I exhibited work abroad for the first time at the Fete Picasso in Vallauris, France.  The theme was “Relating to Blue.”  This was the perfect chance to debut a new body of work,  “Stairware,” utilitarian tableware based on the stair/step theme.  My architectural napkin rings were very well received.

Another major highlight included being selected for “Glow” an exhibition of lit sculpture opening at the Smithsonian Institution’s AnnMarie Garden on the year’s longest night.

And one of my classes @ the 92Y was selected & featured in the PBS Series “Craft in America,” which aired nationally!

]]> http://melitagreenleaf.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/new-paltz/ Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:18:11 +0000 melitagreenleaf http://melitagreenleaf.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/new-paltz/ I attended art school at the State University of New York, New Paltz.

Hostel Bathtub

How does one, in a nutshell (or a body bag), introduce a multi-talented, FX Special Effects MASTER, horror author/writer, lead vocalist in a hard rawking band (Twister Naked), and down to earth, incredible, humble, handsome and “crazy Muthaf*cka”?

Well…I think I’ll leave the talking to the Q&A post below because it speaks for itself and a brief intro just won’t cut it for “MASTER Mike” McCarty.

Q&A for: Mike McCarty FX Special Effects Master, Horror Author, and Lead Vocalist for Twister Naked!!!

Now for those of you who have never heard of Mike McCarty, I guarantee you that you have seen his amazing FX Special Effects creations before on the big screen.

But if you have any doubts, hop aboard the Mike McCarty Army and see for yourself! Enjoy the read and check out his extensive flick resume and links at the end.

RX: Hey Master Mike! I’ve missed you! Give me a *HUG*!
What’s new with you?

MM: Hey RaVeNX it’s good to see ya again. Right now I just finished up the latest Hughes brothers film, you know the guys that did, From Hell, It’s a post apocalyptic film starring Gary Oldman and Denzel Washington, and it’s called The Book of Eli. It’s not a gore fest or anything, although usually if I’m on set that means someone is getting bloody at some point. Hehe!

RX: You have a very extensive and impressive resume! You are probably approaching 100 flicks/TV productions which you have many special effects credits!

MM: You know I’ve never really counted, but I bet you’re close. Hell there was a time once when we were working on 9 movies at the same time. Sometimes it gets real confusing as to what you’re working on. I remember this one time we were doing, The Haunting of Hill House (released as The Haunting), and The House on Haunted Hill. Now those were some confusing days in the shop. Like saying “What’s this head for?” and someone would say, “The Haunting” and I would say “Of the house or of the hill.” HAHA! We do so many movies a year at KNB that my resume tends to stack up pretty quickly.

RX: Mike, How long have you been a special effects make-up artist?

Tremors

Tremors

MM: I don’t mean to date myself but I guess I’ve been doing it off and on for about 17 years…but because I started when I was 10 professionally that makes me 27 years old. HA. Just kidding…I have been Indulging heavily in it for 17 years though, the last 12 solidly at KNB efx Group. Those guys have been really good to me.

Prime Evil

Prime Evil

RX: I bloody love Xena and you worked on Xena (TV) from 1998 to 2000! Would you please elaborate on this project?MM: Well KNB had the Xena contract and its just one of those things we did in the shop during and in between all the films we were doing. We had a woman by the name of Mel Tooker that was stationed in New Zealand (where they shot it) and she would send us the scripts and let us know what was coming up. We would make the stuff and if it was a FX heavy show we would send people out there to give her a hand. I got to go on a Mermaid episode and put a tail on Gabriel… Good times.

RX: Any fun adventures to speak of with Xena?

MM: Hmmm not really. I did have Thanksgiving dinner with her and Bruce Campbell once. I suppose that was an adventure. Luckily the turkey didn’t come alive as a zombie or Ash and Xena would have had to take it out, and nothing ruins a nice relaxing meal more than swordplay at the dinner table. What really happened is we were in NZ at the time of Thanksgiving and they did a big dinner for all the Americans on the crew, it was nice…

RX: You have been involved in so many films! A list of your special effects credits include Grindhouse, Kill Bill 1 and 2, Sin City, The Mist, Hostel, Hostel Part ll and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (which won an Oscar for best makeup). Would you share some experiences that stick out in your memory about any or all of the above named flicks?

