Lil' Smokey

Oakland native artist Lisa Pisa, fell in love with art since her childhood days of drawing Garfield and Ninja Turtles. Lisa, whose father is French and mother is Japanese, believes that her culturally diverse upbringing influenced her creatively unique style of art. Growing up, Lisa collected records, unusual trinkets, and other items that she was able to incorporate into her artwork. However, her deepest passion lies in using mixed media and hip-hop in her artwork. Lisa earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from California State University, East Bay and then spent some time in Kagoshima, Japan to further explore her cultural roots and find more inspiration for her art. Since her return from Japan in 2010, she has been involved in several art shows and gallery openings, including Chopsticks Urban Art Space and Loakal Gallery in Oakland, as well as, Gauntlet Gallery and 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco. In addition to creating artwork for galleries, Lisa is a full-time sign artist and also paints at live art events around the Bay Area. She believes that it’s important to not over think her creations in order to capture “the moment” and have fun.The toy is based on a rabbit figure with distinctive tubular ears. The origin of the name Dunny came from a combination of street slang and one of the early "Devil Bunny" prototypes. The Dunny is sold in four sizes - 3", 5", 8" and 20". The toy has three points of articulation; a 360 degree rotational head and two arms. An artist card or sticker is also included with the 3" Dunny from a series. Most 3" Dunnys and some 8" Dunnys are normally sold as "blind assortment"; the figure is packaged inside a sealed foil wrapper, such that the buyer is not able to see which figure and accessories they are buying. Sealing the figure prevents people from opening and peeking in the boxes and buying only the figures they want. Most Dunnys are packaged inside a clear plastic bag in addition to the foil wrapper. In the second-hand market, this assures the buyer that the article was never on display and is in a "new" condition. With the success of vinyl toys as a medium for expression, many fans and artists have put their own design onto blank Dunnys.