- Food Photographs -

Recently, I had the chance to do some food photographs for a restaurant in town called Dano's Yo-Sammies (The interpretation of this cryptic name is, as I understand it, as follows: The restaurant is owned by a guy named Dan - the "Dano's" part, they specialize in frozen yogurt - the "Yo" part, and they feature a customizable sammy - as in sandwich - as part of their menu).

While I was eating at Dano's one day, I remarked to the store manager that their current posters didn't really justify the food they served. She acknowledged that they had been taken with a camera phone, and agreed they looked way too dark. I left with an arrangement to come back and take some new ones for them.

It took a couple weeks to get things arranged, because the restaurant management had several events they were focusing on, their booth at the local July Jamboree, for example. Then the general manager left, and I had to reopen communications with Dan the owner, who is a busy guy. Finally, he just asked me to show up whichever day I thought was best, and tell whoever was working the counter to accommodate me.

It seemed like a Tuesday evening would be calm enough. I wanted to use natural light if possible, so I went when the sun was getting low. Unfortunately, a touring group Taiwanese folks arrived at the same time, and kept the one cook busy for a while. In between surges, though, he was able to whip up some prime examples of their monster burger, sammie, bratwurst, and hamburger.

At first, it bothered me that the food wasn't turning out as McDonald's-ad-esque as I would have liked. The burgers were stuffed, a bit lopsided, and way too full of mustard. I considered coming back a different day when the cook had more time to add some extra TLC, but I decided to see what I could do with the meal at hand. In the end, I kind of appreciated the fact that there was an authentic air to the finished photos. The food looks tasty, but also very real. I like that the sandwiches in the photos looks like the actual food you get when you order. Dan liked it too, "beautiful work," he called it, so the extra time spent editing out stray mustard drops was worth it.

- Logos, massage style - 

Recently, I was contacted by Ashley, of Deeper Wellness, a massage place in Cedar City, Utah. They were looking for a logo that was relaxing but interesting, that they could put on a website, t-shirts and pamphlets. We went through a few general ideas (I'll only share 4 here) to explore what could be possible:

But really, what they wanted was something simple,

mostly green and gray,

and preferably containing a spiral. So we tried some simpler ones.

And the third one was "perfect." So, I prettied it up, and we played with the colors to come up with the final vector design.

(Imagine this with a white background. For some reason, the blog is displaying it with light gray, and I don't have time at the moment to figure out why. The .jpg has a completely white background.)

Anyway, I'm glad this place is nearby. That way, I can drive over and see the logo in action, as soon as they get everything printed.

Finished Betty bust

- Finished Betty Bust - 

 Three copies of the Betty Bust have now been delivered to the Betty McDonald Pre-Med Institute at Southern Utah University. The bronze powder was so fun to work with on this one, as the busts seemed to come alive as they were worked through the chocolate-looking stage of being freshly cast, to a steel wool burnishing stage, and finally receiving a green and black paint patina. They really shine!

Finished Starchild Skull

- Finished Starchild Skull -

I got this cast, painted, and mounted on a hardwood base a little before Christmas, so that it could be delivered to its final recipient on time. They tell me he called it "the coolest thing I own," which of course makes me feel happy as well. It was modeled according to the backstory I created for it, hence the ritualistic mark on the forehead and tied jaw.
 



I did a slush casting on this one, for a hollow, and very realistic skull-like feel. That was a trick, to be sure, as I wanted to do the whole thing in a 1 part mold, with the only openings being the hidden mounting hole and the foramen magnum - the natural opening an the bottom of a skull. It didn't leave much room for seeing what was going on inside the mold. I had to go by feel on that.

The jaw was made to be detachable. I think that adds a lot to the realism. Plus, it's fun to make him talk. The base was made from a hardwood poplar with a red mahogany stain. The mounting bracket plugs into an unobtrusive hole at the base of the skull. It can be placed on a table, as shown, or rotated and mounted on a wall. Either position holds the skull in a sturdy, horizontal position.

Starchild Skull

- Starchild Skull -

I've just wrapped up the silicone cast for the Betty bust sculpt, and already it's time to put the Monster Clay back to work. The next job is an order from a couple who want a truly unique Christmas gift for their brother/brother-in-law. The brother is into mysterious artifacts, cryptozoological creatures, collectible figures and all that. So we started discussing options.

Maybe a skull, we decided. Something some demonic sort of figure could have left behind. I did some quick sketches with Sculptris...

But none of them looked like something to get truly excited about. There are a million demon skulls floating around the internet.


What about some kind of REAL mystery to draw from?

I did bunches of research on legendary creatures and unidentified remains from around the world, that have been attributed to everything
from Nessie to the Montauk Monster. But in the end, the obvious choice was my dear friend, the Starchild skull.

This fellow is around 900 years old, was found in the 1930s, and currently has a whole slew of professional researchers looking into his identity over at the Starchild project.

Besides the obvious strange shape of the skull. Starchild is reported to have a brain cavity 30% bigger than the average adult, bone that is stronger than a human's (while being only 1/3 as thick),  and extra large inner-ear cavities that may have enabled him to hear ultra high sounds.

Others have attempted to recreate the full skull, of course, but I'm trying to come at it a different way - creating a back story that will inform the way I approach the sculpt.Imagine that the Starchild was not human at all (as some suggest), but rather one of two expelled individuals from an undiscovered race. A roving tribe of humans came across the strange creatures, and revered them as a messengers from the gods. After the creatures' death, their bones were turned into ritualistic items, believed to have magical properties. But when a new leader rose in the tribe, he had all major identifying features smashed from the bones, so that others would never know of the "small people" who possessed more power than he. The lost pieces of one skull were saved, however, and have now come to light, to reveal the full story of the Starchildren's identity.

Something like this...

This is going to be fun.

Betty Bust

- Bust for Pre-Med Institute - 

My project for the last few days has been a small bust of Betty McDonald, namesake of the Betty McDonald Pre-Med Institute at Southern Utah University. The Institute needed to add a bit of flair to the decor of their front room, and also plans on presenting copies of the bust as congratulation gifts to students graduating the program. A nice gesture, I think.

I've got some refining to do still, but I think it's coming along nicely. I've stayed in close contact with the Institute director, to make sure the bust is shaping up the way they pictured it.

Since the institute will need many copies of the bust, and doesn't want to break the bank, we're going to go with cold cast bronze (a resin-based casting) on this one. That way, the finished product will look like real bronze statues - because they'll have real bronze in them - without ever having to send them off to a foundry.

- Shrunken Head Earrings -

I often find myself straddling a line between fine art, and fun art, but I am a details guy either way. I enjoy getting lost in a micro world - which is where these guys were born - so if they're a little kitschy, that's alright with me. They were also therapeutic.

 My affinity with shrunken heads goes way back to my first ever visit to California, and a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. Rather than spooky, the real-life shrunken head in their window looked almost peaceful to me, just chillin', with a half smile on its face. They've been my buddies ever since.

Experimenting right now with neon-colored versions. We'll see how that turns out.