Stitched Portraits: Susan Sarandon

What is there to say about someone who is excellent in everything and somehow manages to look fabulous at every age and in every image? Dammit Janet!

Susan Sarandon (and the smolder):

Stitched Portraits: Carl von Ossietzky

With the first Presidential debate of 2012 happening yesterday I thought that a Nobel Peace Prize winning Nazi dissenter would be an appropriate choice for a Birthday Portrait. Born on Oct. 3, 1889, Carl von Ossietzky was amongst the few Germans to stand up against Nazi Party.

A journalist and a pacifist, he warned against the danger of militarism and in 1931, was arrested for high treason after publishing proof of Germany's neglect of the Treaty of Versailles. A couple of years later (1933) the Nazis arrested and put him into Spandau Prison for speaking out against them. And in 1935 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize but was barred by the Government to receive and told that if he were to accept he would relinquish his German citizenship. He accepted and promised to "encourage understanding between peoples."

Marked a criminal to this day,
Carl von Ossietzky:

Stitched Portraits: Shel Silverstein

Hello people between the ages of 4 and 64. This man changed your life and reminded you that you are still children. He did it with his run-on, lyrical poetry where he waited for you to get through it with closed breath until you reached
the end
and blasted big laughter out of every pore.
He did it with line drawings that bore
no color - just mouths and heads and heads coming out of heads and heads playing guitars made out of a head
(and teeth.)
He did it with stories like "a Boy Named Sue" sung joyfully by singers like Johnny Cash and himself too. His voice, like a witch, screeched loud and with whimsy. I thank God and the Devil for this lovely little demon.

Mr. Shel Silverstein (b. Sept. 25):

Stitched Portraits: Jim Henson

I'm a day late with this one, but with good reason.

His is one of those birthdays that everyone applauds because his life was so much about celebration. Henson's impact will continue to be felt in the creative community and beyond because his name is a sign of comic and puppet quality. I felt that his portrait would have been too lonely without his friends. So here he is, with a handful of them:

Stitched Portraits: Mickey Rooney

Yesterday was Mickey Rooney's 92nd birthday, but more significantly - his appearance in 2011's The Muppets marked his 10th decade of film acting.

As I had such a wealth of career to choose from, picking a reference image was expansive. He's been famous his whole life. I decided to go with a recent image so I could draw the lines and the liver spots, and of course, his trademark teeth. Upon stitching the portrait I couldn't help but think I drew him to look like Mao Zedong. Which immediately became funny to me when I said it out loud:

Mickey Mao.

(See for yourself, here):

Stitched Portraits: Nelson

Matthew and Gunnar Nelson actually didn't seem like people to me when I was growing up. They were strange blonded creatures that shared a stage and danced around with their instruments in music videos like this one. To me, they came packaged together and I promised to make them part of this collection as the first twinset because they had that long straight hair and those long straight faces (And actually, they're the second pair of twins. The Kuchars were the first. I guess that's for the best, as I never had any particular affinity for their music. It was their look that stunned me.)

So I rushed their portrait last week as I was working on a different project. But I liked how it turned out - more loose than I've been recently with these... And Gunnar's crooked eye just seemed perfect.

Nelson (80s forever):

Stitched Portraits: Grayson Hall

Dark Shadows, as I've stated before, was a great show from the late sixties that my wife and I happened to find in the later part of the last decade - Forty years after the fact. Although it was certainly a soap opera, it featured some of the greatest, albeit under mentioned, actors of all time.

Grayson Hall was memorable as Dr. Julia Hoffman due to her unending fascination/crush on Barnabas Collins, her medallion, her experiments, her stares and glares, and overall intense delivery. She was nominated for an Academy Award due to her role in John Huston's The Night of the Iguana and often played in Jean Genet avant-garde theater. I wish we had been friends.

Grayson Hall (and cheekbones):

Stitched Portraits: Kevin Clash

The man behind Elmo also serves as the Creative Director of Sesame Street and learned his chops alongside Jim Henson and Frank Oz. He was discovered by Kermit Love, who coached him on the intricacies of puppeteering. Prior to that, as a teenager he made nearly hundreds of his own puppets and used them for his own performances. This kind of discipline for a craft came from his profound passion and curiosity for construction.

Clash has stated that the creation of Elmo came from one simple place -  LOVE. Elmo stands for love and because of that he is one of the most beloved characters of all time. I had the chance to meet Elmo and made red fur pants and a red fur bowtie for the event. I swear it was better than meeting even the biggest of rock stars. Elmo is a giant. A little furry red GIANT. And Clash is his wrangler, giving over his entire person for the character. I've seen it and it is magical.

Kevin Clash (and Elmo):