Vintage Swag For Sale

Some things live outside of space and time and become a part of our overall awareness of where we have been as a culture.  It still amuses me that I use digital cameras and the internet to share items that existed long before there was a computer in every home.  As a side note, it also occurred to me that I've enjoyed photographing such items moreso than collecting them as of late... This, of course, happens when you've just about reached your ceiling of what you want to bring home and display for yourself and others to enjoy. Items can be bought, sold and given away, but pictures remain.  

Instagram Diary: Notes From A Colorful Week

Acrylic studies, found objects, Halloween fun and reportage from a colorful week.

Mindful that a chapter in my life has recently come to a close, I'm still processing recent events.  

More importantly, I'm analyzing the lessons from the last five years and opening my trust in the future.  

In the midst of this, I'm taking time to observe and give regards to all the beauty in the "now" moment.

Game On! > Gnip Gnop (1971)

I was sold on this item as soon as I picked it up from the blanket upon which it was displayed and 

the very sweet vendor who was selling it said, "D'ya wanna play Gnip Gnop with me?  I'll play with ya!"  

This well-kept early 1970s game is now a jewel in the crown of my collection.  GNIP GNOP! 

Game On! > Ideal Trick Shot (1960s)

I purchased rather glorious empty box (for a dollar) strictly for use as collage/assemblage source material.

I continuously run across toys and games from this era whose collective objective seems to involve shooting, target practice and other forms of general sniper-ism that aren't quite as elegant as classic archery, but were probably loads of fun in backyards and rec rooms.  I can only imagine the myriad ways in which each was mischievously misused.

Kitsch Supreme: 1960s Big-Eyed Mods

I was given this mouse-chewed box by a flea market vendor who just wanted to get rid of it.

I was happy to accept, knowing it would be trimmed down into boldly colorful collage material.

As a kid in the '70s and '80s, I used to find old toys, notepads and pictures with big-eyed mid-to-late '60s graphics like this (most likely childhood leftovers from my Aunt Karen and Aunt Susan) stashed in closets or basement storage areas of my grandparents' house.  I was not only completely transfixed by them, but I somehow understood the sheen of value (and patina of unintentional humor) that these tacky little figures had acquired over time.  

Luckily, I was able to rescue a few.  That said, I get an even bigger giggle when I find them in my travels.

Swinging High & Other Monkey Shines

Four frames from a 1960s kids' coloring set...  

A kitschy score from the Saylorsburg outdoor flea market.

The swingin' gal (which somehow reminds me of Richard Prince's "Nurse" paintings) was gifted to a friend.

The other items in this colored pencil collection will be collage fodder.