We Fight For Our Creative Birthright!
Minnesota-based Velvet Rasputin LLC produces challenging, socially-conscious and creative experiences for diverse folks. A disabled, queer Black, and Latin American-owned business. Management holds a current Brave/Safe Space Certification from St. Cloud Pride/Centracare, Unfurling at the Speed of Trust Training, and Spiritual First Aid.Velvet Rasputin LLC's current roster is:
❤️ Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz (they/them) - Creative Director
❤️ Gnomie Johnson (she/her) - Lead Illustrator and Event Assistant
❤️ Loki Kaspari - Collaborative Partner
DisclaimerVelvet Rasputin LLC policy does not take requests for donations to ensure artists are paid a fair wage for their work. If collective participants wish to donate to causes they are passionate about, they will contact those organizations directly. No one at Velvet Rasputin is currently available for unsolicited exhibit opportunities. Please do not contact Velvet Rasputin with these types of inquiries.
Velvet Rasputin LLC Creative Services
Velvet Rasputin LLC Creative Services
Art/Creative DirectionIf you have a large-scale creative project, and you're feeling overwhelmed, let Velvet Rasputin LLC take care of it. Award-winning multidisciplinary, Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz has worked in the arts for most of their life, and in the promotional events and marketing field since 1997. They know how to build teams and find the resources to ensure that your vision comes to fruition in the most effective and memorable way possible. Contact Velvet Rasputin LLC for consultation to see whether our creative direction services are the right fit for you.To see an example of a creative solution in action, click on the pen with the misspelled domain name below.
Velvet Rasputin LLC Creative Services
Artificial Intelligence Ethics For Creative People
A cautionary tale about visionary artists, the rise of Gen AI slop, ecological disaster, and deciding who gets run over first.As a boundary-pushing and innovative multidisciplinary arts collective full of computer nerds, Velvet Rasputin LLC, has often been on the cutting edge of creativity. Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz and long-time collaborator/Velvet Rasputin alum, Ram Lama, tried their hand at artificial intelligence art during the COVID-19 epidemic. They used their extensive body of comic art to train models, along the majority of their free time. Working independently, they meticulously-crafted stunning works of art.Ram generated charming comics in their own style, with wry and pun-filled humor written the old fashioned way. Ram released these saucy experiments into the Creative Commons for everyone to enjoy and remix. People started to notice, much to Ram's delight.Vas on the other hand, went on long hikes to take pictures of local flowers that would then be processed through neural style-transfer to create magical floral photography. Printed on metal-coated paper or wooden blocks, these images caused a sensation. The buzz ultimately lead Vas to become the first AI artist in Central Minnesota to exhibit in a gallery setting. So popular were these works, that it led to multiple extended exhibits and a radio interview.Unfortunately for both of them, AI art and lit went mainstream, and everything went down the drain; in some ways, quite literally. For this reason, and because of a rather horrifying AI training gig, Vas abandoned their acclaimed neural style-transfer photography work. Heartbroken, disgusted and frustrated, Vas changed course and made it their quest to help other artists navigate the sea of slop.Check out the events page to see when the next presentation will take place, or contact Velvet Rasputin LLC for presentations tailored to your business or organization.
Velvet Rasputin LLC Creative Services
Historical Poetry ProgramsIf your organization wants to teach folks about local Minnesota history in a fun, engaging, and creative way, Velvet Rasputin LLC's historical poetry programs might be a great fit! Each program is an hour long and will introduce participants to a simple poetic style, while educating them about their community's origins. It's great activity for aspiring historians and poets of all ages.Look for these informative presentations in the events section, or contact Velvet Rasputin LLC to bring this event to your town.This program was developed with a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant and with assistance from the Central Minnesota Arts Board Teaching Artists Roster Program. Velvet Rasputin LLC works with cultural, heritage and historical organizations to further refine this program.
