We have moved all of the posts & comments at this site to our brand new home! Please come and visit me here at: http://shannongrissom.info

All of the  posts that are here are filed under Monkey Made of Sockies AND there is LOTS more to come!!

Hope to see you there soon!

Cheers,

Shannon Grissom

First the children looked at the art. They smiled and giggled at the scenes. Their positive response made my day! We played some seek and find games designed to help them engage with the art pieces individually, and at the end, I gave them chance to actually touch, yes touch a painting.

Next we talked about writing, illustration, and I encouraged them to create their own books.  We rounded out the visit with a trip next door to my studio so they could see how I worked. I was thrilled to have them visit, as one of  goals for this exhibit was to introduce children to fine art.

Nicole Hartshorn, Regional Child Development Director, then took them back to the YMCA and made an entire sock monkey  day of it. They made sock everything!

Here’s a little slideshow of the afternoon:

Click to view slideshow.
Thanks YMCA for letting me spend the afternoon with these wonderful kids!

Cover Monkey Made of Sockies

Click here to read this is a heartwarming article about Daphne’s phenomenal success. Monkey Made of Sockies is so grateful to be part of such a wonderful team. Together with Daphne’s Headcovers and LPGA Professional Leta Lindley, we are helping to fund a cure for children affected with Prader-Willi.

Click here to read:

Arizona MMOS

A huge thanks to all of you for your support!

Bikder Dude Made of Sockies by Shannon Grissom

If you’ve never visited an art gallery, this is a great place to have your first experience. The event is designed to be fun and interactive for people of all ages.  The show is free to the public and you are guaranteed to leave with a smile.

What do you wear? Come in your jeans. Come in your tux. Come in your jammies. Sock monkeys are famous for showing up in their pom pom’s! Wear whatever is comfortable to you.

What will you experience?

The artist’s reception is Wednesday, December 1st from 5:30-8:00 pm.

There will be over 40 original works of art featuring sock monkeys. (Prints will also be available.) There will be an open mike opportunity for people to share their sock monkey stories and haiku. A monkey maker will even demonstrate the art of transforming red heels in to Monkeys Made of Sockies.

You’ll also have the opportunity to collect sock monkey ornaments, sock monkey  golf club headcovers, sock monkey puppets, sock monkey dolls, sock monkey children’s book and more!

Bring your own sock monkey(s) and share your stories. I’ll be crowing a sock monkey Queen and King on December 1st during the reception.

And of course anytime you are in Hollister, there is always fabulous food and fun people!

I’ll also make an appearance during the Light’s On Celebration, Saturday 11/27 after the parade. We’ll be raffling off Sharlene Van Rooy’s adorable sock monkey quilts. All raffle proceeds will benefit the YMCA. All names will be put in to a hat for a second chance raffle on December 1st.  The winner will receive a signed Monkey Made of Sockies Headcover and children’s book.

Here’s the scoop:

The show runs November 26th, through December 27th 2010

Blak Sage Gallery, 727 San Benito Street, Hollister, CA.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 1 to 5 pm.

Special Appearances:

Artist Reception Wednesday 12/1/10 From 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Light’s On Saturday 11/27/10 Immediately following the parade

I’m so looking forward to sharing a smile with you. See you at the events!

Hello from Monkey Made of Sockies!

I must apologize for my “hat head” in this photo. I didn’t have time to comb my pom poms, and the breeze was brisk at St. Andrews.

Hat Head at St. Andrews

Why am I always smiling?  First, I’m proud of how I protect your driver.  Hey, you want to cover your driver before it knows what hit it?  Then I’m your monkey!   And the wonderful folks at Daphne’s Headcovers back all of their headcovers with a lifetime guarantee.

I’m also thrilled to be carried by LPGA Professionals, Leta Lindley, Jennifer Rosales and Jill McGill. You’ d be smiling too if you got to spend time with these amazing golfers!

Leta Lindley and Me

And last,  but certainly not least, I’m smiling because this monkey is hungry for a cure. Together with  Daphne’s Headcovers , LPGA Professional, Leta Lindley. and my creator Shannon Grissom, we support  the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association.  We all smile, knowing we are making a difference in these children’s lives.

