Our August, 2018 monthly art build was spectacular success in the variety of art expressed, number of people and participation. We had two artistic photoshoots, started an artistic bike rack, coppersmithing, iron forging, effigy building and probably some stuff that I missed.
Effigy
Lead carpenter Brian begins working on the Atlas Toad effigy.
Carpenter Brian Sparrow joined us for the first time at the Meädow, so we decided to hand him some lumber and see what happened. Somehow we came up with the idea of an “Atlas” effigy, with a töad holding the weight of the world on its back. Many people pitched in on the effigy by painting it, helping construct it, or adding other accouterments. Once nighttime fell, Brian delivered an artist statement in front of the campfire, and then ceremoniously burned our sculpture.
The build crew early sketch of what the completed effigy will look like.
Tommy and Brian cutting out the circle for the Atlas Toad effigy.
Tommy and Brian screw together the base to hold the Atlas Toad effigy.
Midway through constructing the Atlas Toad.
The crew assesses progress on the Atlas Toad.
Carrying the effigy to the bonfire.
Atlas Toad effigy nearing completion.
To raise awareness of the struggles for ocean life, we added some fish to the effigy.
Brian and Tommy Pose with the completed Atlas Toad effigy just before it burns.
The Atlas Toad burns in the fire.
Art Photo Shoots
Fish Union
Tommy and Christian assist in an art photoshoot that involved a fish and European flag.
Book burning
In addition to making physical things, the töads pitched in to help with two art photo shoots for Damon Hudac’s photographic endeavors. We were joined Friday night by local model Miranda Sevcovich who starred in Damon’s new book burning / censorship awareness photo project.
Behind the scenes shot of Damon, Tyler and Miranda working on their book burning art photography series.
Keri Mikulek also helped out by crafting an execution hood that was used as a prop in the shoot.
Mary models a prop that Keri made for the book burning photoshoot.
Bicycle rack
eARTh House Center for the Arts commissioned us to build them a fancy bike rack. They will place it outside their store for the convenience of their bicycle-riding customers. Sun and James did most of the metalworking.
James knocks the rust off the milk jug that will be used as the base for the bike rack.
Sun cuts the top out of the milk jug that will be used to make the bike rack.
Metalworkers making a bike rack in progress.
James fills the bike rack in progress with concrete.
Copper crafting
Mary brought copper foil and crafting supplies. People used them to make jewelry and other cool baubles.
Kayla hard at work making copper sheet into pretty jewelry.
Other stuff
Here are the rest of the pictures. Follow Töad Meädow on Facebook, and check out the next art build to help collaboratively make some stuff!
Sun also continued work on a metal mask that he’s making.
a group coppersmithing and skill-share.
We ate a lot of meat.
These dolls were left behind hanging from a tree by someone.
Amy quietly converses by the fire.
Keri spins two flaming batons, backlit by a full moan.
Tyler cooks a weenie.
Keri and Christian hid in the trees to discuss their favorite books. They were fleeing for safety from the book burning that was happening below them.
Julie brought her iron forge and tried to show Tyler how to use it, but he’s easily distracted.
To further encourage the creation of artistic stupidity, Töad Meädow is now hosting monthly art build weekends. The Töads gather, the workshop is opened and we turn materials into art. You’re invited to work on and collaborate with your own personal project, or you can come and help others’ projects.
We’ve had two very productive art build weekends so far; one in August and one in September. Continue reading →
So we held a gathering of the Töads and Buffalo burners at the clubhouse in North Buffalo last weekend. This was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants gathering and we got to meet some really cool mofos and work on some shit. Art was inspired. Plans were laid. No animals were hurt in the course of these activities, despite our best efforts.
In attendance was most of the members of Pyromancy, Buffalo’s best professional fire dancing and performance troupe.
Our friend Chris de la Töad just had a birthday, and the Töad Code commands us to celebrate at times like this. Chris’s understanding wife volunteered to take care of their tadpole for the night, and thus our small group was free to go in search of live girls.
Belly dancing is the sexiest entertainment that you can talk about openly at family dinners or other family functions, like funerals. Belly dancing appeals to men and women of all ages. Anyone with a spark of life in them has no choice but to enjoy belly dancers.