Velvet Rasputin LLC Creative Services
Lyrical Trash Art Group ActivitiesVelvet Rasputin LLC creative director, and lyrical trash artist, Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz and event assistant, Naomi Johnson, enjoy presenting at events that promote recycling trash treasures and build bridges between groups of people that may not necessarily get along. Contact Velvet Rasputin LLC for information on how our team can design the perfect event for your business, organization, or private group.Clients may be charged an extra fee if they wish to use new materials for their group activity.Lyricality Sensory Tool activities developed in conjunction with Lyricality.
Sample Activities
Velvet Rasputin LLC Creative Services
Drag StoriesAccording to Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz (Tanamá Kao), "Drag is the way I exist; it was imposed on me as a nonbinary person since childhood. As I aged, I embraced drag to explore my curiosity about gender, to confidently navigate gendered spaces and most importantly, to provide me with a creative outlet."
Testimonials❤️"Those of us lucky enough to run across these stories are invited to come into (Vas's) looking-glass world if we dare. I hope you do... I dare ya." - Trish Lewis❤️"(The spoken word performance of "Survive") doesn’t just throw glitter at your face; it shoves it down your throat, kicks your soul in rhinestone heels, and somehow kisses your forehead after. "Survive" is less a poem and more a smoky backstage monologue from a punk-rock Lazarus, resurrected via red feather boa and sheer audacity. It waltzes through suicidal ideation, closet trauma, glam rock salvation, and queer community magic with the confidence of someone who’s made peace with their inner goblin and dressed it in flared pants. It’s raw, unruly, gloriously messy like divine drag at a dive bar sermon!" - Kelly Travis
About Vas's Drag StoriesAs a drag and burlesque performer since 1988, Vas has explored this complex and expansive art form full of Black, Indigenous and Latin American influence within the context of spoken word expression and performance art. Vas continues to share firsthand accounts of their experience with drag as both an identity and a creative outlet, with educational presentations that are crafted to be age and context appropriate.Vas seeks to dispel misconceptions about drag created by its corporate gentrification that are actively contributing to erasure of the culture, as well as its contribution to fashion and in helping queer folks navigate cisheteronormative optics and spaces. As the most misunderstood form of visual code-switching in US culture, and the one that most directly affects everyone who wears clothes, drag's influence should not be underestimated.To experience Vas's powerful presentations on drag, contact Velvet Rasputin LLC for more information.
Velvet Rasputin LLC Public Events
St Cloud Pride Summer Fun Fest!
St Cloud Public Library - St Cloud, MN - 6/22/2025 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Join Vas at the Velvet Rasputin table to purchase zines, chapbooks, and to learn about some fun projects they are working on.
No Cookies For You! With Coffee At The Folly
The Folly - Moorhead, MN - 6/22/2025 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Join Vas for a conversation on fostering diversity, creating an environment of inclusivity within progressive spaces, and learning how to accept discomfort in the process of developing allyship as an alternative to destructive praise-seeking behaviors.
Hispanic Heritage Festival
Lake George, MN - St Cloud, MN - 9/13/2025 3:00 p.m.
Join Vas and Naomi at the Velvet Rasputin table to purchase zines, chapbooks, art and to make maraca-inspired instruments out of recycled materials.
Velvet Rasputin LLC Publishing
DisclaimerNote from founder: Many of our literary works are not intended for unsupervised children. If you are under 18, adult supervision is strongly recommended.Our works often deal with sex, issues of identity, trauma and other difficult subjects in a frank manner. They also may be spiritually objectionable to certain faiths. If you are sensitive to content that may be offensive to your sensibilities or triggering, then you are respectfully asked to visit a different section of this website instead.If you are a parent, and are concerned about your child accessing our material, visit our child safety section for resources on how to protect your family on the web.We are not taking unsolicited submissions at this time.
Short-Format Chapbooks, Zines and Mini-Comics
The I Can Can
A chapbook celebrating friendship and saltiness. Recommended ages for 14+Homeless Bound 1 and 2
A firsthand account of one man's homelessness journey by Jonathan Wilson. Recommended ages for 14+Friolencia
A bilingual chapbook by Vas Littlecrow about violently cold winters and spooky things.
