Antenna, Fall 2008

Krooked “Cody Hudson guest” skateboard:
Growing up skateboarding, if you would have told me that one day I would have a deck out with my name on it, I would not have believed you. But 20 years later, it somehow happened. I was very excited to do a “guest” model for the guys at Krooked.

Braniff Airlines tea canister:
Alexander Girand designed so many great things for Braniff over the years. It’s pretty amazing to look back on all of it. I found this newly produced tea canister in Japan a few years ago.

Size 10.5 white slip-on Vans:
In the era of kids cleaning their shoes with designer cleaning products, it seemed like it was time to start wearing shoes until they actually got worn out again. It’s interesting what a few years of wear and tear will do to a pair of shoes. These still feel great although they smell like microwave popcorn.

My mom’s hospital bracelet:
Bracelet says: “Hudson, Mrs. Lynne M.” Tag says, “Boy, Hudson, 9-23-71, 7# 13oz.” Respect to my moms.

Yashica T4:
I sued to be a big Pentax UC-1 fan until mine broke and they stopped making them. I moved on to the T4, then they stopped making these as well. So hopefully it doesn’t break anytime soon.

Juan Angel Chavez cloud art:
Juan Angel Chavez not only is a good friend, but he really inspired me to make artwork with found materials and do more public work. This was from a set of wood clouds made out of old signs. He’s also a good guy to drink whiskey with.

Scrap wood:
Living in Pilsen for five years and being close to so much scrap material really shaped where my art has been going. I now have a hard time throwing any old scraps away, as I always think I can make something else out of it. I start to get nervous if I don’t have a huge pile of this stuff around.

Dead Kennedys In God we Trust taped over Electric Breakdance compilation:
I found this while digging through some boxes of tapes recently. It was funny to see the eras shift as I taped over a breakdance tape with punk rock. My old car still had a tape deck up until about a year ago, so these were still in circulation.

Synthroid 0.175mg round purple tablet:
I can really do without most things, but since I no longer have a thyroid, they say I’m supposed to take one of these everyday.

Catherine-holm orange fondue pot:
It was designed by Grete Prytz Kittelsen for Catherinholm of Norway. When Lori and I were first dating, we were both obsessed with collecting these. So when we moved in together, we realized we might have a few too many. This one is my favorite, though.

Old art and design books:
I’m an art and design nerd, so I have to keep the library stocked with random old finds. Unfortunately, eBay has made the days of finding boxes of Graphis Annuals for three bucks apiece almost extinct, but if you keep digging deep, you’ll find some good stuff in the musty used shops.

Hot Doug’s gift certificates:
This is my favorite encased-meats emporium in Chicago. They are not afraid to make ostrich or alligator sausages, but I really like the classic char dog best. The writer Joe Meno recently gave me a big stack of these gift certificates after we got done working on the Demons in the Spring book. I’m set for the summer.

Saukra Pigma Micron size 01 pens:
I love these little pens-totally changed my drawing style once I started using them. I went through about 40 of them last month.

Kells bobble head:
Two words: not guilty.

Circle stickers:
I’ve been working on a series of paintings for the last two years using these circle stickers. During my last move, I misplaced them and freaked out. I thought I was going to have to take a trip to a stationary shop in Amsterdam just to get more, but luckily I found my stash.

Artwork on wood by Bryon Oneil:
“How we deceive ourselves while believing we are deceiving others (the merits and dangers of delusion)” is the title of this piece of art that is made to look like a book. For some reason, I stare at this everyday for at least a couple of minutes.

The daily uniform:
I like to not have to think about things in the mornings, so if I pretty much wear the same clothes all the time, then I have one less thing to worry about. Levi’s black skinny 511, white T-shirt and a button-up, and I’m good to go.