MM: Wow you know that’s really hard to pin down. Sin City was a blast to do. It was shot in Austin Texas (I love Austin). The crew on Sin City was one I had worked with off and on for years so every time I got to go to Austin to work, it was kind of like a family reunion. I got to do a bald cap on one of my favorite actors on that show too, Rutger Hauer. And he was awesome. Plus it was one of those movies that was so ground breaking at the time that everyone talked about it and would get excited when they found out you were involved. I loved it as a film as well. I would say that’s probably the show I am most proud of. Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe was a good win for the shop so I can mention that. Howard Berger (the B of KNB) and Tami Lane, a long time friend of mine, took home the Oscars for that show, but I’m definitely proud of the work I contributed. I took my picture with the Oscar that was cool. I also have a paper Emmy at home. Years ago we did the TV miniseries of Frank Herbert’s Dune and the shop won an Emmy for it. Greg Nicotero (the N of KNB) picked that one up. A few weeks later I got an “official paper Emmy” in the mail acknowledging my contribution. So I framed it. That was cool. Hostel part II was one of my favorite films to date to work on. Again I was with friends, this time in the beautiful city of Prague in the Czech Republic. We had an amazing time making the movie, it was so much fun, plus I feel all the gags came out really, really well. I’m looking forward to my next project which is a remake of Piranha in 3D.

In this photo: Sheila Atkinson, Mike McCarty

Piranha 3D

Diving on a a scene that was later cut

Piranhas hate fake boobs, they taste funny

Jerry in position

Piranhas hate fake boobs, they taste funny

RX: I bloody love the flick Grindhouse! Would you share your experience with the flick Grindhouse?

MM: Well the biggest Grindhouse experience I had was the Thanksgiving trailer that Eli Roth directed. When we finished Hostel Part II in Prague we went right into filming the Thanksgiving trailer for three days. It was a blast. We made that baked body on the dinner table and used some leftovers (pun intended) from Hostel like; Eli’s head, Jay Hernandez’ head and body we also made a fake turkey that we attached the producer, Dan Frisch’s head to. And then there’s that funny clip at the very end of the trailer where you see the “uninvited guest” humping the turkey with the head on it. HA HA! That started as a joke in our trailer that we shot on video with Eli’s head on the turkey and a friend of mine humping away at it like a dog. When we showed it to Eli he died laughing and said “I’m putting that in the trailer for sure.” And he did. Also if you watch that trailer I’m in it. I am credited as “the rioter.” When the mascot gets its head cut off and all the little girls (who were Czech and didn’t speak English and didn’t know that we were gonna do that) started screaming. I push my way through the barricade and scream “Get the fuck outta my way” as I trample terrified 12 year olds. Now that was a funny day!

RX: HaHa! I wish I could have seen that! Terrified 12 year olds on the bottom of your boots after being trampled by “the rioter.” Yeah I’m sure there was a lot of screaming that day. So, Mike what flicks are on your current/latest list of special effects credits?

MM: Well last year I did Final Destination 4 in 3D, before that a little picture called The Killing Room. I’m doing The Book of Eli right now and as soon as I’m done here I’m on to Piranha 3D. You know that will actually be my 3rd 3D movie. Piranha should be a lot fun. We are filming it at Lake Havasu so it will be a little like an episode of Girls gone Wild except they will be devoured by killer fish when they get in the lake topless!

RX: You must invite me down for a couple of days during that flick shoot! You really do have such a cool day job at KNB; hence, you are also a writer as well. Would you share your current writing status?

MM: Well I have a short story coming out in an Anthology from Darkhouse Press called Midnight Walk. My story is a creepy little tale called The Grieving Process. Yeah I write horror, go figure right? (Here’s a link http://www.darkhousepublishing.com/) I believe the release date is June 14th. I also have a non fiction piece in Butcher Knives and body counts, not sure on the release date for that one. Like ALL writers I have many things that are not yet published. One is a Werewolf novel called, Wereworld book one: Gemini Rising. Yes it’s planned as a series. It’s currently on the desks at publisher in NY. I have a Novella I wrote with acclaimed writer Michael Calvillo that is being considered at a publisher, I have a few finished screenplays looking for homes and a few shorts that are bouncing around out there. So yeah it’s safe to say between wiping the blood and goo off my hands and riding my Harley I stay pretty busy.

