The custom vinyl toy show We Ain't Plastic! opens Friday at The Public Shoe Store in Lincoln, NE. The event will showcase over 40 custom Qee toys (by Toy2R) painted, drawn on, added-to, modified and who knows what else by local artists and designers.
Nate has created a space pirate (left), with Sharpie being the medium of choice, and I used acrylic paint as the main source of my character (right). Both will be for sale at the event, with the majority of the proceeds to be donated to the Boys & Girls Club.Even though the opening reception is the big event, the toys will be on display through the rest of the month.
My shoes were a simple concept of two faces. One smiling, one not. Once again in acrylic, on a men's size 10.
I mention looking for needing an an excuse to paint, and I get not only one, but two in the same month. The second one involved Nate and I spending a couple hours at Blue Planet Natural Grill (get the salmon sandwich - it is amazing) painting and drawing on shoes that are being auctioned off in benefit to the Green Omaha Coalition. The TOMS Shoes Event involved us and some local DJs and celebrities.
A total of seven pairs of shoes are now up for auction on eBay for the next nine days. We hope that we can help both charities with our minor contributions.
About an hour before we were suppose to start on the shoes, Nate and I met to work on some concepts ahead of time. I had a fear of walking into the event with an artists block of sorts, and decided I need to do at least some minimal sketching before hand. One concept Nate told me to try was a tree in both winter and spring. I can't do two trees in a short timeframe, and he informed me that if I wasn't taking it, he would. It was a good decision on his part, as he did a great job with the Sharpie on a size 8.5 men's shoe.
My advice for these events is as such: do them, they are great fun, and you get an excuse to do what you enjoy. If we can help great organizations like Green Omaha Coalition or Boys & Girls Club in the process, it's even better.
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