CIA and Illuminati use Flouride to Control Minds!

Okay, the title is a bit of silliness, granted. The point of it is to let you all know I just finished reading "The Skeptic's Guide to Conspiracies" and I very much enjoyed it.

While I've linked to the Amazon page so you could see it, I actually picked it up at Ollie's, and payed somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.50 for it. Well worth the money. It's very cool if you are interested in learning about all the weird theories out there, but don't really feel like reading reams and reams of mad ranting.

It's a little off the beaten path of my 'normal' stuff, but really, if you work at it, you can see how it would fit with the other stuff.

Now, a word as to why I've been quiet lately. I've been busy. I sewed a vest (Not a big deal if you know how to read a pattern and sew...but a very big deal if you don't) for my steam punk costume. It's cool, just not cool enough to get it's picture taken, yet. I've been working frantically on a bird doll for Cloth and Clay Dolls little contest/assignment...what ever it's called. The bird is almost done, but he is having a little trouble standing on his own, so I've got to tweak him a bit before he's finished. Also been doing all the spring cleaning crap that one does in the spring. Oh, and playing Super Mario Bros. on the Wii (I can't work all the time!)

More stuff soon, I swear it. Until then, read a book!

The Rat is Ready!

Last post I promised many things. The Clockwork Rat was amongst them, so here he is!

As a small reward for actually bothering to read my blog, I'm letting you see the rat before he is uploaded anywhere else. Take that, Etsy and DeviantArt! Also, as I get to be more long-winded here, I will explain him in greater detail than I would have the opportunity to, elsewhere. Also, for those more impatient than I, news about new projects is at the bottom of this post.

The rat is about six and a half inches tall, and is the first sculpture I've attempted that uses so many different techniques and materials. He has some paper mache, some polymer clay, some brass piping, some watch parts, an antique key, some screws, some glass, and some two-part epoxy. Hopefully, I blended the different parts in such a way as to not be 100% clear as to where one material ends and another begins.

The rat's head is mostly polymer clay, as are his paws, the front of his feet and his heels, and most of his upper arms, upper legs, and chest. His legs and arms are connected to the body with glue and a two part sculpting epoxy, "milliput". There are brass pipes in his arms and legs, and one acting as his neck.

The glass gauge in his chest is a glass pebble that is flat on one side. I painted the gauge directly onto the back of the pebble, then wrapped it in polymer clay. The winding mechanism in his back is an antique key that I sunk into the clay and glued into place. No, it doesn't turn, and he doesn't actually work (though, that'd be really cool, and I'd be a toy-maker, not a sculptor if I were able to do that!) The sphere that makes up the rat's belly and hips is paper mache, and has some milliput and brass added here and there for effect. The tail was made of a brass pipe and some brass wire.

The rat's surface was covered in wax based brass (rub-n-buff), some 'antique copper' mica powder, some silver and gold acrylic paint, and given a wash in green, black, and brown acrylic paints. He was then sealed with acrylic sealer.

The rat is definitely not as elegant and classy as some steampunk stuff, but I've found that I like the grungy side of steampunk quite a bit.

Now for some real news: I'm trying to move my jewelry making skills to the next level, so I've taken to doing some wrapped wire things. I've also ordered a ring mandrel, so I will be able to add rings (made of actual metal!) to my jewelry. Also, the cloth and clay dolls group that I belong to started their next challenge, which is Birds, so I am now working on a bird art-doll as well! The ducky and the ostrich will be less lonely now!

How I made my Steampunk Pistol!

Tada! I promised this, last week, and now I deliver! It's my steampunk pistol! Yay!!!

Okay, let me just say first and foremost, it's not the coolest steampunk pistol ever. I know that. It is the coolest steampunk pistol I've ever made, though. I really wish now that I had taken pictures of the process along the way. I'd love to show you exactly how this started out.

I'm going to describe how I made it, and I think that may just help enough for if you are wanting to make your own.

1) the 'handle': That's right, I don't know the proper name for that part of a gun! Hehe. Anyway, I can tell you what it is. It's Cardboard! Four layers of cardboard, I think. I took cardboard and cut out the handle several times, then glued them all together with wood glue. I cut them both with the 'grain' of the cardboard, and against the 'grain' so that they'd be stronger together.