RX: What’s the low down on your band Twister Naked currently

TWISTER NAKED

MM: The low down is now that we are all adults and have moved away its hard for us to get together and play, but every few months; the guitarist Jay calls me and says, “I’m headed to LA in three weeks lets play”… and we do. We may do some new recording this year, some local shows and there is talk of a quick little two week tour or something like that. Who knows? All I know is its energetic and fun as hell and if you come see us and stand in the front row chances are I will bouncing off of you at some point and anointing you with my sweat. Which is really why you came in the first place right?

RX: Isn’t that where you met your wife Grace (who plays the bass)?

MM: Yep she fingers the bass like no other…that’s why I fell in love : )!

RX: So what about women who want to be FX artists are there many? Is it hard to break into?

MM: Of course there are. There are probably more than you think. Off the top of my head we have probably 6 or 7 women at the shop working right now seaming silicone body parts, punching hairs into heads and arms, making monster suits, We have a girl there named Dawn that plays in monster suits too. In fact she is playing a werewolf in a film we are doing called “The boy who cried werewolf.”

The bottom line is this. If you want to do FX and you have the drive and desire and talent you can. It doesn’t matter, boy or girl, black or white. We hire people because they have drive the skills and want to do it. The more things you know how to do the better. Everything from sewing, to moldmaking, to sculpting, to application, to animatronic mechanics (a friend of mine is a female mechanic in the business). It’s not as much of a mans game as you would think. There are some really talented hungry people out there and there’s a place for all of them. So if you think your one of those people keep pushing, it’ll happen. My first few years in the business sucked. I barely stayed afloat and my mom constantly helped with bills, but I kept going and struggling forward, eventually it all paid off. Just be willing to do what it takes. And don’t be afraid to ask questions. I get emails from people every week and I answer them all.

RX: Mike, you know how much I love FX and special effects make-up! I want to take this opportunity and Thank You for being my FX Special effects cyber mentor and my mate for going on two years now! You are an amazing individual and extremely multi-talented and gifted! I’m so glad I had this opportunity to to indulge in this Q&A with you! I can count on one hand the individuals in the cyber world which I have grown to adore, respect, and develop a fabulous cyber friendship with; hence, which will only keep growing as time passes…
Oh yeah, I wanted to Thank You again for guiding me on how to create the effect of a gunshot through the eyeball…HaHa! That was bloody awesome and you, MASTER Mike, RAWK! “Get your motor running, head out to the highway, looking for adventure in whatever comes our way”…CHEERS…!

Thanks for chillin with me Mike!
oi.oi.oi.
RaVeNX~TheLivingDeadGirl

MM: Anytime!

Mike McCarty’s Special FX Resume:

For most recent scroll to the bottom:

