Chewie
In an effort to some how archive what I’ve been doing in the last year or so, I thought it would be an appropriate time to blog about this Needle Felted sculpture I made.
The ComicCon is this week (and you now how the geeks love them some Star Wars) and the Star Wars Celebration either just happened or is happening soon, so I figured people would have furry interstellar travelers on the mind. To that end I present to you the Chewbacca inspired piece that I made for last years “The Art Strikes Back” Star Wars themed art show curated by Art Asylum Boston.
Originally designed to fit in with a series of nostalgic ’80′s themed Needle Felted Sculptures, “Chewie” is to date the only one to be inspired by Star Wars. The focus of the series is to re-interpret iconic ’80′s characters into a retro ’40′s “Little Golden Books” flavor. A lot of the artists who worked on those books had a specific simplistic style. Dyed cut out paper, watercolor, colored pencil and pastel, this style not only guided many young imaginations, but also graced the front of cereal boxes and found it’s way into advertisements well up through the ’60′s. It defines an era for me and establishes a classic look that can still be Dynamic.
The Investor Mancat
For SDCC this year I created 3 OOAK plush figures using the same basic body. I designed a figure form based on “Alice the Goon” (from Thimble Theatre and Popeye). Each figure features a different Needle Felted head that is inspired by different cartoons that I like.
The Investor is primarily based on side characters from Disney’s Talespin. The obvious visual influences here are the business suit wearing Shere Khan and the lanky mechanic Wildcat
Prince Adam and his Posse
When I first began Felting, Felt sculptures were a mystery to me. I got into it through my wife, Angel. She had seen some japanese books on Dry Felting, and they were always cute Hello Kitty characters or food. The first time I saw a picture of a Croissant made out of wool fiber I think I just laughed out loud in a book store, saying “what” to myself in a high pitched voice. Special Note: Ignore the weird white guy in the Japanese book store.
Moving right along, the third figure I sculpted out of wool fiber was Battlecat. He still is the most perfect sculpture for me. One part Tony the Tiger, one part 80′s cartoon, and one part Powerpuff Girls.
Two years went by and there was no companion (save the Cringor I made) for my perfect Battlecat. And then a little game called the phantom Hourglass came my way. Followed by another stellar Zelda game known as Spirit Tracks. Inspiration struck and I created this Adam based on Link’s design from the game…..
