My Return to Sculpey with a Narcoleptic Owl

In the vein of reigniting the passion for things I used to love but stopped caring about due to the slow crushing death of dreams by working, I recently played with sculpey again for the first time since college. 

Back in high school, I took a billion art classes. While I had some nice creations in regular art, and did my best to make bowls on a pottery wheel while staring at my way-too-hot teacher, I randomly picked up sculpey around 11th grade and showed promise at making sculptures. More importantly, I had a lot of fun playing with it, and made some pretty decent characters. When I was cleaning the room I grew up in recently, I stumbled on a bunch of my old creations. Here's a sweet gargoyle made of clay:

I made a hunchback guy out of sculpey, but dropped him and he exploded. He used to be carrying a scythe. Here he is in pieces:

Here's a comic character I made up/stole from Rob Leifeld, named Berry. He had alien antennae that broke off, but other than that, just a massive jaw, buckteeth and boxing gloves. And he was named after a really awkward kid I went to high school with. 

This one was pretty stupid. An alligator with a sombrero on. Why not?

I also made a Mega Man, which was huge, and of course, broke. His head flew right off. I was pretty psyched about this in high school. 

This was probably my all time achievement- a guy getting attacked by a shark. 

I made it in 2 pieces, and I love that you can take him out to look at the shark head. 

look at the dust on the waves!

After not touching sculpey for the first 2 years of college, I randomly attempted to get back into it and made this guy, who I think rules. I find it interesting too- that I didn't touch sculpey and somehow got way better with it. 

So randomly around November, like 12 years since I last touched it, I started thinking about sculpey again. I don't know why- it was just something I wanted to be creative with again.

I kind of thought about it when I couldn't think of what to get Rich's sister Heidi for Christmas. We don't normally give each other anything, but last year she gave me a giant cow skull she found, which was pretty awesome. I wanted to do something for her, and randomly thought of making her a sculpey version of one of her own creations. 

She makes stuffed animals among other things, and they're generally pretty weird. Cuddle Zombies, Amputee Bunnies and Narcoleptic Owls are her most popular creations. Here's what the owls end up looking like:

(P.S. you can buy these from her here.)

So anyway, I thought making a small sculpey version was probably the easiest way to get back into sculpey- it probably wouldn't be too hard, and sculpey creations make great gifts. The bear I made my mom, frog I made my grandmother and cow I made my dad are still floating around somewhere. When I was home for Thanksgiving, I started looking up sculptures on the internets to get inspiration. This proved to be both a blessing and a curse- it made me want to make stuff pretty badly, but also instantly defeated me since the stuff I saw on a simple "sculpey sculpture" search was absolutely absurd and I knew the chances of me being able to do anything that detailed were pretty slim. 

BUT, it made me really want to get with it. I remembered that I very well may have some sculpey left over from college and went to a drawer I thought it may be in. It was, and there was about 4 times more of it than I thought there would be. Perfect.

I decided to make the owl out of different colors (instead of painting it) since I always thought that looked better. I drew a little sketch, figured out colors (I went with some easter hues), and got to work.

I don't remember sculpey being this hard to sculpt. This stuff was like a rock. Clearly, sitting for 12 years isn't the best for sculpey. But, I got the basic shape pretty quickly.

I made basic stuff out of the main color just to see how it looked. I gave it a rating of "odd, but close enough."

I made the eyes first. Just simple balls of sculpey mashed down, then strips of purple around them,

and polishing, both with fingers and some not-that-great wooden tools I've had for years.

It looked about right.

Then I made the other, fought with what color his stomach would be, and threw everything on for another "how does it look?" test. It looked pretty much like a narcoleptic owl. 

I stuck everything on, attached the beak with a piece of toothpick, then used tools and a toothpick to give him some texture. I fought with making stitching-esque marks around his eyes, and in the end decided it looked the best that way, AND it helped keep the eyes attached. I tried something I read on the internet, which was rubbing the feathers texture with a wet paintbrush (to get rid of excess pieces), but it only kind of worked. I'm still not sure how that's supposed to work. 

Anyway, the finished product came out as I expected- not life changing, but a pretty solid depiction of a narcoleptic owl, and more importantly, a very solid reintroduction to sculpey. 

he's soooo tired

She loved it, everyone that saw it thought it was pretty rad, and I was happy. He went to a happy home, and hopefully he can get some sleep. 

I then started up what would turn into quite the epic project- my sculpture of The Red Claw for Rich, of which I took over 70 pictures of the creation process. Stay tuned for that post!

currently listening to: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- "The Vs. EP"

New Year's Eve 2012

After years of not really doing anything for New Years, a bunch of us went out to The Coat in Portsmouth last year and it was a good time. We considered going to Saratoga, but eventually decided against all the driving and commitment and just went with what we knew. This year, Kevin and Gina got a hotel room with Joe and Mariko (who were visiting from Colorado), and I ended up staying with them too. Other than that, it was the same gang with the addition of Muscle Mike from CT and his girlfriend Jess, who I met once like 10 years ago. 

