2012 — Creative Thing a Week

I had other ideas on how this first submission would turn out. However, I procrastinated. Then today I learned a friend of a friend was killed in a car accident.

Where I explore my relationship with fruits and vegetables and how I slaughter them for my own amusement and health!

How folding paper zenned me out, transporting me to a place where I was sparing with Bruce Lee, in limbo, atop a giant mountain, that was actually the back of a dragon made of paper that I was folding, while the universe whispered me the secrets of life.

I casually ripped a telephone book in half then made a lamp out of it. Like a boss.

Shadows are fun. Groundhogs enjoy them and they make for great storytelling. So, inspired by YouTube videos, I decided to tackle shadow puppets!

I have grabbed my heart and mind, locked them in a padded room, and forced them to discuss this most complex and elusive topic — this romantic love, come what may.

Twelve years ago, I chose to set aside a project I was working on. The reasons for my temporary abandonment are lost, but my desire to complete it never faded. This week, it was time to break out the L-head grinder, Dremel, files, sandpaper, and nostalgia.

With a little leftover wood, stain, and piano hinge I decided to create this beautiful book that might one day chronicle all of this year's Project 365.

Let me preface this with I’ve never acted before. Well, not really. Growing up in Southern California I was surrounded by friends who were bit by that particular bug, but I was a timid, shy child. However, that was only my Dr. Jekyll side...

My early teens were spent reading, among other things, comic books, every Michael Crichton novel, and Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.

I decided to ditch my boring, black leather wallet and create one featuring one of my favorite comic book characters, The X-Men from the 90s.

At WonderCon I stumbled upon a booth selling felt creatures, they were cute and quite expensive. Lucky for me and my pocketbook they had DIY kits for much cheaper. I snatched one up knowing how perfect it would be for a weekly project.

Stones. Relics from the depths of the Earth. Some millions of years in the making. Let's throw them into some concrete and call it a project.

I always loved the idea of making furniture. After years of making fine art, the idea of functional art was very appealing. I inherited a cabinet my father had made and used that as inspiration to create my first ever piece. I cannot wait to make more.

I kill plants. Succulents, luckily, are pretty hardy and incidentally the only thing I’ve ever managed to keep alive. This is the story of how being a hoarder of plastic containers changed the lives of some of my homeless succulents.

I love dinosaurs. So, for Earth Day this year, I decided to not only bring a little more green into my home but to also create an alter to these amazing animals that lived for millions of years without destroying the planet.

Sew the vest. Silkscreen the design. Throw the party. I invited the 80s to come chill under my roof along with some most excellent friends!

What a piece of junk! Ever since I first wielded that cardboard tube while watching Star Wars on VHS, of course wearing my Boba Fett underoos, I wanted my own lightsaber. So, I threw some junk together and created my own.

I grew up loving Star Wars. I had a whole slew of toys, posters, and magazines devoted to the revolutionary film. However, where I had Luke and Vader, my mother had Ken and Barbie.

After drinking all the wine for my last project, I had a bunch of empty wine bottles hanging out all over my house. So, I decided to slash the tops off...

I grew up reading Garfield and Peanuts comic strips. It wasn’t until somewhere in my teenage years I was introduced to Calvin and Hobbes — I instantly fell in love. When I discovered my niece loved them too, I decided every six-year-old needs an anthropomorphic tiger sidekick.

Literature has never been so enlightening. There is something amazing about owning a home. When I first received my key, the 10-year-old Dean in me saw it for what it truly was, a gigantic, expensive fort, and fully customizable.

Call the Doctor, this project isn’t breathing. I came across an Instructables project for a DIY Spray Paint bottle and thought, that would be quick and easy. So, I grabbed a soda, acquired some bike parts from a friend, opened up some Sugru, amputated a spray paint can, and went to work. Things went south quickly.

Rusty heroes that steel our hearts. I had an idea for an illustration made completely out of rust. My dad, an engineer and a machinist, managed to supply me with a ton of metal filings. And the project turned out even better than I had imagined.

Papercraft has always been my nemesis. Origami interests me, but when I stumbled upon quilling, I was transfixed by the amazing visuals. I began this project excited with high expectations. It didn’t take long before I despised everything about it.

Once there was a moment where man first harnessed fire. Nothing thereafter would ever be the same. I put on my chemist robes and mix a combustible slurry to create my own slow-burning pyrotechnic stick!

My brain switches into mad scientist mode as I slowly lower the unsuspecting tin into the electrified salted water. I shall manipulate these alloys! And out of these bubbling, corrosive waters I will birth an etching of my own creation!

