#Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize

[firefly-creepy]

"Transcend" by Charlotte Hussey

[cowgurrrl]

Wonderfully Bizarre

Pairing: rockstar!joel miller x actress!reader

Author’s note: DID YALL REALLY THINK I WAS JUST GONNA LEAVE YOU WITH THAT (i also don’t love how this turned out but I couldn’t leave y’all with all that heartbreak)

Summary: You and Joel try again [1.2k]

Warnings: fluff (finally)

You end up staying in Ireland for a year and some change. Fifteen months if you're being exact. The Beginning of the End is flawless. It's raw and real and one of the hardest things you've ever done, but it's done. You've been home for about a month. Elizabeth was ecstatic to see and show you all her new toys and make fun of Carolina for being too pregnant to bend down and pick her up. She's having another girl any day now. You thought your heart would burst when they told you on FaceTime, and you immediately went into overprotective aunt mode, asking what they needed, the due date, everything. You were gonna be back in the States around this time anyways, but being home permanently makes you feel better.

You did a lot of growing in Ireland. You had to in order to tell the story you were trying to tell. You feel like a completely new person, and you're still trying to figure out if you like it. You think you do. You want to. This version of yourself is slower and takes more time for little things. She sees there's more to life than work, but it's okay to be dedicated to your career. It took you half a decade in the industry to find a healthy work-life balance, but you finally did. Better late than never, right?

The sun is shining, and the ocean air is blowing through your hair, and it feels beautiful. Your sunglasses are big enough to obscure your face so people don't stop you whenever they walk past you on the boardwalk. An email from your manager, Sierra, pops up on your phone, but you don't jump to answer it. She knows the press is not your only priority right now. She knows she can wait. You smile when a familiar twang calls your name, and you stand to hug him.

"Hey, how are you?" Joel asks as he rubs your back, and you smile as you lean back to look at him. He's got a little more salt and pepper in his hair than the last time you saw him, but it suits him. Getting older looks good on him.

"I'm good. How are you?" You ask. You sit across from each other, and he takes a big breath.

"I'm good. Busy."

"I've heard. Congratulations on your Grammy."

"Congratulations on your Golden Globe nomination," he says, and you bow your head just a little in gratitude. He smiles and gets quiet as he just stares at you. You wonder what he thinks about how you've changed. Your hair is shorter, but not as short as when you shaved your head for the movie. It's growing back in slowly but surely, but it's taking longer than you thought it would. "It's really good to see your face." He says. Heat rises to your cheeks, and you have to fight a smile at his words.

"Yours too. How are the girls?"

"They're great. Sarah just started classes at UCLA." He says, and you gasp.

"I remember her telling me about that! What's she studying again?"

"Psychology."

"Smart girl. And Ellie?"

"Ellie's starting high school in a week. She's just… thriving. She's in the art club at school and even won a few prizes."

"Wow." You breathe, and he nods.

"Yeah," he says. "How are you? How was Ireland?"

"It was good! Very rainy and cold but good. I think it might be my best performance to date." You say, not modest about it at all, but he doesn't care.

"I've no doubt."

"Oh, and I got a dog."

"Really? What kind?"

"Big old mean one," you say as you slide your phone open to show him the picture of your big-headed gray pit bull with a flower tucked in her collar. "Her name is Daisy."

"She's beautiful. Rescue?"

"Showed up on my doorstep one day without a collar on. She's been with me ever since."

"I'll have to meet her one day." He says.

"I'd like that," you smile. "How's Angela?" You ask, and he sighs.

"I don't know. She left about a week after you did. Left Sarah a note sayin' she was sorry, but she couldn't do this, blah blah blah."

"That's awful. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too," he shrugs. "Anyways. Now that you're done with Beginning of the End, what's next? I'm sure you've already got somethin' lined up."

"I'm, uh... I'm actually taking a little break. At least, until the movie comes out." You say, and his eyes widen. You feel a little shy about admitting that you're pretty much nothing, but you have Daisy now and your little family.

"That's a big deal."

"Yeah, it's weird to not be working, but this role really took a lot out of me. I think I deserve a break."

