Category: Inspiration

If you want to be unorthodox…

You have to look for inspiration in unorthodox places.

We’ve been deep into research mode. I’ve made no secret I was unhappy with the scarecrows this year. I mean they turned out ok, and how I expected, and all. They were just too ORDINARY. What’s more, they really did not have any way to tie in with the eventual planned move to Spider Woman.

So, how does one come up with UNORTHODOX scarecrows? And, what’s more how does one tie scarecrows into Spider Woman?

First up, finding some scarecrows. I’ve been running random searches for some time. Found plenty of scarecrows, scary and cute. Virtually all the standard humanoid being on a cross. None of it was catching my attention.

I forget what the specific search term was that brought up THIS image.

From 2011 buildup

Now, that is something I can work with. It’s spidery as it is, and bears a striking resemblence to Charr as well.

From Year of the Charr

I started seeing friends for Charr…but I can’t possibly store all that…so, lets see where that pic came from, maybe they have some more sources…

Did they ever.

From 2011 buildup

Magic the Gathering, of all things. Not only was it dishing up unique art in spades, it was dishing out a story to go with it.

“Most of the scarecrows of Shadowmoor were built by kithkin cobblesmiths to perform basic farming tasks. Even on that dimly lit plane, kithkin have to raise springjacks and care for their sickly, nettle-infested crops, so enterprising hedge-mages of the douns (the Shadowmoor term for kithkin villages) built creatures to help with the chores. The cobblesmiths could only spare a few tools, bones, or scraps of wood to create the things, which caused the scarecrows to move in an unsettling, herky-jerky way. Some say the first scarecrow-makers used the enchanted wood of dead treefolk, and their movements are indicative of the wood’s intrinsic rage. Whatever the cause of their strange movements, they didn’t do their jobs very well, but at least when dark things in the night snatched them away, the farmers hadn’t lost much.

Over time, as farmers moved or passed away, some of the scarecrows remained. Most of them continue to try to perform their intended actions, but removed of their context, their actions seem bizarre and inappropriate. A scarecrow designed for scything grain, for example, can seem menacing when it comes at you in the dark, its sickle-arm raised high and its empty eyes trying to decide whether you are ripe for mowing. Other scarecrows are more innocuous in purpose, but can still be strange and scary.”

From 2011 buildup

It’s looking like The Harvest might just have another year of life left in it as we prepare to transition…

Alec’s new toys…

Getting a quick test video of the remaining lab equipment, and Alec decided he wanted to come help.

Donning the lab coat, he gave his best evil laugh…

Don’t know where he get’s it from…

He’s back to wanting to be a mad scientist today. It’ll change again tomorrow…

Sorting through some photos, some inspiration for you all.

I never really was one to fully understand the whole idea of clowns being scary.

Talia insists this clown is scary, however.

From 2010 Buildup

Browsing the other posters, however. I find myself at a loss. There is little I can find to interpret this particular poster as anything BUT scary. That middle clown is coming for YOU.

From 2010 Buildup

In fact, I think I saw him over here.

A whole carnival setup would be awful fun to do one of these years. And, as we went to the Zoo last weekend, this little plaza gave me a great idea if we ever go that route.

From 2010 Buildup

I wonder 1: what kind of cloth those flags are made of and 2: how long it took them to fade….

Of course, they were featuring some of ‘natures nightmares’.

Not that I claim to fear spiders in the least. My brother had one of these for a pet.

From 2010 Buildup

Still, spiders are a ‘thing’ for so many out there. And, there’s even Spiderfest going on at the Davis Graveyard in honor of that. Who knows…I might just get around to making a spider for that. Have a week business trip coming up, nothing to do for 4 nights, and the wife wouldn’t let me build a spider HERE. If I can’t find a suitable activity around town for early October, I’m sure housekeeping would LOVE having someone making spiders…

And, of course, the bats.

From 2010 Buildup

Such sweet little things…what’s there to be afraid of?

Of course, I WANTED to tap that particular fear before, but my wife has stated that it’s grounds for divorce if I ever make some of the bat people.

And, of course the vulture.

From 2010 Buildup

We LOVE our little vulture buddy. “The mean bird” as Talia says.

“It’s never going to work!”

It’s been a busy couple weeks.

My son’s birthday, a party in boiling temperatures, and various plans falling through have all led to me not having time to work on anything.

