MY HEAD ON A PIKE

This semester in my Sculpture: Modeling to Casting class, we made busts of ourselves them made a mold out of it. I specifically took this course just for this project. I wanted to really learn this entire process because it opens the door to making crazy ass mask molds for my own sick artistic needs. I should have documented the process a little bit better but here's generally what I did or can remember.

 Step 1: Make A Clay Bust (mine is a self portrait)

This part really doesn't need much explaining. Make something out of clay and keep it moist by covering it with wet towels and a plastic bag. This isn't the greatest likeness of myself but it's not bad for my first attempt at a self portrait in clay. One issue was that I had too deep of recesses cut for the eye lids. I'll explain more on why that's an issue later in the process.

Step 2: Cover Damp Clay With Silicone Mixture

Make a mixture of the following:

• 2 tubes of pure silicone
• 4 ounces of naphtha
• 20 drops of glycerin
• dime sized squirt of acrylic paint

The point of covering your bust with silicone is so that you have a flexible mold that you can reuse over and over which will easily stretch off of your final product. Smear that mixture with a brush all over your head. It will take 30 minutes to an hour to dry enough to add more layers. You want add as many layers so as to lose all features. It should look like one big smooth blob of silicone. For mine, it took about 7 or 8 layers. The different colors of paint help to let you know how thick the silicone mold is. Kind of looks like that skinless dude from Hellrasier!

Step 3: Cover Silicone Layer With Plaster

Plaster is the next step. It adds support to your silicone mold because it's too flexible on it's own. You have to put thin metal shims down the middle of the your clay bust. Go along the sides as there will be a line in your clay that you don't want running down your face. With the shim barrier in place, slap on a layer of plaster on one half of your piece. Once dry, carefully pull out the shims and grab an exact-o knife, box cutter or something else mad sharp. Cut smoothly all the way through to the clay along the edge of the plaster line. Next, take some vaseline and smear the edge of the plaster very lightly. Then gunk the other half with plaster. The vaseline will keep the two halves of plaster from sticking to each other. Once that half is dry, you tap thin wood shivs into the crack to pry apart the plaster.

Step 4: Fill The Void

Remove all the clay. You don't have to be gentle as you won't need the clay again. Make sure your silicone is really clean and dried. You should then lube the entire inside... uh huh huh huh. I sprayed a thin layer of aerosol dry lubricant inside of the silicone mold. This is so your filling won't stick so badly to the inside of your mold. Put your two halves together, silicone inside of the plaster, and put a strap around the whole thing so it won't split apart or leak. I used one of my belts and the foam slightly pushed the mold apart so I suggest using a ratchet strap.

Once your mold is prepped and set upright, fill it with whatever you want! Concrete, plaster, tofu... whatever grabs you. I chose expanding foam gap filler because it's cheap, lightweight and easy to apply. If you decide to use this super expanding foam you have two options. First is to cover the end of your mold with something so the foam won't escape and forces itself into every crevice which makes a smoother surface. The second, which I went with, is to leave the hole you pour it into open. This is messy and will ooze out of the bottom. It will get into the crevices pretty well but it doesn't have the pressure built up inside. Thus there will be small air pockets and interesting surface textures. I was going for a macabre look so that's exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of this step. I wish I would have as it was really neat looking oozing all over.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

After 24 hours, pop off the strap that binds your mold together, remove the plaster shell and delicately peel off the silicone. This is where you will see if you made too deep of crevices like I did with my eyelids. When I pulled out the foam head some of the silicone ripped off in the highly detailed or deep areas. This could have been avoided if I would have used the lubricant on my first attempt, but oh well.

Now you have a foam head! You can repeat steps 4 and 5 as often as you want now that you have a reusable mold. Lastly comes the decorating. Foam is easy to cut, sculpt, melt, burn, stab and paint into whatever you want. I used Sharpies for most of the color detail work as they're the greatest pens on Earth. I did the final bloody neck touches with craft paint.

