Come Out, Come Out Whatever You Are...

Oh, mama - He's a magic (mushroom) Man, (paraphrasing Nancy Wilson of Heart)

2011-10-08T14:14:00.000-05:00

Previous stage of work on this project Last Sporeling Update.

I have had this put to the side because it needed to be air brushed. For the logest time it was either too windy, too cold, too hot, raining or there were perfect days - but I had family matters to attend to. This is the final update on this finished project. I inserted a rod in one of his legs so that he could be stuck in one of our indorr plant pots. I have some outside pictures BUT - he is not meant to be outside as he is a delicate sculpture and not some cast resin decoration. I hope you find the images of interest. Happy sculpting,

Cheers-

Sincerely,

Mark Davidson, CEO

Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.

“Purveyors of the unfathomable”

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

The right to armbears....and Entings......

2010-12-19T11:53:00.001-06:00

Arm’s, an important part of the food pyramid…..or not It’s too late to actually ask Jeffrey Dahmer. My Ent is patiently waiting for me to craft his arms. I took the opportunity to measure him and he would be about 20” tall if standing – he’s HUGE! I kind of keep making things in Barbie Doll Scale and need to try to get my sculpt’s to be about 1/3 of that or less. That seems to be what’s selling anyway. OH, and by the way, I never did list my Troll on Ebay because my wife stole him for her collection. So, no money made there. I have been doing double duty at work doing my regular ‘jobs’ and now helping out in International Sales since my buddy Zach left. So when I get home, I’m a little drained and don’t get a lot of sculpting done – especially with Christmas shopping, wrapping, etc….

Hopefully I can work on the Ent over the Christmas Holiday plant shut down and make progress. I just hope my clay holds out – I’ve only so much of my Ent shade mixed and do not have any of the component colors in stock to make more. Happy sculpting to all and to all a good night! Here are a few Pics:

Cheers!

Sincerely,
Mark Davidson, CEO

Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.
“Purveyors of the unfathomable”
Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Wooden Wiskers

2010-11-29T19:51:00.001-06:00

Uploading the pictures that didn't come out blurry from my shaking hands (Neuropathy). I still need to finish the chest, clavicals, trapezius, spine and neck (not to mention arms & hands). This was a test fitting of his head which was done a long time ago. I think it's going to work out. Any constructive ctitiques are always welcome.

Link to previous entry: Previous Post: I-cant-feel-my-legs! Now Now don't be hasty part 4

Cheers!

Sincerely,

Mark Davidson, CEO

Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.

“Purveyors of the unfathomable”

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

I can't feel my legs!!!!!!!

2010-11-18T18:34:00.001-06:00

Not much "witty" to say, other than - "I can't feel my legs! I can't feel my legs!!".....hee, hee - just an update on my ent. I have been super busy at work and haven't had anything left for sculpting many days.

Cheers!

Now-now-dont-be-hasty-part-3 OR If Bella Swan fell in love with a tree....

2010-10-03T15:53:00.000-05:00

Progress with my follically challenged Enting. Across between Abe Lincoln and Robert Pattinson...hee hee...

Cheers!

Link to part 2

Sincerely,

Mark Davidson, CEO

Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.

“Purveyors of the unfathomable”

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Now – Now - Don’t be hasty …Part 2:

2010-09-15T18:23:00.005-05:00

Holy Robert Pattinson batman!!!

I started with a Sunflower Root for the skull top and ‘hair‘. I added a wire armature for the body and added some Studio Sculpey to rough out the under structure as well as set in some more roots for the beard. Aye, I’d wager tis a beard you could hide a badger in…..

I made a separate lower lip section, so I wouldn’t have to work around the beard so close and risk more damage, cured it and blended it into the jaw. I also started blending the clay into the direction the roots were taking to make them look like they were growing right out of him instead of glued on. I had to re-attach a lot of beard roots using Liquid Sculpey. Sounds like Orc mischief to me!!!

Next I added the upper lip and the beginning of a nose. After I cured this once more I started on the cheek bones. Cured it some more and next will be the eyelids (his eyes are to be closed). I’m going for a kind of Abraham Lincoln look to the face. A bit gaunt but ‘wise’ with a look of deep contemplation….if I can pull it off. Stay tuned for more- same bat Channel –

P.S. If you want to be automatically notified when I update this Blog, just click over on the Right to be a Follower.

Link to Part 1

Cheers!

Sincerely,
Mark Davidson, CEO

Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.
“Purveyors of the unfathomable”

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.
Established: 13,234,567 BC

Now – Now - Don’t be hasty …Part 1:

2010-09-15T18:09:00.008-05:00

Guten Tag! Although my Sporeling isn’t completed yet (needs multiple thin layers of paint and only one coat is on so far), I have started yet another Project; An Ent or Enting.

I first visualized what I wanted the finished piece to look like. I wanted to have an wee Ent sitting on a worn stone outcropping, like : This

I used balsa Foam Again and I think it’s getting easier to work with, I wish I could just sculpt miniature Garden Follies out of this stuff for a living… I really enjoy working with it and it has so many possibilities...hmmmm, ya never know….

Here is the stone in progress or as I like to call it, PART 1:

P.S. If you want to be automatically notified when I update this Blog, just click over on the Right to be a Follower

LInk to part 2:

Cheers!