I worked a job where I was able to go outside and chain smoke a lot. These are some of the people I met while bored, working in this seemingly abandoned food court building facing Main street and next to a little parquette. Late 2012 to early 2014
Dee & Dee
Homeless couple, seemed harmless at first. The guy ended up accusing me of selling his girlfriend heroin and got it into his head that me and my friend Neil banged her. He threatened my life multiple times while I was at work. I found out he was on probation for assault with a deadly weapon. He got my phone number somehow and was calling it, threatening me and Neil. It got pretty serious.
She started showing up with a black eye and his name carved across her entire forearm Slayer style. I started carrying mace. She told him it was true that Neil and I had banged her(after him torturing her into saying it, obviously). It was not true. This made it worse.
This weird guy Shane that was always hanging around said if Dee came back again he’d have his cop brother go fuck with him off the books in uniform, but they disappeared. I was having a smoke 6 months later and the girl (also called Dee) came back all cleaned up. She gave me $20 that she owed me (not from herion just from me being a good person), and said he was in jail.
Tonight, Neil’s roommate Frank told me that Dee was trying to rent a room at his house last week. Frank said how Dee said he knew Neil when he mentioned him, and said that he still has beef with me. The roommate then called Neil, found out the story, and luckily did not give him the place or tell him where Neil lives.
GG Allin
Gutter punkest kid I have ever met. He had this friend named Sunny. They were in a weird Ricky vs Cory / Trevor type relationship where GG would just treat Sunny like total shit even tho GG was actually way smaller than she was. Super aggressive panhandler — he just demanded dollars from people walking down the street and got all up in their face about it. Played really good punk ukulele.
He always brought me a bunch of stolen shit as offerings or something. My favorite leather jacket I got from him. Got this really nice Tibetan jacket that I gave to a girl from BC cause I’m pretty sure he stole it from the store next to my work. He smoked a lot of meth and was shooting heroin.
He was always nice to me, but a superdick to everyone else. He had the Nomad punk symbol tatted on his face. Always wore these dirty overalls that were way too big for him. One time, he took them off to change and he was wearing really nice clothes underneath. Like fresh designer jeans and a white shirt. Totally bizarre.
I was nice to him so he was always loitering around my work, which yes, got bad, but I was so bored and my boss was never there so I didn’t care. One day he talked shit to the jerk food owner whose son was working with her (because he was on house arrest for like 15 B&E’s) and he punched GG Allen in the face or something, which was for the best probably, since he was really bateing out my scene. I was not there for that, but he never really came back afterwards.
The last time I saw GG, he had a bandage on his arm and he told me he dug into his arm to see the veins inside and had just got out of the hospital. I hope he is OK haven’t seen him around for a while.
Jess
Jess was a scavenger, always looking for roaches and butts in the park out back my work. She always wore this facemask thing like batman, I’m pretty sure she was actually a guy. Super introverted. Once I asked her where she got the mask and she said Thailand and I asked how long she was there for and she said, “I don’t remember.”
Adam and Lisa
Total scavenger hippies. Never slept in shelters. Never panhandled. Sometimes busked. Got like 14 g worth of roaches after a pot conference at the convention center. Always had drums and instruments and juggled and shit.
Adam
Nice homeless kid my age. Didn’t do drugs just wanted to do art and smoke pot and drink beer.
Dog food Dan
Homeless with his old three legged dog Goliath. Totally normal till he got drunk and then would be talking to himself, yelling for change at people that weren’t really there. Etc.
Hotsauce and Goblin
Rail riders. Got two puppies and left. Hotsauce returned six months later with one of the puppies grown into a huge dog and a hole an inch deep in the back of her head from a fight she and Goblin had in Vancouver or something.
Squeege
9 years clean off smoking crack for 15 years before that (since he was 14) works for the Salvation Army men’s shelter now even tho he is technically banned from it as a client. Never ending chain smoking tales of smoking crack in Toronto and squeege punk life.
The Sandwich Lovers
One day this sandwich place had just moved in. Squeege and I were standing around talking shit. These two guys came in and start yelling at the sandwich place owners, a father and son.
They take it out into a vacant stall in front of my booth. “We are going to come to your house,” they were yelling at the dad. “We are going to make your dad our bitch,” they yelled at the son.
Me and Squeege went over there and pushed them out of the building telling them to fuck off.
That Saturday one of the guys came back, with a girl this time. The sandwich place was closed on the weekends. The guy was asking me when they were open next and trying to tell me next time he came in I better not touch him or he would call the cops.
