Friday, April 20, 2007

Dee and Dum, Springs, 4/20, It's a Rat






Dee and Dum.

Today was mostly for taking photographs, which tends to be an important part of an artist's life and tends also to be tricky when the subjects are very small and occasionally mischievous and not completely cooperative.








I enjoyed watching "Fortune's Teller" go through it's mechanical rounds today. In honor of studio policy-- Nothin' Can Go Wrong Now-- we decided to run it for a solid week to check for bugs.
Found one---the noise of the spokes against the stop is louder than we want.
Most likely, the solution will be a combination of changing the angle of the spring, adding a bit of hidden insulation and installing and sealing the glass front. We originally used a plastic spring but the resistance wasn't enough, so the wheel spun too long -- by the time the wheel stopped on a fortune, the spotlight by which to read the fortune was out. Not to mention the metal spring will last much longer and be easier to replace.


That solved, there's some painting and detailing left. When that's done, I'll post a video and in -progress photos. The coolest thing about all of this--and unexpected-- was that when I saw the piece in motion, it truly creeped me out.



It's a profoundly satisfying thing to have made something that scares me, even a little.

I highly recommend it.



Making these these Poppets, sometimes I can zoom in, as when Orion and I pretend we're tiny, or when we lie on the grass and study objects in the night skies.

Eventually, looking inward at small things, or outward at large ones, size and distance begin to feel like the changeable inconstant concepts they are. Just for a moment.










I did actually make a few rats. I haven't made any in months, but thought it would be a good idea to make some more regularly. I miss the little fellows. Possibly that's why I started making rat masks for Poppets? Is a rat in a Poppet mask coming next?







Possibly I should open more windows in the studio and not leave the paint thinner open.




I hope you've had a good 4/20. Remember never to stop questioning the rules.
Who, what, where, when, why and how.

g'night




6 comments:

Anonymous said...

WHOO!!!

Happy 420

Meet you guys at Denny's in an hour.

Anonymous said...

Dee and Dum are awesome. Great pics in this post!

Very much looking forward to the video/in-progress photos.

A rat in a poppet mask? Who could say no to that?!

Anonymous said...

Psst. Dee. Dum and Caterpiller, Atlanta is a great place to live. I'm just saying :)

Dan Guy said...

I can't wait to see video of the fortune teller.

Derek Ash said...

Oh, very cool. I really can't wait to see one large dfeinitive shot of all the Wonderland characters together.

I'd love to see more rats as well. I think a Poppet Rat would be sheer brilliance, and now that you've teased us with it, I hope you realize how cruel it would be to NOT do it.

Carl V. Anderson said...

A poppet rat would be very cute! In fact, a rat in a poppet costume holding a poppet mask would be really cool!

Speaking of, are rats going to be part of the upcoming sale?