Sincerely,
Mark Davidson, CEO

Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.
“Purveyors of the unfathomable”

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Sexy Trolls in Kilt’s go COMMANDO!!

2010-07-28T17:48:00.009-05:00

Yeah Baby! He's going full on 'Regimental' for these pic's (if you know what I mean, nudge, nudge - wink, wink, need I say more?). Troll beefcake wrapped up in a super sexy Loin Cloth…and NO underpants!

I'm finally fiished with this hunk of wrinkly, smelly, illiterate love monkey and now he can be yours! I hope to put him up for auction on Ebay soon. Whomever wins the auction can see just where the 'wild things' are. Yeah, he's a hard 9 inches without his base, no enhancement pills required here. C'mon, you know you love it when I talk dirty…..or about dirty Trolls at least.
Ah fer cryin' out loud don't get so offended........Jeez!

Enjoy these scantily clad images of Mr. Troll while you can.

Cheers!

Troll Booty-

Manicure - OR Trollicure......

Pedicure.

Nine Rock Hard Inches of Love!

Attaches easily to Base:

Previous Post on Mr Troll-
http://weebeastlings.blogspot.com/2010/07/troll-troll-troll-your-boatgently-down.html

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois

U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Troll, Troll, Troll your Boat...gently down the web....

2010-07-19T19:56:00.002-05:00

If my sister was dead - she would be rolling in her grave....another image of Troll naughty bits.....

I still need to cobble up a loincloth for Mr. Troll and then he's completed. I used thinned acrylic washes over the Genesis Heat Set Paints. I didn't have any masking fluid for his nails so I buffed off the over paint afterwards. I added a little gloss to his eyes, lips and nails

Previous Progress: http://weebeastlings.blogspot.com/2010/05/troll-world.html

Cheers!Mark DavidsonCEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD"Purveyors of the unfathomable"Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.Established: 13,234,567 BC

Mushrooms, they're not just for hallucinacions anymore!

2010-07-19T19:47:00.003-05:00

Avast ya scaberous dogs!
I have an update on my Sporeling:

I DID get some masking fluid for my Sporeling, his eyes, mouth, inner nostrils and nails are all covered (hence the yellowish hue). Once I airbrush the top coat over his veins and what not I can peel it off of him. I couldn’t get him to properly grasp ANY kind of walking stick so it doesn’t look like he will have any EBAY potential.

Previous Progress: http://weebeastlings.blogspot.com/2010/02/sporeling-sculpt-madness-continues.html

Cheers!
Mark Davidson
CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD
"Purveyors of the unfathomable"
Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.
Established: 13,234,567 BC

Troll World

2010-05-04T19:12:00.002-05:00

Aloha!

Welcome to It’s a Troll World and here are the lyrics to sing along with (to the tune of “It’s a Small World”).

“ It’s a world of terror – it’s a world of fear,
And I hear from Lord Durin that the Trolls are near,
So we’re all gonna die and we’re all gonna scream,
It’s a Troll World after all!
It’s a Troll World after all, it’s a Troll World after all, it’s a Troll World after all, it’s a Troll World after all”.

You sang didn’t you – you pathetic creature!

Anyway, Mr. Troll isn’t looking so peeked anymore. I’ve added some color with thinned Genesis Heat Set Paints and learned something new in the process. When used on Studio Sculpey, they tend to soak into the cured Polymer. The thicker applications need baking, but even multiple thin layers paced 24 hours apart, will still soak into Studio. I still need to paint his eyes and then do some thin airbrushing over him to smooth out the shadow & highlight colors I added. Also, I need to cobble up a loincloth…..

Included are a few pictures of the stud muffin of the year…I just hope I remember to mask his nails, lips and eyes before airbrushing!!!!

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

A minute ago it was sherry and giggles.

2010-04-13T18:22:00.002-05:00

Yes, titled as my old pal Rodney Skinner would say. Normally my blog is full of warm chuckles and sunday afternoons. But alas, not today-

Where the hell have I been?

I haven’t posted recently as I have been extremely busy around the house and garden. Add to that, I haven’t been getting hardly any sleep because my neuropathy has been playing reindeer games with me. Somewhere, a little gremlin is telling the nerves in my lower legs that the muscles are cramping like I just ran a marathon. Even though they aren’t actually cramping (I think, because my legs are always stiff) the pain and discomfort is so unbearable that sleep without I.V. sedation is completely impossible. Even though I take enough medication to knock my ass completely out and would send a hippo to happy land, I just get to lie in bed, groggy and disoriented from exhaustion and sleeping pills but unable to stop thinking about my GOD DAMN LEGS!!!!! It would be comedic if it didn’t hurt so damn much.

That means I’m just too exhausted during waking hours to sculpt. The LORD knows I want to, but I’m too exhausted to do much else but watch some TV and not really comprehend half of it. I could use a daily mid-day nap but that would certainly result in my being fired from my job…so I sit there fighting my closing eyes and trying to keep my bobbing and nodding head sit straight, just trying to stay awake. As Bilbo once said, I could use a holiday – a long holiday………Mountains Gandalf! Mountains!! And a comfortable hammock and a cool (decaffeinated) Iced Tea……

If anyone knows any rich people who want to be my Patron and pay me to stay home and sculpt, please let me know…. As soon as I wake up, I have a lot of polymer clay that needs my attention!

