Being a galactic overlord isn't the easiest of jobs. There's rebellions to quell, planets to subjugate and hell, even stars to make go super-nova. The worst thing is - you've got to be "on" all the time. Can't afford any slip-ups with the cutthroats and brigands I call my crew. That also includes looking my best all the time.

My beard was getting a little long and unruly so when my fleet entered the Sol system, I decided to give you a break. If I could find someone who could make my goatee look presentable, I'd permit your little blue-and-green planet a chance to join the Empire on their own.

I tracked down this Terran named "Russ Sharek" and I was mightily impressed by the fact that he didn't faint dead away when I teleported into his studio. I told him what I wanted and the stakes that were involved.

He got to work right away - and I *am* a happy conqueror. Beautiful, simple, elegant and quickly and skillfully done.

You've got Russ Sharek here to thank for your continued existence. And you'd better be nice to him ... OR ELSE.

Praxis
Commander and Overlord
Galactic Third Fleet
S'karian Empire

My friend Kevin's passion for costuming and comedy really paid off, as he pulled together the work of several artisans to create his Praxis character. As a thank you for my efforts towards the goal, he staged this photo and wrote me an in-character threat...er, testimonial.

I do love a good sight gag.

For the full story, check out Kevin's costuming blog.

*To be clear, it's nasty. It reeks like a mashup of Toy Story and Apocalypse Now in there.

I'm the second person I know who has managed to choke themselves on chemical fumes in the last week. I was fortunate, my friend managed to give herself a nasty case of chemical pneumonia.

I got a sore throat for my trouble, and the urge to remind people to be careful. Even when using allegedly "safe" products, wear a respirator. Work outside if at all possible.

Better yet, do both and seek out products that don't actively try to kill you while you make art. Your lungs will thank me for it.

I liked these quite a bit. I plan on casting them in bronze later this month, and they'll eventually find their way into my fall collection.*

*Assuming, of course, that some enterprising patron of the arts doesn't see this as an opportunity to call "dibs" on as-yet unreleased work. That would be unthinkable. And shocking. And greatly appreciated. And stuff.

 

 

 

 

P.S. - More images of these waxes here.

Maybe it's your karma.

The eating of this knish should undertaken with great reverence. This is a deli, which is essentially Jewish holy ground.

She wants my hot gravy...recipe.

But, I'm too awesome for a jury of my peers.

When I am king, William Shatner will be forced cover the best of Queen.
"Buddy, you're...a boy. Make a big noise. Playing? in the street? You're going to be a big man. Someday."

I have been bested. That man is now my eyebrow mentor.

Droid is my sherpa.

I have a new goal this evening: to be as hammered as my ego.

Artist. Carny. Adventurer. And now, bicycle valet. I may have suffered a little focus creep here.

The officer's last name is Schatte. I call dibs on writing his biography.
The title? "I, Schatte...The Sheriff."

Random quotes from Austin, Texas

Since you've been reading along, you know I've been working towards this event since the beginning of the year. Documenting the process has been an interesting experience, and I really appreciate all the feedback I've been getting about my work.

If you haven't heard about all this "behind the scenes" stuff, you may want to visit a few of these handy resources:

• the ever reliable news blog: http://www.dare2dream.com/news
• the much improved events calendar: http://www.dare2dream.com/calendar
• the shiny new facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/TheMorpheusCompany

More handy tools for connecting to both me personally and my artwork are available on The Morpheus Company's contact page...or you can just ask me this weekend at the Art Mart.

2010 Spring Art Mart
April 23rd - 25th, 2010

The Bath House Cultural Center
521 E Lawther Drive
Dallas, TX 75218
(214) 670-8723

Friday, April 23rd: 7-9 PM
Saturday, April 24th: 12-7 PM
Sunday, April 25th: 11 AM-6 PM

Art lovers once again get a great opportunity to support local artists (and acquire some wonderful art in the process) during the Bath House Cultural Center's Spring Art Mart, April 23-25, 2010. The Art Mart has always been the place to find a special piece of art for yourself, family, and friends: paintings, sculpture, photography, pottery, ceramics, jewelry, cards and other unique creations.

The Bath House Winter Art Mart benefits the Bath House Cultural Center's year-round visual and performing arts programs. Purchases benefit everyone: The lucky owner will take home one-of-a-kind artwork, while local artists and arts lovers will be able to continue enjoying the arts at the neighborhood cultural center on White Rock Lake.

An Art Preview Reception is scheduled for Friday, April 23, from 7:00 - 9:00 pm, and will be open to the public. Art Mart visitors are invited to raise a glass of cheer to celebrate the kick off of the Art Mart weekend, have a chance to become a Friend of the Bath House, and take a first look at the artistic creations and auction items being showcased in the Art Mart.

