LOTTO CATS

There's a new bus and billboard ad for the Washington Lottery, on the theme of 'what would you do if you won?'. This lucky winner would make a cat park. I got to make the Cat Climbing Structure (complete with hammock, wind chimes, tree, pinwheels, etc), signs, and other crazy cat-person accoutrements. Jose Mandojana was the photographer.

Microsoft Surface

Microsoft makes a thing called the Surface, which is like a table-sized tablet computer. The touch screen display can be either flat or hang on a wall, like a tv. I designed and made the set for the little studio where they film demonstrations. Kennan Muzzy designed the lighting, which looks really cool through the translucent wall.

Kathryn Barnard Shoot

Here are some sets I made for Kathryn Barnard, for a BabyLegs shoot. They were all in-studio freestanding sets, usually just as wide as the shot you see. There's one of the Beach House, which shows the edge. Carrie Stacey was the prop stylist. It's always fun when we can work on a gig together.

In the Clouds

Recently, I made a video set at Microsoft Studios. It was a discussion in an executive office, about 'the Cloud'. Kaleo helped me put this one together. I love those Brno Chairs.

Armstrong Studios

I had the chance, not long ago, to make a couple of sets at Armstrong Studios for a Starbucks project. Scott Pitts was the shooter, and he sent me a couple of shots from the day. It was a fun project (and it gave me a chance to express my love of fake brick).

Bing Shoot

The Wall Street Journal got photographer Gregg Segal (he's a big deal - look him up) to shoot a portrait of Blaise Aguera y Arcas (ditto). He was the main architect behind the Bing Maps. In a small hotel conference room, across the street from Blaise's office, I made a map-filled set, where he was photographed climbing through the window, looking thoughtful, etc. Gregg took a couple of shots with me on the set as a stand-in.

My Tejon Adventure

More pictures from the Tejon Ranch shoot. Including a Gilligan's Island raft that I got to make. (I've always wanted to make one of those!)

It was a big production. We were creating an African Savanna in the California high desert. With zebras, and a giraffe, Land Rovers and motorcycles. Donovan almost stepped on a rattlesnake. It was a beautiful place to be, and I worked with a talented and interesting crew. Some really great people were on that shoot. (and the wrap party was the most fun Karaoke night ever!)

More Tejon Ranch

Here are a few more pictures of the finished Hut from the Eddie Bauer shoot at Tejon Ranch. Lauren Shields was the (amazing) Prop Stylist.

Rancho Tejon

This summer, I had the chance to go on a great shoot for Eddie Bauer. I got to spend a couple of weeks with a terrific crew in Tejon, California. It's in the high desert between LA and Bakersfield. In the middle of a cattle ranch, in the middle of nowhere, in 104-degree heat, with a howling blow-dryer wind -- we built a 16' x 16' free-standing 'African Savanna' lodge. With a thatched roof! We got the peeled poles delivered from Geronimo Pole in Northern California. It was daunting, to say the least. The nearest hardware store was an hour away. Donovan, Rafael, Ruffino and I built the thing in three days. Here's a picture of the three of them, just after we'd raised the framework for the roof.

Catalog shot

This shows how the set I described below is used in a catalog photograph. A deck, a little fake snow... you're there.

Seattle's Best Coffee

Did a funny job for Brad Lenz, on a video that went along with the rebranding of Seattle's Best Coffee. The SBC folks were 'taking over the Starbucks building' to announce the new look. It was fun to work on the roof of the Starbucks building. (Including up in the tower). I was roped into helping in front of the camera, too. In the video, that's me on the left side of the screen, in the van.

FAKE ROCK WALL 2

Here's where it ended up. It was a fake stone and (real) barnwood wall that I was trying to match from a location shoot.

FAKE ROCK WALL

Here are a few pictures of a fake rock wall that I recently made for a photo client. It all starts with pink foam.

Studio N

I have neglected to keep up on the blog. So, here, after long delay, are some photos of jobs that I've worked on in the past six months.

Here's a photo of me working for Nordstrom, with the good people at Studio N.

Taco Time Goat Ad

Recently helped on another Taco Time commercial. This one had GOATS! I'll have to add 'assistant goat wrangler' to my resume. Here is a shot from the set, and the commercial.

NRG! Aquarium

Shefskie Paba recently posted some pictures on Facebook, from a job we both worked on last year. We worked for NRG! Exhibits, putting together a traveling science exhibit. Kevin Seal and I made the interior of this aquarium (some real, mostly fake). But in the rush to finish the work, I never got a decent photo of it. Thanks, Shefskie!

Louis Vuitton

For the past few months I've been installing the display windows at Louis Vuitton stores in the Northwest. I am the guy in charge of Seattle, Bellevue (Seattle suburb), and Portland, Oregon. It's been a great gig. The people are great, and it's given me a chance to have a regular, predictable gig. I work with a great team, and the jobs have been fun. Here's the latest one we did last month.

Microsoft Movie

I recently worked with Laura Foy and the Microsoft crowd again, on a funny short film with a Valentine's Day theme. Kaleo Quenzer helped out, and we built a jail cell, and police precinct set. Fun job, and I liked the way the sets turned out.

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.