Star Trek VI – The Undiscovered Country(3-91) Ran parts for Klingon costumes Supervisor Chris Gilman, Dilligent Dwarves Effects Lab. The Stepmonster(5-92) Set work, painting, puppeteering, suit maintenance Atlantic west FX.
The Children of the Corn II (6-92) Mold making, painting, did pickups for a new ending to the film. Supervisor Gabe Bartalos Atlantic West FX.
Slaughter of the Innocents (7/8-92) Fiberglass moldmaking, fabrication, corpse’s and body parts. Atlantic west FX.
The Stand (TV) (1-93) Seaming and body production. XFX Supervisor Steve Johnson.
The Unborn II (4/5-93) Painting, seaming, puppeteering, Gabe Bartalos Atlantic West FX.
Watchers 3 (7-93) Fiberglass moldmaking, seaming, painting, Atlantic west.
Stargate (8-93) Painted costume sandals for Global FXSupervisor Chris Gilman. Beverly Hills Cop 3 (8-93) Vacuform trimming and assembly of Cylon suits for Global FX.
Munchie Strikes Back (10-93) painting, seaming, puppeteering For Gabe Bartalos at Atlantic west FX.
Leprechaun 2 (12-93) Painting, seaming, fabrication, For Gabe Bartalos at Atlantic West.
Miller Lite Cowabunga commercial (2-94) sculpting, seaming moldmaking. Supervisor Rick Lazzarini The Character Shop.
Power Rangers the movie (7/8/9-94) Fiberglass moldmaking, fabrication of helmets and suits. Supervisor Rob Burman at Sticks and Stones.
Leprechaun 3 (10/11-94) Sculpting, moldmaking, painting, on set application. Gabe Bartalos Atlantic West FX.
Watch the SkiesXtro 3 (12-94) Moldmaking, painting. At Modus FX Supervisor Dave Barton.
Outer Limits TV show (2-95) sculpting, moldmaking, At KNB EFX Supervisor Greg Nicotero.
From Dusk till Dawn (3/4-95) Fiberglass moldmaking, painting, pupeteering. KNB EFX Supervisor Greg Nicotero.
Mohave Frankenstein (95) Fiberglass moldmaking Ted Haines FX.
Alaska (95) Moldmaking, fabrication, At KNB EFX.
Demolitionist (95) Moldmaking, fabrication, acting KNB EFX.
Eraser (96) Moldmaking, painting, KNB EFX.
Mars Attacks (96) Moldmaking, fabrication, painting. KNB EFX.
Men In Black (96) Moldmaking KNB.
Jingle All The Way (96) Moldmaking, painting KNB EFX
Spawn (96) Moldmaking, painting KNB EF
Phantoms (96) Moldmaking, painting, fabrication KNB EFX.
Wishmaster (96) Moldmaking, painting, fabrication, acting KNB EFX.
Godzilla (97) Painting KNB EFX.
X-Files Movie (97) Painting, moldmaking KNB EFX.
Scream (97) Moldmaking KNB EFX.
Scream 2 (98) Moldmaking, painting, on set KNB EFX.
Scream 3 (99) KNB EFX.
Dusk till Dawn 2 Texas Blood Money (97) Painting, on set, moldmaking KNB EFX.
Dusk till Dawn 3 Hangmans Daughter (97) Painting, on set, KNB EFX.
The Faculty (98) Painting KNB EFX.
Vampires (98) painting, fabrication, moldmaking, KNB EFX.
A Simple Plan (98) Moldmaking, painting KNB EFX.
13Th Warrior (98) Moldmaking, painting KNB EFX.
The Crow 3 Salvation (98) Painting KNB EFX.
Bats (98) Painting KNB EFX.
Super Adventure Team (TV) (98) Painting, on set KNB EFX.
The Haunting (99) Painting, pupeteering, on set KNB EFX.
The House on Haunted Hill (99) Painting KNB EFX.
End of Days (99) Painting KNB EFX.
Crocodile (99) Keyed show, Sculpting, painting, on set KNB EFX — I’m in DVD extras.
Spiders (99) Painting, on set KNB EFX.
Xena (TV) (98-00) Painting, on set KNB EFX. — I’m in DVD extras.
Cleopatra 2525(TV) (99) Painting, Moldmaking KNB EFX.
Spy Kids (99-00) Painting, on set, puppeteering KNB EFX.
Ghosts of Mars (00) sculpting, moldmaking, painting, on set KNB EFX.
Heart Breakers (00) Painting KNB EFX.
Dune the mini series (TV) (00) Painting, moldmaking, fabrication — KNB Greg Nicotero won an Emmy.
Rat Race (00) painting KNB.
13 Ghosts (00) Painting, moldmaking KNB.
Evolution (00) Painting, on set, mechanics, sculpting, puppeteering KNB.
The Tick (TV) (01) Painting, fabrication KNB.
Minority Report (01) Painting, fabrication, moldmaking KNB.
Austin powers Goldmember (01) sculpting, moldmaking, fabrication KNB.
Spy Kids 2 (01) painting, moldmaking, puppeteering KNB.
Ghost Ship (02) painting, seaming and such, KNB.
Cabin Fever (02) Painting, puppeteering, on set –I’m In DVD extras.
Identity (02) Painting, mold making, fabrication, on set KNB.
The Hulk (02) painting and moldmaking KNB.
Terminator 3 (02) painting background bodies KNB.
Kill Bill (02) fabrication, painting, seaming, built multiple blood spray gags, KNB.
Out of time (02) painting, seaming, fabrication KNB.
Once upon a time in Mexico (02) painting KNB I’m in the DVD extras. Bad Boys 2 (02) painting, seaming, fabrication KNB.
Looney Tunes Movie (02) painting, on set puppeteering KNB.
Hollywood Homicide (02) painting
fabrication KNB.
Tremors T.V. Show (02) painting KNB.
Spy Kids 3D (03) painting, on set KNB.
Cursed (03/04) Painting, seaming, fabrication, on set KNB.
24 (TV) (03) On set KNB.
Lemony Snicket (03/04) painting, on set, fabrication. KNB.
Sin City (04) painting, on set, make-up application KNB.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (04) painting
Serenity (05) painting
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D (05) painting, on set, puppeteering.
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (05) painting, fabrication Howard Berger and Tami Lane won Oscars for best make-up.
Land of the Dead (05) painting, on set make-up application, fabrication I’m in DVD extras.
House of Wax (05) painting, seaming, fabrication KNB.
Amityville Horror (05) painting, seaming, fabrication KNB.
The Island (05) painting, seaming, fabrication. KNB.
Hostel (05) painting KNB.
Poseidon (05) painting, fabrication, on set. KNB.
Masters of Horror (05) painting, fabrication, KNB.
Dead and Deader (06) we did a big sequence for the film, painting on set application, in the shop supervisor.
Deja-Vu (06) Painting on set, fabrication, puppeteering KNB.
Masters of Horror season 2 (06) painting, KNB.
The Hitcher (06) painting, fabrication, on set application, in shop supervisor KNB. Grindhouse (06) painting, on set, Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving trailer supervisor, KNB. Find me in the trailer, instead of where’s Waldo its where’s McCarty
Hostel Part II (06) painting, on set application, in shop supervisor KNB.
The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian (07) painting KNB.
The Mist (07) painting designed monster paint schemes, in shop supervisor KNB.
The Pacific-HBO miniseries (07) painting
The Killing Room (07) supervisor, on set application, painting.
Splice (08) painting.
Final Destination 4 in 3D (08) supervisor, on set application, painting.
Surrogates (08) painting, fabrication.

