Went to R Hiscotts and bought some cold cast polyurathane foam today. (chemical isntead of heat..) $64 and hopefully worth it. It’s a 2 part mix that reacts and expands so I won’t have to bake it in my oven, which means I can use silicon moulds instead of plaster. Yippie!! Ah, the small things in life that make me happy. It was also a beautiful day today, so like any art fag, I hid from the sun and threw on my aviators.
In other news, I got Internet TV running on my XBOX! So now in the morning I can watch BBC news while drinking my coffee. Pay for TV? Screw you Rogers, I have an XBOX. Xbox + Internet connection = everything I could ever hope and dream. When gutted, the plastic casing can also make a very good kitchen sink.

No really. I’m not kidding. It’s lined with metal and the xbox logo on the top centre is round and drain sized. In the least, one could fill it with holy water and use it as a wash basin.
I’m not fanatical, just religious (about my xbox).

Met Nigel tonight and he explained a lot about latex, and stores etc. he volunteers in SFX houses at CBC or something. After talking to him and hearing about what working in shops is like, I’d rather do Art, creepy toys, and Halloween/horror house supplies. Oh, I’ll take what I can get, but I know what I’m aiming for now.

It doesn’t sound like I’d get all that much experience by working in a shop either, seems to be so frelling competitive people don’t share knowledge. I’ve encountered that a lot already, but all I can do is not let it effect me. I believe in sharing knowledge and open source art.

My problems with liquid latex seem to be mostly from the fact it’s a crappy volatile material. Cheap, but low shelf life. And ocad’s latex is 3 years old.

I’ll be switching to foam latex and possibly dragon skin by smooth-on. There’s some experimentation ahead but this solves the problems I was having with casting in latex. This info was incredibly useful to me. Beyond setting me up for thesis, I’ll be able to go into my latex toy series full tilt this summer with nothing holding me back but cost. Moulds + expandable foam rubber + airbrushing = fast, mass produced toys. All I need now are tags for them.

I’ll also be able to create V2.0 of my Nike skin shoe. I’ll be redoing the circuitry/robotics/ colouring / latex. I’ll most likely create some generic silicon skin moulds and then create a series of 10 very different shoes.

I have wanted to add LCD screens to my thesis project, but didn’t think I would find any for a good price.

I was in futureshop buying a cordless phone (34.99 with caller id! ) and I saw something I’ve never seen before, the “Hip Gear, Screen Pad”. I never saw it here, but apparently it was a failed product in America. Basically it’s a game controller (3 versions, Xbox, Playstation, Gamecube) with a 2.6” colour screen built-in (built-in is a loose term, and so is the mounting job on this product). Overall right away I can see numerous reasons it failed, but none are important for me to go over here.
The important thing is instead of costing $149.99, it was going for 29.95! (I was shocked and couldn’t believe my eyes!! Right next to it they had another portable gaming screen for $219.99)

One persons junk is another persons GOLD. I must have starred at it for 20minutes, I just couldn’t believe it. I kept flipping it and peering through the plastic thinking it had to be PART of a full product, the mounting for a screen perhaps? Or, a complete misprint in price!) Everywhere else small TFT screens are $99+ and usually 7” of PURE crappiness!

This screen is 2.6”, but it’s crisp and sharp, I can read computer text on this tiny 2.6” screen! You can’t do that on one of the 7” ones!

What’s better? Hacking it was EASY! It took me all of 5minutes to rip apart and rewire to my TV. Priceless! Oh, it also has built in speakers. For $30 this is a complete steal!
I baught 4. 3 for me, 1 for my buddy Rob. (happy belated Xmas…) I want 2 for thesis, 1 for future use. It’ll take a few years before I see any other LCD screens for such a low price. And the odds they’ll be such high resolution is completely doubtful.

In the project I’ll use it as planned in the bordering store display surrounding the packages, but I will also embed a second into another Genpet package. At the moment I think they’ll both have the same video, but if I have time I’ll make them different. I want advertisings for these things playing on the screens, with happy kids and lots of flash.

I debated this for awhile, I want to keep my costs down, and I’m broke, but this is too good of a deal to pass up. Shiny blinky ALWAYS gets peoples attentions. Why cheap out if it’s going to make the piece so much better? I refuse.

Also found the motors I’ll be using. And sound proofing foam. And I’m cooler than you.

Sometimes the tool you need doesn’t exist yet. That’s why we have soldering irons and Beer* (*Brandejs.ca does not condone drinking liquor while welding or soldering, *snicker*).