Recommended ages for 14+My Damage Contains Contractual Calluses
A raw and illustrated autobiographical chapbook by Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz about sexism, racialism, false allies and the will to survive against all odds out of sheer spite. - Recommended for ages 17+This Was Your Life
A frank sheet-o 'zine inspired by the tracts of Jack T. Chick, with a much different flavor of Christ-follower philosophy. - Recommended for ages 17+Not For Kids!
A sheet-o zine on why Vas was not on Web 2.0 social media for a long time. - Recommended for ages 17+How To Turn Mangoes Into Cheesecake.
An adorable story about Vas's dad and his insatiable love for mangoes. - Recommended for All audiences.Protest Trolls: A zany comic 'zine about the stupidity of politics and oblivious rich people. - - Recommended for ages 14+ (Out of Print)Confident Customer Loving: A little motivational comic about Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz. - Recommended for ages 14+Poe Takes A Trip: A naughty ninja kitty finds a bunch of wild mushrooms. Will he find enlightenment, or will Poe's Master disapprove of his magical trip? - Recommended for ages 14+
Other PublicationsIt Takes All Kinds
The Velvet Rasputin/Catnose Comics team made multiple comics contributions to multiple issues
Long-Form Comics And Webcomics
Velvet Rasputin LLC Comics and ZNLArts Preservation Project
DisclaimerNote from founder: Our webcomics are not intended for unsupervised children. If you are under 18, adult supervision is strongly recommended.Our works often deal with issues of sex, identity, trauma and other difficult subjects in a frank manner. They also may be spiritually objectionable to certain faiths. If you are sensitive to content that may be offensive to your sensibilities or triggering, then I respectfully ask you to visit a different section of this website instead.If you are a parent, and are concerned about your child accessing our material, visit our child safety section for resources on how to protect your family on the web.
Praise For Velvet Rasputin LLC Comics And Graphic Novels
❤️ "There is (a) boundary-pushing, experimental quality to (these) comics that I like…" - E.R.
❤️ "Reading Rasputin Catamite right now and, as a mixed-ancestry Siberia-born Cryptojewish Russian: nice work! I sincerely appreciate that everyone in RC is kind of ugly and shabby and has weird noses, because that’s pretty damn accurate. Also A+ on all the Russian minorities! My Tatar and Jewish heart sings to see more than the default Slav." - I.G.
❤️ "(Rasputin Barxotka) It is something so unique, hard-edged, and affecting that it defies even the multiple genres in which it might fall. It is not for the squeamish, but it is something that deftly shows a part of the world and the human spectrum of emotions and sexuality that most might not (but should) consider." -N.K.
❤️"(Rasputin Catamite) keeps you hooked paradoxically with its playful, colorful and funny art style where many characters have gigantic noses, while having really disturbing subject matter that includes gore, implied rape, anti-semitism, self-harm, BDSM and other heavy subjects. However, there is a method to the madness in that the violence is graphically displayed to show the messed up society that the main characters are living in, and based on their situations what morally grey choices they have to make to achieve their own personal salvation... The skillful mastery of this comic however is that it does not make these characters into stereotypes and play them for cheap laughs; I felt their pain, and despite their flaws understood where they came from because the comic has a very sociological approach of nurture affecting nature." - W.A.
❤️ "All the characters are very well written and enjoyable to read. Even the characters who would be the worst human beings have likable traits about them, and I like that sort of realism that's often overlooked in most media." - Gummy
Our comic books and graphic novels are currently out of print, but are available as webcomics at no cost.
Contact Velvet Rasputin LLC
Business open by appointment only
Se habla español
Postal:
Velvet Rasputin LLC,
PO Box 222,
Rice, MN 56367
Text:
(320) 422-1246
Email:
Send your email correspondence by using the form below. We will return your inquiry within 3-5 business days.