After initially finding nothing and giving up in anger, I was actually able to get a parking spot at the giant free parking lot by the bank on the edge of town. Right as I came around the corner on attempt #2, someone pulled out right in time for me to floor it and snatch it up from anyone else who wanted it. I walked the long walk to The Coat and found Kevin, Gina, Sara and Naro. Everyone else eventually showed up and we had a good time just hanging out at the bar. 

Kevin was Kevin.

Dan liked phones.

We all REALLY liked the free horns they supply,

and Naro even drank with his.

shoulda been snortin lines

Jomo was there and looking beautiful.

I put on 3 pairs of glasses and have never been more blind. Odd that my camera was too...

Kevin was rowdy,

but Dan took care of it.

It was a good night. The only darts we got in were at the end of the night when they were closing, we didn't play Apples To Apples like last year, and even though we somehow stole 3 tables, we pretty much just stood around drinking and laughing. I was attempting to be cheap (damn apple stock), and somehow got away with only spending 12 bucks that night. I do owe Nick some beer when I see him again at Lakerage, and I probably owe someone else some money, since somehow half of what I got was thrown on other people's bills. 

Highlights of the night included:

-Naro telling me that their jukebox had Appleseed Cast on it, me not believing him, then him playing Appleseed Cast, followed by me playing Sigur Ros, Between the Buried and Me, and him ending it with Bon Iver. Great party music. So many people there must have been so confused.

-The DJ actually playing songs people wanted to hear, party hits, etc. Last year was some jugamo playing underground 90s rap. This year was much better. 

-London Nachos, i.e. super crispy fries covered in cheese.

-Our waitress, Courtney, who was adorable.

-Joe just being there- it had been since May that we had all seen him and it was awesome just having him around, chatting it up, etc. 

-The free horns. Damn. So much obnoxious noise.

It eventually became 2013, I celebrated with my newfound customary White Russian, I kissed a bunch of my friends, we paid our bills, I found a way to cover my massive 12 dollar tab, and we headed out, walking directly to Joe's Pizza. I was never much of a fan of Joe's, even when Steph worked there and she brought home leftovers all the time. But what better way to start the new year than with pizza? Unfortunately they thought ahead enough to stay open till 2 or 3, but not enough to actually staff the place with people that could move faster than glaciers. From where I took this picture to when I had pizza in my hands was honestly about a half hour. AND stupid Gina just butt in front of everyone in line and somehow nobody noticed. Screw you Gina. 

I'd like a slice of clusterfuck and a slice of angry drunks please

We called a cab and they said it would be 25 minutes before they were there. I was really surprised at the lack of cabs driving around, but maybe it was just way later than I realized. I decided to go get my bag and Aerobed from my car while we were waiting so I didn't have to sleep on the floor of the hotel room. I booked it, slipping left and right and getting there and back insanely fast. I think this mile walk proved that I wasn't drunk at all and could have just driven home, but I had decided to stay over either way and get lunch the next day. I wished I hadn't. 

We gave up on the cab and by the time we were settled at the hotel, Kevin was already in bed half asleep and Joe and Mariko stayed in the car talking for like a half hour. Gina had also jacked the heat up to like 78 in the room and I was sweating my ass off, lying on an Aerobed, barely tired and mostly sober. Obviously, this was not a good night of sleep. 

Morning came and we said bye to Joe and Mariko, then got lunch at the Portsmouth brewery, which was pretty good. Kevin took me back to my car which was thankfully still there in a fairly empty parking lot, I headed back to the hotel after I realized I had left my iHome power adapter plugged into the wall (and they just let me right up to the room, which I thought was kind of odd since I never checked in and it was under someone else's name), and I drove home playing my somehow-traditional first-song-I-play-once-I'm-alone-in-my-car-in-the-new-year, Coldplay's "Glass of Water." I got home, talked to Josh, then settled in for a way-too-long nap that screwed me up for the whole night. It was a good night- just in the future, I should just either not stay over, sleep in a room with fat people who like it cold, or be way more drunk so I collapse the second I walk in the door. 

I decided to make a video like last year's, which consisted of us blowing those party horn things endlessly. I did something in my editing I've never done before, and I really think it makes the video. As always, click the link for the larger version, click the HD button for the HD, etc. 

New Years Eve 2012 from Mike Alexander on Vimeo.

Last year I also wrote a bunch of resolutions that, ironically, I prefaced with:

"I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, and if I do, I certainly don't tell anyone- telling people you've made them is a surefire way to never do them and have people call you on it when you don't. I don't like setting myself up for ridicule and failure to make empty promises because "it's something you do." 

And then Kevin said in a comment,

 "you may be living way more awesome but your deeply ingrained laziness still abounds."