"You do," he says, smiling. "'M proud of you."

"Thank you." You say as you stare at him.

You talk about anything and everything. He tells you about Sarah's experiences at UCLA and how the tour went. From what you saw, it was sold out night after night, and he kept getting bigger. He looked so happy. You tell him that Carolina's pregnant and give him the few details about the movie you are legally allowed to share. It's easy and fun and so perfect. You can't get over the fact that he's right here in front of you after so long, and things aren't super awkward or weird. It feels like you're picking up right where you left off. Well, before everything went to shit. You're laughing at his jokes and smiling, and he's maybe flirting with you? His boyish smile and stupid jokes always did it for you.

"Are you," he clears his throat like the words won't come out otherwise. "Are you seein' anybody?" He finally asks after about two hours of conversation.

"Joel Miller," you say. "Are you trying to ask me out?"

"If I was, would you say yes?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"If I've gotta sign a contract or not." You say, and he laughs. The sound of his joy fills a hole in your chest you weren't even sure was still there.

"No contract this time. Just us."

"Promise?"

"On my life."

Years down the line, you'll tell your son, Samuel, about this moment. The moment you decided to give his dad a second chance and the moment that would, unknowingly, change everything. You'll tell him that sometimes people come into our lives at the wrong time, but if they're the right person, then they'll come back when they're supposed to. He'll grow up hearing that story and seeing you and Joel be completely and utterly in love like nothing ever happened. But you don't know that yet. Sam is years and a few heartbreaks away.

What you know right now is that Joel is looking at you the same way he used to, and you're smiling at him, and everything feels right. In this moment and in moments of reflection, you won't be able to explain why you say what you do, but you know it's okay. You don't have to have all the answers. So, you look at Joel and say, "Okay."

And that was it.

[jadeseadragon]

Kristin Kwan, The Golden Afternoon, 2022, oil on panel, 24" × 36".

[grunisment]

Grand Winner of the 2023 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize Lo Chan Peng - “Eternity Dawn”, Oil on the canvas, 107.5cm x 170 cm

[supersonicart]

The Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: Win $50,000 in Cash & Other Prizes.

🎨 Are you a talented artist ready for your big break? The 2023 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is now open for entries! 🏆

Join a community of like-minded creatives, showcase your work on an international platform, and have a chance to win a whopping $50,000 USD in cash and amazing prizes! Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to take your career to new heights.

For full details visit the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize website.

About the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: Now in its 6th year, we organise an annual non-acquisitive international art prize that celebrates diversity and excellence in the representational visual arts. It includes Traditional Art, Digital Art, Photography, and Sculpture featuring all styles from realism to popsurrealism and lowbrow. The prize seeks to inspire creatives from around the world to pursue a life and career in the arts and to help careers grow through funding and increased exposure of their work to galleries, collectors and media globally.

[moderneden]

✨Opening TONIGHT✨ HALCYON DAYS Curated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Modern Eden proudly presents Halcyon Days, our fourth major exhibition curated by @beautifulbizarremagazine and featuring over 80 top international artists, including winners of the 2022 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize. There has been so much darkness in the world of late, and this exhibition focuses on positive remembrance of the past and creative hope for the future. We will be hosting a public reception with the artists and curators ✨TONIGHT✨ this Saturday, November 5 from 6–9 pm. 🥂 Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Editor in Chief, @danijelakrhapurssey will be in attendance along with many of the artists from around the world. An advance preview is available online for interested collectors (link in bio). Please reach out to us with any questions! 💛 Artwork by @hannahflowers_tattoos (at Modern Eden Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/CklaUcbJVxS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[fernandovicenteprints]

VOTE People’s Choice Award 2022 ArtStation People’s Choice Award Voting People’s Choice Voting for the 2022 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is now open! ♥️ Thank you! #fernandovicente #guerrera #samurai #óleo #beautifulbizarremagazine #awards https://www.instagram.com/p/Cht_q7TIrld/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[bonfire-at-the-crossroads]

From above the Arctic circle - to my windowsill.