2) the barrel: It's a piece of pvc pipe. The little end cap on the back of the barrel is just a little cap I found that would fit on the end. I think it was from a bottle or something, but I'm not sure what.

3) That red thingie on the front of the gun: That's the only piece that may have some 'specialty' parts to it. It's a short piece of PVC pipe with a couple of domes glued to either end. The domes are something to do with model railroading, but I got them so long ago that I'm not sure what they are actually for. Anyway, they covered the ends of the pipe so perfectly that I glued them in place with Gorilla Glue....which is great stuff.

4) the trigger: I found a brass plated ring in my studio amidst all the clutter and junk *way too much clutter and junk. I took this little ring, clamped it, and cut it in half with my Dremel's cut-off wheel. Then I took one of the grinders for the Dremel and rounded the end of the 'trigger'. It's stuck in the cardboard of the gun with Gorilla Glue!

5) All the extra stuff: The body of the gun is cardboard, no lie...but there's a few widgits here and there to look 'cool'. The front of the body has a plastic piece screwed on that's from the end of set of blinds. The key sticking out of the side of the gun is just an old key that I glued in place. the sight on the gun is the foot from something like an 'easy stitch' hand sewing machine (which is the best use for that piece of junk ever). And there are undoubtedly a few bits of plastic here or there on gun.

Most of the 'extra stuff' is plumber's epoxy. It's a two part compound that you mix up and then smash into shape. It dries hard as a rock. I did that to hide all the cardboard texture and add some strength. I used both the kind that Billy Mays sold, and Milliput. I'm sure there's a billion more brands out there and they probably all work about the same. I will say that the Mighty Putty hardened a LOT faster than the Milliput, though. If you want to be all artistic and sculpt with the stuff, I suggest the Milliput. If you are just filling in holes, the Mighty Putty is cheaper and faster.

The red thing on the front was painted with glossy acrylic paints. The 'brass' parts of the gun were spray painted black then coated in brass 'rub 'n' buff' stuff. and the green patina in places on that is just green acrylic paint.

Hope that you found this entertaining or helpful or interesting or all three. If you made your own steampunk pistol, I'd love to see it, so send me a picture!!!

Coming Soon!

Yesterday was a waste for me, at least creatively. I got some cleaning done, and I watched a few tutorials, but I didn't really advance on anything I was working on, except the infamous steampunk gas mask. I am getting close to finished on several of the projects, so here's a quick update of what you all will be seeing soon.

1) Steampunk Gas Mask: Yes, I've been promising this one for a while. It's just going slow. The lenses for the 'goggles' portion of the mask are going in today. The 'goggles' got glued in yesterday, and are nice and snug now. I also finished cutting down the 'helmet' part yesterday, so it's ready for some smoothing and a little decoration.

2) Clockwork Rat: This has been my secret project, but I'm gluing his last leg into place today! He's been tough, because his legs have to be fixed to him one-a-day. Same thing for his head, and some of the odds and ends on him. He has a little sculpting work left on him, and some painting and finishing, then he'll be good to go! He's exciting for me, because he has some actual brass sheeting here and there on him for added realism. I've had nothing but problems with brass sheeting until this project, so yay!

3) Clockwork Revolver: The steampunk pistol that was meant as the precursor to my gas mask is almost done. It just has to get it's final finish, and I need to attach the grips on the sides of the handle. It's not the most impressive pistol, but when I show it, I'll give a part by part breakdown. I'm happy with it, thus far!

4) Steampunk Jewelry: The astute of you may have already seen a couple of these pieces (hint: they're on that etsy 'visit my shop' thingie). More were made, so more are on the way.

5) Chang and Eng Drawing: I think I already mentioned this drawing. It's of the 'Original Siamese Twins'. I need to get it matted, then it will be up for sale.

6) Sheep Art Doll: Started this one late last night. We'll see how it goes!

As you can all see, there'll be um... more to see later. Thanks for stopping by!