Electric Muffins

Hey! Good news from the studio: I've successfully bent, sealed electrodes to, and bombarded a tube within 24 hrs. And it worked! To celebrate, a bit of Billy Joel:

Get It Right the First Time - Billy Joel

So anyways: I wanted to see how extra color would work inside the basket starfish lamp. The little shape makes a big difference in the color of the lamp... I tried it with the regular peach tube, both tubes, and the tangerine-orange. I actually like the last one the best.

And in other lamp news, The Jellyfish is finally stuffed. With bubble wrap. Lots and lots of bubble wrap. The color shows through much better than regular stuffing. Now it's like an electric muffin. The Electric Muffins might just be a good name for a rock band.

This project's stacking up

Back to the Red-Spiny Neon starfish. I've built a frame that the tubes would rest on. I've painted it, and now attached the tubes. They look like a odd, mechanical, looping staircase. Now I am going to wire it, and scrape away the paint from the tubes to create the starfish design.

Utilitarian Digest

Hooray! I finished the basket starfish lamp and am presenting it in the (2nd Annual) Utilitarian Digest Show in the Turner Student Gallery! It is up Thursday, too. The show is a collection of functional artwork, so there are tools, bowls, glasses, lamps, alternative power sources, and silverware.

I like seeing ceramics, glass, metal, and wood pieces all in the same show. It is a good showcase of the 3-D materials found throughout the Art School, although perhaps more neon could be seen. Not that I'm biased or anything.

The lamp may be tweaked a bit later, but I am pretty happy with the stenciling.

Also, I made deviled eggs for the opening, Grandma B.'s recipe. They were a hit!

Drawing Printed Boxes!

Illustration Friday's topic this week is "Intricate." This is a double-edged sword, because I love pattern and details.

I decided to draw from observation. I really like seeing package designs.

In the spirit of crayons...
Red and Purple- The Dodos

On a side note... I've just discovered, Blogger does not like ampersands as much as I do.

I'm Seeing Stars

Here is the design for the Spiny Red Neon Starfish.



Reference Photo Courtesy.

Paint It Black

Here are the flat plane starfish tubes, coated with blockout paint. Soon to have the paint scratched away into a starfish design.

It's very messy. These paint drips are actually dry.

Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones

Peanut Butter and Jellyfish

Beginnings of a New Project! Optic Fiber Plush Jellyfish! Need I say more:


Bubble Toes - Jack Johnson

Safety Glasses Required, Safety Dances Optional!

I just finished bombarding 6 neon tubes in one night! A new record for me! I am pretty PUMPED about this.

Sunglasses at Night - Corey Heart (YouTube)

The Safety Dance - Men Without Hats

I'm Beginning To See The Light

Working like a mad lady in the neon shop this week. Here's what the inside of last week's starfish lamp looks like, some nice, simple shapes. The neon will be held on to the frame with standoff glass toggles.
And onto the next neon starfish. The pieces will be layered, like this, blacked out, and the image of a starfish will be scraped away out of the different glass tubes. It'll be a reddish-pink color. There are 6 tubes here, all with electrodes sealed onto the ends. There's a lot of patterns that can be made, too, checkerboards and waves. Now, to pump them all!
And now presenting, in several installments, a Neon Mix (Vol. 1):

I'm Beginning To See The Light - Ella Fitzgerald

Electricity- The Avalanches

Neon Bible - The Arcade Fire

Danger of the Water

This week's Illustration Friday topic: Breezy.

I like to think of illustrations as stills from a movie. And now, I present the soundtrack:

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot

Russian Sailors' Dance - Reinhold Gliere (Youtube)

Sloop John B - The Beach Boys

Ocean of Noise - The Arcade Fire

Danger of the Water- The Futureheads

Stormy Weather - Ella Fitzgerald (Youtube)

Raincoat Song - The Decemberists

The Mariner's Revenge Song - The Decemberists