P.S. Please give to The Muscular Dystrophy Association if you can – I need a F’n cure NOW!!!!!!!

Cheers and sweet dreams!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD
"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

A FACE - a FACE - my kingdom for a FACE!!!!

2010-04-06T18:50:00.003-05:00

Mr. Troll has a head now complete with scars and skin disease (I thought it would be a nice touch). Now there is some painting to do to accent the highs & lows and to paint his eyes, lips, scalp sores, etc...

Previous Posts

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Cave Trolls have needs too.....

2010-03-27T18:45:00.006-05:00

I really couldn't think of a good title for this post...sorry. These are pics of Mr. Trolls head & face - in progress. Enjoy,

Cheers!
Mark Davidson
CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD
"Purveyors of the unfathomable"
Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.
Established: 13,234,567 BC

What The heck is Polmer Clay and how does it harden?

2010-03-26T20:19:00.007-05:00

Prelude to a friggin’ aneurism:

I am going to try to remember to place all of the ™ & ® symbols appropriately. Hopefully, this gets read by at least a couple of people before the Corporate CEASE AND DESIST Notices are nailed to my forehead by lawyers.

There have been a few threads in the Shiflett Brothers most awesome Forum and in other places on the internet, regarding multiple bakes of sculpts and how to get the fresh clay to stick to the baked clay. I strongly recommend using the Sculpey® or Fimo® Diluents (which are different from the "Liquid Polymer Clay" formulas). The diluents they provide in bottle form are essentially the exact same plasticizer that is already used in the Polymer Clay so it is 100% compatible. That means you can be confident of a strong bond. Vaseline® has been suggested and it may work immediately (short term) - but I do not know about long term durability (years).
Now to get to the major issue: The point being, to work with a product, to get the most out of it, you need to have a basic understanding of how it works, how it doesn’t work, what the rules are and if you are lucky you can then learn how to bend or break those rules. I think that there might be a lot of kick ass talented sculptors out there who may not understand the medium they happen to be working with.

So, WHO the heck am I?

I am not a Polymer Clay Sales Rep., I do not currently nor have I in the past, worked for any of the ‘Polymer Clay’ Companies or their subsidiaries. IF, however, Polyform in Elk Grove Village is interested - they can give me a call – but my services do not come cheap. That said - my current job involves working with and around Polymer Chemistry all day long. I work for the leading Manufacturer of Adhesive & Composite Dentistry Products. That is how I make my claim of some (limited) expertise in the area of “Polymers”. I have made stop motion animated home movies using Plasticine® (known under other various brands), Traditional Clay (Pottery Clay), played with Polymer Clay in the past and now I am knee deep in trying to produce salable goods that are sculpted in Polymer Clay. The frustrating part is that I'm also the kind of guy who wants to understand the entire process(s) when I get involved in a project. I like to try and engineer improvements to the Materials I work with. I'm an average Joe who is lucky enough or cursed to understand a little bit about the physical make-up and Chemical Processes of Monomers and Polymers. I know the Polymer Clay Products that are available and know the ones that aren’t that I want to have! So I started asking questions.

Question # 1. What is Polymer Clay?

What a great question, that has a lot of interesting/strange/conflicting answers published on the internet. I have written to several of the major Brand Manufacturers to request that they describe the Polymer Clay Curing Process in scientific terms and the final state of the ‘Plasticizers’. I have received a few answers and there is one common thread, and that is, that Polymer Clay is ‘mostly’ PVC / Polyvinyl Chloride and if you put it in an oven for a while at a low heat it gets hard – wow, complex rocket science there. Now, Polyvinyl Chloride is the End Product of Molecules of the Monomer -Vinyl Chloride being linked to each other on a Molecular Level in Polymeric Chains by use of a Catalyzing Agent / Catalyst. For more detail on PVC – go HERE. The rest of the mystery is what else is there in Polymer Clay and how does it become “hard” when Baked’/ Cured in an oven?

We can’t answer the ‘Baking/Curing’ question (#2), until we answer the 1st question; to which – IS “Polymer Clay” actually a Monomer Compound containing pulverized or powdered PVC, that Polymerizes (IE: becomes a New Polymer) using a Catalyzing Agent (such as Benzoyl peroxide) or is it particles of an already Polymerized Material (supposedly plain old PVC) in a plasticizing Matrix that ‘hardens in some manner? Either way, how and what happens to the plasticizers during Curing? In the Former, what is/are the Monomer(s) and the Catalyzing Agent?

Well, good luck with that one – I have written letters to the manufacturers of Kato Polyclay™, FIMO®, Sculpey® Brand Products, ProSculpt® and ACMINET.ORG, a PVC Recourse site, asking about the curing process to get some insight on what is inside and how it works. The darndest thing is either nobody wants to spill the beans on what is going or in some unfortunate instances they just plain don’t know much about the Product they sell. Here’s the part where they probably start calling their lawyers….

I have had a reply from Staedler®, Manufacturer of Fimo® telling me that "The hardening of FIMO is a physically gelling process [similar like cooking an egg or baking a bread]where the PVC-powder is "solved" in the used plasticiser at higher temperatures (> 100°C), there is NO
chemical reaction! During the gelling process the plasticiser penetrates into the PVC particles and makes FIMO irreversible strong.The plasticiser has got a high boiling point (> 250°C) and doesn`t leave the FIMO even during hardening. HUH? If there is no Chemical Reaction happening, is it Magic instead? Does harry Potter work at the Plant where the Material is packaged? Does he mutter “Fusio Plastica” over each shrink wrapped pack as it rolls past on a conveyor belt? What do you mean no Chemical Reaction? How does one bit of PVC attach itself to the other?