Mike McCarty ArmyLinks:

Special FX Resume: http://www.mikemccarty.net/Mike_McCarty_s_resume.html

Welcome To My Website: http://www.mikemccarty.net/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/mike_mccarty

Myspace Mike’s band ‘Twister Naked’: http://www.myspace.com/twisternnaked

KNB EFX Group: http://www.knbefxgroup.com/
For more info KNB efx group inc. call them at (818) 901-6562

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id= … 1411292841

Darkhouse Publishing: http://www.darkhousepublishing.com/

Mike McCarty Live Journal: http://mccarty13.livejournal.com/

I researched where the banana peel trope came from before I made these. Apparently slipping on an old brown banana peel was common once upon a time. In fact, so common that it became a cartoon trope. What’s funny about the trope is that nobody ever slips on a fresh yellow peel… they’re just not slippery. But, apparently yellow looked nicer for the screen, so fresh peels became a sign of imminent danger!

I really did fall here, believe it or not. Irony abounds.

The bananas are made out of fiberglass and plaster from a platinum silicone mold, so I suppose I’ve got all the materials to cover the entire city in banana peels if I want!

Here’s what I’m working on in airbrushing class:

What you see there was done in the second session of the class – just two colors, laying down the base shadows.  The airbrush is definitely a challenge, but I think I’ll get the hang of it in time.

Here’s the reference photo I’m working off of:

In moldmaking class, we’re doing lifecasts of our own faces.  Here’s mine cast in soft plaster:

This is just right out of the mold – it picked up every pore and fine line in my skin, freaking amazing.  Next I’ll clean up some little bubbles in the plaster and tidy the edges, then we’ll make a mold of that and cast it in harder plaster. The whole semester of this class is one project!

Here is a two-two finger ring I made using the same mold making process that I used to make the Grope On A Rope as well as the Chocolate Fingaz. The ring is actually cast in hot glue. The magic of this medium is that it adheres to itself when reheated, which is how I assembled the ring. The finger bones were cast from pencils, fingers from fingers, and the ring portion was cast from the cap of a water bottle.

Also pictured in the background is one of the many paintings I am working on and plan to have done within the next few months.

http://pearsonmaron.blogspot.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PearsonMaron

I attended Adam Maron’s workshop on moldmaking at the Summit of Awesome conference in Washington, DC in 2009, which was pretty interesting to see but I decided that it wasn’t the right craft for me at this time. (I may change my mind in the future depending on the situation.) His site makes all kinds of quirky and unique toys, magnets, t-shirts, and miniature art sculptures. His art style is very colorful and whimsical.

In my Materials class we constructed boxed from metal and cast molds of our hands. These were probably the two most fun projects in a while. Even though I am not the most skilled, I still manage to make things that come out looking great and that are sturdy. Sorry these photos were taken on my phone. I have more to come soon that I took with my good Cammy!

I made a brass box that resembles a Chinese takeout box that you’d get from around your corner. What is special about my box is that I folded the metal by hands, kind of like origami, after I cut out my pattern, and that I only used two rivets to bind the whole thing together. AWESOME!

