Chief Cornelius Gritts

Another chapter in the Chasing Norman project has been completed: the poster! The band has already left for the 3-week tour of the Philippines, so its up to me and Rand to decide whether the poster I have designed is acceptable. Surely, using the art from the CD is a logical choice. What is not a 'given' is the 'flying baboon' I created. I even went so far as to grant him the honorable name of 'Chief Cornelius Gritts'. I do not think such a being exists.

(click for mucho bigedness)

I may have taken too many liberties with this one. I mean, it does seem to say something about the band and their 'style'. Is it the image they want to portray? I sure hope so. I like it a lot. I think it is catchy and the message is simple. Expect to see some wheat-pasted on a structure near you.

Chasing Norman/ Chief Gritts

Folks, I can not apologize enough for the extended absence. So, I will not even try.

For my first post back from the real world, I present to you the cover art for Chasing Norman's first CD, Chief Gritts.  The band had come to me for help with the art on their freshman album. They had seen an image on TV that caught their eye and decided they had to have it on the front of the CD. Other than a screen capture of the image, the best version they could find was the following:

"The advent of the first human baby is celebrated by an admiring congregation of apes,

who are holding a lamp to Darwin's book, "The Descent of Man" (1871)."

As much as they dug the image, the preference was to have a cleaner, drawn version of it, rather than a murky, aged photo of the original. That is where yours truly came into the picture.

I created an inked drawing based on the original picture. It really brought me back to the time I spent as an editorial cartoonist. It was a lot of fun to work on, to be sure.

The trouble with the image is that it is horizontal, while an album cover is square. This meant some clever cropping needed to be done to make an image that fit a square, but remained true to the overall 'feeling' of the original. After scanning the drawing in, I used Photoshop to complete the task (taking the chance to add some shading while I was at it.)

Recently, when I saw my brother, he astutely noted that my ink work showed my familiarity with the work of Gilbert Shelton, creator of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Judge for yourself, dear readers. I guarantee my style has more than a touch of Fat Freddy in it.

Butchering Veronica's Pig (complete)

For better or worse, I am rarely predictable. This seems to be especially true when it comes to employment. I have had my contractors license for a few years, so there is a good chance I am to be found on the floor if I am at work. But don't put your money on it.

I recently hooked up with Floatasia, a San Diego company that provides floats for various parades in and around Southern California. It is part-time work, mostly weekends, helping to decorate floats with the standard glittering floral decorations we are all familiar with. This past Sunday, I actually drove one of the floats in the Brazilian Day Parade in Pacific Beach.

The most artistic projects I will be working on for Floatasia will be producing props to go along with various customer themes. For example, the 'Boo Parade' coming up on October 27th is a Halloween parade. The College Area Business District float will feature, among other Halloween decor, 2-3 large pumpkins sculpted from Styrofoam by yours truly. I have already begun working on them, in fact. Floatasia delivered the material last week. Oh, they did not deliver giant foam blocks or spheres. They delivered a large... pig.

You may remember a television program named 'Veronica Mars'. It ran 5 or 6 years ago, and was filmed here in San Diego. One episode required a parade float, so the studio rented one from Floatasia. Atop the float, the studio had a huge Styrofoam pig, representing a college fraternity featured on the program. (shown below, about 2 minutes into the episode)

After filming the episode, Floatasia was given the pig for free. It sat for all these years, abused by the sun and rain, at the back of the company's storage lot. Until this week, that is...

My initial task was to cut off the head and divide the carcass into 'pumpkinish' pieces. This was accomplished by heating a large knife with a blowtorch and jamming it towards the center, along a line drawn around the midsection of the body. This was not enough to separate the two halves, so I resorted to jamming a metal yardstick into the pig, over and over, until it finally gave. I did not film the activity, and the missed comedic opportunity does not escape me.

From there, I knew I needed a tool for shaving away the areas that are not a pumpkin. While the heated butcher knife is usable, I opted for a tool called a 'hot wire foam cutter'. Being the masochist that I am, the only option I could see was to make my own. I hit the web and, numerous videos later, I had a vague understanding of how to make one. After killing no less than ten AC adapters, this is what I ended up with:

 The span is approximately 14 inches. While Ni-chrome wire was the recommended wire of choice, many suggested that guitar strings were an acceptable substitute, due to the nickle content. Perhaps I just do not have the patience, because I kept breaking them. After an exhaustive search around San Diego, I tracked down Ni-chrome wire at San Diego Electric on University Avenue. It is the hands-down winner. Even my impatient tugging does not snap this wire. In fact, rather than breaking, it actually came unwound a couple times.

The pumpkin project is now in day 3. While not quite near completion, they have truly begun to take shape (see below.) I was going to wait to post the whole thing, start to finish. I just couldn't wait to share. See you next time!

(click images to see bigger)

Update: I am finally getting around to posting the rest of the photos. I am nothing if not a procrastinator.

    A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:    

What they say about a sharp tool being safer than a dull tool is true. This injury would not have happened if I had been using a sharpened hand saw. Learn from my mistake. I know I have.