Mr. Tony Aquino, a highly respected individual in the Polymer Clay Industry from Van Aken™ (Contract Manufacturer of Kato Polyclay®) told me “Some plasticizers might have a minimal amount of evaporation but they do not evaporate in the fusion process with PVC resin. In this process the plasticizer diffuses into the resin particle”. So that from Van Aiken - who have apparently have NO Chemists on Staff...how in the heck do they know what they are making if there are NO Chemists? Either they bought a formula from someone else or farmed out the chemistry part, but who is in control of their formula? They make all sorts of Product Efficacy claims on their website but they apparently don’t even manufacture the Material themselves.

Mr. Jack Johnston, another well respected person in the Industry stated in an email to me regarding Prosculpt® that “I own the company, but I am not a chemist. I can tell you that ProSculpt® clay reaches total fusion at 275 degrees. If it is cured at a lower temperature it will get hard, but will never reach its full fusion”. Great but what is this Fusion?

He also recommended I check with ACMINET.ORG. They in turn sent an email stating that they doubt that the term “Curing” even applies to the PVC portion of the material because PVC is a Thermoplastic, which can be re-shaped by heat but Curing ONLY applies to Thermo Set Plastics which harden once and that's it.

Then there’s the terms “Baking” and “Curing”. We interchange them in our conversations but there is actually a HUGE difference in the two. Are you cooking the Clay or Curing the Clay: Can you Over Cure the Clay? I will paraphrase one of the Scientists that works at the same company as me, a very smart man named Mr. Steven Duray:

“Plain and simple: it is totally, absolutely, impossible to "over cure" a Composite (Monomers that are to be Polymerized). The polymerization reaction is totally different from cooking.

Cooking uses heat to break chemical bonds. If you cook too long, you push the reaction too far and the meat/dough/vegetables are rendered into carbon, i.e. burnt.

A polymerization reaction - curing - takes certain types of molecules (monomers) and adds them to a growing chain (polymer). Once the monomers are consumed, the reaction stops. It cannot continue because nothing is there to add onto the polymer chain.

The difference is that cooking uses an independent driving force, heat. Polymerization uses chain propagation steps which are more self-regulating.

What happens then when you heat the Composite for a longer time at the recommended maximum temperature or slightly lower? The composite will most likely warm up a little. If the heat is sufficiently intense (too close to the heat source or oven set too hot), the composite might even start to burn. But, if it burns, it is from the heat and not from "over curing."

So you cannot Over-Cure – but you can Burn. The problem is what the hell did I just put in the Oven? A mix of Monomers or something completely different? Am I supposed to Bake it or am I supposed to Cure the Material? How can I get good results if I don’t know the answer to that simple question?

Wow, it’s just a package of clay dude! Well, not to me. I want to understand this Material on a more intimate level. I want to know the limits of the Material in general and by Brand. What is the materials Cured Density, its Malleability, Translucency / Opacity, Barcol Hardness, Etc? Are ALL manufacturers using the same Component Materials in a Confidential Formula or is each manufacturer using a unique and exclusive Materials base in their Branded Product? Short of them straight out telling everyone the formula and how to manufacture the Finished Goods – it is quite difficult to get any kind of answer out of them on WHAT this Product actually IS and HOW it Hardens.

I have read the 2 opposing concepts on “CURING”; the absorption theory & the evaporation theory.

One says they the plasticizers evaporate / just float away, like steam when boiling water.
The other says the plasticizers are absorbed by the PVC...absorbed how? Fusion?

The PVC Fusion explanation: “Polymer clays are actually a form of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with added plasticizers which make the clay workable. The process for hardening these Clays is called PVC fusion, where the polymer molecules are arranged into porous grains and then saturated with plasticizers to keep the clay malleable. As these grains are heated, they swell into a gel and begin to fuse with each other. When the temperature rises even further, the fused PVC forms a hard, permanent plastic. Temperatures for PVC fusion vary from 250 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, a range that is available with most ovens.
Reference Source

Well, that sounds an awful lot like PVC and Plasticizers becoming one Material to me.

Then I found this explanation from this source “ 'Glass Attic'...(raw) clay is full of plasticizers, they keep the clay soft... when you bake, you bake them off... but if you don't bake long enough, you don't kill off (solidify) all of the plasticizers... and when you take it out of the oven and the piece cools down, the plasticizers start to recover, and they go back to work starting to soften the clay... (because there are only a few of them left, it takes a lot longer, but eventually some of the clay gets soft and the piece will now get brittle and fragile... if it is then dropped, it might just fracture and crack and the least little pressure will break it apart!!!....

To me, that describes not a plasticizer but a solvent reaction.

So, at least for a while Mark isn’t going to be getting the answers or Products he needs because of a lack of Chemical know how. But surely ALL of the Major Brands have Staff Chemists who have intimate knowledge of the Products that their Company manufactures, right? Apparently not….

