This time they featured the photos from mine and my husband’s recent day date adventure where we got to see a nostalgic masterpiece in person… the one and only Studebaker featured in The Muppets Movie!
So honored once again to be featured. Shout out to Craig Shemin, his writing talents, and the work of the Studebaker National Museum for keeping Jim’s legacy alive for all us lovers and dreamers! 🌈✨️
February is a very special time of the year for my husband Frank and I. For those who are not aware, we were born 6 days apart in the same hospital, so these past 2 weeks we found fun and unique ways to celebrate 45 trips around the sun for the both of us.
With me still being out of work I didn’t want to do anything too costly or too far away and I had heard about a new exhibit at the Studebaker Museum that was a little under 2 hours from us. Since my birthday falls two days before Valentine’s Day, we doubled down and made it a little day date adventure for that as well.
Now most of you may be saying “But Nicole, why the Studebaker Museum?” Well because a VERY special vehicle just happens to be on display there right now. A vehicle that an artsy Jim Henson obsessed geek like myself couldn’t help but feel all the feels from being in the same room with it…. aka the one and only original Studebaker from They Muppets Movie! The same car that Fozzie and Kermit take on their memorable road trip to Hollywood together. A vehicle filled with magic, art, hopes, and dreams! And maybe a few rubber chickens as well.
Not only is Fozzie’s car a very fun and nostalgic part of cinema history, it also plays a very fascinating part in both the world of engineering and puppetry arts. The car was actually outfitted to create the illusion that Fozzie was driving. They used a monitor hidden in the car’s bullet nose and the real driver in the trunk. With my husband being into cars and a tech in engineering he too was fascinated by seeing the mechanics of this in person. Seeing the car also takes you back to a very significant moment in Muppet history. The moment that Kermit and Fozzie meet Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem Band for the very first time. With the help of Scooter on bubble duty, the band busts out the paints and brushes and while they jam out to “Can You Picture That?” completely transform Fozzie’s car into a far out escape from Don Hopper. An epic masterpiece and a colorful new beginning to a very groovy friendship.
Now to switch gears.. So right after the holidays were over, I knew I wouldn’t have the money to buy my husband something off his wishlist so I started brainstorming what I could make him instead. I had less then 2 months and knew I had to get started on whatever I planned on doing. Then it hit me out of nowhere.. could I pull off making him a They Live Alien? It’s one of his favorite movies and he loves props that are life like in size. And like me and my Muppets, he also has quite the collection of memorabilia and tattoos to prove his dedication. Making him anything in the past has always been hard because when we are not at work we are always together. So being laid off I knew this was the perfect time to pull off something that required this much work. So the first thing I did was check the supplies I already had and made a list of what I needed to budget the rest.
I used the same life size, heavy weight, anatomical skulls I use for my zombie heads as the base and got to work. I had never made one of these so each part of the process was either going to go really well or I was going to be really tested. I kept thinking of David Bowie’s words “Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
It was thrilling to see how giddy I would get with coming up with how to accomplish the next step in the process and seeing it all start to come to fruition. However nothing beat the feeling when I saw the look on his face when he opened it. 2 months of trying to hide this thing while still working on my other art projects paid off and he is now the proud owner of a They Live collectible that no one in the world will ever have. The beauty of aliens, love and handmade art!
You can see this They Live piece of art featured with more of my Misc Sculpture and Latex art on the Remains page of my portfolio website.
Once the layout is complete the artists who contributed their work will receive notification of when and where the mural will be installed in the spring! So stay tuned!
Missed the announcement about my submission? Read all about it here:
And for my fellow lovers and dreamers who feel a rainbow connection to this piece, there are made-to-order* 8″ x 8″ canvas prints and t-shirts available in my Etsy shop! I also have one 8″x 8″ canvas print currently available to see and purchase in-person at a discounted price* in my Cabinets of Curiosities at Closet Collectibles (in Crete, IL.). This allows my art collectors to not only own a piece of artistic history but to also give them a unique way to join forces with me in honoring Jim Henson’s legacy. 👩🏻🎨💚🌍✨
I walked into the store with 5 sets in hand, and someone immediately bought one before I could even put them in my Cabinets of Curiosities display!⚡️What started off as a limited inventory of 10 of these sets is now currently down to 8 because of a recent Etsy shop sale as well!⚡️So be sure to get you a set before they are all gone!
ℹ️ Each pack is pre-packaged by my printer and contains 5 stickers I selected from various art pieces I have hand drawn or hand painted over the years that were all inspired by 80’s pop culture icons and nostalgia. See my previous post below for more details!
What Sticker Pack variety would you like to see next? Drop me a comment here and let me know.
Stay Strange & Magical, ✨ LDG Nicole
*Price is discounted from online store prices. Etsy listings reflect the unfortunate amount of shop and transaction fees they charge us artists to sell online. If you are local or traveling to Illinois, I encourage my clients to save money and see my work on full display by shopping my artwork in person with my consignment partner, Closet Collectibles where they truly support my creative endeavors to the fullest as their resident local artist.
