THE BAR was first built in 1983. I had been sculpting
aliens out of plasticene clay for about a year, and I
wanted to create a diorama where I could display
them. I started by assembling a 24" x 24" wooden box.
I added wood paneling by taking thin sheets of balsa
wood and scoring them with a wood-burning tool.
The panels were then stained and glued to the walls.The piano, bar, and cupboards were also made
out of stained balsa wood. Bottles and cups were
sculpted from clay and painted. Money and piano sheet music were hand-drawn.
When I went to college in the fall, The Bar was
packed away in my closet and the plasticene
characters were placed in boxes for protection.
Even though the creatures contained wire skeletons,
many of them developed cracks and began to fall
apart.
During the ten years that The Bar remained packed
away, I discovered Sculpey, a modeling compound
that could be baked at home and painted. Having
found a compound that could better stand the test
of time, I decided that it was time to "remodel"
the Bar.
I began sculpting the new bar patrons in the
fall of 1994. I created 11 new characters in the
following 8 months. At first, I thought about
re-creating the original 1983 characters in Sculpey,
but I quickly decided to create a whole new group.The only 1983 character to be re-created was
the piano player.
The bar itself had remained intact for 12 years.
The only change I made was the removal of the
wooden beams above the L-shaped bar.
The holes where the beams connected to the bar
were easily covered up by some well-placed
miniature cups and trays.
CONVENTION AWARDS
Best of Show - MARCON 30 (1995)
Best 3-Dimensional - MARCON 30 (1995)
Best of Show - LIBERTYCON 9 (1995)
Best Humor - PHILCON (1995)
Best 3-Dimensional - ORIGINS (1996)
Best 3-Dimensional - MILLENICON (1997)
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