New Rule #1.
Marks first mandate is: ANY chemical producing company - MUST HAVE 1 OR MORE CHEMIST(S) ON STAFF!!! The Chemists are the brains who know how things do, will, or won't work on a molecular level. How can a Chemical Product Company innovate, improve or quantitatively back the quality of the goods they sell without dedicated staff who understanding the chemistry of their product? Farming out chemistry is just unacceptable to me on so many levels. What is the outside Chemists loyalty to the Company? What loyalty to the Brand? What is their 'buy in' to produce the very best chemistry possible? Who is constantly seeking to improve the chemistry? How can a Company’s Marketing Department meet the needs of the end user without dedicated Staff Chemists to work closely with? If any Manufacturer is reading this - get the damn hint - you need Chemists! If you can't figure it out, hire me and I will get it done for you! People are griping about the inadequacies of your product on the internet for a reason – capiche, comprende, verstehen?

The one who hasn't answered (and I bet $$$ to doughnuts THEY know the facts) is Polyform®, who make all the Sculpey® Products. They are a 30 minute drive from my house and one day I'm going to go there, pound on the door and demand some friggin answers. AAAAARRRRRGGGGGH!At this point I had an aneurism and have to sign off……..

EDIT: After expert medical attention was provided, I wrote to Katherine Dewey and asked for her assistance. She took the bull by the horns and posted this: Polymer Clay answers

Cave Troll Porn

2010-03-15T18:43:00.005-05:00

Drums, drums in the darkness...they have taken the gate and the bridge,there is no way out....they are coming.

The next step is the neck and head,

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD
"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Lend a Cave Troll a hand

2010-03-14T13:14:00.005-05:00

Working on the arms, shoulders & back now. While Boromir curses me and all the halflings....

Previous Post: http://weebeastlings.blogspot.com/2010/02/trolls-and-viagra-do-not-mix.html

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

2010-03-14T13:07:00.003-05:00

Close to being finished but it's turning out to be the most difficult part. The hand holding the walking stick. Once I figure the solution out, I can sculpt it and move on to the paint job. Wish me luck!

Previous Post Here: http://weebeastlings.blogspot.com/2010/02/sporeling-sculpt-madness-continues.html

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Sporeling sculpt - the madness continues:

2010-02-15T18:37:00.005-06:00

This was my first attempt at doing fingernails. I used Fimo Soft Flesh as the base and Premo Transluscent for the nails. I also need to work on doing close-up photography...

Jill Willich awesome fingernail tutorial

Example of Knock out nails by Jill Willich

Fingernails -

Toenails - This little piggy went to the market...

...This little piggy brought home a flat screen plasma TV...

Sporeling Feet
I'm walkin on sunshine.....

Thanks for looking, more to come.

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Trolls and Viagra do NOT mix!

2010-02-15T18:28:00.007-06:00

OK, I thought I was being reasonable for my Trolls equipment - however, my wife has told me in 2 words (smaller and wrinklier) that Mr. Troll needs some surgery.

Mr. Troll for his male enhancement commercial:

A wrinkly Troll butt:

Hopefully the surgery will go well and the patient will not rip off my arms and beat me to death with them...

For an excellent tutorial on sculpting a wrinkly creature see Smellybugs (real name Peter Konig)Maquette Tutorial.

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

2010-02-10T21:24:00.002-06:00

Sing it Aretha!

More sculpting progress tomorrow. Tonight, I digress....

I have noticed a big misunderstanding sweeping around the good old U.S.A. about a word called respect. There seems to be a wide spread opinion that people are OWED respect. As far as I'm concerned, that is NOT true. It is impossible to gain respect by intimidation, threats, bribery, or any other form of coercion. You cannot make a person respect you in any way shape or form - ever.

The reason for that is that respect is a gift that can only be given through another's free will. Respect, can never be taken from someone. I think in part, that it is a matter of confusing the term "Common Courtesy" with the genuine offering of respect. We all deserve to be treated with common courtesy, but respect is a totally different level of consideration.You can envy a rich or a happy person but you don't automatically respect him. To gain your respect, someone must ACT in a way that moves you to bestow upon them your heartfelt gift.

The qualities that tend to garner respect usually include the following: Compassion, Thoughtfulness, Humility, Generosity, Charity and most importantly, no one is ever respected if they do not show respect to others. A person who routinely is respectful to others is more likely to have respect returned to them. With that thought in mind, where do you fit into that picture?

Respectfully yours,

Mark

Cheers!

Making a Sculpture base out of Balsa Foam: Part 3

2010-02-07T15:31:00.013-06:00

Link to Part 1:

Link to Part 2:

The top surface cracks are all etched:

Once the cracks are well etched, I focus on the flat surface areas. Now, some LIGHT hammering with a rounded tool, to put dents and waves into the surface. Be sure to pummel them VERY LIGHTLY as it is easier to do more later than to try and take it back! So do some nice random pummeling and call me in the morning.

As I chose sedimentary stone (built up layer upon layer over millennia, or over 7 days…one of the two) for my type of stone, it would crack along the layers deposited over time. So now I switch to the sides of the stones and dig in some horizontal grooves and notches with my Needle Tool. I can hear the Late, great happy painter William Alexander, telling me to FIRE IT IN!!!!!

So I do!

The last step for tooling will be some putting some chips into the stone. Once again using my needle tool, or a Kemper Embossing Tool or whatever comes handy. Remember, pummel lightly. Now it is ready to seal.

