Dr. Stranglove or How I learned to stop worrying and make a tentacle out of papier mache'

In this blog you'll learn how I made the tentacle for my Sea Cave installation. First you start with a wire frame as a base, and tape tiny circles created from cardboard of varying size to the frame. This is time consuming.



When finished create your papier mache' out of water, flour, and salt. Instructions can be found on the internet. Using thin strips of newspaper soaked in papier mache' proceed to cover entire form. If you have the energy you can wad newspaper around each individual sucker for a more realistic look. I recommend watching TV on DVD while you do this as it is quite time consuming and tedious. Freaks and Geeks and Seinfeld are both good options.





Finally, paint it. You might want to start with a solid color base (such as white) in order to cover up all the newspaper text, and then add whatever detail you like. Then proceed to take nerdy pictures of yourself with your creation.



The state of my living room the week of my installation.



Be careful. Soon you'll realize that with enough wire and papier mache' you can create anything you want, transforming your normal everyday life into a veritable freakshow of terrible horrors. A perversion of everything we hold sacred as a species!

Or maybe that's your thing? If it is, go for it.

SEA CAVE: The Final Piece

Here are some pictures of the installation I did last week at the Emerson Space Case, courtesy of Stephanie Brachmann. It's a window gallery so the piece consists of four separate "frames" of work. Let's start with each frame individually and then some artier details, shall we?


Frame #1 : The Eyes


Frame #2 : The Octopus Den


Frame #3 : School


Frame #4 : The Whale


Detail #1 : The Eel

I may need to get a picture of the eel in the day because the blue light illuminating it belies the detailed color work of the actual sculpture.

Detail #2 : Tentacle

I'll be posting a separate blog soon about the making of the tentacle.

Detail #3 : Serpent Sea Star

Stephanie did an amazing job of painting this sea star for the installation.

Detail #4 : Fish

I actually wanted there to be an overwhelming amount of fish in this frame, but time did not allow. I'm considering doing more and adding them as the month goes on.

Detail #5 : Eel #2

Okay, so this eel is a little less blue saturated.

"From the Street"

There's a tree blocking the first window from the street, so it's impossible to get a full shot of the piece, but here's the closest we can get.

Thanks to everyone who made it to the opening Monday night, and if you didn't the installation will be up until the beginning of June, so stop by and take a look. And a big thanks to Stephanie for her help with everything along the way. If not for her I'd still be there working on it, I'm sure.

Once again, The Emerson Space Case is an installation window gallery on the corner of NE Emerson and NE 30th in Portland, OR. Check out their blog for news and pictures of shows past.

Thanks for stopping by everyone!