If your neighbor’s children aren’t already scared of you and you’d like to look more like Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, or just generally deck up your current boring COVID-compliant face mask, two local artists have you covered.
Aimee Hennessy, local artist and co-owner of Richards’ Goat Tavern and Tearoom in Arcata, is flogging her handmade masks on Redbubble, a platform for independent artists to sell their work. Hennessey’s mask designs draw from vintage illustrations ranging from the bucolic (Yosemite) to the Satanic (goat and cat chimera). The shop also features a satiric image of our fine state with an arrow pointing to the rest of the United States along with the phrase, “I’m With Stupid.”
Not to be outdone, Jesse Wiedel, best known for his grim surrealist depictions of Northern California squalor and people living on the margins of that squalor, is also selling a “Meth Mouth Mask,” with crooked yellow teeth poking out of a gummy pink mouth. Reached via email, Wiedel said he heard from a friend about a site — Art of Where — that would post artwork on masks and decided to give it a try.
“I had tried to make my own painted masks a few times and I’m just not a very good crafter,” he said. “The image I used was from my ‘Meth Mouth 3’ painting because I wanted to use a mouth image. The company does really good quality work and the masks are well made, and you can even get filters for them.” It should get you that 6 feet of social distance, too.
Wiedel said sales are “going OK.” So if you’d like to put some art where your mouth is, consider supporting a local artist.
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This article appears in ‘The Biggest Challenge’.
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