So, finally having made my way back to the bowels of the shed, I pulled out failure 2 from the laboratory.

Next to the Jacob’s ladder, my second biggest annoyance was my…well, let’s call it the tank assembly.

It was a last minute addition. Modelled on a mixture of some very real science experiment videos that are a tad disturbing, with elements of The Brain that Wouldn’t Die thrown in just for fun. (YES, that’s a 3 star movie that has served as a major influence on my laboratory setup. Only the best.)

Well, half of the thing had to be scuttled as the silicone I had plugging some holes in the plumbing to pump the serum from the tanks to Bob on the table did not dry fully and blew a leak. Then, various other things went wrong, and it was generally bland, IMO.

So, we’ve begun the fixing of that.

Some cosmetic bells and whistles to the doors.

From Lab

All these will eventually light up.

First is an old post office box door.

From Lab

We’ll do the same trickery on it’s window I did for the control panel:

And, some tubes obtained from my brother.

From Lab

We’ll have them lighting up as well from behind.

I want to get some dials nobs and guages installed as well, but have yet to locate any I really like.

Next up on the Lab projects include fixing the lighting, scrapping/redoing the generator, and a few modifications to Bob.

And, in case you’ve missed out…Here’s The Brain that Wouldn’t Die in it’s entirety. I’m sure you can see how it’s influenced my own lab design.

However, while I’m out there working on this thing. Some girl I do not immediately recognize rides up on her bicycle. “What are you doing?”

I look around. “What?”

“What are you doing there?”

“Oh, this is just my little experiment.”

“What is it?”

“I’m trying to bring the dead back to life.” Said completely straight faced and serious.

“Who”

“The dead. You know..” pointing to Bob back in the garage.

“It’s never going to work!” now looking at me very nervously.

“Oh, give me a few months to work on it, then we’ll see.”

Ideas….always ideas…

One thing about me is I’m always on the look out for some new ideas.

My wife and I were out shopping a couple weeks back, and I ran into this…thing…in a really oddball store. (yes, couple weeks, it was on my wife’s camera and took me a while to pilfer it.)

From 2010 Buildup

Now I knew instantly there had to be some way to incorporate something with that same feeling into Halloween. I also studied it’s rather interesting construction, appearing to be simply rope wound over a form with a wooden mask and shells glued into place. (and a price tag of a few thousand)

I snapped the pic and moved on, not dwelling on the idea.

Then, a few nights ago something strange happened. I was sitting here watching South Pacific. (yes, the musical) And, there came on a scene with something rather not at all like the statue above. And somehow, the vision here, mixed with my initial ideas on that statue, and some cutesy stuff one of the neighbors does, and the three have jumbled around in my addled brain to produce this rather interesting idea. IF the weather ever clears up for a length of time, I’ll show it to you as it’s just plain too hard to explain at the moment.

On the Stele front, after the weather tried to mess up our last update, we managed to save the panels, but weather has really delayed the continuation of the effort.

I did manage to get the panels attached to one of the Stele, however.

From 2010 Buildup

With any luck I’ll get the second attached, and we’ll be able to start on the fronts. I need LOTS more paper to make into mache, however…

Hitting the town…

My wife and I skipped town this weekend to see a local shadow cast of Repo! The Genetic Opera.

From Repo

Of course, we had no idea what to expect for such a thing. It could be a packed house, or empty. We stopped by to purchase tickets at roughly 3 in the afternoon, and were told they expected a line to start forming around 10:30. So, we were there, first in line.

From Repo

What’s more, they allowed me to bring the camera provided I ask the cast first. They were ok with it as well, so I was shooting pics in throughout. Unsure the size of the theater, and not wanting to have to pack everything back to the car if I was denied, I only brought my telephoto lense. I wish I had brought my shorter one. But, we know better for next year.

Our (very funny) security for the night.

From Repo

As we were pat down prior to the show, I told my wife I only take her out to the best places…

Anyhow. I chose the camera I did, largely based on reviews stating just how well it performs in low light situations…well, ya know, I seem to have a few of those…

I can’t imagine a more difficult lighting situation than attempting to snap photos of actors with the shifting lighting created by a projector. I must say, I am impressed.

From Repo
From Repo
From Repo
From Repo

It was a very fun night that I’m still attempting to recover from.

And, we stumbled on something whilst out shopping that may just revolutionize how I set things up in the yard. But, more on that later.