Inuit art is mysterious, strong…the shapes are solid and carefully considered. Carved from a single chunk of incredibly heavy green stone, this hunter with his seal strapped to his back - delights me. The way he is standing. How his mittens curl inward, and the growl on his face…

Anyway…

He had to come with me.

Last Saturday was Dave Stuart’s first foray into the world of online auctioneering. I honestly didn’t think he could pull it off, but it’s OK to be proved wrong.

The room was PACKED with stuff for sale, most of which belongs to himself.

We have been deeply concerned for David, as he is behaving oddly. He learned how to bid on the online auctions, and has succumbed to a hoarding addiction which has been consuming his every waking hour. He sits hunched over his laptop in the shabby little office, bidding against the rest of the world for high-end antiques. He is spending a LOT of money, then jumps into a van and drives all over the country to pick up his prizes.

David is not a young man - closing in on 80? His auction sales have remained our happy-hunting-ground for years now - we bid on decent (but damaged) antiques, and can bring them home for very little money. I get to work - restore / repair / spruce-up - and move it on to a better auction for resale.

This is our “extra” income - and we’ve loved every minute of it.

The Stuart auctions have become a bizarre circus over the last few months. He has had little or no stock to sell - the folks who consign their things have looked elsewhere, because instead of holding an auction every Saturday - he runs only two sales a month. In the world of the numblies and the dealers in crap to buy and sell - this is a deal-breaker. It’s easier to move items into one of the other houses that sell EVERY WEEK - and put a little cash into their pockets sooner rather than later.

David has CRAMMED his place with extreme high-end antiques. His first obsession was Staffordshire figures. First one, then ten, suddenly a hundred are all stood cheek-to-cheek along the tables which are normally reserved for things being sold.

He’s not selling these.

Likewise antique oil lamps with beautiful glass shades. First five, then 25, now over a hundred - none of which are being sold. They belong to him.

The auction room is filling up with lovely things, but what is actually being sold is crap. Yards of blue rope. Chunks of old chain. Plastic kettles with no lids, a box of broken china, and maybe an extinct radio with no knobs….

German mid-century art pottery.

Then came the clocks. A line of magnificent mantle clocks, marked the beginning of the new obsession - then came the 18th century brass dial tall-case grandfather clocks. Beautiful, expensive time pieces which now march the length and breadth of the auction room. There are over 20 of these - all acquired within the last two months.

None of these things are being sold, just hoarded. The back rooms are crammed with stacks of fine oriental carpets, statuary, brass standard lamps, and whatever else his itchy trigger-finger bid on during somebody else’s auction online….

We stopped in to look at his upcoming sale, and he had packed what was left of the room with BIG brown furniture. Highly polished and restored Georgian tables, chests of drawers, sideboards, etc - all of which he has paid far too much for, and cannot sell to his usual customers. (Including us.)

“I’m going online” sez he. “I need to get better bidders to sell better things, and have joined easyliveauctions “

Color me dubious. David can’t run his own microphone, the woman in the office can’t run the credit card machine, and he struggles with his own cellphone.

But he managed to pull it all off - and I am impressed! The sale was packed with new people. The computer link for live bidding was handled by a woman who sat beside him on the podium, and his wife took care of phone bids.

Daaaaammmnnnn……!

Nobody was happy. Everybody was cramped, miserable, uncomfortable, nowhere to sit, and the usual camaraderie is dead and buried.

Bidding on the floor was fine - but then the internet bids trashed the assembled mob - and took things into the stratosphere. Grumbling was audible, tempers raw. A strange, grim man who was shaped like an actual ham - stood with a penciled list at the back of the room - and paid whatever he had been told on the fine furniture. €2000 for a Georgian table. £400 for a Victorian work table. Prices un-dreamed of before. He took no pleasure in his work, didn’t meet anyone’s eyes, but went about his task with silent, unsmiling determination. He carried everything out to his huge white van, loaded up with ties and blankets - and away he went.

David’s auction was a success. For David. I fear it will only feed the fire of his shopping addiction, and lead to more frantic acquisition.

