Nerd Alert!!  I have spent the last 48 hours in the studio (taking the necessary breaks for food, sleep, and ripping out my neighbor's carpet of unspeakable evil...) making the beginnings of a larger than human-sized Twinkie the Kid  for Merican-Tastic! (and my general amusement).

Basically, I have created the under-structure/scaffolding and will create the shell for 'The Kid' later.  Shall we take a peek?

Let's start with the base....

I actually spent a wee bit of time attaching the legs to the base (which is currently a piece of of plywood which will be added to to look more substantial closer to completion) so I won't be eating this sculpture later when it gets more weight added to it.  The boots are actually some kind of paper mache boot that I snagged at Hobby Lobby back in 1997 when I lived in Texas.  At the time I spent money I couldn't afford to spend, to buy paper boots which I ultimately wouldn't use for another 14 years.  More proof that my parents may, or may not, have gotten their money's worth on my fancy book-learnin'.

Here are a couple more images as I work my way up the piece.  On the black wall is a quick glimpse at another piece in progress called The Transitive Property of Yesterday -more on that piece and its carved frame in a future post.

A few shots of the wooden structure before I add chicken wire.

Now it's time to add some chicken wire. Mmmm, scratchy lacerations.

I included a before/after cropping shot to give a sense of the visual mayhem that exists in the studio, from time to time.  Mr. Twinkie will have three layers of chicken wire on him before I start to fabricate the 'skin'.

This is the first in a new series of sculptural projects I'm planning on making.  Recently, I caught an article regarding the quiet 'retiring' of product mascots by companies not wishing to appear to be marketing their products solely to children.  Soon, Fruit Pie the Magician, Ronald McDonald, the Frito Bandito and more will be hazy memories whispered in hushed tones around campfires -or eulogized on the internet.  Either way, it has motivated me to expand my repertoire ever so slightly...