Well holy crap! Since I've gotten back to work on this piece the followers on Instagram has almost doubled! Now go and make ye fishers of men! But seriously, the interest people have shown along with the complements they have posted has really geared me up to finish this piece. Plus, who would have thought that Instagram would be such a helpful resource. The Tyrannosaurus had been put aside so that I could finish a couple other projects: the Triceratops doorknocker for David's new home, some Steampunkey bugs, and a human heart pendant. While on the shelf, this dinosaur became very intimidating and it'd seriously still be sitting there today if it weren't for some friends and Instagrammars asking me about it. It just goes to show, what a profound effect just a little bit of free encouragement can do. The last time I blogged about this piece was back...
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As with most gift giving holidays, I am unprepared. Such was the Valentines Day "holiday". My favorite thing about Valentines day is that my wife's birthday is right around there. I can disguise a beyond-late birthday gift as an on-time Valentine gift. In fact, maybe as a global community we can employ my vehicle in-dash clock method: The clock is set 7 minutes fast so every time I'm running 7 minutes late, I'm actually right on time. Here... just... while I'm not looking, just move the date forward a few days. Then, all my fantastic beyond-last minute gift ideas would become fantastic on-time gifts! Let's face it, last minute gift ideas are always the best because,"they'd better be!" The big ideas this Valentines day came from one of my mom's suggestions. A while back she suggested that I make some sculptures like you see of hands holding a heart. It...
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David. David who? David who just bought my first functional triceratops door knocker! Ain't that cool? Thanks David. He contacted me a couple weeks ago about the knocker. The Triceratops is his favorite dinosaur and he was excited to see my beginning attempt at a triceratops door knocker. I was scared to mold it myself though, I didn't want to risk destroying ANOTHER piece. Also, it's a knocker, getting banged around is it's primary function... it had to be done right or it would just fall apart. I looked into having it professionally molded and cast which turns out to be a pricey endeavor. In turn, for me to make a profit, I would have to sell a product at a price that I myself could not afford and that just doesn't jive. So, although mold making is scary and terribly messy (it's SO messy) the most cost effective thing...
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While gearing up for today's post, I tried to think of the perfect title while still keeping it modest. I feel terrible dropping down to one post a week, but I've evened that out with how good I feel about my most recent project that I'm about to share with you. If you caught my last post then you'll already know I've been sculpting a Spiney Orb Weaver spider; it's one of the few native critters in my South Florida neighborhood, besides myself. Like me, this spider has no heightened sense of style nor NASCAR-like driving skills on I-95. We like hanging-out around pools and we're lovers not fighters; I've played with this abundant species all my life and if they were poisonous... I'd be dead. The "awesomeness" I feel about this sculpture is partly due to the kinship I feel for the spider itself. I was born and raised in Hollywood Florida. "Where?!" Yes......
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So far, now that I'm using an actual sulfur-free clay, the differences in the mold making process seem minimal. The first half of the mold didn't come out sticky when I removed the clay, but even with mold release applied the second half stuck and I had to cut the mold apart. I'm still hopeful that when I get answers back from the Smooth-On people I'll learn some new techniques to apply. There are 2 saving graces for this Hawk Lighter Case: I sculpted it 3 years ago and it's the thickest lighter cases I've made. This allows more room for error in the mold making and casting processes. There aren't many undercuts in this piece which means less opportunities for bubbles to get caught. In turn, this means less imperfections to fix in the cast pieces. ...
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