Jennifer Weigel Art Collection Highlights
You can’t write or make art without collecting some things now and then, and I have amassed quite the assortment of unique odds and ends… I am an avid junk thrift fiend, and I cannot help but pick things up, especially the more unusual they are. Here are a few glimpses into my art collection of some of my more macabre findings.
From left to right: a very old doll with those eyes that open and close but with no eyewhites who a friend described as a laudanum addict; a tiny Buddha figure with hands over the face and surrounded by a cobra (if anyone knows what specific deific representation this is please let me know); a photograph by my friend Cindy Royal of her rescued Cedar Waxwing and one of her creatures (I love her creatures so much); a doll I made based on my Unselfie avatar in costume regalia with mirror over the face; and a graphite drawing by Kathy Gomric of a demonic rendition of my friend Cindy
From left to right: a pair of brass bookends I altered to lose their hands and faces as a found object artwork later shown in response to COVID; a photocopy montage by my friend Jonathan Stangroom of his face with a drawing of an eye Xeroxed on clear and superimposed over his closed eye; Triple Moon Goddess bas relief sculpture by Wild Goose Studio; alien abduction with volcano by Ra De; Baby Metropolis – a Precious Moments head given to me by my friend Cindy and altered by myself
From left to right: Gods and Monsters original canvas of Frankenstein’s Bride by my friend Aunia Kahn; Fuggler funny ugly monster plush of Bigfoot with “stolen” teeth; photo of the Berlin Wall graffiti from before the wall was dismantled by Ed Murray; found photo postcard of Frankenstein and his bride superimposed on famous image of Navy sailor and nurse kissing after WWII; clown tipping his hat by Mildred Barone
Skeleton Key ceramic by myself; Sinister serpent wood staff held by the Grim Reaper by Beth Vannatta; skull painted rock by Jane Wees Martin; blue and white porcelain snake headed man in Asian robe; cultist ceramic commissioned from Clayworks; All Seeing Monkey Paw hamsa with eye on monkey hand by Caitlin Zachow; decorated plaster skull mail art sent by William Evertson and friends; computer mouse crab by Bruce Wood of the Glass Ingot
And the pièce de rĂ©sistance… a real life taxidermy shih tzu. I kid you not, this was an actual dog, and not a recent under-the-rug China-imported real dog pretending to come from another fur bearing animal, but a prized pet that the inheritors of the estate likely didn’t know what to do with. I found Da Ting at an antique mall and splurged on her for my birthday, much to my mother’s chagrin. (For those of you in the know, these kinds of things aren’t easy to come by; they are often buried with their beloved owners or stay in the family.) I even held a naming contest for her on Facebook which is how she wound up with her name, Duchess Mitsi Posh von Schitz III (otherwise known as Da Ting). Here she models a pastel purple boa; she also borrows my rhinestone princess crown from time to time…
What do you collect? What skeletons lurk in your closet, or even out in the open in the parlor?…
I am embarking on an AI journey using NightCafe to illustrate this graphic story based on a dream I had awhile back. I am also using Canva, so here’s to learning more online systems of image dissemination and propagandizing…
I will include some of the original AI generated images with each piece along with a bit of the dream that inspired it. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
Artwork description: Overall layout: Lightning strike through the corner into obscure clouds and map-like graphic in gray tones sets the mood for Into the Deep Woods.
Part 1, Art: AI generated image of a girl with reddish hair dressed in a robe of some sort and holding a staff. A similar girl in soldier garb fades behind her. Edited in PhotoShop.
Part 1, Text: 1.) Two sisters entered the woods, one a soldier and the other a witch. Only one lived. 2.) The young witch had picked up a bit of magic as she and her sister fled into the deep woods to seek the old witch… They were tired and alone, this was their one and only chance… 3.) The war raged on all around as the Nazis drew closer…
Prompt (Horror): Portrait of soldier girl sister
Prompt (Horror): Portrait of witch girl sister (Evolved from soldier girl)
Prompt (Horror): Soldier girl sister hit by lightning (Evolved from soldier girl)
As mentioned this series is based on a dream that I had awhile back. The two girls first enter the woods to escape the Nazis. In my dream there were initially more soldiers with them who perish due to the war or hazards in the woods. It wasn’t unlike Pan’s Labyrinth but on a much smaller and more intimate scale.
It had been awhile between having the dream and creating this story to share with you. And I quickly learned that the term “Nazi” is prohibited by the AI art generator interface. So there are some changes that have been made, but hopefully you can still follow along. The time and place are not as relevant to the overall anyway.
