SEATTLE CENTER PLAY ROOM

We just remodeled the Kids' Play Room at the Seattle Center. Carrie and I had done the original Play Room in 2002, and in the intervening years, the kids of Seattle beat the heck out of it. So it was time for a new look. We gave it a Northwesty theme, with mural, 'treehouse' climbing structure, and a big Tree (which hides an HVAC column). We also gave it a mini Kid-sized door, right next to the Grownup entry.

New Taco Time Ad

I recently Art Directed another ad for Taco Time. This one has our hero (Pat Cashman) in his manor house, reflecting on the nature of "masterpiece". Of course, the gag is that he's talking about Nachos. But while he reflects, he's looking at 'old master' paintings, which happen to feature the ancestors of Ned, the Taco Time spokescactus. I made the paintings.

Anthropologie

I just hung my small collages at Anthropologie, in Seattle. They'll be up through November. So get down there and snap 'em up!

MicroSpooky

I did a project at Microsoft last week that was pretty funny. I made a set for an internal video for Halloween. It was a kind of computer nerd horror film. The premise was that the main character specializes in tracking down and 'killing' 'Bugs' (get it?). He goes a little nutso, and starts believing that his co-workers are bugs. One thing leads to another...

Microsoft Studios

I just worked at Microsoft Studios, changing out the set for a project that they are shooting over there. They wanted a 'high tech' look, and as usual, for me, I took a low tech approach. The backgrounds are tissue paper, laid out and glued down, behind some channel-plastic windows. The posts on the monitors are galvanized stove vent from Home Depot.

Renaissance Man

My friend Kaleo Quenzer put together a pilot for a show called "Renaissance Man". It is a Reality/Competition show. I was a contestant! Me and two other guys, Josh (metalworker) and Craig (firefighter), competed for the coveted Silver Saw, and all its attendant glory. We built a chair from a pile of scrap materials, ran a 50-yard dash, answered trivia questions, cooked a meal, wrangled a bunch of kids through a performance of 'Alice in Wonderland', composed a haiku, threw a football.... It was a blast. Very funny day. And, the best (if least likely) part is that I won!

Fake Stone Fireplace

I made another fake stone fireplace for Nordstrom. They will use it to shoot Holiday stuff online. The mantle piece is wood. The stone, and the firebox itself, is all carved and assembled from pink foam. (My favorite medium).

$5 Cover Seattle

Had a great five weeks shooting '$5 Cover Seattle' for MTV. There was an amazing crew. Amazing director. Fun Bands. Great locations. Great people. It was a blast. Here are some pictures from the shoot.

Videos

Working with Lynn Shelton again has been so much fun. We have been working for a month of long days on the MTV project, and I've never seen a happier crew. It's been a blast, and an honor to work with her again. I Art Directed a couple of music videos with Lynn in the past few years. One for Laura Viers, 'Magnetized', and one for Harvey Danger, 'Moral Centralia'. Here are links to both.

Greek Out!

The entire shoot is being done on location, rather than on sets. So, in each day's shoot, there's a certain amount of 'greeking and tweaking' that has to be done. I was happy to see how easy it was to turn 'Dawn' into 'Lavin'. And, mmmmmm, Samp.

$5 Cover Seattle

I am working on a project called $5 Cover Seattle. It's about the music scene in Seattle. It's a web series being made for MTV. Lynn Shelton directs, Ben Kasulke is Director of Photography. I'm the Production Designer. We're shooting for the month of August. The crew is amazing, and it's been so much fun to work on.

The bands are real bands, the relationships are real, but Lynn has woven a narrative thread and created a story. Here's a 'map' I drew of the players (from Lynn's extensive notes!) to show who's who, and how they relate.

Body Cast

For the latest David Leonard Taco Time ad, I worked with Kaleo Quenzer to make a body cast. The cast was an actual plaster cast, made over a cardboard suit. It was made in pieces - head, torso, legs and arms. Some close-up shots were done with just the mask. But when the actor had to be in the wide shot, Kaleo and I patched him into the full suit on the spot, for the shot. He was in a full body cast, head included, for hours. Ah, the glamourous life of an actor. Here's a location shot, and a link to the 30 second spot.

Fun Gig

Just finished working on a great fun gig. Making a commercial (for a client I can't name yet).  But it involved making a Mini-mart, a Ceiling/Dance floor, an Eiffel Tower, and best of all, a Carousel! I worked for Jason Puccinelli, and with a fantastic crew, including Oscar Lofgren, Sheffskie Paba, Curtis Taylor, and David Bowen. I was mostly involved in the building and painting of the carousel. Great Project. Great team. More about it later, but here are some photos of the shoot. 

Sustainable Seafood Poster

I recently did this illustration for Alaska Seafood.  It has been made into a poster, which should be appearing soon in Kroger grocery stores nationwide. Next time you're buying fish, take a look!

Half-Timbered Wall

I recently made a small set for a catalog shoot, that was intended to look like an old half-timbered building. I made the wall, put together the salvaged wood into 'timbers', and drove some big nails as coat hooks. The hangers were part of the job, too. They were new, but made to look like weathered antiques. 

Fake Stone Column

I recently made a column of stone, out of foam, for an Eddie Bauer Catalog Shoot. It was made to be on a set that matched an interior from a location shot.  Here are a few pictures of the column in progress, to show how I did it, and how it turned out.

NRG!NRG!NRG!

We made all kinds of stuff. These 'helicopter seeds' twirl as they fall. There were dioramas, Polar bear dens, a bunch of tents, a jeep, Coral reefs, Weather stations, a boat, and half a bison! It was a huge project, which took two semis to load it all to travel to Denver. Here's a link to a preview of the project. I'll post more pictures when I get them.

More NRG!

Here are more pictures of the work in progress. Kevin Seal worked with me a lot. It's always good to work with Kevin. We did a lot of foam-carving. Here are a few pictures of the crawl-through coral reef, the polar bear den, and the reef diorama.

NRG!

I have been doing work with Seth! Leary of NRG! Exhibits (exclamation points are his, and not intended to be pronounced like clicks, so far as I can tell). He develops traveling science exhibits for Kids' Museums. This show starts in Denver, where Seth is installing it this very day. I'm sure it's a very LONG day for Seth, because there was a PILE of stuff made for this exhibit. 

Taco Time Ad

Here are more pictures of the Taco Time Set, at Seattle Grip and Lighting.  And here's a link to the ad that's been running. David Leonard, of Leonard Creative, created the ad. Pat Cashman is the talent. Oscar, Kaleo and I were the Art Department.

Taco Time Set

Here's a shot of the set for the latest Taco Time Commercial. Oscar Lofgren and Kaleo Quenzer worked on it with me. I love working with those guys.  I won't give away the gag. I'll provide a link when the ad airs in a week or so. But I thought the set was cool, so here's a preview.

Mad Scientist

That's me, looking slightly deranged (OK, more than slightly), after a long day in the studio. I was working on a Taco Time commercial. I had just finished building the car behind me out of blue foam. When the ad airs, I'll include a link.

Stay tuned!

Visions Espresso Catalog

I recently did an illustration for the people at Visions Espresso. They sell espresso machines and coffee equipment and paraphernalia to cafes and retail customers. Very Seattle, ainit? 

BE MAYAN

Happy Valentine's Day!