Family Circus Art Show!
I made this piece for a Family Circus-themed art show at the Guilty Pleasures Gallery (aka: curator Liz Zanis’s apartment.) Billy runs when the large orange ring background rotates – the ground beneath his feet has offset bumps so that each foot is alternately set in motion. The faster the ring spins, the faster little [...]
Read more »One-day-project: Giant Car-Smashing Mallet Machines
I worked on a pilot for a television show with a brutal schedule: one day to build everything, and one day to shoot the episode. Wow! I built four steel frames to hold each pneumatically-operated mallet, and when some alterations were requested, I modified the design so that the mallets would swing perpendicular to the [...]
Read more »I fixed a Turkey!
The Paul Taylor Dance Company contacted me to perform repairs on a prop stuffed turkey that was 44 years old! It was first used in a performance of “Orbs” in 1966. 44 is very old for an item made out of latex rubber, and I started my restoration by carefully trimming away all of the [...]
Read more »We Built a Mighty Snow Cat!
Katie Akana and Ryan Barger had a backyard filled with snow, so it was decided that we would all stop by on our day off, drink hot cider, and build ourselves a giant cat out of snow. Lizzi Akana, Brandon Cheek, and Lizzi’s friend, who I think is named Nessa were all involved too. The [...]
Read more »Sesame Street – Hip-Hop Penguin CD cover
I had fun designing this CD cover for a pair of Hip-Hop Penguins… there are a whole mess of Photoshop filters that I don’t ordinarily get a chance to play with, so it was a blast to go berserk with lens flares.
Read more »Sesame Street – Elmo Crayon Drawings
I’m like Elmo’s ghost writer, except with crayons. (actually, these were drawn with Stabilotones – they’re supercrayons!)
Read more »Silent Library – Machine for simultaneous Punching AND Kicking!
I’ve made things that punch people, and machines that kick people, but here’s a machine I made that kicks and punches people at the same time! Increases productivity by 100%! The foot and fist are both set in motion by pneumatic cylinders, with a foam foot inside the boot and a foam fist, so that [...]
Read more »Silent Library – Hand Tenderizer
I made these urethane rubber hammers to smash the hands of Silent Library contestants, and set up a pneumatic mechanism to make the hammers swing up and down.
Read more »Silent Library – Stinky Gelatin Octopus!
I’ve never had to cast an animal before, but there’s a first time for everything. To keep the hot plaster from melting the octopus into a pile of reek, it was frozen. Its tentacles were flattened against a sheet of aluminum foil so that there wouldn’t be too many undercuts on the mold. Katie Akana [...]
Read more »Silent Library – Executive Stress Machine
This prop needed a revised mechanism to clobber Silent Library contestants in the head (I changed it to work with pneumatics instead of the original electric motors .) I also cast the giant foam balls which did the clobbering. The balls have volleyballs in their centers, to save the cost of some expensive polyurethane foam.
Read more »Silent Library – Pasta Haircut
This pasta wig was made to be eaten off the head of a senior citizen on Silent Library. I cooked the pasta lightly so that it would be flexible, but not mushy. I held all of the pasta together with some remarkably sticky gelatin. I shaped it to be one of those sideways haircuts that [...]
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Silent Library – Electric Chicken
This electric chicken mixer was made to scratch Silent Library contestants with its sharp talons! I removed the guts from an ordinary hand mixer and modified them so that they would fit inside a rubber chicken; I’m very happy with how it came together, especially how the power cord comes out the chicken’s mouth.
Read more »Sesame Street – Robot Makeover
This red robot needed some modifications so that it would not look like a toy commercial for a specific brand when it made an appearance on Sesame Street to illustrate the word “activate.” I disassembled the robot and removed the speaker and some random ear-popping and eyebrow-raising functions, added some details, and painted it a [...]
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Once I was a Godzilla, and I breathed fire on healthcare.
For this video, I designed, constructed and puppeted the Godzilla-style creature. (there are some shots of the process of building the puppet over here) I also made a few of the props for the city and helped to dress the set. I worked with Ryan McFaul (director, camera, props, set) and Katie Akana (props, set, [...]
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J. Views “Come Back Down” Music Video
I made some marionette puppets for the J. Views music video “Come Back Down” (the boy, girl, birds, and turtle.) The puppets were made out of blue polystyrene foam and acrylic paint and dressed up in bits of foam and some bright fabric from socks. Some tiny wire hinges kept the puppets joints loose enough [...]
Read more »Sesame Street – Miscellaneous Graphics
One of the things I make at Sesame Street is graphics for some of the packages and labels that appear on the show. (And sometimes a sign for the dressing room of a guest too.)
Read more »Silent Library – Flyswatter Bicycle
I made this out of an old exercise bike, a right angle drive, PVC pipe, steel pipe, gears, chain, and four giant flyswatters. When the bike is pedalled, the wheel of flyswatters spins to hit a contestant in the face.
Read more »Silent Library – Hair Crane
I made a crane designed to look like an engine hoist using some square tubing, simple hardware and casters. The pink claw was made out of some PVC pipe and fittings (with some clips added to the ends so that they would pull on a contestant’s hair.)
Read more »Sesame Street – Arrows & Anchors
Anchor and Arrow both begin with the letter “A!” I made these out of blue foam and acrylic paint for a guest on the show.
Read more »Silent Library – Skill Crane
I worked on this skill crane’s new head-sized claw and pneumatic setup. It could be kinda scary. Jason Singleton and Courtland Premo did lots of work on this machine – it was pretty rickety when it first arrived.
Read more »Silent Library – Indian Burn Machine
This machine uses shortened bicycle inner tubes to grab a contestant’s arm in three places. The clear plastic tube is also in three pieces, and the center piece can rotate to give an indian burn effect. Becky Holmes helped with the silver paint finish, which helped to make the machine look scarier.
Read more »My work is on right wing television!
I made this book for Sesame Street, for when a grouch named “Spill O’Reilly” made a visit to the Bill O’Reilly show. Adding secret messages to back covers is one of the best parts about my job.
Read more »Silent Library – Rubber Hammer
This hammer needed to have a new head made out of silicone rubber, and then be painted to look like an ordinary hammer.
Read more »Silent Library – Wedgie Bike
This tandem bicycle was modified so that the rider in back would be given a wedgie when the rider in front pedaled. I welded the bike to stands so that it would stay stationary, and modified the freewheel into a pulley so that the rope would be wound up to produce a wedgie.
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