Check, Fold, Race

Edinburgh Skyline

Me and Keelin just made a stencil of the Edinburgh skyline from Princes Street. I was really pleased with it, and will definitely use sponging again. The whole thing only took about 4 hours.

Here's the original panorama. I cut out the boring trees in the middle.

The contrast on the castle wasn't great, so I ended up splicing in a separate image:
Desaturate, boost contrast, find edges, print:

Cut out!

Stencil Ready:

Sponge acrylic paint onto wall:
Stencil done!

Ghost in the Shell

This was my favourite stencil. Unfortunately, the original got lost in a move and I haven't had the heart to do another. It's inspired by Shirow Masamune's original Ghost in the Shell comic. In this scene, the hero glimpses the birth of a new, intelligent life form. The thing in the middle is some kind of neural network, and descending onto it is an angel (the shape pointing down is the shade on a foot, some people don't notice it at first, but after it's pointed out, you can't help seeing it).

The idea is similar to the Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco, where God and Adam reach out towards each other. Michaelangelo captures the question of man's relationship with God. Masamune questions the relationship between man's body and man's spirit.

The medium here also hints at a direction for answers: Stencils are made up of use small, abstract, isolated shapes. However, in a particular configuration, they create an impression of a unified image to human perceivers. However, not all shapes are allowable - you can't have a stencil with free standing opaque parts (e.g. the outline of a full circle). In fact, even convex shapes decrease the integrity of the stencil. So, even as the whole influences how one interprets the parts, the parts influence what that whole can be.

Genes vs Language

A point about the difference between genetic and linguistic inheritance:

K**g Fu

Happy Scary Season

All Hallows Eve, Hallowe'en, Halloween, Calan Gaeaf, Reformation Day, call it what you will, there are pumpkins being carved around the globe. Here's my attempt:


If you're wondering, the inspiration is from the film poster for Kurosawa's Throne of Blood.

Yes We Can

Here's an old stencil made during the Obama Campaign. Yes, it's the Master Chief from Halo. I suppose I could change it now to "Yes They Did".

Hypocrisy

Spike

Spike from Cowboy Beebop

This hangs above my desk and reminds me that no one else is going to do my work for me. The image is taken pretty much as-is from the final shot of the final episode (here, with immense spoilers). It's one of the best endings of any TV show ever, with a beautifully subtle twist in the final seconds of the credits (noted also by BassInSpace), and this is my little tribute.

However, there's currently a live-action movie of Cowboy Beebop in production, with Keanu Reeves starring as Spike. So now I have a picture of Keanu Reeves on my wall. Not exactly something I had planned.

Deadzone

Two Cathedrals

Inspired by the West Wing Episode 'Two Cathedrals'. The fiberboard gives it a nice rough texture. I'm quite pleased with it, but don't think it needed the stained glass patterns in the end. It's always nice to see fellow Westies (is that the collective?) light up as they walk into the room.