In the meantime - I managed to bring home the hunter and his seal - because I love him. One of the last pieces to fall under the hammer of a three and a half hour sale (?!) - and nobody in ireland likes Inuit sculpture. He can live here with me, and I will admire his sturdy form in the morning light -for years to come.

The times they are a’changing.

[interludepress]

Now Available: FELIX SILVER, TEASPOONS & WITCHES by Harry Cook

“FELIX, SILVER, TEASPOONS AND WITCHES is a delightful brew of a book, and a beautiful reminder that there’s magic to be found in friendship, family, love and mystery.“ – Abdi Nazemian, author of Stonewall Honor Book Like a Love Story and The Chandler Legacies

FELIX SILVER, TEASPOONS & WITCHES

After his parents announce that his bizarre, emerging abilities are getting in the way of their divorce, Felix Silver relocates to Dorset Harbor and becomes the charge of his Grandma Aggie. As Felix adjusts to life in a new school, Aggie decides that it's time he learn The Silver Way, and teaches him all she knows about sorcery and magical arts. When Felix and his new friends decide to solve the mystery of local teenagers who have gone missing, Felix learns that his crush, Aero, has a big secret. Is dark magic creeping into the town, and can Felix learn enough from Aggie and the witches of Dorset Harbor to combat it? From actor and author Harry Cook, Felix Silver, Teaspoons & Witches is a charming and funny Golden Girls-meets-teen wizard YA fantasy adventure.

Price: $12.99 print / $6.99 eBook 

Details: Trade paperback, 5.25"x 8”

Pages:  300

ISBN: 978-1-951954-14-7 print // 78-1-951954-15-4 eBook

Cover art by C.B. Messer.

About the Author

Harry Cook is an award-winning actor, writer, and LGBTQI+ activist. He has appeared opposite actors including Geena Davis, Sam Neill, and Bryan Brown in films and television shows, and won the Best Supporting Actor award at FilmOut San Diego Film Festival for his role in the feature film Drown. 

His debut memoir, Pink Ink, was published in September 2018 to rave reviews. Felix Silver, Teaspoons & Witches is Harry’s second young adult novel. His first YA, Fin & Rye & Fireflies, was released in August 2020 and received the Scottish Teenage Book Prize in 2022. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Add FELIX SILVER, TEASPOONS & WITCHES to your Goodreads TBR here.

Available from the IP Web Store, Chicago Review Press, Bookshop, Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository, and an indie bookstore near you.

[whiskeygonzo]

Iness Rychlik: An Exquisite Canvas Devoted to Visual Storytelling https://beautifulbizarre.net/2023/11/17/iness-rychlik-interview/

[firefly-creepy]

"Blossom" by Eric - visual artist (o.eric.o)

[ging333rgesus-v-uphurglingelwiwi]

objectification in the modeling industry

i wrote this while h i gee h, so if its convoluted, bizarre and misinformed, its bc its a current musing informed by experience rather than elaborate research, lather those pinches of salt and entertain my thoughts if you dare. also, not proofread :).

is it just me or is there something fundamentally and eerily uncomfortable with modeling.

long read!

i don't mean elitist modeling that functions more as a "vanity project" through broadcasting your [social] capital i.e. celebrities draping themselves in luxury in tandem with flaunting their desirability. i mean full time models whose relationship to the means of production is distant and work solely as models, conforming their personhood to harsh regimen. i.e. working class models, as at some point your compensation begins to leech from another in an irreconcilable way, marking your ascension from someone defined by their worker status to unburdened by our current socioeconomic conditions and thusly accessing exclusive luxuries. aka class ascension and voluntary participation rather than obligatory/more avenues for generating capital, or, gains in social capital. or more importantly, someone able to complement the mechanism enabling hierarchical worker exploitation and reinforcing desirability politics and normative standards in [the] edifice [of modeling] as well as thru broader impact. desirability politics is inextricably linked with eugenics-esque prejudice and thusly sequesters and is often indicative of privilege or initiates models into privilege, it doesn't exist in a vacuum. but as represented/objectified in inanimate human expression, aka art [by those afforded a platform, (often hierarchical)], human desire tends to and is geared to skew normatively (subversion and deviance have been pathologized and demonized/stigmatized [engineering disparities]) e.g. desirability politics. however in marrying art with the privileged gaze (as all entertainment does, hegemony sells lol, ppl need role models 🥁), its amusement tends to skew beneath it, subservient.

