We’ve made the determination to cancel our Harvest Party for 2020.
It is not without great heartache on our part to give this up either, but the present guidance would have it be too large of a gathering.
Rather than attempt to limit participation or skirt the rules, we’ve decided to cancel.
We are looking for ways to still do our trick or treat festivities in a modified way as well.
Stay safe everyone.
2019 was an extremely COLD Halloween. But both the party and Halloween night did not disappoint.
“Real Art”
For the second time in my life, I find myself making a Transi tomb lid. As people are always curious what I’m working on, and I share pictures, I’m once again struck at the visceral change in reactions to this work compared to many of my others.
“Whoa, this is REAL ART”
“I had no idea you could really sculpt”.
If I actually point out an old piece, I get something akin to “That is just Halloween stuff, THIS is ART.”
Well, plan A failed utterly.
But, I was able to carve away the excess foam to get Trevor laying down properly.
So, on to plan B. Since the plastic had failed with plan A, I clearly needed something breathable. So, I rolled out some fabric, and pre-soaked it in water to help cure the foam. (Again, cures via moisture) However, I was aware this might create the same problem as at the edge of the foam where the foam itself made a vacuum seel and prevented proper sealing…I’d just have to deal with that as it come up.
It begun extremely well, with the foam rising to meet Trevor just as planned…
But, my fears proved valid on some larger areas where a cavity began to form. So, Plan C was instituted, cutting into the foam, and injecting water into the cavities. Now I just have several holes to cover up.
It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s workable. Now I need to figure out what to do about the fabric. Do I clay over the fabric to make a consistent surface on top, or do I just seal and paint it? Either way, I can get back to work on Trevor knowing where he is going to meet the ‘bed’. One big technical part left with his left hand and, um ‘modesty cloth’ for lack of a better term.
So often in this social media world, we only present the perfect picture.
Life is not perfect. Nor is art.
And while I could wax poetic on how strange it is I find it that THIS particular project seems to register with (“normal”) people as “art” much more frequently than my more random projects, I’m also well aware that many folks in Halloween circles look at it and wonder how it’s even possible.
Today I present an utter failure for all to see.
The whole idea behind revisiting Trevor was to improve and learn from 2012. And it certainly started out well.
I wanted to get most of the body sculpted this time prior to gluing the form to the lid. That presented many struggles with Trevor 1.0, who was glued down really early in the project.
And, Trevor’s sculpture of the body has gone well not being tied down to a lid, but it was time to get him attached so I know how much of the legs were going to be hidden by various features.
The plan was simple, build a bed out of foam underneath Trevor. Use the plastic to protect him, then I could glue him down to the now form fitted foam bed.
Well…it didn’t work out that way. I went in knowing the foam needed moisture to cure…So prepped by spraying some in under the plastic. Well, the edges cured, formed an air tight barrier, and the pressure returned the center of the mass back to liquid, deflating my form fitting endeavors. I then attempted to punch a few holes in hopes the foam would re-expand…nope, still liquid. Now I was faced with a potential disaster of a mess.
Well, it’s better to cure the foam, so I pulled Trevor off, placed damp paper towels over the liquid and hoped for the best..
It swelled and ballooned and is now a giant mound that is no longer form fit. You can see normal cure on the edge, and then the liquified then solidified section here.
So…I’m going to have to cut all that off and try again…The question is what to try.
What I do know is it’s not picture perfect. It might get there, but these little troubles are all part of the experience, and we really shouldn’t hide them.
