Finally done these monkeys! The photos suck, bad light, flashburn, poor planning, no time etc. We have a bad habit of poorly/not documenting our artwork.
The monkeys are a couple, female on the left, man on the right. Both faces were sculpted separately, then molded and cast in latex with a matte varnish seal. Each finger, toe and ear were sculpted with high grade Apoxy sculpt, painted with latex and acrylic then varnished.
Here is the she monkey in her humble beginnings. Both monkeys framework are constructed with simple wood and armature wire, padded with a layer of foam for shape and then upholstered with (recycled) sheared beaver, sable and mink.
Since we’ve begun working with real fur, it’s become a staple in our productions. We get our fur supply from an old greek man who’s been making garments here in montreal since the 50′s. He hooks us up with his off cuts and scraps which would end up in the garbage otherwise.
Each monkey have their own “bird” instrument character made from deconstructed antique hardware like clock chimes, lamp arms, candle holders, chandelier parts and drawer pulls. The skulls were sculpted separately from Apoxy. To make each brass piece fit together nice and snug, the parts were threaded using good old tap and die.
Here are the instruments in various stages of production. We often start out with a vague idea of what we envision, then change and tailor things as they evolve. Sometimes your original plan doesn’t quite come through as you first imagined (ugly), forcing you to figure out alternate ways of rendering your idea. With every sculpture we learn something new and apply that to the next project making each new piece better than the last.
Accessorize
