Introducing Trixie

Last time I spoke about Tim Murton's Twilight Zoo and the workshop my daughter and I attended to learn how to make fabulous spooky creatures.  Well, the workshop ended Wednesday night and we have a mostly finished kitty named Trixie.


That's my daughter applying a little acrylic concrete adhesive to the crepe paper that goes over the chicken wire shell.

Once the entire shell was covered with crepe paper our little cat looked like this:




Next we needed to add a layer of cheese cloth or gauze to add some strength to the piece.  Every time a layer is added you use a little more of the acrylic concrete adhesive which not only adds strength as it dries but also imparts a degree of weather-proofing.

Unfortunately we forgot the camera the first two nights of the workshop so I can't show you how we made the wire frame skeleton and the chicken wire skin but here's a picture my daughter took of Trixie's underside. It doesn't show much, but it gives an idea of the underlying structure.



And here's Trixie.  She's almost completed.  After the layer of gauze there are a few final layers of crepe paper to get a smooth texture.  Tim also showed us techniques for creating effects to simulate hair and scales. Trixie needs a little touch-up and some work on her tummy.  I also need to cut out her eyes and mouth.  I'll also mount some sort of light inside her so she glows.

Here are a few examples of what other folks at the workshop came up with:

This witch's head, I'm told, is to be hung in the Fergus/Elora Tourism Office in Elora.

This Starfish was a joy to watch being made.  The woman who assembled this thing took forever on the wire frame and chicken wire but her results are inspired.

And this next one was built by a mother/daughter team at the table behind us and to the right.  Ladies and Gentlemen - I give you...

THE DOOM TURTLE!

Twilight Zoo

It has been a busy week here in the Beynon household.  All of us have been getting over some funky flu-like symptoms, but we're all on the mend now.

My daughter and I have been attending a Creature Making workshop here:

Tim' Murton's Twilight Zoo

Tim makes these magnificent ghouls, witches and monsters out of wire, crepe paper, cheesecloth and glue.  Every year he adds to his menagerie.  Last year he floated a 4 sectioned Nessie in the Grand River where motorists crossing the bridge into Elora were rewarded with a Hallowe'en  treat.  In October he opens the grounds around his house for a small fee so that the public can view his creations.  If you happen to be in the Elora area I strongly recommend it.  But make sure you come as darkness falls.

My daughter and I are currently building a cat and, since she's a Hallowe'en cat, we've decided her name is Trixie.  Last night we built her wireframe skeleton.  Tonight we added chicken wire and began gluing crepe paper.  I wish we had remembered the camera - I would have posted some pictures.  Tomorrow night we finish with the crepe paper and put on the finishing layers of cheesecloth.

She'll look spectacular and we do plan on lighting Trixie from within - kinda like this handsome fella here:

Well, Well, Wells

Where to start today?  Do I talk about the 143rd Birthday of H.G. Wells or do I talk about the scum-sucking lowlife who stole my bike?

I'm a big fan of H.G. Wells and have been influenced by him in both my reading choices and writing.  I remember reading The First Men on the Moon when I was around 8 or 9.  I thought it was inspired that a rifle club would be the first group to devise a method for getting men on the moon and, as it turns out, it wasn't too far off the mark.  The same guys who designed rocket bombs during WWII were the ones who eventually put men on the moon.   Wells' The Time Machine definitely influenced my own time travel story, The Platinum Ticket.  I remember reading The Invisible Man and thinking how this isn't a science fiction story at all - it was a sociological study all the way.  The Invisible Man talks about what a person would do if they could get away with anything without being seen.  As I recall the main character does all sorts of horrible things including murder and theft.

Speaking of theft, did I mention that my bike - my NEW bike - the one I've grown rather fond of over the summer - was stolen last night?  In the dead of night some lowlife crept into my carport and, using what I must assume were bolt cutters, cut the security cable I kept my bike locked up with.

I went out around noon to get something out of the carport and discovered a big empty space where my bike is supposed to be.  Sitting there on the concrete floor was my severed Raleigh bike lock.  I literally shook my head - I wasn't willing to believe it.  And then I shook with rage.

It's not so much the bike - although I am royally pissed off about the bike, don't get me wrong - but I think what gets me is that whoever this ...cocksucker is the word that I find myself typing - person is, they had no issues with walking into my well-lit carport - destroying my bike lock and then leaving with something that doesn't belong to them.  Earlier today I would have gladly done violence to the thief - visions of smashing his or her face into the concrete floor of my carport danced, sugarplum-like, through my head.

I've calmed.  I am still quite put out, but the red haze at the edge of my vision has subdued.

I reported the bike stolen and had a nice chat with a constable in London, Ontario.  I guess the bike thefts are handled through a central location.  He was glad to hear that I had the serial number but didn't hold out much hope the bike will ever be found.

But hey, Fergus is a small town.  If the thief is stupid enough to ride it around town I may just get it back.  In a way I kind of hope I don't see someone riding it around town - that red haze is only ever seconds away...