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 LMC:
Do you find there is just as much demand for resin as for
latex? Is a typical customer a resin kit fan or a mask fan?
DB:
I
find more of a demand for the resin. Although I have not really
brought my masks to the resin kit shows. My typical customer
really varies. I sell to a lot of people that have never bought
anything like it before. I also sell to a lot of other sculptors
and do a lot of trading as well. Because all my work is original
and not based off existing comic or movie characters, I sell more to
the sculpture fan rather than the movie fans.
 LMC:
You’ve created this whole world for your pieces as if on safari. Is
it important to not only create the creature but to breathe a life
into it?
DB:
I
have always enjoyed writing stories so I figured I would write a
story of each creatures habitat and background so people can have
some sort of history of the creature. It helps my creative process
as well if I can have a story of their habitat. Because I do
original designs, it is important that I give my customer some sort
of overall vision that they can relate to.
I am
often asked why I don't really do movie monsters? Or my mom asks why
I don't do deer or elk sculpture? It is just not as enjoyable to me
to do things that already exist. I could, but I have seen it
before. I figure if I am going to spend the time sculpting
something, I want it to be something that is different.
LMC:
Do you
have a collection of your own? If so, is it latex, resin or both?
 DB:
Yes, I have quite an unusual collection. I collect strange
taxidermy and trophy heads of all kinds. I have a lot of unusual
stuffed fish and monkey heads, skeletons and bones and all kinds of
strange stuff from the real world. I could open up a traveling
freakshow! That all goes back to my childhood and the interest in
real monsters. I also collect original designs from many different
artists in both resin and latex.
LMC:
Neat.
You’ll have to take pictures of your collection for us to see.
Where do you find these types of oddities?
DB:
I travel to the depths of the Amazon and
barter with headhunting pygmies……heh,heh
Actually I get my bones and pieces from a friend that prepares
animals and bones for colleges and museums. I pick up some of his
reject pieces. Whenever I travel I look for unique shops. I have
gotten a few pieces online as well. I just moved to a new house and
I am in the process of building a new studio. In the meantime I
have put part of my collection in our spare bedroom. Anyone want to
come visit, I got a killer guest room! LOL.
 LMC:
Any artists whose work you really like to
collect?
DB: Just
mostly original designs. I collect a lot of display heads and trophy
heads. I try to collect things that look really real, or are real.
I have pieces from all kinds of artists. It is hard to list who I
like because there are so many talented people out there, but the
usual big names, along with a whole lot of unknown artists are
always surprising me with there great work.
LMC: Can you explain how you cast a resin
piece?
DB:
Well
basically my larger trophy heads are hollow cast using a rotocasting
machine that my dad and I built. To properly hollow cast a piece
you need an enclosed mold. I strap the mold to the machine, I
have a pour spout through which I pour in the resin and a silicone
plug that fits the hole perfectly to keep it from leaking when
turning on the rotocast machine. This machine will slowly turn the
mold to insure an even thickness of resin and to avoid any pooling
in one area. After around 10 minutes I take off the mold and
slowly take it apart. The resin is still warm but firm enough not
to distort. The silicone just peels away and you have a finished
peice. I use a good mold release and I also take the extra step of
powdering my molds with baby powder. This helps prolong the life of
the mold and gives the castings a matte finish, it also helps
eliminate bubbles.
 LMC:
How
complex was the machine to build?
DB:
We had
blueprints that we used as a guide, but it takes some building
skills. If you know how to weld and measure it was just like
putting together a puzzle. Everything had to be cut precisely so it
was balanced properly.
LMC:
What about molding it? How do you approach
making a silicone mold instead of a plaster mold?
DB:
It is
similar to doing a plaster mold except the material used. I use
GI-1000 silicone and Vagabond 36XXX resin. You still need to make a
dividing wall with clay, you just need to be very careful and
patient, if you want to have a nice seamline. You also need to make
lots and lots of little keys to make sure your peices fit perfectly
and no resin seeps out of the mold. There is also the extra step of
making a supporting jacket that holds the silicone in it's proper
shape as well. You almost have to be a good sculptor a lot of times
to be a good mold maker. But like anything else, practice,
practice, practice.
 LMC:
What is the cost difference to produce a resin piece over a latex
piece?
DB:
It is
probably double to triple the cost at least to produce things in
resin. Especially if you count all the tools and equipment you have
to invest in to do the job right. Making my pieces hollow
definitely helps keep the cost down, and still produce a large full
size character. The solid resin trophy plaques often take more
resin than the head itself. There is no way I could make these
pieces in solid resin, it would burn your mold out and the cost
would be outrageous.
LMC:
Will
you be doing future works in latex or strictly resin?
 DB:
I have
not done a mask in probably 5 years. I have worked with latex
doing a lot of projects in the past from snowboard footstomps, to
lava lamp covers, to 3-d hats and shirts. I have held several mask
making seminars over the years as well. So I have definitely found
a lot of uses for latex, and I am sure I will find more. I plan on
doing another mask in the near future. All the masks that people
are making now are really inspiring, so it makes me want to get back
into the latex.
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