Abbott and Costello sculpture continued

Nothing like listening to Native American flute on the headphones while sculpting these two guys. All while my kids are playing Bobby Rydell albums in the background.

Smaug!

Lou Costello Sculpture

Sculpting a tiny Lou Costello head is turning out to be a lot harder than I thought.

Merry Christmas from the Edge of Reason

 

I know deep down that she's not real. I choose not to dwell "deep down". That's where the pain lives. 

   As we speak me and my glass of Makers are trying to sculpt a tiny Lou Costello bust. I can not explain why. At this point in my life why do I need a tiny Costello head. Maybe it's just the challenge. I'm having a hard time of it. Also my wife got me a bottle of Makers 46 for Christmas in support of my new hobby, drinking bourbon. I've developed a love for the original Makers Mark. This stuff is a bit stronger, you get kind of a nostril clearing before each taste. Still it has the super drinkability of the original, which tastes like they bottled Merle Haggards voice. I'm pretty sure I'll stick to original Makers once I finish this bottle. I'm not much of a drinker so this should last me a month or two.

Walter!!

Fantastic shot of my Buff Orpington rooster. He is pure gloriousness.

The Longbow

I have my first longbow pretty much finished. I shot it over the weekend and it,to my surprise, did not shatter in my face. I don't have a target so I was shooting at one of my wife's lawn chairs. The arrows fishtailed or more correctly porpoised wildly and missed the mark by a good four feet. After adjusting where I gripped the bow(the arrow rests on my hand) and where I nocked the arrow things went a little better. I need to get the correct arrows and a real target to really fine tune the bow. I did finally put one into the chair though. Huge learning curve going from a girly store bought bow to one born out of the forest and crafted with my own paws. In the picture above I have the next bow I'm working on. It's maple with a hickory backing. I just started getting it to bend.

Building the Longbow

This is the oak longbow that I'm building. It's pretty much at the fine tuning stage now. I built this tillering board last night. It's a jig used to make sure each limb is bending correctly.  I'm sure that the only way to learn if it's bending correctly is to have a few break on you. Then you can get a feel for right bend.  Anyway....I can wait to shoot this! I need to order some bow strings soon.

Me and Gimley

 Self portrait of me and my Lord of the Rings ceramic mug.

Giant Viking War Hammer: Finished!

All that is left on this one is the leather strap. You can find the details at my store Toys for Vikings.

Giant Hammer

 So....I'm making this huge hammer. For the sole reason that it had to be made....I believe I was called to do this. This obsession of mine with these weapons started many years ago the first time I saw the movie Yojimbo. In the movie one of the bad guys carried a huge wooden hammer. It just seemed to me an absurd choice of weapon. That's the part I loved. It was so wrong that it was beautiful in its wrongness. Anyway, this beast is almost finished! I'll be listing it in my store at some point. My next project will be a long bow. I'm looking around for a decent affordable stave. Most likely yew. Building a bow has been on my list for quite some time as well. Stay tuned.

Oak War Hammers

 As a result of my continuing quest of the "Old Ways" I made this matched set of battle hammers. Made of solid oak. These are not props! They are made to pound your enemies (real or otherwise) flat. They are 18 inches long with two 1/2 dowels attaching the handle to the head.  They can be found here.

Bulldog and Tortoise playing soccer

Two of many pets have a bit of a laugh.

The Last Pigeon

I sit perched atop the tallest tree
I feel so alive!
this is MY kingdom
this primordial forest
he got the rest of my flock
the red tail
he seems weak to me
cowardly
he's up there somewhere
I care not
too nice a day
my pride swells
his shadow crosses the landscape
I take flight
I feel invincible as we close in

Viking Battle Hammer

I started making Viking battle hammers. For the up coming Pagan wars. I mean, to take my "Old Ways Movement" on the road to the New England art market scene next summer. I have some really maniacal design ideas for heavy war implements. Dangerous more to the user than the usey.  Stuff that when someone sees it their first thought is.... "What the fuck?" This one is for sale at Toys For Vikings.

Thomas Mertzig Rest In Peace

Yesterday I found out that one of my favorite customers had passed away. Mr Mertzig had this kind of manly grace about him and you just couldn't help but like and respect him. I always got a kick out of the skull with the wings hanging over his front door. Although in poor health and hooked up to oxygen and in his mid seventy's to me I never thought of him as a frail old man. He was more like a retired superhero or some kind of former bad ass. Anyway, when I was finished with my work in the basement I went upstairs and didn't see the usual oxygen hoses running everywhere. I couldn't bring myself to ask his wife about him so I just finished up my business and left. Later I did a search on line and found his obituary. He died about a month and a half ago. In his bio I found out that he was in the Army Special Forces in Vietnam. A twenty year veteran on the Army Parachute Team. So I was right! He was a super hero/bad ass....I wish I got to know him better.....Rest in Peace Mr Mertzig