I'm pretty pleased with the final product. I wanted a creepy head and that's just what I got. I ended up making three versions and the below was my favorite. Now my skewered heads are an official Halloween installment at my house. Feel free to drive by (1316 N. St. Paul, Wichita KS) and see my lovely display of death! Vlad the Impaler would be proud.

PRE HALLOWEEN BASH 2012: AFTERMATH

Well for those of you that missed our Pre Halloween Bash 2012 last weekend, it was a hit! There were a confirmed sixty-five attendants and that's not counting those that I can't remember. We floated the keg, tore through five cases of PBR and the shots poured down those ice blocks like great Kansas gully washers. There was only one fight incident that almost went down but was avoided once we ran off the culprits. It was at the end of the party around five in the morning anyways, so it didn't ruin things. But after hearing all the good feedback, I do believe we will be doing this again next year. So you've got a year to get your costumes and beer guts ready for an even bigger and badder bash!

Only one person took a small amount of pictures on her cell phone. So unfortunately these are all we have to document the event with.

 

BABY DISPOSAL

Last weekend I went on a trip to Cedar Point to ride some rollercoasters. Long story short, it was awesome. On one of my flights back to Wichita, I found the below sign in the lavatory of the airplane just above the toilet.

*tee hee*

PRE HALLOWEEN BASH 2012

Come one, come all to our first ever Pre-Halloween Bash!

Kegs, ice shot blocks, beer pong, drunken hopscotch, Rock Band, loud music, tons of room (three buildings on a half acre lot) and of course, plenty of twisted shenanigans.

OPEN INVITE:
Bring as many people as you like and stay as long as you want. Plus, we also have plenty of room to crash if needed.

The only stipulation is that you MUST DRESS UP!
(you don't have to be elaborate or anything)

STECHER ZOMBIE ENGAGEMENT

This was a photoshoot series I did this Summer for the Stechers, Rick and Kelsey. They both dig zombie flicks, especially Rick. So they wanted their engagement photos based around the concept of the undead. Here's the story.

The scene begins with the Stechers on a date to the movies (that's what they did on their first date and many many times after) at the Warren Theater. Upon leaving, they're surprised by an attack of the living dead! You might think they would be running for the hills, but these rotting buffoons picked the wrong couple. This ass kicking pair had driven Rick's Zombie Outbreak Response Vehicle, a decked out cop bike which just so happened to have a couple of corpse fighting instruments stowed away. Needless to say, this small trio of zombies didn't know what hit 'em.

Check out the slideshow below!



There are actually 39 total photos in this series but these were the 19 that really told the story. Plus, that gives those people that know the Stecher's a fun thing to discover in their private collection. On a side note, my brother Richard is the main zombie that the couple first encounters. The other two were friends of Rick and Kelsey. I also want to give big ass props to the make-up work done by Richard Hoffman. You will be seeing the two of us working together again for sure.

I have to admit, this was by far the best wedding related shoot that I have ever done. I love this kind of work so keep those ideas coming! And of course, anyone looking for creative (not necessarily creepy, unless that's what you dig) ways to do standard photos like for engagements, senior photos, business shots, you name it, I'm your man.  

*ahem* 

 Sorry, I had to do a little bit of hustlin' and stick in a shameless plug. I gotz kidz to feed man!

NEW MEDIUM

So I've started expanding my artistic vision as of late and I'm investing in all new pro equipment. I created the image below as a promo poster for another company that wanted to rep what I do. Check it out and see if you can tell what my new art medium is. Yes it's obvious... I just wanted to talk it up a bit.

The magic word is... video. Some of you might have already known since I did it lightly at my last full time day job. But the difference this time is that I can do whatever I want. Ya, ponder on that one a bit.

p.s. I just love that hoodie.

GRAPHIC ARTISTS DEFINED

I was asked in one of my college classes what I thought a quality graphic designer is and what they do. Since I do consider that to be one of my main artistic functions, I thought I should give it a serious response. Let me try to relay my point of view.