So come on down to your local golf shop, say hello, and please…take me home and take me golfing!

You’ll be smiling too!

My new studio/office is another story. It looks more like a kids room than a corporate office. The sock monkeys are running amuck, amuck, amuck!

And it’s only going to get better.  At present,  I have four sock monkey paintings in progress and sketches/plans for seven more by the middle of November. ( I’m are gearing up for my  Sock Monkeys in the Wild show at the Blak Sage Gallery in December.)

That’s a lot of sock monkeys in a very small space.

I don’t really need any more paintings for the show.  (To date I’ve completed 39 of the fuzzy critters.) But I’m working on another project that would require at least 44 unique red-heeled  views.

Oooh this is getting long winded. I’m starting to sound like Roseanne Roseanna Danna…

The point is, when I tell people I have  new studio downtown, they picture a rustic artist loft. You know, like the kind you see in the movies with exposed bricks. They are not picturing a kid’s room nor an office. But once they get up here, they smile and say, “It’s you!”

Artists bloom where they are planted. I’ve seen some amazing creations originate from the kitchen table, the garage, the back seat of a car, the shade of an old oak tree, as well as from more traditional studio spaces.

Oh I’d love to have a 2000 square foot building with tons of storage and plenty of light. But over the years, I’ve learned that what matters to me most is not the type of space, but that I have the space to create.

This kids room is seeded in love. It will be interesting to see what I grow.

Soon, we will be selling raffle tickets for $1.oo each for a chance to win these beautiful works of art. All proceeds will benefit the YMCA of San Benito County. The drawing will be held 11/27/10 at the Blak Sage Gallery, Hollister, CA, right after the Light’s On Parade.

Here’s a pic I took at the YMCA today with phone.  I need to come back with my “real” camera so you can get a closer look:

Thank you Sharlene for your generous and beautiful gifts!

To find out more about the show click here.

These are about half done… I’ll update this blog post regularly until I’ve completed all 13.

Enjoy~

One more, this time with me!

He’s on his way now to Manilla with Larry Barr. Larry says he hope to take MMOS to the Palace.

Sharlene Van Rooy sent me pics from her east coast trip:

“Massachusetts at Bunker Hill, ‘Don’t shoot till you see the whites of their eyes.’”

Climbing the sign in New Hampshire.

If you can’t find him right now you are not alone. He’s been selling like hotcakes and is out of stock at the manufacturer’s. All is not lost! He is still available at may fine establishments like headcoversonline.com , Amazon and even Ebay.

I took him to the Pinnacles National Monument a few months back.

Something….sock monkey.

So I gathered all of the monkeys together to see who would inspire me. Turns out they all did! Hey as soon as you pick one up it’s like getting a hug! We hung out on the stairs for a bit and I took a group picture.

I shot over a hundred pictures. And as I was taking their pictures, their characters started emerging:

Clyde-Think Jimmy Stewart
Stunt Double I – Fearless Flier and utterly loyal to Clyde
Stunt Double II- Same as SDI but he’s had a few more injuries, not quite so loyal
Pretzel- Soooo tied up in knots
Uncle Frank-Speaks his mind
Auntie Frank-(Anti-Frank!) Speaks everything but her mind
Rhyme-The artiste
Reason-The voice of reason
Sally-Sweet
Blurr-Fuzzy
Cuckoo, Cuckoo! -Need I explain?
MMOS-Golf on the brain
Biker Dude-Looks tough, heart of gold
Lippystick-Won’t leave home without it
Uncle Overmost-Just ask him
Biscotti-Delicious
Babushka-Recent immigrant to Monkey Media
Storebought-Always trying to get over a bad rap

I thought a children’s book was emerging, but by the end of the day, it was clear that I was creating an animated series.

So I decided to start a web series ~Monkey Media~ a lighthearted look at Social Media.

I’m not sure how I’ll do this. I only know that I must. Here’s a peek at my own creative notes:

So here I am, all by myself in my studio and I’m cracking myself up.

This thing is jut being downloaded to me and I’m just a long for the ride.

Hope you want to come too. I’ll keep you posted.