rustedhalo 2010 - the year Steampunk broke
Click For Image Set On Flickr I spent most of 2010 doing Steampunk related art shows and events, mostly locally here in Arizona. Kicked it off with the Steampunk Spectacular show at Evermore Nevermore in Mesa, AZ Feb. 12th and 13th. Discovered Arizona had a lot of talented artists who were into Steampunk. I met Ed Schenck who makes some awesome metal sculptures. He introduced me to Davin Lavikka who owned ArtSpace on Sixth, a gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. Davin invited me to another Steampunk show later that month at the gallery. As a kid in art class, Scottsdale art galleries were the only art I was exposed to back then. So for me to have my work in a Scottsdale art gallery just blew my mind. The show was insane and I met a bunch more people that were into the Steampunk scene.
In march I did something a little different. I was asked to be a part of a custom Kubkar show of sorts. Kubkar is the Canadian equivalent to the Pinewood Derby cars the Cub Scouts have here in the US. It wasn't a typical art/custom show, but something put together by a scout leader and art lover. The kids enjoyed it and I was glad to be a part.
One of my biggest and longest projects of the year, actually probably of all time took a greater part of two months. If 2010 was anything else it was the year of threeA for me. Other then a couple Doktor A and Andrew Bell releases most of my money went to threeA and Ashley Woods awesome robots. Well I decided to take a stab at robot making myself and constructed a 1:1 scale(about 5-6') cardboard Bramble. I posted WIP pics over on the Custom Toy Union message board and received lots of comments. Cardboard is the new vinyl.
After doing the show at Evermore Nevermore I discovered that Mesa had it's own Second Friday Art Walk and had a nice selection of shops, galleries, and vendors on Main Street. In May I set up for the first time and sold a bunch of stuff. Needles to say this was a repeat even in 2010 for me.
2010 also saw my first 100% sculpted, casted and painted resin figure in my Zombie Slugs: From Planet 13. After meeting local resin guru KiLL! and becoming good friends, I got a bunch of tips on doing my own resin stuff. They saw their debut at Phoenix Comicon May 26th-30th. After setting up at Designer Con in 2009 I was stoked to do another show. Splitting the booth again with KiLL! to save on cost. 5 days of PHXCC was a bit much for the both of us, but sales were great. I broke even on Friday and by Sundays end made $300. Not too shabby.
In June I was asked to be a part of Evil Dead: The Musical during it's opening night at the Phoenix Theatre. Being an Evil Dead fan I was stoked about this. Ended up being mostly the same vendors that are out in Mesa for Second Friday, but it was a nice laid back atmosphere and we all got tickets to see the show for free.
July, well we all know what happens in July. It's time for San Diego Comic Con. Despite all the drama that went along with the custom Dunny I did for the Custom Toy Union Dunny Series that was released at SDCC I had a good time at the con. There wasn't too many big releases this year I was chasing so I was able to focus on my own art. Other then the random tweets with give-a-ways, I had some customs in my bag selling at random places. Like in front of the October Toys and Steamcrow booths. I also had 2 custom Symbiotes over at the Symbiote Studios booth. One of the owners really liked my piece and said they'd be in contact with me about doing a possible artist series.
Along with the Second Friday Art Walk setups another new venue and showcase started in 2010. Atomic Comics Bizarre Bazaar which showcased local artists, mostly comic book related. It was a once a month thing with different featured artists. Indoors and really laid back. Didn't do a whole lot of sales, but then again the event was FREE so it was worth it just to set up and meet people and chat. KiLL! and myself brought something different to the comic book crowd.
October brought yet another Steampunk event. This time Steampunk Street in Mesa Oct. 8th hosted by Evermore Nevermore. Tons of Steampunk artists, vendors, cosplayers took over Main street Friday night. I was asked by Bob of Evermore Nevermore to help with this event by bringing in some talent. I got local Monsterologist Daniel Davis of Steamcrow to join in the fun as well as up-and-comer edstuff from the Custom Toy Union message board, who sent me two of his awesome metal robot sculptures. Again, crazy to see this Steampunk thing just take off in front of my eyes.
November was a crazy month for me. With Designer Con quickly approaching and several projects not anywhere near done it was time to get cranking. Along with the Designer Con stuff I was also asked to be a part of the custom Sketchbot show at Munky King the day before Designer Con. Along with the regular customs, I was also working on my second resin piece. After meeting and talking with Sucklord at SDCC I wanted to do something up his alley. I'm a huge Star Wars fan and especially enjoy the droids. So I created a Steampunk styled Power Droid 3.25" figure and of coarse it came in the classic blister pack style. Designer Con was a blast. I finally got to meet one of my favorite artists, the great Doktor A. He stopped by my booth on Friday while I was setting up and introduced himself. One of the nicest artists in this scene I've met.
Hot off the heals of Designer Con, back in Arizona KiLL! and myself were asked to headline the Nov. 27th Bizarre Bazaar event at Atomic Comics. It was nice to have our names on the flier, but the event still seemed it was lacking promotion. Still a nice FREE event to set up at.
While out in LA I was also asked to be a part of the custom OMI show at Munky King. I was a little disappointed with the cheap plastic figure and its shoddy base that quickly broke when I tried to assemble it. It was a pretty simple custom, but I was still happy with the way it turned out.
2010 also saw the soft launch of
rusted-halo.net my first real website and me finally setting up some pieces at local vinyl shop
Red Hot Robot. The first couple pieces sold instantly and I'm sure 2011 will see more of my stuff at Red Hot Robot.
So what does 2011 hold? Well throughout 2010 I have been all over Arizona checking out local art scenes and galleries. I've been looking into opening my own gallery for some time now and only met with disappointment and over priced property. After discovering the scene in Mesa I think I've found a place I'd enjoy. After a lot of juggling with realtor agents I finally spoke with the owner of a property I've been eying up. Last week I got the key and walked in. The owner is out of town and we still need to discuss some issues, but 2011 will see The Rusted Nail Gallery in Mesa, AZ.
