A Walk Around the Studio

I love seeing other artists work spaces.

It's always interesting what you can spot laying around.

                             

                
This is my work space where I do the majority of my work. 

                                     
I try to surround myself with table surfaces because I'm always working on more than one thing at a time.

I think the pictures speak for themselves.

 

 
I have a lot of in progress pieces all over the place along with some of my favorite things.

Hopefully you enjoyed this little tour.

How to ship?

One of the biggest issues when shipping a sculpture is survival. Will it make it to its destination intact? The best packing in the world can't always guarantee safe travels. There are too many variables between point A and point B. Check YouTube for some "worse case scenarios".

I like to make my own boxes and internal support structures. I also like to include some detailed pictures of the sculpture in relation to the box. I want the recipient to know the best way to remove their newly purchased piece.

How to ship SecondHand Superhero? This one worried me. I did have a fairly substantial framework hidden inside her "jet stream", but this is the kind of piece that had to be supported. This gal needs a seat!

A piece of Masonite was cut to the inside dimension of the box. I then securely attached some thick cardboard tubing and a "seat". The seat was then covered in a soft material so as not to damage the paintwork.

Upholstery foam is then hot glued to the Masonite to prevent her from shifting around. I wrapped a soft material around her right leg and then securely taped her directly to the seat and upright support.

 

 

 

This is the instruction sheet I made in Adobe Illustrator. This was taped to the underside of the box lid (not pictured)

Once SecondHand Superhero was snug in her shipping box it was time for the big dump. StyroFoam popcorn! The box lid is taped on - shipping label attached and fingers crossed.

...and she made it to her destination safe and sound.

 

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INSPIRED book by Jon Schindehette COMING SOON!

Back in August 2013 a challenge was put up on the ArtOrder website by Jon Schindehette. The challenge was simply to make a piece of artwork based on what inspires you. I chose to sculpt something personal from my past and called it "Commode Cowboy" (see post from 2-2-14).

As it turns out Jon ended up turning this challenge into an attractive book that gives back to the contributors by including them in the profits! The ArtOrder Shop is taking pre orders now for the INSPIRATION book.

 

 

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MALEFICIUM

 

I am very excited to be included in the fourth annual Maleficium Dark Art Exhibition curated by J Anthony Kosar. There is an amazing collection of big talent contributing to the show. My newest piece - Stooley McGhouly in "Skippin' Town" - will be on display.

 

 

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Commode Cowboy - ArtOrder Inspiration Challenge

This was made for Jon Schindehetti's Inspiration Challenge over at his website ArtOrder. The challenge was simply "what inspires you." It turned out to be a very personal piece for me. I am inspired by many things and had some ideas that were fairly complex and outlandish. Considering the amount of time I had and listening to my wife's advice I decided to keep this small. The idea that stuck out most was an old picture of me when I was in my single digits. I was sitting on the toilet smiling big wearing a huge white cowboy hat. I felt this would make a visually cohesive piece and it did indeed fit the bill for the Inspiration Challenge. Let me briefly explain.

The bathroom at my parents house was a very interesting space. The wallpaper was made up of images from early 1900's Woolworth catalogs. For me it was both fascinating and a bit creepy. My Mom and Dad are both very handy and creative people and made most of the cabinetry in the bathroom. Just in front of the toilet were two floor to ceiling cabinet doors they had made out of pine which they stained. The patterns in those wood doors held countless monsters, aliens and landscapes.  It was also a great place to get lost in a comic book or sketch away using one of those wood grain creatures as reference.  Using that as a jumping off point - on to the nuts and bolts.

               

The toilet was made out of scrap plywood and pine. I made it in sections to better work over the forms which I would latter join together permanently. The tank was fabricated from PETG plastic sheet and the seat from Ren board.

               
Here is the toilet glued and seamed together. The cowboys armature is soldered copper pipe. The lower legs are wire from bed springs. The body was built up using bondo which is inexpensive, can be shaped easily and is quite sturdy.

The toilet with its first coat of polyester resin to seal up the wood.

First test fit after the toilet had been painted. I used an automotive base coat for the white and a two part urethane clear coat to give the surface a deep shine. The toilet paper is manipulated steel sheet which was then painted with acrylics after (acid etch) priming. His head and legs are Super Sculpey while his arms and hands are Apoxie Sculpt.

I like to make my own eyeballs. Here are the cowboys nearing completion.

Some of the stacked books in progress.

Monster belt buckle made out of Aves Apoxie Sculpt and painted with acrylics.

I had a really fun time on this one. This piece turned out to be a very personal one. It made me consider what really inspires me. For me it's my childhood. Growing up with two of the best parents and two of the best brothers. It's realizing how far my Mom and Dad would go to make us happy. It's the magic of what a great time you can have going up to the park with your family in search of polywogs and crawfish. It's simply sitting on the toilet with some of your favorite books or sketching an adventurous scene that no one in this or any lifetime has ever thought of.
...and believing it's all true.

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MALEFICIUM DARK ART EXHIBITION

I am thrilled to be a part of J. Anthony Kosar's third annual Dark Art Exhibition. Anthony is a terrific artist and has pulled together some top-notch talent. For artist bio's, details and directions visit WWW.KOSARTGALLERY.COM

 

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SPECTRUM FANTASTIC ART LIVE 2!

Another fun-filled time!

My beautiful helpers assisting with booth set up.

 

Our booth

 

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