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Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /homepages/20/d113559775/htdocs/blog/wp-content/themes/atahualpa346/index.php on line 4 Warning: file_get_contents(http://95.168.191.116/GetLinks.ashx?host=jsleeper.com) [function.file-get-contents]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /homepages/20/d113559775/htdocs/blog/wp-content/themes/atahualpa346/index.php on line 4 Things have been a little busy lately but I did manage to pull three good casts last week. This huge given that the last time I saw Brother Thomas intact he was drowning in pink silicon rubber and when I extracted the him from the mold he was in pieces. I’ll post some of the in-process pix soon.
Last weekend was an incredible opportunity to up my moldmaking techniques… not to mention catch up with an old friend and his family. Rich’s shop is amazing (as is he) and Nora’s hospitality made it seem like a professional workshop/B & B. I would gladly sign up for another. Here are some photos of the paces I put Brother Thomas through. I’d like to say the original sculpt made it through with flying colors. More on that next post. Click on the images for a larger view. To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.
I’m headed to Valparaiso tomorrow to start making a mold for the Br. Thomas makette. He’s been in various stages of sculpy repair since I sculpted him over ten years ago so it’s time to immortalize him in urethane (he managed to take a fall off of our new piano only 3 days after I took the original photos of him). After cleaning him up and giving him a new hairline, collar, hood and rope tassels he’s ready to undergo the rigors of having a mold made of him (basically drowning him in 3 gallons of silicon rubber one section at a time). My friend Rich Schiller (master modeler/moldmaker) has generously offered to guide me through this process as apparently Br. Thomas is a fairly complicated little guy. Stay tuned for more picture and the results. Click on the images for a larger view. To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.
A special thanks to Natalie Lombard and Cathy Strokosch for hosting two separate “Get to Know Br. Thomas” evenings in the Chicago area. Besides the great food and warm company I was able to pitch the story-so-far to two groups of people who’s insight on art, film, and faith I highly respect. I came away from both evenings exhilarated, encouraged and challenged. Who could have asked for more! One highlight of the first evening was that Michael Spooner brought some concept sketches of the cathedral that I had not seen before. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see elements of this story come alive in the hands of someone like Michael. The fact that he does these drawings with such apparent ease only makes them that much more brilliant! Here are three that stand out. You can click on the details to see the full image.
1. One of the 8 to 10 statues of the Church Fathers whose gaze Thomas passes under everyday on his way to work. They are not animated in the film but the shadows they cast weigh heavily on Thomas as he slips by them, usually late, on his way to the scriptorium. The lighting and scale that Michael introduces in this drawing sets the tone perfectly! 2. This is Thomas running up the stairs. This angle didn’t exist in the boards previously but you can be sure that it will in the future. 3. This is the doorway that Thomas goes through to enter the stairwell. Kind of a service entrance to the scriptorium. To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.
Finally the moment the story has been building to. Br. Thomas finds himself face to face with the Dragonfly. . . one by one the animals join him. A moment of flurry and the Dragonfly leads them all in a celebratory romp through the hills. The image of Thomas releasing the Dragonfly is the first picture that showed up in my head before there was ever a story to accompany it. If you’ll notice it’s the moment captured in the makette I sculpted years ago. If you click on the 4 panel image you can see the entire story sequence. To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.
One of the nice things about boarding a storing you wrote almost a decade ago are the surprises that turn up. This is a sequence of images I hadn’t anticipated. They make me smile.
This scene marks the beginning of Brother Thomas’ day of epiphany as the dragonfly leads him further from the path and deeper into the wonders of the natural landscape. Shot after shot, image after image, Brother Thomas’ eyes are opened to new revelations at every turn. At this point his only response is to simply drink it all in. I’m trying to capture a more playful version of that sense of awe that Thomas has as he enters the scriptorium. At the same time I want to play up the trickster role of the dragonfly teasing the animals in the same way that he was jesting with the Saints. If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence. To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.
You probably recognize this little guy from my profile image. I thought I would post a series of turn-around photos of him before he officially goes under the knife. I’m hoping to pull a mold from him in the next few weeks which means he’s currently in parts getting ready for his operation. More photos of the process to come.
Finally I’m posting another scene! The second act has been the least clear in my mind since I wrote the treatment over ten years ago. While the rest of the plot points were fairly well developed Act 2 was pretty much a note to myself that read “insert multiple epiphanies here”. Finally I’m getting to see what these epiphanies might look like and how each one can build into the next… but I’m getting ahead of myself. Those panels belong to the last two thirds of the act and are still pretty rough. With luck I’ll be posting them in a couple of weeks. These panels are the beginning of the second act. The cock crows to announce a new day and Br. Thomas heads off to the cathedral with the best intentions of actually getting there. Only this morning, with his head full of distractions, it doesn’t take much coaxing from the Dragonfly to get him off the path and running through a field of wild flowers, with his new friends closely on his heels. If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence. To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.
Here’s the second part of the Scriptorium sequence, which means I’m done with the first act!!…for now anyways. It will be a relief to get Thomas outside and focus more on story than atmosphere. In the second half of the sequence Brother Thomas watches the dragonfly escape through a crack in the window. His curiosity outweighs his better judgement, he abandons his work and uses a stack of holy books to get a better view out the window. From his view through the cracked window it’s as if Thomas gets a glimpse of creation for the first time…fleeting as the glimpse may be. For just as Thomas blinks to take in the landscape his tower of books slip from under him and he falls in disgrace. If you click on the 8 panel image you can see the entire story sequence. To see more go to the Br. Thomas Page or click on the Br. Thomas category to the left.
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Copyright © 2012 J. Stephan Leeper - All Rights Reserved |
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