, the front brick even has carvings from all different people, it is quite beautiful (will have to shoot that sometime). We have three floors plus a basement, I have a little room on the second floor, it is crammed with all kinds of things. Odds and ends, supplies and even my treadmill.

I spend many hours here during the week, so it has become more comfortable after I received my desk as gift from my husband. It is very long so there is plenty of room for the computer, storage and all my odd knick knacks. 

Some of my favorite items are displayed with humor and love, including novelty fake plastic gold teeth that I picked up at the grocery store. I also have several crucifixes from my collection on my desk; I have them all over the house, about 30 in total from one inch to three feet tall.

I am a advocate collector of anything religious, here are some of religious statues in my office. I also have a collection of holy water fonts and several large framed portraits with the sacred/immaculate hearts.

At one point and time I was obsessed with antique engravings, still am but kind of got expensive. Here are a couple from my wall, I have several engravings some including Madonna with Child, Adam & Eve and my favorite is a late 1700 engraving of muscles from a leg. The wall that is right next to my desk is plastered with inspiration of all kinds, including images of Betty Page, master paintings, lace, roses and H.R. Giger.

I love displaying old portraits, my all time favorite is the one featured below of my nana when she was four years old. I am fond of black and white portraits of babies, they are just timeless.

S.A.M. Some Artist Man Named Viktor

It is a new year for the Red Heart Cult™, and from the depths of my heart I am honored to present a dear friend to bring in the new year. Viktor Brazfield aka S.A.M. Some Artist Man is a spookish fiend that expresses his work through haunting sculptures, grim paintings and childhood memories turned into assemblages.

Viktor grew up experiencing the beaches, mountain cultures and the city life of what is Southern California, and the lakes and flat lands of Northern Ok. and New Mexico. Due to the traveling as a child, Viktor wondered if he was a gypsy, but in reality he was a Native American boy with English and Irish blood. Viktor later grew up, and received his art training right out of high school as an illustrator for the county. From there, he received formal training in the Air Force as a civilian working in their engineering department. He also took classes at the local junior college, some university classes, artist workshops and learned from his uncles who worked on carvings, sculptures and paintings.

Much of Viktor's work is of a more spiritual inspiration. However, living in Los Angeles has afforded him the opportunity to meet and share with other like minded individuals, who in essence have become his art family in the sense that they all have a deep understanding and respect for his creations; that has inspired and encouraged him to keep creating to a certain degree.

 

The Seeker. Original art scultpure by ©Viktor Brasfield 2008. Created from wood, glass, plastic, rice paper mix and metal.

The Mommy, Frankenstein & Ghost In One. Original art by ©Viktor Brasfield 2008.

Viktor's process is quite interesting… he usually sketches for a few weeks before one of his sculptures or assemblages begins to take form. The sketch ideas come from dreams or images that he sees in nature. He then gathers materials and begins to juxtapose them together. Sometimes the objects will allow him to guide them and sometimes they will tell him where they need to be placed. In between that process, he journals all his thoughts on each project. That process is pretty much like the process a scientist would keep when doing research or working on an invention. He also does research to see if there is any historical significance to his work. For instance, the piece that he created entitled “The Tenth Muse of Metal” which he made for the Art Core: Honoring Metal Through Art Show, involved research on Greek Mythology, Musical Theory, and Muses that allegedly inspired the arts. During that process he realized that there were 9 muses, so naturally Viktor's became the tenth muse of Metal Music.

 

Assemblage alter for the Congregation of the Forgotten Saints. ©Viktor Brasfield 2008.

Jesus Box Rockabilly Style. Original art by ©Viktor Brasfield 2008.

In Viktor's (spare) time he likes to go to art shows and Pow Wows the Rockabilly, Hellbilly scene , he loves to get on his bobber and drive to nowhere. Researching the paranormal and mental illnesses also intrigues him, supernatural inspirations can be found in some his most bizarre paintings like the one above. A while back Viktor played the harp in a couple bands, lately he has been thinking about getting back in the scene. He also loves to encourage other artists of all ages to just keep doing their work. To quote Tim Gunn, “Make it work, people”. The Red Heart Cult honors Viktor's dedication to his work and loves that he is truly supportive of other artists.