Comics and a comic pop art artist. If you know me at all I'm sure it comes to no surprise that Roy Lichtenstein was the first artist I really fell in love with. It was within his works that I first caught a glimpse of who I would eventually become.

This is not a drawing. I’ve lived in a cocoon of art and creativity practically all my life. So when a friend asked if I wanted to go to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), I agreed eagerly.

The internet is full of lies and deception. Not that this should be of any sort of revelation. I stumbled upon a fantastic image of a cloud made from cotton batting, brilliantly lit from the inside by a couple of electric tea lights. I thought, what a simple, and cool project. I was wrong.

I discovered a recipe for spiced black tea, chai tea, my favorite. At the same time, I discovered the rather odd tale of Sir Gammer Vans in the collection More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. It was time to mix the two together. Proudly eat this project with sophisticated penguins and dead honey.

Feel like somebody’s watching me. And I have no privacy. Sometimes ideas come to you in the strangest of places. This one however just came from stumbling upon the works of artist Junior Fritz Jacquet.

When I began working at Oakley, the idea that in two months I would be working late building a Mad Max themed derby car in an apartment building’s alley somewhere in Lake Forest with a bunch of other guys from my department whom I had just met, hadn’t really crossed my mind.

The ultimate ride was complete. No petrol required. With the construction of our derby car complete it was time to don my leathers, shave my head into a mohawk and truly become a Web Warrior! The race was on!

Used my Dremel to the gorge the gourd for it to glow. Gourds have been made into musical instruments, dishware, and utensils. They are simply one of nature’s earliest vehicles for innovation. It only seemed natural for one to find itself into one of my projects.

Days of past’s futures are here in all-new models! Every car has a style. Every car has a personality. Especially classic cars of yesteryear. Enter the Carbot™ Wave 1.

How better to sever appetizers than on sharp spiky sticks?! What I loved about this project was how ridiculously easy, cheap, and cool it was to bring to fruition. FUN FACT: The Tree of Deliciousness is also known as the Tree of Pain once it drops all its fruit.

I sat looking at my half-empty bag of concrete. I stared and stared. Willing a project to manifest itself. Finally, it did. I create a concrete bowl with some rocks in it and lit it on fire.

After weeks of rainy or overcast weather, finally the perfect day! I quickly stole a friend and her camera to go on an adventure and experiment with HDR photography.

I felt sick as I sliced into my first page. The oscillating blade shredded through its guts, carving out chunks of the warm paper. I took another swig of whiskey. A permanent cloud of old, pasty dust hung in the air as I continued the mutilation. As the musty smell of an old library assaulted my nose, my thoughts were drawn to my victim...

Death to paper. Long live paper. Stacks of telephone books and buckets of dryer lint have sat patiently in my garage threatening to spontaneously ignite out of sheer boredom. That all ends here. That all ends now.

In every home, behind every closed door, lies a darkness and terror that you can not escape — family. And every family has their dark side.

Halloween manages to bring out the creative spark in so many of us, from decorations to costumes and of course the classic carving of the pumpkin. The Jack-o-lantern was the first project I slated at the beginning of this year. It was also one I almost didn’t do.

Junkbots! Bad motivators are our specialty! After my lightsaber project, I decided to put to use all the many unused gems from my junk box. What emerged was a beautiful little robot I named Illy 6.

For when you want to snuggle with your phone and cash. So, I like simplifying my life wherever I can. So when a co-worker came in with his amazing phone wallet made of felt, I knew instantly I would have to attempt my own.

Oh. Cool. I interviewed my buddy Charlie from The B-Roll. Check it out.

I attempted to use my friend's experimental software and his monome to playback and combine a bunch of video clips. What came out of it was something almost coherent.

Explosion. Reverberation. Exhalation. A poem.

Tis the season for hand-made, cardboard, glowy-eyed robots hung from trees. So, break out the wire, solder, and fancy cardboard, it’s time for some down and dirty electronic gadgeteering!

All I want for Christmas is to support my local dentist. I’ve never made a gingerbread house in my life. So, born of curiosity and to prevent such a grievance from befalling my niece, we set out to make the greatest gingerbread house ever constructed. I think we came close.

Christmas night. Last-minute dinner invite. Delicious food. Amazing friends. And an unexpected weekly project. Enter: Christmas Children Chaos: The painting.

Every year that I continue Project 365 I learn and grow in unexpected ways. This year, with my most challenging project to date, it was no different. This last project is a thank you to all who followed along.