Our world is slathered with advertising as far as the eye can see. It infects every part of our daily lives, from the food we eat to the clothes on our backs. It is almost impossible to step in or out of our homes without seeing something tainted by a design. As disheartening as that might seem, take solace in knowing that there are talented graphic designers at the helm. Not all of them are worthy of course, but that can be found with any profession. The most savvy of these creative knights constantly battle with normalcy and banality. Their weapons are computers and tablets, sketchpads and pencils, all wielded by unbridled minds. Graphic designers are hybrids between artists and businessmen, held together by pure creativity and raw problem solving skills. So instead of seeing our culture as polluted by design, perceive it as a world made more interesting by art.

To some, graphics artists seem like sell outs, peddling their creative minds and artistic talents to anyone with a wad of cash. But instead of seeing them as imaginative whores, they should be revered as champions for modern art. They took a lifestyle that was synonymous with the odd who were always struggling to scrap together a living and adapted them into respected professionals that can make a steady and decent living. As a result, they are now heeded as creative authorities. Their talents are in high demand and their skills can now be honed in esteemed colleges across the globe. This essentially means that fresh minds are marching into society on a yearly basis, bringing new concepts and brightening our communities with visual refinement. Thus if I were asked what a good graphic designer does, I would declare with fervor that they make every inch of our world beautiful and do so with dignity and respect.

PALADIN SAYS DADDY

I know it's just another baby video and everyone thinks their baby needs to be recorded 24/7. I really don't buy into all that. But I had to be a little selfish, cash in a "proud father" token and capture this moment. My son Paladin has said dada a plethora of times but it has always been mainly chattering. This is the first time that he really said daddy, which is then followed by the standard growling that he does so often. Oh and this is just two weeks shy of his first birthday.

Sorry for the video quality. I didn't have the 7D on hand, just my crappy phone.

DEFUNCT JUDICIAL SYSTEM

We all seem to know that our judicial system is corrupt and defunct. For those that say otherwise at least have some sort of basic fear or distrust of the law. What's worse is that it's taught in colleges across the country that we live under a broken system. I say this because I've attended two different colleges, a community college in Virginia and a state university in Kansas, and each had multiple professors that championed it's ineffectiveness. 

What I don't understand is that if most people have issues with the law and professors are teaching that it's a broken system, then why hasn't something been done about it? We just keep passing on our crap from generation to generation. Has the peoples real rights and our power to keep our government in check been left that far by the wayside?

I have no real answers because I am but a peon in the grand scheme of things. Though that mentality right there is probably the real issue. We have been bred into weak mindless sheep. But my guess is that most people just simply don't care. Ignorance is bliss. Anyways, it was just a thought.

If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.
-Louis D. Brandeis

DILDO BUSH

Last semester I had a basic intro art class, Foundation 3-D Design. In said class we worked with everything from wood to plaster. On one of our earlier projects we had a choice between 4 different concepts /mediums. Everyone in class, and I do mean everyone, chose to do these cute little figurines made of Sculpey. Now of course I always choose a different path so I picked an entirely different task. My project required that I take a flexible semi-enclosed object and fill it with something that changes its form. Like filling a shirt with sand and molding it into something odd. Now before you scoff, this project wasn't my best work by any means. I just thought it was funny. Let me jump right to the final product then I'll explain more.

Yep, that's a dildo bush alright, sitting on my stove. It's not an intricate piece so I won't even attempt to bore you with trivial details. I simply filled colorful condoms (flavored I might add) with ping pong balls and attached them to a red wooden block. How's that for art. Bah!

Filling the condoms sucked. You try taking a slimy, flaccid, hard to hold onto, easily tear-able tube and shove little smooth spheres into it. But it got a good laugh when I unveiled it in class and that's all that I really wanted. Poke fun at the art institution? Yes please!