My cast of my hand turned out pretty cool, and everyone marveled at how girly my hand was. Hey, I can’t help it if I have nice nail beds and dainty, piano-playing fingers! Don’t hate!

Check Elizabeth’s flat box, and Nicholas’ small boxes made out of brass! We make things in style.

To save you a lot of aggravation I have a couple of important tips that I have learned along the way.

1.  You can use a variety of products to cast your mold with.  Smooth On is a great company with helpful videos and numerous products for the job at hand.  Be very aware that the Platinum cure silicons will NOT set up if you use plasticine clay for your prototype so don’t use it.  For small projects, Walmart or Dick Blick’s have good air-dried clays.

2. Silicone sneaks out of any little crevice, so your wooden box mold (or metal as I have used here), MUST be leak proof.  After you have screwed up all the edges, (or taped it as I have done here), use a hot glue gun to  glue the box down around your sculpture, and then run glue up  along all edges to make a tight seal.  Run it around the bottom as well, and have it ready to use should you find it beginning to leak as you are pouring in the silicone.

3.  When you are pouring your candle wax into the prepared mold,  pour about a third at a time, and rotate the mold allowing it to flow into undercuts and eliminate air bubbles.  At tricky  spots that tend to create missed areas, you can rub with a tool of some kind to allow the wax to get into those areas.

Good Luck!  Hope you have as much fun creating candles as I’m having.  The smell of real beeswax is so intoxicating you might just decide to take up beekeeping as I did!

Casting is time consuming and laborious, and specific casting  materials require significant amounts of time to cure.  I generally like silicone molds the best, but time was working against me here. By a process of elimination, I decided the only option was an alginate mold. The alginate I have is like a “disposable” rubber mold, it is only effective while it’s still moist which leaves a very brief window of time during which you can make a cast. The other convenience is the 2-3 minute set time as well as a plastic cup to replace a plaster mother mold.

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So now I have the negative of the leaf. I simply pour the slip in and let it set for a bit. By blowing on the edge of the casting you can guage its thickness pretty easily. Then the excess is poured out.
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I don’t usually set the castings in front of a fan to dry until they’ve set for a few days. I think I must have been running out of room. However, after I take the leaves out, I do put the molds in front of the fan to dry out the water that the mold sucked up from the slip.

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Once the castings become more solid than liquid, they shrink slightly from drying and release themselves from their molds. Now the leaves get some handwork. I just trim and smooth here and there. Pretty easy.

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Here are some leaves in various states of drying. I also poke a hole in the round edges of the leaves for stringing.

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And here’s a small mock-up of how they will look in the installation. Of course, they’ll be glazed white and the strands will be much longer.

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Now I’ve shown several moldmaking demonstrations one at a time, but this is usually all happening at the same time. The image below shows several different things going on.
I have molds that I’m done with in the background. Everything on the rack is sitting in front of a fan. There are freshly poured molds drying out. There are molds that need to dry out in between castings. There are plaster prototypes drying out so I can make molds from them. And then finally, there are the actually castings drying out so I can bisque fire them. So, yes, I stay busy.

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So here are the two halves completed and cleaned with water and vinegar with new castings in them.

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This is how I actually cast with the mold. From the image above, you can see that there are holes for casting and draining. In the image below, the entire mold has been raised and the draining holes in the bottom have plastic tubes in them and are plugged with oil clay. When it’s ready to drain (about six minutes after I pour the slip), I just set the whole thing over my slip bucket and take the oil clay plugs off the tubes.

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Each piece is then individually handworked and smoothed. I cut out the middle sections, and adjust the dip where they meet. I couldn’t create that dip in the mold itself because it would create an undercut and make it impossible to work with. In reading about it, it was difficult to understand how undercuts affected molds until I actually started doing it. Then it was, “Oh yeah. Okay. That doesn’t work.” Here is a podbaby on one of the stands I’ve been experimenting with. Now it’s just waiting to dry.

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For reference, here’s my first drawing that I did of these little guys a couple of years ago.

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Pouring the plaster blank.

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Turning the blank on a lathe.

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Staight off the lathe.

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On the right, after shaping.

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Burying half of “Coral” into oil clay to start the moldmaking process.

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Securing the mold area with cottle boards.

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Then I carefully add a layer of water-based clay on top of the oil clay to make a smooth, even surface that goes just up to the midline of the prototype.

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After I pour the plaster and let it set, I remove the cottle boards and seperate the two sections. I no longer need all the clay.

