The first show was a thirty-year retrospective, dedicated to films from the year 1991, and aptly titled ’30 Years Later (1991)’.
Many of the films on list I had seen, however none of them really resonated with me at the time.
I wanted to get an early start on the project, so I narrowed the list down to two or three films I enjoyed.
The second obstacle was the ability to watch said films, since I hadn’t seen some of them in several years.
After some research, I settled on the 1991 Frank Oz film ‘What About Bob?’, starring Bill Murray, and Richard Dreyfuss.
I once again determined that making something tangible, was a better marketing strategy, especially since this particular show was going to be near the winter holiday.
My idea was to create an ornament of some kind that could cleverly encompass the film.
This was a bit of a departure from my normal illustration work, but I was really motivated by the concept, so I decided to pursue it.
The inspiration was due in part by my own annual ornament tradition.
Every year I create a unique design, which I give to family, friends, and occasionally sell as well a limited number of extras as well.
Since I already had many of the tools for the project, it seemed like a creative solution.
I quickly decided that I was going to depict a miniature version of ‘Gil’, ‘Bob’s' pet goldfish who travels with him on his journey, in an old Manischewitz Gefilte Fish jar.
The reference was a bit obscure, as ‘Gil’ is only in a very few scenes in the film, but given the nature of the film, I felt it was appropriate.
I already had a pretty clear vision in mind, so there wasn’t a lot of planning or strategy involved.
In fact this project required more experimentation than usual due to the size of the piece.
I had found some miniature mason jars at an art store in my area that were perfect for the project with removable lids.
I was able to paint the lids of the
jars, and then proceed to the most challenging part of the project, making
‘Gil’.
Sculpting isn’t really a strong skill of mine, so I was hoping I could source
something already made that I could re-purpose, but unfortunately, there was no
avoiding it.
I was set on using the jars I had, as anything larger was going to be to heavy to hang on as an ornament.
This meant was I going to have to make the goldfish by hand.
Not cool.
Why?
Physically, my hands are larger than the task required.
I put it off for some time, I’m not going to lie, I was avoiding it.
Eventually, after several prototypes, I was finally able to produce something out of Sculpey that would work.
I was relieved.
Upon completing my ‘Gils’, I noticed that they were lacking something.
They looked more like the crackers than clay fish.
Luckily, I made a few extra to experiment with, as I figured there might be some learning curves with this particular project.
I dug into the art supplies, and discovered some paint markers that I could use to detail them with.
With that done, I set my sights on solving how I was going to suspend them in clear liquid.
Most sources I sought for guidance recommended resin, which I had no experience in using, and wanted to avoid.
I’m not a huge fan of using chemicals, particularly toxic ones.
There’s a reason all those artists of yore died so young!
Instead I experimented with some clear glue I had bought in hopes that by letting it air dry, it would solidify, and trap the ‘Gil’ within.
Spoiler Alert….the glue didn’t work.
I attempted to let it sit for several days, and all it did was evaporate.
Determining this method was not going to work, I instead had to turn to resin.
I was once again navigating waters I was unfamiliar with….it’s been a banner year for me in this regard.
After some research, and recommendations, I procured some resin from Amazon and set to suspending the little guys in their new homes.
My recommendation for you here dear reader is, if you EVER plan on using resin to make or seal something:
WEAR HEAVY GLOVES
Why?
The single pair of standard latex gloves I wore were not enough to keep the noxious fumes from penetrating through them.
I would discover later that evening via headache and nausea my mistake.
No amount of alcohol, turpentine, pumice or other wise, would remove the stench.
It took several hours for it to wear off.
Having finished with the resin and encountering no further challenges (like yellowing or bubbles), I then still had two more things to do:
The labels, and the rope.
I needed to design the label for the front of the jar, and the emblem on the lid.
I’ll spare the details here of how long it took me to even determine what kind of jar it was, because to be honest, you never get a really clear look at it in the film.
The point being, I concluded it was a Manischewitz Gefilte Fish jar, and did an image search on the web to get reference.
The whole process took less time than I anticipated, even if they weren’t an exact match.
Luckily the labels were going to be less than an inch, and distressed.
With all the design elements completed, I printed the labels, and applied them to the dried resin jars.
I then used an x-acto blade to ‘rough’ them up a bit so they didn’t look perfectly placed.
Finally I took some twine I bought along with the jars during my initial trip to the store, and fashioned a loop or noose, similar to the one ‘Bob’ places on the jar in the film.
With that, they were finally done!
This project was completely hand made using:
Super Sculpey, Paint Markers, Minature Mason Jars, Red Spray Paint, Resin, Stickers, and Twine
The show opened at Gallery 1988 on January 8th 2021, and the ornaments, along with the rest of the shows collaborative pieces, are all featured on the gallery’s website.
For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here.
You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting/crafting
.
IG: stiles1978
Tumblr: stiles1978
Twitter: paragonofpuns
Pinterest: Stiles of Art
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