24" x 16" x 13" H (2006)
Big-mouthed creature rises from the murk to snag unfortunate winged beauty.
Composition: bicycle helmets, glove fingers, amber automotive lamps, hot melt glue drips, portion of (archery) bow, fishing lure, antique fork handles. Mounted on Plexiglas swivel base.
Charging along in the front rank of the advance guard, I am apparently the first person to notice the distinctly reptilian look of bicycle helmets. It was a pleasure to do something with this dopey piece of Styrofoam that didn't involve putting it on one's head. (Anyone over twelve years old who wears one is a sissy. Under twelve, we're faced with the pathetic image of the big-headed urchin earnestly pedaling up and down the driveway, redlined at .02 mph.)
But let's don't get into a rant about it. I just wanted to mention a couple of details about the piece. It was surprisingly hard to get a good fit where the lower jaw goes into the head. Lots of work with a rasp. The only big cosmetic problem I had was filling in the ventilation holes or slots in the top of the helmet. Inside was easy enough; just slather in some filler and paint it. The outside was a little more tricky. Some lizards or iguanas have dangly Rasta-like "fingers" hanging from their head and I decided to go for that look (Dready Dredlocks meets Kermit). Staying with the "fingers" motif, I shot a pair of leather gloves full of expanding foam and clamped them shut and overnight they puffed up like when you blow up a latex glove. Then I carved out the fingers and the foam was squishy enough that I could pinch the base and stick them in the helmet slots and the foam re-expanded a little and the fingers were secure. Didn't even need glue.