Boris Sees The Light

After a month of being displayed on the corner of McDonald and Larkin in downtown Midland my troll finally has some lighting, Comerica Bank got the entry light to the bank working, now to get the streetlight on the corner working. 

Broken Boris

Boris had been downtown five days when someone decided to vandalize the poor guy, it looks like they either kicked or used something to bash one of his fingers.

The troll is pretty tough so it must have taken a bit of effort to punch the hole.

After talking with the bank branch manager I came back later that afternoon with my paint, brushes, clay, paste and materials to create texture.

The broken shards of mache were removed and I filled the hole with papier clay then used a small paint brush and some paste to smooth the surface until it was flush with the remaining finger.

Normally at this point I would let the clay dry, but because the piece is on display I decided to apply paint to the wet clay to match the existing paint job.

Exterior black latex was applied to the wet clay; because the clay was wet the paint essentially dyed the clay.

You can’t really dry brush wet clay so I stippled some green paint over the black with a small brush to create a textured look.

A small amount of diluted brown acrylic was washed over the green to tone it down and match the existing shades of green.

Done.

Wet painted clay.

The goal is to let this dry then do some touch up painting and small application of sealant to match the shine of the rest of the statue.

Sitting on the sidewalk playing with papier mache as people walk by, it doesn’t get any better than this. 

Please Feed The Troll

Gotta say, I didn't see this coming. 


When I built the troll I was concerned about the mouth design because it would become a receptacle for water, but instead it seems that folks are putting coins in the mouth instead. 


Hey everybody, FEED THE TROLL FOR LUCK!


Only 49,998 more pennies to go to break even.

Boris Tutorial

Completed my troll sculpture for the 2011 Midland Downtown Summer Sculpture Series, posted a tutorial detailing the three month construction process.


Link can be found here.

Boris Texture

This is the proposed skin texture for my troll, sort of a leathery elephant-like hide in a nice troll green. 


Not one hundred percent sold but I've got a week or so before I need to make the decision. 


Troll assembly will start tomorrow, here's hoping everything continues to go according to plan.

33EEEE

The feet for my troll....my guess is that they are about size 33EEEE, at that rate a good pair of Nike shoes would cost him over $400...good thing he doesn't run much!


The finishing texture prior to paint will be PVA Glue and Joint Compound then imprinted with a loose weave burlap texture...sort of lizard like skin.

Boris Resumed

The weather is supposed to start warming up this coming week so I plan on resuming work on Boris The Bolter troll for downtown Midland.

Everything is basically done except the feet which I mapped out this morning.

After a trip to Lowes to buy plywood for the base and feet plus a bunch of expanding spray foam I will get to work.

I’ve gotten a little anxious with this project as it has sat idle since the first week of March.

The game plan is to have the troll completed by the end of April.