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After cleaning up the plaster section, it goes back in the cottle boards for a second pour. Prepping the plaster with layers of oil soap and mold release is crucial for getting sections to release from each other, especially when you pour plaster on plaster.

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Just after the second pour.

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The two sections apart and prototype removed. I’m still not done though. This is going to be a three part mold.

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Now the mold is strapped together, empty and upside down. I’ve carefully made a clay seal so that I can make the bottom section of the mold. This will make sure the piece sits steadily on a lowered rim rather than a flat base that would make it wobbly.

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Putting the cottle boards on and getting it ready to pour the bottom of the mold.

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So now I have all three sections I included a hole in the bottom section of the mold for a section of plastic tubing. This will act as the drainage hold when I pour the liquid clay, “slip,” into the mold.

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The setup for pouring the slip into the mold. There is a hole in either end with plastic tubing inserted. For the pour, I’ve blocked up the drainage hole on the bottom with oil clay, and jerryrigged it. After I pour the slip, I let it sit for a while. The plaster soaks up the water in the slip closest to it, thus slowly building thickness. The longer you let the slip set, the thicker the clay wall will be.

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When the slip has set enough, I put a bucket on the floor between the stools, unplug the drainage hole and let all the excess slip drain out into a bucket. I can use that slip again.

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I let the castings set up over night and take them out of the molds the next day. So here are some castings straight out of the mold. The one on the right is the one we’ve been looking at.

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And here is a casting of Coral after I’ve done some hand shaping and smoothing. So there you have it, from prototype to casting. Eventually, I’ll add images after bisque firing, glazing, and the grand finale. Long process, isn’t it?

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So, here is the second chapter: The Making of the Molds
I’m starting out with a simple egg mold for making more podbabies.

So here we go . . .

Here is the first mold attempt. The green stuff is an oil-based clay that I pack in the bottom of the clamped “cottle board” assembly. Then I add the prototype, in this case, simply a wood egg and pack clay up to its midpoint. Pour the plaster, let it set, undo the assembly and this is the result.

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Here those two sections are separated.

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And here is the plaster section with the egg back in the cottles. The crucial step here is to spray a mold release, in this case Pam. Yes, I mean the Pam the use in your kitchen. I asked around about mold release and people kept telling me to use Pam. Okay. Anyways, this step is crucial and I need to keep reminding myself of that, because I’ve forgotten it once (okay, twice).

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Note the hunk of plaster in the upper right. Whenever I have a bit of extra plaster at the end of a pour, I use it to make a “hump mold.” I don’t make this stuff up. I’ve made a few in different sizes and I’ll end up using them for another stage of the installation.

Now to the semi-failed mold. I stopped taking pics once I realized this was a no-go. Now I wished I had kept taking them. The failures are interesting.

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I tried to mold this horizontally to avoid having a drain hole in the bottom. However, like I said, the spraying of The Pam is essential. I forgot here and once I poured the plaster, could not get the thing out.

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Sooooo…yeah. I went ahead and poured the second half since I thought I’d have to try again. Then I lovingly took a hammer and chisel to the big upper section so I could recover the prototype. The prototype had been rubbed down many times with oil soap so it created just enough of an oil layer that I could successful chip it out with minimal damage. I like the mold shape of the lower half and can think of a way to use it. So that’s why it’s a semi-failure. In any case, I’ve since figured out a better to mold it. I would be doing it right now, if it weren’t for the crazy weather keeping me home.

Whew. Congrats if you made it through all that.

#1: Don’t forget this is Third Friday, so Urban Culture Project sites are open 6-9. Of course, that includes the Bonfils Artist Studios, so I will be arting it up during that time. Stop by if you’re in the area!

Bonfils Artist Studios / 125 E. 12th St., KCMO
(corner of 12th & Grand, one bldg. west of the NAIA)

#2: I may have a small blurb and picture in this Sunday’s KC Star Arts section concerning an Inspiration Grant I was recently awarded from the KC Arts Fund. I haven’t really announced the grant yet, since there is an issue with the venue at the moment. It looks like the article is really going forward, but I’m counting it as certain until I see the thing. So look for me this Sunday in the The Star!

#3 Progress, progress, progress
Here are some images of the work I did last weekend down at the farm. Being the girly girl I am, I asked for a bed extension accessory for my lathe as an early birthday present. I wouldn’t have been able to turn the plaster without it. Anyways, I was definitely scared that it wasn’t going to work, and while, of course, there are issues, it went as well as I could have hoped.

