urban vinyl, desing art, art toys, desinger toys, smallandround

Hello My Name is Jeremiah Ketner. I am a full time Artist by night and at home Dad by day. I moved to Chicago, IL a few months before the towers fell. Chicago is an engaging city with a rich and diverse culture, that has help propel my Artist Career. My Artwork ranges from paintings of fantastical creatures in imaginarily landscapes to serene female figures taking a moment to stop and smell the flowers. Primarily my artwork is focused on 2-D painting but I also love to develop toys and paint custom ones also.

What is your favorite DIY Toy?

Hands down, it would have to be the MadL sculpt by Mad. (http://www.madtoydesign.com/) I love working on both sizes 10″ and the more affordable 5″ figures. Every aspect of Mad’s toy is brilliant. I guess what I love about it is all of the flat surface areas. Plus the dynamics of the design are strong. No matter what you paint on this toy, it still ends up looking good.

Where you get your inspiration from?

There are so many inspiring things out there. Too many to list for me. If I was to give you a short list of things that inspire me everyday it would be; visits to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, Private gardens around my neighborhood, Japanese Aesthetics, Kimono patterns, and spending long days outside with my kids.

Since when are you doing Vinyl toys?

I started making vinyl customs after a “Funny Club Show” that Rotofugi (http://www.rotofugi.com) invited me to be part of. It was a large custom toy show and everyone who participated worked on a bb birdy toy by artist; Tony Shiau Nakanari. (http://www.flickr.com/people/nakanari/ ) Since then I was hooked on working with vinyl toys. I love the break from 2-D painting and its more of a challenge with each new toy I come across. Not only do I love to work on vinyl but I have also been making wooden toys. I love the smooth porous surface and being able to sculpt and design it my self is much more satisfying.

How large is your private Vinyl toy Collection?

Very small. I would love to collect more but I seem to just paint over most of the toys I buy. The toys I enjoy collecting and do not paint over are by Itokin Park (http://www.itokin-park.com/), I love his style. Tado (http://www.tado.co.uk/) is also a favorite, their toys are beyond cute. I love Travis Lampes Tear Drips. (http://www.travislampe.com/) Finally anther cherished piece in my collection is BUMBLE AND TWEET by Julie West (http://www.juliewest.com/)

What will be your next Project?

I have a few new things I am working on. One I am not allowed to talk about but I will say that it is a design for a platform toy that will be released sometime next year.
I am also working on some new wooden toys that will be hand made and painted on a very limited basis. I am planning on releasing them this fall. I just recently finished up a selection of custom Mini Munny’s (Sold out) and am working on a few MadL customs that will be available this July. One of them is a 10″ figure that I have invested countless hours of work into already. I have to catch up on some commission customs also.

Web Site: www.smallandround.com
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/smallandround
Store: www.smallandround.bigcartel.com
Blog: http://www.smallandround.blogspot.com