Happy Monday!!! I hope the week is starting off fantastic and that you are doing well.
In today’s blog post, I am sharing a look at the upcoming March Ohm Beads | OHMistry Project: HAPPY GRAVE. This is a bead collaboration with artist, Justin Aerni. You can follow him on his instagram at @fun_eral.
Ohm Beads sent me this bead to review.
Here is what Ohm Beads has to say about the artist:
“An American painter, sculptor, author, photographer, and filmmaker, Justin Aerni has garnered global attention for his thought-provoking artwork that combines satire and iconoclasm while examining the great enigmas of our time. Based in the Pacific Northwest, he is as popular as he is prolific selling over 4,000 paintings worldwide within the past decade and has published ten books to date.‘
The HAPPY GRAVE Bead releases on March 13th at 10:00 AM pacific time zone. As per all, OHMistry projects, there are only 111 made and each one comes inside a special box designed by the artist.
The box art for, HAPPY GRAVE is overall a somber feeling with a black and white collar theme. However, it has a wonderful pop of fun with a magenta pink titles and the adorable smiley face from, HAPPY GRAVE himself!
I made a quick YouTube video, so you could see a quick overview of the box art details, as well as the wonderful details of the bead:
In Justin Aerni’s own words, here is his inspiration for, HAPPY GRAVE:
“I first created the character HAPPY GRAVE originally as a way to cope with my own overwhelming fear of dying and the possibility of not existing anymore.
One rainy day in Detroit, I was walking through a fancy old graveyard taking pictures, and as I happened to glance over at a distinctly smashed up grave where all the old writing had been chipped off. In the decay, I saw what looked like a smiling face! A chill came over me. Needless to say, I was horrified … yet delighted; inspiration instantly clicked in my mind, and HAPPY GRAVE was conceived! There have been many iterations on canvas and now cast into silver in 3 dimensions.
I hope that whoever wears my haunted little HAPPY GRAVE official OHM bead will find humor and peace instead of fear and anxiety about this sensitive subject that we all must inevitability face.” – Justin Aerni
The details on this bead remind me of a gravestone from the 1800s. It has some cracked and rough, cement detailing. It also has a cross-like detail at the top of the stone. But the most adorable little touch is the adorable eyes and mouth detailing on the front of the bead.
I plan to put this bead on my “Halloween” themed bracelet, but I also feel it would work well on my, “Dark Fairytale” themed bracelet too! What bracelet design would you add, HAPPY GRAVE to?
Overall, I think this bead is adorable and I am excited to design with him and take a few weeks to “test him out”. Stay tuned for a review, in the next few weeks!
If you haven’t ordered from Ohm Beads yet and are considering placing an order, Ohm Beads has now started a loyalty program called, LOL (Levels of Loyalty) and these points can be redeemed for OHMBUCKS. If you have a friend who has an account with Ohm Beads, ask them for their referral code and you will save 11% off your first order (and send some extra OhmBucks their way)! You are also welcome to use my referral code, (linked on my blog) or use code: EMILY1RVCHMDY at checkout. I will receive OhmBucks too!
