Tempest: First Look

     I'm in an interesting position as a chronicler of my creative endeavors.  I'm working on a big project (A full stage version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" using puppets). It is a project that I'm very excited about and naturally want to discuss in great length. I'm incorporating all kinds of new building techniques and doing work that I'm extremely proud of for it. On the other hand, I want to avoid doing just that because I want my audience to come into the theater with as few preconceptions as possible. The more I tell you now, the more you'll know to expect later and the piece won't seem quite as fresh and new. I don't want to spoil the surprise.

    After a little internal wrangling, I've decided to carefully tip my hand on occasion, to give anyone interested the smallest peek behind the curtain from time to time. My hope is that I can keep everyone generally aware of what I'm up to without, as it were, giving away the gold. 

   So- without further babbling from me here are a few process shots which I hope you will enjoy. bear in mind that what I'm showing you are very much works in progress at this stage and will change a great deal by opening curtain.

This gull is a simple 3 rod puppet built out of polyfoam for simple movement. It can flap and turn it's head from side to side. It has a wingspan of approx 3 ft. 

Slightly more complex is this heron's head. It is also built out of foam with a latex and cheesecloth overlay. The beak is operated by a simple trigger mechanism. Learning how to make simple resin cast eyes was a real boon for this project and my work in general.

Most of the puppets for "The Tempest" are going to be in a modified Bunraku style. For ease of performance I'm going to keep my design of the rigging as simple as possible. In the human characters this means a nodding head rig rather than a mouth trigger. Few of my cast will have any experience in puppetry and I want to make sure that they learn the basics of lip sync without being wholly dependent on it.

 Trinculo is a court jester and one of Shakespeare's comic characters. I exaggerated his facial features to cartoonish proportions and gave him a vaguely worried and hangdog expression. I want him to be tall and lanky, in contrast to Stephano the butler, who I intend to make short and stout.This will hopefully suggest the classic "Abbot and Costello" comic dynamic for these two clowns.

The Saga of Log: A tale told through weird prop-building

    Every so often I get a call or e-mail from my friend Steve Monosson. Steve among his many qualifications is an independent filmmaker with a wonderfully skewed view of the world. Whenever he contacts me out of the blue I just know he's going to ask me to make something strange and fun. Past projects include a four foot tall totem pole featuring a poodle and pistachios  and a lot of bark-themed accessories. I could explain it all, but It wouldn't make any more sense and would probably detract from the wonderful absurdity of it all. Instead, witness the epic tale of the galaxy's near brush with and improbable rescue from Almost Certain Intrusion!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I Give You Log vs The Space Intruders!

I made the puppet version of Log, the space station,(this was accomplished by hot gluing a lot of random stuff together and spray painting it silver) Outer Space, (in all it's tinfoil glory), and the flying saucer (which is, as you rightly guessed, a colander and pie pan glued together). I am absurdly proud of this film credit. It may be one of the favorite things I've ever done!

Log has appeared in several different incarnations over the years. Steve himself offers some insight into his chosen muse and creative process:

 "Someone asked me at a screening why I used a log and I replied that he "took directions easily", And you can quote me on that for all your props- there's no back talk, they're there when you need them, and no complaints about working overtime."

Log's Journey now continues. I hope I don't inadvertently write any spoilers. Sorry in advance, Steve!
Log, after his intergalactic triumph returns home to visit his estranged father in the "Old Oaks Home" (No, I did not write that one, though I very well might have!). I was asked to costume the two principle actors. I first went over to take their measurements. Steve snapped this shot of me doing so. Note the  fact that the actor has been pixelated to avoid revealing who plays one of the key roles. I won't spoil the surprise, but would just like to say that he was gracious and a total pro to work with.

 Log was to be attired in a military-style flight jacket. I made this out of an old pair of olive green slacks.

All these costumes were 100% Hand-sewn for the aesthetic reason that I don't own a sewing machine.

Note that the "Air Force" insignia is actually an acorn and two maple wings. I love throwing this sort of detail into my work. It's part of why I'm good at what I do, and why I'm particularly worrying to be around for nay length of time

Log's Regimental emblem would obviously be an Ivory-billed woodpecker

Log's Father (my suggestion that he be addressed as the Logfather was vetoed for some reason...) would be dressed in a tattered institutional bathrobe. I tried to convert an infant onesie for this purpose, but I couldn't conceal the adorable duckies and teddy bears well enough. I used a beach towel instead.

The reunion is apparently a very touching and emotional one. Log's father is brought to tears. I was asked to make a miniature syrup bucket and tap for that scene. The bucket is about 2 1/2 inches tall. It took me four or five attempts to get it right. I used aluminum flashing, galvanized wire and a small piece of dowel. The aged patina was done by several layers of paint and sandpaper.

The tap itself is mounted on an eye-hook so that it can be attached for the scene (Log's father is a method actor).

Steve sent me this image to let me know my work had arrived safe and sound

...And this one to let me know I had some more work to do!

The Double Tap

 Last  year I was commissioned to make a tap handle for Cooperstown's largest and best loved Belgian-style brewery for their annual event Belgium Comes To Cooperstown. This year In celebration their fifteenth anniversary, Brewery Ommegang asked me to carve two more for them. My instructions were that the handles should be Mayan in theme (due, doubtlessly to the impending apocalypse), incorporate the Roman numeral "XV" and possibly look aged. other than that, I was given complete autonomy and a more or less reasonable deadline. Here is what I came up with:

 For the first one I thought that I'd play with the idea of hieroglyphs.I designed a series of abstracted symbols for beer ingredients, the brewing process and Ommegang itself.

 The piece is crowned with the Ommegang "O" and a version of the Ommegang Lion. I was hoping it would look a bit more like glyphs of Jaguar

 The Ancient Mayan Glyph for Hops:

 Side View:

 A drop of water Glyph:

 Ommegang is a bottle conditioned ale, so I commemorated that with a pouring bottle and cork:

 The four Mayan faces around  the bottom panel symbolize the fact I needed something cool looking down there:

 Back Top- This one depicts the fermenting tanks of the brewery, A goblet (which is the only way to enjoy a fine Belgian ale!) and the Ommegang double diamond.:

 The Roman numeral for fifteen. I wanted to work it into the shaft of the handle rather than crowning with it so the whole piece wouldn't look so blocky

 It's hard to tell but this is brewer's yeast. I defy anyone to come up with a better made up Mayan glyph for yeast! i'ts much harder than it sounds:

 Barley, on the other hand was easy:

 And finally the glyph for sugar. Yeast eats the naturally occurring sugars, and thus fermentation. I am well aware that sugarcane isn't involved in the process it's next to impossible to represent that abstract a concept in wood relief.. I claim artistic license!:

Here's the whole thing again the finish is done by my smoke process and accented with gold paint:

 For the second tap I wanted to create one of those terrific blocky figurative carvings. I settled on Quetzalcoatl the feathered serpent because he's probably the most iconic of the Mayan symbols. Also, I think he looks cool. to age this piece, I first painted it with acrylics. I then sanded away most of the paint and smoked it up. If I had the time I might have also buried it for a month.Quetzalcoatl is always depicted as having five plumes or tails. I couldn't find out why.

Here is the "XV" on Quetzalcoatl's headdress. If I could have  done one thing differently, I would have repainted the numerals so they stood out more. I told the good  folk at Ommegang they were free to do so. I hope they have.

 A close up of Quetzalcoatl's face:

Well there you have it! Hope you enjoyed

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.