Creation of Fandom

In the beginning Man created God; 

and in the image of Man 

created he him. 

And Man gave unto God a multitude of 

names,that he might be Lord of all 

the earth when it was suited to Man 

And on the seven millionth 

day Man rested and did lean 

heavily on his God and saw that 

it was good.

(from the album 'Aqualung' by Jethro Tull)

----------------------------------------------------------

The Creation of Adam

By Michelangelo

Welcome back, friends. I have once again pillaged the catalog of classic imagery in order to find a victim for my latest riffing. This time I reached all the way back to around 1511, when the magnificent Michelangelo is said to have painted the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. Sure, there may have been dozens of students on their backs doing the actual work. Do we remember any of their names? Heck no. So credit goes to one man. I am ok with that. Let those hangers-on get their own shows. This is Micky's art.

The painting (victim?) this time is The Creation of Adam, one of the many frescoes adorning the Sistine Chapel. It is one of a series depicting events from the Book of Genesis. In it we see God in the moment just before giving life to a reclining Adam. It is beautifully done and is rivaled only by the Mona Lisa as one of the best know images in the world.

Some people believe that the red cloth surrounding God and the angels is a depiction of the uterus, trailing a severed umbilical cord in the form of a green scarf. I am in the camp that says this is a depiction of the human brain. In either case, Michelangelo would have taken the secret to his grave. Desecrating a corpse was grounds for capital punishment in his day.

It is this glorious piece which bears the brunt of my latest mockery. Those of you who know me will understand when I say that I did not choose this image;. It chose me. When asked to submit something for the Zepf Alt Gallery's upcoming 'Poor Sports' show, I went through various stages of several ideas before settling upon the following:

The Creation of Fandom

(acrylic on wood, approx. 36" x 30")

I am amused by the foam finger, despite having been exposed to it thousands of times in my short life. It occupies the humor wing of my brain's museum, alongside such classics as the Whoopie Cushion, the rainbow wig, and the rubber chicken. Truth be told, I am nothing if not easily amused. 

I did not take a 'perfect copy' approach to this painting. You may notice that the angle of the scene has been tilted somewhat, creating the balance I needed. This is due to my desire to use the frame shown. Thankfully, it works. Most viewers, I am certain, will know God's arm is on the right and, logically, should be elevated above the arm of Carl, super-fan, whose foam covered paw is on the left. Much like the brain/uterus symbolism of the original, a 'hidden' nod to the human body is present in my rendition. I wonder if anyone will catch it?

Ouija: Behind the Planchard

Have you ever dicked around with a Ouija board? I did when I was about 10 years old. My grandparents had one in their game closet. My memory is incomplete regarding the incident. I do know it was the only time I ever took part in the strange process.

My step-sister, 2 years my senior, knew how to go about utilizing the 'talking board'. Although I have no recollection of the questions we asked, I do remember having my hands on the planchard, feeling it glide about from letter to letter, while feeling fairly certain that it was responding to my step-sis and not some unseen spirit.

Tonight, a quick search on the internet brought me to something I knew must exist: Ouija online. As a public service to my loyal readers (as well as a prelude to todays art offering) I share with you the engaging Q & A session between myself and the online Ouija:    

Who are you?

A   S...T...R...A...N...G...E...R

What is your name?

T...O...O   D...A...R...K

 Are you alone?

NO

How many are with you?

8

(There were 9 'entities' total... enough for a baseball team!)

Do you all play baseball?

YES

Which position do you play?

YES

It looked as if the jokester was doing a spirit version of the old 'Abbot and Costello' bit. Ok, I thought, i can play along...

Who's on first?

Y...O...U...R...S...E...L...F

Whoa. Hold on. That is not how the bit goes. Besides, that was creepy. I decided to inquire about one final thing. I had a question question for the board which had been a bee in my bonnet for far too long. This was my chance to put it to rest, once and for all. I wanted to know how to correctly pronounce 'Ouija'.


What gives with the A? Is it WEE-JEE or WEE-JUH... or...?

J...E...E

And that, my friends, is a true story.
Now, on to the art...

Approx. 3' x 2' x 1"

(click to biggenize it)

This little beauty is not particularly little. It came to me as a broken and weathered tabletop, abandoned in the apartment laundry/storage room by previous tenants. As with so many pieces, the idea was born the moment I saw the wood. If you wondering why it was made to look like a broken and charred Ouija board , you are not alone. I, too, can not figure out the basis for such an idea. I know only that I could visualize it completed and had to make it so.

The hand is foam, covered with hardcoat and paint. It was part of the 'treasure' I discovered in a film studio's dumpster. I created the planchard using a solid oak cabinet door, salvaged somewhere in my wanderings. It is actually two pieces, stacked, with a curved magnifying glass lens as a window. The hand is secured with adhesive, the planchard with screws.