In addition to the art sale, which continues during the weekend, Friends of the Bath House will host a silent auction. All participating artists have generously donated art for the auction. This year's auctioneer will be Artistic Eye; proceeds will go to the Bath House Cultural Center Advisory Council to support visual and performing arts at the Bath House.

The Bath House Cultural Center

The big project of the afternoon? Patination.

When silicon bronze is initially cast, the raw metal is kind of a bland color. Over time, the surfaces will darken via oxidation. Of course, the warm color isn't just for show; that tiny layer of oxide build-up also protects the surfaces of the castings from corrosion.

Without patination, it's kind of bland.

As handy a natural phenomenon as this might be, Mother Nature isn't likely to finish the job before my next opening. In order to speed up the process, metalworkers apply a variety of chemical oxidizers to forcibly create patinas on metal. Each chemical has a different effect, which will vary based on the metal it is applied to and the method by which it is applied.*

*If you're interested in a ridiculous amount of metallurgical nerdity on this topic, check out The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals Richard Hughes and Michael Rowe.

Silicon bronze's innate resistance to corrosion is an excellent attribute, but it also makes this entire process even harder. My first collection of bronzes narrowly avoided failure, simply because I couldn't find anything strong enough to cut into the surfaces.

Which brings me to yet another note to the metallurgically nerdy: Seriously, be really careful about searching up a random recipe for a bronze patina and experimenting. While it's possible fortune might smile upon you and darken your metal, some of these mixes are really dangerous.

Even worse, they may kill you while not working at all.

Most of the classic recipes in the public domain were formulated for use on the older style zinc-based bronzes. These alloys went out of common use back in the Eighties, replaced by more durable and workable silicon-based alloys.

These modern metals will laugh off most of the classic methods of coloration. Usually at four in the morning, two days before your show's opening. Trust me, I'm wise only from experience.

Fortunately, that same "wisdom" led me to discovering a mix that worked pretty well. Unfortunately it's also caustic, flammable and toxic.

Around here, we call it The Soup.

This lovely concoction is slowly raised to near-boiling temperatures, at which point the fumes alone are strong enough to rust lesser metals. It also can do a number on your lungs, which is why I was so thankful for the pleasant weather.

Three rounds of dip, wipe, dry and repeat gives you something...disgusting, but dark.

No really, this is a good thing.

From this stage, the pieces are left to rust for a day, and then I start the slow process of polishing the uppermost surfaces back towards a shine. This will leave the lowest areas the most darkened, and the patina that got into the pores of the metal will (hopefully) color the entire piece beautifully.

You can see the results of this mad science in about two weeks, at the Spring Art Mart.

One of my illustrations was just accepted into a juried show at the The ARTS gallery at Collin County Community College. The show, which features work by 125 local artists in a variety of media, has the interesting requirement of the artist needing to both live and work within 125 miles of the city.

I'm excited to participate, and hopeful that the event's impact far exceeds its blast radius.

125 Plano Arts Association Juried Show

Please join us as the Plano Art Association presents a collection of exciting works executed by local artists.

The juried exhibition will include work in several categories, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking and sculpture.

Exhibit Dates: April 12 - May 15
Reception: Wednesday, April 14th, 6 PM - 9 PM

The ARTS gallery exhibition hours:
Monday - Thursday: 9 AM - 8 PM
Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM
Saturday: 10 AM - 2 PM

For more information: The ARTS gallery

James was always pretty active in the arts community, and went on to do some pretty awesome things. Amongst them, he coined the term Massurrealism, and through his own work became the ad hoc father of the movement.

I lost track of my pen pal after a few years, and had always assumed he had gone on to things far more important than little old me.

As it turns out, James has been reading along the entire time. He got back in touch with me after my recent ramblings about social media.

He's since moved to Austria, from where I recently received a surprise package. Inside, I found two sheets of mint-condition Massurrealism postage stamps. A nifty souvenir from an old friend.

Learn more about James, and the Massurrealism movement, at www.massurrealism.org

The illustration was created in conjunction with a Valentine's Day art event benefiting Genesis Women's Shelter. To raise money for their cause, we produced a small but high-quality run of fourteen hand-signed and numbered prints.

Half of those prints sold at auction that night, with 100% of their proceeds being donated to Genesis.

I did have one bit of personal gain that evening. I traded number fourteen from my edition with artist Michelle Stroescu. She's an amazing artist who was also participating in the benefit, and we decided to "swap fourteens" during the reception.

As for the remaining giclées, a few friends and clients added them to their personal collections over the years. Eventually I found myself with the final print from the edition, lucky number thirteen, framed on my office wall.

A few weeks ago, a friend who shares my passions for wine and art saw the piece at my studio, and decided it would look better on his wall than mine.

In honor of the original intent of the series, I'll be donating a portion of the proceeds to Genesis Women's Shelter.