S.F. artist cooks up zany characters good enough to eat

San Francisco artist Ferris Plock has made a name for himself with intricate, colorsplashed and pattern-happy paintings informed by cartoons, street/skate culture and Japanese ukiyo-e. But his first book, the art cookbook “Food Faces,” takes that fun-loving perspective to the next edible level.

“The ‘Food Faces’ book had some pretty humble roots. I was just trying to get my sons excited about eating new types of food,” says Plock of his children, Brixton and Angus, his sons with his wife, kindred artist and KeFe collaborator Kelly Tunstall. “I found when I made these food faces that the kids both engaged with their mealtime; there was something there for them to interact with. Of course, being a character artist helps.”

The zany, inventive faces he fashions out of risotto and shredded chicken for “Toby Peagobby” and “Sean Chickenbrow” are now on exhibit at Rare Device, as part of the book launched by Day Dreamers Limited, a Plock, Tunstall and Howard Cao undertaking.

As for the two boys’ appetites, “do they eat every bite? Nope,” confesses Plock. “However, small bites are considered small steps around here.”

Food Faces: Noon-8 p.m. Monday-Friday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Through June 28. Rare Device, 600 Divisadero St., S.F. (415) 863-3969. www.raredevice.net

Photos by Ferris Plock “Walter Watermouth” is part of artist Ferris Plock’s “Food Faces” exhibition at Rare Device.

The wide smile of Plock’s creation “Toby Peagobby” rests on a bed of risotto.

A bit of shredded chicken gives “Sean Chickenbrow” his signature feature.