I spray the whole thing down with a few light coats of UV Protective Clear Matt Acrylic. This will soak into the pores of the Balsa Foam and BIND all the delicate edges together so they don’t just flake off with casual handling. Layer the coats of spray lightly.

I’m ready to finish it off, get me some acrylic paint BABY!!! I picked out a color theme that will contrast my dark skinned Cave Troll (reference of actual Material shown).

I will apply a dark grayish green layer first and work it into ALL the nooks and crannies. Go LIGHTLY, but be very thorough – too much paint in one layer will block out the beautiful texture and porosity of the carved Balsa Foam. Again, it is easier to add more later, than to ask for a do over. This will realy stand out under the brownish top layer.

Then I add a lighter grey middle shade over the raised areas by dry brushing.

Next I add some spattering with my airbrush using a couple complimentary colors. You can also use an OLD toothbrush or paint brush (Click here for technique). These random droplets add an uneven feel to the coloring, simulates areas of depth in the material and enhances the natural look we are trying to achieve. It doesn't realy stand out in th photo, it's supposed to be subtle.

Then, some light airbrushing with the final tone. Keep it LIGHT and give another coat later if you want but whatever you do, DO NOT lay it on in one thick layer. If the paint is too thick it will obscure all your detail and the porosity of the Balsa Foam. If you want to hide the porosity, then by all means go ahead and slather it on.

If there are areas I want to enhance or call attention to, I go in with a small brush and bolden them up.

I decided to add some moss in the cracks. This is the only deviation from my original plan. I used a wash of green shades, working this into the cracks.

The final stage is 2 -4 coats of UV Protective Acrylic. This will protect the piece in transport and handling, as well as, provide a durable finish to the display for the years to come. I'm realy pleased with how this turned out, especially as I wrote all the text for this tutorial before I even started on step 1.

Enjoy, life is good!

Cheers!
Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD
"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Making a Sculpture base out of Balsa Foam: 2

2010-02-06T16:21:00.005-06:00

Link to Part 1:

Part 2:

Next, I need some weight to the base because Balsa Foam is super light. I use some Orthodontic Stone (it is more durable than Plaster Of Paris) to fill the gaping hole in the bottom. Since you are unlikely to be able to get your hands on that material, you could use Plaster Of Paris or more Polymer Clay. You choose the material, as long as it is something heavy, that will reinforce the fragile balsa Foam structure (without damaging it) AND that won’t fall out of the bottom. It needs to be HEAVY and it needs to STICK! Later on we will cover the bottom in felt, so don’t worry about what color or mixture of colors the filler(s) is/are.

Now I need to get my (sharpened) pencil back out and draw irregular stone shapes on the top surfaces of both layers. Once I have my cracks & crevices laid out I use a Needle Tool to score the lines into the foam (a sharp Exacto-Knife would work also). Here is a picture with some pencil lines still untouched (I worked on it during my lunch break and didn’t have a camera handy for the ‘pencil only’ shot) and some already carved in. Please forgive me, please don’t make me eat creamed corn!!!

More to come,

Link to Part 3:

Making a Sculpture base out of Balsa Foam: Part 1

2010-02-06T15:57:00.011-06:00

1st, Get some Balsa Foam.
2nd Grab a sculpt you have or are in the process of sculpting that needs a base.

3rd Follow along:
I have a Cave troll in progress and want him on a 'Faux Stone" base, to simulate a cave floor. So I consider the weight and dimensions of the completed sculpt to approximate how much surface area my base needs to keep it supported and stable. I eyeball where I need my Troll to stand and make two holes exactly where the rods needed to support him should be. I then use a pencil to draw 2 sets of irregular shapes onto the foam, one outline inside the other. I make the outer line as wide as possible because I am going to use that cut away section underneath the first outline.

Then, using an Exacto-Knife tool, I cut out both shapes VERY CAREFULLY, because Balsa Foam is very brittle. You may find that using a 'stabbing' cutting method, piercing into the foam along a line will reduce splits. I then take the outer shape and plan where I will break it up and glue it under the main shape.

I carefully cut the outer foam 'ring' and glue it in an underlapping fashion beneath the main shape using Elmers Glue (any Polyvinyl Acetate - PVA- Glue like this will work).

I curl some armature wire gauged to the holes in Mr. Trolls feet, around the tip of some needle nose pliers and then bend the trailing piece at a 90° angle. They trailing piece is inserted from the underside of the base, with a layer of polymer clay mashed between the wire and the foam base. I then mash more polymer clay into the wires unifying them, this ‘slab’ will be necessary to keep the support rods that protrude through the other side in the proper position later. I bake this in my oven at 230° for about 25 minutes, just enough to get the clay cured.

More To Come -

Link to Part 2:

2010-02-03T18:29:00.003-06:00

Adding some hands-

Link to part #2:

They have a Cave Troll….

2010-02-03T17:40:00.011-06:00

Yes, Boromir is correct, I have a cave Troll…

...or at least I will soon. In between the Sporeleing (Mushroom Fairy) Sculpt baking I decided to have a go at something near and dear to my heart. A large, wrinkly & smelly Cave Troll. I got the inspiration from an image by Matt Rhodes called "Dream Monster". I acquired his permission and blessing to have a go at his concept in clay prior to posting any images.