“Call the cops,” I told him. “You were threatening them in my workplace making a scene. Call the cops right now.” He told me they were creditors which seemed suspicious.
They left and I never saw them again.
Moon
19 years old single mother on welfare pregnant with second baby from two different asshole dads. One homeless kid who fucked off, and one 40 year old guy who just got out of jail. She’s a good mom tho.
Shelly
Was totally set up. She had this inheritance and a nice place, but terrible social anxiety. In the brief time I knew her, while she was pregnant she sent basically all her money to this guy who lives in Mexico, who had already beaten her, thinking she was going to go move in with him. I don’t think she went.
Randy
My age. Homeless meth smoker, but always looked good / clean and you could never tell he was homeless or on meth till after a couple days on a bender and then he would get super paranoid.
Neil
Homeless punk with his dog Ray. I befriended him. We drank beer and chilled out. Some times i’d sit with them while Neil panhandled and his dog Ray got tones of sloppy love from drunk girls. I let him stay at my place to have somewhere to leave his dog while he looked for a job when I went to Burning Man. I got back and he had a job as a bike messenger and a place of his own. Now he has an even better place with a huge backyard for Ray. We became good friends.
Once, someone stole Ray while Neil was sleeping on the street. He long boarded through the city for 3 hours zig zag pattern and found the guy with Ray. The guy had taken his collar, tags and leach off, and had him tied with shoelaces in a slipknot around Ray’s neck.
He showed up at my house around 6:30 am with Ray, I’m unsure to this day if he killed the bastard.
Hippy Dan
Was the guitar player In this band the Killer Wards that hit it kind of big but he got charged with attempted murder or something on someone who he said sexually assaulted someone he knew, he lost it all and was outed from the band.
He got shot once while I knew him. Hit with a stray bullet while standing in a bar and was so drunk he didn’t realize what happened. Went home and woke up covered in blood. Still didn’t go to the hospital until he collapsed on the street.
If it had been an hour longer he would have died from lead poisoning. I saw the bullet hole a couple days later. His lung also collapsed twice in the time I knew him.
Gwardo
Gwardo is a much older bike messenger. He’s the type of guy you might see with like, barbie strapped to his handle bars or wearing a santa hat or something. He is like the dad of all the bike messenger kids and always lends them money and helps them whenever he can even though he is super broke too. He has all these gwardisms such as calling beer ‘barley soup’ or saying things like ‘all the ganja is gonorrhea when the weed is gone or saying ‘those goddamn racists’ reffering to bike messenger race participants and so on. He’s always friendly, always has beers and native ciggarettes to share, and works really hard. He’s just a good guy.
Paul
Paul worked at this bakery that moved in near the end of this era of my life. One day he dissapeared, and the next day the jerk food lady told me he was on TV and was sentanced to five years in prison for a DUI he had from 2 years ago, when he was only 19. He tore his SUV into 3 separate pieces and killed his passenger.
He looked like an Armani model and I worry how he is doing in there….
The Park
The park I worked in front of was a notorious crack park until the Safe Streets Act came into the city 10 or so years ago says Squeege. Not like it used to be anymore, but it was still a hub for shifty characters for sure.
The Building
The building I worked in was originally a chicken slaughter house. The floors were slanted so the blood could roll down into drains in the floor. Sometimes late at night you would swear you heard the cluck cluck clucking of chicken ghosts.
After that it was a dive food stand place for many years, but just before I started working there they renovated it, and jacked up rent cost so high that no one could afford to set up shop In there anymore.
There was only one other stand for the first year I worked there and by the time I left there was only four booths total. I had total freedom. The place looked abandoned all the time and that is why we eventually went under. No one ever came in.
– Nebraska Thunderfuck XoXo
*Names and street name changed to protect the not so innocent
This note appeared on my door where I found it upon returning from out of town. So I called the guy. He was very appreciative that I called and he explained that he’d lost a good buck but didn’t want to trespass to find it. I invited him down and when he showed up, he got out of his truck and handed me a $20 gift certificate to a nearby restaurant. We took the dog and walked to where he had last seen the buck. The blood trail was obscured by the snow, but the dog soon started digging and turned up some blood. We followed the trail and found that it ended at the creek. Unfortunately, the deer apparently tried to go swimming. But at least we now have closure and know where it went. The dog and I have made a new friend also secured some hunting privileges in primo turkey and squirrel territory.
