Pages

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Up to Eleven!

Gonzo: (To mirror) You're a reflection! You're supposed to do just what I do.
Reflection: But you do ludicrous things!
Gonzo: I do what?
Reflection: Ludicrous things!
Gonzo: Of course I do! I'm an ARTIST!
-The Muppet Show

Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown has recently come out with a new beer called "Eleven By Volume". To commemorate this historic event, they asked me to carve them a custom tap handle in the shape of vertebrae. I eagerly accepted the commission. I really like this project for several reasons:

-It allows me to make a ridiculous yet functional object
- The project lets me indulge in my own highly specific form of geekery
-Ommegang, aside from making some really good beer, is a good company to work with. There was no petty quibbling over the cost or unnecessary interference in the design process. The deadline was realistically achievable
-Any commission that involves this kind of abysmal pun is one that I am wholly in favor of. (think about it!)

For once, I thought to document my working process from beginning to end.
Here is the concept sketch. Ordinarily I don't draw out a carving first, preferring to discover it as I go along. Most clients, however, have this odd liking for what is quaintly called "having some idea what the hell we're spending the money on"

 I offered a variety of choices for the top of the handle. This detail is the one we all agreed upon. Personally I was lobbying for the ram skull...
 I chose to work with a piece of kiln dried maple 15 inches long and 2 and1/4th in. square. I chose maple because it has a subtle grain pattern, finishes nicely takes details well, and is durable enough for frequent handling.


 Sometimes I find it helps to roughly sketch out what I  intend to do on the block first. During the carving process, you'll notice that I will occasionally draw a few crude lines to act as a guide.
By the end of the first day, things are pretty well blocked out
 On the second day I roughed out where individual bones were to be

 On Day three, I concentrated on the top piece and separating the spines

 By Day Four you could see a nice curvature was emerging. I think this is also the day that I learned that if  you listen to ear buds while working with a knife, it is an excellent idea to run the chord through your shirt.
On the Fifth day of work I am entirely finished carving and have put the hardware on. The only reason this was photographed in a studio setting was that it happened to be raining at the time.


Here is the tap handle halfway through the painting process.

Sometimes you simply don't have the amount of drying time recommended on the back of the can of finish. I think this is one of my more inventive Jury-rigs.

 And finally, the finished product! Say it with me: "This Is SPINAL TAP!"
 Note that there are 10 bones under the top piece. This actually does go up to eleven! (I even numbered it )

Hopefully soon I will have some pictures of this installed and in use.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Filler

For reasons that might become apparent later, I have something specific in mind for my eleventh blog post. This means I have to get the tenth one out of the way to make it fit properly. So....here are some pictures of a lizard

 Her name is Cecelia. She is an African Fat-tailed Gecko.


 You can see why they are called that.
 Fat-tails are comparatively docile and easy to keep. They don't mind being handled and are attractive little lizards, so they're pretty popular as pets
 She has a pretty cute face too.
Well, that's about it. Thanks for tuning in.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Donkey on the Stairs, Explained and Illustrated

My older sister, Anne, asked me for the reason for my blog's title. You will notice that Anne credits me for having a rational and well thought out explanation for my behavior, in spite of the fact she witnessed most of my adolescence firsthand. That's just the sort of person she is.  I promised that the story would be the subject of my very next post, and then promptly fell into a deep blue funk for several weeks and didn't post anything.
       So here it is at long last, The reason this blog is called "The Donkey on the Stairs" (Although to boost readership, I'm considering changing it to "It's Got Lots of Pictures") :
When I was travelling I started my first blog, Tourist Monkey to keep everyone updated on my travels. One curious thing about travel writing is when monkeys are stealing your luggage or you're crammed uncomfortably on a bus with 59  unwashed people, or something generally unpleasant is happening to you, it's remarkably easy. When you are happy and at peace, writing about your adventures becomes very difficult because nothing, from a purely narrative perspective, is happening. It was exactly this predicament I was facing in Bhagsu, an extremely pretty and peaceful little Himalayan town in India. On one beautiful sunny morning I was walking to my favorite breakfast place. As I strolled downhill watching the blue magpie flip back and forth between the trees, with their long streamer-like tails and vaguely suspicious expressions that made them look like fugitives from a story book illustration, I was thinking that I was overdue to post an entry.  Just as I was thinking that I had nothing at all to write about I stepped out of the way of a train of donkeys. It should be mentioned that most of Bhagsu's streets are actually a series of narrow staircases because the terrain is so steep.  No wheeled vehicle could manage them. The only way to get supplies up and down the mountainside is with pack ponies or donkeys, Trains of these animals march up and down the hill all day. On average you would have to stand aside and wait for them to pass five or six times a day.If i hadn't been thinking about writing home, it simply would have never occurred to me that there was anything unusual about this and I might have never mentioned it. It got me thinking about all the other things I accepted as commonplace that would seem exotic and strange to an outside observer. I had very little trouble writing that entry.
       For the most part I think that I lead a fairly ordinary life, yet I am a professional puppeteer and artist. These are not exactly common career paths. My morning routine involves misting lizards and putting fresh greens in the bird cages. I think upon closer inspection, most people could find something unusual and interesting in their day to day routine. On the whole, ordinary life is an extraordinary thing! I chose this title to remind myself of this.

When my sister asked me about the title, she asked why I called the blog "The Donkey on the Stairs" and not "The Capybara in the Cupboard". This struck me as really funny for some reason:
 The Idea expanded into an Alphabet of obscure animals in strange locations (bear in mind these sketches are rough drafts). For example: A Babirusa in the Bathtub:
 A Vicuna in the Vegetable stand:
 A Wombat In the Washing Machine:
 A Pangolin in the Picnic Basket:
 An Aye-Aye in the Aquarium :
 ...And so forth.

On a completely unrelated note, I was chatting with my friend Gennarose the other day.( Aside from being a wonderful human being, Gennarose may just be the single most  talented person I know, which is really saying something!) During the course of conversation, she announced "I hate singing rodents! unless they're singing opera. Then that's just classy" (It actually makes sense in context). Then, this happened:

Apparently, you should really be careful what you say around me....