I know I promised a painting update, but I had to spend last Friday dealing with a car and its misbehaving alternator. So hopefully I can make some headway this Friday. And maybe get a new little one started….??

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Also, I’ve begun the long, long process of creating a sculpture installation for the fall. So here are first pics of my first attempt at pouring plaster. Good lord, that was a mess. There were a few moments of chaos, but it worked out.

The picture below is of retaining walls of aluminum flashing I made to create long cylinders of plaster in various sizes. I’ll put these on my lathe down at the farm and turn them into specific shapes (I’m just praying that they’re not too heavy, which is a complete possibility). They will then be prototypes that I use to make plaster molds. I’ll then slip cast the ceramic pieces using the molds. So, yes, a long, long process and mind you, I haven’t done this before. And this is all for _one_ set of elements in the installation. So, very quickly, this is going to get confusing. So for clarification, I call the pieces I’m working on now “Corals.”

Anyways, I plan on painting all day Friday, so I should have an update on the painting I’m thinking of naming “Every Woman a Widow.” Be good, give all moms hugs this weekend and I’ll explain the meaning next week.

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This past fall I worked on fabricating small scale figures to serve as models in order to create my own reference material. I consider this to be the point in time when the project really started. In my previous body of work, I assembled a vast image collection of photographs associated with my topic of digging. When I began the waiting project, I replicated this experience of an image collection. Yet when I started drawing and sketching from the photographs I found myself extremely frustrated with the resource material. I was certainly engaged in the images, especially in the physical gestures and movements shown in the figures. I spent about one year making drawings and paintings from the photographs. At the time I had come off of completing a long term sculpture installation, and I was aching to get back to drawing and painting; two mediums that I hadn’t worked with in great depth for some time due to my commitment to the sculpture installation.

However, the more I worked from the photographs, I became increasingly frustrated at not having the ability to see around the figures. I would become interested in specific figures in the photographs, wishing that I knew what they looked like from the other side. I can partially attribute this to my background in sculpture which I know heavily influenced the way I perceive and view objects now. The figures and spaces I was creating in the oil paintings seemed to lack sufficient information about the lighting situation. The shadows I was fabricating in the pieces started to look too consistent from figure to figure, resulting in a space that looked to flat and monotonous. I knew then that there was only way to resolve this situation and gain the results I wanted-I had to sculpt actual figures that could be viewed from any perspective. This would give me the flexibility and control over the scenes that I wanted to compose, so that I would not have to compromise due to lack of information in a photograph. It was at this point that I think the project really started to take off in a serious, more focused manner. I do however, very much recognize the importance of that first year of experimenting. That first year of the project was my first year out of graduate school and I always find that the year after completing school that it takes that amount of time to fully digest the information gained in school and to get yourself into a good rhythm of working outside of a school context.

I made the decision early on that in sculpting these small scale figure models that the sculptures would have to be intentionally simple and not full of detail. I liked the idea of representing the gesture of the figure without getting specific about features. It would give the ability to invent more when I made the transition from the sculptures to a print or drawing. I modeled about 20 figures with white sculpey, each about 4″ tall. I had recently done a large casting job for a former professor of mine, and I was able to use that experience making molds and casts directly into the work with my figures. Each figure required a poured silicone rubber mold which was then cast in white resin. The silicone rubber molds allowed me to cast each figure multiple times, so that by the time I had completed everything I had a bin of about 200 figures.

Silicone rubber molds sitting on the shelf in my studio.

The next step was to set up the figures and light them appropriately. My initial concept was to draw from the set ups from life. However, in producing each set up I realized how difficult it was going to be to maintain a solid set up and to get the appropriate perspective without putting a lot of physical strain on my neck. For this reason, I opted to shoot digital photographs of the set ups in order to exploit the range of possibilities I would have with each set up. Printing out the photographs was very exciting; it was one of those moments where everything worked. I have to admit that the time consuming process of making the figures forced me to question at many times whether all of the sculpting and casting was really going to get me the results that I was looking for. Even though it took the entire fall season to create these figures, I am convinced it has worth the time. Since January I have been using the numerous photographs from these sculptures as reference materials to produce ink drawings and prints. It’s now the end of April and I still haven’t tired of these reference photographs yet, even though I have worked from each photograph multiple times to create either an ink drawing or a print.