in this case, modeling broadcasts the pathologizing of the non-[cis]male visage, needing it: accessible and denuded, conforming and appealing, often alongside the elusive exoticness of the feminine (specifically for those expected to perform it, hence [beauty trends, hence perpetual products]). and herein my point lies, modeling is fundamentally a consumerist sport, with those performing acting as sentient mannequins, reduced to a prop for a product for the masses to consume. now that i've written that out it doesn't sound TOO bad, that's a bit concerning (i've forgotten how to humor, help). pretty objects model objects for observers to doubly consume, except this time in service of a conglomerate, in which the person attracting sales is reduced to a prop and devalued, despite generating business in their commodification. anyways. its like a zoo of sorts, these silent, depersonalized mannequins, of whom you can choose to see solely as that, valuing them on desirability alone. it feels patriarchal and dehumanizing, catered around cisheterosexist gratification and conformism. the added layer to all this being the elitism, with those watching fashion shows (as well as those engineering desirability and commodification i.e. the people orchestrating everything [the modeling industry, brands, fashion shows etc.]) directly being an exclusive audience being entertained by elite brands, of which they will only engage with the most coveted and prized echelons of, a personal closet (double entendre) show meant to decide or influence their consumer habits and thusly which conglomerates they will proliferate, all on the backdrop of the most commodified and glamorized of society acting as attractive human mannequins meant to entertain them. idk. i feel like i'm twisting myself into knots. i now understand why cj the x drinks to articulate themself. ultimately, it just feels like assimilationist rhetoric/standards wants to mold us into objects/cogs. (they do 👍🏿)

[gaiagalatea]

[tentenutu]

With just 2 months left to enter the 2023 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, we would love to share more of the wonderful entries we have received so far! The Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize celebrates diversity and excellence in the representational visual arts, in all static mediums including Traditional Art media, Digital Art media, and Photographic media; and all genres from realism and hyperrealism, to pop surrealism and lowbrow. The Prize seeks to inspire creatives from around the world to pursue a life and career in the arts, and to help careers grow through funding and increased exposure of their work to galleries, collectors and media globally. Would you like our Editor-in-Chief – Danijela Krha Purssey, who curates each issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, and our exhibitions to see your work? If so enter today, she is personally going through each

[biglisbonnews]

Magic and Myth Arise from Kristin Kwan’s Surreal Oil Paintings Kristin Kwan coaxes the magic out of nature in her dreamlike oil paintings. Emphasizing a quiet surrealism centered on plants, animals, and Earth’s landscapes, her works draw on allegories, symbolism, and myth. Suffused with fantastical details, each painting begins “devoid of meaning,” Kwan shares, saying that while they reflect her own musings, she hopes the resulting pieces are open-ended. “I like to think of a painting as some kind of communal scaffold or trellis that meaning can grow on, my own alongside viewers,” the artist recently told Beautiful Bizarre, which awarded her the 2022 art prize for “The Golden Afternoon” shown below. More Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Magic and Myth Arise from Kristin Kwan’s Surreal Oil Paintings appeared first on Colossal. https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2023/03/kristin-kwan-oil-paintings/

[moderneden]

@maryjaneansell’s amazing painting “Reminiscence” [Oil on Aluminium] for the current Beautiful Bizarre exhibition ‘Halcyon Days’ curated by @beautifulbizarremagazine. Exhibition Dates: 5 November - 3 December Modern Eden Gallery, 1100 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA, United States For sales enquiries please email Gallery Director, Kim Larson on info@moderneden.com This exhibition includes the work of over 80 of the world’s best contemporary artists, from across the globe, plus the Winners of the 2022 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize! #beautifulbizarre #BBMhalcyondays #newcontemporary #maryjaneansell #painting #exhibition (at Modern Eden Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClSEr2cvVhQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=