Velvet Rasputin LLC - Privacy
Privacy
We will not share your identifiable personal information with anyone outside of this website, unless we specifically ask, and you grant us permission to do so by using one of third-party vendors, to purchase our products, or by contacting us. We may retain personal information provided by visitors indefinitely, unless they specifically contact us to do otherwise. If you participate in social media activities, win a prize from one of our contest/giveaways, we will only publish your first name and last initial, unless you voluntarily provide information such as your public user name and website.If you send guest art or, if we find it on the web, we may publish your name, art and website, along with any promotional information that you choose to give us.We track website traffic using cookies including those from third-parties such as Doubleclick, Google Analytics, Quancast, Spoonflower and Amazon.com with monetized links and banners. If this is an issue for you, we suggest that you use an ad-blocker, cookie blocking program or anonymizer for your browser. We use third-party vendors for much of our merchandise and advertising. Please refer to their individual privacy policies if you have any questions about how your information will be used by them.
Velvet Rasputin LLC - Child Safety
Child Safety
Note from founder: This website is not intended for unsupervised children. If you are a parent, and you are upset that you found your child on this website, I commend you. This means that you are taking an interest in your family’s well-being on the Internet. Because of this, I want to give you resources to help you cope with your child’s visit to this website.Our comics are not age-appropriate for most kids. For older teens, I strongly urge parental guidance when making a decision about visiting this site. If your children have been exposed to the content here, discuss how your family values relate to the themes shown. These conversations may also help your child articulate struggles they are facing, but feel too ashamed or scared to speak about. I hope that the materials below are of help to your family.
Resources For Families
Kiddle: Kid-Safe Web Browsing
Zoodle: Kid-Safe Web Browsing
Blue Campaign: Identify and Fight Human Trafficking
Crisis and Suicide Lines
Recognizing Sexual Abuse
Learn About Self-Harm
Keeping Kids Out Of Gangs
Coming Out as Gay or Lesbian: Common Questions from Parents - Tips are also applicable to parents of transgender, non-binary or other queer children. They might also be helpful for parents of children who unexpectedly develop non-binary physical features. This info sheet also includes a non-judgemental section for parents who feel morally or emotionally unable to support their child through this process.
Velvet Rasputin LLC - Legal Information
Charitable Giving and Social Engagement Policies
Velvet Rasputin LLC policy does not allow for business resources to be used for political action committees, or charitable giving to avoid conflicts of interest. Insomuch, Velvet Rasputin LLC will decline all requests for solicitations of this nature. Members, employees and contractor may engage in these activities, but must provide a disclaimer which includes this policy on any posts made using authorized business channels.
Copyright and License
Velvet Rasputin LLC policy does not to allow commercial use of any of its characters or properties without express written permission, payment of licensing fees and/or approval. Commercial use includes promotional campaigns for properties outside of Velvet Rasputin’s scope, unauthorized translations, fundraiser campaigns, crowdfunding projects, products merchandising, inclusion in publications whether digital and/or printed and, other forms of monetization. If we are unable or unwilling to reply to permission requests, never assume that we will grant permission by default. We pursue all infringement aggressively.While we are very protective of our intellectual property rights, we do grant a general limited license for Velvet Rasputin characters and publications to be used for non-commercial fan art, educational purposes, minor comic cameos, parody, criticism and personal art portfolios that are not being used to sell specific products or services. This general limited license does not imply endorsement or, transferal of copyright to any party outside of Velvet Rasputin’s properties, and may be revoked at any time for any reason.The characters in our work are fictional and any similarities are purely coincidental. Any mention of actual companies, locations, trademarks, individuals and groups in our works are either satirical or fictionalized, and do not represent endorsement.Be sure to contact us if you do use our characters regardless of the reason, so we can keep track of usage, or so we may answer any questions.
Velvet Rasputin LLC - Special Events
Event ended. Thanks to all who attended. See you in 2025!
Thank you
Thank you for your inquiry. You will receive a response within 48 hours. Unsolicited commercial inquiries will not receive a response.