Note to other Creative Souls: Be considerate of the Creative Rights of your fellow Artists. IF, you are going to blatently rip somebody off, ask first and give credit where it is due.

I decided to use techniques I learned from Morezmore, sculpting parts separately and assembling later for the final bakes. So, its body with legs as 1 piece, separate feet, separate arms and separate head. OH, and I forgot, separate troll goolies (naughty bits). Normally, I wouldn't worry about anatomic correctness in the nether regions and just use appropriate clothing. In this case, I thought it would be odd to make the poor thing a eunich, especially if I am going to detail the living hell out of the rest of it.

I made a magnetic foot tool/holder, which again, I learned on Morezmore's Blog…it helped immensely. Used a mixture of Fimo Trans and Premo Frost for the nails. The skin color is a mixture of Studio Sculpey 1 pack of Midnight, English Garden & Antique Gold with a touch of Whipped Cream and Lemon Drop, along with a pack of Primo Transluscent…I think that was it. It's soft as all get out but I prefer soft over crumbly.I am also going to make a Faux Stone base using Balsa Foam, which I will have it's own thread on the ol' Blog. I will spare no painful details for it, I promise.For now here are some Troll parts in progress:

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Link To more Troll progress:

Ratatouille & PPD

2010-01-28T19:54:00.003-06:00

Why is Pixars Ratatouille relevant to sculpting? If I may paraphrase the key line of the film - "anyone can sculpt". Yep, that's right, anyone. Wait a minute you say, I wasn't born with the skills needed or I'm not gifted! Well, kids, let me clue you in on a secret. Skill isn't something you are born with; it's something that must be developed through patience and hard work.

When I see a piece by Virginie Ropars, Anita Collins, or Aris Kolokontes, I'm not seeing a gift; I see a ton of hard work. If you follow any artist's progress nowadays using the good old internet, you can see their humble first pieces that they felt were 'good enough' to share with the world. You don't see the twisted blob of clay with 2 eyes that was a first attempt. When you set your mind to developing a skill you must have the following: Patience, Persistence and Dedication, or as I like to say PPD! Nobody who's accomplished great things did them by accident. Thomas Edison created a lot of crap before he was able to create a usable working model of any of his inventions. I think it highly unlikely that Picassos 1st drawing will show up one day, or Rodan's first sculpture…they probably dropped them in the trash.

There is an OOAK Polymer Clay doll artist named Aidamaris Roman (sometimes referred to as Amanda Roman for the tongue twisted among us), who lives in Puerto Rico. Aidamaris can sculpt an angelic, ready to cure in the oven, smoothed face out of a lump of polymer clay in about 15 minutes. I got her video to watch and the way she knows how to work that ball of clay is amazing. How did she get the ability to sculpt what her mind's eye sees in 15 minutes? Divine intervention? A pact with the Devil? A lucky 4 leaf clover. Nope. Such skill is developed by taking weeks at first to do an acceptable face. Then working it down to a few days, then a couple hours, until you can produce the same result in 15 minutes that once seemed to take forever. Nobody wakes up one morning and is able to sculpt the hell out of a lump of nothing, it takes hard work. It takes PPD.

However, PPD has side effects. PPD is always hungry for your most precious commodity - time. Time you want to watch a movie, time for reading a book or time with loved ones, PPD feasts on your time like a school of Piranha's. Right now, my wife feels like a sculpting widow, barely able to grab my attention. My little poodle Bailey wonders why daddy doesn't hold him on his lap as much anymore. But, daddy's got to keep sculpting - because without PPD, I will never reach the skill level I need to generate revenue from my art. So I sacrifice my time to that hungry, hungry hippo named PPD. I have been working and re-working my latest sculpt and learning valuable lessons. I am however lucky, in that, I can surf the web and find brilliant tutorials by the likes of Eneida Rosa, Morezmore and Patricia Rose.PPD is like taking that nasty tasting cold medicine….you don't really like it, but you won't get better without it. I probably will not post much progress in the next week or so, as my father is undergoing triple bypass surgery on Friday 01/29. If I manage to grow some time, I will post what I have.

Cheers!

Mark Davidson
CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Sporeling Part II

2010-01-23T17:13:00.006-06:00

The Body begins to take shape:

Link: To Part #1

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

A Fungus Walks Among Us!!!

2010-01-18T19:10:00.010-06:00

Before you start reading the rest of this post - , imagine if you can, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice section of Walt Disney’s Fantasia.

If you can do this you will probably have in your head the music that has been haunting me the past 4 days. The music playing as Mickey directs the brooms his magic has brought to life to fetch and carry buckets of water. Da-da-da-Dum-da-dum-da-dum, Da-da-da-Dum-da-dum-da-dum, Da-da-da….. However, instead of walking broomsticks – picture walking mushrooms. If you can pull that off you may clearly be as demented as I am – please seek Psychiatric help immediately. Hang up and dial 9 – 1 – 1 and yell the word “SPORELINGS” into the mouthpiece! The Police, Fire Department and an ambulance will arrive shortly and they will bill you large sums of money and fine you for filing a false report. On second thought, don’t call 9-1-1. Better than that, here is the 411 on Sporelings:

Sporelings are elemental spirits formed out of the soil. Some appear old and some young which is confusing as they are all equally ancient spirits. Perhaps, they have a preference on how they appear to human eyes. Who can really tell what goes on in the minds of magical beings. The current infestation I am dealing with in my indoor garden have taken the form of mushrooms. Some big, some small, others short or tall….well, that’s the concept behind the project. I always like to have a well thought out concept before I begin any project so the direction I need to go is always clear. This Sporeling sculpt is of a very wise and respected Elemental Regent who goes by the name of M’grith.