He was, of course, right. I didn't record a song a month. At all. Turns out it's a lot harder and more time consuming than I thought to make music. Plus you have to want to. I didn't start a "postal service project" with Hilton, but that's his fault, since he refuses to make music. I didn't do an art piece a month- in fact I did very little art at all. And I don't think I touched Dongus Bologna stuff once. I did cut down on CDs, got rid of tons of shit, considered buying a camera (decided against it, and now I'm reconsidering), and I continued to try my best to go to everything I'm invited to and always be the guy who is up for stuff, visit friends when I can, and be more positive and awesome. I'm absolutely proud of my year, but if you divide life into years and while reflecting back, don't feel like you could have done more and been more awesome, you're lying to yourself.  

So yea, oops. I have a mental list of things I want to do this year, but I'm not sharing it with anyone in hopes that I will maybe actually do it all. This will be (unless I win the lottery) my last summer without a job for the time being. The money is running out quickly and I have September as a theoretical end to my life of freedom. So, I don't really need to talk about the things I want to accomplish before it all ends. It's a lot. The most important one is to record an album this year (probably 6-7 long songs), and I've already been working on the songs way more than naysayers who know my laziness would expect. Let's hope this spring and summer will be a perfect endcap to my "summer off" that has lasted almost 2 years now. 

Anyway, 

Happy New Year!  (a month later)

currently listening to: Enemies- "We've Been Talking"

Roommate Christmas

Last Christmas post here. My roommate Christmas was another awesome one, this one made better by Hilton visiting for that weekend. Lots of fun was had. Look, I was even on wrapping paper!

Hilton got to our house Friday night and we immediately went to Walmart to get snacks and for me to get 1 last present for Irwin. We went to La Festa then came back and proceeded to open presents. Hilton did a lot of this:

And some of this?

Presents were good. I didn't take pictures of all the best stuff, just the stuff that I felt was worth a picture. Here's Rich with the framed picture of Irwin I had enlarged. Oh wait, that's right, it never worked when I went to get it done, so he got a frame with the picture that came out taped to it. Enjoy!

Just finally got a good copy of it today!

Josh did a piece of original art for one of their favorite artists, Becky Cloonan, to give to her boyfriend. In exchange, she did a Hellboy piece for Rich. Pretty badass. 

I got Rich 2 bags of some of the greatest chips ever that are only available in Canada- Ruffles Sour Cream 'n Bacon. This picture rules, as it also shows the new fatguyfoodblog shirts that will be available very soon.

I also got him a DVD he's been screaming about every time we saw an ad for it during wrestling- the ECW unreleased DVD. So much violence.

I got him this badass Daniel Danger Game of Thrones print too, which also doubles as a "hey, here's a piece of paper that you now have to spend a ton of money getting custom framed cuz artists refuse to print stuff on paper that they sell frames for"present.

I got Josh a pretty badass Daniel Danger print too. Daniel Danger rules. Check him out.  I got less fun things and more stuff I need, like an ipod adapter thing for my car, a lifeproof iphone case, crocs, a new light for my bike, a light for hiking, a hiking book, a fat guy shirt, a sculpture of a skeleton playing golf etc. Some of those things I've needed for years and have never bought for myself. I also got a couple of framed pictures too, like a signed Hacksaw Jim Duggan picture from when Rich met him at a comic con:

um... actually, it's 2012 there Hacksaw...

I also got a painting of Loki from Avengers cuz I have a severe mancrush on him, 2 Tim & Eric shirts, and this painting I absolutely love of the best characters from Tim & Eric. 

Where' my chippy?

Here's an awkward picture of Irwin in front of a picture of him with Josh giving the peace sign.

Irwin was the star of the night. He got a bunch of presents which we even made him open.

I found this orange pig that snorts at Walmart. He rules, and so far, Irwin has played with him more than any other toy I've seen (probably a cumulative 2 minutes since he opened it). It also worked out great, since Josh collects pigs. His dog should collect them too. 

Eventually he got tired of all the present opening though.

"I'm done with you guys"

I got Josh some dumb stuff and some awesome stuff too- like the giant hardcover Calvin and Hobbes book, to which he said "FUCK YOU" to upon opening. It was a bit expensive. Thank god for amazon.com and a roommate to split it with.

Rich gave him a pretty awesome shirt too. Here's the process:

What's this?

Oh. A pig shirt.

Awesome.

Hilton scream laughing.

It was a fun night and the official end to the Holidays, except of course for a sculpture for Rich I had only finished half of at the time and would finally just finish 3 nights ago. You'll see it soon- it rules. And the picture that I just got reprinted today.  But still- it felt good. Christmastime is great but a lot of work and it gets exhausting after awhile. It felt good to end it on such a good note. 

The night was fun. We hung out and had a lot of laughs. Then this happened:

Then this:

Then Hilton brought out Cards Against Humanity, which is the new hotness of games- basically a filthy, immature and inappropriate version of Apples to Apples, which proved to bring much hilarity until like 3 in the morning. 

The next day, Josh, Hilton and I pretty much just ate and sat inside playing video games or watching Workaholics. Good day in my book!

Another good year of Christmases.

currently listening to: Ben Folds Five- "The Sound of the Life of the Mind"