Let’s return to explore more Nightmarish Nature, shall we? This segment focuses on cannibalism, as we generally find it icky / taboo and because it’s more common than you might think. There are many different reasons that different creatures engage in cannibalistic practices. Energy waste doesn’t last long in nature; gaps are filled as things evolve to utilize whatever resources are available to meet their own needs. C’est la vie (light up another cigarette). In any case, the challenge to the cannibal lies in determining kinship and not accidentally erasing their own line or progeny, thus decreasing their likelihood for survival over generations. Oh, and in avoiding those pesky prion diseases…
Resource Driven Cannibalism
Resource driven cannibalism can occur when competition for resources is high. This may be due to scarcity, with individuals taking to eating each other to avoid themselves starving to death (with those consumed either still alive and killed to this end, or eaten after death of other causes). Or it may be outside of the cannibal’s control, considering the spread of Mad Cow Disease from feeding beef meal harboring the prion disease (and parts from other mammals like sheep) to growing cattle to save money, ’cause it’s not like the cows were allowed to order whatever they wanted. Or it may be due to direct conflicts with other groups of the same species, either due to competition for resources, mating rights and/or territory. These behaviors have been noted in mostly male chimpanzees raiding other groups, which have even been documented as all out wars against other males in neighboring bands, campaigning to eradicate all outside of their ranks.
Social Demonstration
Thinking about chimpanzees, males are also documented to gang up on alpha males seen as too controlling or sadistic, with groups of younger males attacking and rendering the alpha male to pieces, often consuming his flesh and blood in the process. This can upend established hierarchies to replace them with new structures, for example with a new male taking on the role of leader. But cannibalism can also be used to reinforce existing hierarchies, as seen in African Wild Dogs wherein the dominant pair will kill off any offspring that other dogs may have birthed so that the pack will focus on raising only the alpha pair’s pups, thusly reestablishing and enforcing social structure while ensuring the best survival chances for the pups raised by channeling all resources to the one brood.
Infanticide & Filial Cannibalism
Like African Wild Dogs, other parents may also eat their offspring, or better yet their rivals’ offspring. Stillborn or unhealthy offspring may be consumed, or just any that they can get their hands on at birth. (Again with the young male chimpanzees…) Some creatures enter into cycles wherein smaller individuals are more vulnerable to predation by larger ones both within and outside of ones own species, as is seen among many fishes with eggs and smaller fishes playing an important role as prey to larger ones. Other creatures may engage in these practices to reduce competition (for themselves and/or their offspring) and/or increase opportunities to mate. Male cats are notorious for killing kittens that are not their own in order to bring females into heat again sooner, potentially increasing the likelihood of mating with said females themselves while decreasing future competition. Win-win! Female cats must take great care to hide their kittens in order to protect them from males as much as other predators, and can have kittens by different fathers within the same litter in order to increase their kittens’ overall survival as a group with father cats more willing to accept kittens when their own kin are present.
Sexual Cannibalism
Mantids and spiders are especially known for sexual cannibalism, with larger females consuming males during copulation, but this is not always linked to vast size differences and does not appear in every species. Females who engage in this practice may have healthier eggs in larger clutches, thus increasing the survival likelihood of more of their offspring. Sometimes the risk to the male suitor of being mistaken for another species by an aggressive would-be mate is high, and various rituals have developed within certain species to help avoid such mistakes and entice the female to mate. Male spiders are known engage in elaborate dances, movements, tapping and silk spinning rituals to avoid being eaten pre-copulation or at all. It’s a hell of a lot more involved than a good pick up line and a well-timed drink, as you can see here.
If the above video doesn’t load, you can find it on PBS YouTube here.
Thank you for joining us for another exciting episode of Nightmarish Nature. If you enjoyed this, please feel free to check out these previous segments:
So I’ve been working on more painting into found art (as seen here before) and I thought I’d share a newer one, based on the song The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels. But first let’s make like my She Wolf post enjoy a couple variations of the song, shall we?
First we have Charlie Daniels, the writer of the song which was inspired by the beautiful poem by Stephen Vincent Benet titled The Mountain Whipporwill. You can read the poem on Your Daily Poem here.
Then we have to watch my favorite version, the animated music video by Primus. I know there are claymation-haters out there who find the effect bit too “uncanny valley” but how can you not just love those chickens?
Anyway, without further ado, here is my painting, incorporated into a found still life, original signed L. Harady.
Here The Devil is defeated, crushed along the lower edge of the artwork beneath the fiddle and lamenting his loss. The bow jabs into his sneering nose as if to add insult to injury, but his eyes still glow, alight with the prospect of coming back for another round. (They actually do glow, I have acquired some blacklight reactive nail polish to use in these pieces now.) I suppose I may go to Hell for this portrayal (or for defiling yet another painting) but alas, such is the price of art sometimes. I guess I’ll add it to the list…
Feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or on her writing, fine art, and conceptual projects websites.
