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The Order of Oddfish

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Odd-Fish art show this Saturday!

April 16, 2010

ianandichthala

The Order of Odd-Fish art show is tomorrow! It’s at 437 North Wolcott in Chicago. From 7 to 10 or so is the gallery opening; from 10 on is the costumed dance party! Don’t miss this, it’s going to be raucous! Read the Chicago Sun-Times feature article about it, or listen to my interview on NPR’s “Eight Forty-Eight” program on WBEZ here.

I meant to post all the art I’ve received before the show, but preparations at the gallery have overwhelmed me. Don’t worry: I will post it all soon! Thank you, all artists, for the fantastic work you’ve done. Every piece I’ve received will be in the show!

Including today’s featured work by Teddy Bihun! He’s also the artist behind the amazing picture of Jo wrestling the nang-nang. Above: Ian pulling the golden thread out of the All-Devouring Mother to destroy the monster and save Eldritch City and Jo. Amazing work—I don’t think I can pile enough compliments on this! The wild zigzagging of the thread, Ian’s determined grimace, the ostrich’s shriek, the beautiful dawn sky, the otherworldly, Lovecraftian All-Devouring Mother and Silent Sisters cathedral—this is the climactic picture I’ve been waiting for.

desolationday

Teddy asked me, what scene hadn’t yet been illustrated? I told him I’d love to see something of the Desolation Day ceremony, when the citizens of Eldritch City dress up as Silent Sisters, tear apart an idol of the Ichthala, and drink its unholy milk. Teddy painted this truly unsettling picture. The weird joy on the milk-drinkers’ faces is really disturbing, and exactly what I wanted. Thank you so much, Teddy, for three wonderful pictures! Visit him on his blog here.

Remember, you can see all this at the Order of Odd-Fish art show tomorrow! Stick around for the costumed Dome of Doom battle-dance party. With Collaboraction’s help—and the generous talent of all the contributing artists—I think we’ve created something absolutely incredible.

Oh, and if you’re interested, the Chicago Sun-Times did a feature article about the show. (That’s the web edition, but this scan of the print edition has better pictures.)

I was also interviewed by the very smart Alison Cuddy on NPR’s “Eight Forty-Eight” program on WBEZ. She asked some good questions, and they were able to edit my rambling so that I sounded pretty coherent!

I also returned to the Rick Kogan show on WGN, and got to meet two of my heroes, improv legends T.J. Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi. T.J. and Dave’s long-running, two-man, all-improvised Wednesday late night show at IO (formerly ImprovOlympic) is a Chicago treasure. (This article about T.J. in the Chicago Reader is a must-read, and reveals why T.J. decided not to join Saturday Night Live when they came knocking. In a just world, T.J. and Dave would be household names.)

Thank you, everyone! See you this Saturday!