It is not frail by any means. It is stout. To me, it looks and feels like the remnant of a large sign from a fortune-tellers business which had, apparently, met with some trouble. Perhaps it had been tossed asunder during a vicious hurricane. The charring on the edges could tell a different story. That of a scandalous palm reader who, having tricked one too many people out of their money, had been run out of town as her store was set ablaze.

Ultimately, it is what you want it to be. Despite my uncertainty regarding its reason for being, I know I like it. The image here does not do it justice, as you can imagine. I am considering putting it on display at Lestats on Adams Avenue. I may have to trade it out with some of my other work hanging there, but it needs to be on display. I have a feeling there is but one person in the world who will truly love this. God knows they are not going to see it if it just sits in my studio!

Finally, let us not forget, the correct pronunciation is 'WEE-JEE'. I got that info right from the source.

Alienation at Zepf Alt

My vast army of supporters and followers... all (1, 2,3...) FOUR of you!
(wait, one of those is me...) all THREE of you. I apologize for being away so long. The staff here at Nonphilter Global, LLC, was really wrapped-up in the 'Alienation' shows.

A total of 13 pieces were completed  , with our best drones chugging around the clock for about a month. Countless efforts were deemed unfit and thrown into the furnaces that makes the steam which powers our warehouses. I was told an intern may have been inadvertently shoveled in as well. It was probably that Tuesday when I kept smelling burnt hair. ...more than usual, I mean.

Usually I would explain the posted images, but not today. I am going to let the pieces speak for themselves. I will let the viewers absorb the art in their own way. I swear, It has nothing to do with the fact that OSHA is at the gate, and we still have not cleaned up after the fierce, company-wide X-acto knife battle we held this week, or that I need to get some help moving this... er... BOX! down to the furnace.

Dear, dear Fischlowitz. We hardly knew you.

"Alienette"

"The Beckoning"

"I Want To Believe"

"Caution"

SOLD

"Greetings"

"Hard-Wired"
SOLD

"Not Think"

SOLD

"Space Invaders"

"Alias"

SOLD

"UFO-Rama"

"Crash"

"Fire in the Sky"

"Asteroids"

(hanging mobile)

The Barrel's Inside Has Monkey

My poor wife.

Sometimes I will see stuff lying on the side of the road or in an alley. Trash, really. Refuse. But, I will see potential in the castoff. Whether its a a picture frame (common) or an old chair (also common), I will think to myself, "Hey. I might be able to maybe use that probably someday perhaps." The offending item then finds a new home in which to rest it's weary bones: My home! Or my car. Or just in my pocket.

This would not be an issue if the newly found treasure was put to use soon thereafter, thus creating a rapid turnabout of rotating junk. That is not how it plays out, I admit. A more likely scenario can be exemplified by the piece I share today. I call it

Taru no Naka no Saru

(translation: The inside of the barrel has a monkey)

The fan blade, which serves as the backdrop, was found 7 or 8 months ago.  I can remember it very clearly, as it was the day I first met Jason at Visual Art Supply. I had ridden my bicycle that day. Along the way, I was traveling down one of the many alleys found in that area of town. A wayward fanblade has little chance of escaping my keen eye, especially when I am on a bike. I passed it, considered the potential, then turned back and grabbed it.

It sat in the garage from that day until early this year, when I brought it out of retirement to create something, though I did not know what at the time. I worked with the existing, flaking finish, rather than sanding it down. I gave it a wash of sage green, then coated it liberally with a darker green, which was easily sanded to return it to an aged state.

Next, I masked all of the green and painted in the red with a rattle can. The weave was dry-brushed with gold Testors model paint. That was where it ended for a short time. You see, I have a habit of creating a 'canvas' without having an idea of what will go on it. It feels quite natural, though I am sure its not the most common process. For me, the canvas, or backdrop, will usually dictate to me what should be put on it. This is true for 80% or more of the pieces I create. And, it was true for this.

After waiting in the wings for a week or so, it became clear that the subject of this piece would be a nod to Barrel of Monkeys, a toy which I encountered sporadically throughout my childhood. Personally, I think the idea strange. But, it was the fan blade which gave the orders. I simply obeyed.

The monkey itself was cut from a thin sheet of fiberboard, using a bench top scroll saw.  The details I carved in using a utility knife with a sharp, new blade. I then sanded it, using schedule of three or four successively finer grits., probably ending at 600. Finally, it was sprayed in the same red as that used behind the golden weave.

Farther down is a portrait of someone's simian great-uncle who served in, what else, the Great War. This is made evident by the medal of merit he displays proudly on his chest. Again, not my idea per se. It simply came to me and I made it so.

The ribbon shape which overlays the Munkle (Monkey's Uncle) was a really cool drawer pull I had scavenged off of a TV console discarded on some street or other. I sprayed it gold, then continued the ribbon motif at the top. That layer displays the translation, thanks to my wife, for the words 'barrel of monkeys'.

And that, my dear friends, is the story behind the monkey. Not a real barn-burner, but 100% true. The process I go through is not unique. The resulting art, however, is. I can safely say that this piece is one of a kind. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that nothing has ever before been created before that even resembles this piece. Call it a hunch.