Here is Viktor in his studio.

"When it comes down to it, I do my art work because it reflects my childhood and encompasses both good and not so good memories. Something funny if you go see the moive the Unborn remmeber me…hehehe!"

In the last six months Viktor has had shows at the following Los Angeles galleries: Congregation of the Forgotten Saints, Artcore, Art Slaves, The Hive, The Koos, The United Cats, Safari Sam’s and The Barnsdall Park Gallery. We hope you enjoy our featured artist for January, Viktor is a dear friend and I wish the best of luck to him and hope to travel our to L.A. one day to see his immaculate work in person. Thank you Viktor!

Reached My Goal!!! And With Open Arms!

This has been a glorious day for me, my goal for the end of the 2008 was to reach 400 sales. Today it happened, I made front page and then BAMMMMM! Made it to 403. My 400th customer bought my Robin's Egg Drops, these are the cutest earrings ever, I am planning on making a little something special, possibly a nice necklace to go. Looking back at my stats last year, in 2007 I had 53 sales, I sky rocketed this year with 350 sales and counting. I wanted to thank everyone for the support and stopping by Red Heart 13, I couldn't do it without you all!

I am truly excited about 2009, I have some planning to do, here is a little secret for you though, you should look forward to three special months in 2009. Every Friday the 13th I will be having a sale in my shop; more to come on the details. You can find all the latest updates and promotion news at the Heart Chronicles and my twitter.

You can also look forward to more relics from my Sweet Heart Collection and new featured artists in association to the Red Heart Cult. I am in the currently looking for inspiration, so if you have any in mind please pass them my way. I am in the works of having a theme for February, but March will be our third annual Medical Madness theme. Everyone stay tuned, and I am with open arms for 2009. I can only imagine what is in store for next year.

Shop Schedule for the week of Nov 24th - Dec 1st

It is a  new week, and Red Heart 13 is up to some mischief, just kidding. However I wanted to let everyone know our schedule from Nov 24th to Dec 1st.

Here is our crazy schedule for this week, you will find there are a lot of promotions going on and some great discounts. I haven't announced any Black Friday / Cyber Monday specials in my shop yet, so here is a first hand look of what the week will bring for you:

Check out my new hurrrrr, not sure yet if I want to go dark again.

MONDAY:

We have 15 new arrivals that have been photographed and will be listed tonight.

6 new necklaces  /  9 new pairs of earrings

Red WEDNESDAY: Buy 1 piece of jewelry, get the 2nd half off!

THANKSGIVING: Enjoy turkey day! I will try and stay within my points, huh.

BLACK FRIDAY (Nov 28th) – CYBER MONDAY (Dec 1st):

• 25% off all items; includes jewelry, relics or paintings.

• $10.00 off orders over $85.00

• Free Shipping as always

The Dark Duchess

 

The past two months have been wonderful for me, I had my first art show back in September, it went off very well and everyone was so supportive. I ended up selling two necklaces,  a shadow box called Armored Saint and two tiny brass box relics. I came back even stronger for my second art show in October. Over 130 people came out to see my work along with two other brilliant artists. Having more assemblages and relics I was very successful and featured new work, I sold the Two Hearts, Two Souls collage, Vampire in the Dark painting and had a commission for a for a custom Skeleton Krew portrait like the one featured below. I can't wait to have another art show, while in Salem last week I picked up some new portraits to add to my Skeleton Krew collection. I look forward to creating new works and have been feeling inspired lately, all I need now, is time.

Sally Mae, finally completed! Gouache on antique photo in wooden frame, aprox 2.5' x 3.5'.

SOLD Vampire in the Dark, gouache on board in oval frame.

SOLD Two Hearts, Two Souls collage of original anatomical hearts in antique oval brass frames with glass.

Skeleton Krew Portrait No. 11, gouache on antique photo in plaster and wood frame.