Usher in a new tool I named the StamPIC. It’s a basic stamp, but it outputs to the pin configuration of a 16f84a PIC microcontoller. The circuit has a built in 5volt regulator ( the stamp has a regulator, but seeing as I paid $60, you can never be too careful, I’d rather my 75cent 7806 regulator get blown first) as well as a nifty on off switch! (version 2 will have a modded blue glow from underneath*)
* may be complete BS.
(Why use a regulator? Ahh the dirty little secrets of DC electronics. My 6volt adaptor actually outputs 11.3 VOLTS ! When I measure it with my voltmeter. Thus, regulating is key. This is normal. Go, ummm, standards and good labelling…)

The thing with Stamps is they’re nifty. They light up, and you can program them fast, they have built in power regulators, built in serial programming ports, etc. It’s one click, smoothness, but they’re $60 each! Not too useful unless you’re rich, or rip apart all your art pieces when done, neither option I like.

The PIC microchips are $6 each (+ $1 oscillator) but they’re annoying to program as they require a separate programming board (insert take out, check program, repeat 10 times, break leg off microchip, go buy another chip, waste time and money and so on. Not cool)

So what’s one to do? Can’t we have the best of both worlds?
>> Yes.
That’s what my circuit does!

The Basic Stamp outputs it’s signals to my special adaptor that funnels down to a cable with an 18pin IC socket on the end. It looks like a tiny PIC with a big ugly (dustin) cable coming out of it, and works in the exact same way.
The programming language is the same, so when all is tested and working, you only have to program the PIC once.

Hope that makes sense, but it’s hard to explain most of what I do now in simple terms, it’s becoming rather specialized and not all pretty pictures….
Damn art school tryin to learn me.

Microsoft Word doesn't have the word, 'multicellular' in it's dictionary (and is underlining it in red right now). It does however include 'Disney' and 'Duracell' and will capitalize them automatically for me. Go team Microsoft.

“Because society has given us the time and the means to think, to speculate, to ask questions, to propose solutions, to try things to experiment, our responsibility is that we give back to society. How do we give back? By engaging the audience in important issues of our time, communicating, offering a space of discussion, dialogue, and interaction. It is really about offering audiences something that no one else in society can offer them, not the media or the entertainment worlds, not their professional lives. That is what is unique about what we can do. It is very difficult to accomplish this, but we can take people to places they have never been. I don’t mean physically, but mentally. We can ask hard questions, we can suggest difficult answers. All that is part of the privilege”.
-Alfredo Jaar.

The Genpets TM Project is coming along on schedule. Designs are becoming more finalized, the box and accessories mostly. The animals themselves are still not taking shape. I seem to be designing a lot of things based on cats though, due to my recent over exposure to them (V = Crazy cat lady. And yes Dustin = Ugly).

One of my main concerns throughout, has been where I will show this sculpture. Where will I get gallery space, how much it will cost me, etc. I don’t mind spending a thousand $ or so on a gallery space later, however, I don’t have a significant body of work I would show yet. A 3-week project just doesn’t give me time to produce something of gallery scale and quality. (Well, for many it does, but my goal is never to be one of the crowd) I view the Genpets TM piece as my first gallery quality work.

Back on topic, today Johanna announced we’ll be participating in the Go West show. It will be a juried selection of course. But you know me. That doesn’t scare me in the slightest. I don’t lose. So expect to get invites from me in 4 months for a gallery opening on queen west, with my name. You might want to go.

<< Interim report rough draft for thesis.

Come on, what did you expect? I didn’t spend 4 years at art school to print out an MLA format, white wash title page with my name on it. Granted, designing this and stapling Blue acetate plastic to the back of it didn’t take long, but it was sure noticeable!

I prefer to stand out, when possible, with as little effort as possible. It’s not that it’s my goal to make anyone else look bad (as people have suggested), it just sorta happens. More work now = less work later.

As for the inside text, it was a rough draft, but I wrote it as a final paper, complete with Annotated Bibliography that V helped with, THANK YOU! (I HATE Biblio formatting. HATE). I think I felt a little stupid that night when I couldn’t deal with the MLA crap, but then I looked down at the microchip I’d just programmed earlier, and was like, I’m not the stupid one here, fuck you MLA.

It still surprises me, but everyone likes my thesis. People keep mentioning that to me, which is nice. Thanks! Even Johanna (thesis advisor) isn’t suggesting I change things, or do it differently; she thinks it’s a good idea. So I guess it must be. I just hope I can pull it off the way I want to.