This sculpt is really pumping me up. I feel an immense satisfaction as I progress on this project – even though I haven’t neared the finish line – I feel very pleased that things have been going so smoothly. Of course this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but for a twisted few…well, I think these fellows may strike your fancy. Da-da-da-Dum-da-dum-da-dum, Da-da-da-Dum-da-dum-da-dum, Da-da-da…..

The mushroom caps are made of Crayola Model Magic (to reduce weight) painted with a mix of Liquitex and Testors Model Master (ACRL Brand) Acrylics – applied with airbrush, sponge & dry brush. The caps still need a few more light coats of the final color and I will get at least 2 coats tonight before the sandman nabs me. The base tone is Liquitex Parchment color, with some seasonings added in (Mustard, Earth, Flesh) . The underside base coat of the caps is Testors Acrl Raw Umber and will be dry brushed later to highlight the ridges. The rest of the sculpt including the face which is in progress will be done with Studio Sculpy and painted with the same parchment theme.

Wait a minute, did you just say you were using Stuio Sculpey? YES! I am using Studio Sculpy for this project and it seems to be working quite nicely. It does take some getting used to – it’s really soft, softer than Fimo Soft and almost creamy in texture. It does need a lot of smoothing with a clay brush to blend over lines where clay is added or removed. In case of any possible chipping in the future, I am using the white ‘shade’ which unfortunately picks up all kinds of airborne debris – but, I am going to paint over it, so it won’t kill me for this project. FYI: Studio clay picks up fingerprints like a Mo-Fo so don’t handle any area you have already finished.

All that said, my impression of Studio is far from negative, I actually prefer some of the characteristics over my usual Fimo Soft. The finished item bakes up like a dream with a beautiful finish and the uncured materials softness makes it easy to work in fine wrinkles, details and what not’s. I give it an 8.5 out of 10. You may want to give a block of Studio a try for yourself.

More “Sporeling’s” progress to come in the next few days. Constructive criticism is always welcome, if you are having a bad day – wait till tomorrow to do my critique!

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

BeachKomberz Bust Completed

2010-01-09T18:00:00.014-06:00

Ahoy you landlubbers scouring the sandy shores for trinkets and baubles! Paddy of the BeachKomberz is completed. I wont say he's my best work but he's certainly not my worst!

I hope you enjoy the wee lad!

Cheers!

Mark Davidson

CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD>
"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

BeachKomberz Part 2

2010-01-06T19:12:00.007-06:00

Working on the details and trying to bring out some personality.

Next - I need to apply some Genesis - Heat Set paints and add is red hair & Mutton Chops.

Cheers!

Mark Davidson
CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

BeachKomberz

2010-01-05T18:56:00.014-06:00

BeachKomberz are a distant offshoot of Leprechauns. Some don't even have red hair anymore - depending on which clan they belong to. To get my sculpting chops back in shape (haven't done a serious sculpt since 1981) I started with this bust. Paddy is a gatherer of the Conch Clan and his ancestors came to the new world in the late 1700's. He still has the red hair of his ancestors and his head has grown quite nicely deep into his head shell. here are some pics concept to progress.

More to follow...

Cheers!

Mark Davidson
CEO, Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC

Tonight, mostly cloudy, with a 30% chance of monsters under the bed…

2009-12-02T19:50:00.004-06:00

Wait a minute; there are no such thing as monsters….right? I dare say I consider that statement to be absolutely wrong. Out in the world there are monsters aplenty, though most come in human guise. However, it is the monsters that creep and crawl in the darkness that I intend to reveal in these pages. Some of the more intelligent of them tend to take great offense at the terms Monster, Abnormal or Creature but as I often explain to them, our human minds are locked into a state of perpetual prejudice and most of us cannot keep our judgmental nature suppressed for long. This explanation has kept my head attached to my shoulders so far. Most of the time, I simply refer to such forms of life as "Wee Beastling's". A generic name I conjured up for those various living, breathing things that I encounter in my travels and apparently, a more acceptable name to them. Why, even the faeries don't take offence at the term.

So, what exactly is a wee beastling? Is it similar in some ways to a wee beastie? Actually, no. Wee beasties are what you might commonly find here - in our reality (or timeline), scurrying through the leaves during a walk through the woods. Wee beastling's are much rarer to spot as they normally live in alternate versions of our reality (sometimes described as other realms, alternate timelines or parallel universes) and only occasionally, do they find their way into ours. Remember, as a child when you thought a monster was in your closet - chances are you spotted a wee beastling , though a rip in the fabric of our reality.

I have decided to begin this blog as a way to document my progress using various media, in order to share with everyone in this reality, the various creatures my daring Expedition Team's have spotted, during our quantum travels. Save this link on your favorites bar and watch as the mysteries are revealed.

Cheers and good health to all!

Sincerely,

Mark Davidson, CEO

Curiouser & Curiouser, LTD.

"Purveyors of the unfathomable"

Streamwood, Illinois U.S.A.

Established: 13,234,567 BC