The story behind the face

"Eddie Currents was a dreamer. The men at the bank where he worked called him crazy Eddie, and told him to straighten his hat. Serious guys wear their hats directly across their heads, he said. But Eddie only laughed..."

Thus begins Colleen Craig's short story "Eddie Currents," inspired by the work of one of my favorite local artists, Kenney Mencher. As a painter with a taste for short fiction, Mencher decided to start what he calls "an Internet-based literary, graphic design and painting collaboration." On his blog, he invited writers from the U.S. and U.K. to craft short stories based on his mixed-media portraits -- which in turn were based on vintage and antique photography.

Once a story was chosen, Mencher then designed a graphic environment around the portrait. You'll have to read Craig's story to get the mermaid reference.

Craig won the writing contest for the dreamy collage, oil paint and graphite drawing "Eddie Currents." Now she and other writers will be showcased along with Mencher's art in a bricks-and-mortar exhibit. The ArtHaus Gallery in San Francisco is displaying the project, "Renovated Reputations: Recent Paintings by Kenney Mencher," in April.

Meanwhile, Mencher is still continuing the project. It may have an illustrated monograph in its future.

And for those who dream of seeing their faces as well as words in an art gallery, the ArtHaus reception on April 8 will feature a photobooth. Folks who are appropriately dressed just might end up in a future Mencher portrait. Don't forget the fedora.

Pictured: "Eddie Currents" by Kenney Mencher