GARK
Garfield week continues.
April 29th I was in a thrift store because of course I was. It’s my hunting ground.
I saw Hulk.
"I see this as an absolute win"
I held it wondering how it would look with a Botched Jesus face. Meh.
I put it back on the shelf.
Then it hit me….
More images? Yes…so many more.
Oh, I had to.
FORBIDDEN FRUIT!
You don’t even understand.
If I were to give you a brief synopsis of the unprompted discussions and rants about Garfield I received in my last relationship you’d think I was being hyperbolic.
Buff Garfield was, in no uncertain terms, the most reviled of Garfield’s online forms … for reasons.
If I were to type those reasons you’d think I was lying . If you believed me you’d wonder about my taste in men. Fair.
Some things seem delightfully quirky at first.
I couldn’t tell if making Buff Garfield would cause my ex unfriend me or block me.
Still, I could not resist. I flashed back to a scene from Ren and Stimpy (side note, Fuck John Kricfalusi)
Narrator:
How can he possibly resist the maddening urge to eradicate history at the mere push of a single button? The beautiful, shiny button? The jolly, candy-like button? Will he hold out, folks? Can he hold out?
I could not resist.
I’d learned from making my Garciraptor: makimh partial molds of Garfield’s face would sometimes serve me better than a full head.
I made molds of both Garfield and Barbie’s faces. I added wire mesh to the plastic resin pours so I could affix the faces to existing structures.
As. One. Does.
Hey Hulk, it’s time for a make over.
Before my dad passed last year he gave me his Dremel router tool. He was fully aware of what sort of daughter I am.
He told me he wasn’t afraid of death, he just didn’t wanna be there when it came. Then he apologized for quoting Woody Allan and said that he most regretted he wouldn’t be around to see how all our stories turn out.
My step-mother has told me more than once that he wasn’t worried about me, he knew I’d do fine.
I gotta give it up to dad as I find myself using the Dremel to remove faces from Hulk dolls and plastic horses. He had a faith in me I sometimes find lacking. I don’t have a clue where this story is going.
I took my Dremel and a cutting wheel and sliced Hulk’s face off, keeping the structural integrity of the head so it could still turn.
I performed a classic “Face-Off” , wraping the head nub with the wire mesh.
I used Apoxie Sculpt to smooth out the head.
Of course there are two now….why wouldn’t there be?
After sanding the plastic/Apoxie transitions I primed GARK
Do I know if the above picture is why I’ve been unfriended? No, I do not know.
I started masking off GARK’s flesh so that I could airbrush his pants.
I love this picture because I KNOW it’s Garfield and I can imagine it’s a cat who has found themselves in a bag and now struggles to find a way out
I’m still a newbie with an airbrush, but in a few weeks I’ll be taking free lessons at WonderFest, a model specific con I’ll be working at.
I’m also told I’ll probably get a chance to meet the designer of Tar Man from Return of the Living Dead and should tell him about TarField.
How does one even explain that without sounding crazy? I guess that’s what meeting your creative people is all about, not worrying how you sound when explaining your creations and visions.
I’m making toy hybrids. I long ago left behind people thinking I’m normal.
I hope I can maintain “delightful quirky” but if not (shrug).
I was thinking about GARK’s stripes as lame “tribal” tattoos.
I sent a friend this photo and he said something about this made him want to see more tattoos. Like full Russian prison tats.
I’ve missed sharing my work and getting feedback like that. I miss my partner in crafts Ebony.
I sent back a picture of Vigg Mortenson all tatted up and asked “like this?”
He then checked himself, wondering if the term Tramp Stamp was too much.
Contextually it worked. I’m gonna side eye any dude who refers to a lower back tattoo on a lady that way because I ain’t down with the slut shaming connotations of it.
But this is GARK, not a real life lady, and a cursive Jon with tribal flourished around it? Tempting.
The second Hulk body I have is a slightly different sculpt with different articulation points and it can GET some.
Splits aside I wish I had two of the first Hulk sculpt and am debating getting one I saw on FB market place.
The chest and back are wider and feel like they NEED to be filled with black line tats of all the other Garfield cast members.
I have already taken a second Garfield Pez sculpt and make a mold and some casts for it.
GARK awaiting his final face details.
And this is where I leave you tonight, dear reader, with one Buff GARK and more to come.
GARK needs to be photographed out in the world