Mould-making (work) tonight was great. I got about half of a new sculpture done as well as some reading for electronics. I must have looked pretty funny. I set myself up with a 2 tables, sketchbook, laptop, readings, and of course, clay/water/plaster. I like to multitask! I don’t worry so much about getting my laptop all dirtied up with clay. I back up my files regularly, and if anything ever does break, I can do the repairs myself (ebay = replacement parts). I NEVER want to be one of those people that has a freaking slip cover for their keyboard and such. It’s a mass produced piece of plastic for god’s sake. I mean ya, It would suck if it broke, but it’s not going to burst into flames because it has a fingerprint on it.

Prototype packaging. Rough layout. Text will be added, graphics will change.



A more finalized rough draft of the box. Still adding text and stuff. Lots to do, lots will change, the name and company for sure. But I have to be planning and working.

(Also bought the domain and web hosting package for I and josh’s sculpture company.. Lisa got me a deal. Thanks Lisa! More info later when I have time to work on it.)

>>>Research
so I was doing research and what came of it to put in my journal?

I’m fairly strong in my opinions about outsourcing. And it enrages a lot of people who feel attacked and insulted by me. Well rightly so, you should feel insulted, you’re dirty.

Sometimes artists make what appears to be cool stuff. I won't name any names, but I came accross one artist in particular that deals in bioengineering. My problem with her latest series is that she didn’t do it! The works were sculpted and moulded by someone else!

This is very common. And makes me question whether or not the art is hers. How can you call something yours when you didn’t create it? The work was sculpted by someone else, and unless she planned the work down to every last hair, the sculptors style would have greatly influenced the work and changed it. While she goes around having gallery shows and posting her name on someone else’s sculpture.

Not cool.

>Got my flu shot

> election. Ya, so I prefer to look at the positive. Bush got elected. What’s the postoves? Well it proves America is stupid. But other than that, kerry prob wouldn’t finish what bush started in Iraq. I could see him just blaming it on bush and backing out, so atleast this doesn’t allow for excuses. Also it does WONDERS for the Canadian dollar!! Bush is an idiot, and our dollar went fro .71-> .85 (for my euro friends) so with another 4 years of bush I bet we can hit .93!!

>Martial arts has been on my mind lately.
Haven’t done it for a few years. But running into my old instructor Jamie while me and V were shopping in London reminded me I should start up again.
There’s a small club at OCAD. Maybe it’ll fit my schedule and give me a place to work off steam. I miss kicking peoples heads. (I think I’ll get my old foot pads from home first, you know, don’t want to bruise my foot or anything… hehehe)

I know, I’ve been neglecting the site. I’ve just been working on personal projects as well as school projects, as well as OTHER PEOPLES school projects. *cough*. Maybe one day I’ll update the portfolio with my new stuff… one day..

Also! Sorry to my friends, I know I’ve been neglecting you all as of late, declining party requests and hang outs, especially joni (sorry) I’m just busy…


(Very_slop py_image of what I envision for thesis. See Oct 13th for text)

//V didn’t come this weekend as planned. I was sad. She thought she’d get more work done without me distracting her. Hah. She was wrong.

Servo programming. I like doing things with ghetto electronics. But servos have their purpose and have more torque than what I’m used to using. Enough to move latex skins. Let’s all breath in a sigh of relief.

Research. Been in research mode and I’ve been researching latex, latex moulding and a lot of other things to do with sculpture and the SFX industry. It’s amazing how much you can find online if you look. Lucky me.

Thus, solved some problems with latex shrinkage and slush casting. Yay for that one! About freakin time.

I’ve been reading a lot of stuff on the FX industry. It just comes as a side effect of looking through THEIR specific moulding practices. I cam across this, which confirmed to me something I’ve been suspecting.

LMC: How is CGI affecting the creature shops?

VH: In the last couple of years CG has really taken a bite out of what FX shops used to do. I think CG will take care of more of the creature stuff now. FX shops won’t be doing as many creatures as they used to (i.e. suits and puppets). I don’t think makeups on actors will be affected for a while, but who knows…? This past year and a half has been the worst ever for makeup effects. There’s very little work out there. Lots of people have been out of work for a long, long time.…

This is mostly why I want to do creepy sculpture for more commercial purposes, such as creepy toys and Halloween gear. Halloween stuff will never go out, and it’s still undominated. What’s out there right now isn’t too impressive as the best of the best are too busy working for Hollywood and wouldn’t drop to that level.

You’ll be hearing more opinions about this later, but talk is cheap, so I can bore you to death, and you can roll your eyes and think to yourself I have crazy ideas, or I can just build my own massive company and smile to myself.